¶ Most fruit full learned Cōmentaries of Doctor Peter Martir Vermil Florentine Professor of Deuinitie in the Vniuersitye of Tygure with a very profitable tract of the matter and places ¶ Herein is also added contained two most ample Tables aswel of the matter as of the wordes wyth an Index of the places in the holy scripture Galath vi God forbid that I shoulde reioyce but in the crosse of our Lorde Iesu Christe wherby the world is crucified to me and I to the world ¶ Set forth allowed accordyng to thorder appointed in the Quenes maiesties iniunctions ¶ Imprinted at London by Iohn Day dwellyng ouer Aldersgate These Bookes are to be solde at his shop vnder the gate Ptolomeus Marinus Strabo Polibius Aratus Hipparchus Geometria Astronomia Arithmetica Musica MERCVRIVS IB F DROICT ET LOYAL ¶ To the ryght honorable my most singuler good Lord and Maister the Lord Robert Duddely Earle of Lecester Baron of Dynghby Knight of the honorable order of the Garter one of the Quenes highnes most honorable priuy Counsel and Maister of her Maiesties horsse THe old opinion right honorable and my singuler good Lord being no lesse auncient then true whiche accomptes hym an ill man that is good but for him selfe as who saye from whom no goodnes commeth to the help of others most like a Drone in a Bee hiue shrowded there for his owne sucke not for the common wealth of Bees whom therefore they suffer not among them but kill cast out as an vnkinde member vnnaturall and not to be endured in their state hath bene alwayes the rappyng hammer in my head and the spurre to my side to knocke and pricke me forward that am of my selfe lytle able to do to procure what I can to my calling at least for the profit of my vniuersal country men by whom among whom as a member I lyue In respect whereof among other it hath pleased God to geue me leaue by your Lordships meane vnder the lisence of my most dread soueraigne Lady and Prince to publish and set out to the glory of Gods Maiestie chieflie I haue taken vpon me to plant and put foorth lyke such a husbande as can not endure the plowe of my profession to stande vnoccupied this notable and right excellent woorke of that famous graue and great learned Doctor Maister Peter Martir entiteled His Commentary vpon the booke of Iudges being turned at the request of the learned out of that tounge wherein he wrote it into our English phrase in which it is most meete for vs. As who shoulde saye what he published into one toung priuately he ment as I take it shoulde be deliuered to all men generally Christians or other to whom it maye doo good VVhose labour tending to suche effect cannot but like a tree that beares many braunches spread it selfe abroad tyll it stretche with hys fruit to many countries nacions and languages out of the same spryng and stocke wherin he first planted it to grow and hath graffed it for vs And happy that spring yea very happye that caries such course of water to furnishe so many Conductes for the necessity and helpe of so many inhabitors as it can not but haue concourse among And happy that seruant that hath so bestowed his maisters talent as it cannot but turne agayne with so great an interest to the owner And twise happy they that may so taste and drinke of it as the glory may be Gods and the comfort theirs which being the onely but and marke wherat this Markmā shot what deserueth such an Archer to be accompted of I that thinke my selfe scant meete to set out his booke do recken my selfe much more vnmeete to expres his prayse As if I were either able or meete what should I labour to shewe your honour a whole man by his peece vnlesse as it might he said I ment to shewe your honour the Sunne by a candle Him selfe therfore that hath taken this paine vpon him and best can shewe him selfe by his owne shape shall report him selfe in his owne labour to your honour as he is best able VVho as he thought it most meete for his part to vnfolde the secretes of that cōmon wealth in the time of the Iudges for the plainer vnderstanding of the sence therof to the commoditie of vs and others after vs and him So haue I thought it meete for me and my very duty to your honor humbly to present and offer the same by me now published vnto your honorable hands as from the Iudges of Israel and him to one a Iudge and Ruler of this my natiue countrye and people vnder our supreme Iudge our most dread soueraigne Lady the Queenes Maiestie Hauing had nothing meeter wherby to expresse my faithfull hart good mynde and duty to your honourable Lordshyp then thys the simple laboure of my plowe the fruite wherof cannot be but yours that are owner of me Humbly beseching the same to accept it in as good part as my faithfull seruiceable hart towardes your honour hath and doth meane it Beseching God that so graciouslye hath lyked to beginne wyth your Lordship hitherto mercifullye continue and keepe the same to hys glorye to the comfort of your selfe and hope that this your Countrye of Israell whereof you are a Iudge hath conceaued of you Your Lordships humble faithfull and redy seruaunt Iohn Daye ⧠To the noble and most vvoorthy men the Lordes chiefe gouernours of the Schoole of Argentine my good Lordes for their godlynes and wisdome much to be reuerenced D. Peter Martir Vermilius Florentine Professor of the holye Scriptures in the Schoole of Tigure wisheth health and felicitye from God through Iesus Christ our Sauiour WHen it pleased God most woorthy and honorable mē of his mere goodnes and not for any my vertues or merites to cal me to the obedience of his sonne our Lord Iesus Christ to exercise my selfe in setting forth his Gospel in such maner as hath pleased him I thought it my duty as much as lay in me to execute my vocation and assigned burthen not onely in teaching but also in minde lyfe and maners For thus I reasoned with my selfe If vnto al men being iustified onely by the mercy of the true God through Iesus Christ our Sauiour not vndoubtedlye by woorkes but freelye receauing forgeuenes of synnes there remayneth no other thyng in the course of this short lyfe then that hauing obtayned the holy Ghost and nature being somewhat relieued from his proper corruption they should by pure lyfe and holy actions liuely expresse God hymselfe their regenerator and Christ their redeemer the same thing without doubte is much more required of men of my profession whom the ecclesiasticall spirit hath appointed to administer liuely doctrine vnto other men that whylest they teach vprightly by their euil deedes they deface not the waight and al the authoritye of their doctrine which thing if they do they shal in the darknes of this worlde most brightly geue
declareth whereby GOD aunswered thus vnto Elias the Prophete I haue left me 7000. men whiche haue not bowed their knees before Baal he sayth not whiche thincke ryghtlye in theyr harte and whiche in their mynde beleue vpryghtly but on the contrary setteth forth a signe of outwarde worshyppyng namely of bowyng the knee God hath created the whole man and wyll haue him whole And he whiche created the whole man is not content with the halfe of him neither will he haue his creature parted with the deuill To me sayth God to me onely I say shall euery knee bowe Furthermore if this their reason had bene of any valew the Corinthians might also by it haue excused their doing For they might haue said vnto Paul what art thou so vehement agaynst vs We our selues know also that an Idole is nothyng and we kepe the right opinion in our heart Let God be content with that Other mennes faultes are not layde to oure charge but that we cōmunicate with them Yt is lawfull for vs in the meane tyme with the body and outwarde presence to serue our owne commoditie Furthermore they saye These thynges we do nothyng at all vitiate yea we would haue them vncorrupte and perfecte Wherfore what synne soeuer is here committed it ought not to be ascribed vnto vs. Whereunto I aunswere That that is true in dede that an other mans synne is imputed to no man but yet whilest ye are present at prophane rites that is blamed in you and iustely imputed vnto you in that you communicate with an other mans vngodlynesse The Apostle in hys firste Epistle to the Corinthians sayde do ye not knowe that they whiche do eate of the sacrifice are made also partakers of the Temple What saye I than That the Image is any thyng or that it whiche is offred vnto Images is any thyng Nay But this I say that the thyngs which the Gentiles offre they offre vnto deuilles But I woulde not that you shoulde be partakers of deuilles ye can not drynke of the Cup of the Lorde and of the Cup of the deuilles ye can not be partakers of the Lordes table and of the table of deuilles c. Wherefore thoughe the corruption of the Sacrifices is not to be imputed to the communicantes yet for all that the communicatyng it selfe from whiche they ought to haue kepte them selues maketh them blame-blame-worthy And vnlesse the thyng were so why would not the holy Martyrs communicate with the rites of the Ethnikes why did Paul so reproue the Corinthians But here they returne agayne to this to saye That the Masse is not to be compared with the Idolatrye of the Ethnikes For saye they thoughe it somewhat straye from the institution of Christe The Masse hath nothyng common with the institution of the Lord. yet ought it not to be counted a prophane and an Idolatrous thyng But I affirme it to be so muche peruerted that almost it nothyng at all agreeth with the institution of Christ yea it is most vtterly contrarye vnto it Whiche is very easye for me to declare Firste the Supper of the Lorde as it was instituted by Christe was a common or publique worke A contrarietye betwen the supper of the Lord the Masse but nowe commeth forth the sacrificer adorned with monstrous garmentes and doth all thynges alone the rest stand by onely see and heare Wherefore if Paul did iustly and worthily rebuke the Corinthians which taryed not one for an other sayd that they could not eate the Lordes Supper how can they worthily call the Papisticall Masse by the name of the Supper of the Lorde whereas onely one sacrificer eateth and drinketh Vndoubtedly by no meanes Wherefore let them rather call it by any other name than the Supper of the Lord. Furthermore they saye that they do there offre the sonne of GOD vnto the eternall Father And that is by expresse wordes denyed in the Epistle to the Hebrues For it teacheth that all thynges were fynished by the onely one oblation of Christe Whiche beyng perfect we maye not renewe the same agayne They wyll offre vp Christ euery daye The worde of GOD affirmeth that it was to be offred but once I confesse in dede that the Fathers as I haue before sayde did sometymes in suche sorte speake as thoughe the body and bloude of Christe were either offred or sacrificed in the celebration of the Sacramentes How in the supper the body bloud of Christ is offred vnto God But they very oftentymes interpreted them selues that those oblations or Sacrifices were onely thankes geuyng or a memory and figure of that oblation and sacrifice which Christ dyeng vpon the crosse made They affirme also that the bread and wyne are chaunged into the substaunce of the bodye and bloud of Christe when as the holy Scripture doth teache vs farre otherwyse Moreouer they lyftyng vp the bread and wyne do set forth to the people creatures to be worshypped in steade of GOD. For what is more filthy than religiously to worshyppe a piece of bread and a Cup of wyne It is true in dede that they are made partakers of the bodye and bloude of the Lorde namely in hearte and mynde whiche eate and drinke the signes of thankes geuyng with syncere fayth as the Lorde hath instituted But yf a man do onely beholde and worshyppe them then are they nothyng vnto him but a piece of breade and a Cup of wyne Moreouer the ministers of the Churche when as their duety is to go about all that in them lyeth to lift vp the myndes of the people vnto heauen that they mought not seke Christ in the world nor looke for any carnall or earthly thing in the supper of the Lord they miserably holde the people geuyng head to the visible signes The Apostle in the first Epistle to the Corinthians commaunded that they should not vse a straunge tongue in holy assemblyes bycause euery one must aunswere Amen And bycause aboue all thinges the edifieng of the hearers is to be sought for But in the Masse all thinges are done in the Latine tongue And those wordes whiche should be to the great comfort of the standers by when as to them the participation of the body bloud of the Lord is promised those wordes do they speake softely yea they mumble them vp so darkelye that though a man vnderstande the Latine yet can he not vnderstande those wordes They do for this cause so softely mumble them vp as thoughe the members of Christ were not worthy to heare them The Greke Churche when as neuerthelesse the Lord hym selfe spake them openly and the Greke Churche euen to thys daye pronounceth them with a moste loude voyce Yea and in the olde tyme it was a custome vsed as Ambrose and Augustine among other do testifye that at those wordes the people aunswered Amen But as I thinke Ambrose Augustine these men do therefore mumble vp those wordes bycause they are affeard
woorke by it selfe and other sometimes eyther by Aungels or by men and that in such maner as wee shall afterwarde declare Augustine Farther I wyll adde that Augustine writeth in the place before alledged against the Epistle of the Maniches the .xxvi. chap. Miracles woulde not mooue except they were wonderfull and they would not be wonderful if they shoulde be accustomed thinges As therefore they say that by admiration sprang Philosophy whych Plato thought to be the Raynebowe and for that cause calleth the daughter of Thaumans so may we beleue that faith Faithe cometh not of miracles but is by them confirmed which cōmeth of the worde of God although it do not vtterly spring of miracles yet by them it may be confirmed And therefore Augustine in his .xii. booke of Confessions the .xxi. chap. saith Ignorance is the mother of wondring at signes this is an entraunce vnto faith to the sonnes of Adam which haue forgotten thee By this sentence he teacheth that men which haue forget God haue by the admiration of miracles an entrance or cōming vnto faith And without doubt it is so The wyll of God is hidden from vs but he as he is good openeth the same to holy Prophets Apostles which that they may profitably declare vnto men he geueth vnto them the gift of his holy woord But bicause he knoweth that mortal men are contrary against his word he hath graūted the power of working of miracles that those thinges might the easilier be beleued which he would haue his messenger profitably to speake That cōfirmation of faith cōmeth by miracles Marke testifieth who toward the end of his Gospel saith And they went forth preaching euerye where the Lord working with them confirming the word with signes which followed And how apt this kinde of confirmation is hereby it is manifest The promises of God do of no other thing depend then of his wyll power And the signes which we now intreate of do testify the power of God forasmuch as they by al meanes ouercome nature and set forth the truth of his wil for by the inuocation of his name by his grace spirit they are wrought Augustine Wherefore Augustine in the place now alledged against the Epistle of Manicheus writeth that miracles do bring authority vnto the woord of God For he when he did these miracles semed to haue geuen an earnest peny of his promises Neither ar these wordes to be passed ouer which the same Augustine hath vpon Iohn in the .24 Miracles consist not in the greatnes of woorkes treatise That miracles consist not in the greatnes of workes for otherwise it is a greater woorke to gouerne this vniuersal composition of the world then vnto a blinde man to restore light which he is destitute of These thynges declared there remayneth that by apt distinctions we destribute miracles into his partes Some of them are to be wondred at An other distinction of myracles by reason of the thing it selfe which is done for that it is so vnaccustomed and great that in the nature of thinges we cannot finde the lyke of it Suche was the staying of the Sunne in the time of Iosua and the turning of that shadowe in the tyme of Ezechias the conception and byrth of the Virgin the foode of Manna in the deserte and suche lyke But there are some which ar miracles not for the nature and greatnes of the thing but bycause of the maner and waye whiche was vsed in bringing them to passe as was the cloude and rayne of Helias the budding of floures and fruites in the rod of Aaron the thunders of Samuel the turnynge of water into wyne and suche lyke For suche thinges are done by nature but they were then myracles bycause of the maner whereby they were wrought that is not by naturall causes but at the commaundement and wyll of Sayntes There is an other deuision of myracles An other deuision of miracles bycause some of them doo onelye mooue admiration as lyghtenynges and thundrynges in mount Sina the turning of the shadowe of the Sunne in the tyme of Ezechias the transfiguration of the Lorde in the Mount There are other which besides the admiration doo bring a present commoditye vnto men as when by the rodde dryncke was geuen out of the Rocke Manna from heauen and when by the Lord and the Apostles sycke folkes were healed And sometimes they bring punishment and hurt vnto the guiltye For by the woordes of Peter perished Ananias and Saphira Elimas the Sorcerer was made blynde by Paule and some were by hym delyuered vnto Sathan to be vexed By this also are miracles deuided An other partitiō of miracles bicause some of them are obtained by praiers For so did Elias and Elizeus namelye by praying restore their deade to lyfe Moses also praying for Pharao draue away Frogs and other plages And other some are wrought by commaundement and authority Iosua commaunded the Sunne to stay his course The Lord Iesus commaunded the windes and Peter said vnto the lame man In the name of Iesus Christ rise walke Ther ar also other which are done neither by praiers nor by commaundement but of theyr own wyll and accord the saintes them selues doing some other thing Euen as when the shadow of Peter as he walked healed those that were sycke and the napkin of Paul healed also folkes diseased Augustine An other diuision of myracles Lastly Augustine as it is written in his .83 booke of questions question 79. deuideth miracles that some are done by publik iustice that is by the stable and firme will of God which in the world is counted as a publike lawe By it God would that his ministers that is Apostles and Prophetes shoulde in preaching woorke miracles And there are other some which by the signes of this iustice are wrought as when the vngodly in the name of God or of Iesus Christ do work any miracle which is not geuen but by the honour and reuerence which thei vse towardes the name of God not that God or nature or any thinges created desire to gratefy them As when a man stealeth away a publike seale or handwriting he may wrest many thinges either from the men of the countrey or from the Citizens which are not geuen vnto him but vnto the seale which they know doth belong to the Magistrate and Prince So he which followed not Christe did yet in his name cast out deuils Thirdly are those miracles reckoned which by some certaine priuate bargaine are wrought wherby the Sorcerers do binde them selues vnto the Deuyl and the deuil likewise to them But those at done neither by publike iustice nor yet by the signes therof but come onelye of a certayne priuate conuention Howbeit wee must knowe that miracles of the second and third sort are not firme neither do they assuredly happen For asmuch as we reade in the .xix. chap. of the Actes of the Apostles that the sonnes of
so then were it very easy to persuade the Ethnickes and Turkes of the holy Scriptures and to bryng the Iewes to receaue the new Testament and how true this is the thing it selfe witnesseth And I thincke I haue spoken enough of the efficient cause of this booke and of the holy Scriptures Of the ende of this booke And now lastly order semeth to require the seyng we haue spoken of the matter forme and efficient cause of the holy bookes we shoulde also entreate somewhat to what end they were written Wherin I thincke it not nedeful to kepe the reader long for that before when I entreated many thynges of an historye I haue expounded also the profite and commodities whiche come therof whiche no doubte of it belong vnto the ende but nowe presently I will say thus much compendiously that all these thinges are mentioned by the holy ghost that we shoulde behaue our selues vprigthly both in prosperitie and also aduersitie For we learne by the examples of holy men when we are afflicted with sundry troubles and miseries stedfastly to holde our faith to put our hope in God to call vpon him only therewithall to repent vs of our sinnes whiche thinges if we do he will no lesse be presente to helpe vs than we know that he oftentimes deliuered the people of the Iewes And this Paul declared when he sayde to the Romaines whatsoeuer things are written they are written for our learning that we thorough patience and consolation of the Scriptures might haue hope Moreouer we are instructed in prosperous thinges to kepe the feare of god lest we fal into grieuous sinnes by whiche meanes we might be made guiltie both of punishement in this lyfe and also of euerlastyng damnatiō Finally we may moste manifestly gather the ende of reading of these bookes out of the Apostles doctrine whiche he deliuered to Timothe writing after this sorte in his second Epistle and third chap. All Scripture geuen by inspiration of God is profitable to doctrine to reprouing to correction and to instruction which is in righteousnesse that the man of God may be perfect and prepared to al good workes And now that as I suppose I haue spoken enough of the end and other causes of this booke I will come nygher to the exposition of the same first I wil declare whether this booke according to the sentence of the Hebrewes be the second booke of the firste Prophetes whose coniunction is so great with the history of Iosua that a man woulde easely saye that they be both one Whether the booke of Iosua ought to be reckened with the booke of Iudges And peraduenture there be some which suppose that Iosua should be reckened with the iudges to whom I will not subscribe For iudges were raised vp of god when the people were oppressed with outwarde enemies but when Iosua was proclaymed prince all the affaires of the Israelites were in good prosperitie For Sihon and Og most mightie kinges were ouercome and that office was cōmitted to Iosua wherby Moyses being dead he might leade the people ouer Iordane and take possessiō of the lande of Chanaan and deuide the promised lande by lottes vnto the children of Israell and besides that the people did set their handes to a decree whiche they had made of Iosua that he whiche obeyed not his voyce should be killed as we read it written in the first chap. of his booke But there is no mention made of suche thynges as concernyng the Iudges And yet both the bookes are so like and of such affinitie that many thinges are repeated in this our booke especially in the beginning whiche no doubte were done when Iosua was yet lyuing There resteth now to admonishe the reader somewhat of the partes of this boke The partes of the booke of Iudges There are as many principall membres in it as there were Iudges to Samuels tyme. For that in euery one of them still riseth vnto vs a new historye But the first of all was Othoniel of whom we will speake in the third chap. So that all those thinges whiche are written vnto that place do contayne the thynges done from the death of Iosua vnto Othoniel And certainly bycause the Iewes as long as Iosua liued worshipped god a right kept the lawe as muche as the weakenesse of mā coulde do god stil wrought with them accordyng to his couenaunt gaue thē a great victorye ouer their enemies so that euery tribe ouercame his enemies for the most part which were yet adioynying to their borders And then when the Israelites obteynyng the victorye did transgresse the commaundements of their god did not cleane destroy the nations which they had ouercome as god had commaunded them yea they made them tributaries vnto them god therfore grieuously admonished them by his messanger bycause they had not onely saued their enemies but also had moste filthyly honoured theyr gods So that god was not wtout a cause angry with them and deliuered them into the handes of outwarde tyrannes But when they were sorye for it and called vpon their god he had compassion of them and raysed them vp Iudges by whom they might be deliuered when they were deliuered they fell agayne to Idolatry they were afflicted againe they repented wherby in course their deliueries and oppressions are set forth But their first oppressiō worthy of memory was vnder Chusan Resanthaim from the which Othoniel the first of al the iudges reuenged them of whom we will speake in his place But now we will put here vnderneth the wordes of the holy history The first Chapter 1 IT came to passe after the death of Iosua that the childrē of Israel asked the Lord sayeng Who shall go vp for vs agaynst the Chananites to fight first agaynst them 2 And the Lorde sayd Iudah shal go vp beholde I haue deliuered the lande into his handes IT semed good vnto the children of Israel to take warre in hande for as it is writtē in the xiii chap. of Iosua they had not yet at this tyme conquered all the promised land so that in euery tribes lotte there were enemyes remayning And when they sawe there was no remedy but that they must dryue them out by force they doubted not whether they shoulde make warre agaynst them but their doubte was whiche tribe should fight before all the other The Israelites aske counsell of God The matter seemed to be of such great importaunce that they asked counsell of god whiche was the chief gouernour of their publicque weale Iosua that worthy captayne was no more a liue at whose becke and pleasure they hanged The Israelites affaires had euill successe whē they were done without God hys counsell Neither yet had they forgotten howe euill successe they had when not long before they toke weighty affaires in hand without asking counsell of God For in their settyng forth to battaill against the citie of Hai they sped very vnluckely in the
Gospell For although God haue promised that the preaching of hys woord shal be fruitful through the benefite of his spirite yet must euerye man instruct him selfe in hys vocation according to his hability Neyther ought men to bragge out of season as phanatical men are accustomed to do God according to hys promyse wyl be with vs when we shal speake He hath promised in dede and wyll surely perfourme when tyme wyl not serue or that a man can not either thincke or meditate what to speake But if libertye be geuen and leasure graunted to fynde dispose and wysely to deuise those thinges which we should speake then can we not be excused but that we tempt God when as we neglect to do these thinges Yea rather let vs plucke all thinges vnto vs what so euer they be so farrefoorth as godlynes permitteth and occasion offereth it selfe to helpe our labour to obtayne those thinges which are already promised vs. Furthermore Princes publicke weales may make leagues somtimes this coniunction of Iudah wyth Simeon doth admonishe the readers that it is lawful in those warres which ar taken in hand iustly to make a league whereby Princes or publique weales maye be ioyned together to defende honest thynges The godly ought not to ioyne them selues wyth the vngodly as Iudah now ioyned fellowshyp wyth the Symeonites to fyght against the Chananites But thys must be taken heede of that such coniunction and league be ioyned together wythout fault neyther ought the godly to ioyne them selues in league wyth the vngodlye For the scripture reproueth Iosaphat who otherwyse was a godly kyng for making league wyth wycked Achab and other kynges are often tymes reprehended by the Prophetes for ioyning them selues in league eyther wyth the Egiptians or els wyth the Assirians But surelye this Simeon was of the same region that Iudah was and both their endeauours tended to thys ende religiously to fulfyl the wyll of God I knowe there be some whych by the example of Asa kyng of Iudah beyng well praysed defende suche leagues made wyth Infidels For he beyng greuouslye oppressed of Basa kyng of the ten Tribes as it is wrytten in the fyrst booke of the Kynges sent vnto Benadab kyng of Siria as appeareth in the .xvi. chapter a certayne somme of gold and syluer and he made a couenant wyth hym of that condicion that he shoulde inuade the kyng of Israel whereby he myght bee deliuered from hys oppression But they whych affirme those thynges should consider wyth them selues two thynges Fyrst that the kyngdome of the tenne Tribes had now fallen from God and from woorshypping of hym Wherfore if an vngodlye kyng was styrred vp agaynst it the same is not for all that to be conferred wyth those whych confessing them selues to be Christians do incense Tyrannes whych are of a straunge religion agaynst other Christians Besydes that thys deede of Asa kyng of Iudah is mencioned in the holy scriptures But we cannot fynde that it was allowed to be well done Yea if we looke vpon the latter booke of Chronicles the syxtene chapter we shall see that that kyng was most greuously rebuked of God by the Prophet for suche a wycked deede For it is thus wrytten At that tyme came Hanani the Sear to Asa kyng of Iudah and sayde vnto hym bycause thou haste trusted in the kyng of Siria and not rather put thy trust in the Lorde thy God therefore is the hoste of the kyng of Siria escaped out of thyne hande Had not the Ethiopes and they of Ludim an exceadyng strong hoste wyth many Chariotes and horsemen And yet bycause thou dyddest put thy trust in the Lorde he delyuered them into thyne hand For the Lorde and hys eyes beholde al the earth to strengthen them that are of perfect hart towarde hym But thou herein hast done foolyshly and therfore from hence foorth thou shalt haue warres c. For I shewed before that we myght without daunger discommende thys example whych they bryng of thys kyng when as God doth so sharpelye chasten hym by hys Prophet But we wyll entreate of thys more largely afterward 4 And Iudah went vp and the Lorde deliuered the Chananites and Pherezites into their handes and they smote them in Bezek to the number of ten thousand men The victorie whiche the two tribes obteyned ouer the Chananites is described and accordyng to the manner of the holy Scripture the same is set forth and comprehended in fewe wordes afterward the maner howe the thyng was done is more amplye expounded Now briefly is declared that they of Iudah obteyned the victorie and slew ten thousand of their enemies Why suche as are ouercome are sayde to be deliuered of God into the handes of their ouercommers And the Lord deliuered the Chananites The holy Scripture obserueth his olde order to say that they whiche are ouercome in battaile are deliuered into their enemies handes by God and speaketh thus to adminishe vs that victory is not the worke of our owne strength but of the goodnesse and counsel of God Wherfore souldiours and emperours whē they haue the vpper hand in battailes they must bridle them selues from boasting and gloryeng which Ieremy also faithfully geueth counsell to do For he sayth let not him that is mightye glory in his owne strength Nebuchadnezar kyng of the Babilonians folishely despising this was so vexed tossed with madnesse that he was almost chaūged into a dumbe beaste Wherefore the administration of the kyngdome was taken away from him he liued in great misery of long time who out of doubt had not fallen into so great misfortune if as it was mete he had confessed that what soeuer he had gotten was geuen him by the prouidence and coūsel of God But as Daniel mencioneth he being puffed vp with the noblenesse and dignitie of his actes most presumptuously and proudly bragged of them for he sayd that in the strength and might of hys owne arme he had established the kyngdome of Babilon In the bookes of the Ethnikes thou shalte very seldome or peraduēture neuer fynde any suche kynde of speache For men whiche are destitute of faith do not ascribe those good thinges vnto god which they thinke they haue attayned vnto by any labour or industrie Yea and they ascribed the chaunces of warre not to come by the fauour of God but by strength and pollicye and sometymes by fortune Wherfore Cicero in his boke of diuination affirmeth that the victory of the Decianes whiche they gotte by vowing of them selues to the people of Rome Cicero Howe Cicero interpreteth the vowing of the Decianes was an excellent and polliticque deuise of warre So farre is he from attributing it to the prouidence of the gods They knew sayth he that the strength force of the Romayne people was such that if they sawe their captaynes either to be in extreme daungers or els to be slayne or to be taken of their enemyes that they would by no meanes suffre
history retourneth to that setting forward to battaile which they of Iudah and the Symeonites tooke in hand styrred vp by the oracle of God And therfore it is written And Iudah went wyth Symeon hys brother and smore the Chananites dwellyng in Zephat and vtterly destroyed it and called the name of the Citye Horma The vowe of Cherem that is of the curse The Hebrues did not vtterly throw downe nor destroy certain cities which they possessed but dwelled in them Howbeit som they cursed and cleane defaced And their vowe was called in Hebrew Cherem of the thing that was promised deriued from this woord Charam which is to waste to destroy to kil to deface to geue vnder curse The Grecians called that woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as thinges consecrated and put apart And it may be that so they called them bycause they were hanged vp in temples and were seperated from the vse of men neither was it lawfull to remoue them out of that place Yea and men somtymes wer called by that name Paule also vsed that woord many tymes for he saith to the Galathians Let hym be accursed whosoeuer shal preache any other Gospel And to the Romanes he wished him selfe to be made a curse for the brethren And to the first of the Corinthians he saith he the loueth not the lord Iesus let him be accursed Maranatha wher he taketh this woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for this woord Cherem that is a thing seperated and seioyned vtterly from mans occupying or vse so that it was wycked either to touch it or to put it to any vse Wherfore we haue a testimonye in the booke of Iosua Why the cytye of Iericho was made a curse the .6 chap. of the city â—â—â—â—cho And it semed to haue bene so accursed bycause it was after a sorte th◠〈◊〉 fruites of the Cities that were taken For after they were passed ouer Iordane it was the first of al the cities that was conquered and that by no mans helpe for that the walles therof fel downe of their owne accorde and through the woorking of God And therefore it was mete that the spoyles therof should altogether bee consecrated vnto God Whether the destruction of cities pertayne to the worshipping of God But that semeth to be vtterly farre from the worshipping of God to destroy both cities and men and these seme to haue a shew of cruelty rather than of religion To that I answer that the destruction of townes in dede of their own nature belong neither to religion nor yet to godlynes but so farre forth as they ar referred to the glory of God And that may happen two maner of wayes As wheÌ„ that destruction is counted as a certayn monument of the seuerity and iustice of God against those nations which he for their wickednes would haue destroyed or as a certain testimony of Gods goodnes and mercy towards the Israelites whom in that expedition he mercyfully helped Therefore the ouerthrowing of the city houses men and beastes did shew the iustice and seueritie of God And the consecration declared the goodnes helpe and mercy shewed to that people Moreouer God would by that meanes proue the obedience of his people in abstaining from the spoiles which wer consecrated vnto God God by these curses proued hys people For we know that souldiours when they haue gotten the victory are hardlye restrained from the pray But they which obeied not the curse published wer most grieuously punished which the holy history of Iosua declareth to haue happened vnto Acham bicause he vsurped vnto him selfe some of the spoiles of Iericho We know also that Saul for this cause was depriued of his kyngdome bicause he had reserued Agag the king and certain oxen and fat cattel of the pray which wer bound before to the vow of the curse The forme of the curse Of the forme and end of the curse we haue spoken enough For the forme is the destruction of cities men and beastes and the consecration of gold siluer yron brasse precious stones and costly things which wer appointed onely to the vse of the tabernacle But the end was that they might be monuments of Gods goodnes and iustice The end of the same and also an exercise and trial of the Israelites Now resteth somewhat to speake of the matter and efficient cause therof The matter was what soeuer was found on lyue in those cities for al that ought to be killed The matter of the same and the buildinges and other garnishinges of the city ought to be cleane destroyed but as for the ornamentes and riches they were as it is sayd consecrated vnto the worshipping of God But ther is to be marked that none wer vowed vnto so horrible a destruction but such as were already declared and knowen to be enemies of God for it is not lawfull to kyll Innocentes Wherfore they sinned most grieuouslye which so vowed Paules death that they would neither eate nor drinke tyl they had killed him And at this daye they behaue them selues more than wickedly Iephre which saye that they haue vowed them selues most cruelly to kil al the Professours of the gospel Yea and Iephte without doubt was deceaued Agamemnon which bicause of hys kynde of vowyng thought that his daughter should either be slaine or els compelled to perpetual virginity Agamemnon also is to be condemned which as Cicero declareth in his booke of offices vowed vnto Diana the fairest woman that should be borne in his kyngdome And to performe this foolish vowe he sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia The efficient cause of a curse But the efficient cause of the vow Cherem somtimes is God as it is written in the .vii. and .x. chap. of Deut. For ther it is commaunded that places dedicated to Idoles aulters ymages groues monumentes should be vtterly destroied and that was a perpetual curse in the land of Chanaan and to be alwaies obserued Somtimes the Prince made such a vow as we reade of Iosua and somtimes the people as we find in the .21 chap. of Num. The prophets also somtimes did this so Samuel coÌ„mauÌ„ded Saul cleane to destroi al things beloÌ„ging to the Amelekites The name of this city wherof we now entreate was afterwarde called Horma for it was not so called before and it was so called of the woorde Cherem For such a name were they wont to geue vnto such places as were wasted and destroyed by a curse In the booke of Num. 21. chapter a certaine portion of the Chananites which the Israelites possessed by violence was by reason of suche a vowe called Horma But some peraduenture wil aske These destructions of Cities are not agaynst charity Augustine whether these destructions of townes wer against charity To whom I answer no. Bicause such enemies were chosen to be vtterly destroyed of the Iewes by
Before the other tribes Manasses is reckoned and the names of his Cities which are here mencioned ar rehearsed in the booke of Iosuah the 17. chap. where almost these selfe same woordes ar rehersed namely how Manasses although he did not conquer them did for all that make them tributaries vnto him But that is not so to be vnderstaÌ„d as though this sinne were then committed for as long as Iosuah lyued the people dyd not so openly fal yea rather the people did their duty diligently all Iosuas time and al the time of the Elders which had seene Moses and had liued together wyth Iosua as we shal heare straight way in this booke but these thinges are spoken in that place by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is by anticipation And the hebrewe phrase is to be noted namelye And Benethiah that is her daughters For it signifieth litle suburbes townes and villages whyche when they are compared with greater cities do seme to be daughters of those Cities The same kinde of speaking is vsed also in other languages Cities called Matrices and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scithopolis For we call often times the principal Cities Matrices that is chiefe Cities and the Grecians call them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Beth-San was a City in the tribe of Manasses which was afterward called Scythopolis of which city both Ptholomey and also Ierome haue made mencion Thaanach is reckoned to be .x. myles distant froÌ„ Cesaria in the way to Ptolemais But the Chananites began to dwell in the land This hebrewe woorde Ioel which the latine interpretour translateth presumpsit and we haue turned it caepit that is began signifieth also to wyll to be at rest and to sweare The sence seemeth to bee this that the Chananites seyng they were not rooted out would haue gladlye bene content to haue taryed in those places where before they dwelled and that peraduenture with a bond and an othe but in such sorte that they would haue giuen a certayne tribute vnto the Israelites which nowe had preuailed But they of Manasses bicause they could not cast these out were punished for their smal faith For if they had perfectly beleued euen as God was with them in the conquering of Luz and other Cities so would he also haue ayded them in casting them out but bicause their fayth was so diminished God withdrew his ayde from them but in the meane tyme hee referred this punishment as I haue before said to profitable endes meete for his prouidence And they although they could not vpon the sodayne expell their enemies yet ought they not to cease of from making warre against them neither was it lawful for them to make any couenaunt or league with them And it appeareth that they required tribute of these nations and bargained with them without anye lawfull cause for thus speaketh the scripture And it came to passe that as soone as Israel waxed mighty they put the Chananites to tribute Wherefore they preuayled against them and they wer stronger than those nations and therefore they can not be excused in that they most filthilye made couenauntes with them For they seemed to be entised thereunto by couetousnes of money and seruitude of those nations And in expellyng dyd not expell them What the doubling of a word signifieth wâ—â—h the Hebrewes Thys doublyng of woordes in the hebrew expresseth a perfect and absolute action and this signifieth as muche as if it should haue bene said And they brused them and some of them they expelled but they did not vtterlye destroye them as God had commaunded But what can we answer of Salomon Salomon also brought these nations vnder tribute which in the first booke of kings the .9 chap. and in the .8 chap. of Paralip is written to haue brought vnder tribute the rest of the Amorrites Hethites c. I beleue verely that the rest of those nations embraced the religion of the true God For Dauid who was otherwyse a most noble king and valiaunt Captaine and who possessed his kingdome perfectly suffered them not to worship ydols in his dominions And if Salomon dyd afterward lay a greater burthen on them than hee did on the Israelites hee can not lawfully be blamed for he did so also with the Gabaonites For it is meete that the Israelites should be handled more gentlye of their King than straungers Neither should Salomon be excused if he did that for to muche greedye desire of money or if he did bargaine with them for money that they keeping still theyr idolatrous and false worshipping might liue vnpunished in his kingdome Ephraim also expelled not the Chananites It is not declared that this tribe did put their enemies to tribute which I thinke neuertheles they dyd wheÌ„ as it was declared before that Manasses did so and we shall heare straight way that the tribe of Zebulon did the same For it is not verye lykelye that those Ephraites wer better than their felowes As touching the city Gazer Ierome saith that it was .4 myles distant from Nicopolis which is Emaus and is called by an other name Gazer Kitron also in the tribe of Zebulon and Nahalol were compelled to pay tribute that they might haue Chananites to be their citizens The city Acho was afterward called Ptolemais Ptolemais Dispa Achzib also was called afterwarde Dispa being .ix. miles distant from Acho in the way toward Tire Likewise the tribe of Nephtalim brought the Chananites vnder tribute ¶ Of Masse BIcause in these places there is often mencion made of this hebrew woorde Masse which signifieth tribute of which word is deriued Mishah Whence the woorde Masse is thought to be deriued whyche of some is taken for tribute which was wont to be payde of euerye person And some of the Popes hirelinges thyncke that their Masse had hys name from thence therefore peraduenture it shall not bee vnprofitable somewhat to write of it That woord is red in Deut. the .16 chap. wheÌ„ God commaunded that seauen weekes should be reckoned after Easter and then should be kept the feast of Pentecoste Thou shalt appeare saith he before the Lord and shalt geue Missah Nethobath Iedecha that is a free oblation of thine owne hand And that oblation was so called as an yearely tribute which neuertheles was willing and without constraint Howbeit other and peraduenture more truly do interpretate that woord to signify sufficient namely that ther should be geuen as much as should be inough and sufficient for in the .15 chap. of that booke where the Lord commaunded the Israelites to open their handes vnto the poore to lend him that which might be sufficient that hebrew woord Dai the Chaldey Paraphrast enterpreth Misshah In which place I take it that there is a regard to be had as wel of the pouertye of the poore as of the abilitye of the geuer For that was commaunded to be osberued in voluntary oblations namely that so much should
be geuen as the ability of the geuers could beare and as much as seemed mete for the worshipping of God From hence do these our Papistes think their Masse to be deriued as though it were a tribute and a willing oblation which might be offered euery where vnto God in the church for the quicke the dead But I thynke not so Certeyne Hebrew wordes are obserued in the latin church The hebrew words cam not vnto the latine church but by the Greeke churche I know right wel that the church hath borowed certayne words of the hebrues as Sathan Osianna Zebaoth Halleluia Pasah or Pascha and such other mo But we must marke that those woordes came not vnto the Latine Church but by the Greeke Church for as muche as those woordes are found in the new Testament as it is written first in Greeke also in the translation of the old Testament as it was turned by the .lxx. Wherefore wee haue no hebrew woordes deriued to our Church which the Greeke Churche had not first But if we shal diligently peruse ouer the bookes of the Greeke father we shal neuer find this woord Missa which is Masse vsed of thē Wherfore I thynk that this woord of Missa is not deriued from the Hebrues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Greeke church called the holy supper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which woorke signifieth a common publicke woorke Neither is that woord proper to holy things yea it is also applyed vnto prophane actions which ar publike And who knoweth not that the administration of the supper of the Lord is a thing pertaynyng to Christian people For as many as be present ought to be partakers thereof and to communicate together An argument against priuate masses And least I should ouerskyp thys the etimologie of this woord bringeth no smal argument against priuate Masses Bisides this that woord pertaineth not only to the Lords supper but also it is attributed to other holy functions wherefore it is written in the actes of the Apostels the .13 chap. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whcyh some haue tourned whilest they did sacrifice whē as rather they should haue said whilest they serued or wrought publikely namely in a holy thing which they did without doubt in preaching of the Gospel Names of the holly supper among the Latynes This holy function namely the Lordes supper had other names among the Latines For it was sometimes called the Communion sometimes the supper of the Lord other sometimes the Sacrament of the body of Christ or the breaking of bread And our fathers haue often tymes called it as the Greeke fathers dyd dreadful misteries and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Howe the father 's called the supper a sacrifice I wyll not speake of how they vsed to cal it oftē times by the name of a sacrifice not therfore as our aduersaries do foolishlye imagine bicause that there the body blood of Christ is offered vnto God for a sacrifice for the quicke the dead Although the fathers abhorred not from that kinde of speche whereby they sayde that the body and bloud of Christ was offered vnto God But what they vnderstoode by those words if they be diligently red they do manifestly expound namelye that then were thankes geuen vnto The most auncient fathers vsed not the maine of Masse Augustine By those names did the most auncient fathers call the Lordes supper But they made neuer mencion of the Masse For it thou shalt reade Ireneus Tertulilan Ciprian Hilary and their like thou shalt neuer finde that woord in them in that signification Augustine maketh mēcion twice of it namely in her sermon de tempore 237. where he maketh mencion of the Masse of those that were to be instructed before baptisme In that place he exhoreth men to forgeue iniuries one to another For saith he we must come to the Masse of those that are to bee instructed where we shal pray forgeue vs our trespasses as we also forgeue our trespassers And be writeth also in the sermon de tempore .91 these woordes In the history which is to be red at Masses Some are in doubte whether those sermons were of Augustines writing or no Whē the name of Masse begā to be vsed but to me they seme to be the style and sentences of Augustine And as I coniecture I thinke that this name Masse began almost to be vsed at that time howbeit but seldome and not often For if it had bene then a woord in much vse Augustine in especial who framed hys wryting vnto the vulgare people would oftener haue made mencion of it They alledge Ignatius in his Epistle ad Smyrnenses Ignatius An argumēt against priuate Masses But that place maketh very much against the Massemongers for asmuch as there Ignatius ordayned that Masses shoulde in no wyse be had vnlesse the Bishop were present wyth such great warinesse did antiquity abhorre priuate cōmunions For he would haue al men to be presēt at that doing of it specially the Bishops These thinges haue I said as grautning vnto the aduersaries that it was the very booke of Ignatius The epistles of Ignatius are Apocriphas that it containeth in it the word Masse which yet we ar not compelled to graūt For it is Apocripha yea and that as their own Gratian testifieth Moreouer those Epistles were written in Greeke and therefore I am assured that be which turend it into latin did put this word Masse for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For thus it is written in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and straight way after that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. This is the Greeke sentence of Ignatius wherein as appeareth ther is no mencion made of this woord Masse Leo also is cited in his .9 Epistle to Dioscurus Leo. And argumēt againste priuate Masses where I confesse that that father made mencion of Masse but yet in such sorte that in the same place he is wonderfullye againste priuate Masses For he was demaunded seing that the temple was not so large that it coulde not containe the whole people which came while holy thinges wer administred what the rest of the multitude should do which remained without and could not be present Leo answered that when that part of the people is gone forth which was before present at the holye celebration the residue might succede and repeate againe those holye thinges If so be that priuate masses had bene then in vse what needed of that matter to haue asked counsell of Leo the bishop of Rome Surely this question is a manifest token that Masse was not vsed to be had but once They wer wont also to bring Iohannes Cassianus Iohannes Casianus who lyued in the tyme of Honorius and was driuen out of the Churche of Ierusalem by heretickes from whence he came to Massilia and was a Monke by profession For hee maketh mencion of Masse in his .3 booke .7 and 8. chap. but he wresteth
the signification of that woord farre otherwise than to the holy Communion For by Masse hee vnderstandeth perfection finishing and absolution Wherfore he saith praestolatur congregationis missam Let him tarye the ende or fulnes of the congregation That is that the multitude and congregation maye be absolued and fulfyled And by and by after Contenti somno quia missa vigiliarum vsque ad lucem conceditur That is being content with the sleepe which is permitted them froÌ„ the end of the vigiles vnto day light wherby this woord Missa he vnderstandeth that time of the watch wherin the vigiles wer ended For then was it lawfull for the Monkes to slepe vntil day light Neither must I ouership that ther is meÌ„cion most manifestly made of Masses in the exposition of the .xi. chap. of the Prouerbs of Salomon which exposition is ascribed to Ierome The exposition of the Prouerbes is falsely ascribed to Ierome But that boke without coÌ„trouersy is none of Ieromes writing For Gregory is there alledged who liued long after Augustine and Ierome Bruno Amerbachius in his epistle which he set before the booke saith that he saw in an old booke that that interpretatioÌ„ was entituled to Beda Many abuses in the church in the time of Beda And if it wer so then it is no maruaile if hee made mention of Masses for then in the time of Beda the priest many abuses had crept into the church I do therfore admonish you of that bicause in that place that couÌ„terfait Ierome affirmeth that the souies of such as are dead are by the celebrations of Masses deliuered out of Purgatory Ierome was not so wont to speake From whence thys woorde Masse coÌ„meth Now resteth to declare from whence the name of Masse which vndoubtedly is a latin word semeth to be deriued The old fathers if a man wyll diligentlys marke their writinges did put this word remissa which is forgeuenes for this woord remissio Tertullian which is also forgeuenes Tertullianus in his .4 booke agaynsts Marcion the .249 syde We haue spoken saith he de remissa peccatorum that is of the remission of synnes Ciprian Ciprian de bono patientiae saith Qui remissam peccatorum erat daturus lauatro regenerationis tingi non est dedignatus He whyche came to geue remission of synnes disdained not to be washed with the lauacre of regeneration The same man writeth in the .14 epistle of his .13 booke Qui blasphemat spiritum sanctum remissam peccatorum non habet that is he which blasphemeth the holye Ghost hath not remission of sinnes Wherefore seing in steede of remissio they haue said remissa they may be counted also in stede of missio to haue vsed this word missa Therfore that which was done in the Church post missionem Cathecumenorum Cathecumenites that is after the sending away of the Cathecumenites they called Missa that is Masse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to declare that also by the way is to teache to enstruct especially by voice and not by writing whereof they wer called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which wer not yet washed with the lauacre of regeneration but wer instructed of their faith Tertullian called them Audientes or Auditores that is hearers But Augustine called them Competentes that is desirers or requesters that is of baptisme For before they should be baptised at Easter they signified their names .40 daies before in which space they wer instructed not onely their faith but also their life and maners wer examined of the Pastors of the church The Cathecumenites not coÌ„municantes wer sent out by the Deacon Cyrillus Gregory But in the holy assembling when the holy scriptures wer red the sermon done the Deacon cryed Exeunto Catechumeni that is let the Cathecumenites go forth the Grecians said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is holye thinges for holy ones as it is gathered out of the seruice booke of the elders Also out of Cyrillus vpon Iohn the .xii. boke .l. chap yea in Gregories time as hee testifieth him self in his second booke .23 chap. of his dialogues it was sayd if any man coÌ„municate not let him geue place And that maner maye appeare to be very like vnto a certaine custome of the Ethnikes For in a certayne vsage of their seruice of God as Festus declareth the Sargeant said Festus A maner of the Ethnikes in a certaine seruice of theirs Apuleius Exesto hostis victus mulier virgo that is let the ouercome enemy the woman the maide go foorth for in that kinde of seruice it was forbidden that those kinde of persons shoulde be present And Apuleius in his .2 booke saith that the Priest did vse when he offered sacrifices to say thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is who shal abide here To whom was answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As though it should haue bene said honest good men when as they which wer polluted vnworthy wer gon So was it done in our church 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for after that saying aforesaid of the Deacon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fallers away such as wer put to repentance went their way Of these orders Dionisius made mencion They wer called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which wer vexed with euyll spirits Peraduenture they wer excoÌ„municated for those at that time I meane in the primatiue church wer deliuered vp to Sathan Missa as it wer Missio Ambrose Therfore as it now appeareth by that which we haue said the Latin church called the celebration of the sacrament of the holy supper Missam as it wer missionem that is a sending away For Ambrosius also said in a certain place missas facere And surely this sentence semeth muche more probable vnto me than doth theirs which thinke that name to be deriued of this hebrew woorde Masse But now that we haue entreated of the name of Masse Partes of the Masse we wyl also set foorthe the partes thereof as they were had among the elders The Grecians seeme to haue begon their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the exercise of the Lords supper at 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Lord haue mercy vpon vs As though before al they would implore forgeuenes of their sinnes Which phrase the latin church hath borowed of the which some attribute to Gregory But whylest the people gathered together and before they were assembled they song a peece of some Psalme Introitus or some part of the scripture and that song they called Introitus that is an entraunce bicause that at that time the people might enter in And they make Celestine authour of that After 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the people being in a maner glad for the obtaining of pardon for their synnes to geue thankes vnto God Gloria in excelâ—s Collectes did syng this hymne Gloria in altissimis that is
Glory to God on high which they wil haue to be the inuention of Telesphorus Then had they Collectes which are ascribed vnto Gelasius Moreouer certain lessons were rehearsed out of the holye scriptures either out of the old testament or els out of the Actes or Epistles of the Apostles The Epistle Whiche lessons being done there was to be rehearsed some part of the Euangelicall hystory But when the Readers had red vnto the church the fyrst lessons the deacon stoode vp in a high place or pulpit namely to be sene and to be vnderstande of al men The Gospel The graduale Halleluiah wher he distinctly pronounced that which was to be redde out of the Gospell But whylest hee went and ascended vp the stayres the people vsed to syng some verses of Psalmes which commonlye they called Graduales that is stayre songes They added also vnto them Halleluiah that is prayse the Lord as it were clapping of hands with a ioyous cry for the glad tidinges of the gospell This hebrewe woord Halleluiah semeth to be taken out of the Churche of Ierusalem whereof there is mencion made also in the Apocalipse and in the tytle of certayne Psalmes When the Deacon had red the Gospell the Byshop A Sermon or the Pastor of the Churche added thereunto an interpretation and exhortation wherin vices were reproued and deliberation taken of such as wer to be excommunicated Which thinges being thus finished The Papistes haue transposed the sendyng away of the people the Cathecumenites and others which woulde not communicatr were sent awaye But in our tyme bycause there are found very seldome any Cathecumenites and they whych do not communicate doo stande myngled with the rest yea almost none communicate except it be the Sacrificer alone The Papistes haue differred that Missio that is that sendyng awaye to the ende of their abhominations For then they vse to say with a loude voyce Ite Missa est That is Go your way Ite Missa est nowe is the departure But in the olde tyme those thinges being finished The Symbole of the fayth whyche wee haue rehearsed they which abode to be partakers of the holy Supper dyd sing the Simbole of the fayth that they might diligentlye instruct one an other in the principal heades of religion wherein they consented For in Symboles is comprehended the fumme of faith whiche comprehension or summe The Symbole is called the tradition of the Church Tertulian The counsel of Nice if a man wyll diligently reade the olde Fathers he shal finde to be called Traditio Ecclesiae that is the tradition of the Churche which is both taken out of the holy Scriptures and also necessarye to be beleued for saluation And sometimes Tertullian bringeth it agaynst the heretickes which denyed the holy Scriptures The Synode holden at Nicena made a full and perfecte Symbole but not the fyrste for as muche as there were certaine Symboles before as we may know euen of Tertullian hym selfe Then whyle they soong the Creede or Symbole such as were present offered of theyr goods suche thynges as they thought good Three vses of oblation The offering serued for three maner of vses for parte of it was spent on certayne moderate banquets whiche the Christians dyd at that tyme verye religiouslye celebrate among them selues and they were commonly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Charitable banquetes that is charitable banquets Part of that which remained was distributed vnto the poore And finally some of the bread wyne was layd vp for the vse of the holye Supper And that thys oblation of thinges was then added Offertory Collectes twoo thinges doo testefye Fyrst certayne verses which were soong by the people whilest the offering was in doing which was therfore called of theÌ„ Offertorium that is an offring The same is also knowen by those collectes which are redde in that part of the Masse Yea and Iustinus the most auncient Martyr hath made mencion of the same oblation in his Apologie or defence and Ciprian also and some of the old Fathers Sursum corda After these thinges when they came to administer the holye Supper they sayde Sursum corda that is Lyft vp your hartes as the Ethnickes vsed to cry in their holy thinges Hoc age Hoc age that is do this And surely the Christians said so verye aptlye and in conuenient time thereby to admonishe them selues to thinke at that time vpon no carnal nor earthly thing but wholy to lyft vp their myndes vnto heauen where Christ is to be sought and not in earth as thoughe he were included in the breade or wyne After that they gaue thankes when they sayd Gratias agimus tibi From whence is had the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proper words of the Supper The Lordes Prayer Sancâ—us Prefaces Canon We geue thankes O Lorde holye father almightye and euerlasting God through Christ our Lorde c. These thinges are moste auncient and are found very often in old ecclesiasticall wryters Yea and that mystery of the bodie and bloud of Christ was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is geuing of thankes bycause all the accomplishing thereof dependeth vp on thankes geuing And when the people had sayd Through our Lorde Christe he went to the proper woordes of the Supper Which being rehearsed there was said the Lordes praier But Xystus before the rehersall of it would haue the people to sing Sanctus Sanctus c. that is holy holy c. And that there might be better occasion geuen to come to that song certaine prefaces were put before And to those they peeced theyr Canon which one Scolasticus as Gregory mencioneth in his Register made whiche in deede the same Gregory alloweth not bycause he woulde put in thinges of hys owne and neglected the Lordes prayer The kysse of peace is sayd to be the inuention of Leo the seconde Kisse of peace Which seemeth not so to me for as muche as that maner was in the Churche euen in the tyme of the Apostels that Christians shoulde entertayne one another wyth the kysse of peace Yea and Paule in hys Epistles hath made mencion of that kynd of saluation Agnus dei And Iustine also the martyr in his second Apology hath mencioned of this kysse The song of Agnus dei that is the Lambe of God Distribution of the sacrament is said to haue beene brought in by one Innocentius And when all these thinges were finished they came to the distribution of the Sacrament Whych whilest it was in doing or when it was finished they song a song of thanks geuing Post coÌ„munion Praiers at the end which they called Post Communionem that is an after Communion And all these thinges beyng finished and ended the Minister sent away the people blessing them with a lucky blessing All these thinges althoughe they led awaye the Christian people from that fyrst simplicity of vsyng the Lordes Supper very manye
that it myght easely come to passe that he should fal into the sinne whiche he declared vnto the holy Prophete Naaman the Syrian knewe that his deede was culpable nought And when he knewe ryght well that the same agreed not with true godlynesse he required the prayers and intercession of the man of GOD whereby he fallyng of weakenesse hys faulte myght be forgeuen hym Otherwyse there is none whiche nedeth to aske pardon for that which he thynketh is lawfull for hym to doe We make intercessions for sinnes and not for thinges permitted vs. Wherefore thys place maketh much agaynst our aduersaries and that that is sinne which they moste earnestly goe aboute to excuse is manyfestly proued by thys historye I would to God they woulde diligentlye marke in that action that which theyr Naaman selfe And if they shoulde fall as thys man feared that he shoulde fall they woulde not cloke it with a vayne defence but woulde emplore the mercye of God and prayers of holy men that that maye gentlye be forgeuen them Elizeus gaue not Naamā libertie to go vnto Idols whiche they naughtely haue committed Neyther did Elizeus as they persuade themselues geue Naaman the Sirian liberty to go vnto Idoles he sayde onely Go in peace Which was also an accustomed kinde of salutation at the time Neither may we gather any other thing out of these words then that the Prophet promised to do that which he was requested to do Namely to pray vnto God for the saluation of the man Fyrst to strengthen him that he should not fal Secondly that if he sinned his fault might be forgeuen him They vse to obiecte also certayne woordes out of the Epistle of Ieremye the Prophet which are written aboute the end of a litle booke entituled of Baruch An answer to a place of Baruch And these are the wordes In Babilon ye shall see Gods of golde and Siluer borne vppon mens shoulders to caste oute a fearefulnesse before the Heathen Take heede ye followe not the Gentiles when ye see the multitude of people worshipping behynde and before But saye in your hartes O Lorde it is thou that oughtest onely to be worshipped c. By these wordes do our Nicodemites thinke it to be sufficient that they which are presente at Idolatrous worshippings do say in their hartes O Lord it is thou that oughtest onely to be worshipped But they shoulde more attentyuely consider that the Prophet if he were a Prophet which spake these woordes which I therefore speake bycause the little booke of Baruch is Apochriphus The boke of Baruch is Apochriphus and is not founde in the Hebrewe gaue not the Iewes libertye to goe into the Temples of the Idols and to bee there present at prophane and Idolatrous rites and there to speake with the true God in themselues in theyr hart onely But he speaketh of those Images which were caryed about the citye for that was the manner among the Babilonians as the historie of Daniell testifyeth Images amōg the Babilonians wer crried about the citye which maketh mencion that an image set vp by Nabuchadnezar was openly caried about with great pompe and with Musicall instrumentes and sundry songes At the hearing whereof al men were commaunded to worship the Image which they beheld which the felowes of Daniel would not do Of those images I say it is writtē in the Epistle and the Godly are faythfully admonished that they should not as the Ethnykes did who were behinde and before thē reuerence or worship those images Yea rather in detesting their wicked worshipping they should say or at the least way in their hart O Lord it is thou only that oughtest to be worshipped These metings comming by chaunce through the citie could not be auoyded the Godly therefore were to be admonished how in suche metinges they shoulde behaue them selues But with great importunitye as they be shamelesse Why Daniell was not cast i◠to the fornace with his fellowes they yet go farther and demaund how chaunce Daniell was not cast into the burning fornace with his fellowes when as the punishment was a like appointed vnto thē which would not worship the image of Nabuchadnezar Wherfore these mē fayne with thēselues that Daniell dyd make as though he worshipped it and for that cause the Chaldeians medled not with him And they saye also that they may lawfullye do that which they thinke thys holy Prophet of God dyd They consider not that they openly fal into a false kynde of reason which commonly is called Non causa vt causa which is when that which is not a cause is put for a cause Paralogismos For there might be very many other causes why Daniell was not then punyshed Peraduenture he mette not the image which was caryed about or if at any time he met it the Chaldeians marked not what he dyd Or being founde faultye in it and marked he was not accused bycause the Kyng loued him excedinglye But we must not beleue Daniel dissimuled not the worshipping of the image that the man of god for feare of punyshment or death would dissemble the worshippyng of the image agaynst the lawe and pietie whē as it is afterwarde declared how for piety sake he was caste to the Lyons Wherefore forasmuche as there myghte be diuerse causes that he was not deliuered to be burnt in the fyre with his fellowes Why do these men thē snatch vnto thē only one cause and that such a cause as was vnworthy and ful of reproche to such a holy man and specially seing in the holy scriptures there is not so much as a suspition of so detestable an acte any way geuen vs Of Paule who toke on hym a vowe clensed hymself after the manner of the Iewes They seeme to themselues to speake much to the purpose and trimlye to defende theyr doing when as they bryng that whiche is written in the Actes of the Apostles the xxi Chapter where it is declared that Paul by the Counsell of the Elders of the Churche of Ierusalem tooke vppon hym a vowe and foure other men with hym and purifyed themselues after the manner of the Iewes If the Apostle of God saye they woulde vse the ceremonyes of the lawe alreadye abolyshed we maye also be suffred sometymes to admitte and to be present at rites and ceremonyes so long tyme receaued The sūme of the Preaching of Paule But that thys may the playnlyer be vnderstande we muste knowe that thys was the summe of the Preachyng of Paule We thynke that a man is iustifyed by fayth without workes As many as are vnder the law the same are vnder the curse The iuste man shall lyue by hys fayth How far legall ceremonies were graunted or condemned in the primatiue church Wherefore the Apostle in that fyrst tyme of the Preachyng of the Gospel dyd not condemne the ceremonyes and obseruations of the lawe towarde the Hebrues vnlesse they were retayned
counsel to be done For this is a most firme sure rule as I haue oftē before said that no man is permitted to cōmit euil things that therby good things might ensue Yea we must not alwayes bear with the weake ones in those indifferent things The imbecillitie of the weake ones is not to be mainteyned but til such time as they be better perfectlier taught But when they once vnderstand that thing do for all that still sticke theyr weakenesse is not to be norished Moreouer we must not so much beare with thē that by our example we shoulde hurt other mēbers of Christ and that many Whether we shoulde dissemble for the preseruation of the churches Againe they obiect vnto vs If we should do so as ye would haue vs to doe eyther we must flye or els we shal strayght way be put to death Which thing if it should happē our churches should be vtterly forsakē there should be no more there to teach vs. Wherunto I answere euery one of vs seeth that also And that more is it is not hidden from God him self whose cōmaundement neuerthelesse we must obey Let vs commit the end vnto him to whom the church belongeth Let vs not doubt but that he wil louingly that in time prouide for his spouse Christ said vnto Peter when he called him and he taryed and demaunded what should become of Iohn If I will that he tary till I come what is that to thee Follow thou me We are taught therefore to follow the word of god whether so euer it call vs and let vs cōmit to the caller the care of other things which seme to hinder vs. Doctrine which is sealed with flight and with death edifieth Furthermore this is not to be ouerpassed that that doctrine oftentimes is of more value and more edifieth which is sealed by flight and by death then that which is set forth only by words Let vs not be affeard though one of vs fall or flye But let vs hope that god in his place wil rayse vp very many moe But if we contemne and long dissemble the light of the truth and flambe of charitie whiche is kindled in the hartes of men will by little and little be extinguished They bring examples of the Prophets of Zachary of Iohn Baptiste and of Mary the Virgin Whether in the corrupted church of the Iewes it were lawful to cōmunicate with the legal rites and of Ioseph who in those corrupt defiled times went vnto the cōmon seruices and to the temple of the Iewes And therfore they thinke thei may also be permitted to do in like sort But they ought to consider with themselues that at that time there were many pernitious doctrines and euill opinions among the Scribes and Phariseyes But yet the manner of sacrificyng was not chaunged for the same beastes and oblations were stil offred which the law had cōmaunded the same daies and ceremonies were obserued Wherfore holy mē might vse thē for as much as they had the word of god ioyned with thē But as for the corrupt doctrines opinions and manners of certaine priests bishops and Scribes were no let vnto holy men especially seing they were pure and farre from them and in all thinges both iudged and also liued according to the word of god And the corruptions of doctrine and vices when opportunitye serued they reprehended and sharpely reproued This doth Augustine testifye as it is writtē in the .xxiii. Augustine Question the fourth Chap. Recedite and in certaine other Chapters also which are there writtē Let the papists do so in these dayes with vs let them so setforth the Lordes Supper and other rites as they are appointed by the woorde of god and we will not refuse to vse them so that they compell vs not to the confession of wicked opinions and preache not heresyes vnto vs but deliuer vnto vs the pure and vncorrupte woorde of God If they them selues thincke euill and if they liue fylthilye we will bee sorye for them we will admonyshe rebuke and accuse them and put them if we maye from the holye administration when as they are paste amendemente althoughe we abstayne not from the Sacramentes That vndoubtedly the Lord ment when he said The Scribes Phariseis sit on the chaire of Moyses and what they say doo ye but what they do do ye not It was lawful therfore for the blessed Virgin after she was deliuered of our sauiour to offer a paire of turtle Doues or two yong Pigeons The Virgin mari might after her delyueri offer the oblations required by the lawe bicause it was so commaunded in the law Wherfore let them shew vnto vs that their Masse by them corrupted is commaunded by the woorde of God and not forbidden and then wil we nothing contend with them in that matter Last of al when they ar confuted in these obiections they come to this point to say Although it be sinne to be present at Masse yet it is but a light sinne and not to be so seuerely reproued by vs. But when they thus say why doo they not remember that al synnes haue their weight not by the nature of the workers From whens◠synnes haue their weighte which are prohibited but by the woord of God and the law whereby they were forbidden Here hence do synnes get al their heauines and waight Whereunto Iames the Apostle seemeth to haue had a respect when as he saith in his seconde chapter He which obserueth the whole law offendeth in one of them A place of Iames expoūded is made guilty of them all Neither do I speake so as though I woulde haue all synnes by al meanes alyke which thing Augustine in his 29. Sinnes are not equal Augustine How philosophers proue the vertues are knit together Epistle to Ierome aptlye and manifestlye denieth He confesseth in deede that the Philosophers went about to proue it when they affirme that al vertues are so knyt together that he which hath one vertue hath al and he which wanteth one doth want them all For as much as prudence is not feareful neither vntemperate nor yet vniust Wherefore it hath al the other vertues with it And againe Iustice Strength Temperance and the other vertues ar not without wisdome and therfore they are al had being knit together These thinges saith he agree not with the holye scriptures For there it is written In manye thinges we al offende And if we say we haue no synne we deceaue our selues and the truth is not in vs. Wherfore seing we synne in many things we can not in synning haue vertue which is opposite vnto sinne which we commit Oftē tymes he whiche slideth in one is constante in an other And neuerthelesse it often chaunceth that hee whiche falleth in one thing maye be constant in other thinges Peraduenture hee whiche is angrye or eateth or dryncketh excessiuelye rendreth for all that to euerye man
heare it they take it for a most certaine signe of falling awaye from Antichrist Wherfore we may commonly cal Masse a publike profession of Popery Wyth what colour therefore or with what countenaunce can they extenuate so great a crime They ar grieuous euils say they which hang ouer vs and we put our selues in most great daungers vnlesse we communicate with the Papists in hearing of Masses I confesse that but let them remember that God also foresaw al these thinges and declared that they should come to passe who for al that wyll not suffer that his lawes shoulde bee chaunged Wherefore as touching these chaunces let vs cast our care vpon hym which hath cōmaunded these thinges is not ignoraunt that these euils are ioyned with the obseruing of his cōmaundementes Persecutions abrogate not the lawes of God We maye not part our selues betwene God the deuil The nature therfore and strength of troubles and daungers is not such to be able to abrogate the lawes of God They abide yea and for euer shal abide and therefore let vs not desire to haue them broken by our daungers or miseries And men are healthfully and rightlye counselled not to part them selues betwene God and the deuil to deliuer vnto God their affection or hart and graunt vnto the deuil their body and outward partes For so much as by the partes of the distinction before put Of princes and maiestrats how they oughte to behaue them selues wyth infydels A distinctiō of powers we haue sufficientlye spoken of priuate men as touching their dwelling together with Infidels now resteth to declare of Princes or Magistrates And they are either principal as they which depende of no other neither haue anye power aboue them or els they are inferiour powers which lawfully as of right are subiect vnto Superiours either bicause they are their Deputies or Ministers that is Officiales or Vicars as they are commonly called Let vs fyrst therfore speake of suche as be absolute and mere higher powers asking whether they in their dominiōs may suffer the faithful to be conuersant with Infidels I thinke it be lawful It is lawfull for princes to suffer the couersation of the faythfull with the vnfaythfull with certayne cautions so that ther be certain conditions or cautions put For when the Romane Empire receiued the Christian religion euery one which wer vnder that Empire beleued not by and by in Christ who wer for al that suffred both to lyue and also peaceably to dwel there Yea in the tyme of Ambrosius Symmachus who was wythout Christ was not ashamed to require of the Emperours that the rites of the Ethnikes might be restored which he obtained not And nowe when as kyngdomes and dominions haue admitted the preaching of the Gospell ther are many stil suffered which are wonderfully affected towarde the Pope and his wyckednes Which cannot without great perturbation of things be seperated from them which are of the Gospel Wherfore Princes are compelled to suffer suche conuersations neither is that to be ascribed a fault in them The first caution so that they departe not from these iust cautions The first of those cautions is that they constrayne the faithful to no vngodly woorshippinges for then should they not execute the offices of the Ministers of God but rather of the deuil and of Antichrist by good woorkes they shoulde not be a terrour vnto the wicked neither shoulde they aduaunce Caution 2 the woord of God but the tyranny of Sathan Secondlye let them beware that they permit not vnto the Infidels wicked rites and vngodly ceremonies in their dominions Of this crime was Solomon guilty not that he compelled the Iewes to worship Idoles but for bicause to his wyues and Concubines which wer straungers he permitted temples in Iewry wherin they might worship Astartes and Chamos and other straunge Gods Salomon was for his sinne punished by the law of the lyke called Lex talionis But that God was grieuously angry with him the holy historye declareth He was iustlye punished by the law of the like That as he had deuided the holy worshipping in graunting part of it to God and part vnto Idoles so was his kingdome deuided and part of it was graunted to his sonne and part was geuen vnto Ieroboam the Sonne of Nebath But his fault spred abroad into his posterity For Achas Manasses and many other vngodly kinges had wicked and detestable woorshippinges at Ierusalem Wherfore they were by the Prophetes grieuouslye and sharpelye reproued The magistrat ought to reuenge idolatrye And vndoubtedly a Magistrate cannot but be blamed when he nourisheth idolatry when as he beareth the sword to reuenge wicked actes Wherefore he must either thinke that idolatry is no wicked acte or that it is by the Magistrate and other to be aduenged Augustine Augustine often times excellentlye well entreateth of this place of Dauid Be wise now therfore O ye Kinges be learned ye that are Iudges of the earth serue the Lorde in feare c. He sayth also it is mete that kinges serue the Lorde Neither entreated Dauid of them in that respect that they are men for so are they wyth other bounde to obserue common lawes Howe and in what sort Kinges ought to serue God Wherfore for so much as they are kinges they are admonished namely to vse the power and sword geuen them by God to defend the verity of the tru faith and to put downe the vngodly that the catholike truth and churche of the sonne of God as far as their dominions extend be not assaulted Wherefore it is not lawful for Princes to graunt vnto the vngodly vnpure worshippinges yea it is their part chiefely to vrge sound doctrine ceremonies and rites which agree with the woord of God We maye not vrge to keepe the externall rites alyke euery where And yet for al that to speake a woord or two of that by the waye I doo not thinke that we should to much contend that rites and ceremonies may be al alike and obserued euery where after one maner But this is to be prouided for that they be not against the word of God yea rather let them drawe vnto it as much as may be and as farre as they are able let them set forth edification and a decent order For otherwise it skilleth not whether we receauethe sacrament of the Lordes Supper standing or sitting or kneeling so that the institution of the Lorde be kept and occasion of superstition be cut of Neither is it any matter when the brethren communicate Diuersity of ceremonies is profitable whither some one place of the holye scriptures be red or Psalmes and thankesgeuings be song of the people Yea I think that this variety in rites much profiteth to bring in a true opiniō of ceremonies namely that al men may vnderstande that those ceremonies which are not set forth in the holy scriptures Augustine are not necessary vnto saluation
by the testimonies of his aduersaryes which is witnessed by our enemies And god hath wonderfully prouided for this kinde of testimonies for his church For we haue not only the bokes of the Hebrewes witnessing with vs but also Verses of the Sibillas which were borne in sundry countreyes Neither is it to be supposed that our elders fayned those Verses of themselues Verses of the Sibillas For in the time of Lactantius Eusebius of Cesaria Augustine which alledged those Verses the bokes of the Sibillas were rife in euery mans hand Wherfore if our elders should haue adioyned vnto them any counterfayte Verses the Ethnykes which were then many in number and were full of eloquence and deadly enemies to our religion would haue reproued them as vaine and liars What then remaineth but that god would wonderfully defend his church euen by the testimonies of our aduersaries Therfore the Iewes are now suffred among Christians partly for the promise sake which they haue that saluation should be geuē to their kinred partly bicause of the commodities which I haue now rehearsed out of Augustine Wherfore they are not only suffred but also thei haue Sinagoges wherin they openly read the bokes of the holy scriptures and also cal vpon the god of their fathers In which thing neuerthelesse the diligence of the Magistrates and bishops is much to be required who ought to prouide that they do there no other thing and by al meanes to beware that in their commō prayers exhortations and Sermons they curse not nor blaspheme Christ our God If the Magistrates and bishops haue not a care ouer these things they can not but be most iustly accused The Turkes ought not to haue any Sinagoges graūted them But it is not lawful to graunt vnto the Turkes any holy assemblies for that they haue not a peculiar promise of their saluation neither would they there read either the old Testament or the newe but only their most detestable boke called Alcoran Furthermore the Iewes muste be forbidden that they exercise not false bargayning and Vsurye among Christians The Iewes must be prohibited from false bargaining and vsurie therby to vexe and afflict the poore Christians before our face which can not be done but with great horror But our princes exacte of them a very great tribute and receaue at their handes a great pray by their handes by vsury and false bargayning So farre are they of from prohibityng them from these euill artes Furthermore which is more hurtfull they prouyde not to haue them taughte when as they oughte to compell them to come often to the holy Sermons of the Christians Princes ought to care that the Iewes may be taught otherwise whilest they are so neglected and vnloked vnto they waxe euery day worse and worse and more stubborne So that either very little fruite or ells almoste none at al can now be looked for by theyr dwelling among Christians It is also diligently to be sene vnto that they corrupte not our men in seducing them to their Iewishe religion The heresie of the Marranes By reason this thing hath bene neglected the heresie of the Marranes hath much increased and that chiefly in Spaine Moreouer it is mete that they may by some apparail or certain signe be knowen from Christians least a man vnawares should be as familiarly conuersaunt with thē as with Christians And as touching this kinde of infidelles these thynges are sufficiente What heresye is Now must we speake of heretikes The woorde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is deriued of thys verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is to electe or choose For those kinde of men chose vnto thēselues some certaine opinions which are against the holy Scriptures and doe stubbornly defend the same The causes of heresye And the causes of this their choyse for the most part are either bicause they are ignoraunt of the holy Scriptures or els if they know them they dispise them and being driuen by some couetousnesse they applye thēselues to the inuention of some errors Wherfore Augustine in his booke de vtilitate credendi writeth Augustine An heretike is he which for the loue of gayne or rule eyther bringeth vp or els followeth new opinions The definition therfore of heresie is a choyse and stubborne defending of opinions The definition of heresye which are against the holy Scriptures either by reason of ignorance or els contempt of them to the end the easlier to obtaine their own pleasures and cōmodities The choyse and stubburne defending is in this definition in stead of the forme But the opinions disagreing with the holy scriptures serue for the matter Pride and couetousnesse make heresie And the obteining of dignities gayne and pleasures are appoynted as endes of thys so great a mischiefe By this definition it is manifeste inough as I thynke who be heretikes I minde not at this presente to speake of the kindes sortes of heresies I shall as I trust haue better occasiō a place more mete to speake therof This wil I say briefly as touching this questiō we must haue none otherwise to do with heretikes than with infidels and Iewes And I suppose that these things are sufficient as touching this question whiche hath bene hitherto discussed I woulde God so perfectly as with many woordes Wherfore I will returne vnto the historye The second Chapiter 1 ANd the Angel of the Lord ascended from Gilgal to Bochim and sayd I made you to go out of Egipte and haue brought you vnto the Lande whiche I sware vnto your Fathers And I sayde I wil not breake mine appoyntmente that I made with you TWo things haue hitherto bene set forth vnto vs. Fyrst the noble victories which the Israelits obteined as long as they obeyed the word of God Secondly the transgression wherby contrarye to the commaundementes of God they both saued and also made tributaries vnto themselues those nations whom they ought vtterly to haue destroyed But nowe is set forth vnto vs how God of his goodnesse by hys Legate reprehended the Israelites for the wicked acte whiche they had committed and that not without fruite For whē they heard the word of God they repented Fyrst the messenger of God maketh mencion of the benefites which god had bestowed on his people The principall poyntes of the Sermon Secondly he vpbraydeth thē of their wicked actes wherwith they being ingrate requited so great giftes Lastely are set forth the threatninges and punishementes wherewith God woulde punishe them excepte they repented But before we come to entreate of the oration of this legate it were good to declare what he was The Hebrew worde Melach It is doubtful what this Legate was and also the Greke worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are doubtfull and sometymes they signifie a nature without a body I meane spirites the ministres of God and other sometymes they signifie a messanger what soeuer he be There are examples of these in many
places of the scriptures which should be superfluous now to declare Some supposed that some certayne spirite was sent from God whiche appeared vnto the people in a visible forme and reproued them as he was commaunded And they persuade them selues that he was first sene in Gilgal and there commaunded the people to ascend from thence to a place whiche was afterward called Bochim of weapyng The Hebrew word Melach is not agaynst this interpretation and that maketh with it also bycause he speaketh as God The aungell speaketh in the person of God I haue made you sayth he to ascend out of Egypt With whiche selfe same kinde of speache the Aungell in Genesis spake to Abraham and in Exodus to Moses Where it is also written that God put his name in him But it semed vnto the auncient fathers That aungell whiche spake vnto the fathers is thought to haue ben christ that that aungell which in the olde Testament appeared spake in the name of God was Christ the sonne of God For it is writtē in Iohn No man hath sene God at any tyme the sonne which in the bosome of the father he hath declared him These wordes declare vnto vs that what soeuer thinges are sayd to haue ben spoken by God in the olde Testament the same were made open by Christ But other suppose that this messanger or legate was a minister of the Churche that is either a Priest or a Prophet whose office was to reprehend the sinnes of the people Amonge the Hebrew Rabines Leui the sonne of Gerson Leui the sonne of Gerson doth therfore thinke this to be very likely bycause it is not conuenient that an aungell should openly speake to so great a multitude But his reason is very weake for seing God whē he gaue the lawe spake in the mount Sina to the whole multitude of the Hebrues what should let but that he could teache an angell to do the same But this is of some what more strength bycause it is declared in the history that this messanger ascended from Gilgal to Bochim For if he were an angell it semeth that it should rather haue ben sayd that he discended from heauen not ascended from Gilgal to Bochim And surely it appeareth a fayned thing that they fayne that he first appeared in Gilgal and then called the people together to Bochim For he mought haue in Gilgal expressed vnto the people those thinges whiche he afterward declared in Bochim Wherfore the Hebrues affirme that this Prophet or Priest receaued in Gilgal the spirite and inspiration of God wherewith he was stirred vp and appoynted to the assembly of the people whiche then for certaine causes were assembled in Bochim Praises of Phineas the priest there to expresse the commaundementes of God to the people yea they say that that Prophet was Phineas the Priest the nephew of Aaron I meane the sonne of Eleazar for he was a very seuere man and most zelous of godlynesse and righteousnesse In the booke of Numb it is mencioned how he slew Zamri a prince of the family of Simeon namely for this bycause he cōmitted open fornicatiō with a Madianitishe harlot And the father of the harlot was a prince among the Madianites And God manifestly allowed the zeale of Phineas For he promised him the priesthode of his nation with an euerlastyng couenaunt and ceassed from destroyeng the people being mitigated with his noble acte Phineas therfore was not onely godly but also of a stoute and valiaunte courage He feared not for gods cause to entre into grieuous hatreds and to put himselfe to present daunger Wherfore Dauid in the 106. Psalme rehearsing this history commendeth him after this sorte Phineas stode vp and reuenged and the plague ceassed and it was coūted vnto him for righteousnesse from generation to generation for euer Wherfore that acte whiche by his owne nature mought haue semed cruell and horrible did not onely please God and was of him allowed for a iust acte but he also deliuered the people from a most grieuous plague wherewith they were then vexed The counte of the yeares if they be rightly counted is not agaynst this opinion now alleged Yea and it is found in this selfe same boke that he was on lyue when warre was made agaynst the tribe of Beniamin to reuenge the wicked acte perpetrated in Gabaa R. Salomoh Rabbi Salomoh also declareth that the booke which is entituled Sedar Olam testifieth the same Kimhi Likewise Dauid Kimhi the old Hebrues seme to encline to this opinion But what soeuer he was I thinke it skilleth not much This ought to be most certain and sure that the thinges declared by him were the wordes of God Where Gilgal lyeth Gilgal is a citie lyeng in the playne of Iordane not farre from the citie of Iericho And it had that name hereof bycause there Iosuah by the commaundemēt of the Lord prouided that the people of Israel whiche had wandred vncircumcised thoroughe the wildernesse celebrated a solēpne circumcision And when they had so done God aunswered that he had remoued from thē the reproche of Egypt For Gal signifieth in Hebrew to turne away and to remoue Moreouer in that place but not at that tyme but long before was the tabernacle the Arke of the couenaunt Namely in the tyme of Iosuah when the people passed ouer Iordane And by that meanes that place was counted religious Wherfore Saul the first king of the Hebrues was annoynted in Gilgal But Bochim was so called of thē whiche wept as we shall strayght waye heare And it is called so now by the figure Prolepsis bycause it was not yet named by that name And as it appeareth by the history they goyng from Gilgal ascended to Bochim Furthermore we must note that the legate speaketh not in hys owne name but in the name of God yet he vseth not those kinde of phrases which the other Prophetes did namely Thus saith the Lord. c. The word of the Lord came vnto me c. And in rehearsing the benefites bestowed on the people First of all he maketh mencion of the delyuery of their fathers out of Egypte bycause that had newly happened vnto the Hebrues The benefites of God are like wordes which testifie of hys nature goodnesse And God to the end the knowledge of him should not be blotted out vseth to put men in mynde of those benefites that he hath bestowed on thē and will haue thē to be as certain wordes expressing his nature and goodnesse vnto vs. And he alwayes begynneth his rehearsall at thinges that are latest done and of them he claymeth vnto him selfe titles or names attributed vnto him God taketh surnames by hys benefites by whiche he would be both called vpon and also knowen for at the beginning God was called vpon by that that he created heauen and earth and afterward by that that he was the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob After that
saued Furthermore let vs learne hereby euery man for his owne parte to beare continuall hatred to the wicked affections of the fleshe For we ought neuer to come into fauour again with them We must make no league with wicked affections or to make peace or a league with theÌ„ for so much as God hath appoynted that we should continually make warre agaynst his enemyes What is the office of Princes against heretikes Papistes Finally let Christian Princes be taughte howe they ought to behaue them selues agaynst Papistes and heretikes namely diligently to persecute correcte and amende the errours in them and at the length to compell them to returne into the right waye otherwise in permittyng them to take deeper roote and to lyue at will and idlely they noryshe thornes for them selues and do willyngly drawe vnto them blockes to stumble at 4 And when the Aungell of the Lorde spake these wordes vnto all the children of Israell the people lifted vp their voyce wept 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim and offred Sacrifices there vnto the Lorde The fruite of the sermon whiche was preached is by certayn outward sygnes expressed vnto vs whiche were in a manner apt witnesses of repentaunce and of a conuerted mynde Thre apt witnesses of repeÌ„taunce Thre thynges therfore are mencioned First when the people had heard this sermon they lifted vp their voyce wherby as it is to be beleued they confessed their synnes and implored the mercy of God Secondly it is added that teares were ioyned with the voyces and lastly that they offred Sacrifices vnto God What they said when they lifted vp their voyce the scripture doth not expresse but I haue expounded what is most likely that they sayd and therfore I will stande no longer about that thyng but I will somewhat tary in those thinges whiche the history hath mencioned of what thynges they are namely as touchyng teares and Sacrifices Wherein we must knowe that true and lawfull repentaunce consisteth chiefly of two principall poyntes Two principal pointes of repeÌ„tauÌ„ce which do spryng out of fayth namely of a sorowe conceaued for the wicked Actes committed and of a sure confidence to obtayne pardon by Christe Neither ought we to be ignoraunte that these two thynges do burgen out of fayth as out of their propre and naturall roote And fayth when it bryngeth forth suche fruites is occupyed about two thynges First it assenteth vnto the lawe of GOD and to the threatnynges there set forth and confesseth them to be true whereby we beyng assured of the will of GOD whiche we vnderstande to be by our synnes violated and nothyng doubtyng of the threatnynges adioyned we can not but be grieuously sory Secondly fayth embraseth the promise of forgeuenesse of punishementes by Christ And whilest it is occupyed about these two thynges so many outwarde signes also do follow Two outward signes followe true repeÌ„tauÌ„ce For of sorow come syghinges teares which haue adioyned vnto theÌ„ confessioÌ„ of the sinnes committed whiche is sometymes expressed sometymes close And where there is conceaued an assuraunce of forgeuenesse there followe Sacrifices And bycause fayth is the mother of these thynges and it is conceaued by the worde of GOD therefore the historye declareth that the Israelites did at the length weepe and do Sacrifice after that they had heard the sermon The worde of god stirreth vp repentaunce For as Paule sayeth fayth commeth of hearyng and hearyng by the worde of GOD. Wherefore weepyng and sighing followed fayth by whiche weepyng the sorowe then conceaued in the hearte manifestlye appeared whiche affection of the mynde it is manifest to haue come by reason of the euill whiche then did oppresse them What is the grief sorowe of repentaunce and that euill was the anger of GOD wherewith they felte them selues to be oppressed and whereunto they knewe by the sermon preached that they were guilty Neither is this to be passed ouer that the weepyng of those repenting people was no common or easye weepyng for so much as of the efficacy and aboundance thereof the place was called Bochim Which worde signifieth in the Hebrew tongue men weepyng The Ethnikes do not allowe teares The teares whiche the Ethnike wyse men do either reproue or contempne as comming from a softe and womanlyke hearte God when they burst forth of true repentaunce doth exceadingly allowe them and counteth them as most acceptable Seneca writeth in hys 64. Epistle to Lucillus Seneca that sometymes we may let teares come from vs but we must not weepe He would not therefore haue weepyng to haue the rayne howbeit somewhat he permitted it bycause by the violence of nature they are expressed and they burste forth euen of them whiche will not and do restrayne them as the same authour testifieth in hys â—00 Epistle But we ought not to coÌ„sider what they would but what is allowed of our heauenly Father God accepteth the teares of such as are repentaunt And he wonderfull louyngly accepteth a contrite and humble hearte and the teares of suche as are repentaunt Then it is sayde that they offer Sacrifices whiche were certain tokens of fayth conceaued of the forgeuenesse of synnes by Christe For whilest the Sacrifices were a kyllyng it was set forth that synne in a sorte was transferred into them What the killyng of sacrifices signified For the Sacrifice bare the punishement whiche the transgressour ought to haue had Neither is it to be doubted but that those Sacrifices whilest they were sacrificed dyd shadowe the death of Christ Wherefore those ceremonyes did testifye that the Elders did constantlye beleue that by the oblation and death of Christ all their synnes were taken awaye and already forgeuen them Neither vndoubtedly can true repentaunce be founde wantyng suche a fayth Take awaye fayth repentance is desperation For take awaye thys fayth and it may rather be called desperation than repentaunce Furthermore in these Sacrifices were thankes geuen vnto God whiche would so by Christ be reconciled vnto men Some man will say what shall we do therefore when we repente we may in dede haue teares as witnesses of our inwarde sorrowe but there remayne no Sacrifices in our tyme That whiche the old fathers did by the bloud of beastes the same do we in the supper of the Lord. whereby we should testifye the fayth of the forgeuenesse of synnes by Christe To this I aunswere That whiche they did then by the bloud of beastes and death of cattell we do also nowe in celebratyng the Supper of the Lorde For there we kepe in memorye the death of Christe by outwarde signes as he hym selfe hath instituted and thereof it came that the olde Fathers did so often call the administration of that Sacramente a sacrifice Not bycause as the Papistes falsely beleue the Sacrifice offreth Christe vnto God the father Why the Papistes called the supper of the Lord a
sacrifice but bycause the memorye of hym beyng once offred is called to remembraunce Moreouer we must take heede that we persuade not our selues that God is pacified either by teares or by Sacrifices or by the receauyng of the Sacramentes whiche are but outwarde thynges God is not pacified by outward thynges of them selues For by one onely Sacrifice by the death I saye of Christ God is made mercifull vnto vs the fruite of whose death euery man applyeth vnto hym selfe by fayth And of that fayth we haue those outward thynges as witnesses and sygnes Wherfore if at any tyme we shall heare either the Fathers or the Scriptures them selues to saye that by teares synnes are wyped awaye or that by Sacrifices or Sacramentes GOD is made mercyfull vnto men so ought we to vnderstande their speaches that we referre the Sacrifices and Sacramentes both to Christ hym selfe The properties of thinges are oftentimes attributed to the signes of the same thīgs and also to faith in him for so much as all those are signes of him Neyther let vs thinke that this is a newe or an vnaccustomed thing that the properties operations and efficacy of thynges shoulde be transferred to the signes whiche by the institution of God do note and signife vnto vs the same thinges But these thinges left a syde let vs speake somewhat particularlye both of teares and syghing and also of Sacrifice ¶ Of Teares TEares are counted as certayne thynges added and ioyned to repentaunce Teares are adioyned both to repentaunce also to prayers and also to prayers For not onely the repentaunte when they with a grieuous sorowe deteste their synnes do vse to weepe but also as many as do earnestly and vehemently contend to obteyne any thyng Howbeit the tokens of true repentaunce are not alwayes measured by teares Weepyng is not alwayes a tokē of true repentaunce Teares do not alwayes declare that the praiers are of efficacy 2. Sam. 12. For we reade both in the booke of Genesis and also in the Epistle to the Hebrues that Esau also wepte Teares also do not alwayes declare that the prayers are of efficacye to obteyne that whiche is desired For Dauid after hys aduoutry fasted and wepte whilest he earnestly prayed that lyfe might be spared vnto hys sonne whiche was borne vnto hym by Bethsabe whiche thyng neuerthelesse he could not obteyne but that teares in those examples had no good successe there were diuerse causes thereof For Esau as we shall strayght waye declare mourned not of fayth And Dauid obtayned not that whiche he desired bycause GOD had ordayned to geue him that whiche was much better and more noble than that whiche he required In dede the sonne whiche was conceaued by aduoutry remayned not a lyue But of the same mother he afterwarde had Salomon who succeded the Father in a peaceable and moste ample kyngdome after his death yea and he beyng yet lyuyng But contrarywyse let vs marke howe in Peter teares were tokens of very true repentaunce And also in that woman whiche as the Euangelistes declare with her teares washed the feete of the Lorde And as touchyng prayers Ezechias was hearde when with weepyng he prayed and the death which was threatned hym was differred to an other tyme. Iosias also was hearde who prayed vnto GOD with many teares The 126. Psalme speaketh thus of the fruite of prayer whiche hath sighyng and teares adioyned with it They wente and wepte castyng their sedes but doubtelesse they shall come with ioye shall bryng with thē their sheaues And they which sowe in teares shall reape in ioye It is also written in the 7. Psalme The Lorde hath hearde the voyce of my weepyng And in the 56. Psalme The teares of the Sainctes are in a manner put before GOD in a bottle or potte and faythfully sealed in hys booke Dauid also in hys 95 Psalme stirreth vs vp by these wordes Let vs weepe before the Lorde whiche made vs c. But muche more are we instigated vnto it by the example of Christe who as it is written in the Epistle to the Hebrues with a loude crye and with teares prayed for vs. Paul also in the 20. of the Actes sayeth that he had longe serued the Lorde with an humble hearte and with teares What teares ar not allowed of God Neuerthelesse God alloweth not those teares whiche are by a certayne naturall nation powred out without any affection of the mynde as it commonly happeneth vnto those whose eyes are striken with any stroke or to those whiche runne either on foote or on horsebacke and whiche with ouer muche drinke become dronke for these are naturall accidences neither pertayne they any thyng to godlynesse But affections after which teares do followe are these heauynesse of the mynde After what affections teares do followe whiche other call sorrowe also gladnesse and that by contrary reasons For of sorowe spryngeth cold whereby as the whole bodye is constrayned together so also are the humors of the hed whereby it commeth to passe that weapyng by violence bursteth forth But contrarywyse in gladnesse the pypes pores wayes about the eyes are loosed wherby there is made a waye open vnto teares And vndoubtedly of those two affections we haue a testimony in the booke of Esdras For there it is written that when the temple was built the people wept but not all for one cause Parte of thē very sory that the new buylding differed muche in dignitie and ornamentes from the fyrst But contrarywise other reioysed that the house of GOD whiche had layen so longe prostrate was raysed vp agayne And it is manifest in the holy hystorye that Ioseph when he sawe hys brother Beniamin whome he loued wepte for ouer muche ioye Anger hath sorrowe and pleasure mingled together Furthermore there are other affections mixed of sorrowe and ioye whiche make vs to weepe as is a vehement anger whiche hath by reason of contempt sorowe myngled with it and also some ioye and pleasure whilest it goeth aboute reuengement as thoughe it were present Mercy also shaketh out teares for that we are troubled and are sory for other mens euils and are desirous to profite the afflicted For a vehement desire also casteth out teares Wherfore the men of God when in prayeng they earnestly desire to obtayne any thing easely burst forth into teares But what the matter of suche an humour is The Phisicall matter of teares we leaue to the consideration of naturall Philosophers for they do not well agree among them selues as touching it Some thincke that they do come by reason of the gaule beyng troubled vnto which opinion agreeth the first booke de mirabilibus sacrae Scripturae Augustine the x. chap whiche booke is entituled to be Augustines wryting Other suppose them to be a certayne kynde of sweate whiche Plutarche affirmeth Plutarche but some do thinke that euen as from mylke is seperated whay so also a watrish humour is separated
maruayle howe chaunce Why the Isralites after their repentance â—o not breake the league maâ—e with the Chananites that they styll kept the league which was wickedlye made with the Chananites ouerthrew not their detestable worshippinges Temples and Idols Vndoubtedly if theyr repeÌ„tance had bene true and perfect they ought faythfully to haue amended that wherein they synned for among other thinges those ar counted the iust fruites of repentaunce I haue nothing els to answer here but that I thinke they dyd not thys bicause they wanted force God forgeueth sinnes but he doth not by by restore the good thinges taken away luckelye to fight against those nations For God to punish the transgression and violating of his law had nowe withdrawen theyr strength and audacity And although they repented yet he did not by and by restore vnto them their old strengthes For he vseth in deede straightwaye to receaue repentaunt synners into fauour but he doth not by and by restore those thinges which he by his iust iudgement hath for sinnes taken away This maye we easely see in the fal of our first Parentes For the euils therby comming vnto mankinde wer not taken away of God Yea and those commodities most quiet state whiche they had in Paradise men neuer afterwarde recouered although God hath reconciled vnto himselfe those that beleue in Christ For Dauid had woord brought him by Nathan the prophet that his sinne was forgeuen him yet he could not escape but that his sonne which was borne vnto him perished and he himselfe fel into grieuous miseries So God woorketh somtimes partly to keepe discipline and partly to make manifest vnto men how much he detesteth sinnes Againe more and more to stirre vp repentaunce and that an earnest repentaunce of wicked actes committed in suche as are renued But let vs returne vnto the history wherin certain thinges which happened vnder Iosua are more fully repeated Now saith he He had let the people go and euery man went into his inheritaunce Iosua sent away the people twice from hym to possesse the land The Israelites were twice thus sent away by Iosua First when the land of Chanaan was deuided by lottes For at that time euery Tribe went to possesse those places which fel vnto them by lot Iosua also sent away the people when he should dye For he had called together vnto him the whole multitude of the Israelites by his last sermon to admonish and exhort them Which he preached in such sorte as it is described in his booke the .24 chap. And as it is most likely we ought to vnderstande that sending away in this place to be the same which was done last Seing that it is written in the place now alledged that when the people had heard the words of Iosua renued the couenante of god they wer sent awaye and euerie one went to his owne possession After that is mencioned the deathe of Iosuah euen with as many wordes as it is now repeated Iosua when he should dye executed the office of a good prince Here let vs note that Iosua being almost at the poynt of death executeth the office of a good Prince in exhorting the people openly that with many words not to depart from the sincere religion In which thing he with a godly and holy study imitated Moyses whom he succeded who as we reade toward the end of Deut. behaued himselfe after the sawe sort Iacob also the most holye Patriarche euen now ready to dye called vnto him al his children and seriously and with great holines preached vnto them And that Princes and Kinges shoulde coÌ„modiously do the same it is prescribed vnto them in Deuter. that they should be most studious in the law of God For by that meanes were they made apt to admonish the people and to exhort them faithfully to obserue the commaundementes of the Lord. The Israelites when they wer sent away by Iosua ar sayd to haue gone to possesse the land bicause as yet ther remained very many places for euery Tribe not yet conquered Of which places when Iosua was dead and in the time of the Elders they obtained certain when as they got the victories in battailes as we haue heard froÌ„ the beginning After which victories the first transgression folowed vnto which succeded the repentaunce before mencioned But they abstained from idolatry as long as Iosua lyued and all the time of the Elders which wer equall with him and ouerlyued him who also had seene the wonderfull workes of the Lord. For at that time sound doctrine and the woord of the Lord testified by notable victories wer of great force That good Magistrate by whom the publike wealthe was then gouerned had had experience of the wonderfull power of the woord of God and therefore he continually laboured openly to inculcate vrge it vnto the people of Israel which thing could not want iust fruit ExperieÌ„ce declareth People frame them selues to the example of their princes that almost in euery age the people frame them selues to the example of their Magistrates For if the Princes be zelous both of religion and godlines their subiectes also wil embrace godlinesse and religion But coÌ„trarywise if Princes liue vngodly and dissolutely the people wil likewyse despise religion and lyue filthily Moreouer let the Magistrate as long as he is in authority chiefly haue a care to thys that the holy ministery be perfect and that it teache and administer sound doctrine and pure rites and that he suffer not supersticious or wycked opinions to bee thrust into the church But euen as he prouideth that other Artificers abuse not their sciences so let him diligently beware that the Ministers of the church do not either corrupt the godly rites or falsify the holy doctrine We see that somtimes it happeneth that the ministery in the Church is very laudable and pure But yf an vngodly and wicked Magistrate obtaine the chief rule of thinges It profiteth much to the Ecclesiasticall ministery to haue the magistrate a helper that holy ministery is easely despised of the people Wherfore it is made of lesse efficacy than it would haue bene if it myght haue had the Magistrate a furtherer of it Wherfore we must with most feruent praiers desire that seing the church hath now by the benefit of God in many places recouered godly doctrine and sincere Ministers that it would please God to geue vnto it Magistrates which may be most zelous of godlines and religion If a man should aske whether the people may be good and godly although the Magistrate and Minister of the Church be corrupt I answer that somtyme they may be as touching some as we see to happen in the Papacy where some godly and holy men are euery wher found which neuertheles lyue vnder wicked corrupt and vngodly ciuyl Magistrates and Ministers of the church Howbeit publike exercises of sound religion and godlynes can not vniuersally be had wythout them
land of Egipt followed straunge Gods euen the Gods of the nations that wer round about them bowed them selues vnto them Wherefore they angred the Lord. 13 They forsooke I say the Lorde and serued Baal Astharoth Vnder those vngodlye Princes which succeeded the good the people grieuously fell Not bicause that they before had not also transgressed for that as we haue shewed they grieuously synned in sparing of the Chananites but nowe they began to contaminate and defile them selues with the superstitions and idolatry of those Nations R. Leui demaundeth in this place how it could be that none of those should be on lyue which had sene the woorkes of God which hee hadde done for Israel when as from their comming out of Egipt to this present time there were but 67. yeares passed He answereth that there might easely be some found which had sene those woorkes yea all men confesse that Phinches lyued at that tyme but there were but fewe suche and there were not many wise men and whych could rightly and with authority instruct the young of those things All the Israelites became not idolatrers which they had sene And it might be that the scripture spake not these woordes of al the people but onely of the new Magistrates which succeded Neither ought we hereby to vnderstand that all the Israelites were become Idolatrers but the moste part of them and which was more haynous they openly professed wicked worshippinges when as neuerthelesse some although but few and peraduenture secretly claue vnto the true God Neither maye wee gather hereby Miracles are not sufficient to persuade godlines that myracles of them selues haue the power to be sufficient either to bring in or to retaine godlynes For Chore Dathan and Abiram Zimri Achan and the ten spies were without dout at the doing of the myracles which were done as well in Egipt as in the wildernes and yet neuerthelesse they fell from God and defiled them selues wyth moste grieuous wicked actes Moreouer they whiche when Moyses was absent woorshypped the golden Calfe and were consecrated to Baal-Peor the God of the Moabites they I say vndoubtedly beheld the wonders whereby God defended the people from their enemies and helped them in diuers necessities and yet for al that they became Idolatrers committed wicked worshippings Euen so came it to passe of the Scribes and Phariseys for the history of the gospell declareth that they saw the wonderful workes of Christ They which sawe not the miracles in the old tyme are not therfore excused from infidelitie and yet they wonderfullye contemned and maliciouslye despised him Wherefore we must thinke that this is not now rehersed of our history as a lawful excuse of the transgressiō which afterward happened For if by that meanes the act of the Hebrewes coulde be defended then might the superstitious Idolatrers of our time defend their cause for they might say miracles haue now ceased and those thinges which Christe or his Apostels did are not in our time sene But we in this sort answer to them which doo thus excuse their infidelitye The miracles which wer don in the old tyme profite vs also namely that the miracles of Christ the Apostles which were done once ought also to suffice vs for for our sakes were they put in writing that wee readyng them myght receaue fruite by them beyng assured that they were ministred not onely to them which lyued at that tyme but also vnto vs. So might it be aunswered to the Hebrewes of whom we nowe entreate what though ye haue not sene the miracles which wer done in the time of your Fathers Haue not Moyses and Iosua faithfullye written all those thinges whych God hath done for your nations sake Yea and your Fathers which were present and saw them haue trulye declared them vnto you when ye were yet lytle ones The scripture therfore doth not so speake at this presēt to excuse that new generation But to declare what pretence they made when they departed from the woorshipping of the God of their Fathers and what occasion they tooke and also to set foorth that they were of a corrupt and naughtye nature which when their good Maisters and Magistrates were dead became vnmindfull of all true godlynes For it is very likely that they as they were impudent so also openly they boasted abroade those or such lyke woordes We ar in doubt neither do we easely beleue that the Lord did so many miracles as our Fathers haue both written and also shewed vs. Who can tell whether they were so or no we vndoubtedlye know not whether the Lorde or anye other God hath for our saluation sake caused such or so great thinges to be done And so they leauing faith and forsaking the true God dyd euyll in the syght of the Lorde How thinges in the scripture ar called good or euell in the sight of the lord By this hebrewe phrase it is declared that God was maruellouslye offended wyth thys their transgression As contrarywise they are called good thinges in the sight of the Lord which doo excedingly please him This is the common and receaued exposition Howbeit if we more narrowly marke this kinde of speeche we shall easylye perceaue that it declareth some other thing vnto vs. Namely that those thinges which the Iewes dyd were allowed by mans iudgement and peraduenture had a goodly shew but yet in Gods iudgement they were most detestable And withoute doubte that people synned a great deale more haynouslye in thys last transgression than they did in the first For there they onelye omitted the ouerthrowing of ymages and aultares but here they woorship straunge Gods Neither durst they do this onely but they forsooke also the worshipping of the true God Wherein vndoubtedly they were to be counted muche more corrupt than were the Samaritanes For they although they woorshipped their Idoles yet therwithall they ioyned the worshipping of the true God as it is declared in the second booke of Kinges And in how euyll part God taketh it thus to bee reiected he hath expressed by Ieremy the Prophet in the .2 chapter Where hee commaunded the Hebrewes to go and looke vpon other Nations An amplifieng of the idolatrye of the Hebrewes and see whether they haue so vnconstantly chaunged the Gods of their Fathers Whiche Nations if they were knowen constantlye to haue retayned their old woorshippings although they were vngodly Israel might thereby learne not to abiect their old rites and customes of their Fathers This wycked acte moreouer was for thys cause much more detestable bicause they had newly receaued the benefit of their deliuery out of Egipt and had also made a couenaunt with god first by Moses and afterward by Iosua when he was euen at the point of death Furthermore bicause they began to worship the gods of those nations which they had nowe eyther driuen oute of the lande of Chanaan or els made tributaries vnto them selues What a
diuelish madnes was this to count those gods for true goddes which could not vndoubtedly against the Lord helpe euen those whyche woorshypped them An outwarde signe of worshipping And in this hebrew woord Veiischtechou is properly noted that they threwe them selues to the ground prostrated them selues before those idoles by which outward signe is declared the adoration For as the bodye prostrateth it selfe so also the soule is declared to be subiect vnto the Idole And this woorde Bealim is expressed in the plurall nomber But the Hebrewes sometymes take it for the syngular number And althoughe by the strengthe of the woorde it shoulde bee translated Lordes yet wee muste in many places tourne it Lord. For thys woorde Baal signifieth a Lorde a Husbande a Patrone and suche like What Baal Bealim signifi Astharoth Thys woord Astharoth is lykewise spoken in the plurall number And the Idole is so called bicause it stoode to be woorshipped in fourme of a Sheepe for a Sheepe in hebrew is called Aschtor And as it appeareth by the first booke of Kynges it was an Idole of the Zidonians Iupiter Ammō was expressed by the figure of a Ramme Augustine wherunto Salomon by the instigation of his wyues buylded sometimes a Chappell But what God the Ethnikes woorshypped in the fourme of a Sheepe I do not very well knowe How be it this I am sure of that Iupiter Ammon was figured like a Ramme And Augustine who being of Affrica had the Affricke speche perfectly which as we haue taught in an other place differeth not much from the hebrew toung Virgil. What Baal Astharoth wer with the Affricians for they of Affricke are Phenitians for they came from Tyre and Sydon Wherefore Virgil called Dido a Sidonian Augustine I say writeth that the Affricians called Iupiter by the name of Baal as the Lord of all And by this name Astharoth are signified Iunos bicause that Asther in that toung signifieth Iuno But why that woorde was spoken in the plurall number he thincketh it was therefore done bicause there were very many ymages of that Goddesse And I wyll adde bicause those gods had obtayned sundry properties and reasons as well by their offices appointed vnto them as by the places where they woorshypped For Iupiter was called Ammon Stator Pheretrius and Hospitalis Iuno also was called Lucina Argiua Samia c. I thinke we may gather by this history Religiō nedeth continually to be purged that the nature of man is so frayle and weake that it can not long abyde in the sincere and pure woorshipping of God Wherby it commeth that religion hath continually nede of repairing and purging For the Israelites as soone as their good Prince and godlye Magistrate was dead fell straight way from true godlynes Moreouer the same oftentimes happened vnder their kinges yea and in our Churche it happeneth after the same sort For we haue seene and we haue with great griefe had experience that the Apostles being taken away yea and when they were yet lyuyng ther sprang foorth many and sundry errours Which vndoubtedlye is no maruaile when as Christ hath foretolde vs that after the good seede was sowen straight way the enuious man came which sowed tares therwithall ¶ Of Idolatry BVt bycause we haue now heard of the transgression of the Hebrewes how they polluted them selues with Idolatry I thinke it good to speake a fewe wordes of thys detestable synne The woord is a greeke woord and is compounded of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it is nothing els but the worshipping of Idoles The Etimologye of Idolatry What an Idol is And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is deriued of this woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth a fourme or as you woulde saye a shape But an Idole is as wee nowe speake of it euerye fourme or shape whyche menne haue inuented vnto them selues to signifye or expresse God And as there are found many and sundry matters of these fourmes so also are ther diuers kindes of Idoles Wherfore whether they be stones wood or mettals A diuision of Idoles by matters by which God is outwardly expressed there to be worshipped these are grosse and most manyfest Idoles There may be also a spiritual matter which then happeneth when those formes and images are nothing els but the conceauinges of the hart and minde which men make for them selues to represent God An Idole visible inuisible not as the Scripture declareth him but rashly and according to their own fantasy Wherfore according to the conditions of the matter an Idole is deuided into two kindes Two partes of religious worshipping the one is outward visible which runneth into the senses of man and the other is inward that is wrought in the inward partes of the mynde There are also twoo partes of religious woorshipping The one is inwarde Of what thinges inwarde woorshipping consisteth wherein wee beleue in God hymselfe wee put our confidence in him wee geue him thankes wee submyt our selues and ours vnto hym and religiouslye by prayers call vpon hym Of these actions vndoubtedly the inwarde adoration consisteth Of what thinges outward worshipping cōsisteth But the other part hath outward notes whereby we expresse our hart in prostrating the body in bowing the knee in vncouering the head in speaking and in exercising rites and ceremonies instituted by God And this is an outwarde woorshipping or adoration Outward sygnes of adoratiō are also geuen vnto Princes But wee must note that suche outwarde signes of bowing the body or knees and suche other lyke are also geuen vnto creatures to Princes I saye and Kinges which doo in earth represent vnto men the authority of God and are his Vicars in the administration of thinges And without doubt they are then to bee esteemed nothing els but certaine sure testimonies by which as many as are Subiectes doo trulye and from the hart confesse that they in the name of God wyll be subiect and obey such powers as much as shal be by godlynes and the woord of God lawfull But we must there take heede least in our inward iudgement we attribute more vnto them than is meete What we must beware of whē we geue vnto Princes signes of adoration or looke for greater thinges at theyr handes than their power and might is able to perfourme Otherwise we should not auoyde idolatrye Wherefore if a man in bowing him selfe to his Prince would testifye that his Prince coulde not erre and that it were lawfull for him to doo any thing and as he lust him selfe to commaunde whatsoeuer pleased him that man vodoubtedly should be counted an Idolatrer and should commit the same both inwardly and outwardlye The Papistes commit Idolatrye towarde their Pope And whether the hirelinges of the Pope vse this we may hereby easely gather bicause they do so throw them selues downe at his feete that there testify that they wyll be
were promysed in the holy Scriptures of the olde Testament but not that they were performed vnto the men whiche lyued at that tyme. Bycause the Apostle doth moste warely aunswere to this obiection when he sayeth that euerye lawe doth speake to those men whiche do lyue vnder it And it is not to be doubted but that the fathers were iustified after the same sorte that we are now at this present The fathers were iustified onely by fayth as we are For they were no lesse iustified onely by fayth in Christ than we Wherefore it is written in the booke of Genesis of Abraham that he beleued and it was counted vnto hym for righteousnesse Iohn also testifieth that Christ sayde of Abraham that he had sene his day and therfore reioysed The Epistle to the Hebrues the xiii chap affirmeth that Christ was yesterdaye and to daye and remayneth for euer Wherfore euen as we are sayd now to be saued not by workes but by the true mercy of GOD by fayth in Christ so was it with the fathers at that tyme For they were iustified by no merites but onely by fayth in Christ Furthermore what obedience soeuer the fathers had towarde the commaundementes of God and also fayth in the promises they were not deriued from their owne strengthe and power but euen as it also happeneth vnto vs they came vnto them by the grace of God and Christ A place of Ieremi of the epistle to the Hebrues is expoūded It is true in dede that Ieremy in the 31. chap writeth as it is also alleged to the Hebrues the viii chap. that there muste be another league made in the name of GOD not as it was made in the olde tyme with the fathers And among other thynges he sayeth that GOD woulde geue hys lawes in the heartes and bowelles of men so that none should nede any more to teache hys neyghboure bycause all from the least to the greatest should haue the knowledge of GOD. And farther it is sayde in the persone of God I wyll be mercifull vnto their synnes and will no more remember their iniquities c. As touching these wordes both of Ieremye and also of the Epistle to the Hebrues we must vnderstande that those wordes proue not that there is any difference betwene the testamentes as touchyng the thyng and substaunce it selfe but as concernyng the propertyes and qualities as we haue before sayde Neither muste we thincke that the olde fathers whiche in obeyeng the commaundementes of God and in right fayth worshypped hym purely coulde performe these thynges of theyr owne strengthe or naturall powre For vnlesse they had had the lawes and promises of God written in their heartes and myndes by the holy Ghost and also a will by the grace of God ready to obey hys commaundement they had neuer ben able to haue performed such things They wanted not therfore the lyght of God which shined before them to cause thē to beleue Yea and their synnes wer forgeuen them by Christ Wherfore they also had the fruition of those thynges whiche God promised to geue in the newe league The difference was onely in this thyng as touchyng largenesse and perspicuitye for at that tyme those gyftes were distributed to very few The error of them which in the olde league acknowledge onely temporal thynges but now they are euery where communicated to the gentiles They were somewhat darke at that age but to vs they are made euidēt and cleare so that we haue no more nede of the old discipline Hereby it manifestly appeareth howe they erre from the truth whiche will haue the old league to haue had promises onely for possessing of the lande of Chanaan and for worldly felicity And that the people of the Hebrues were bounde onely to an outward obseruation of certayne rites and workes and not to shewe forth good and ryght motions of the minde toward God The Prophetes declare not the thyng after that sorte yea rather they denye that GOD any thyng estemeth outwarde workes without inwarde godlynesse And they euery where cry out that ceremonyes without fayth and voyde of the feare of GOD are a moste grieuous burthen and so troublesome that GOD can not suffre them Yea and the lawe it selfe maketh mencion expressedly of the circumcision of the hearte and GOD euery where requireth that we should heare hys voyce whiche vndoubtedly is nothyng elles God would not fully those chynges that are chaunged than by fayth to haue to do with hym Wherefore fayth of the promises and commaundementes of GOD ought alwayes to be counted as the roote and foundation whiche alwayes abydeth when as outwarde Sacrifices and visible rites should at the length be chaunged Wherfore it is very manifest that god would not haue them for their own sakes Howbeit they endured so long as men were endewed with a childish spirite as Paule speaketh to the Galathians whilest they liued yet vnder tutors differed yet very litle frō seruaunts But when they receaued a more ful growē spirite then were the sacramentes and childyshe rites as Augustine sayeth taken awaye It is manifest therefore that the difference betweene the two leagues is not to bee taken of the thing or substaunce but of the qualityes and proprieties Let them therfore cease so much to erre which thinke that god in the old lawe promised only earthly thinges as though at that time he prouided onely for the bodyes and not for the soules as doe Shepeheardes Plowmen and Swyneherdes whiche haue a care onely for the bodyes and carkases of theyr Sheepe Swine and Oxen neyther laboure they for any other thyng but to make those beastes strong and fat We must not so imagine of God who so made a league with the Elders that he promised them the chiefe felicitie God promised the old fathers the chiefest felicitie which cheiflye pertayneth vnto the soule Wherefore it is written in the 144 Psalme Blessed are the people which haue the Lorde for their God In Deutronomye also God toke vpon him to bring to passe that they should walke in his cōmaundements But what more Our sauiour out of the words of the old league hath most aptely taught the resurrection of the dead For when the Lorde sayd that he was the God of Abraham Isaac Iacob and they were then dead Christ inferred that they were not dead but that they still liued and that their bodyes should be receaued namely in the blessed resurrection Hitherto pertayneth that that God affirmed to Abraham that he himselfe woulde be his rewarde whiche thyng plainely teacheth vs The end of political gouernement that in that couenaunte were not promised onely carnall and earthly good thyngs Vndoubtedly it were a great shame euen for Kyngs and Princes whiche being compared with GOD are but fleshe and bloud if they shoulde bee counted to gouerne the publicque wealthes onely as touching the bodyes of the subiectes for as muche as they professe that therefore they prouide for
For if GOD would teache the Israelites the arte of warrefare then iudged he not that arte vnlawfull And to thys purpose serueth that which Dauid sayd Blessed be god which teacheth my handes to warre and my fyngers to battayle But thys question whyther it be lawfull to make iuste warres is not nowe to be entreated of for as muche as it is most euident and that by the holy Scriptures that it is lawfull And we shall haue occasion in an other place to speake at large of that matter Wherfore I will declare what the Hebrewe expositours iudge of thys place R. Salamon R. Dauid Kimhi and also R. Leui ben Gerson write that God when he had tempted the Hebrewes and detected theyr vngodlinesse and Idolatrye withdrewe from them their strength and ayde Wherby when they attempted to make warres by their owne power and to fight by their owne strength they learned what it was to make warre When God fought for the Israelits they knew not what it was to make warre Whereas before when God himselfe fought for them they were ignoraunt of it For he endued them with strength he draue a feare into their enemyes dissolued their strength and gaue the Hebrewes a prosperous successe in theyr enterprises One dyd then pursue a thousand and two ten thousand It is therfore aptlye sayd that the Israelites when he had not yet broken the league and god fought for them were ignoraunte of warlyke feates How our fyrste parentes after sinne knew both good and euell Euen as the fyrst parentes of mankinde when they had eaten of the forbidden tree beganne to know both good and euill For before when they were nourished with the grace of GOD they were touched with the feeling of no euil And we commonlye say of children when their parentes are taken from them that they shall nowe fele what it is to gette theyr own liuyng which before they had not learned when they had their parentes liuing Christe also vsed the same kinde of speche when he sayd vnto the Apostles When I sent you without bagge or scrippe vndoubtedly you wanted nothyng But now bicause I shall be taken from you let him which hath no sweard bye him one for hereafter the times shall be harde and paynefull vnto you so that ye shall proue and haue experience of those thinges which hitherto ye haue not felte And this is the meaning at this present that the Hebrewes were brought of necessitye now at the length to knowe and feele God commaūded nothing in the lawe for the learning of the art of warfare what it was to make warre with enemyes stronger than themselues They had not experience of that before GOD taught them it in taking awaye their strength and ayde Neither is it founde in the whole lawe that he ordained any thyng for the learning of the arte of warrefare In Deutronomye the xx Chapiter he made certaine lawes for making of warre but they pertayne nothing to the attayning of knowledge in the arte of warrefare And I in my iudgemente doe allowe the interpretation of the Hebrewes rather than that which was fyrst assigned 3 Of those whom he left there were fyue Lordes of the Philistians and all the Chananites and Sidonites and the Heuites that dwelled in Mount Libanon euen from Mount Baal Hermon vnto the entrance of Hamath 4 Those I say remayned to proue Israell by and to wete whether they would obey the preceptes of the Lord which he commaunded their fathers by the hand of Moyses 5 The children of Israell therefore dwelt among the Chananites Hethites Amorites Pherezites Heuites and Iebusites That which is in the Hebrewe Sirni Ierome sometimes translateth rulers and sometimes Lordes And we may call them Princes or Presidentes or ells Gouernours Satrapes Those woordes the Grecians call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But yet they are deriued of the Persians yea the Latines sometimes vsed thē Terence in his comedie Heautontim Terence writeth If Satrapes that is a Lord be a louer he shal not be able to abide the charge Dauid Kimhi Dauid Kimhi thinketh these words in the text Fyue lords of the Philistians to be a figuratiue kinde of speche that by the fyue Lords The names of the Lordships of Palestine we might vnderstand those fiue places which they were lords ouer that is fiue Lordships of the Philistians And those places be named in the booke of Iosua the 13 chap. Gaza Asdod Ascalon Ackron Geth Of euery one of these cities they toke vnto thē the name of the lordship And vndoubtedly there is manifest mencion made of them in the fyrst booke of Samuell for of ech of thē there were gifts gathered wherwith the arke of the couenaunt was adorned to be sent agayne to the Israelites Howbeit this may seme to be strange how these cities should now be sayd not to be conquered by the Israelits When as in this booke the first chap. Gaza Ascalon Aekron are declared to be wonne in that battaile which was made by the tribes of Iuda and Simeon Whereunto we aunswere that in dede those cities were taken at the time when as for all that they were not fully conquered by the leading and conduct of Iosua as it is written in his boke Howbeit at this time as the history now testifyeth they were not in the power of the Iewes For by reason of the sinnes of the Hebrues the strength of the Philistians was confyrmed other nations of the land of Chanaan waxed euery day strōger stronger but the Israelites on the contrary side were feabled Wherfore it was an easye matter for these places to fall againe into the power of the Philistians For they were very skilful in feates of warre and they had yron and hooked Chariottes Neither did God fight for the Israelites Wherefore they might without any great trauaile by reason of the sinnes of the Iewes recouer againe the places which they had loste In that it is written And al the Chananites we must not vnderstand it absolutely and simplie but only of those which inhabited the places here mencioned Farther we must note that in the boke of Iosua there were also Chananites and Zidonites rehearsed which were not at that time destroyed And as touching the Mount Libanon The Mounte Libanon some write that it was so called of frankencense which the Grecians call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yea and the Hebrues call frankencense Libona And Mount Hermon as the boke of Deut. teacheth was called of the Amorrites Naschir of the Sirians Scherion Wherof peraduēture the prouince of Siria had his name 6 And they tooke the Daughters of them to be their wyues and gaue their own daughters to their sonnes and serued their Gods 7 Wherefore the children of Israel did wickedly in the sight of the Lord and forgot the Lorde their God serued Baalim groues The Israelites synned three times against God First bicause as it is already shewed
holily yet they cannot satisfy the people And so much of this question 31 After him was Sangar the sonne of Anath and he smote of the Philistians .600 men with the goade of an oxe he also saued Israel What this Sangar was or of what tribe or family the holy scripture doth not declare But this coniecture is very likely that when the Hebrues had a long tyme liued in peace vnder Ehud as sone as he was dead the Philistiās began to vexe them Wherfore Sangar being stirred vp by God defended the people from cōming again into subiection vnder the Philistians And among other victories of the which I think ther wer very many this is chiefly mēcioned as a miraculous wonderful victory The Hebrues think that this notable act of this Sangar happened in the time of the oppression vnder Iabin But thei bring no reasons why they should so thinke Farther Iosephus by the holy scriptures it appeareth not how many yeres the Hebrues wer kept by this Iudge yet by Iosephus we may know that he fought for the Israelites but onely one yere That which we translate wyth the goade of an Oxe the Grecians cal 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is with the foote or staffe of a plow The comon translation in latin hath with the plow share Augustine Augustine as it appeareth by his questions on this place redeth beside calues of the kyne Which clause semeth to haue no sense in it And he iudgeth that this Sangar in this murther of the Philistians slew peraduēture many oxen which ar called calues And he addeth that the Egiptians vsed in his time to call all kind of oxen of what age soeuer they wer by the name of calues As we saith he cal Chickens all vniuersally as many as ar cōprehended vnder the kind of hens with out any difference of yeares and age In the meane time he confesseth that it is not so in the Hebrue he hath saide truly for in the Hebrue bibles we read Melamed Which woord is deriued of this verbe Lamad And that verbe in the cōiugation Kal is to learn but in the cōiugation Pihel it is to teach Wherfore Melamed might be turned a teacher of Oxen Kimhi namely to be that instrumēt wherby Oxen in plowing ar guided And least we should doubt what it is Kimhi writeth that it is a rod or a staffe in the end or top wherof ther is fastened a prick And the Chaldey paraphrast testifieth the same which in steede of the word hath put this word Perasch that word signifieth to prick Wherfore it is an instrumēt whereby oxen in plowing ar pricked Wherfore the word Peraschim signifieth horsmen of spurres wherby horses are by the riders vpon them pricked And thus much by the way The old writers thinke that in this place is vsed the figure Synechdoche as though Sangar did not alone kil so great a number of Philistians but that hee wyth other rusticall men fought agaynste them whyche rusticall men were armed with no other kinde of weapons than with goades of Oxen. In deede I know that the holy scriptures many times do admit chaūge of numbers which whither in this place it be to be receaued I do very much doubt Yea if I should speake the truth as it is I thinke the contrary forasmuch as in this present hystory me thinketh no vulgare acte is set foorth but rather a wonder or myracle But howsoeuer it be this I thinke is godlily and profitablye to be noted That any thing may serue vs for weapons when the woord of God is added A slyng and stones of a ryuer furnished Dauid nobly The iaw bone also of an Asse was a weapon to Samson and a naile to Iahel wherwith she slew Sisera And contrariwise what kind of weapōs of fence so euer we deuise vnles it be strengthened by the word of God it shal be vtterly vnprofitable and serue to no purpose The walles of Iericho which otherwise were wel fenced fell downe of their own accord Psal xxxiii and the great sword of Goliah the Giant was made to cut the throte of hys own maister Wherfore it is most truly said in the Psalmes A king is not saued by much strength and a horse is a vayne thing to saue a man But what doo we speake of weapons when as the same happeneth vnto al creatures For so long euery one of them is and abideth as the woorde of God caryeth and vpholdeth them For althings whatsoeuer they be do by that onely both abide consist Yea and the Sacramentes themselues taking away the woord of God are vtterlye nothing For what do we thinke bread wyne or water to haue by themselues which may be profitable for our saluation Augustine or serue to stirre vp or to strengthen faith Vndoubtedly nothing Wherefore Augustine hath right well sayde The word cōmeth vnto the element it is made a sacrament Wherfore in that .vi. hundred Philistians were kylled with an Oxe goade wee must beleue that the same came to passe by the cōmaundement of God by the power of his woord ¶ The .iiii. Chapter 1. ANd the children of Israel began againe to do wickedly in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead 2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of Iabin king of Chanaan which raygned in Hazor whose captain of warre was called Sisera which dwelt in Hazoreth of the Gentyles The cause of the oppression of the Israelites is mencioned namely bicause when Ehud was dead they began to do euil that is to sinne They abused therfore the quietnes and tranquillity of the foure score yeares in which they lyued peaceably vnder their Iudge neither declined they onely from the right waye but also they increased in syn This is the nature of carnal men that by prosperytie they are not made the better but farrs woorser VVhen Ehud was dead It cannot be told how easily the people fal from the right way when as holy Princes are also remoued from the same Wherefore that is not vnworthely to be counted a most grieuous plague when the pyllers both of the Church and also of the publike wealth are taken awaye There is no mention made of the death of Sanger But what should be the cause why there is no mention made of the death of Sangar wee cannot easily tel The Hebrue interpreters saye that it therefore happened bycause he continued but a litle time and for that cause is scarcely coūted among the Iudges nether was the deliuery which by him happened perfect which is in the next chapter by expresse wordes declared Farther it is in dede sayd of hym that he saued Israel but it is not added as it is of Othoniel and Ehud that the land was any yeares at rest vnder hym And God sold them When al thinges seme vnto the vngodly to be in quiet and at rest and that they thinke that on no syde anye hurt or euyll can happen vnto them
which when they geue any precepte do straight way ioyne therunto a promise When children are commaunded to obey their parentes length of life is straight waye promised Deborah also declareth that she exercised the office of a Prophet amōg the people when as she Prophecieth what shall become of Sisera and foretelleth a notable victorye whiche God had decreed vnto Barac Mount Thabor Mount Thabor is called Ithabyrius whiche is here mencioned of the Ethnike writers is called Ithabirius It is nighe vnto the Assirians Nepthalites and Sabulonites There the Lorde Iesus Christ our Sauiour was transfigured before three of his Disciples as it is declared in the history of the Gospell This mount hath by it the riuer Kyson The riuer Kison whiche by the destruction of the Baalites is made notable for there Helias the Prophete slewe the Priestes of Baal Drawe and take with thee ten thousand men This semeth to be a new kynde of speache but vnto the thing whiche is in hande it is moste propre For this Hebrew worde Maschach is not in this place to drawe by violence to but as all the Rabbines almost do interpretate with presuasion to leade that is with faire and pleasaunt wordes to allure them For without doubt it was a great and perillous worke wherunto they wer called for as much as they lyued vnder a Tyraunt their souldiers could not by publique authority be mustered or gathered together but must of necessitie by faire meanes be allured to conspire against a Tyraunt By this place we are taught that good and eloquent speaches are very profytable in warrelyke affaires Rethoricke is profitable in warlike affaires and that the arte of Rethorike by the lawe of God is not forbidden but may in hys place profitably serue for holy men Farther this is not to be left vnspoken of that those two tribes namely Nepthalim and Zabulon were not warrelike tribes but the weakest of all the tribes among the Israelites The tribes of Nepthalim Zabulon were of lesse estimation thā the other tribes And yet God commaundeth to chose out souldiers out of them wherby we learne that it is a lyke to hym to vse either weake souldiers or stronge warriers agaynst his enemies Some man peraduenture will doubte by what argumentes or reasons Barac could be persuaded to beleue the wordes of Deborah To whome we aunswere that he weyghed with hymselfe that those thinges whiche Deborah promised did very well agree with the wordes and promises of God For he as he had threatened that the Israelites when they sinned should by his commaundement and will be afflicted by outwarde nations so agayne had he promised that he would deliuer them out of the handes of their enemyes if they faythfully repented them of their wickednes committed and faythfully from the heart called vpon him He promised that he would fight for them neither should their weaknes or fewenesse in nomber be a let The wordes of Deborah were agreable with the holy Scriptures but that they shuld get the victory ouer their enemies Wherfore for as much as Deborah prophecied that those things should come to passe whiche the Lord had promised vnto the people of the Hebrues it was conuenient that Barac should receaue those wordes for true and faythfull Farther the authoritie of the speaker helped thereunto For Deborah was by God constituted in the ministery not vndoubtedly by an ordinary prerogatiue but by a certayn singular and principall prerogatiue And if we should looke vppon the Etimology of her name Deborah signifieth a bee we shall thinke that her orations were verye sweete For Deborah with the Hebrues is a bee which beast we know is a diligent artificer in makyng of hony And yet all these thinges had not ben sufficiēt to make Barac to beleue her vnles the power of the holy Ghost had persuaded in his mynde those things which were commaunded For fayth is onely the worke of the holy Ghost whiche he can worke in the heartes of men without any outward instrument but he hath decreed for the most part to vse them I meane the worde and the ministery not as though he were bound vnto them but to shew vnto vs how much we ought to make of these two instrumentes Neither do I thinke that it is to be doubted but that this holy woman was both by miracles and also by prophesieng of things to come declared to be the Minister of the true God and the most healthfull Iudge of the Israelites We therefore ought hereby to learne that we must altogether heare the Ministers of God when they set forth vnto vs his wordes promises and also threatninges out of the holy scriptures neither is there any authority in the worlde whiche ought to be preferred before the ministery of the Church and word of God They were heard thynges whiche Deborah commaunded Wherfore iustly ought Barac to beleue the thinges whiche Deborah commaunded althoughe they semed both greuous and heard For she commaunded hym to moue sedition and tumulte to rebell agaynst his prince a priuate man to gather an hoste and that a litle one agaynst a most mighty king Whether Barak were without faith And Barac sayde vnto her If thou wilte goo with me I wyll go In this place it semeth might be demaunded whether Barac were doubtful and beleued not at the beginning as he ought to haue done the wordes of Deborah And that semeth to some absurde when as in the Epistle to the Hebrues the 11. chap Barac is reckened with Sampson Gedeon Iephthe and others which by fayth ouercame kyngdomes And therefore it semeth that his fayth beyng praysed by the testimony of God ought not by our iudgement to be empared Wherfore they affirme that he would haue Deborah to go with him not bycause he beleued not the promise of God but that he myght haue a Prophetesse ready and ac hande whose Counsell he might vse in orderyng his warre in pitching hys Campes and other chaunces whiche are wonte to happen in warres And I am not ignoraunt Augustine that Augustine readeth it after this manner Bycause I can not tell in what day the Lorde will prosper his aungell with me c. As thoughe he should haue sayd I wyll therefore haue thee with me bycause thou beyng endewed with the spirite of Prophesy whiche hath not happened vnto me shalte easly knowe in what daye the aungell of the Lorde will luckely fyght for vs. But I do thinke that Barac did somewhat doubt for Deborah Prophecied in the name of God that bycause of thys aunswere he should be punished And more ouer sayeth she thy glory shal be taken awaye from thee and the Lord will sel Sysara into the hand of a woman Iosephus And as Iosephus testifyeth she spake these wordes beyng somewhat moued And a Prophetesse woulde not haue ben angry neither would GOD haue diminished the glorye of Barac without a faulte And it appeareth not that he
and made to stand stil I wyll not speake howe the Poetes fable that when the walles of Thebes the Citye were built the stones of their owne motion came together with the sound of the Harpe And no man is ignoraunt what the same Poetes haue written of Arion and Orpheus And who knoweth not how much Dauid here ther in his Psalmes praiseth both Musick songes Tertulian And among Christian men Tertulian in his Apology teacheth that the faithfull did very often make suppers wherin after they had moderatly and honestly refreshed the body they recreated themselues with godly songes And in an other place when he commendeth Matrimony that is of one and the selfe same religion he sayth that Christian couples doo mutually prouoke them selues tosing prayses vnto God Whether singinge may be receaued in the Church The east churche Plini But now that we haue sene the nature beginning and vse of songes and musicke ther resteth to inquire whither it may be vsed in Churches In the East part the holy assemblies euen from the beginning vsed singing which we maye easily vnderstand by a testimony of Plini in a certain Epistle to Traian the Emperor where he writeth that Christians vsed to syng hymnes before daye vnto their Christ And this is not to be left out that these words wer written in that time that Iohn the Euangelist lyued for he was a liue vnto the time of Traian Wherfore if a man shal say that in the time of the Apostles there was syngyng in holy assemblies He shal not stray from the truth Paule who was before these times vnto the Ephesians saith Be not filled wyth wyne wherein is wantonnes but be ye filled with the spirit speaking to your selues in Psalmes Himnes and spiritual songes singing in your hart geuing thankes alwaies vnto God for all thinges in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ To wyne the Apostle setteth the spirite as contrarye and forbiddeth the pleasure of the senses when in steede of wyne he wil haue Christians filled with the spirite For in wine as he saith is wantonnes but in the spirite is both a true and a perfect ioy Drounckerdes speake more than inough but yet foolish and vayne thinges Speake ye saith he but yet spirituall thinges and that not onely in voyce but also in hart for the voyce soundeth in vaine where the minde is not affected They which be filled with wine do speake foolish filthy and blasphemous thinges but geue ye thankes to God alwaies I say and for all thinges To this ende vndoubtedly ought Ecclesiastical songes to tend vnto To the Colossians also are written certaine thinges not disagreing from these Let the woord of the Lord sayth the Apostle abound plentifully in you teache and admonish ye one another in Psalmes Hymnes and spirituall songes singing in your hartes with grace By these woordes Paule expresseth two thinges Fyrst that our songes be the woord of God which must abound plentifully in vs and they must not serue onely to geuing of thankes but also to teache and to admonish And then it is added with grace which is thus to vnderstand as though he should haue said aptly and properly both to the senses and to measure and also vnto the voyces Let them not syng rude and rusticall thinges neither let it be immoderatly as doo the Tauernhunters To the Corrinthians the firste Epistle the .xiiii. chapter where he entreateth of an holy assemblye the same Apostle writeth after this maner When ye assemble together according as euerye one of you hath a Psalme or hath doctrine or hath a toung or hath reuelacion or hath interpretation let al thinges be done vnto edifieng By which woordes is declared that Syngers of songes and Psalmes had their place in the Church The west Church Augustine But the west Churches more lately receaued the maner of singing for Augustine in his .ix. booke of Confessions testifieth that it happened in the tyme of Ambrose For when that holy man together with the people watched euen in the Church least he should haue bene betrayed vnto the Arrians he brought in singing to auoyde tediousnes and to driue away the time But as touching the measure and nature of the song which ought to be retained in Musicke in the Church these thinges are woorthy to be noted What maner of measure the ecclesiastical song ought to be Augustine Augustine in the same bookes of Confession both confesseth and also is sory that hee had sometimes fallen bicause he had geuen more attentiue heede vnto the measures and cordes of musicke than to the woordes whiche were vnder them spoken Which thing hereby he proueth to be synne bicause measures and singing were brought in for the wordes sake and not wordes for Musicke The manner of the churche of Alexandria And he so repented him of his fault that he execeedingly allowed the manner of the Church of Alexandria vsed vnder Athanasius for hee commaunded the Reader that when he sang he should but lytle alter his voyce so that he shoulde bee lyke rather vnto one that readeth than vnto one that syngeth Howbeit on the contrary when he considered how at the beginning of his conuersion he was inwardly moued with these songes namely in suche sorte that for the zeale of pietye he burst forth into teares for this cause I say he consented that Musicke should be retained in the Churche but yet in suche maner that hee saide he was readye to chaunge his sentence if a better reason could be assigned And he addeth that those do synne deadly as they wer wont to speake which geue greater hede vnto musicke than vnto the woordes of God Ierome Gregory To which sentence vndoubtedlye Ierome assenteth as he hath noted vpon the Epistle to the Ephesians Gregory also of Rome in the Synode of Rome was of the same opinion And both their wordes are wrytten in the Decrees Dist 92. in the chap. Cantantes and in the chapter In sancta Romana In which place are read in the glose two verses not in dede so eloquent but yet godly Non vox sed votum non cordula musica sed vox Non clamans sed amans cantat in aure Dei That is Not the voice but the desire not the plesantnes of musick but the voyce Not crying but louing syngeth in the eare of God And in the wordes of Gregory this is not slightlye to be passed ouer in that hee saith Whilest the swetenes of the voyce is sought for the life is neglected and when wicked maners prouoke God the people is rauished by the pleasauntnesse of the voyce The abuses of Ecclesiasticall Musicke But now let vs declare the cautions which are to bee obserued to the ende we maye lawfully and fruitfully vse singing in the Church The first is That in Musicke be not put the whole summe effect of godlines and of the worshipping of God For among the Papists they do almost euery where thinke that
thankes onely for prosperous thinges but also for aduersity Also thys woorde Perag signifieth to reuenge and by this meanes forasmuch as reuengemēt may be referred to two thinges the sense of it also may be taken twoo wayes The first is That god in oppressing the Israelites and deliuering them to the Chananites reuenged the iniury that was done vnto himselfe wherein they dyd grieuously offende hym when they fel to impietye and Idolatrye Neyther doth thys latter sentence vary any thyng from the fyrst Forasmuch as by thys way also Deborah commaundeth to geue thankes vnto god for the former afflictions For to the godly aduersitye also turneth to good For the Saintes when they haue fallen are wont by scourges wherewith they are punished to be called backe againe to repentaunce which repentaunce God poureth in them by diuers and many vexations The third sense is which is euery where and almost receaued of al men That they should geue thankes vnto God which at the last had reuenged the iniuries of the Israelites For they were before long time that grieuously oppressed by the Chananites And then by the spirite of God they were made willing and prompt which before were such abiectes and cowardes Two thinges therfore are expressed namely that God confounded the Chananites in reuenging the euyls whyche they had done vnto the Iewes and also that he strengthened them in the battaile If God reuenged them We do not ask those things of God whiche ar in our own power they by them selues coulde not reuenge themselues If he made them willing they themselues were not such Wherfore free wyl is put down and the goodnes of god commended For euen as we doo not aske of god those thinges which we haue in our own hands and power so for these things when they happen vnto vs we geue him no thankes 3 Heare ye Kinges hearken ye Princes I euen I wyll syng vnto the Lord I wyl syng prayse vnto the Lord God of Israel Why she calleth Kynges in special there maye be manye reasons alledged The first is bicause all the Iewes were called in a manner Kynges For God made that nation both a kingdome and a priesthoode vnto himselfe They were all therefore so called euen as we of Christ are called Christians or anoynted of our onely head Christ whych was chiefly annoynted wyth the oyle of righteousnes and grace An admonitiō to Magistrats Farther he maketh an Apostrophe to kinges bycause that shee song these wordes not onelye for her time but also hauing a regarde to the tyme to come wherefore by her all Princes and Magistrates are in especiall admonished bycause they being puffed vp with pride and ryches both thinke and also affirme that the people should looke for safety at their handes But now they ar taught by the woord of God that it is he which defendeth and keepeth although sometimes therunto he vseth the helpe of them that are preserued Lastly Deborah speaketh to straunge kynges whiche had determined wyth them selues to destroye the Israelites and exhorteth them diligently to weigh wyth themselues the thinges which God hath done and to marke howe hee knoweth to auenge hys people in due tyme. I euen I sayth she wyll syng The repeating of the pronowne of the first person is not onely vsed of Poetes but also of Orators nether doth it onely adorn the oration Virgil. Cicero but also moue the affections and stirreth vp men vnto admiration Virgil saith I euen I am present which did it turne your weapon against me Cicero also saith Ah I miserable man the goodes the goodes I saye of Gnaius Pompeius were most cruelly by the voyce of the cryer c. This nowe is as if Deborah should haue sayde I althoughe a woman yet a Prophet I although a woman yet a sauiour of Israel wyl syng vnto my God They vse to put a certayne difference betwene these two latin wordes canere that is to syng and psallere which is also to syng but bycause that difference is not alwaies obserued yea one is taken oftentymes for an other therfore I willingly ouerpasse it 4 Lord when thou wentest out of Seir whē thou departedst out of the fielde of Edom the earth trembled the cloudes also dropped water 5 The mountaynes melted before the Lord as did that Sinai before the Lord God of Israel In the ditties and periodes of songs and of the prophets this is a common vse that the latter part differeth not from the fyrst as touching sence Why in the periodes of the holy scriptures one sentence is repeated but cōtayneth the same thing the wordes being somewhat chaunged which thinge also in the Prouerbes of Salomon is easy to marke And I doubt not that the same is done vpon iust causes Forasmuch as of the holy ghost nothing is done rashly or vnprofitably The sentences also which are entreated of in those bookes are verye graue and therfore by that tarying in them our dulnes is holpen For it quickly passeth ouer the sence of the firste parte therfore the latter parte being all one with the fyrst maketh vs to geue more attentiue heede Farthermore our hardenes is so greate that to one stroke it vseth not to geue place Wherefore it is no merueyle if God strike it with a double stroke And when the wordes are chaunged the efficacy and wayght of the sentence alredye spoken is more and more expressed The want of humayne speache is holpen whiche want is suche that at one speaking the whole signification of a wayghty sentence can not be opened Wherfore by that repititiō that which is not expressed by the fyrst words is expounded by other woordes which serue for the same thing God therefore by whose conducte this victorye was obteyned is to bee praysed whych is by very good reason done forasmuch as his beneuolence towardes Israel is proued to be no strange or new beneuolence Wherefore Deborah celebrateth him as an old and auncient patrone of the Iewes From the time sayth she wherin the Israelites at thy cōmaundement walked .38 yeres by diuers writers as it is written in the .2 of Deutronomy about mount Seir and then at the length by thy will departing from thence they went forward to the land of Chanaan thou nobly takest in hande theyr cause For thou goyng with vs in a piller of fyre and of a cloud so fearedst the Chananites our enemies that they wer not able to resist vs which were otherwise weake and feble Before when we went aboute the mountayne they liued in securitye and stoutlye contemned vs. But when thou leddest vs out of those places such a feare came vpon them that euen the earth seemed to tremble and the heauens and cloudes caste downe great tempestes and showres And it was so greate as though the mountaines should roule down greate heapes of water to the inferior valleis By these alligories Deborah discribeth the feare that was driuen into the Amorites and Chananits And it is no
This Hebrewe word Aim is a particle of one that sweareth and is very much vsed in the holy scriptures I haue sworne in mine anger if they shal enter into my rest Also Lorde if I haue done this or if there be iniquitye in my handes c. The reason of this kinde of speach is bycause they which do so sweare doo begin an execration and sometimes they performe it not If say they they should adde I do it let this or that happen vnto me let me perysh let me dye let me suffer cruell punishment and such like But sometimes they fully expresse it 9 My darte is set on the gouerners of Israell and on them that ar willing amonge the people prayse ye the Lorde 10 Speake ye that ryde on white asses ye that dwell by Middin and that walke by the way Deborah by an eloquent distribution turneth herself to diuers kinds of men exhorteth euery one of them to prayse the Lord. She maketh mention of princes before the other and sayth that her harte is set on them namely bicause she feruently desireth them to be thankful vnto God and to prayse him for the benefite which they haue receaued She calleth them Hokekei bicause to them pertained to make both decrees and lawes Afterwarde she speaketh of all those whiche of theyr owne will and accord had offred themselues vnto the battayle Ye which ride on white trim asses Almost al interpretours vnderstand this to be spoken of merchantes which ryde to and fro to fayres and marketes Asses are vsed in Siria And indeede asses are very much vsed in Siria for there the asses be stronge and mighty and of a good bigge stature and do go pleasauntly VVhiche dwell by Middin Some vnderstande it thus that they whiche are iudges shoulde be prouoked to prayse GOD. For saye they as shee had before stirred vp marchants and rich men to prayse God so now she calleth vpon iudges to do the same For as before marchants were hindred from their trades also were iudges letted from exercising iudgementes For they being oppressed of theyr enemies could not minister iustice But it is better that by this word Middin be expressed some certayne place which paraduenture was grieuouslier oppressed by the enemies thaÌ„ other places wer Or els bicause theyr marchandises wer wont to be much occupied which being now set at liberty in safety the inhabiters of that place are peculiarly stirred vp to prayse God And lastly this semeth to pertayne to the common people VVhich walke by the way Namely on fote For other either they did ryde or wer caried vpon asses for that they were rich and noble men All ye sayth she Schichu that is tel and shew But bicause that verbe signifieth also to meditate we will thus expound it with a redye and an attentiue minde tell or shew Or els it is sayd Ye which walke by the way to declare a certayne cause why they ought to geue thankes as though shee should haue sayd All ye which I haue mentioned therfore geue thankes vnto God bicause nowe ye may walke by the way freely 11 For the noyse of the archers appaised in the places wher water is drawen there shall they reherse the righteousnes of the Lorde hys righteousnes of his townes in Israell theÌ„ did the people of the lord go downe to the gates When she had nowe praysed God because he had restored the common highe wayes free vnto the Hebrewes she addeth now an other benefite which he had bestowed on them Water is a verye necessarye thing in Syria namely in that thei might with out feare draw water which before was in a maner wholy letted them This thing vndoubtedly althoughe in other places it seemeth to be of no greate value yet in Siria where is wonderfull greate scarecety of water it ought to be counted for an excellent gifte The welles or fountaynes whiche were without the cities by the streates and highe wayes could stande the Iewes in no steade by reason of the Chananites whiche kept away al thinges For the horsemen which were archers hidde them selues priuely neare such waters and assayled those which came forth to draw water there Many of them they led away captiues and with theyr noyse and cry they feared away in a manner all from drawinge of water Ye haue nowe escaped sayth Deborah the horrible and barbarous noises and cries of horsemeÌ„ which were archers vsed to crye with an horrible voyce when they assayle theyr enemies Ieremy in the .4 chap. testifieth And the whole city sayth he fled away at the cry of the horsemen which they made whilest they bended theyr bowes After that is setforth an other singular benefite namely that the little townes and villages which wanted fences and were not inclosed with walles and seemed to be desolate and emptye by reason of the enemies whiche besieged them ar now by the help of God reedefied and restored Wherfore she concludeth that for this cause also god must worthely be praised Lastly is added that the people of god might now assemble at the gates of the cities Why thei geue iudgements in the gates froÌ„ the which before they were altogether prohibited The iudgement place in the old time was wonte to be in the gates wher thei executed lawes But by reason of warres and oppressions it seemeth that iudgements ceased which thing how great a misery it bringeth to the publike wealth they do manifestly vnderstand which are not ignorant that in iudgementes in a manner the whole power of the publike wealth is contayned But why the Hebrewes executed these thinges in the gates thys seemeth to me to be the cause bicause they thought those places most meete to be chosen vnto which not onely the citizens but also the rusticall and husband men might easely come And the vndoubtedly could not be better done in any other place then in the very gates of the cityes Geue thankes therfore vnto God sayth Deborah bycause all these thinges by his ayde haue nowe recouered theyr olde forme and order 12 Arise arise Deborah arise arise singe a songe Vp Barak and leade thy captiuity captyue thou sonne of Abinoam Forasmucch as Deborah studied to inflame all the Israelites to geue thanks vnto god by an eloqueÌ„t figure she now stirreth vp herself that therby others might be pricked forward and endeuour themselues by her example to prayse God Go to Go to Deborah go to go to sing a songe This without doubt is the manner of sainctes in their Psalmes and songes that they neuer satisfie themselues in praysing God they alwayes thinke that they are to colde and for that cause euery where they vse suche stirringes vp of themselues Here R. Salomon doteth A fayned â—â—sition of R. â—â—lomon when he writeth that Deborah did to much boast of her selfe and therfore when her spirite began to waxe faynte she endeuored her selfe by such stirryng vp to kindle it agayne If these thinges are spoken by the
euery man shal be geuen a mayde or two that is the praye of the rascall souldiours shal be bondmen or bonde women be geuen But to our Sisera shal be geuen the most worthiest thinges garmentes I say of diuers colours and nedle worke Plini in his 8. booke the .48 chap writeth that the men in the old time vsed to dye their wolle and garmentes with such sundry and pleasaunt colours Plinius bicause they would imitate the most beautifull coloures of floures and herbes And the same writer attributeth vnto the Babilonians the inuention of diuers coloures in garmentes and euen as garmentes of siluer which were found out in Asia vnder Attalus the king were called Attalical so those garmentes whiche were by the Phrigians wroughte with the nedle beinge set out with golde and sundry coloures and pictures wer called Phrigionical And for that these workmanshippes wer in the old time had in estimation god would haue the holy tabernacle and the high priestes garmentes wrought with nedle worke And this is not to be passed ouer that by the ciuile lawes it was not lawefull for euerye man to weare such precious garmentes Wherfore it is sayd now in this song that garmentes of sundry coloures and such as were wrought with the nedle ar attributed only to the prince In the Code de vestibus oloberis lege Auratas It is prohibited vpon great punishmente that any other men shoulde were precious garmēts Lawes for apparell And it is no doubt but that in the old time there wer lawes for apparel which at this day lye vtterly voide These womē spake as they knew the maner then vsed for they were not ignorant of the custome in war wherby princely garmentes wer not distributed to priuate men but vnto captaynes and emperors Discipline of warre amonge the elders Farthermore we muste consider that the elders vsed greater discipline in their camps than at this day our men do For when a town or city was sacked euery man had not that which he by violence tooke al thinges wer brought vnto the king or Emperour and not vndoubtedly that he only should haue them but that he should part them according to the labor dignity and quality of the souldiors which manifestlye appeareth in the decrees 23. question the .5 chapter Dixerit aliquis They are the woordes of Ambrose in his booke of Abraham the Patriarche And the same thing is most playnly taught Dist the .1 chap. Ius militare This hebrew word Tsoari signifieth properly a necke or neckes in the plurall number but in this place by translation it signifieth a captayne or prince 31 So let al thine enemies perish O Lord But they that loue thee let them be as the Sunne when he riseth in his strength And the land had rest .40 yeares The thinges which are now mencioned the holy Ghost doth therfore speake them by Deborah to expresse with a great emphasis and signification that those thinges do happen vnto the vngodly which they be afeard of the things which they hope happen cleane contrarye Therefore the songe is nowe concluded with an elegant exclamacion and consisteth of thinges contrary So let all thine enemies perish O Lord as Sisera hath fallen This her Apostrophe or turning to God stirreth vs vp that we shuld with a singular affectiō embrace God the author of so great notable acts Deborah also in this speaking declareth that she setteth not forth her own cause for she sayth not let my enemyes perish but thine But they that loue thee let them continually encrease in al kind of good things as the sunne increaseth from his rising vntil it be none wherin he is most strong ether from the spring time to the highest of sommer She addeth not Let them that loue him be saued as the Antithesis or cōtrary position required For these two are contraries namely to be saued and to perish But let them be encreased saith she strengthened as the sunne increaseth from his rising vnto his strength By thys conclusion the vse of example is taught vnder the forme of a prayer Sisera is ouerthrowne but the people of Israel is encreased with a notable victory so therfore shall it come to passe and happē vnto vs. We shal be deliuered if we be godly they which do persecute vs for Christs cause shal perish Wherfore it is profitable by exāples to gather out rules of the gouernmēt of God which rules with frute let vs apply vnto our own things This performed Dauid as touching this selfe same historye in his psalme where he sayth do vnto them as vnto Middian as vnto Sisera Iabin at the riuer Kyson Wherfore the some of this hystory is to set before vs the seuerity of god toward his enemies again his clemēcy towards the godly And therfore it behoueth that the seuerity of his iudgements breath in vs a fear and that by fayth we take hold of his goodnes and clemency The syxt Chapter ANd the children of Israell did euill in the syghte of the Lorde and the Lorde deliuered them into the hands of Middian seuen yeres 2 Wherfore the hand of Middian preuailed against Israel frō the face of Middiā the children of Israel made them dennes in the mountaines and caues and stronge holdes 3 For when Israell had sowen Middian came vp and Amaleke and the sonnes of Kedem came vp agaynst them 4 And camped against them and destroyed the fruite of the earth euen till thou come to Haza neyther lefte they anye foode in Israell neither cattell nor oxen nor asses 5 For they went vp and theyr cattell and came with theyr tents as greshoppers in multitude so that they and theyr camels wer without number they came I say into the land to destroy it Deborah and Barac were deade by the authority of whiche princes the people of the Hebrewes were kepte in their dutye and religion But after theyr death they fell agayne vnto sinnes and especially vnto idolatry But yet they are not counted to haue turned so heynously from God as they did before for it is not written And they added to do euil Farther their punishment was not so long for they serued the Madianites onely seuen yeares Moreouer it is not sayde that God sold them as he did before but that he deliuered them I confesse that these coniectures are but small but yet not so small that they shoulde seeme vtterly to be despised Two thinges are principally entreated of in this hystorye The principall pointes of thys history The ordre of thinges to be spoken of the affliction of the Hebrewes and theyr deliuery by Gidion But bicause eche of these partes haue their causes therfore we must also entreate of them For euen as affliction springeth of sinne and deliuery beginneth of repentance so was it mete that first it should be declared that the Israelites had sinned before mention be made that they were deliuered vnto the Madianites and theyr repentaunce must
our actions If these things be corrupted in vs which are taken for holy thinges what maye be iudged of other workes which are counted prophane Wherefore forasmuche as in these thinges the Hebrues greuously fel we must vnderstand that they also sinned in all other thinges 11 And the Angell of the Lorde came and abode vnder the Oke which was in Ophra that pertayned vnto Ioas the Abiezerit and his sonne Gideon threshed wheat to prepare his flight frō Midian When by faith the sinnes of the Israelites were forgeuen and that they had called vpon God and repented their deliuery is set forth wherby they were deliuered from the outward bondage of the Madianites Which without doubt God would haue done by Gideon the Iudge for the which cause hee raised hym vp to deliuer the Iewes And this brought he not to passe til such time as things were almost come to vtter desperation al humane helpes wer taken away and the Israelites trusted onely to flight Wherfore Gideon is not called but when he gathered some wheate to hide least the Madianites shoulde violentlye take it away And that is ment by this Hebrue woord Lehanim that is if thou turne it woord for woord to prepare his flight For he would hide that wheate from the Madianites were it neuer so litle that with it he might somewhat sustaine both himselfe and his household He which appeared vnto him was in very deede an Angel as it shall afterwarde by manifest tokens and argumentes bee declared He came to Ophra but to that Ophra whych pertayned vnto Ioas the Abiezerit which is therfore added bicause there was also an other Ophra in the Tribe of Beniamin wherof is mencion made in the boke of Iosua And I doubt not but that the Angel came vnto Gideon in the shape of a man for he abode vnder the Oke Gideon was of the tribe of Manasses and as we shal heare he spake vnto hym Ioas the Father of Gideon was of the family of Abiezer which in the booke of Numb and in Paralip is reckoned among those that were of the Tribe of Manasses And Gideon at that tyme threashed corne in the wyne presse Twoo maners of threashing The Hebrues haue two wordes Dash which signifieth to thresh but yet then when we occupy to threashing beastes The other woorde is Chabat which is also to thresh but yet with flayles and without beastes Wherfore it is noted that Gideon vsed this latter kinde of threshing that he might the better hide that which he did and therfore it was in a wyne presse where forasmuche as wyne was vsed to be pressed no man did easily suspect that any wheate was there threshed Let vs marke in this place that the excellent men in the olde time when they had gotten any leasure either from holy seruices or from ciuil things thei spent al that leasure either about husbandry or about the arte of a Shepehearde For they would not consume them selues with ydlenes sumptuousnes glotony or dronkennes And this shal we not onely learne in Abraham Isaac Iacob Gideon and other holy fathers but also it manifestly appereth by the histories of the Romanes For there we reade that Curius and Seranus and such like wer elected for the chiefest Magistrates when in the fieldes they were at plough and tylled the grounde And the earth also at that tyme as Plini saith brought foorth her fruites more plentiful and aboundant when it was handled with the handes of Emperors most noble Not vndoubtedlye bicause the earth was endued wyth any sense but bicause wise men as they vsed wisely to gouern waighty affairs so also for husbandry when they were occupied about it they exercised it wyth farre greater diligence then did the rude men Our Gideon without doubt had seruauntes whom he might haue commaunded to haue wrought what woorke so euer was to be done yea and his father as we shall afterwarde heare was a man of power among the people And for all that he was suche a one yet he despiseth not rusticall woorkes 12 Then the Angel of the Lord appeared vnto him and sayd vnto him The Lord is with thee thou valiant man A salutacion vsed of the godly Here is expressed a moste auncient maner of salutacion wherein they sayde The Lord is with thee We rede in the booke of Ruth that Boaz vsed it when he came vnto his haruest men The Angell also in this manner saluted the blessed Virgin Yea and the Church of Christ by the Minister saluteth the people in the holy seruices and saith The Lord be with you The angel called Gideon a strōg man not by that strength as it is thought wherwith he was before endued but by the strength which should afterward be geuen him for the accomplishing of thinges Although it might easily be that Gideon was a man skylfull in feates of warre But the first interpretatiō agreeth better Howbeit Augustine in hys questions vpon this place Augustine thus readeth this particle as thoughe God hym selfe should be called a strong and warlike man as if he should haue saide That God which is mighty warlike is with thee or be with thee Neither ought it much to moue vs bicause this woord Man is added forasmuche as it is after the same maner writtē in the song of Exodus For God may so be called by a Metaphore But the first exposition is more receaued and seemeth more simple 13 To whom Gideon answered O my Lorde I praye thee is the Lord with vs Why then is al this come vpon vs and where be all his miracles which our fathers told vs of and sayde Dyd not the Lord bring vs out of Egipt But now the Lorde hath forsaken vs and hath deliuered vs into the hand of the Madianites The hebrue word Bi signifieth in me and is spoken by the figure Eclipsis as though it should haue bene looke louingly vpon me And therfore they turne it I prai thee which is a particle of one that exhorteth The next word is Adonai by which name Gideon called him which appeared vnto him not by a religious or deuine title but by a common title whych is applyed also to prophane men For he vnderstood not that he was an Angel he thought he was some Prophet or holy man Gideon perswadeth himself that God was not with him when the Israelites were afflicted with so great miseries For he vnderstandeth the saying of the Angel as though he had said that God was not onely with hym but also with al the Hebrues God is not supposed to bee with those whiche ar afflicted And it is no doubt but that the nature of mā thinketh that God is not with those which are afflicted The saintes after this maner semed to expostulate with God Wherfore in the Psalmes it is written Aryse O God why turnest thou thy face awaye from me why hast thou forgotten me and such lyke This is a grieuous kinde of temptacion wherunto if a
man geue place and be therwith ouercom he grieuously sinneth For he transgresseth the first precept I am the Lord thy God But howe farre that sentence is from the truth this historye declareth For when Gideon thought that God was absent from him then was he present and talked with him VVhere be al his miracles These woordes may be vnderstande two wayes The first way is as though Gideon should reason by contraries saying When God was with our fathers he did marueilous thinges for their health but now hath he deliuered vs vnto the Madianites neither deliuereth he vs by his excellent workes therefore he is not with vs. The other interpretation is as if by a certain godly expostulation he should say wher doth God now restrain these his marueilous woorkes What temptation is counted grieuous to the godly Why suffreth he the benefites which he so plentifully bestowed on our fathers so much now to want Vndoubtedly whilest we ar thus forsaken al these thinges as it semeth are frustrate of their end These thinges manyfestly declare what is the temptation of godly men in aduersities troubles For the deuil the flesh and the world go about to persuade them that they are nowe forsaken of God and that they in vayne put their confidence in hym Which kinde of temptation also was moued vnto Christ when vpon the crosse he cryed O my God my God why hast thou forsakē me For none as I think would beleue that the same had happened vnto Christ vnlesse the Euangelists had written that he being vpon the crosse vsed such wordes And this temptacion would he therefore suffer to the end that as it is wrytten in the seconde to the Hebrues he myghte be lyke vnto vs in all thynges wythout synne Wherefore Esay testifieth Hee hath in deede borne our infirmities and caryed our sorrowes 14 And the Lord looked vpon hym said Go in this thy strength and thou shalt saue Israel out of the lande of Madian Haue not I sent thee The Angel looked vpon Gideon when he had spoken these wordes For peraduenture whilest he spake them he looked not vpon him but then he behelde him when he sent him to delyuer the Israelites But in that he sayth In thys strength it is expounded two maner of waies The Hebrues saye that by the sight of the Angel he was fylled with strength and therefore it is sayde go thou in this strength which I haue now geuen thee and thou shalt deliuer Israel frō the Madianites Neither is it anye straunge thing that God doth chaunge those whom he choseth to any function and endueth them with sundry gyftes For we rede that it so happened vnto Dauid and Saul when they were called to bee kynges And it is expressedlye wrytten in this booke that Iephthe and Samson were adorned with the spirite of strength That strength also may here bee noted which God vsed in helping the fathers when for them he wrought myraculous thinges in the tyme of Moses and Iosua Gideon had demaunded where those marueilous woorkes were now become and therfore the Angel answered him Go in that strength whereby those thinges in tymes past were wrought and by it deliuer Israel By which woordes the Angel declareth that hee shoulde not by his own strength bring to passe the thinges which he had commaunded him but by that power of God which was geuen the fathers in the olde tyme The Angel calleth himself the Lord. And this ought not to seme marueilous that the Angel is called the Lord. For that is for this cause done either bicause he did it spake it in the name of God or els bicause he was in verye deede the sonne of God which so appeared The calling of the Iudges is therfore so diligently described that wee might vnderstand that priuate men are not able to attempt matters and affaires of so great waight vnlesse a certaine authority had bene geuen them of God For to gather an hoste and to take weapons against those whyche haue the chiefe rule of thinges vnto suche as are weake and destitute of al ayde it is altogether daungerous Wherfore ther is required an assurednes and vndoubted calling which cannot be had vnlesse fayth go before whiche consisteth of the woorde of God when it is rightly vnderstoode The Aungell vseth an intorrogation when hee sayth Haue not I sent thee Bycause this maner of speaking is verye apt to augment a commaundement 15 And he sayd vnto him O my Lord wherby shal I saue Israel Behold my familye is the poorest in Manasses and I am the least in the house of my father God sayd not that he would delyuer Israel but he declared that it shoulde be done by Gideon who therefore maruelleth forasmuche as he saw that he wanted all such thinges as were requisite to so great a woorke For warre coulde not be made by a poore man and one of the base sorte suche a one as Gideon perceaued himselfe to be when as to the accomplishing therof wer required power ryches and especially authority Wherfore Aristotle to ciuil felicitye hath ioyned outward goodes and that namely for this bicause they are necessary instrumentes of actes most noble Of hys Myllenary or thousand he therfore maketh mention bycause God in the publike wealth of the Iewes as we rede in Exodus instituted thys maner namely that by tribunes or thousands hundreds the people should be gouerned For it could not easily be that by a few Magistrates an infinite number of people should be numbred and so gouerned that their maners liuing and ordinaūces might diligently be looked vpon whych one thing chiefely pertaineth to gouerne well rightly Why God appointed tribunes Centuriōs and Captaines ouer ten For when euery man is permitted vnto him selfe in these thinges he both abuseth his liberty and also easily transgresseth the lawes bycause he is not noted Wherefore God in hys people woulde for that cause haue rulers ouer ten and ouer hundredes and also ouer thousandes least that publike wealth if the people were necligently looked vnto shoulde fal to ruine and waxe woorse and worse That band of a thousand wherof Gideon was one he declareth to be the poorest among all those of the tribe of Manasses Farther he saith that he was the least in his fathers house or family and therfore he saw not by what meanes he could set at liberty the Hebrues Some say that Ioas the father of Gideon was at that time a tribune or ruler ouer a thousand men that his sonne ment him when he said that his family was the poorest among the tribe of Manasses This sentence I disalow not forasmuch as afterward it shall easily appeare the Ioas was of some authority amōg his people But whither this word Alpi signify him or no I wil not rashly affirme forasmuch as the first exposition is both apt and also wel agreeth with the woordes of the history Whyther Gideon synned in gainsaying the āngel Many holy mē
seme to haue resisted the promises and callyng of God This must we rather note wither Gideon in obiecting these things sinned or no. Vndoubtedly if we looke vpon the holy scriptures we shal finde very many other which sayd that their infirmity striued against the vocation and promises of God Abraham sayd he was an .100 yeare old and therfore he desired that Ismael might rather liue before the Lord than that he should waite for a sonne of Sara which was both old and barren Yea and she also when she heard that a childe was promised her she could not keepe herself from laughing bycause she alredy felt her selfe vnapt by nature to beare a childe Moses also that he might not be sent vnto Pharao alledged the impediment of his tong for a let Farthermore Ieremy sayd Ah Lord I am a childe and I cannot speake The blessed virgin also sayd vnto the Aungel How can this be done forasmuch as I knowe no man There might peraduenture also be mencion made of others but these are now sufficient And I doubt not but that some of these whom I haue touched fell in speaking these woordes For God was angrye with Moses when hee so obstinately excused the office which he had committed vnto him Saras laughter also was reproued But I know that the other were praysed for their faith for Abraham bycause he beleued the promyse was iustified and Elizabeth sayd vnto Mary What is the differēce betwene those whyche seeme to resyst God Blessed art thou which beleuedst for the thinges which the Lorde hath sayd vnto thee shal be performed The difference betwene these is hereby to be taken bycause some did in suche sorte aske an excuse for that they beleued not the woord of God neither could they be perswaded to agree vnto God whyche sent them or made promise to them Wherfore forasmuche as they synned God was not without a iust cause both angrye with Moses and also reproued Sara But there were other some of them which beleued the woorde of God and yet for all that they put foorth certayne questions not in deede to resist but to declare what thinges seemed to be a let vnto theyr calling or to the thynges commaunded them and in demaunding these thynges they desired nothing els than that they might be instructed of the way maner which they ought to vse and they required to be confirmed least those thinges which seemed to be a let The same wordes ar allowed in one that are disallowed in an other might plucke them backe either for waiting for the promises or els from fulfilling the thinges cōmaunded them Howbeit these men can not be seperated one from an other by the woordes which they spake when as almost they spake all one thing But by the purpose and thought of the hart they are seperated for if they spake and excused those thynges of incredulitye they oughte not to bee counted without blame but if they beleued and desired onelye to bee confyrmed and instructed we ought not to diffame them as guilty of incredulity But who shal discerne these thinges in them Surely God which knoweth the harts and conscience of euery one of them And we know that the fayth of Gideon is commended in the .xi. to the Hebrues But whither that were straight waye geuen him when he heard the woord of God or whether it came vnto him after some tarying and wrastling with humane reason we are ignorant 16 Then the Lord sayd vnto him Bicause I wil be with thee and thou shalt smite Madian as it were one man Cease of saith he these humane reasons and haue no regarde to strength riches and authority if these thinges should ciuilly be done thou mightest iustlye require them But now thou shalt vse my power and might Thou shalt saue Israel not by thine own might but bycause I wyl be with thee So God answered vnto Moses when he detracted his message So was it also said of Iosua I wil be with him After that maner was Ieremy answered when he cryed that he was a childe and could not wel speake I wil be with thee saith the Lorde thou shalt accomplish al these thinges to whatsoeuer I wil send thee Gideon therefore is instructed of the way or maner of the victorye namelye that God woulde haue the handling and charge of it and that chiefly by these woordes Thou shalt destroy the Madianites as it were one man For with God it is as easy to ouerthrowe an infinite number as one man And the same thing as touching the marueylous murther of the Madianites then vndoubtedly tooke effect when they smote one an other with their own swordes and by the impulsion of God they wounded one the other 17 Thē he answered him I pray thee if I haue foūd fauour in thy sight then shew me a sygne that it is thou that talkest with me 18 Depart not hēce I pray thee vntil I come vnto thee and bring my sacrifice and laye it before thee And he answered I wyll tarye tyll thou come agayne He therefore desireth a signe least he should thinke him selfe to be illuded by a ghost or spirit For he was not content with words but he would haue an assured signe of the talke nowe had But this sentence That it is thou that talkest wyth me semeth to be spoken by the figure Eclipsis so that we must vnderstand in the name of God least peraduenture I might thinke that the woordes which thou speakest are the woordes of a man and not count them for the Oracle of God This visiō hapned to Gideon being wakyng not sleeping These thinges were not done when he was a sleepe as it appeareth by the historye but when he was waking although God as we shal afterward heare appeared also by night vnto Gideon He requireth a signe bicause it is the parte of a godly man to trye spirites and not rashlye to beleue euery spirite especially when any newe and vnaccustomed woorke is commaunded and that whych otherwyse is not thought to bee lawfull there no man wyll easilye assent except he be fullye perswaded that hys callyng is of God But when doctrine now receaued and confirmed by holye scriptures is set foorth or woorkes required which in them are commaunded we must beware that we require not signes for asmuch as we are bound to beleue and obey them But of this thing we wil more largely intreate afterward 19 Then Gideon went in made redy a Kid vnleauened breade of an Ephah of floure put the flesh in a basket put the broth in a pot and brought it out vnto hym vnder the Oke and presented it This place may be enterpreted two maner of waies One way it is thought that Gideon would haue made redy a dinner for the man of God for such a one did he take him to be Therfore for honours sake he desired to refresh him wyth meate in his iourney to talk with him at leasure for
the shewing of the signe And he thought not that God or an Angel was present with him Wherfore he thought to folow the example of Abraham Lot And in dede the things which he presented partained rather to a dinner thā to a sacrifice He erected no alter neither prepared he the fat to be burnt nor the shoulder and the brest to be lifted vp nor the blood to be shed The other interpretation is that he would therfore bring him a sacrifice that in that oblation he might obtayne a signe as to Abel the fauour of God was declared when he was offring sacrifice And the authors of this sētence beleue that this doth nothing let that Gideon sod the flesh Flesh in sacrifices was sometimes sod forasmuch as that kind of sething was sometimes vsed in peace offrings as the fyrst booke of Samuel testifieth Of the interpretours of this place this latter sētence seemeth to be receiued for they iudge the Gideon intended to offer sacrifices But I rather allow the first sentēce as touching the feast although I know that the Angell contrary to Gideons purpose vsed that meate to a sacrifice and in it gaue the signe which a little before was desired of him This hebrew word Mitsoth signifieth vnleauened cakes Why the Elders vsed so oftē swete cakes in their feastes But the roote of the word may be Natsa whiche is to hast or to make speede For the Elders were carefull to prepare meate for straūgers with as much speede as might be Wherfore they straightway baked new bread bicause peraduenture their houshold bread was somewhat hard and stale The measure of an Ephah Therfore to the end they might the sooner refresh the weary they vsed swete cakes which were very soone baked This measure Ephah was not a measure for liquide thinges but for thinges dry and as the Hebrues affirme it held thre peckes and a pecke contained .144 egges And ten Ephas made one Corus Certaine Rabbines fable that there is therfore mencion made of sweete breade bycause this thing was done in the time of Easter But how trifling this is hereby we may gather bicause it is wel knowen that swete bread were by the commaundement of God vsed not onelye for sacrifices at Easter but also at other times especially such as wer to be burnt at the altar of the Lord. But if we shal say that Gideon prepared not a sacrifice but rather a feast we haue alredy shewed the reason why he brought swete bread Gideon is vtterly to be quitted of ydolatry For his wil was not to do sacrifice vnto the Messanger of God bicause his purpose was eyther to set meate before the mā of God or els to sacrifice vnto the lyuing God by the hand of the Prophet whom hee counted to bee farre better than himselfe 20 And the angel of God said vnto him take the flesh the vnleuened bread lay it vpon this stone poure out the broth he did so 21 Then the Angel of the Lord put forth the ende of the staffe that he held in his hand and touched the flesh the vnleauened bread there arose vp fire out of the stone consumed the flesh the vnleauened bread so the Angel of the Lorde departed out of hys syght They which thinke that Pinhas the sonne of Eleazar was this mā of god which appeared vnto Gideon affirme that the same man was also afterward called Elias And euen as when Achab raigned in Israel he obtained fire from heauē wherby the burnt offring was consumed wherupon he had poured water and that aboundantly very many times so likewise now out of the rocke by the power of god be raised vp a flame wherby the meate which was put vpon it was burnt wherupon he had before caused the broth of the flesh to be poured I confesse in dede that ther is some similitude betwene these two actes but therwithal I see many thinges to be causes wherby the one differeth from the other Farther I vtterly reiect this fained tale wherin they faine that Pinhas was present eyther there or here Ther by reason of the great distance of times here bicause as I haue expounded Augustine the wordes of the history do manifestly testify it was eyther god himself or an angel which talked with Gideon Augustine in his booke De mirabilibus sanctae scripturae teacheth that the signe whiche is here geuen doth aptly agree vnto that which was demaūded For it was shewed that by the wōderful power of god without mans labour and fight the enemies of the people of the Iewes should be ouercome euen as by the might of god aboue the ability of nature fire came forth Ambrose wherwith without mans healpe or industry those vittailes were consumed But Ambrose very elegantlye writeth the Allegorye of this place in the Proheme of his booke de spiritu sancto which I to auoyd tediousnes do ouerpasse This one thing onely I wil admonish you of Al thinges that wee offer are to bee offred by Christ that our giftes are then acceptable vnto God when wee offer them vpon the rocke whiche is Christ There our actions are by the fire of the holy ghost purged that which otherwise of his own nature is vncleane is of God receaued as holy And the Angel of the Lord departed By this sodain departure Gideon vnderstood that it was an Angel whom he saw wherefore he was sore afraide as the wordes of the history which follow do manifestly declare 22 And when Gideon saw that it was the Angell of the Lorde he sayd Alas my Lord God shall I bycause I haue sene an Angell of the Lorde face to face This is spoken by the figure Ecliptica for when Gideon sayth The fathers by seyng of god of angels wer made alrayde Alas my Lorde God shal I bycause I haue sene an Angel of the Lord there should be added dye Thou shalt euermore perceaue that the old fathers after that they had sene god or beholdē his Angels wer very sore afraid yea so astonished that they feared present death to come vpon them And no maruail for they wer not ignoraunt what God answered Moses when he desired to see his face Man shal not see me and liue Iohn Baptist also as we reade in the first of Iohn sayth No man hath sene God at any time And Paul to Timothy hath confirmed the same writing No man hath sen God neither can he se him for he is inuisible bicause he dwelleth in the light that no man can come vnto And that also which nowe Gideon speaketh Mannah the father of Samson as we shal afterward heare shal speak Iacob likewise after he had wrastled al night thinking that he had striuen with a man when he vnderstood that he was an Angel maruailed howe he escaped a lyue and safe Haue I sene the Lord sayth he face to face and is my lyfe saued As though that
that was in a maner impossible Yea and the Hebrues when the Lord discended to mount Sina to geue the lawe were so striken with feare and dread that they sayd vnto Moses Haue thou we praye thee to doo wyth God least if he go forward so to speake before vs we dye To this serueth that also whych is written in the same booke of Exodus when the couenaunt was then made betwene God and the people and Moses recited the cōdicions and sprinkled the people with the blood of the sacrifices which wer offred he brought forth the Elders vnto the mountain wher they saw God sitting in his throne wyth chiefe glory and maiesty But after the recital of that vision it is sayd Neyther did God extende hys hande vnto them which declareth that it was a newe and vnaccustomed sight that men should se god haue their life stil whole sound Wherfore that altogether is mencioned as a thing geuen by a singular prerogatiue Ierome Ierome also testifieth that Esay was vnder this pretence killed of the Iewes bicause he said that he had sene God sitting vpon his throne as it appeareth in the .vi. chap. of his booke They caueled that he lyed forasmuch as God cānot be sene of men which yet remain stil a liue Wherfore they condemned him for a lier as though in prophecieng he had taught the people not the things which the Lord had shewed him but his own inuencions This they fained against the innocent prophet when as bysides it they had no other cause against him And there are the like examples in the new testament when our Lord manifested in mount Thabor to his Apostles a certain shew of his maiesty glory he was altogether changed before them he shined with an incredible brightnes light with whō wer Moses Elias straightway present the voice of the father sounded from heauen These thinges bicause they many waies ouerpassed the faculty of mans sight the eyes of the Apostles were not able to beare them wherfore they fel downe to the earth wer as it wer dead Peter also whē in fishing at the cōmaundement of Christ he caught an incredible number of fishes for before his woord he had long labored in vaine marueiling at the straunge sight and vnderstanding that God was in Christ he was so afeard of himself that he said vnto him Lord I pray thee depart from me bicause I am a sinfull man and cannot without daunger suffer the presence of God Paul also declaring his rauishing vnto the third heauen where he vnderstoode thinges deuine whyche in word he might not expres vnto mē writeth whither it wer in the body or without the body I cannot tel Verely he durst not affirme that those thinges happened vnto him whilest he had the vse of the body senses of this life Wherefore it manifestly appeareth that Gideon was not without a cause astonished But why the beholding of God or of the Angels seemeth to bring present destruction vnto men Platos sect we must now shew the reason Peraduenture that hapneth by reason of the grosnes of the body which as the sect of Platos affirme is to vs as it wer an obscure darke prison Wherfore forasmuch as by it we are letted so that we cānot see things deuine if peraduēture at any time we behold them by by we remember that the ioyning together of the body mind is nowe dissolued that we shal straightway dye that therfore deuine things are set before vs to behold bicause now is at hand the seperation of the soule frō the body For Aristotle in his Metaphisicis testifieth Aristotle that the powers of our vnderstanding are in such sort vnable to vnderstand things deuine which of their own nature ar most euident that iustly they may bee compared vnto the eyes of the Owles or Battes whych cannot looke vpon the brightnes of the Sunne and lyght of the day They which thus thinke doo in deede say somewhat but not so much as is sufficient to expounde the thing manyfestly The bodye remoueth vs not from the beholding of God The body from the first creation was not therfore geuen vnto men that it should be a let vnto them to know God neither that it should restraine our soules as in a certain blinde darke prison for so the goodnes of God which created the bodily nature of man should be accused And that the thing is thus the historye of Genesis proueth which testifieth that God was very familiar with our first Parentes though they had bodies for he led them into Paradise which he had planted he shewed them the trees wherof they might eate and for certaine trees hee gaue them a law that they shoulde not toutche them he set all creatures before Adam to cal them by what name he listed Wherefore the bodye was not a let wherby the first man could not be familiar with God Synne seperateth vs frō god Sinne vndoutedly remoueth vs from the sight of god Therof cōmeth our dimnes darknes blindnes ignorance as touching things deuine For this cause we ar turned into Moles Bats Owles But God of his owne nature may be sene yea he is the lyght it selfe but that the blot of synne is put betwene Peraduenture thou wylt saye that is now sufficiently declared Bycause of sinne men flye from the sight of God that sinne is the originall cause of our blyndnesse but we haue not yet shewed why mē are so afeard at the sight of god Yea by cause of sinne happeneth all this also vnto vs for men besides that by reasō of their darknesse they are oppressed with the diuine light beyng of sinne accused by their conscience do flye from the iudge who is no lesse mighty then iust For they vnderstand that God himselfe is such a one that by reason of his purenesse and iustice he will suffer no vncleane or filthy thing before hym Wherfore to haue God present they thinke nothing els then that their punishement prepared for them and the paynes whiche they haue deserued are at hande For this cause our first parentes when they had sinned straight way hid thēselues and at the voyce of God were so afeard that they determined to hide themselues among the trees of Paradise whiche vndoubtedly came of a troubled conscience for as much as God of his owne nature is both quickning and also the author of all consolatiō Wherfore it is manifest that these terrors and discommodities came not by hys defaulte but thoroughe our owne wickednesse ¶ Of Visions or in what sorte and how muche God may be knowen of men NOw the matter geueth vs occasion somwhat to speake of visions of things deuine and in what sorte and how much God may be sene of men But least our disputacion should want either methode or els an order I will first set forth certaine distinctions whiche I perceaue are nedefull First the knowledge of God
in the myndes of the vnderstanders than if they had ben perceaued by the outward senses Wherfore in expounding the Prophetes it is true that very oftentymes we stād in great doubt whether the thing were so done outwardly or rather so appeared to the Prophet to be done in mind And in certain of thē by reason of the circūstances of the matter we are compelled to graunt that it was onely a vision as Ierome testifieth of the breeches or hosen of Ieremy Ierome whiche at the commaundement of the Lord he put in a rocke by the riuer Euphrates and he suffred them to remayne there so long till they were rotten and then he was commaunded to take them and to put them on agayne And this vision happened whilest the city of Ierusalem was grieuously besieged by the Chaldeyans whē the Prophet could not go and come to the riuer Euphrates For at the same tyme when he would once haue gone to Anathoth where he was borne he was taken euē as he was going out of the gates and accused of treason In like manner the same Ierome affirmeth that that was onely done by a vision whiche is written in Ezechiell of the bread baked in the doung of an oxe and how it lay many dayes vpon one and the selfe same side To these may be added the eatyng of the booke and such like whiche either humane nature or circumstances of the matters and tymes suffred not so to be done as it is writtē And as touching the preaching expressing vnto the people that things which the Prophetes had in their myndes a thing sene by phantasy or imagination was all one and had as much efficacy as if it had outwardly bene sene But yet they fled not vnto the visions of the mynde when the thing it selfe might outwardly be done For seyng God can vse both wayes he hath sometymes taken this way and other sometymes that way as it hath pleased him and as he hath iudged mete and profitable for vs. But in all these things me thinketh the sentence of Ambrose is to be holden Ambrose The visions of Prophets wer not naturall which intreating of these images sayeth That they were such as will did chose and not such as nature hath formed whiche vndoubtedly maketh agaynst those whiche will haue prophesieng to be naturall as though by the power of the heauens or some certain instinct of nature or temperature of humors such images sights offred themselues to be sene of the outward senses of the Prophetes or to be knowen inwardly by imagination phantasy The will sayth Ambrose namely of god or of an aungell would those thinges and aboue other thinges chose them and not the power of nature formed them But there is an other doubt which in dede is not to be left vnspoken of Whether God at any tyme shewed himself or whether they were alwayes angels that appeared namely whether god himselfe at any tyme shewed himselfe vnder these images or formes Or whether onely aungels alwayes appeared which wrought spake with the Prophets sometimes in theyr own name other sometyme in the name of god Ther haue ben some which said the god himself neuer appeared but by angels in the name of god all those things were accōplished which are written to be either spoken or done in those visions And they contend that they haue certayne testimonies in the Scriptures which make with thē among which one is found in the Actes of the Apostles where Stephen expressedly calleth him an aungell whiche called to Moses out of the bushe when as for all that he is in Exodus named God Farther Paul to the Galathians testifieth that the lawe was geuen in the hande of a Mediator be the disposition of Aungels And no man doubteth but that in Exodus it is written that the law was geuen by god Wherfore they conclude that we must vnderstand that God appeared not by himselfe but by Aungels Howbeit forasmuch as the essence or diuine nature can not be taken away either from the holy ghost The holy ghost shewed himself in a Doue or from the sonne for either of them by nature is God how will they defend their opinion when as it is expressedly written in the gospell that the holy ghost descended vpon Christ in the forme of a Doue If they say that an aungell came and not the holy ghost they accuse the Scripture as a lyer but if they cōfesse that together with that Doue the holy ghost appeared what shall let but that god himselfe also appeared vnto the fathers vnder other figures and images They cā from this by no meanes escape except which I thinke they wil not do otherwise they should bring in a manifest heresy they will deny the holy ghost to be God And that which I haue aunswered of the holy ghost we may obiect the like of the sonne out of the wordes of Paul to Timothe the 3. The sonne of God appeared in humane flesh chap where he writeth Without controuersy it is a great mistery god is made manifest in the flesh iustified in the spirite c. For the whole Churche and right faith confesseth that the word was the true god whiche appeared vnder the fleshe of man Whiche if he did as vndoubtedly without conterfayting he did why may he not be said to haue done the same in the old Testament vnder sōdry formes and manifolde figures Without doubt that was much greater whiche he gaue vnto vs in the latter tyme. But he whiche hath geuen the greater thing we doubt not but that he also can geue that whiche is lesse Peraduenture they will say that that whiche was geuen in the latter tyme the holy Scriptures do set forth to the end we should beleue it but that whiche ye require to haue ben done in the old time is no where read It is the word or sonne of god by whom God spake vnto the fathers Prophetes Yea but if we diligently marke the Scriptures teach that also For the sonne of god is named by the Euangelist the worde or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whiche we must beleue was not by him done rashly but bycause it might be vnderstand that by him god spake when the scriptures testifie that he spake Wherfore as often as we read that the word of the Lord came vnto this mā or to that man I iudge that the same is so often to be attributed vnto the sonne of god Christ our Lord namely that god by him spake vnto the fathers and Prophetes Which least I should seme to speake in vayne I wil for this sentence bring forth two testimonies Iohn 1. The first is read in the first chap of Iohn No man hath sene god at any tyme straight way by the figure Occupatio is added The sonne which is in the bosome of the father he hath reueled hym For a man might aske If no man haue sene god at any tyme who appeared then
to the fathers when things deuine wer shewed vnto them who talked with them when sondry formes and images appeared vnto them in the name of god Iohn 12. and wrought with them Straight way it is aunswered The sonne which is in the bosome of the father he hath reueled him he was to man the most true interpretor of the father An other place is in the gospell the 12. chap where it is thus word for word writtē Therfore they could not beleue bycause agayn sayd Esay He hath blinded their eyes hardened their hart that they should not see with their eyes nor vnderstād with their hart and should be conuerted and I should heale them These thinges sayd Esay when he saw his glory and spake of hym Vndoubtedly these two pronounes His and of Him do without cōtrouersy signify Christ for a litle before the Euāgelist had sayd Though he namely Christ had done so many signes before thē yet beleued they not in hym that the saying of Esay the Prophet might be fulfilled that he sayd c. And to this sentence which in very dede is natural do agree Chrisostome Ierome Cirillus Augustine Farthermore the wordes of Hosea the Prophet which he hath in the 12. Hose 12 chap are diligently to be weighed And thus speaketh the Lord there I haue spoken vnto the Prophetes and I haue multiplied visions and vsed similitudes by the hand of the Prophetes c. Hereby we vnderstand that similitudes were not geuen vnto the Prophetes from the beginning but god himselfe spake vnto them By examples it is declared both that God himselfe also that āgels somtymes appered But now must we by examples and such as are most euident confirme that the appearynges of god are vtterly distinct from the visions of aungels First it is declared vnto vs in the boke of Genesis that Iacob saw a ladder which reached from earth euen to heauen and by it the aungels both ascended and discended And at the top of the ladder namely in heauen stode the Lord from whom Iacob heard noble and large promises Hereby is gathered vnlesse we wil stil be blind that aungels shewed themselues in one kind of images and god himself appeared in an other forme This selfe same thing may we see in Esay when he sawe the Lord sitting in his throne and with him two Seraphins whiche cried mutually the one to the other Holy holy holy And with so great reuerence they worshipped God which was in the middest that with their two vpper winges they couered their face and with the two neither wings their feete Who seeth not here a great difference betwene god and the aungels which appeared I will not speake of Ezechiell which saw aungels in the formes of creatures namely of an Oxe an Egle and a Lion by whom wheles were turned but God himselfe sat in the hyghest parte in the forme of the sonne of man Of Daniell also was sene the auncient of dayes vnto whom came the sonne of man And he addeth that thrones were there put bookes opened and a certain forme of a iudgement appoynted then he maketh mencion of aungels of which he sayth were present ten thousand and ten hundreth thousand whiche ministred vnto hym And here we heare what great difference there is betwene God and the angels which ministred Farther there is a place most manifest in Exodus when God beyng angry with the people denied that he would go any farther with them thorough the desert least being prouoked with theyr sinnes he shuld at once vtterly destroy them But he promised to send his aungell with which promise Moses was not content and sayd that he would by no meanes go with the people except god himself would go together with thē And vndoubtedly by prayer and constantly abiding in his sentence at the length he ouercame and as he desired had god for the guide of their iorney How can these men therfore say that god himselfe was not present vnder those formes but only angels were sene in such images Moreouer let vs remember that Moses as it is writtē in the same boke of Exodus desired of God to see his face which his request god for that he loued him excedingly would not vtterly deny but yet he would not graunt him all that he required Wherfore he aunswered My face thou shalt by no meanes see bycause man shall not see me lyue but thou shalt looke vpon my hinder parts namely my backe What is more manifest than this testimony Surely god by certayne wordes here promiseth to appeare vnto Moses in the shape of a man of whose forme or image Moses should see not the face but the backe And the same he faythfully performed vnto Moses for as god passed by Moses sawe the backe of his image by the rocke and heard the wonderfull and noble names of god rehearsed with a most loude voyce Which when he saw he fell prostrate to the earth and worshipped and it is not to be doubted but that he gaue vnto hym that adoration which is onely due vnto the onely god For forasmuch as he beleued that he was there present according vnto his promise it is not to be had in controuersy but that he worshipped him as being present in very dede And vndoubtedly god except he had shewed himselfe present in very dede at the arke mercy seat should haue throwen the Israelites hedlōg into idolatry if he would haue had onely aungels to aunswere such as came to aske counsell for that he commaunded them to cal vpon him and to worship him there To these may be added that history whiche is written in the booke of kinges of Micheas the Prophet whiche prophecied before Achab king of Israell and sayd that he sawe god with whō was present an host of aungels he heard him aske who shal deceaue Achab and that one offred himself to be a lying spirite in the mouth of the Prophetes of the king Achab. By this vision also we vnderstand that there was an assured and notable difference betwene god and the aungels whiche appeared all together vnto the Prophet Wherfore the gift of god which he gaue vnto the fathers is not to be diminished or to be extenuated we must cōfesse that he was in very dede presēt whē he appeared forasmuch as we reade that it was so done and there is nothing that letteth as farre as can be gathered out of the holy scriptures neither is the very nature of god any thing against it that it could not be done It were not sound to attribute vnto aungels all those things which in the scripture are read of such visiōs For so might we easely slip so farre that at the last we should beleue that the word was not immediatly created by god but by angels at his commaundement Wherfore let vs confesse that god was present in very dede God was present in verye dede whē it is sayd that he appeared vnder diuers
speake for for that he is most simple The knowledge of God by fayth he is farre otherwise good iust wise thā men either are or are called But besides this naturall knowledge of god this knowledge also offreth it selfe vnto vs which consisteth of faith is by the worde of god reueled vnto vs. But faith is not of vs as to the Ephesians it is sayd but it is the gifte of God for Christ also saith No man can come vnto me except my father drawe him Faith therfore aboundantly gathereth out of the holy scriptures the knowledge of god as much as sufficeth to saluation or as much as this our lyfe is able to receaue Howbeit as Paul testifieth this knowledge also is imperfect For now we know hym by a glasse in a shadow but partly althoughe in this knowledge we profyte whilest we liue here yet can we not atteyn to the knowledge of the essence of god I know that Augustine thought as touching Paul Moses the sometyme The opinion of Augustine of Paul and Moses in minde whilest they were here they saw the substaunce of God but I can not easely agree vnto it forasmuch as I iudge that those places of Iohn of the lawe of Paul which I before alledged are most euidēt Vnto which this may also be added which is written in the 6. chap. of Iohn Not that any man hath sene the father he which is of god he seeth the father And this is not to be passed ouer the that which is here spoken of the father is true also of the sonne as touchyng his deuine nature Bycause as I haue aboue declared both out of Chrisostome and out of Augustine the nature as wel of the Sonne as of the Father is inuisible And it skilleth not if thou say as Augustine sayth that they sawe the nature and substaunce of God not vsing the outwarde senses but in a certayne traunse or rauishing or beyng alienated from the vse of this lyfe These thinges are not gathered out of the Scriptures yea contrarily we haue heard that Moses was denyed the sight of the face of God Wherfore by the knowledge of fayth we both knowe God and his good will towarde vs as much as is sufficient to our true and perfect saluation But among all those thinges wherby out of the holy sciptures we know god In Christ god is sayd to be made visible there is none more excellent than Christ himselfe Wherefore Paul hath iustly sayd without controuersye it is a great mistery God is made manifest in the fleshe c. The Lord also sayth Philip he whiche seeth me seeth also the father Paul also said that he knew nothing els but Iesus Christ and him crucified And vndoubtedly in Christ God may be sayd to be made visible bycause he was ioyned together with man in the same selfe person Wherfore they whiche sawe Christ might say that they had sene God And he which by faith beholdeth and acknowledgeth him doth see far much more than if he should behold the burnyng bushe of Moses Wherfore to the Collos it is written that in him are put all the treasures of the wisdome knowledge of god And Iohn doth healthfully admonishe vs in his Epistle the 3. chap. as he which hath a hope to see God as he is let him prepare himselfe therunto by purging himself as he is pure cleane Thus much of the Question now let vs returne vnto the history 23 And the Lord sayd vnto him Peace be vnto thee be not afeard thou shalt not dye 24 And Gideon built there an alter vnto the Lorde and called it Iehouah Shalum euen vnto this day It is yet in Ophrath the pertayneth to the Abiezerite Whē these things were spokē vnto Gideō by the history it appeareth not but I thinke it was the next night after the things already rehearsed wherfore he was cōmaūded to build there an alter where the meates which was setforth were cōsumed with fire namely vpon the rocke wherof is menciō made a litle before Why God appeared vnto Gideon the second tyme. Gideō was vexed with feare supposing the bycause he had sen god he should die Wherfore god cōforted him that he being voyde of the feare might the chearefullier prepare him selfe vnto those thinges which wer cōmaūded him That feare wōderfully letted his faith For how could he beleue that he should set the Israelites at liberty which euery houre suspected death to be at hād Wherfore god in cōforting him remoued away the feare that he might persecute the worke which lōged especially vnto faith Thou shalt not die saith he Peace be vnto the. In the hebrew phrase peace signifieth trāquility good successe as the cōmon people say prosperous fortune This word Shalū is deriued of the verbe Shalā which is to performe to finish to accōplish The latin word Pax also which is peace agreeth with the hebrew significatiō For if we may beleue Augustine Pax that is peace is a trāquility of ordre And then we recken al things to be peaceable whē they are right quietly disposed And Gideon built there an altar These wordes are spoken by the figure Prolepsis for he was in the night admonished of the Lord to builde this altare for the holy scripture vseth to set forth a thing summarily then to declare the thing as it was done Wherfore god came vnto Gideon in his sheape comforted him that he should not feare least he should dye cōmaunded him to buyld an alter to take a bulloke to do sacrifice to cut downe the prophane groue and to ouerthrow the alter of Baal Why the Elders vsed alters which was had in estimation The elders vsed alters not only to sasacrifice vpon but that they might be monumentes of some notable benefite geuen by god We read that Moses did so when the Israelites vnder the Lord obteyned the victory against Amalek After the exāple of Gideō euery one that is iustified by faith hauing peace toward god by Christ being assured of eternall life ought in his hart to graue such a litle Christe is our peace Christ is my Peace which thīg Paul also hath taught when he wrote to the Ephes He is our Peace which made both one 25 And the same night The Lord said vnto him Take thy fathers yong bullok the other bullok of vii yeares old destroy the altar of Baal that thy father hath cut downe the groue that is by it 26 And build an altar vnto the Lord thy god vpon the top of this rocke in a playne place take the second bulloke offer a burnt offring with the wood of the groue whiche thou shalt cut downe That which before was in a sūme spokē is now particularly expressed Some thinke the two bullokes are here mēcioned of which the one is called the secōd other by order of natiuity or as they stoode in order at the racke mangor
And that second is specified to be vii yere olde in at which time being made fat at the leÌ„gth to be offred to Baal this bulloke god would haue offred vnto himselfe for aburnt offring And bycause there is no farther mencion made of the first bulloke neither did god coÌ„maunde what he would haue done with it therfore I thinke we must vnderstaÌ„d but one the self same bullok which before is put absolutly theÌ„ by exposition repeted that he might be by some certaine tokeÌ„s knowen froÌ„ other bulloks wherof peraduenture his father had many so that it was vii yeares fatted stood in the secoÌ„d stalle And as touching the vii yeres fatting there is no cause why we should meruaile at it Apis the oxe was loÌ„g fatted forasmuch as the oxe called Apis or Serapis which was wont to be sacrificed was fatted certain yeares before And it is not hard to beleue The Hebrues vsed the superstitions of the Egyptians but that this custome of the Egyptians was supersticiously kept among the idolatrous Hebrues for that they were not onely neighbours vnto Egypt but also they came out of it into the land of Palestine God would haue an alter erected vnto him vpon a hard and stronge rocke namely vpon that wherout fire was stricken to burne those thinges whiche Gideon brought as though God by the miracle had appointed it for himselfe He coÌ„maundeth an alter to be raised vp in a place apt for the stone or rock as it is to be supposed was great Wherfore he willeth Gideon to chose one certain euen part of it aboue the rest which was most fit to build an alter vpoÌ„ And this is chiefly to be noted the god when he would deliuer the Israelites from the Madianites coÌ„mauÌ„ded aboue all things the idolatry should be ouerthroweÌ„ For vntill as long as religioÌ„ is not restored Nothing goeth forwarde well in a plub welth except religion be first restored nothing goeth forward well luckely in the pub wealth Farthermore faith is the grouÌ„dsele fouÌ„dation of actioÌ„s to come And that caÌ„ not be had where the worshipping of god is turned into superstitioÌ„ impiety Which thing if god in a maner in al expeditions doth obserue let Magistrates therby gather what they ought aboue all things to do among the people whoÌ„ they gouerne Priuate meÌ„ also by this exaÌ„ple ar admonished chiefly to frame piety in their minds It is not sufficient to build an altar vnto the Lord vnles the sacrilegious altare be cut downe neither is it inough to ouerthrow that vnles vnto the true god be his altare builte There are whiche fall from the Pope but they so fall that they will not follow the Gospell And some there are which do in such sorte receaue the true doctrine that for all that they wil not depart from the pernicious masses and other papisticall impietyes God hathe not so not so I saye commaunded whiche soeuer of these thou neglectest thou breakest his commaundemente That there were groues by the temples of the idoles none About idoles were groues whiche hath red Poetes or hystoryes doubteth That was a certayne mutacion of the Patriarches which offred sacrifices vnder okes or in hilles which they called high places They delighted as I thinke in close places wherby theyr mind when they sacrificed was more voyd of worldly cares and affayres And for the most parte experience teacheth vs that in darke places where high trees grow a certain admiration commeth vnto the mindes by which admiration they applye themselues the more to the meditation of thinges deuine God coÌ„maundeth the groue to be cut down bicause it was together with the altare dedicated vnto the god Baal Yet he commaundeth his wood and the oxe appoynted for him to be transferred to his own sacrifice least any man should think that the true god is not lord of all thinges For there is nothing so vnder the power of the deuill but that it may be turned to the glory and honour of god Yet the godlye oughte not by this example to eate thinges offred vnto idoles when they know that they are suche in dede Not vndoubtedly bcause the nature of that flesh is chaunged or ceaseth to belonge vnto god but bicause of the conscience of the weake ones and leaste it shoulde seeme that we woulde be made pertakers of the table of the deuilles But such lawes God hath prescribed vnto vs not vnto him selfe Wherefore he maye vse thynges dedicated vnto idoles for hys owne burnt offringes The groue the altar and the bullock are mencioned to belong vnto Ioas the father of Gideon because he had the office of a Magistrate in Ophrath whatsoeuer was the cause it is to be thought that he mayntayned idolatry there And forasmuch as sacred places sacrifices are appointed to the possessioÌ„ of priuate men therfore magistrates are wonte to haue the rule disposition of them Gideon is chiefly commaunded to do these things that euery man might vnderstand that in purging of religioÌ„ or amending any other sin we must first begin at our own famely and at such as are niest of kinne least any man should seme to correcte other and in the meane time leaue his owne neglected and vnamended 27 Then Gideon tooke tenne men of his seruantes and did as the Lorde badde him But bicause he feared to doo it by daye for hys hys fathers householde and the menne of the Citye he dydde it by nyghte The feare of Gideon resisteth nothyng agaynst hys fayth God wil haue euery man to fulfil his vocatioÌ„ but yet he forbiddeth not to adde prudence We must take place time and occasion vnlesse God appoynt these thinges also Howbeit we muste beware that in adding these cautions we goe aboute nothinge that is agaynst the precepts of God for that prudence is praysed which with thinges well done neglecteth no sinne Supersticions are more set by oâ— men â—hâ—n pure religion Hereby also we gather that Gidion was not oâ— toâ— basest sort forasmuch as out of his famely he could take out ten seruantes He feared and so feared that in the day time he durst not do that whiche the Lorde haâ— commaunded For the worshippinge of Baal was nowe confirmed and superstitions once established by takinge deepe rootes are wonte to haue more authority than perfecte pure and sincere worshipping of god can euer obtayne Such vngodlines is there grafted in the hartes of men that at this day if a man in the papacy detest the masse or deride a pece of bread which the wicked sacrificers both worshippe and cary about he shal be much more cruellye punished and tormented than if he shoulde with horrible blasphemies defame the true God and our Lord Iesus Christ So at that time he was counted as a most detestable heretike worthy to be killed which had done any contumely vnto the holy seruices of Baal Whereunto the feare of Gideon tended But wherunto tended this pollicy
dareth do thing but so much as God himselfe wyll somtime permit him as we reade was done of Iob. God sometime suffreth the sayntes to be greuously afflicted of Sathan to the ende his grace towardes them may most manifestly be declared Whither the plagues of the Egiptians wer done by good Aungels or by euyll But when Augustine expoundeth these wordes of the Psalme namelye the sending out of euyll Angels he doubteth whither the plagues of the Egiptians were done by a good Angel or by the Deuyl And at the length he sheweth that the plague and destruction of the first begotten maye be ascribed vnto the ministery of the Deuyl but the other plagues are to be attributed vnto good angels that the sentence both of the booke of Exodus and of the Psalme may stand fast Howbeit as touching that plage of the firste begotten in Exodus it is written vnder the name of God I wil this night passe through Egipt and wil smite c By these woordes that destruction semeth to be ascribed eyther vnto god or to a good Angel and not vnto the Deuil But that moueth me not much bycause although it were done by the ministery of the Deuil yet maye it be ascribed vnto the Lorde For Iob when by the woorke of the Deuil he was bereft bothe of goodes and children said neuerthelesse The Lorde hath geuen and the Lorde hath taken away and that sayd he was done by the Lorde which was done by the Deuil But some obiect If we assigne these things vnto the Deuil then shal he seme to haue fought against himself For the Sorcerers by the help of deuils withstoode Moses when they did the same thinges that he dyd And if plagues were by euyl Angels sent against the Egiptians and the Sorcerers went about to withstand them then Sathan semed to resist Sathan Neither could the Sorcerers haue trulye sayde that they fayled and testified that it was the fynger of God whych wrought But these reasons in my iudgement are not strong bycause the thinges done by the Sorcerers were done by the power of Sathan which is vnto him naturall For by it he is able to applye the seedes of thynges and woorking causes to his matter prepared and to woorke wonders as touching the sight of man But those thinges wherewith God afflicted the Egiptians were by his most mighty power wrought by the instrument of the Deuyll Wherefore it is no maruail if the Sorcerers failed and felt the most excellent power of the finger of God The place of Exodus and of the Psalme is conciliated Howbeit the booke of wysdome the .xviii. chap. semeth vtterly to ascribe these plagues vnto God wher he saith while al thinges wer stil and when the night was in the middest of her course thy almighty word c. And in the .xvii. chap. it is written that the Egiptians being among those plagues especially when they were oppressed with darknes wer with horrible vexations of minde and sights very terrible so vexed as though most doleful spirites had perpetuallye bene before their eyes and about their phantasy which vndoubtedly might be done by the sending of euyl Angels as the Psalme doth mencion Their hart also was hardened and their mindes were dayly made much more obstinate againste the Israelites And that semeth to haue pertained to the sending downe of euil angels Wherfore these two places may easely be made to agree in ascribing the plagues which ar mencioned in Exodus to good Angels and the terrible sights and hardning of the hartes to the sending of euyl Angels vpon them of whych the Psalme now alledged maketh mencion The power to work miracles maketh not mē better or woorser But forasmuch as God as it is declared for the woorking of miracles vseth both euil good angels men the godly men ought not therfore to be greued bicause oftentimes he geueth not vnto them this faculty For they are not for the cause of any worse condition then are they to whom God graunteth to woorke miracles For the Lord said vnto his Disciples when they returned from theyr embassadge Reioyce not in this bicause spirites are subiect vnto you reioyce ye rather for this bycause your names are wrytten in heauen There are some which are so desirous of such thinges that to obteine signes they are not afraid to vse euen the help of the deuill and vnder this pretence they excuse themselues To worke signes we must not vse the help of the deuill bycause god himself to worke signes vseth Sathan in following of whome they do well so farre ar they of that they can be cōdemned guilty of any crime They say also that Paul deliuered some to the deuill to be vexed and therfore they also may vse his ministerye But what manner of men are they whiche wil affirme that it is lawfull for them to do asmuche as is lawfull vnto god God is the author of all creatures wherfore it is no marueile if he vse them all But vnto vs it is by the law of god prescribed that we should not do it It is not lawfull to imitate God in all thinges And the immitation of god is so farforth commended vnto vs as by his law it is commaunded vs and no otherwise For he reuengeth his owne iniuries And who will saye that priuate men may do the same God adioyned vnto his owne burnt offring the bullocke appointed for Baal as we haue haue now hard with the wood also dedicated vnto the same idole Shall euerye one of vs therefore eate thinges dedicated vnto idoles The rule of our actiōs is the word of God Wherfore we ought not to be drawen to imitate him but so muche as the lawe suffreth That lawe hath he made not for himself but for men that they should frame theyr life after it Wherfore it was to him lawful to require of Abraham the immolation of his sonne which thing none of vs can require of our frend Paule and other Apostles had euill sprites subiect vnto them and by them it was sometimes lawfull vnto them to punish the guilty for theyr saluation Wherefore those to whome such a gift is not graunted ought to abstayne from excercising the same Wherefore the vse of the power of euil spirites is of two sortes wherof one is with authority and that belongeth chiefelye vnto god also to the Apostles and to the sayntes of the primitiue church The other by compact obedience which is vtterly forbidden mē For what participatiō cā ther be of the light with darknesse of god with Belial And for that cause the sorcerers which beleue thē can not be excused yet they ar by the law condēned guilty of superstition idolatry And it is not to be thought but that god vpō very iust causes and to vs most profitable hath forbidden these things to be done Why God forbad men to vse the helpe of the deuil to worke myracles For he prouideth that we should not
man is of it selfe vice or of his owne nature sinne This so discussed let vs nowe entreate of mercy ¶ Of Mercy MErcy is a grief of the minde which we take for the aduersity of other men Cicero Aristotle or as Cicero saith a grief takē for an others mās misery Aristotle teacheth that Mercy is stirred vp if we see any suffre greuous things which they haue not deserued For if wicked men be iustly punished Mercy is not therfore stirred vp Farther he thinketh that those cases whiche we pitye should be terrible otherwise if they be but light we are by them litle or nothing moued Lastly that they are touched with mercy which do thinke that such things may sometymes happen either vnto themselues or to some of their friendes Which is the cause that Aristotle supposeth that they which are in prosperity and do iudge themselues happy are not prone vnto mercy yea they ar wont to scoffe mocke those which are in misery as they which thinke nothing can hurte them Likewise he remoueth this affection from such as are desperate and in a most miserable state bycause they are not afrayd that any worse thing can happen vnto them then that whiche they haue already Wherfore they seme in that desperate fortune to haue become men without senses But if this were true a man might doubt by what meanes mercy can be ascribed vnto God for asmuch as he without controuersy is most blessed and nothing can hurt hym But to this might be answered that mercy is not properly attributed vnto god but by a metaphore taken of man bycause he doth those things Mercy is also to be shewed vnto those which iustly ar punished which mercifull men are wont to do For they helpe the afflicted which self same thing god also doeth But in this thing I agree not vnto Aristotle whiche will not haue mercy to be shewed vnto those whiche are iustly punished For Samuel mourned long time for Saul whō God reiected not vnworthily but most iustly Christ also wept ouer the destruction of Ierusalem which was at hand vnto that City not vndoubtedly without deserte but iustly Neither thinke I this true that sinnes which some mē commit do not stirre vp mercy but onely calamityes aduersityes do stirre vp mercy For holy men are no lesse grieued for other mēs causes whē they fal into grieuous sinnes thē they are when they be oppressed with euil fortune yea they ar so much the more grieued as that euil is more pernicious and lesse able to be cured Wherfore we can not deny but that mercy is a good affection for as much as it obeyeth the worde of God and reason especially seyng the Lord by his own mouth hath pronounced that the mercifull are blessed bycause they also shall obtayne mercy The other affection which hath his beginning of Heuinesse or Grief is called Nemesis Nemesis the same hath no Lattin worde although of some it be called Indignatio that is Indignation which yet by that word do not expresse all that affectiō for Indignation extendeth farther than Nemesis Holy men oftētymes ar sicke of Nemesis But leauyng the word let vs thus define the thing Nemesis is a grief which is taken for the prosperity of wicked men bycause they seme vnworthy of that fortune Iust and holy men are sicke oftentymes of this affectiō Dauid when he saw the vngodly florishing said My fete were almost moued Abacuk also was grieued that the vngodly were of such force that they could oppresse the saintes and deuoure the iust And Iob semeth in a maner to complayne vnto his friends for the same thing Farther Plutarche in the lyfe of Homere praiseth this affection Plutarche and by occasion therof he far preferreth the Peripatecians in disputing of Affections before the Stoikes especially by the iudgement of Homere who affirmeth that God at the length will angerly punishe after that the wicked haue a certayne while florished Howbeit this is to be obserued that men are not grieued with this affection for that they shall suffer any losse by reasō of the prosperous successe of the wicked or bycause that they by their power can hurt them For if they were in this maner grieued thei should not be troubled with Nemesis but rather with feare But Nemesis is then when a man for the lucky successe of the wicked is moued with astomake hatred of the vnworthinesse of the person How mercy Nemesis agree and differ This affection in two things cōmunicateth with Mercy first bycause either of them is a Heuinesse farther bycause eche of thē is stirred vp by the vnworthinesse of the thing Mercy bycause good men are grieued and oppressed and Nemesis bycause wicked men lyue happely But in this afterwarde they differ bycause Nemesis hath a respect vnto prosperous fortune Mercy vnto sharpe fortune Wherfore Nemesis is in a maner a meane affection betwene Enuy Mercy for of either it semeth to take somewhat of mercy it taketh vnworthinesse of Enuy prosperity which it hath a respect vnto Aristotle Farthermore Aristotle teacheth that none are affected with Nemesis for other mens vertues for if otherwise they of vicious and corrupt men become iust moderate strong and temperate men we are not then angry bycause when they are adorned with vertues they are no lenger counted wicked men But then at the last we are affected with Nemesis when those good things come vnto wicked mē with which we thinke the good mē ought to be rewarded as are riches honours power fauor such like But godly men must wisely deale with this affection that when their myndes are affected with it bycause of the felicity of the vngodly let them haue a regarde vnto God which is the true gouerner and distributer of all good things Wherfore if men should bestow these outwarde goods vpon the vnworthy their vniustice might iustly be reproued But such a reprehension hath no place in God bycause he doth all things most iustly This thing Dauid when he did not diligently consider sayd My fete were almost moued As though he should haue sayd By reason of this Nemesis I had almost grieuously fallen We muste seldom geue place to Nemesis Inuidia Inuidenciae Cicero How enuy and enuidēce differ Enuye The definition of Enuie Wherfore we must seldome geue place to this affection least we seme to reprehende the Prouidence of God Now must we speake of enuy Cicero thinketh that it should rather be called Enuidence for they among Lattin men are sayd to be sicke with Enuy whiche are enuied But Enuidence pertayneth to them which consume away with this disease And therfore he thinketh that Enuy or Enuidence is therfore so called bycause that they which are enuious do to much looke vpō other mens fortune Enuy therfore is a grief which is takē for an other mās prosperity especially of those which are equal like vnto vs. For a poore mā enuieth not
Nestorius was once bishop who beleued most wickedly of the sonne of god Macedonius had the same dignitye who beleued not that the holy ghost was god If those Patriarches had then beene vniuersall Bishops in the church the whole church had fallen also with them Let none of the papistes cry that it is no strong argument bicause it is none of ours but Gregories their father let them cry out against him who afterward addeth That he which maketh himselfe vniuersall bishop taketh away from other bishops their office for where anye man is vniuersall byshop he leaueth no office of a bishop vnto others This also is the collectiō of Gregory and not foūd out by vs. And vndoubtedly if a man at this day loke rightly and more nighly vp on the thing he shal see that the bishops of the west doe gouerne theyr churches onely by the ordre geuen them by the bishop of Rome Gregory counteth it for an absurdity that the Pope should be preferred before the Emperour Gregory afterwarde addeth that Iohn preferreth himselfe aboue the Emperor which thing Gregory coūted for an absurdity But oure men now a dayes thinke it necessarye that Cesar should be subiect to him yea they haue oftē times resisted emperors many times wearied them and sometimes moued them out of theyr place And yet Gregory theyr father detesteth and inueigheth agaynst it as a thinge vniust and not to be suffred And writing vnto Augusta he is yet more vehemēt saying that the same belongeth vnto Antechrist Wherfore let not our mē meruayle if we sometime cal the bishop of Rome Antechrist for asmuch as their Gregory calleth him by the most goodly title which wil be vniuersal bishop The sinode of Chalsedonia erred The Sinode of Calcedonia as the same Gregory sayth gaue vnto the seat of Rome this prerogatiue namely vnto Leo the first of that name Howbeit no mā vsed it because our elders being men most holy saw it was not meete for anye mortal man Onely Christ is the vniuersal hed of the church For he is the smal grayn of musterdsede whiche hath incresed into abrode and large tre that it ouerspreadeth the whole world and he is that little leauen wherwith thre peckes of meale wer leauened And the stone hewed out without handes whiche is become so great a moūt that it hath filled al thinges Wherfore Christ him self for as much as he is able to be with vs is to al vs the vniuersal hed to whom euery one of vs cleaueth as membres Moreouer Gregory admonisheth Alexandrinus and Antiochenus that they shoulde receaue no Epistles whiche had written in them a tittle of so great pride And he sayth that to receaue such a title is to fall from the fayth Now let our men go and obtrude this yoke whiche by the testimony of theyr Gregory we can not receaue except we should go back from faith Namely in attributing that to a manne which we must beleue is propre and peculiar vnto Christe Neither doubteth he to affirme that this Iohn transgressed the decrees of Christ the rules of the Apostles and Cannons of the fathers All these things sayth he hath he violated in the vsurpation of this one title And he addeth what wilt thou aunswere vnto Christ in the last day of iudgement thou that hast arrogantly takē vpon thee his office and wilt haue al his members subiect vnto thee He commaunded that we shoulde not call anye a father vnto vs vpon erth But thou commandest men to cal thee vniuersal father In what estimation therfore hast thou the wordes of the Lord An error of Gregory Howbeit in collecting of these places of Gregory I thinke there ar some thinges which ar diligently to be takē hede of namely two of the which the one is that he sayth that Peter was the chief membre of the vniuersal church Paule Andrew and Iohn were heades of singular churches This I therefore admonish you forbycause the Apostles wer not byshops of singuler churches for they wandred abrode thorough out the whole worlde they founded churches wan sondry nacions vnto the Lord and al they were members Another error of Gregory and that principal mēbres of the vniuersal church Wherfore this sētēce of Gregory is not to be admitted The other thing which I iudge is to be obserued is that Gregory doth testify that this his Iohn did fyrst vsurpe vnto himself the title of vniuersality Theodoretus which assuredly I cannot be perswaded of Forasmuch as Theodoretus in his booke de haerecibus when he writeth of Nestorius oftentimes sayth that he was made vniuersall patriarke Yea and Iustinianus in suis nouellis attributeth that title to diuerse Patriarches And to speake as the thing is I suppose that Gregorie this prety little saynt would haue had the thing or matter of an vniuersal bishop although he reprehended the name and title For as the history of those times teacheth and his epistles testify he abstained not from gouerning of other churches He shewed indeede that the name should be auoyded namely least the patriarch of Constantinople by that title should eyther preferre himselfe or be equal vnto the byshop of Rome But before these times Ciprian wythstoode the churche of Rome Cipriā resisted the church of Rome whoe sought then to clayme vnto it self some tiranny and he iudged that appellatiōs should not be brought vnto the seat of Rome but would haue Ecclesiastical causes iudged in euery singuler prouince namely that they which in any place wer condemned by the iudgement of byshops should not be restored by the ayd of the seate of Rome when as yet he chiefly reuerenced the church of Rome acknowleged it as the Matrix in these our regiōs And assuredly to haue it in great estimacion is a farre other thing then to graunt vnto it tiranny or dominion aboue al other For to the first we may after a sort agre but to the other we must not assente vnlesse we will fall from the fayth Afterwarde in Augustines time when he was present at the Sinode of Africa The counsel of Afrike resisted the church of Rome there was great and longe alteration about this thinge and at length the bishop of Rome coulde neuer proue whiche thing yet he chiefly endeuored to do that this power was geuen him in the councell of Nice that menne from all partes of the worlde mighte appeale vnto him Wherefore if it were eyther for lacke of knowlege or of some rashnes or by the people or by flaterers geuen to any byshop of Rome it should by the example of Gideon Leo and Gregory haue bene refused We must not trust vnto the inconstancy of the common people The inconstancye of the common people which is alwayes moueable now they wyll haue Gideon to raigne a litle afterwarde you shal see that they were most vngrate againste him for as the historye declareth they slew his children Gideon refuseth not the principality as though
he would not labour in the publike wealth What the Popes oughte to haue before theyr eyes but bicause he vnderstode that it was no lawful vocatioÌ„ which the Popes also ought to regard He had before his eyes the law in Deut. now alledged The Pope ought also to loke vpon the words of Christ Kinges of the nations sayth the Lord bear rule ouer theyr subiectes but ye shal not do so and being demaunded who should be greatest he aunsweared that he which was lowest and which more serued others This is to gouern the church not to commaund but to serue Peter himselfe also taught ministers not to beare dominion ouer their flocke Who are in the church to â—â—uerenced aboue other And Paule hath written that Christ is set the hed of the church not men although in it they are aboue other to be much made of to be honored whych more then other profet the faythfull and are more largely endewed with good gracious giftes and as Christe required of Peter doo more depely loue him and which ar more aboundantly endewed with those qualities which Paule to Timothe and Titus requireth in bishops If we highlier honor such men in the church aboue other not as lords not as vniuersal bishops not as heads of the church but as excellent ministers thereof the authority and obedience of the word of god should therby be nothing diminished An error verye hurtful in the church But they do not so They haue fixed the exellency and dignity of the ministers of the church vnto chayres places and cities howsoeuer he be in greater price honor which sytteth in those chayres or places and what manner of man so eueâ— he be in lyfe and manners And so is there no regarde had to the graces and giftes of God but onely to the place and seate This vndoubtedly was the fountayne ofpring and beginning of al euils and superstitions Our elders thought it good that in cities which were more famous where marchandises were traded and were assemblies of men where Proconsuls or Presidentes gouerned there also the bishops should be of greater authority and iurisdiction Whereby custome obteined that those Churches and chayres were had in greater honor But as it commeth to passe ambicion crepte in and in those places byshoppes were ordeyned not alwaye suche as were more worthye but such as were better fauored of Princes And oftentimes the better learned and more holy were geuen ouer to small and abiecte bishoprikes When Augustine was Bishop of Hippouerhegium one called Aurelius gouerned the most honorable church of Carthago And who knoweth not that Augustine in doctrine maners and authoritye farre excelled Aurelius The same thinge happened vnto Gregorius Nazianzenus who was byshop in an abiect place namelye in Sassimis when as many other not to be compared with him obtayned the chief chayres After this way maner the bishop of Rome began to be preferred aboue other namelye bycause of the moste ample dignitye of the citye The cause why the bishop of Rome was preferred before other whyche cause neuerthelesse he vnderstanding that it was no firme groundsele of the honor which he had obteyned he hath fained other causes of his excellency And first he pretendeth that he had this priueledge by the councel of Nice which yet he could not proue before the fathers of Africa bicause in that Sinode the charge onelye of suburbe churches was committed vnto hym Not a charge to beare dominion but to geue counsel to admonish and if there wer any things of more waight to referre the same to the counsell As to the bishop of Alexandria the suburbe churches of Egipt and to the byshop of Antioch of the suburbe churches of the east parties And it was not geuen the bishop of Rome to be the vniuersall pastor Neyther is it possible that a weake and mortall man should feede the flocke of Christe in all countries Farthermore the bishop of Rome boasted that he was set to be the head of the church The bishop of Rome canot be hed of the whol church whych cannot be meete for any man For from the heade ar deriued mouinge and sense by the sinewes into al members as Paule very well teacheth to the Ephesians and Colossians But no man can performe that as of himselfe by closures ioynts to quickeÌ„ the meÌ„bers of the church with the sprite of god It loÌ„geth onely to christe Magistrates princes may be called heads of the people to destribute vnto his meÌ„bers spiritual mocions illustracion of the minde and eternall life Indede kings and magistrates may be called heads of the people bicause they gouerne ciuily and from them we may looke for good lawes and ciuyle mouinges but in the church men entreat not of ciuile life but of spiritual and eternall life which we cannot loke for but at gods hand neyther can any mortall men quicken the members of the church Kinges magistrates when they are godlye in my iudgemente oughte to haue the chiefe place in the church and to them it pertaineth if religion be il administred to correcte the defaultes For therfore they beare the sword to maintayne Gods honor But they cannot be heades of the churche Paule to the Romaines and to the Corinthians where he maketh rehearsal of the members of the churche putteth some to be eyes some noses eares hands and feete but he adorneth none with the dignity of the heade who yet to the Ephesians sayth this of Christe that god had geuen hym to be the head of the body of the church We must not make the church two headed Let the papistes shew writen in any other places of the holy scriptures that Christ gaue an other hed vnto the church they shall haue the victory But I know assuredly they caÌ„not For if that could haue bene done the church should be a two hedded monster But it is a sporte to heare what Iohn sometimes B. of Rochester in defendyng the Pope auÌ„swered to this To graunt two heads of the Church sayth he is not absurd for the Apostle writeth the man is the head of the womaÌ„ neuertheles euery wife hath byside her husband which is the head an other head also Wherfore he concluded that we may thus affirme of the church namely that it hath both Christ and the Pope to be head But this man faileth by a false Sillogismus of equiuocatioÌ„ For speaking now of a head as it is attributed vnto the Church he falleth to a natural head In matrimony the husband is the head of the wife not the natural hed How the husband is the hed of the wyfe but as touching aeconomical life But the natural head of the woman is the beginning of her natural life And vndoubtedly if we looke vpon the natural head in the church we shal finde that it is not one head but looke howe manye men there be in it so many heades shal there be for there is none
without an heade in it And when we speake of the head of the Churche we must keepe our selues in the Metaphore and as it should be absurde and monstrous for one man to haue two natural heades so shal it be iudged as portentous for the Churche to haue two Metaphorical that is spiritual heads We must alwaies wheÌ„ we entreate of any thing persist in the same order and kinde which thing if wee doo not obserue we shal easily be deceaued by equiuocation But let vs returne to the Pope Of the keyes foundation of the Churche who least he shoulde seme to be destitute of testimonies of the holy scriptures taketh two places out of them Whereof the one is Vpon this rocke I wil builde my Churche and wyll gyue the keyes c. But that place pertaineth to al those which confesse the verity of faith for Peter when the Lord demaunded what the Apostles beleued of him aunswered in the name of them al that he was the sonne of the liuing God Wherefore that which Christ speaketh vnto him pertaineth to all them whych together wyth him beleue and professe the same selfe thing For the keyes are geuen vnto the Church And in Iohn the Lord after his resurrection gaue them vnto all them at the last also when he should ascend vp into heauen he sent them all alike to preache throughout the world And as touching the fouÌ„dation the Church hath no other foundation but Christ For Paul vnto the Corinth sayde No man can lay any other foundation then that which is already layde How the Apostles are called foundations of the Church which is Christ Iesus And if at any time the Apostles be called foundacions of the churche that is to be vnderstand bicause they in the first time of the Churche cleaued vnto the foundation as the first and greater stones not bicause the Churche leaned vnto them as to the principal foundation The other place which they bring out of the scriptures is Not onely to Peter was the coÌ„maundement geuen to feede the flocke of Christ bicause Christ saith vnto Peter feede my Lambes But they are excedingly deceaued for it was not the office of Peter onely but also of the other Apostles to feede the flocke of the Lord. But it was so sayd peculiarly vnto Peter bicause he had denyed the Lord thrise and therefore he might haue seemed to haue fallen from the fellowship of the Apostles vnles he had of Christ bene restored by certaine woordes And that not onely he but also other ought to feede the shepe of Christ his own woordes testify which be writeth in his Epistle wher he admonisheth other Ministers to feede the flocke of the Lorde But graunt that the Lorde gaue vnto Peter anye principal thing what hath the bishop of Rome common with him Let hym declare his spirite and as Peter hath labored for the Church let hym also labour which thing if he performe then wil we acknowledge him not as an vniuersal bishop but as a good Minister of Christ The spirite of Christ is not bouÌ„d to chairs He sayth that hee hath the chaire that Peter had What seate I pray you speaketh he of The holy ghost is not bounde to seates But graunt that it were so Antioche had Peter sitting in it before Rome had For that church he planted and long whyle gouerned But they say that he was slayne at Rome But the Iewes crucified Christ himselfe at Ierusalem which is a thing of greater waight Wherfore if we should follow this argument the bishop of Ierusalem should be preferred aboue all other Yea and Peter as it is written to the Galathians was not the Apostle of the Gentiles but of circumcision as it was agreed betwene Paul Iames Iohn and Barnabas Neither do we euer reade that Peter prescribed the other Apostles any thyng or that they depended of him Yea Paul most manifestly testifieth that he receaued nothing of Peter Farther it is certaine that Peter was slain vnder Nero Iohn liued euen to the time of Traiane And they say that Cletus Linus and Clemens succeded Peter at Rome What then shal we thinke that Iohn the Apostle was subiect vnto Clemens And of necessity he should be so if the Byshop of Rome be the vniuersal head or general bishop But who wil say that this may be suffred Moreouer An Epistle of Clemens lyes may be confuted with lyes Our aduersaries bring the Epistle of Clemens which is a fained Epistle as a thing certaine We wyl gratefy theÌ„ in this thing Clemens Iacobo â—ratri domini Epis copo EpiscoruÌ„ regnanti Ecclesiam que esi Hierosolymis omnes que suÌ„t vbique Dei prouidentia and we wyll now graunt that to be true which is false Let them marke his superscription which is written after thys maner Clemens to Iames the brother of the Lord by the prouidence of God the bishop of bishops gouernour of the Church which is at Ierusalem and of al the Churches euery where What wyl they say here The bishop of Rome ascribeth his title vnto the Byshop of Ierusalem and attributeth this vniuersall charge of all Churches vnto him and not to himselfe This argument maketh verye muche agaynste those which haue vnto the Churches obtruded this Epistle for true ratefied it But that can nothing hurt vs which is takeÌ„ out of that epistle against our doctrine For we know that it is a fayned thing as that which was neuer alledged by any of the fathers And in it the same Clemens affirmeth that he hym selfe wrote the litle booke called Itenarium Perri which booke as it is said in the Decrees is counted among the Apocripha bookes But of this thing I haue spoken sufficient these thinges haue I rehearsed onely that we might vnderstand howe much Gideon is to be preferred before the Antechristes of Rome Whither the gouernment of God bee excluded by humane Magistrates Here is put forth an other question whether the rule and gouernmeÌ„t of God be therfore excluded bicause the Magistrate of a publike wealth or of Aristocratia or of a kingdome is geuen vnto a man The cause of the doubt is bicause when it was sayd vnto Gideon Thou shalt raygne ouer vs he answered I wyl not raygne ouer you but the Lord shal raign ouer you It is not hard to dissolue this question proposed forasmuch as the administration wherwith God gouerneth publike wealthes hindreth not the Magistrate which is his Vicar Minister And assuredly God raigned together with Dauid and Iosias and the Israelites at that tyme had a certaine Magistrate and one of their own with whom also God himselfe also gouerned Wherfore the wordes of Gideon do not teach this that God cannot raigne there where as is a lawfull king But this thyng onelye he regarded that the present state of thinges whiche was instituted by God When God is sayd to gouerne pub wealthes ought not to be altred
without him Ther was a publike wealth then in Israel they had Senatours and in al places ther wer Iudges appointed wherfore the forme of the publike wealth could not by men be chaunged wtout great offence If so be thou wilt demaund when it is to be thought that God doth gouern rule in other Magistrates I answer Then when this is onely prouided for that Citizens may liue vertuously And forasmuch as piety is of al vertues the most excellent the Lord doth then raigne whē althings ar referred vnto it Farther as touching ciuil actions when to euery man is rendred his own Magistrates gouerne not for their own commodity but for the publike vtility When the thing is otherwyse shall wee saye that God raygneth or no as when Nero Domitianus Commodus Heliogabalus and suche wycked men wer gouernours A distinctiō of those thynges which are done vnder Magistrates Did God then cease from gouerning of the worlde I thynke we must make a distinction of these thinges which are done in those kingdomes of the good thinges I say from the euil forasmuch as there is no Empire so vitiate and corrupt but that it stil retaineth in it many good thinges Let vs looke vpon the gouernment of Nero we shal se ther in a maner an infinite number of wicked and mischeuous actes where yet many partes also of Iustice floorished Prouinces were gouerned by Pretors and Presidentes which execute lawes not altogether vniustly It was lawful for Paul to appeale vnto Rome neyther could the Hebrues by the lawes be permitted to iudge him as they lusted themselues And the same Paul when he had shewed that he was a Citizen of Rome escaped both from bondes and from stripes Wherefore seing in a gouernment most corrupt very many good and profitable thinges floorished the same coulde come frō none other but from God It is therfore manifest that god at that time forsooke not the care and administration of thinges But if thou go forward and aske How God ordereth himself toward the fauts of Princes whether the vices and corruptions of Empires are to be referred vnto God I wyll answer that the true cause of synne is in man but the wil of God doth neither allow those vices nor cōmaunde them in his lawes yea he prohibiteth and detesteth them But he vseth them to punish the wickednes of the people for for the synnes of the people he maketh an hipocrite to raygne and in his fury he geueth kinges For such thinges are euyl and synnes and haue in them a consideration of punishments as they are punishmentes they pertayne vnto the iustice of God But when Princes are so corrupt what is to be done We must obey Whither it bee lawfull to ryse vp against euyl Princes but vsque ad aras that is so farre as religion suffreth Maye priuate men take vpon them to alter a corrupt Prince They may do it in admonishing in geuing coūsel and reprouing but not by force of weapons Yea Citizens may fight for the defence of the publike wealth as long as it lasteth Wherfore Pompeius Cicero and Cato are not lightly to be condemned for that they resisted Cesar going about to styrre vp insurrection althoughe at that time the publike wealth was very corrupt But when he had once obtained the Empire he ought not by priuate men to be depriued with weapons Wherfore Augustus said vnto Strabo who spake euil of Cato being then dead that he was a good Citizen which contended that the present state of thinges should not be chaunged In the publyke wealth of the Hebrues which floorished in the time of Gideon God gouerned in very deede It was as I haue said Aristocratia where Elders were chosen by common voices to do iustice in which office vnles they rightly behaued themselues they were both punished and put out of their roume but if there happened any hard warre God himselfe raysed vp Iudges but they were not chosen by the people neither did the children succede the Parentes in that office After this maner did God gouerne the Hebrues The wordes of Gideon sufficientlye declare that the Iudges exercised not the office of an ordinarye Magistrate It was in the Lord to rayse vp for the time whom he would What we must consider when any thing is offred vnto vs. therfore the Lord said vnto Samuel They haue not reiected thee but me that I should not raigne ouer them Hereby we gather that when anye thing is offered vs we must alwayes weigh whither the same be good of his own nature and whither it bee lawfully geuen and may lawfully be vsed Which if it be not let vs put awaye from vs whatsoeuer is offred as Christ reiected Sathan when he promised hym all the kingdomes of the world neither receaued he the kingdome offred him by the people Thys the Pope considereth not who for his vnlawfull Supremacye or tyranny continually warreth and there is nothing which he attempteth not so farre is he of to refuse these thinges c. 24 Againe Gideon said vnto them I would desire a request of you that ye would geue me euery man the earings of his pray for they had golden earinges bicause they were Ismaelites 25 And they sayd we wyl geue them And they spread a garment and dyd cast therein euery man the earinges of hys pray 26 And the weyght of the golden earinges that he required was a thousand seuen hundreth syckels of gold besides collers pomanders and purple rayment that was on the kinges of Madian and besyde the chaynes that were about their Camels neckes 27 And Gideon made an Ephod thereof and put it in hys City in Ophra And all Israel went a whooring after it in the same place which thing was the destruction of Gideon and hys house Here is set foorth an example of a most grieuous fal very much to be lamented A man holy in miracles and notable in faith filthelye falleth Euerye man therefore is admonished not to trust vnto his former lyfe and thinges that hee hath well done Kim his opiniō of the Ismaelites and Madianites They had golden earinges bycause they were Ismaelites Kimhi thinketh that the Madianites and Ismaelites were al one which he saith is confirmed by the booke of Genesis wher it is written that the brethren of Ioseph sold him to the Madianites and straightway it is added that the Ismaelites sold hym in Egipt wherfore he gathereth that they were al one namelye which had theyr ofspring of Agara And she as some say was Ketura the handmayd of Sara afterward the wife of Abraham But the Chaldey Paraphrast interpreteth the Ismaelites Arabians and not Madianites Yea and Iosephus in his booke De antiquit by the children of the East he vnderstandeth Arabians They turne this Hebrue woorde Scheharonim lunulas that is litle Moones wherof is mēcion made before For in the Arabike toung Schehara signifieth luna that is the Moone The other
it is geuen it is freely geuen Moreouer we dayly heape sinnes vpō sinnes wherfore god in withdrawing it is not to be accused of iniustice For he cōpelleth no man to do euill but euery man willingly sinneth wherfore the cause of sinne is not to be layd in him The cause of is not to be sayd in God For seyng he procreateth not in vs wicked desires he ought not to beare the blame if wicked actions doo spring out of a corrupt roote of wicked affections yea the goodnes of God is rather to be acknowledged whiche is present and so gouerneth the wicked affections that they can not burst forth nor be hurtefull and troublesome to any but when he hath appointed to chasten some and to call them backe to repētaunce or to punishe them Neither ought we to thinke that after the sinne of the first man Whence ou◠frowardnesse springeth God created a wicked lust and euill affection to corrupte all our whole kynde It was not so done but nature when it departed from God fell by it selfe from lyght to darkenes from the right way to vice and from integrity to corruptiō And how good so euer it was before it nowe degenerated into euill Wherefore let this be holden for certayn that sinne entred into the world by men and not by God as Paul testifieth to the Romanes And in that Christ saith Synne entred into the world by man not by God that the deuill when he lieth speaketh of his owne it is not to be vnderstand onely of himself but also of his members whiche when they lye or do euill worke not by the worde of God neither are they moued by the inspiration of the good spirite And they excedingly reioyce and haue great pleasure in those thinges whiche they do so farre is it of that they should be compelled by any violence Moreouer we must note Of permission that when either the Scriptures or fathers doo seme to affirme God to be the cause of sinne this worde permission is not then so to be added as thoughe he onely suffred men to synne and by hys prouidence or gouernement wrought nothing as concerning sinnes In dede he letteth thē not thoughe he can but vseth them and sheweth in them his myght and not onely his pacience Augustine whiche thing Augustine vnderstood right well and in disputing agaynste Iulianus he confuteth that sentence wherin it is sayd that God suffreth sinne only according vnto pacience and proueth that his might is also therunto to be added by the wordes of Paul who wrote vnto the Romaynes If God by much pacience hath suffred vessels of wrath prepared for destruction to shewe forth his anger to make knowē his might And vndoubtedly there are many things in the holy scriptures which can not alwayes be dissolued by the worde of permission or pacience For the heart of the kyng is sayd to be in the hād of the Lord so that he inclineth it whether soeuer it pleaseth him And Iob testefieth that it was so done as god would But as touching the sinne of the first man when yet nature was not viciated and corrupted Of the sinne of the first man we graunt that the cause therof came from the wil of Adam and suggestion of the deuil and we say that God permitted it bycause when he might haue withstanded and letted it he would not do it but decreed to vse that sinne to declare his iustice and goodnes ¶ Whether we can resiste the grace of God or no. BVt now ariseth an other doubt as touching our nature as it is now fallen corrupt whether it can resiste the grace of God his spirite beyng present or no There ar sundry degrees of grace of God I thinke we must cōsider that there are as it wer sundry degrees of the helpe or grace of God for his might aboūdance is sometymes so great that he wholy boweth the will of man doth not onely Counsel but also persuade And when it so commeth to passe we can not departe from the right waye but we are of Gods side and obey his sentence Wherfore it was sayd vnto Paul It is hard for thee to kycke agaynst the prycke There is no violēce or coaction inferred to mans will And yet must we not thinke that when it is so done there is any violence or coaction brought vnto the will of man for it is by a pleasaunt mouyng and conuersion altered and that willing but yet so willing that the will therof cōmeth of God for it is it which willeth but God by a stronge and most mighty persuasion maketh it to will But somtymes that power of God and spirit is more remisse which yet if we wil put therunto our endeuor apply our will we should not resiste yea we should obey his admonishmentes and inspirations and when that we do it not we are therfore sayd to resiste him and oftentymes fall And yet this is not to be vnderstand as touching the first regeneration but as concerning those whiche are regenerated whiche are now endewed with grace and spirite For the will of the vngodly is so corrupt and vitiate that except it be renewed it can not geue place vnto the inspirations of God and admonishynges of the holy ghost it in the first immutatiō of mās conuersion it onely suffreth and before the renewyng it continually as much as in it is resisteth the spirite of God But the first parentes whilest they were perfect if with the helpe of grace beyng somewhat remisse they had adioyned theyr endeuor they might haue perfectly obeyed the commaundementes of God But we although we be renewed seyng grace is more remisse remitting nothing of our endeuor we shall not be able constantly and perfectly to obey the commaundementes of God but yet we may be able to containe our selues within the boundes or limites of an obediēce begon whiche thyng bycause we do not therfore oftentymes we sinne and greuously fall Why the grace of god worketh not alyke alwayes in vs. But why God geueth not his grace alwayes to his electe after one sorte and one increase but sometymes he worketh in them more strongly and sometymes more remissedly two reasons may be assigned First least we should thinke the grace of God to be naturall strengthes which remayne alwayes after one sorte Wherfore god would most iustly alter the degree efficacy of his helpe wherby we myght vnderstand that it is gouerned by hys wil not as we lust Moreouer it oftentimes happeneth that our negligence slouthfulnes deserueth this variety Lastly let vs conclude the matter that if we wil speake properly it is not to be sayd that God either willeth or bringeth forth sinne in that it is sinne for what soeuer God willeth whatsoeuer he doth it is good But sinne in that it is sinne is euil Wherfore god neither willeth nor doeth it in that it is sinne yea he detesteth prohibiteth
Beniamin and agaynst the house of Ephraim And Israel was in verye great miserye 10 And the chyldren of Israel cryed vnto the Lorde saying Wee haue synned agaynst thee euen bicause we haue forsaken our God and haue serued Baalim When they heaped synnes vpon synnes the latter sinnes wer alwaies more grieuous then the first And this is not to bee passed ouer that they are sayde to haue synned in the syght of the Lord for the world otherwise is often times deceaued and the iudgement of men many times either aloweth or excuseth sins And the euyl which the Israelites are sayde to haue done was nothing els but Idolatry As soone as the good Princes were dead the people easely fel to worshipping of Idoles and why they were so prone to this wicked crime there may be many causes alledged Why the Israelites were so prone vnto idolatry Fyrst they sawe that the Nations which were nyghe vnto them when they woorshipped Idoles floorished in all kinde of riches and honors but they thēselues wer wonderfully oppressed with penury of thinges Wherfore they thought that the Gods of those nacions were both better more bountiful then their own God They considered that they them selues whyche woorshipped but one God were fewe in the number but there was an infinite number which woorshipped Idoles And as they detested the ceremonies and holye seruices of other Nations so on the other syde other Nacions bothe abhorred them and also vexed them with contumelies Lastly the woorshipping of the true God was more seuere and after a sort more sadde it hadde no pleasure no chalenging of battayl one with an other no stage playes no daūcings no running at tylts no Comodies no Tragedies all which thynges they sawe were vsed in the woorshipping of Idoles yea and also often times were added most vyle and fylthy thinges And forasmuch as the nature of man is of it selfe ready vnto pleasures hereof it came that they turned vnto straunge holy seruices And vndoubtedly the same causes in our time doo moue the myndes of many and therfore manye cleaue vnto the Papistes whom they see to lyue muche more pleasantly and to floorish in goods and riches they see also that they are more in number in Italy in Spaine and in Fraunce then we are Bicause also they thinke that they are infamed and reproched when they ar called Schismatikes and Heretikes And lastly bicause our ceremonies as touching the senses of the flesh are dry and without pleasures they haue no copes no descant synging no musical Organes nor stage play Masses Hereof come these defaultes and fallinges of many I might also adde that many say their fathers lyued so and died in that religion The stubdernnrs of the Iewes agaynste God which reasō is with many of great force Such things without doubt did the Iewes thinke vpon But it is marueilous to behold their stubburnnes It seemeth that they had wholy bent their mindes perpetually to resist their God When God would haue them to obserue his ceremonies they sought for other ceremonies at the hands of the people that wer nigh vnto thē And for as muche as God hath nowe decreed that those ceremonies shoulde by Christ be made of none effect and they wyl styl keepe them they doo therin that which ouerthwart wiues are wont to do when the husband wyl they wyl not when he wyll not then they again wyll They did not onely woorship Baal and Astharoth but also the Gods of Aram Zidon the Gods of the Moabites and of the children of Ammon and also the Gods of the Pelisthims If we marke the number they woorshipped seuen kyndes of Idoles And forsooke the Lord. They did not onely follow straunge Gods but also forsooke the woorshipping of the true God There is a certaine Emphasis in this woorde forsooke It signifieth as much as if it should haue bene said They would not so much as haue the woorshipping of the true God named neyther made they any more mencion of it Wherfore the wrath of the Lorde kindled against them and he deliuered them into the handes of the Philistians c. Whē they forsooke the true God he againe tooke away from them his helpe and sold them to the Philistians and Ammonites whom they so serued as thoughe they had bene their bondslaues And the yoke of the Ammonites was much more greuous then the yoke of the Philistians Wherfore Iiphtah tooke in hande warre singularly against the Ammonites as against the chief vexers of the Israelites Farthermore let vs marke that euen the self same yeare wherin Iair died they were vexed and oppressed of their enemies The Lorde taried not straightwaye after the death of the Iudge hee beganne to afflict the people In whyche place we must note that most stronge Nations so soone as they are destitute of God are easelye without anye a doo conquered and ouerthrowne of their enemyes For it is God onely which geueth power and strength and therefore the Israelites were straightway oppressed of their enemies bicause the Lord had forsaken them for God is not onely the efficient cause of might and rule but also it is he that keepeth and preserueth it They oppressed vniuersally al the children of Israel For they kept not them selues within any bondes but wandred and made rodes through out al the borders of the Hebrues which thing is noted by these woordes Yea and they passed ouer Iordan The tribes of Ruben Gad The request of the twoo tribes the halfe tribe was vnwyse and part of Manasses dwelled on this syde Iordan For all that region was verye fertile therefore they required it of Moses when the other tribes were not yet passed ouer Iordan but they did not wel marke what they desired for although it wer a most fat and fertill countrye yet was it alwaies in greater daunger For often times their next enemies made rodes into their landes And this is very cōmonly sene that men are more careful for gaine then for health but the Ammonites did not onely rob and spoyle those tribes but they also miserably afflicted al Israel When they had passed ouer Iordan they would also fight against Iuda Beniamin and Ephraim which were of al the tribes most noble Wherfore we must beleue that they raged against al the Hebrues VVherfore the Israelites were aboue measure oppressed And they cryed vnto the Lord. When they were but a litle oppressed they were nothing moued but when they wer farther vexed and most grieuouslye afflicted What God hathe a respect vnto in the punishmēts wherwith hee punysheth synners they began to turne to God and cryed vnto him Neither did they that lightly but weeping repented from the hart confessed their sinne implored his ayde This thing onely God regardeth when he afflicteth his people with aduersitye where wordes wil not serue he addeth stripes and vexations which are certain vehement sermons towarde the stiffer sorte and are of great force towarde the godly and
no suche thing of that matter but this by expresse woordes they commaunde not to kyll the sonne for the father But for goods they ordayne nothyng But our aduersaryes haue transferred thys ciuill lawe of treason vnto Heretikes For they doo not onely punishe the father whiche is an Heretike but also they depryue hys children of all his goods howe iustly I will not nowe tell Of these thinges I haue made mention the more largely bycause Iiphtah was thrust out of hys fathers inheritaunce and thereby seemed to beare the iniquity of hys father Nowe wyll I returne vnto the Hystory 3 Then Iiphtah fled from his brethren and dwelt in the lande of Tob and there gathered idle fellowes vnto Iiphtah and went out with hym 4 And in processe of tyme the chyldren of Ammon made warre with Israell 5 And when the Ammonites began to fyght with Israell the Elders of Gilead went to set Iiphtah out of the land of Tob. 6 And they sayd vnto Iiphtah Come and be our captayne that we may fight with the children of Ammon 7 Iiphtah answered the Elders of Gilead did not ye hate me and expell me out of my fathers house and why then come ye nowe vnto me when ye are vexed 8 And the Elders of Gilead sayde vnto Iiphtah Therefore we turne agayne vnto thee now that thou mayst go with vs and fight agaynst the children of Ammon and be our head ouer all the inhabitantes of Gilead 9 Then answered Iiphtah vnto the Elders of Gilead If ye bring me home agayne to fight against the chyldren of Ammon and if the Lord deliuer them before me shall I be your head 10 And the Elders of Gilead sayd vnto Iiphtah The Lord heare betwene vs if we do not according to thy woord 11 Then Iiphtah went with the Elders of Gilead and the people made him head and captayne ouer them And Iiphtah spake al his woordes before the Lord in Mizpah The land whereunto Iiphtah fled was called Tob Why the landâ— was called Tob. namely of the name of the possessor therof otherwise Tob signifieth good But here it is the proper name of the Lord of that land Idle men That is vaine This woord signifieth poore men and such as were oppressed for debte So also there came vnto Dauid when he fledde from Saule men that were in debt and heauy of harte And they went out with him Namely to warre agaynste the enemyes of the people of God and they liued of the spoyle For Iiphtah beyng a man banished and dryuen oute of hys countrey hadde nothynge wherewyth to maynetaine souldiers And the children of Ammon foughte We haue tolde that the Ammonites made warre agaynste the Israelites whiche is vnderstande to haue beene after Iiphtah departed from his fathers house and when he shoulde goe into the land of Tob he moued warre agaynste those Ammonites and oute of theyr borders tooke praies and booties Therefore when the Gileadites wer oppressed they came vnto Iiphtah to bringe him home agayne and by hys conducte to defende the city from theyr enemyes They desire to haue him to be theyr head bycause when they wer grieuously oppressed of theyr enemies they iudged it expedient that there shoulde be one to gouerne their thinges And firste they had decreed among themselues as we haue heard that he shoulde be theyr captayne which fyrst shoulde fyghte againste theyr enemyes but whither they did that by theyr owne iudgemente and ciuill reason or by the oracle of God the historye mencioneth not But the act or coÌ„dicion which the Gileadites ordeined was fulfilled by Iiphtah for he with a few souldiours assayled his enemies Therefore they seyng that they were bound to stand to theyr couenant came vnto Iiphtah and chose him captayne bicause he fyrste of all beganne the battayle agaynste the Ammonites This is worthy to be marked that the Gileadites call not Iiphtah kinge Iiphtah aâ—oliâ—ted captayne not kinge but only captayne or ruler Wherfore they are not to be accused as the Sechemites were For they did chuse Abimelech kinge but these men constitute Iiphtah captaine to fight against theyr enemies now for the presente time and also hereafter when oportunity should serue And vndoubtedly they do wel and wisely in choosing Iiphtah for he was a man expert and valiant in warres But god had with himself before in secret decreed that he shoulde be iudge ouer all Israell whiche manifestlye appeareth by those woordes whiche we shall afterward heare And the spirite of the Lord came vpon Iiphtah Farther we must consider that Iiphtah therfore fled bicause his bretherne had thrust him out of his fathers inheritance neither left they him any thing to defend his life with all wherfore he had rather fly and liue in exile then to liue with ignominye in his country This vndoubtedly came of a noble stoute courage that he woulde not liue there where he continuallye hearde his byrth vpbraided vnto him and where al men counted him for a bastard Therfore he got him to an other place and exercised the arte of warrefare It is also possible that that matter came in controuersy and the Iudges to gratify the legitimate bretherne did not onely iudge that he should be depriued of his fathers goods The law commaunded not to banish bastardes but also be thruste oute of the citye and seemeth to me verye probable For when the Gileadits came vnto hym and of theyr owne accorde offred vnto hym the pryncipalytye he aunsweared Did not ye expell mee oute of the citye These woordes declare that Iiphtah was handled more seuerelye then the lawe commaunded For the law commaunded not to banishe bastardes The Gileadites aunsweare that they did so in dede but as before they coulde expel him so also nowe it was in theyr power to call him home againe and make him ruler But nowe sayth Iiphtah you call me agayne when ye are in miserye As thoughe he woulde haue saide otherwise yee woulde not haue called me againe It is so saye they and therfore we come vnto thee that thou maist fight against our enemies bicause we are afflicted But in that it is written we are turned againe we muste not so vnderstande it as though they had before bene with Iiphtah but to turne again is in this place to be referred vnto the mind as though it should haue bene sayd we haue chaunged our counsel purpose Then Iiphtah like a wise maÌ„ would not be satisfied with these words but required the couenants of the principality to be coÌ„firmed If I sayth he shal put my selfe in daunger and god shal geue vnto me the victory shall I be your hed He did not streyght way geue credite to theyr firste woordes bicause he feared least they would not kepe promise which had before doone him such hurt nether worketh he these things priuely with them but in a place most famous What place Mizpa was namely in Mizpa There in the olde time the kinges of Chanaan assembled against
Herodians whither it were lawfull to geue tribute vnto Cesar and he aunswered Geue vnto Cesar that whych is Cesars and the thinges that are of God to God By which woordes he woulde signifye nothing els but that tributes are to be geuen vnto Princes And tributes are geuen that Princes should vse the swoorde defend the right of the publike welth and make warre when neede shall require Which thing if it had not bene lawfull the Lord would neuer haue commaunded them to pay tributes vnto them But to returne to the Epistle of Augustine In making of iust war saith he What thynges are to be taken heede of in iuste warres many thinges are to be taken heede of For it is not sufficient that the warre be iust except also the warre be iustly handled Wherefore he admonisheth hys Earle when saythe hee thou puttest on thyne armour remember that thy strength is the gyft of God and determine wyth thy selfe not to abuse that gift against God Yea rather doo thys fyght for hys lawes and name let promises be kept euen with enemies but muche more with friendes for whom thou makest warre By which woordes hee reprehendeth those Soldiours whiche are more grieuous in Cities then the very enemies of which we see in our dayes a great many mo then we would which when they are in their places where they wynter it is wonderfull to see how they handle the Citezens and the men of the country it is horrible to see what filthy and abhominable things they commit He addeth also the thirde caution Thinke with thy selfe that warre must not be made but for necessity Wherefore let the minde alwaies be enclined vnto peace Make warre bicause thou canst not otherwyse doo but if thou canst make peace refuse it not Warre is taken in hand onely to amende thinges amysse Yea and the Apostles afflicted certaine that they might become the better Paul sayd vnto the Corrinthians deliuer suche a one to Sathan to the destruction of the fleshe that the spirite may be saued And to Timothe he sayth of Hymeneus Alexander I haue delyuered them to Sathan to learne not to cursse So oughte they also to restrayne Princes that they maye bee made better Augustine also in his .xix. Augustine booke De ciuitate dei sayth that warres though they bee neuer so iust yet vnto godly men they seeme both troublesome and grieuous for besydes other things which the nature of man escheweth they shall see the iniquity of their aduersaries syde for which they are compelled to fyght and they cannot but be sorye for it And in the Epistle before alledged Rage not saythe hee nor waxe not insolent agaynst those that submyt them selues but shewe mercye to those that are ouercome Wherefore Virgil sayth Spare them that submit them selues Virgil. and destroye the proude Moreouer he admonisheth the same Earle to beware of vyces whyche are wont to followe hostes namelye of fylthye luste of rauenous pyllynge and of dronkennesse For it is a thyng moste vyle for thee therefore to make warre to amende the vices of others when as thou in the meane tyme art a great deale more vicious and muche more art ouercome bothe wyth affections and diseases then they are whyche are ouercome For in warre we reproue not the ende but the desire to hurt the crueltye of auengement the outragiousnesse of rebelling and the lust of bearing dominion These thinges saith he are condemned For they which forsaking suche vices doo make iust warre are the Ministers of God and of the lawes The same father against Faustus Manicheus This order saith he is to bee kept that the war be proclaimed either of God or of Princes to breake the pryde of man and to came the stubburne Farther the Souldiours oughte to bee perswaded that the warre is iustlye made and not taken in hande againste the woorde of God otherwyse let them not fight Neither doo I to this ende speake these thinges bicause I woulde haue Soldiours to vnderstand the secretes of Princes but that knowing wittingly they suffer not themselues to fight against true and iust causes Yet it may be saith Augustine that the Prince may make warre againste his conscience and yet his Soldiours nothing offende so long as they obey the ordinarye power For the people must obey their Prince And in their so doyng it may be doubtfull vnto them whether their Prince make warre contrarye to the commaundement of God But they are excused so long as they obey their owne Prince in a doubtful cause their own Prince I say and not a straunge Prince Wherefore those hired Soldiours can not be excused which hauing no respecte vnto the cause Againste hyred Soldiours but onely for mony and rewardes sake do serue straunge Princes Wherefore Iiphtah thus reasoned as touching the first point of his Oracion we haue taken the land by the right of warre therefore thou vniustly requirest the same of vs. The next poynt is our God hath geuen it vnto vs whiche is the Lorde and distributer of all thinges humane He brinketh his argument from the gyfte of God God is the distributer of kyngdomes Virgil. And that God might geue and distribute kingdomes the verye Ethnike authours also sawe And therefore in Virgil Eneas doth so often boast that hee by the commaundement of God went into Italy and for that cause would not abide either at Carthage or in Sicilia when he mought haue obtained either of those kingdomes Augustine Augustine in his .v. booke De ciuitate dei the .xxviii. chap. Of kingdomes sayth he and Prouinces it is certaine that God distributeth them both when and how muche and to whom hee wyll and that by secrete iudgementes but not vniust In the booke of Genesis God promised vnto Abraham and his posterity the land of Chanaan but hee promised it after foure hundred yeares Now saith he I wyl not geue it for as yet the synnes of the Chananites are not full I wyll not cast them out now but I wyll tary tyll their iniquitye be come to the hyghest afterward I wyll bring you in Also in the seconde chapter of Deutronomy it is written that the Horites dwelled in mount Seir which were men experte in warres and very valiant whom God sayth he draue oute of those mountaynes that the Chyldren of Esau myght possesse the lande And in the same chapter he testifieth that he dyd cast out the people of Emim gaue their kingdomes vnto the Ammonites and draue out Zanzumim oute of theyr places and placed the Moabites there If thou wylt say that thys was done by God peculiarly agaynste these nacious bycause the Edomites had their ofspring of Esau the Ammonites and Moabites of Lot which was kynsman vnto Abraham and had together with hym accomplished most daungerous viages I aunswer the same may be saide also in the same place of other nacions which came not of Abrahrm The Capadocians draue out the Heuites whyche were the first
not such that the maydē should be bounds to be killed but that she should lyue dedicated to God and should continually geue her selfe to the worshipping of god And euen as a field or house vowed with this vowe Cherem could not be reuoked vnto the first owner so say they thys maydē being once dedicated vnto the Lord could not returne to her old estate Dauid Kimhi in defēding this sētence bringeth these reasōs First he weigheth the wordes of Iiphtah what soeuer cōmeth out of my house shal be the Lordes I will offer it for a burnt offring This letter Vau being a cōiunction copulatiue as we haue before said he thinketh to make a propositiō disiūctiue as if it should haue ben sayd If it be such a thing as may be sacrificed it shal be sacrificed but if otherwise it shal be the Lords it shal be dedicated vnto him Farther he sayth that the maydē desired space to bewayle her virginity neither is it written to bewayle her soule or life Wherfore it seemeth that she bewayled this onely that she should wāt a husbād childrē But if she should haue ben offred vp she ought chiefly to haue lamēted for her life Lastly saith he that the very wordes of the history declare this thing For it is not sayd the Iiphtah sacrificed her but did accordyng to hys vowe If he had killed her it should haue ben writtē And he offred her a burnt offring to the Lord. Of the same opiniō is R. L. ben Gerson he addeth R.L. ben Gerson that it is written in the texte And she knew no man As though hereby might be vnderstād what kind of sacrifice that was And he thinketh the Iiphtah builded a house for her where she should liue a lone he permitted her fellowe virgines once in a yeare to go and se her and bewayle her virginity together with her And afterwarde he addeth that a man so dedicated ought not to lyue without a wyfe bycause the man is not subiect vnto the wyfe Samuel although he were dedicated vnto the Lord by the decree of hys mother yet had he wyfe and children But a woman beyng so dedicated coulde not marry bycause it was necessary that she shoulde serue her husbande and if he remoued any whether she should go together with hym And therefore it is written that Iiphtah dyd vnto her accordyng vnto hys vowe and she knewe no man The same sentence Lyranus embraceth Lyra. and there are of the newe wryters whiche are of greate learnyng whiche doo followe this interpretation But Lyranus pondereth these wordes And the spirite of the Lorde came vpon hym and he sayth That that spirite would not haue suffred Iiphtah to committe this murther Farther he wryteth that there were two monethes space geuen so that he mought aske counsell of the Priests But it is not very likely that he asked not then Counsell of so weighty a matter or that they tolde hym not that he myght haue redemed hys vowe Neither is it probable that thys Iiphtah constituted any thyng rashely when as the Epistle to the Hebrues calleth hym holy If thou wilt saye He did vnto her as he had vowed but he had vowed a Sacrifice and to offer what soeuer mette hym they wyll aunswere He vowed in deede but vpon this condition so that it were lawfull But when his daughter met him either he learned or els he vnderstood that it was not lawfull Wherfore if he had killed her he had not accōplished his vowe but should haue contaminated hymselfe But on the contrary part it seemeth wonderfull that he was so abashed and rente hys garmentes if the mayden shoulde not haue bene offred vp Farther what shoulde the virgines haue lamented her For if she shoulde not haue bene slayne there seemed no iuste cause of mournyng Moreouer if her virginitye shoulde haue bene offred vnto GOD it shoulde haue bene geuen wyth a wyllynge mynde and not wyth an vnwyllyng mynde What is chiefly regarded in vowes and in rendryng vowes thys thyng was chiefely regarded to render them wyllyngly and with a chierefull mynde Besides these thynges Iiphtah had no example in the scriptures that it was lawfull for the father to binde his daughter by a vow to kepe her virginity but God contraryly promiseth aboundaunce of children vnto the obseruers of the law in Deuteronomy the .7 and Exodus the .23 Wherfore that which God promised in the place of a great benefite the same could not be hyndred by a vowe Farthermore the arguments of the Rabines are cold and weake as afterward shal be more aboundantly declared Paul in his .1 Epistle to the Corinthians the .7 chapter writeth If the father shall determine firmely in his hart hauing power ouer his owne will to keepe his virgine vnmaried he doth well c. Why writeth he hauing power ouer his owne will If the mayden her selfe will the father may kepe her vnmaried so that she consent But Iiphtah knew nothing of the will of his daughter whē he vowed wherfore he ought not to thinke his vow to be ratified when his daughter met him And if this kynd of vowe was not firme in the new testamēt it was of much les value in the olde Testament where the vowe of virginity was not knowen But of this thing I haue spoken more in my litle booke of Vowes There were other whiche thought that Iiphtah did in very dede offer the mayden which in these tymes ought not to seme so new and vnaccustomed a thing For God required of Abraham to offer his sonne and such a vow was thought of many to be most acceptable vnto God and that opinion also did spread abrode among the Ethnikes wherfore this sentence is often spoken Thou hast asswaged the windes with bloud with the virgin slayne There are workes of Poetes whiche make mencion of Pollixena Iphigenia also Historyes of the Curtians and Decians And vndoubtedly with this exposition agreeth the Chaldey Paraphrast which among the Hebrues is in a maner in the same estimation and authority that the holy scriptures are in That Paraphrast sayth that the mayden was immolated reproueth Iiphtah bycause he asked not counsell of the hyghe priest And the same thing do al the auncient Rabines thinke which also reprehēd the highe priest bicause he of his own accord went not vnto Iiphtah Iosephus also is of their opinion Iosephus Chrisostome Ierome Chrisostome also writeth many thinges of this matter but altogether farre from the History he followeth allegories so that in a maner no certaynty can be gathered out of him But Ierome writeth agaynst himselfe In his Epistle to Iulianus he sayth that Iiphtah was numbred among the sayntes bycause he offred his daughter But in his .1 boke agaynst Iouinianus he writeth after the minde of the Hebrues that bycause he made an euil vowe by the dispensatiō of god he felt his error in the death of his daughter For there mought haue
said that he did this by the impulsion of the holy ghost not as though god would haue other men to imitate this act but that men might by it vnderstand that Christ should dye for their saluation It is indifferent for euery man to chose eyther of these aunsweres But I thinke rather he fell Nowe resteth to confute the argumentes of the Rabbines In that they say the mayden was not killed of her father but only punished with ciuil death namely that she should liue a part from the followship of men with out a husband and children it is not wel sayd bicause it can not be proued by the holy scriptures that there was any such kind of vow in the old time I know that there were Nazarites whiche abstained from wyne and stronge drinke and all drinke which would make one dronke but they abstained not from matrimony Samuel and Sampson beyng either of them a Nazarite had wiues and Samuel had children as the holy history declareth But departinges from the companye of men are not altogether to be disalowed so that of them come some fruite vnto the church Christ departed .40 dayes and fasted How departings from the company of men are allowed or disalowed but afterward he returned to instruct the people Iohn Baptiste went a parte but yet for certayne dayes baptised and preached So some of the fathers went sometime a part wher they gaue themselues both to prayers and godly meditations wherby they might returne the better instructed to preach But I can in no case allow the perpetuitye of solitarye life for wee are not borne to oure selues but to other also But that in the olde time there were some whiche were Nazarites for euer that was not don by the institution of man but by the commaundement of God which thing is written to haue happened to Sampson and Iohn Baptist Otherwise Nazarites vowed but onely for a time Wherfore that which the Rabbines clayme is false for there was no ciuill death by the law whereby men or women were for euer depriued of matrimonye Kimhi sayth that this letter Vau maketh somtimes a proposition disiunctiue I graunt that the same is found in certayne places of the scripture But it is not a fyrme argument if we shall say It is thus founde in some places therfore it is so also in this place But rather for the most part Vau maketh not a disiunctiue proposition but a copulatiue And vndoubtedly here it is brought in by exposicion It shal be the Lords sayth hee After what manner For I will offer it for a burnt offringe Farther they reason The mayden desyred space of time wherin to bewayle her virginity neither saith she her soule or life This argument hath a shew but no strength For if death be to be lamented vndoubtedlye then is it muche more to be lamented when it hath a bitter condicion annexed wyth it The mayden was sure to dye at some certaine time but that seemed vnto her very hard that she should dye without childrē Therfore that condicion is expressed which made the cause more miserable He sayth moreouer It is not writen that Iiphtah offred her for a burnte offringe but onelye that he dyd accordynge to hys vow I aunswere That there is sufficientelye sayde when it is sayde that he did according to his vow And it is often sene that in narrations the sharpest thinges are not expressed And althoughe the woordes be not all one yet is it sufficient if they be equall Leui Ben Gerson reasoneth of this that it is written and shee knewe no man Therfore sayth he she liued but maried not But this reason hath no force For this sentence is an exposition of the wordes that go before For why did the virgins bewayle her Because she was vnmaried and was not coupled to anye manne But Liranus sayth The sprite of the Lorde came vpon Iiphtah wherefore he vowed not his daughter for a burnt offring This reason Augustine as we haue hearde aunsweareth That spirite vndoubtedlye was the sprite of strength and warrelike knowledge Neither can al that Iiphtah afterward did be said to haue come from the same spiryte Moreouer sayth Liranus ther was twoo monethes space betwene wherin he asked counsel of the priestes and thei gaue him counsell to saue his daughter a Virgin Yea but the auncient Iewes affirme that he was so stubburne that he woulde not aske counsell of the priestes And for that cause he is reproued by the Chaldey Paraphrast Neither is it any newe thinge that men somtimes sinne because they thinke not that they haue nede of counsel and that is wont most of al to happen vnto princes For they haue a high mind and proude stomackes wherfore they think that they haue counsell inough But he is numbred among the sayntes To this Augustine aunsweareth also that other were also numbred amonge the Sayntes whiche yet greuouslye sinned Lastly he saith If he had sacrificed his doughter he should not haue fulfilled but contaminated his vow I graunt that Neither is it any maruaile that he erred seyng he was a man and might fall Now shoulde remayne to declare what I thinke of vowes in vniuersall but bycause of that matter I haue written aboundauntly in an other place namely in my Apology against Smith therefore I remitte the reader to reade ouer that booke ¶ The .xii. Chapter 1 ANd the men of Ephraim gathered themselues together and passed ouer Northward and sayd vnto Iiphtah Why haste thou passed ouer to fyghte agaynste the children of Ammon and haste not called vs to goe with the We will therfore burne thee and thyne house with fyre 2 And Iiphtah sayde vnto them I and my people were at greate strife with the children of Ammon and when I called you ye deliuered me not out of theyr handes 3 So when I sawe ye delyuered mee not I put my lyfe in myne handes and went vpon the children of Ammon And the Lord hath deliuered them into myne hande But why are ye come vpon me thys day to fight agaynst me 4 Then Iiphtah gathered all the men of Gilead and foughte agaynst Ephraim And the men of Gilead smote Ephraim bycause they sayd Ye Gileadites are abiectes among the Ephramites and among the Manassites 5 And the Gileadites tooke the passages of Iordan before the Ephramites And when the Ephramites that were escaped sayd Let me passe the men of Gilead sayd vnto him Art thou an Ephramite If he sayde Nay 6 Then sayde they vnto hym Say now Schiboleth but he sayde Siboleth for he coulde not so pronounce Then they tooke him and slewe hym at the passages of Iordan and there fell at that tyme of the Ephramites twoo and fourty thousand HEre is a sedicion set foorth vnto vs The Ephraits wer veri proud the cause whereof was the pride of the Ephramites whyche was so great that they thought there was nothyng which was not due vnto them Euen the lyke did they vnder Gideon as
wife came and tolde her husband saying A man of God came vnto me and the looke of hym was lyke the looke of an Aungell of God very terrible and I asked hym not whence he was neither tolde he me his name 7 And he sayde vnto me Beholde thou shalt conceaue and beare a sonne Now therfore thou shalt drinke no wine nor stronge drinke neyther eate any vncleane thyng for the chylde shal be a Nazarite to God from his birth to the day of his death 8 Then Manoah prayed vnto the Lord and sayd I praye thee my Lord let the man of God whom thou senttest come agayne vnto vs and teache vs what we shall do vnto the childe when he is borne 9 And God hearde the voyce of Manoah For the Aungell of the Lorde came agayne vnto the wife as she sat in the fielde but Manoah her husbande was not with her 10 And the wife made hast and ranne and shewed her husbande saying vnto hym Beholde the man hath appeared vnto me that came vnto me to daye 11 And Manoah arose and went after hys wyfe and came to the man and sayd vnto him Art thou the manne that spakest vnto the woman And he sayd Yea. 12 Then Manoah sayd Nowe let thy saying come to passe But what shal be the iudgement of the childe and his worke 13 The aungell of the Lord aunswered vnto Manoah The womaÌ„ must beware of all that I sayd vnto her 14 She may eate of nothyng that commeth of the wine vine tree that is she shall drinke no wine nor stronge drinke nor eate any vncleane thing let her obserue all that I haue commaunded her The woman thought that it had bene some godly man whom she had sene or a Prophete for she knew not that it was the aungell of God His looke saith she was terrible The Hebrewe worde is ambiguous for it may be turned both terrible and wonderfull And vndoubtedly the thinges whiche are wonderful especially deuine things doo strike into men a feare She faythfully sheweth vnto her husband these thinges and doth the dewty of a good wife What matrimony is For Matrimony is an vnseperable society hauyng the communion both of thynges deuine humane And this matter pertayned partly to thinges deuine bycause it was shewed in the name of God and partly vnto humane thynges bycause it was a matter as touchyng the receauyng and education of a child She sayth she asked him not whence he was bycause in such visions men are so amased that they are attentiue onely vnto the thynges which are spoken neither haue they any leasure to enquire of more thinges So the mother of the Lord when the Aungell saluted her asked hym not what his name was or from whence he came Gideon also when he receaued the oracle of the Aungell for the delyuering of the people was altogether so astonished that he was nothyng inquisitiue what his name was But the woman speaketh these thynges by anticipation for she thought that her husbande woulde heare and inquire of hym the truth Althoughe Iosephus in hys booke de Antiquitatibus as I haue before admonished sayeth that when he hearde the wordes of his wife he somewhat suspected her of euill Ambrose Howit Ambrose in hys .70 Epistle where he very diligently entreateth of this Hystory denieth that to be very lykely For if sayeth he he had ben gelious God would not haue sent an aungell vnto hym But me thinketh Ambroses reason is not firme For Manoah might otherwise be a good man although he were touched with suspition Very good men also haue oftentymes some suspition of such things For euen Ioseph the husband of Mary whoÌ„ the holy Scripture testifieth that he was a iust man somewhat sinisterly suspected hys Spouse to whom yet the Aungell appeared Wherefore I rather beleue that Manoah was eyther altogether without gelousy or elles not very muche gelous For he accused her not abroade her repudiated her not neither vsed he the publique remedy of the lawe For then was in force that lawe whiche was geuen by GOD that if a manne suspected his wife of aduoutry he should bryng her to the doore of the tabernacle where the Priest should searche out the honesty of the woman by solemne waters and by a bitter curse The cause of the lawe of gelousy For God would that maryed folkes should lyue together with a mery quiet and not suspitious mynde But Manoah dyd not onely not vse these remedyes but also he by no meanes rebuked his wyfe But strayghtwaye prayed vnto the Lorde that that man of God would returne the seconde tyme wherby he myght vnderstand how the child should be brought vp Neither dyd he tempt god by hys prayers In deede no man ought to desire a signe that he may beleue the articles of fayth For those thynges whiche are contayned in them are already before sufficiently proued and confirmed by the worde of God and by miracles But if there happen any newe and singular reuelation bycause there may bee deceates and guiles of deuilles who transforme themselues yea euen into the aungelles of lyght if we require a signe of the Lorde or instruction we sinne not That a baren woman shoulde beare or that a childe shoulde set the people at liberty it was a certayne singular thyng Wherefore Manoah prayeth for nothyng curiously and therefore GOD hearde hym He afterwarde demaunded the name of the aungel but bycause he demaunded it curiously he was not hearde The aungell came agayne vnto the woman the selfe same daye as all interpreters doo agree And vndoubtedly it might be that first he came in the mornyng and the second tyme either at noone or about the sunne set Manoah asked VVhether he were the manne whiche spake with hys wife whiche thing wheÌ„ he affirmed vnto hym he sayde Let thy sayinge come to passe It maye be an oration of one that wisheth as if he shoulde haue sayde I woulde to GOD it myght come to passe Or it may by supposition as if it shoulde haue bene sayd If it come to passe as thou haste sayde VVhat then shal be the iudgement of the child When he saith iudgement he asketh not Counsel of Astronomers which aunswere by the starres what shall come to passe of a childe He onely demaundeth what GOD had decreed of the childe Neither ought the decree of GOD wherof he inquireth to be referred vnto the merites of the child but onely vnto the mercye of GOD. For Mischpat is very well turned a decree for a decree is of mercye and not of merite The Aungell repeateth vnto hym all those thynges whiche he had before commaunded the woman to take heede of She maye not eate sayeth he of any thynge that commeth of the wyne grape Certaine wine â—rees beare not wine These woordes declare that there are also other kyndes of vynes out of whiche is not gathered wyne But when the Aungell sayeth Neyther shall she drynke wine nor stronge drinke hys aunswere
seemeth not to make muche to the purpose Manoah demaundeth of the childe and the aungell aunswereth of the mother But it is all one as if he had sayd That whiche I haue sayd of the mother I haue sayd it bycause of the childe Wherfore seyng god wyll haue the mother obserue these thynges muche more ought the childe to keepe the selfe same things Howbeit the cōmon trāslation I cā not tell how referreth these things vnto the childe but yet not rightly bycause in the Hebrewe the feminine gender is kepte still Augustine is his questions vpon this booke demaundeth Augustine why the mother is commaunded to absteyne from all vncleane thynges when as that was already before sufficiently forbidden by the lawe of God He aunswereth After that the Philistines possessed that lande Religion among the Iewes was feabled and the people did without choyse eate thyngs vncleane and forbydden by the lawe By these wordes Manoah easely perceaued that his wife did rightly vnderstande the wordes of the angell and that the child should be a Nazarite as longe as he lyued 15 And Manoah sayd vnto the aungell of the Lorde I praye thee let vs retayne thee and we will make ready a Kid for thee 16 And the angell of the Lord aunswered vnto Manoah Though thou make me abyde I will not eate of thy bread and if thou wilt make a burnt offring offer it vnto the Lorde for Manoah knewe not that it was an aungell of the Lorde 17 Agayne Manoah sayde vnto the Aungell of the Lord What is thy name that whē thy saying is come to passe we may honor thee 18 And the aungell of the Lorde aunswered hym Why askest thou thus after my name whiche is secret 19 Then Manoah tooke a Kid and an oblation and offred it vpon a stone vnto the Lord. And he wrought a miracle whilest Manoah and hys wife looked on 20 For when the flame came vp toward heauen from the alter the aungell of the Lord ascended vp in the flame of the alter And Manoah and his wife beheld it and fell on their faces to the ground 21 So the aungell of the Lord did no more appeare vnto Manoah and hys wyfe Then Manoah knewe that it was an aungell of the Lorde Whē they had heard these wordes they would haue retayned this mā of god haue made him a banquet Vnto whom he aunswereth Although ye make me to abide yet will I not eate of your bread This Hebrew worde Lechē signifieth not onely bread but sometymes meate in vniuersall yea sometymes flesh also Hereof was inuented the subtility of the Papistes to whō when we say that the bread remayneth in the Eucharist proue it by the which Paul writeth The bread which we breake is it not the cōmunicating of the body of Christ They answere the bread in that place may signifie fleshe as it doth oftētymes in the holy scriptures But they ought to remember that Paul wrote these words in Greke not in Hebrew But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is bread in Greke cā not signify flesh as Lechem may in Hebrew Farther in the holy supper the flesh of Christ is not broken but they ar simboles or signes whiche are broken VVe will make a Kid. So some reade it and doo thynke that to make Sondry readyng is in this place nothyng els then to Sacrifice Peraduenture Manoah thought that that aungell was a Priest And in peace offringes one parte was burnt vnto God an other parte was geuen vnto the Priest the thirde parte they dyd eate which offred the sacrifice and so they banqueted together before the Lord. Wherfore they would entertayne the Aungell with a banquet But other rede in this place not to make but simply to prepare If thou wilt make a burnt offring offer it vnto the Lord. He declared that he looked not for a banquet bycause in burnt offrings al things were consumed with fire But in that he saith Sacrifice it vnto the Lord he putteth him in remēbraunce of the true God bycause the people at that tyme woorshypped the Gods of the gentiles The wilynes of the Papistes whereby they affirme that the Masse is a sacrifice The Papistes cry that to make is to sacrifice that this worde Facere that is to do or to make is properly applied vnto sacrifices And therby they labour to proue that their Masse is a sacrifice bycause Christ sayd in the Supper Hoc facite that is do or make this which they thinke is nothyng els thē sacrifice this Neither do they cite these places onelye but also very many other whiche are founde in the olde testament They say also that the Latin Poetes vsed this word after this maner Virgil. as Virgil when he sayd When I make a calfe for corne come thou Amitte it be so But how shall we vnderstand the certayne signification or strength of this word as ofte as it cōmeth And whē shal it signifie this when that From whence significatiōs of wordes ought to be gathered For otherwise to make a garment shal be to sacrifice a garment and to make a fire shal be to sacrifice a fire if that word as oft as it cōmeth shal signify to sacrifice vndoubtedly what the worde signifieth may be easely be vnderstād by the thyng it selfe and circumstances of the place as that in Virgil which they haue alledged where it is read When I make a calfe it is certayne that there is mention made of haruest Sacrifices And so it oftentymes happeneth in the olde Testament But in the supper what was it that Christe would Sacrifice what oblation what bloud Take saith he eate drinke Do this whiche I haue sayd namely to eate and drynke for a remembraunce monument of my death But the Papistes bring forth these vayne friuolous things bycause they haue no better as they whiche haue no wood vse to burne strawe Whether it were lawfull to sacrifice in any other place besides the tabernacle But to returne vnto the Hystory this semeth wonderful when as the law cōmaūdeth that sacrifice should be done but onely in the place which the Lord had chosen how it should be lawful for Manoah to sacrifice at his own house Dauid Kimhi answereth that this was done by the authority of the man of God by a certayn extraordinary meane For Elias also sacrificed when he was among the ten tribes that is in the kingdome of Samaria But those things he saith were peculiar neither might they be drawē into an exāple of others But I thinke the whilest the arke of the Lord was yet wandryng whilest it had not yet founde any certayne place the precept of the Lord had not yet his full strength For thus the Lorde had cōmaunded after that I shall bring you into the lande whiche I haue promised you ye shall not sacrifice vnto me but in the place which I wil shew vnto you Wherfore although before it was permitted
to sacrifice any other wher yet after the Salomon had built the tēple it was not lawful to offer out of it wherfore the highe places were to be takē away they should sacrifice no where but at Ierusalē But of al the kings onely Iosias Ezechias toke away the high places so hard a thing was it to leade the people to the true obediēce of god But Elias was moued by a certayne peculiar inspiration of God to Sacrifice other where Manoah demaundeth after the name of the Aungell neyther dyd he that so simply as hys wyfe dyd But that he should not be thought to demaund it curiously or without a cause he addeth a reason of hys request That if that come to passe whiche thou hast sayd we may honour thee that is with some reward But I cā not recōpence thee vnles I know who thou art where thou dwellest This Hebrew worde Peli is ambiguous to the Hebrues R. Salomon Aungels ar named of those things whiche they worke signifyeth both wonderful and also secrete R. Salomon sayeth that the names of aungelles are secrete so that they themselues knowe not their owne names And he addeth also that the Aungelles haue no names of their owne but onely haue surnames geuen them of those thynges whiche they are sent to take charge ouer Whiche thyng also the Epistle to the Hebrues toucheth when it calleth them ministryng spirites R. Salomon bryngeth examples out of the holy Scriptures An Aungell was sent vnto Esaye and bycause he dyd put a burnyng coale to his lyppes he was called Seraphim of this verbe Seraph whiche signifieth to burne So maye we saye of Raphaell that he was so called bycause he had healed Tobias as thoughe he were the medicine of GOD. Gabriell also after the same manner was called the strength of GOD. Also thys woorde Peli signifieth wonderfull for therefore came the Aungell to woorke a miracle And vndoubtedly it was very wonderfull to bryng fire out of a rocke whiche shoulde consume the Sacrifice And it may bee that the Aungell would not open hys name bycause menne at that tyme were prone vnto Idolatrye and they would easely when they had hearde the name of an Aungell peraduenture haue woorshypped it to muche religiously That which we haue called an oblation in Hebrew it is Minchah But what manner of oblation that was is vnderstoode by the .2 chapter of Leuit. There wer diuers kindes therof but it euer consisted of corne but yet not alwayes prepared after one manner it was so offred that some part of it was burnt vnto the Lord the other part was left for the Priestes The Papists babble that Minchah was a shadowe of their bready Sacrifice whiche thinge they haue fayned most impudently But hereof we will intreate in an other place Manoah layd the Kid and Minchah vpon the rocke Manoah myght not Sacrifice vnto the Lord by the lawe bycause he came of the tribe of Dan and not of the tribe of Leui. Wherefore he deliuered the fleshe vnto the aungell whom he thought to be a Prophete that he should sacrifice it For Prophetes had an extraordinary vocation that althoughe they were not of the famely of Aaron yet it was lawfull for them to sacrifice as we rede of Helias and Helizeus For whē religiō was decayed in the Priests god suffred others to minister their office But the aungell when the fleshe was put vpon the rocke wrought wonderfully He raysed vp fire out of the stone whiche consumed the offring Whiche thing we rede also was done in Gideon Althoughe it be not herein expressedly shewed that fire was drawen out of the rocke as it was openly sayd in Gideon yet is no mention made of fire that was brought by Manoah at the last it is sayd that the angell vanished away in the flame therfore it is credible that fire was striken out of the stone The angell ascended into heauen as though he vsed the flame for a chariot He dissolued the body whiche he bare and vanished away into the flambe whiche was a notable miracle They fell to the ground for feare for they were wonderfully amased and astonished when they sawe that it was an aungell whom before they thought to haue ben a man 22 And Manoah sayd vnto his wife We shall surely dye bycause we haue sene God 23 But hys wife sayde vnto hym If the Lorde would kill vs he woulde not haue receaued a burnt offryng and an oblation of our handes neither would he haue shewed vs all these thinges nor at this tyme told vs such thynges 24 And the wife bare a sonne and called his name Samson And the childe grewe and the Lord blessed hym 25 And the spirite of the Lord began to strengthen hym in the host of Dan betwene Zora and Esthaol In dyeng we shall dye That is we shall moste assuredly dye For the Hebrues in doublyng the woordes doo earnestly affirme Bycause we haue sene the Lord. Whereof this opinion sprang I haue tolde in the Hystory of Gideon where also I haue declared how God was sene of the fathers The opiniō of R. Leui ben Gerson Wherfore it nedeth not to repeate them in this place But this will I not ouerpasse that R. Leui ben Gerson writeth that this was not an aungell but a man of god and a Prophet namely Pinhas the sonne of Eleazar But he was called angel bycause Manoah and his wife thought hym to be so For after the same maner Ezras although he was a man yet was he called an aungell And Christ whiche is very man is called the aungell of the Testament But how he being a man vanished awaye in the flambe Leui ben Gerson declareth not But I more simply doo iudge him to haue ben an aungell in dede For Pinhas had not a secret name but a name well knowen in his tyme and the wordes of the texte do tend to this Of the name of Elohim to teache that it was an aungell VVe haue sene the Lord. In Hebrewe it is Elohim which althoughe it be the name of GOD yet is it communicated to aungelles yea and also to prynces and Prophetes accordyng to that saying I haue sayde ye are Goddes And Christe in the Gospell sayeth If they are called Goddes vnto whome is come the woorde of GOD why doo ye meruayle c This woman seemeth to be of a stouter courage them the man for she comforteth her husband Whose Oration is grounded vpon two argumentes The first is I do not thinke we shall dye bycause God would not haue accepted our sacrifice if he would haue destroyed vs. Wherfore seyng our sacrifice was acceptable vnto him he counteth not vs as enemyes But whereby knew she that that sacrifice was acceptable vnto GOD. Firste bycause the Aungell had commaunded it to be done which vndoubledly he would not haue don vnles he had vnderstoode that it should be acceptable vnto God Farther bycause the flambe had consumed the Sacrifice and
that Raphael did not eate What is the meate drinke of Aungels it must not so be vnderstand as thoughe he did not eate at al but bicause he did not eate after the maner of men But thys is there chiefly to be marked when the Angel answereth that he vseth spirituall meate and drinke that spiritual nourishment was nothing els then an apearte and manifest knowledge of the true God and execution of his will as Christ also sayd that that was his meate to doo the will of his father The same also is our meate although it be not after the same maner For they see God manifestly but we see him by a glasse and in a riddle Whereunto thou maiest adde that they which beleue in Christ Who eate and drinke the body and bluode of Christ The fleshe and blood of Christ are neither included nor poured into the simboles or signes Augustine and doo assuredly perswade them selues that he died for their sake they I say doth both eate the flesh of Christ drinke his blood to which vse the simboles or signes for that they styrre vp the senses are verye much profitable not that the flesh and blood of Christ are poured into the bread and wyne or are by any meanes included in those elementes but bicause those thinges are of the beleuers receaued with a true faith For they are an inuisible noorishment which is receaued onely in the mynde as Augustine hath faithfully admonished saying Why preparest thou the teethe and the belly Beleue and thou hast eaten ¶ The .xiiii. Chapter 1 ANd Samson went downe to Thimnath and saw a woman in Thimnath of the daughters of the Philistians 2 And he came vp and told his father and his mother said I haue sene a womā in Thimnah of the daughters of the Philistians Now therefore geue her me to wyfe 3 Then his father and his mother sayd vnto him Is there neuer a wyfe among the daughters of thy brethren and among al my people that thou must go to take a wyfe of the vncircumcised Philistians Samson sayde vnto hys Father Geue me her for she pleaseth me well 4 But hys Father and hys mother knewe not that it came of the Lord that he should seeke an occasion agaynst the Philistians for at that tyme the Philistians raygned ouer Israel NOw are we come to the warlike feates of Samson whiche he wrought for the health of his people and first is set foorth vnto vs how he sought hym a wyfe He went downe to Thimnath But why he went thither it is not written Some say that he went down to a certaine solēnity or feast day But it is more likely that ther was thē some assembly either ciuil or warlike as it is accustomed At that time the Philistians raygned ouer the Hebrues And he saw ther a mayd and desyred earnestly to haue her geuen hym to wyfe This thing to doo he was moued by fayth for the woord of the Lorde did to that styrre vp his minde For as we shal afterward know these thinges were done by the wyll of God The Epistle to the Hebrues numbreth Samson among those whiche pleased God by fayth This is notable and woorthye to be marked that a young man although he exceedinglye loued the mayden yet durst he not speake anye thing of matrimonye wythout the knowledge and wyl of hys Parentes He returneth home he prayeth them to geue her hym to wyfe Thys was to honour hys Parentes Some thinke that Samson was minded to marye this mayden but vpon this condicion to make her first a proselite otherwise it had not bene lawfull for him to haue maried with a straunger But in our history there is no such thinge red vndoubtedly this seemeth to me to be a certaine singuler thing and done by the instinction of god as shal be afterward more apertly vnderstand Wherefore we must not curiously search for that matter But Samson neded no longe Oration to his parentes They obiected vnto him the kinred of the woman and admonished him that he ought rather to seke a wife in his owne nacion Howbeit they fulfill his mind and wente forwarde with the mariages as it shal afterward be sayde But contrarywise amonge Christians it oftentimes happeneth that the children take them wiues againste theyr parentes wil Of which thinge Esau remaineth as a most wicked example who against the will of his parent maried wiues of the Chananites whose sight and conuersation they could not abide We must not regard that which is commonly sayd we mary wiues for our selues and not for our parentes But we muste rather thinke that God woulde after this manner prouide for miserable younge men that theyr rashe and vnaduised age should not deceaue them Howbeit parentes on the other side ought to see that they vse not tirannycall power towardes theyr children or marye them to suche whome they canne not abyde But of these thynges wee wyll speake more aboundantlye afterwarde Moreouer wee muste note that the Parentes of Samson when they call the Philistians vncircumcised doo after a sorte vpbrayde vnto their sonne that hee would mary a wife borne of strangers and idolatrers Yet they speake nothing roughlye vnto him they thrust him not out of the dores nor cast him out of their fauor For that they saw his minde very fyrme and bente to that purpose And although it be not written in the history yet is it probable that Samson shewed vnto his Parentes the misterie namely that he was by the impulsion of god instigated to this mariage otherwise it had not bene lawfull for them to haue assēted vnto theyr son to mary one of a contrary religion His father his mother knewe not at the beginninge that this was the will of God that he shoulde seeke occasion against the Philistians That is that by them some begynninge of iniurye myghte springe whiche he afterwarde myghte seeme by good ryghte to prosecute 5 Then went Samson and his father and his mother downe to Thimnah and came vp to the vineyardes of Thimnah and behold a Lions whelpe roared vpon him 6 And the sprite of the Lorde came vpon him and he deuided him as one shoulde deuide a Kidde neyther was there anye thinge in his hande And he tolde not hys Father nor his Mother what he had done The Parentes when they knew and vnderstode their sonnes wil and paraduenture had knowledge of the instinction of god do not onely assent but also follow him that the wedding might be the more honestly accomplished the parentes not onely requiring but also being presente In this place appeareth the will of God both hidden and manifest The will of God was declared by the law that a Iewe shoulde not take to wife a straunger The will of god hid and manifest but by his secrete and hidden wyll he contrarily decreed of Samson But we must followe the will of God expressed by a common rule and sealed by his lawe to that will
sundrye interpretacions For Chamor signifieth both an asse and also a heap or gathering together Wherefore some following the signification of this woord heape do thus interprete it there was made heapes vpon heapes of dead bodies namely of mē which he had slaine Or I haue made heape vpon heape And the sense is that Samson sayth that he had made so greate a slaughter of his enemies that he gathered greate heapes of them together But other hauing a respecte vnto this woorde asse do thus enterpretate it of an asse of asses that it should not be here vnderstand in a metaphore And they thinke that a sword which is called by the name had the form of an asse He saith therfore that it was the iaw bone of an asse of an asse I say of asses as in other places of the scripture we reade a kidde of goates and a bullock of Oxen. The Rabbines for the most part interprete this place for heapes and gatheringes together of enemies When the slaughter was finished then first the place was named Ramath-Lechi Ramam in Hebrew is highe Wherefore Ramah signifieth a high place And Ramah-Lechi is nothing els then a hill or toppe of a iaw bone There may also be geuen an other Etimologye so that the naminge of it may be deriued of this verbe Ramah which is to cast away bicause Samson in that place threw away the iaw bone when he had fynished the slaughter 18 And he was sore a thirste and called on the Lorde and sayde Thou hast geuen this great deliuerance by the hand of thy seruant and nowe shall I dye for thirste and fall into the handes of the vncircumcised 19 Then god brake the cheke tooth that was in the iawe and water came thereout and when he had dronke his sprite came agayn and he was reuiued Wherefore he called the name therof Ain Hakorah which is the fountaine of him that calleth vpon which is in Lechi vnto this day 20 And he iudged Israell in the dayes of the Philistians twentye yeares Whereas it is written that god opened the cheeke tooth whiche was in the iaw bone it is in the Hebrewe Aschar Belchi Hamachtich wherefore the place is darke for this woorde Machtisch signifieth ether that holownes wherein the teth are fixed or els by a Metaphore it signifieth a stone or rocke wherein is a hole cut Out of what thing god brought foorth water Iosephus R. Leui Ben Gerson like vnto the holes of the cheke tethe And in fine it is that which commonly we call a morter And this latter interpretation Iosephus R. Leui Ben Gerson do follow And they thinke that god brought not forth water out of the iaw bone but out of a rocke being holow like a iaw bone But others say that water came forthe of that iaw bone wherewith he had slayne his enemies The place was called the fountayne of him that prayeth bicause God at the prayers of Samson opened the rocke or iawe bone And this woorde Aim Leui expoundeth for an eye for in very deede it signifieth eyther namelye bothe a fountaine an eye And the sense that be gathereth is that the eye of the Lorde was vpon him which called vpon him that is God had a regarde vnto the prayers of hym that called vpon him It is added that Samson iudged Israell in the dayes of the Philistianes whiche is therfore written bicause in his time the Hebrewes were not yet fully deliuered from the tirranny of the Philistianes Samson beganne to deliuer them but he finished not In this latter history are certayne thinges which we oughte to obserue The first is that Samson was bound with two cordes and those new that the miracle mighte be the more wonderfull New cordes are stronge For newe cordes are more hardly broken then old And it is eligantly described how they brake namely as flaxe burnt with fire The cordes might be broken two waies eyther bicause the strength of Samsons body was encreased or els because the cordes were weakned by god and eyther way is apt inough Farther when he being naked and vnarmed was cast forth vnto his enemies god ministred weapons vnto him of a thing most vile so can he vse all thinges to setforth his glory the iawe bone was made onely to chawe and cutte small meate but God woulde vse it to committe a slaughter So althoughe sometimes we seeme to be vnarmed agaynste our enemies yet are we sufficiently armed when god will Some to make the thinge more probable do imagine that that iaw bone of the asse was a great one bicause that in Siria are so great asses that in greatenes they may be compared with our horses Which thing I do not disproue The Philistians shoute and reioyce as thoughe a moste deadlye enemye had fallen into theyr handes But the sprite of the Lord came vpon Sampsō and there was a greate slaughter made of them And the songe which he sang was a geuing of thankes for the victorye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a songe of victorye But some doubte whither the whole songe be here written or onely the beginninge thereof I thinke here is but the beginning onely the rest paraduenture was knowen among the Iewes and soong thorough And he was sore a thirst Iosephus and Ambrose thinke that god strake Samson with thirst bycause he attributed the victory vnto himselfe and not vnto God I sayth hee with the iaw of an asse haue slaine a thousande men He sayth not Iosephus Ambrose Why Samson was vexed with thirste God hath slayne neyther erecteth he an altare or monumente vnto God nor maketh anye sacrifice and therfore is he afflicted with thirste For god would haue him to vnderstand that he was a mā would also haue him to know by whose benefite he had obteined the victory This say they but bicause those thinges which they alledge are not of the holy Scriptures therefore I do not geue credite vnto them Moreouer let vs note that in the old Testament very manye places haue theyr names geuen them of the benefites of God For they would haue the goodnes of God kept in memory for thē that should come after that they also should hope that by the same meanes they should be holpen as they fee theyr fathers in times past were holpen of God For whych selfe same cause the hebrewes were commaunded to enstructe and teache theyr children of the benefites bestowed on them by god Wherefore they instructed theyr posterity not onely by words but also by such tokens and monumentes as by some certayne sacramentes Wherefore the thirste of Samson as farre as I iudge was not a punishment for sinne which he had committed but a certain caution or prohibition that he should not sinne He might in deede by reason of ouermuch labour naturally thirste but god woulde haue him remember that in so greate fortune he was mortal He had slayne many but herin was the daunger least he also should haue
oppressed of theyr enemies And that Iiphtah was stirred vp by the sprite to bear rule But before God aunsweareth the very sharpely For he sayd I will not helpe you bycause you alwayes returne vnto your Idoles and forsake me But rather cal vpon your gods let them helpe you Which words when the people heard they repented put away frō them their idols which they had made But this idole which is now spokē of These thinges seme to haue happened after the deathe of Samson indured to the time of Samuel Wherfore it cānot seme probable that it was done at that time The order of the holy scriptures is of most high authority with me and therfore I thinke that these things happened after the death of Sāson Forasmuch as frō that time euen to Heli there wer many yeares passed wherin the Philistians possessed the land of the Iewes neither suffred they any magistrate to be ouer thē Iosephus Iosephus agreeth with the Rabbines but he is many times deceued Wherfore it shal be best to follow that opinion which agreeth with the simple order of the holy history Howbeit ther is one thing which semeth to be a let An obiection namely if a man rekē the yeares frō Samsō vnto Saul he shal find thē to be scarse .60 or at the most .70 And whē as by reasō of filthy whoredom the tribe of Beniamin was almost brought to nothing and they which remained of it had no wiues but those which they got by violence how could it be that in so short a time it should so much encrease the Saule was out of that tribe chosen a king This argumēt hath a certain shew but it is not firme nor sound inough if a man more deligentlye examine it For although there were but a fewe remayninge of that tribe yet were they not so few but they mought very much multiply For there escaped sixe hundreth mē of warre who had wiues geuen them partly of the men of Iabes Gilead and partly by violence And sixe hundreth men wer able in the space of .60 or .70 yeares to beget a great yssue and to se theyr childrens children They could not indede be so many as to be equall with the other tribes but yet they might encrease to a sufficient numbre But that is farre more harde whyche is obiected concernynge Pinhas An other obiection namelye that hee remayned on lyue euen to the tyme of the warres of the Beniamites Whiche if it be so then muste he be at that time .300 yeares of age Therfore some thinke that it is more commodious to draw backe this historye vnto the beginninge of the Iudges But I see not what should let but that god might permit him to liue so longe For when he had slaine a prince of Israell a Madianitish woman when they were committing whoredome god graunted him not onely to succede his father in the priesthode but also gaue him very long to liue D. Kimhi But vndoubtedly I chiefely allow the order and course of the historye from which vnlesse great necessity vrge I will not depart And in this sentence I follow the iudgement of Dauid Kimhi whose authority in expounding of the texte I thinke is not to bee contemned Yea and all the Hebrewes in a manner agree in this that Pinhas liued a very long time and there are some whiche produce his age euen vnto the time of Elias the Prophete Vnto whome I doo not agree bicause no necessity compelleth me thervnto Howbeit as cōcerning this thinge I will not much striue But I leaue it free to euery willing mind to follow which opinion he will And in this history first I marke the institution of idolatry then the consecration of a priest which was twise doone For firste Micha instituted his sonne a prieste and then when by chaunce he met with a Leuite he made him a priest But wherefore was this ido le made What a vowe is For her vowes sake For the promise of the mother of Micha was not simple but with a vow And a vow as al deuines affirme is a holy promise made to God of thinges which are ours Wherefore it must nedes be that this woman was a widow with whome paraduenture her sonne dwelled For if she had beene a wife or a maiden vnmaried or a widowe in the house of her father shee coulde not haue vowed a firme vowe as it manifestly appeareth by the booke of Numb Those persons might not vowe with out the consent of their father or husbād For the law ordeined that if they wer against it the vow should then be voide Hanna did in dede vowe in the firste of Samuell but we must beleue that Helkana her husbande confirmed her vowe This woman sinned not bicause shee vowed but bicause shee vowed a thinge vngodlye namely an idole For it was at that time lawefull for anye to vowe anye thinge of his owne thinges for the adorninge of the temple of God and to amplify his honor But to institute a new and forbidden worshippinge it was vtterly vngodly The sonne had stolen from his mother that money neyther is it any maruall if he would steale whych was so redy to idolatry He which sinneth against the first table doth easely sinne against the second The mother curseth the theefe whosoeuer he were neyther doth she so greuously take the matter for the money taken away as for that she could not performe her detestable vow And she curseth as men in a manner vse to do in aduersities Yea and God himself also vsed curses in the old testament in the assembly to the mount Hebal Garizim The priest also cursedly prayed for barēnes diseases losse of children and other thinges of like sorte And in our time the Pope Women do easely fall to cursinges by what wicked zeale I know not in the day of the supper of the Lord sēdeth forth curses vpon all those whiche haue alienated themselues from his institution and sect This woman cursed the theef and no maruaile Bycause women when they fail in strength do easely fall to cursinges The sonne as soone as he heard the curse of his mother was a feard For so hath nature ordeined that children do wonderfully feare the curses of their parents But this man feared not to violate the lawe of God which thing happeneth not seldome vnto men to haue horror of small sinnes and to neglect them that ar more grieuous Ther is some fruit somtimes of curses euen as of excōmunicatiō Ther ar some somtimes so hard obdurated that they can be bowed by no other meanes then by curses although they be corrected by publike and apert reprehēsion But whither this sonne knew that his mother had by a vow dedicated that mony vnto the Lord before he tooke it away it appeareth not by the wordes of the history Neither is this to be passed ouer in that the mother sayth that she had consecrated it vnto the lord
norishe fede like pastors They are also called fathers Magistrates are called fathers wherfore the Senators among the Romaines were called Patres conscripti that is appointed fathers nether was ther a greter or more aunciēt honor in the publike welth thē to be called pater patrie that is the father of the country Yea also a magistrate is contayned in the law of God vnder this cōmaūdement Honor thy father thy mother Wherfore princes owe vnto their subiectes a fatherly loue And they ought alwaies to remēber that they are not rulers ouer beastes but ouer men that thēselues also are men who yet ought to be far better more excellēt thē those whom they gouern otherwise they ar not apt to gouern thē For we make not a shepe a head ouer shepe but the chief wether then the shepeheard And euē as a shepeheard excelleth the sheepe so ought they to whome the office of a magistrate is committed to excell the people But now must we consider by whome Magistrates are ordeined That sometimes is done by the cōsent of the Senate somtimes by the voices of the people By whome magistrates are ordeined God is first ordeiner of magistrates or by the will of the souldiers or els by successiō of inheritāce But these ar but instrumēts But the proper cause of Magistrates is god him self which may be by many reasōs proued First there is by god a certain light kindled in the harts of mē whereby they vnderstand that they can not liue together without a guide there hēce spronge the office of a magistrate The law of god also commaundeth to obey Magistrates And before the law geuen by Moses as it is written in Gen. god ordeined that he which shedeth mans blood his blood also should be shed not vndoubtedly rashly by euery mā for that were very absurd wherefore we may gather by those wordes that a magistrate was not obscurely instituted by god whiche shoulde punish manquellers Paule also writeth that all powers whatsoeuer they be ar ordeined of god And Christ aunswered vnto Pilate Thou shouldest haue no power against me except it had beene geuen thee frō aboue By these testimonies and reasons it followeth that god is the true proper cause of Magistrates But here some cauell saye that if all magistrates are of God then must all things be rightly gouerned but in gouerning publike welthes many things as we se are done viciously peruersly Vndoubtedly vnder Nero Domician Commodus Caracalla Heliogabalus good lawes were contēned good men killed discipline of the city was vtterly corrupted But if Magistrates were of god such thinges coulde neuer haue happened This reason neither can nor oughte any thing to moue vs bicause the office is to be seperated from the person The office is to be seperated from the persō vndoubtedly it is possible that he which hath the office may be a wicked noghty mā when as yet neuerthelesse the power is good very profitable For there is nothing so good but that men by theyr malice may vse it ill Therfore it is no meruaile if there haue bene kings Emperors which sometimes haue abused that power geuen thē which yet they were not so able to corrupt but that mē receiued by it many good things cōodities as I haue before shewed By the testimony of Daniell it is most manifest that Magistrates ar of God For he saith he geueth transferreth kingdōs as it pleaseth him Farther we se that the Monarche hath somtimes bene in the East somtimes in the South afterwarde in the Weast somtimes in the North also that there hath sometimes bene good princes and somtimes euill sometimes haue reigned noble men sometimes obscure men And we vnderstād that it oftentimes happeneth that riches or power profite not to get or kepe a kingdome and to thinke that these things are done by chaunce without the prouidence of God it is most absurd Some Astronomer will peraduenture say that these chaunges or mutaciōs are imported by the starres but Daniell the minister of the truth saith that it is God which chaūgeth times For euē as he hath in the year appointed courses of times The chaunges of the wicked ar not to be ascribed vnto the starres so hath he as it pleaseth him somtimes ordeined somtimes takē away princes He did cast down Saul he also promoted Dauid And he foretold that he woulde so do least it should seme to haue happened rashely or by chaunse Yea and kingdomes publike wealthes may be called certayne worke houses or shops of the wil of god For that is done in them which god himself hath decreed to be done although princes oftētimes vnderstād it not God called the Medes and the Assiriās to afflict the Israelits them when it semed good vnto him he repulsed toke a waye He raysed vp the Persians agaynste the Chaldeans and the Grecians agaynste the Persians and lastlye the Romaines againste all other nations Who deuided the kingdome of the Hebrewes into Iuda and Israell Vndoubtedly God Ahias the Silonite did foretell that it shoulde so come to passe and sayde that the word was come forth from the Lorde that it shoulde so be Who ouerthrew Achab Who caused Iehu to be annointed but onely God But there ar certayne Tirannes which destroy publike welthes What draweth Tirannes to Pub. welthes I graunt that But our wicked actes deserue it For there are oftentimes so greiuous wicked actes and so many that they cannot be corrected by the ordinary magistrate and by a gentle and quiet gouernance of thinges and therfore god doth then prouide tirannes to afflict the people and yet for the most part he tempreth and lenyfieth his punishment in raysinge vp good and godly princes God sendeth good Princes after tirannes After the fall of Nero he set vp Vespacian after Domician he sent Neruan and Troian after Commodus Pertinax and Seuerus after Heliogabalus Alexander But they which say The wicked actes of Tirannes are not of God yet do they range and spreade abroade in kingdomes and Empires therfore Empires and kingdomes ar not of god they I saye make a false Silogismus a secundum quid ad simpliciter that is from that which appeareth to that which is indede neither doth this rightly follow Certayne thinges in a magistrate are not of God therfore the magistrate is not of God Or tather they reason 〈◊〉 from accidences for vices and wicked acts chance to publike powers but are not knit vnto them per se that is of thēselues or by theyr nature The godly may vse Ethnike magistrates But some man will doubt If the Magistrate be an Ethnike also a tiran whither it be lawfull for a godly man to vse his helpe and ayde What els Paul appealeth vnto Cesar a most wicked tiran But it may seme that he did against his own preceptes For in his firste Epistle
wil not obey him The Pope preferreth himselfe before al kings and princes Bonifacius addeth moreouer that he himselfe is aboue al kinges and princes For principallity is to be esteemed according to the dignity of the things which by it are exercised We saith he exercise spiritual thinges and they temporall wherfore their swoorde is inferiour to ours and they themselues also vnto vs. He addeth also an other reason they pay vnto vs tenthes but tenthes ar paid by the inferior vnto the superior Wherfore seing kings princes pai tenthes they do testify that their lands reuenues pertaine vnto the church that they ar subiect vnto it Moreouer he which blesseth is greater then he which is blessed But Bishops consecrate and anoynt kinges The Glose addeth That of kinges onely the right shoulder is anointed but the heades of Bishops are anointed And vpon Kinges is poured oyle but vpon Bishops Chrisma Wherefore wee must needes confesse that Kinges are inferiour to Bishops Farther kinges receaue the crowne and scepter of Bishops For who saith hee anoynted Saul and who anointed Dauid but onely Samuel who anoynted Iehu but a Prophet sent by Helizeus The matter also which is intreated of by bishops is greater thē that about which kinges are occupied For Christ said vnto Peter whatsoeuer thou shalt binde in earth shal be bound in heauen This power is greater then al humane power And God saith vnto Ieremy I wil set thee ouer nacions and kingdomes to roote out and destroy to scatter and to plant Therefore we are greater then al the power of kinges and are exempted from their right Wherefore prophane and lay powers of Emperours and Kinges must be iudged by the Ecclesiastical men The Pope wil not bee iudged or gouerned of any ought by vs to be appointed and may by vs be ouerthrowen For to whom it pertaineth to builde to the same it belongeth to destroy Therfore the spiritual Magistrate ought to iudge of the ciuill Magistrate But if the spiritual offende in any thing of whom ought he to be iudged The inferiour saith he ought to be iudged of the superiour But the Pope which is the highest of al of whom shal he be iudged Of no man saith he but onely of God bycause the spiritual is iudged of no man but he iudgeth al thinges Oh how finely and trymly ordaineth he his tirannye He calleth hym selfe onely spiritual The Gloser although he were otherwise grose inough yet hee could not be so much a blocke but that he sawe that these thinges were spoken very absurdly How saith he is the Pope spiritual if he be vnpure and wycked He expoundeth himselfe by this distinction Two maner of spiritualties of the Canonists There is one maner of spiritualtye saith he of the person and an other of the state Wherfore if there be anye spiritual person he may reproue al men by a brotherly admonicion but he ought to be reprehended of no man Bicause for that he is spirituall hee committeth nothing filthely But sometimes some person which is not spiritual in life and maners ought yet to be called spiritual bicause of his degree As are many bishops and Popes wherfore we must cal the bishop of Rome whatsoeuer he be spiritual and most holy But what thing els is this then to teache vs to lye if they wil haue a filthy varlet called most holye Bonifacius at the last concludeth that all Emperours and Kinges must be subiect vnto his power onely And he addeth a reason Vnles we wil together with the Maniches appoint twoo begynninges which thing we ought not to do for Moses sayd not in the beginninges but in the beginning God created heauen earth The Pope pronoūseth that he of necessitye of saluacion ought to be obeyed Of the two maner of powers the ciuil and ecclesiastical Wherfore saith he we define determine and pronounce that all men oughte of necessitye of saluacion to obey the Pope as the chiefest power And so he excellētly I promise you concludeth that al Ecclesiastical men are exempt from the ciuil Magistrate Before I come to confute this their most shameles boasting I thinke it expedient briefly to speake of the two maner of powers of the Ecclesiasticall power I say and ciuill In that it is sayd that the Ecclesiastical power is preferred before al ciuil functions it is somwhat that they say if it be rightlye and aptlye vnderstand All ecclesiasticall power cleaueth vnto the woorde of God so that without it is none but the woord of the Lorde is a rule common whereby all thinges ought both to be directed and be tempered Ambrose instructed Theodosius For it teacheth in what maner the outward sword and publike wealth ought to be gouerned And generally also it sheweth how althinges ought to be done of al men So Ambrose whō Theodosius the Emperor raged to cruelly and without al consideracion against the Thessalonians perswaded him that in al punishmentes of death ther should be .xxx. daies space after the sentence geuen least the Magistrate should do those things in a rage and fury wherof although he afterward repented him yet they could not be amended So many Bishops oftentimes in things most waighty shewed foorth their authority and many times either put away cruell warres or els pacified them out of the word of God preached among them Wherfore the Ecclesiastical power after this maner comprehendeth althinges bicause out of the woord of God it findeth how to geue counsell in all thinges For there is nothing in the whole world wherunto the woord of God extendeth not it selfe Wherfore they are farre deceaued which vse to cry The preaching of the woord of God hath al mē al states subiect vnto it what hath a Preacher to do with the publike wealth what hath he to doo with warres what with Poticaries what with Cookes But let them tel me when the Minister of the woorde perceiueth the law of God to be violated in these thinges why should he not reprehende them by the woord of God Why should he not admonish them Why should he not exhort them to cease from synne The Minister of the Churche worketh by the woord and not by the swoord How far cyuill power extēdeth Nndoubtedlye it is his dutye to correct synners not in dede with the swoord or punishing by the pursse not by emprisonment not by banishment but after his owne manner that is by the might and power of the woord of God Againe the political power is extended to al those thinges which pertayne to political power But after what maner Shal ciuil power require good mociōs of the minde and inward repentance It cannot cause these thinges yet it must wish these thinges and vse those meanes wherby they may be had For he ought to haue a care that Bishops Pastors and Teachers in the Churche doo teache purely reprehende fatherly and by the woord of God administer the sacramēts This
twoo powers How the churche maye haue twssiwoordes and both of them committed vnto hym To that I aunswer that it is possible that sometymes there may be two swoordes in the Churche but there were not so alwayes in it neyther peraduenture shall bee alwayes so What outward swoord had the Church in the tyme of Christ and of the Apostles and Martyrs The Churche hath nowe almost al artes But yet now they wyll say it hath I graunt that bycause kynges and Emperours are Christians whych in the olde tyme were Ethnikes The Churche hath also husbandrye trade of marchaundise the arte of Carpenters and other suche lyke For they whyche exercise these thynges are members of the Church But that cōmeth to passe as the Schoolemen speake per accidens that is by chaunce For there might be a Churche thoughe those thynges were not So nowe bycause there are Princes in the Churche it is sayde to haue an outward swoorde But bycause Princes are in our tyme a part of the Churche it doth not therfore follow that the sword of Princes is the sword of ministers euen as although there be in the Church husbandry and trade of merchaundise and also the arte of Carpenters it cānot therby be gathered that ministers are husband men merchauntes and Carpenters Now I come to the place of the Euangelist The Apostles sayde they wanted nothing when they were sent without wallet and scryp vnto whom Christ sayd Let euery one take vnto him his scrip and wallet and he which hath none let him sell his coate and bye a swoord What woulde Christe signifye by these woordes Nothing els vndoubtedly but to shewe that the state and condicion of tymes hereafter should be far otherwise then they wer before Hitherto sayth he whylest I was wyth you ye felt no griefe neyther wanted you any thyng But now harder tymes are at hand now shall ye haue neede of coates scryps and swoordes By these woordes hee declareth that hee shoulde depart from them and that hee woulde sende them into the whole worlde to preache and teache the Gospell in which ministery they should meete with so manye aduersities that they should thinke themselues to haue neede of swoordes It is a figuratiue kinde of speeche whereby is vnderstande one thing by an other as is that in Genesis when the Lorde sayde that hee repented that he had made man For God is not in very deede touched with repentance but he doth that which men repenting vse to doo that is he chaungeth that which hee hath done And vndoubtedly then he by the flood destroyed humane kinde which hee had created So now he hath not instructed his Disciples to fight with yron but onelye by a certaine paraphrasis describeth the condicion of the tyme to come And euen as a gowne oftentimes signifieth tranquility and peace so in this place a sword sheweth troublesome and vnquiet times After this maner Chrisostome interpreteth these woordes Chrisostome expounding this place of Paule Salute Prisca and Aquila The Lorde sayth he hath not broken the lawe which before he had made saying And hee which striketh thee on the one cheeke turne vnto him the other Blesse those that curse you pray for them that persecute you How then doth he commaunde his Disciples to bye themselues swoordes He ment no such thing saith Chrisostome For it is a figuratiue kinde of speeche whereby he signified that he should be taken away from them and that they should be afflicted with many calamities These woordes are not so to be taken as they appeare at the first syght In an other place Christe sayth also That which ye haue heard in the eare preache on the house toppes And yet wee neuer reade that the Apostles stoode on the house toppes when they preached vnto the people Neither assuredly was it decent to haue left the strete and temple and to haue spokē from the house top The sense was that those thinges which they had hearde priuatelye they shoulde speake openlye and manifestlye The Lord also sayd Destroye this temple and in three dayes I wyll restore it which is also spoken figuratiuely For he commaunded not to ouerthrowe the temple of Salomon as the Euangelist himselfe interpreteth but vnderstoode that which he spake of the temple of hys owne body wherein as Paule sayth corporally dwelled all diuinity But to returne to the matter that Luke so ment Chrisostome proueth by these thinges which follow That in the sonne of man shoulde be fulfylled that which was spoken of him And he was counted with the vngodly But the Apostles vnderstoode not Christ for they thought that hee had spoken simplye and as the woordes sounded spoken of an outward sword And so did Boniface vtterly interpreate it And in that Christ addeth It is inough he vnderstoode that two swordes are sufficient in the Church so that ther ought to be nowe neyther more nor fewer But Chrisostome vnderstandeth it farre otherwise For when Christ perceiued that the Apostles vnderstode him not by that answer he declared that he would omit the thing And in dede so is a scholemaster wont to say vnto a child which yet vnderstandeth not that which is taught him It is inough Otherwise vndoubtedly two swords wer not sufficient against al the aduersaries of Christe There shoulde moreouer haue needed coates of male and shieldes Wherfore Chrisostome concludeth that the speche was figuratiue parabolical Farthermore In the times of the Apostles the church had not two swoordes if Bonifacius exposition bee receaued wee muste thincke that the Church in the time of the Apostles ought to haue had two swords which is most farre from the truth But let vs come to that which Christ said vnto Peter Put vp thy swoord into thy sheath Thy sword saith Boniface not an other mans sword But what gathereth he by those wordes Although Peter haue his sword yet if he be cōmaunded to put it vp how can he haue it drawen or to what end hath he a swoord if he maye not vse it But Boniface wil peraduenture aunswer I haue in deede a sword but I vse it not but by an other mans hande Or I vse not myne owne swoord but the sword of the Emperor other princes For they ought to draw the sword at the becke and sufferance of the Church I would gladly demaund whither Christ whē he bad Peter to put vp his sword ment this that he should in dede vse it as he listed and would himselfe Euery man is sayd to doo that himselfe whych he doth by an other man but yet by the labour of an other man Assuredly that which a man doth by an other he seemeth to do it himselfe If a man by mony or giftes get one to kil his enemy although he do it not with his own hand yet neuertheles he should be an homicide otherwise euen Princes doth not with their own hand kil the guilty but commaunde the hangmen to punish them Ther is in this
sometimes to call vs hys fellowe workers Bonifacius goeth on the lay power ought to be iudged of the Ecclesiasticall but by what kind of iudgement Vndoubtedly by this that in the churche he set forth the anger of God against sinners that they be admonished and corrected by the holy scriptures But the bishops may expel kings and put them out of their kingdome wher is the permitted Frō whence haue they that what writings wil they bring for it The Pope ought to be iudged of the church But that is most intollerable that the Pope sayth that he can be iudged of no man And yet Iohn .23 was in the counsel of Constance put downe and not onely by god but also by men So these men plant and replant Canons and the same they allow and disalow as often as they think good Yea and Emperors haue sometimes thrust out and put down Popes as it is before said Paul to the Gal. sayth If an Aungell from heauen preach any other gospel let him be accursed If the Pope which may come to passe and hath alredy long since come to passe obtrude wicked opinions who shall pronounce him accursed It is the dewty of the magistrate to execut the sentence of the church agaynst the pope Shall he be vtterly iudged of no man The church vndoubtedly shal geue sentence vpon him and the magistrate for that he is the chiefest part of the church shal not onely iudge together with it but also shall execute the sentence Farther it longeth vnto the magistrate to prouide that the riches of the churche be not geuen vnto the enemies of godlines Wherefore if bishoppes become enemies of the churche a faythfull magistrate ought not to suffer the goods of the church to be consumed by them The Canonists haue this oftentimes in theyr mouth That for the office sake is geuen the benefice When therfore they do not their office ought the magistrate to suffer them to enioy their benefices But let vs heare howe Bonifacius proueth that he can be iudged of no man Bycause he that is spiritual sayth he iudgeth all thinges but he himselfe is iudged of no man A godly and wel applied argument I promise you But let vs se what kind of iudgement Paul writeth of in that place He speaketh not vndoubtedly of the common kind of iudgement whereby men are either put to death or put oute of theyr roome He entreateth there onelye of the vnderstandinge of thinges deuine and which auaile vnto saluation These thinges I say properlye belong vnto the iudgement of the spiritual man but concerning common iudgementes and knowledge of ciuill causes Paule neuer thoughte of them in that place Which is easely perceaued by his wordes we haue not receiued saith he the sprite of this world but a sprite which is of God If thou wilt demaund for what vse the sprite is geuen vs He answereth that we should know those things that are geuen vs of God And bycause the sprite of this worlde cannot geue iudgemente of thinges deuine it is added The carnall man vnderstandeth not those things which ar of the sprite of god The spiritual man iudgeth al things What Doth he iudge also ciuill and common causes No vndoubtedlye but he iudgeth those thinges whiche pertayne vnto the saluation of men he himselfe is iudged of no man Without doubt both Peter and Paul were iudged by the ciuil power wherunto Paul appealed to be iudged there and yet were they both spirituall Peter Paule were iudged by the ciuil power But that place is thus to be vnderstanded He that is spirituall in that he is such a one cannot in thinges deuine and such as pertaine vnto saluation bee rightely iudged of any mā which is not endewed with the same sprite that he is The wicked and worldly ones count him oftentimes for a sedicious vnpure infamous fellow but only God and his sprite looketh vpon the hartes Note Lastly Bonifacius concludeth that there is one onely chiefe power which longeth vnto the pope least we should seme with the Maniches to make many beginninges We put this one onely beginninge and not many And he addeth That god in the beginning and not in the beginnings created the world We also abhorre from the Maniches and do put one onely beginning and pronounce one onely fountayne and ofspring of all powers namely god and his word without which can be no power either ciuil or Ecclesiasticall For the foundation of either of them dependeth of the word of god so we make but one beginning not two Farther if Bonifacius wil vrge these words of Genesis In the beginning god created c. there oughte to be in the world but one onely king For when Paul sayde One Lord one faith one baptisme he added not one Pope A Schisme of thre Popes At the length our Thraso commeth so farre that hee excludeth them from the hope of saluation which acknowledge not the Pope for the chief prince head of the church But when ther were two or three Popes al at one time which thing both happened and also endured the space of .60 yeares full it muste needes be that those were at that time Maniches and did put two beginnings which were of Bonifacius opinion Moreouer what thinke they of the Gretians of the Persiās and Christians which dwell in the East part for as much as they acknowledge not the Pope who yet neuerthelesse reade the scriptures beleue in our Lord Iesus Christ and both are also ar called christians Al them Bonifacius excludeth from the hope of saluation This is the ambicion and vnspeakeable tirannye of the Popes When we obiecte vnto the papistes these wordes of Paule let euery soule be subiect vnto the superior powers they aunswere that euery soul ought to be subiect vnto the superior power but yet to theyrs not to other mens power otherwise the frenchmen ought to be subiect vnto the Spaniardes the Spaniardes to the Germaines which thing for that it is absurd it is concluded that euery man ought to obey his own Magistrat But now the clergy acknowledge the bishops for theyr power and ought to be subiect vnto thē and the bishops acknowledge the Archbishoppes and Primates and they lastly acknowledge the Pope After this manner say they we obey the power and satisfye Paule What haue we to do with kings or ciuil magistrats But this is nothing els then most filthily to abuse the wordes of Paule The Papistes do rēt into two partes both the kingdomes and the people Doo they not see that they deuide the publike wealth into two bodies which oughte to be one body onely For when they deuide the kyngdome of the Clergye from the kingedome of the laitye they make in one kyngedome twoo peoples and doo sette ouer eyther people a Magystrate And thereby commeth to passe that the Clergy whiche are Frenchemen seeme not to be Frenchemen and the Germanes seeme not to be
his office For there are in courtes whiche flatter in the eares of princes disprayse prayse whom they lust complayne of the good as euill and commend the euil as good So according as they wil some ar preferred to prouinces and other some ar displaced A sentence of Diocletian Wherfore Diocletian sayde A good wise wary Emperor is oftētymes solde of his subiectes The prince is at home in his palace they that are familiar with him accuse defende before him whom they will Yea and among the Romanes the fathers which were called Conscripti that is appoynted were sometymes called Circumscripti that is deceaued or abused The course of Iustice is by many deceates hindred Neither skilleth it much whether it be done by violēce or by guile bycause both wayes the publique wealth is hurte and the institution of God contemned Neither is this to be passed ouer in this place whiche hath also ben often spoken of that the Magistrate is not to be obeyed if he commaūd any thing against the worde of God For when he so doth he is no Magistrate Bycause as Paul sayth he is the Minister of God to good Wherfore if he commaund thinges contrary vnto the worde of God he is not in that parte his Minister But thou wilt say Sometymes greuous molestous and harde thinges are cōmaunded whiche yet are not agaynst the worde of God What is to be done in those cases We must obey for we are commaunded to obeye our Lordes thoughe they be hard so that they commaunde nothyng agaynst the worde of GOD whiche thing if they do we must aunswere them with this sentence of Peter whiche sayth we must rather obey God then men Nabucad-Nezar would haue had his Image worshipped the faythfull Hebrues aunswered Thy image O kyng we will not worship Antiochus cōmaunded the Hebrew woman to eate swines fleshe but she chused to dye with together her seuē childrē rather then to cōmit any thing agaynst the lawe of God Also the Martin as well in the old tyme as also in our tyme suffred most extreme punishmentes and most cruell deathes for that they would not sinne agaynst the law of God Eusebius An example of Constātius an Emperor Eusebius Casariensis writeth that Constantius the father of Constantine fayned vpon a tyme that he would put out all the Christians whiche would abyde in theyr religion from their honours and offices But they whiche were in very dede godly of theyr own free will gaue ouer their dignity and chused rather to geue place vnto dignityes then to depart frō Christ But this turned to good vnto thē for the Emperour embraced thē and those which had denyed Christ for to keepe their dignityes he vtterly remoued from hymself saying that they also would not be faythful vnto him whiche had broken thier fayth vnto God Constantius afterwarde the sonne of Constantine Constantius the second an Arrian beyng an Arrian went aboute to drawe the faithfull Byshops into hys heresy but they chused rather to be banished Iulianus Apostata then to follow that wicked purpose of the Emperour Afterward Iulianus Apostata opened the temples of Idoles and labored to dryue the Christians to the Ethnike religion worshipping but such as wer in deede godly had greater loue and regarde to Religion of Christ then to their lyfe Achilles Yea and Achilles in Homere sayth I will obey the princes but yet when they commaund things honest and iust And these thynges pertayne not onely to subiectes but also to inferior Magistrates For what Of inferior powers if the superior prince commaunde the inferior Magistrates to receaue the Masse in their Cityes Vndoubtedly they ought not obey If a manne will saye It is the superior power therefore it muste bee obeyed I will aunswere In thynges ciuile and humane let them obeye as muche as they ought but nothyng agaynste GOD. We muste alwayes runne vnto that principle Euery thyng is suche a thyng by reason of an other wherefore that other shall more bee suche Therefore if we obeye the Magistrate for goddes sake muche more is GOD hymselfe to be obeyed Wherefore the inferior Magistrates ought not in suche thynges to haue a regarde what the superior power commaundeth but what God hymselfe hath commaunded But there are some whiche saye Whether the consent of the Churche is to be taryed for in reformyng of religion A Similitude that before we departe from the obedience of the Magistrates as touchyng Religion we must tary for the consent of the Churche They whiche say these thynges must marke that Christ neuer so commaunded Euery manne for hymselfe is wholy bounde vnto the lawe of GOD whether other consent or dissent If the good man of a house haue many seruauntes whome he commaundeth to doo hys woorke in the countrey but some of them when their master is absent wil be idle Paul taryed not for consent ought the rest therfore to be idle bycause some consent not to theyr common busines Did Paul when he was called to preache Christ tary for the consent of his other brethren No vndoubtedly but as he writteth vnto the Galathians when it pleased GOD to reuele vnto me hys sonne that I should preache hym amonge the Gentiles I dyd not strayghtwaye aske counsell of fleshe and bloude neyther went I vnto the Apostles whiche were before me but I went into Arabia Wherefore he taried not for the consent of other but straightwaye obeyed his vocation So also ought we to doo after that GOD hath opened vnto vs his truth Whē we must tary for consēt we muste not tary We muste in deede tary for the consent if the thynge bee doubtfull and darke But our cause is manifest and without all obscurenes whiche if we will omitte tyll consent be had the thyng it selfe is lost An acte of Tiberius and good occasions taken awaye Tiberius woulde haue brought Christe into the number of the goddes but he thought to haue the consent of the Senate but the Senate woulde not and by that meanes it came to passe that whylest the consent was taryed for Christ coulde not bee numbred amonge the goddes wher as Tiberius was able to haue brought it to passe by himself But I pray you let them tel vs For whose cōsent they will tary For the Byshops cōsent But they no doubt wil neuer consent for they are sworne enemyes vnto the truth But let vs returne vnto the inferior Magistrate of whom we spake before We must remember what God hath commaunded chyldren concernyng theyr parentes Honour thy father and thy mother By whiche woordes vndoubtedlye is also commaunded honour and obeysaunce towarde superior powers For they haue the place of parentes towarde the inferior Magistrates But let vs see what Christe hath pronounced as touchyng thys matter He whiche loueth father sayeth he or mother more then me is not woorthy of me The same thyng without doubte muste we thynke of the Magistrate whiche
is the father of the countrey We muste obeye hym but yet not aboue the Lord. Yea if he commaunde any thyng agaynst hym he is both to be hated and also to be denyed Neither is it lawfull for any manne to professe hymselfe to be a Christian whiche will not departe from the superior Magistrate in these thynges whiche are agaynste the woorde of GOD. Thys were to haue a wyll to serue two Lordes and to halte in two partes If GOD be God let vs follow hym and that not by halues but wholy But it is to be feared saye they least whylest we are agaynste the superior power we engender daunger to the publique wealth To this will I answere contraryly to that which Demades in the old tyme answered vnto the Athenienses An answere of Demades Cassander the Macedonian whiche succeded Alexander the greate entreated with the Athenienses to woorshippe Alexander for a GOD. They stayed at it but Cassander vnles they woulde consent seemed that he would inuade them with battaile Wherefore Demades spake thus vnto the people That it was to be feared least whilest they retayned heauen they lost not earth So doo I aunswere these menne but chaungyng the woordes That it is to be feared least whilest they to muche regarde and defende an earthely publique wealth they lose heauen For althoughe the superior power doo fume and threaten we must stande valiantly to a good cause For we muste woorshippe GOD holyly and godly thoughe all Magistrates and the whole worlde were agaynste vs. And therefore if that superior power commaunde any thyng agaynst the lawe of God it is not to be obeyed An example of Naboth So dyd Naboth behaue hymself he would not graunt vnto Achab hys vyneyarde whiche was his inheritaunce Neither had he in that thing a respect vnto any thing elles then that the lawe of GOD should remayne vnbroken wherin it was commaunded that the tribes and famelyes of the Israelites as touchyng possessions should remayne distincte and separated Wherefore by it it was not lawfull for Naboth to alienate hys inheritaunce for euer Yet a manne beyng farre endetted mought haue solde his inheritaunce till the yeare of Iubily But after that yeare it returned vnto the olde possessor agayne GOD woulde by thys meanes that the inheritaunces of the Israelites shoulde not be confounded Wherefore Naboth woulde not sell hys auncient inheritaunce that the lawe of GOD shoulde not be broken whome Magistrates also ought to follow and not to geue place in theyr Cityes and dominions vnto moste vnpure Masses and Papisticall Idolatrye The Iewes when they were oppressed vnder the Mocedonians The constancy of the Iewes agaynste the Macedonians Romanes chused to suffer any thynge rather then that the Image of Iupiter Olimpicus shoulde abyde in the Temple of GOD. And when the Romanes bare rule ouer them howe greate sedition and tumult stirred they vp rather then they would suffer the Siluer Eagle or the Image of Caligula to be set vp in the holy place Yea Valentinian the Emperor beyng an Arrian as both Eusebius writeth and also Ambrose in hys Epistles would haue had the Church of Millan delyuered vnto him there with hys heretikes to haue celebrated prayers and holy seruices Ambrose But Ambrose woulde not geue place but rather abode daye and nyght in the Temple together with the people that the Emperour should not fynd it empty and so possesse it If the Hebrues would not haue the Temple of GOD polluted with Idoles and Ambrose suffred not the Churche to be contaminated by heretikes why doo faythfull Magistrates permitte theyr Temples to Idolatrers and vnpure worshippynges of Papistes They saye that these thynges pertayne not vnto them and that these Temples are not in theyr power What then If murther shoulde be committed in those Temples or any shoulde there conspire agaynste the publique wealth woulde they leaue murtherers and conspirators vnpunished there And would they say that these wycked crimes pertayne nothyng vnto them Would they willingly wittingly suffer these thyngs I thinke not if they were wise if they would keepe and defend the publique wealth If a man should obiect vnto them this Temple is not yours neither maketh it any matter vnto you what is here done yea but they would then aunswere for as muche as it is in our City in that it sufficiently pertayneth vnto vs. But wicked actes farre more grieuous then murthers and conspiracyes are there committed Idolatry I say sacrilege and blasphemye And shall a Magistrate whiche will be called a Christian thynke that these thynges pertayne nothyng vnto hym But say they the superior power hath commaunded these thynges to be done To this I haue already largely aunswered Nowe thys thynge wyll I adde if the same power shoulde go aboute to destroye the Citye or to take awaye or diminishe the priuiledges they woulde neuer suffer that they woulde rather runne to weapons but these thynges whiche are farre more grieuous and cruell are openly and manifestly done and suffred And whiche is muche moste grieuous of all those thynges are there suffred where many yeares the Gospell of Christe hath bene receaued Nowe resteth bycause oftentymes the Magistrate excuseth hymselfe saying the Ecclesiastical causes pertayne not vnto him to declare that to be vntrue Although it be sufficiently declared by those things which I haue already spoken yet for the more easie vnderstandyng I thinke it good to adde those thynges First I say that the Magistrate is the keper of the law of God which conteyneth not onely the latter table but also the first Wherfore the Magistrate is a keper as well of the one as of the other I adde that also whiche Augustine sayth Augustine that not onely priuate men but also kynges ought to serue the Lorde For in the Psalme it is written In gatheryng together peoples into one and kynges to serue the Lorde And in an other place And nowe O kynges vnderstand be wise ye that iudge the earth Serue the Lord in feare c. A priuate man sayth Augustine serueth the Lorde if he confesse hys name and lyue vprightly Howe kynges ought peculiarly to serue the Lorde But this is not sufficient for a kyng and Magistrate For he by his authority and power ought so to serue the Lorde that he must punishe those that are agaynst hym whiche thyng vnles he doo he seemeth to assent vnto blasphemers and heretikes For the king when he seeth these menne and suffreth them is as much in faulte as if he shoulde ioyne hymselfe with them and mainteyne theyr wicked actes Nebuchad-Nezar as soone as euer he knewe GOD made a decree that whosoeuer spake blasphemy agaynst the GOD of Daniel shoulde dye The lyke decree made Darius afterwarde Wherfore our Magistrates also ought vtterly to take awaye all Idolatryes blasphemyes and superstitions assone as euer they find them out The Ethnike princes neuer thought that the care ouer Religion pertayned not vnto their power
then be But both we our selues and al ours doinges I say sayinges thoughtes and counsels are due vnto god Wherfore our merites do vtterly perish Moreouer those workes whereby wee should merite ought to be of our selues which cannot be affirmed for as muche as it is god which worketh in vs both to wil to perform that not as we wil but according to his good wil. Augustine Wherfore Augustine was accustomed very wel to say that God which crowneth his giftes in vs. And in his .100 Epistle ad Sixtū Presbiterum Paul saith he when he had sayd The rewarde of synne is death dyd not straightway adde contrarily The rewarde of righteousnes is euerlasting lyfe But Grace sayth he is eternal life for that is not rendred to our merites but is geuen freely He might in deede haue wrytten after the same manner if he woulde For the holye Scripture sometimes so speaketh But for that he was a defender of grace hee woulde not geue occasion vnto his enemyes to impugne it Farther our woorkes how holye so euer they appeare are neuerthelesse vnpure and imperfect Wherefore they are woorthye rather of punishment then that they should deserue any good And wythout doubt they should be punished were not the redempcion and iustification whyche wee haue by Christ our Lorde There ought also to be some anallogy or proporcion betwene merites and rewardes whereof there is none betwene our workes and eternall lyfe For as Paul saith The sufferinges of this time are not woorthy of the glory to come which shal be reuealed in vs. This is to be added that in the holye scriptures is no where found the name of merite Some in deede are wont to bring the .xvi. chap. of Ecclesiasticus and there they say it is written All mercy shal make place vnto euery one according to the merites of his workes But they which obiect this thing let him looke vpon the Greeke text wherin it is thus written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in latine Deus omni misericordiae faciet locum quisque iuxta opera sua inueniet Which in englyshe signifieth God wil make place vnto al mercy and euery man shall finde according vnto hys woorkes But in these woordes there is no mencion made of merite onely this is wrytten that whose woorkes are good they shall be in good case but yet their woorkes are not sayde to bee merites or causes of rewarde I wyll not speake howe that booke is not in the Canon bycause Paule and the Gospels vse the same forme of speaking But of that whyche is wrytten vnto the Hebrewes by suche Sacrifices God is well pleased I haue before spoken nowe wyth one woorde onely will I briefly touche the thing This woorde of deseruing is not founde in the Greeke In Greeke is read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by whyche woorde is onely signified that the good woorkes of the faythfull are gratefull and acceptable vnto God Of the woorde reward But as touching this woorde rewarde which some bicause they do not well vnderstand it do take for merite we must deuide it two maner of wayes For that is sometymes called a rewarde whiche is geuen freelye but yet is promysed by adding of some worke wherby men should be styrred vp to doo well So eternal life may be called a reward not that we deserue the same by our woorkes but bicause by a certain order appointed of God it followeth our good workes But somtimes a reward is that which is due vnto good dedes Whither eternal lyfe may be called a reward is rendred vnto them of duty After this maner eternal life cannot be called the reward of our workes Wherfore Paul to the Romanes saith Abraham beleued God it was imputed vnto him for righteousnes But vnto him which woorketh reward is not imputed according to grace but according to debt Wherefore eternal lyfe for as muche as it is not of ryght dewe cannot be a reward if the woorde be taken in that signification But when they thus reason there is a reward geuen ergo there is a merite The argument is not firme A genere ad species bicause in affirming we may not discend from the general woorde to the species Neyther doth he rightly conclude whych sayth It is a liuing creature ergo it is a man This generall word reward hath two species therfore this argument is not firme if we saye It is a reward Ergo it is plaine that it must be geuen of dewty This saying also of Ieremy is to be added Cursed be euery one that putteth his hope in man and calleth flesh his strength But all our thinges whatsoeuer they be are not without flesh Wherfore it is not lawful for vs to put confidence in them Ierome And Ierome writing vpon that place hath very well brought in manye thinges whereby may be vnderstanded that in our workes there is no regard of merite Yea and the Papists also themselues which ar the patrones of merites are sometimes compelled to confesse that our merites are nothing at all For on the 2. Sonday in the Aduēt thus they pray Be pacefied O god with the prayers of our humility and wher helpe of merites do want succor vs with the aydes of of thy mercy The fathers whē in theyr writings they oftentimes inculcate this word of meriting do by it signify nothinge els then to get to obteine and to atteine to And as manye of them as haue written purelye the same haue detested the consideration of merites whereof the papistes so much bost Wherfore the Israelites were not heard thoroughe the merite of their teares or prayers but bycause by fayth in Christ to come they obteyned forgeuenes of sins and so by his merite onely they returned into fauor againe with god They offred sacrifice What profite the sacrifices of the law had Although I haue before largely spoken of the sacrifices in the olde time yet I thinke it good here also briefly to touch what profite was of them in the old law When men are vexed with calamityes they beginne to think vpon theyr sin they loke vpon the law wher whē they behold the wrath of god kindled for sinne they are in hart deiected in which perturbatiō there remaineth no remedy but to get them vnto Christ which is the summe and end of all sacrifices Him did the fathers which wer godly embrase by faith but in the sacrifices as often as the sacrifice was slaine so often the death of Christe was after a sorte set before the eyes of those that stoode by by whose death the synnes of the world should be taken away The sacramēts of the olders ours at al one but differ in outward Simboles signes Wherfore they had after this manner a communion amonge themselues in Christ which by sundry notes and signes dayly signified to the people in the old time wherhēce they by fayth receaued vnto their saluacion both his death and the fruite