them but because one will not suffice to maintain them lordly and wealthily nor to get goods together for many yeares The gospel of long time thorow the tyrannie of the Romish Antichrist by whom pluralities first came hath béen made a cloak for couetousnes But I pray God pull of the cloake that euery man may appeare in his plaine coat Of these wicked Mammonites S. Amb. de dig s cer cap. 5. Ambrose in his booke de dignitate sacerdot all saith Through mony he hath gâ—tten honour not due vnto him and hath lost God in his inward man flesh hath taken the dignity and the soule hath lost her honesty The flesh being maid is become mistres ouer the soule and the soule which was miastres is made seruant to the flesh Flesh hath rule ouer the people and the soule serueth the Deuill to his flesh he hath gotten a benefice and losse to his soule What auaileth it such a one to win all the worlds and to endamage his owne soule I appeale to your consciences to which I speake rather then to your eares Do you thinke EnglaÌ„d is not combred with many such as S. Ambrose speaketh off Let no man take my wordes so generally as though I secluded none froÌ„ this company For I meane onely these couetous dumbe dogs or shadowes of ministers not the true ministers them selues or the good pastors of their flock Of whom because the number is smal and the haruest very great let vs desire the lord daily more and more to encrease it that his people be not starued for lack of food but strengthened in the faith to the glory of his name Thus haue yée hearde the third temptation of Sathan against Christ Then saide Iesus vnto him Auoyd sathan For it is written Thou shalt worship the lord thy God him only shalt thou serue BEfore when the deuil went about to make Christe discredite God in his promises Christ answered him mildly but now when the deuil wil prefer himselfe before God our sauiour rebukâ—th him sharply and commandeth him to auoid but with authority of scripture as he did before To teach vs that scripture should be our shield our defence and coÌ„fort in al temptation This scripture is takeÌ„ out of the fift booke of Moses called Deutronomie where Moses speaketh to the Deu. 6. 10 Israelites with like words to the same effect Thou shalt feare the lord thy Gâ—d and serue him By this place our sauiour conuinceth the deuil biddeth him auoide And here if I had lesure I might speak of the difference which the schoole men make betweene latria which is the true and liuely worship of God and dulia which is honest obedience due to man not forbidden by this scripture Onely it forbiddeth to giue the inward worship of the mind that appertaineth only to the almighty God vnto any creature besids So yâ— these words of God alleged by our sauiour import thus much that because God had don such maruailous works I wonderous miracles for the deliuerance of his people out of Egypt to the astonishment not only of the Egyptians but of al that world nostrength nor power being able to stand or preuaile against his might therfore they ought to feare the lord and serue him As though he should say seeing I haue shewed such power vpoÌ„ Pharaoh his host in working wonders for thy sake O Israel haue deliuered thee so mercifully from all thy miseries me thinks I may by right claim thy seruice thou shalt feare me as a lord of magnificent streÌ„gth power as an omnipoteÌ„t God yâ— made all things thou shalt serue worship me as a merciful long suffering God thou shalt praise me inuâ—â—ate me depend on me as thy helper thy gouernor thy protector that only thou shalt séek for health helpe aid succour all of me and besides me of none If God then be the maker of all things the giuer of all things the Lorde of all things the made heaueÌ„ earth the sea al that is therin if he be giuer of life liberty health welth and whatsoeuer and haue al things vnder his hand did not the deuil lie falsly in saying al the kingdoms of yâ— world were his and at his dispositioÌ„ did not that deuâ—l work high treason against Gods maiesty by tempting the Lorde of life to fall down before him and worship him so to haue committed beastly and blasphemous Idolatry But auaunt Saâ—an saith our sauiour thy words preuail not and thy temptations can take no place for it is writteÌ„ Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God but him onely shalt thou serue Wherby briefly you may vnderstande what the true worship of God is how much against Gods glory is the worshipping of saints wherof if I had not been tedious to you already I woulde haue spoken more at large But I wil hasten towards an end Then the deuil left him HEre S. Iames his saying is prooued true resist the deuil be wil flee from Iam. 4. you By which example we may learne the though the godly be continually tempted and assaulted yet if they stande constaÌ„tly and shrink not they may be sure of the victory For God is faithful which wil not suffer them to be tempted aboue their 1. Cor. 10. strength as S. Paul saith is able as S. Petâ—r writeth to deliuer the Godly from 2. Pet. 2. temptation â—oâ— was tempted but he ouer came the Apostles were sundry many waies tempted but they triumphed always The patriarks Prophets haue beâ—e many times tempted but they neuer fainted And here you sée our sauiour was tempted but he ouerthrew the deuill and vtterly confounded him euen with a word of his mouth This hath our sauiour bene content to do for vs submitting himselfe to Satans temptation to declare vnto vs yâ— whilste we be in this life we are in danger of temptation also but yet if we abide it stedfastly without starting we shal be sure to win the victory as he hath done before vs. Let no man therfore either think it strange or be dismaied if he be tempted For can yâ— members spéed better then the head Or need the members feare their trial wheÌ„ the head hath subdued the tempter If the head had fayled there had been some cause why the members might feare but since it is otherwise who is so faint hearted that can doubt of the victory Wherefore dearely beloued since it is so that Sathans temptations can not touche vs if we persist in the faith nor preuail against vs if like true seruants and followers of our Lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ we resist him by the scriptures Let vs exercise our selues in the word of the Lord day and night and let vs not yeeld either at the first second or third brunt but let vs tarry the Lordes leasure and in the ende we may be certain euen to weary the deuil and make him faine to forsake vs. And behold the Aungels came and ministred vnto him AFter these fourty dayes and fourty nights were expired and sathan had left him our sauiour began to hunâ—er and God sent his aungels to minister such thinges as hee lacked vnto him This is a iâ— table patterne of consâ—ancâ—e and patience He grudged at nothing hee â—â—strusied not Gods prouidence but tooke all patiently that God sent And therefore God sent his angels to comfort and relieue him And thus may the Children of God perswade themselues that God will prouide for them in all their extreemeties if they put their trust in him He fedde the holy Prophet Elias by rauens and also by â— King 17. 19. an angell He fedde Daniel in the Lions denne God neuer forgetteth nor forsaketh them that trust faithfully in him For as Dauid saith I haue beene young Psal 37. and now am olde yet did I neuer sâ—e a iust man forsaken nor his seed seeking hâ—s bread But aâ—asse our faith is so weake and our charitie so colde our patience so small and our sturdy stâ—maches so big that we will rather tempt our God spoile our neigbours murmure fight aganst God if he once for our trial seâ—m to lay his heuy hande on vs th◠〈…〉 ther to waite on his leasure or to 〈◊〉 vpon him for his fauor But I beseâ—â— the O merciful father so to streÌ„gtheÌ„ vs against our enemy that we may haue a valiant conquest ouer the deuill and all his socitie and that we may haue the ministery of the Angelical company as here had our Sauiour and redeemer Iesus Christe to whome with the father and the holy ghost be all honour and glory for euer and euer Amen
thy meaning at my fingers ends Thou wouldest haue me to tempt God my father as thou madest the fathers in the desart with miracles notnecessary But I know their rewarde and how they sped I wil take héed by their harmes I am a man and I wil follow mans waies and not cast my selfe headlong into daunger where I néed not Here is a way to come vp I will come down the same way What néed I to tempt my God or try whether his angels will preserue me hauing yâ— same way to descend that I ascended I am forbidden to do it and euery man els and therfore I will not For it is wrytten Thou shalt not tempt the Lorde thy God These wordes of our sauiour are written in the fift book of Moses where Deut. 6. after that Moses had giueÌ„ out the ten commandements to the people as it is in the chapter next before and had exhorted them to feare the true God of Israel by renuing his promises made to Abraham Isaac Iacob their forefathers he forbiddeth them idolatrie and giueth them this charge with all Ye shal not tempt the Lâ—rde your God as yee did tempt him in the place of temptation Which was when they came froÌ„ the desart of sin and by the Lords appointment camped at Rephidim wher finding no water to drinke they began to chide with Moses and asked him Why hast thou brought vs out of Egipt to kill vs our children and our cattell with thirst And they tempted the Lord saying Is the lord among vs or no As if they had said thou hast brought vs into this desart where nothing caÌ„ be found for vs to drinke We are very thirsty and more like to pine a way for lack of water then to liue vnlesse we depart and yet thou makest vs abyde here still Couldst not thou haue suffered vs to tarry in Egipt where we had plenty both of meat drinke but thou must leade vs hither where we want both We can not thinke the God is among vs. For if hée were would he suffer vs beeing his owne people to be thus afflicted for lacke of drinke Thus did they repine gruge against Moses and therefore he called the pâ—acâ— Massa or Meruba the place of temptation or strife And to this point the deuill bringeth man in his aduersitie and affliction to think that God is displeased angry with him and that the promises of God appertain not vnto him by that meanes to make him disâ—aire of him selfe and his own temptations may take place As though God coulde noâ— be among them whom he afflicteth nor fauour them whom he visiteth S. Poâ—le vsing the wordes of Salomon biddeth the Prou. 3. Heb. 12. Hâ—brewes be of an other minde Despise not the chastening of the Lorde neither faint when thou art rebuked of â—im For whom the lord louâ—th he chastueth and be scourgeth euery son tâ—at hee receâ—uâ—tâ— As God then might be and was among them thogh he punished the Israelites with lacke of drinke so that it was vnnecessary to try it by any miracle so it was vnneedâ—ull for Christ to prooue him selfe the sonne of God or to try whether angels would preserue him to cast him selfe downe headlong from the pinacle For that had been a flat temptation So the you sée how aptly Christe alleadged this place Thou sh 〈…〉 nâ—t tempt the Lord thy God Out of which words what lâ—ssoÌ„s may profitably be gathered Though I haue partly shewed you before yet marke againe I besech you for a good thing can not be tolde too often We learn how dangerous a thing it is to tempt to try God and to trust to extraordinary helpes when ordinary means are apointed for vs. This is a grieuous temptation and yet vsed too commonly of very many in this our realme of England For there be some idle belly God persons that because Christ biddeth vs not to be careful for our liuing but to looke on the byrds of the ayre that liue and labor not take occasion to loyter at our dores and vtterly neglect all honest labour whereby they might liue like other men But experience prooueth and we see it with our eyes that such persons for the most part fal to robbing steling and so béeing vnworthy to liue yâ— will not labour for a due rewarde of their life misled are hanged to death And there be some that because the letter killeth knowledge maketh proud neglect ordinary study And because Christ when hee sendeth his disciples to preach promiseth to giue them in the same houre what they shoulde speake thinke it not needfull to study the scriptures If we shoulde looke that the holie Ghost should onely giue vs knowledge by a miracle of inspiration and coÌ„temn the â—sual meanes wherby all men commonly attaine to knowledge both in Gods worde and in all other sciences were not this to tempt God as the deuil tempted Christ In vaine then were the tonges books interpreters readers and all the instrumentes that God hath appointed For albeit the spirit of God openeth euery mans heart before hee can vnderstand yet he giueth knowledge together with his meanes As the Eunuch Act. 8. of Ethiopia who vnderstanding not what he read before God vsed the ministery of Philip to instruct him doth most plainely declare And S. Augustine in his fourth booke de doctrina christiana Aug. de doct Chri. cap. 16 saith That if this reason were good a man shoulde not pray at al because God knoweth what we haue need of before we pray Neither Math. 6. should the husband man till or sow his ground because neither he that planteth nor 1. Cor. 3. he that watereth is any thing but God bat giueth the encrease But thus you may sée how ready the wicked and vngodly alwaies are to tempt God as sathan did Christ Againe in that Christ answeareth the deuill his allegation of scripture by the scripture we may learne to interpret one place of scripture by an other when they seme to repugne But surely if the deuilâ— had beene so saucy with Christ as many are in our dayâ—s which will admit no sense but such as pleaseth them he might haue replyed against Christ and sayd It is no temptation of God to cast thy selfe downe for God hath charged his angels to keep thee in all thy wayes So that whether thou goe downe or cast thy selfe downe thou shalt be safe Thus might the deuill haue reasoned following the literal sense of the wordes But he was a more gentle disputer and not so impudent in sticking to the letter as the Papistes of our daies are He knew by Christes answere that he had mistaken it therefore ceased to contend any longer about that text but tryed him an other way as ensueth The Dâ—uil tooke him vp againe vnto an exceeding high mountayne and shewed him all the kingdomes of the worlde and the glory of them c. THis is the third temptation after this
haue hearde how Lent was vsed in the Primatiue Church Now it followeth that I declare how it came vnto vs as it is and how we agree with the first vse of it Before Gregorius Magnus came to the Popedome there were no straite laws made to bind man to the supersticious obseruation of Lent But in his daies and since the most part of grose supersticioÌ„ hath crept into the church and he for his part as he was very serious and diligent to inuent and set vp new ceremonies so hee was verie busie also in making lawes for their continuaunce Amongst which hee made a law for the establishing of our fast of fourtie dayes And because manifest Scripture woulde not sit his mouth nor serue his purpose directly he went wickedly about to prooue it by probabilitie alleadging this place of scripture Thou shalt lay out the â—ith Deut. 14. of all maner of fruits that come forth of thy field yeare by yeare Out of which words he hath violently wrested and wrong this inuention That because fourty dayes he the tenth parte of a yeare and we be commaunded to lay out the tithes or tenthes of our yearely fruites therefore we ought diligently to fast them and in no case except infirmities hinder vs to breake them but onely on sundayes For saith he from the first sunday of Lent vntill Easter there be six wéeks which containe fortie two dayes FroÌ„ which if you take sixe sundayes then there are thirtie six daies remayning which are the tenth part of thre hundred three score and fiue dayes which make the whole yeare Now because that thirtie six dayes doe not fully answere to Christ his fast they deuised amongst them to adde the foure daies going before to make vp the iuste number of fourty Wherein they put a monstrous greate mistery and saye they fast fourty dayes for diuers causes One cause is that they might repent and be sory for al that they haue transgressed in the four Euangelists and in the tenne commaundements For tenne and foure multiplyed one with the other maketh forty Which reasoÌ„ what force it hath to perswade men to bind them selues to fast fourtie dayes I trust you perceiue well inough and I know the meanest and simplest of you is able to answere it otherwise I would labour more in opening the subtletie of it The second cause is that they ought to conforme them selues to their heade Christe which fasted fourty dayes Vnto this reason I haue answered sufficiently before and I hope you are both satisfied and confirmed therein For this number which they say hath a misterie Gen. 7. Deut. 8. in it They alleadge many places of scripture as in Noah his time all fleshe without the Arke was consumed in fourty dayes and God fed the children of Israell in the desart with Man fourty yeares and was in his mothers wombe fourty weekes He preached fourty monethes he lay in his graue forty houres and such like What hidden misteries these numbers carry in them and how much and how aptly they make for this purpose I leaue to your owne iudgements The drift of this my talke is to prooue vnto you that the fast of Lent is not nor hath not beene so frée since Gregories time as it was before For hee made it so straightly obserued that not onely fleshe Egges and such meates were forbidden but also all maner of delicates as may bee seene by many places of the decrees Distin 5. de con Now that their fast might seeme like the fast that the Primitiue Church obserued for a while they eate nothing before night But when such belly God Papistes that coulde not fast as others had done before them bare rule they inuented a pretie pollicie if God would haue permitted it and suffered them to haue brought it to passe But because they coulde not do what they woulde they did what they could I meane when they could not remooue night they altered the â—onted time of Euerning prayer and sayde it before noone that then they might more lawfully cramme their paunches and not prolong their fast vnto the Euening as was accustomed Or els without all doubt the same fast should haue continued vnto our time Such were their delusions to make men thinke and beléeue that their fast was grounded vppon Gods worde in Scripture And thus haue they beguiled the simple in weightier matters and which touch more neerlie the foundation of our faith Now that you perceiue my meaning in these aforesayd cases that is that our fast of Lent is neither grounded on the olde nor new Testamentes and that we differ from the Primitiue Church making necessity of it wheras they made libertie It shall not be needfull for me to trauaile any further in the matter Yet because I haue sayde many thinges which vtterly denie our Lent fast to be grounded on God his worde and all that haue heard me be not like affectioned amongst whom perchaunce some wil rather speake the worst then the best of those thinges that they fancie not I must needes speake something in mine owne defence against euill and flaunderous reports which els would be bruited of this my sermon I mean not beloued to reuoke any thing hitherto spoken For all that I haue said is so true that I durst be bould to publishe it to the view of the world and to maintaine it against all them that be aduersaries vnto it If ye will not credit me in these thinges reade the ancient and learned Doctor saint Augustine in his Epistles Where he saith The examples of saints meaning Epist 86. ad Casul con vrb Moses and Elias are not of force to perswade the fast of any one day much lesse the fast of the Sabboth day For of that dayes fast he writeth purposedly against one Vrbicus And concerning the new Testament he saith I perusing or calling to mind that which is in the writinges of the Euangelistes or Apostles yea and in the whole instrument which we call the new Testament I see or perceiue that fast is commaunded But vpon what dayes we ought to fast and vpon what we ought not to fast I finde it not decided eyther by any commaundement of the Lorde or of the Apostles This writeth the holy Doctor in that place What shall we say then for the vse or continuaunce of it Verily I wil say for my discharge as the sayd Doctor sayth in the latter end of that Epistle That if we wil neyther slaunder nor be slaundered let vs follow the custome of the Church where we are If it be not contrary to Gods worde and yet the thing vsed be commendable For although in his Epistle to Ianuarius Epist ad Iannati 119. he saye that Lent hath his authoritie of Moses Elias and Christ Yet might he better haue aunsweared by a rule that he giueth after in the same Epistle That those thinges which are not agaynst our fayth nor godly and good maners and haue somthing to the
exhortation of a godlyer lyfe wheresoeuer we see them instituted or know them to bee iustituted we should not only not improue but with prayse and imitation followe them if the infirmitie of some doe not so hinder that greater harme follow In like maner say I touching this fast of Lent that because it being vsed as the Fathers haue vsed it is not contrary to any Article of our faith nor godly conuersation notwithstanding it haue no expresse ground in scripture may be well and commendable vsed so long as the King and the Counsaile for the profite and commoditie of this Realme pretending no holinesse or religion in it think it expedient And in this respect where you fast fourty dayes for my part I would rather wishe you to fast fourty daies more then one lesse it beeing so necessary sor our common wealth as it is And therefore haue I thus much spoken to make it knowne vnto you that it is not any commaundement of God but a politique and ciuill lawe made for the wealth of the Realme and is with like reuerence and obedience to be obserued as other lawes made for our maintenaunce and preseruation Of which obedience to the King and his lawes I would gladly intreat if time would suffer me But because it passeth very fast away I will returne to my text It followeth That when Christ had fasted fourty dayes and fourty nights he was afterward hungry As it is an euident token that by his fast of fourtie dayes and fourty nightes and not to hunger there is in him a power farre aboue the nature of man So in that he hungred it can not be denied but he was man And this is a meet place to prooue the humanitie of our Sauiour Christ against all those heretikes that denied him to bee man For in that he hungred afterward he declared himselfe to be man Then came the tempter to him and sayd if thou be the Sonne of God make these Stones bread THE subtle craft of the Deuill is plainely described in this that the Euangelist calleth him the tempter For so long as fourtie dayes did continue and Christe was not hungry the Deuill woulde not aduenture to tempt him But when the fourty days were expired and Christ waxed hungrie he tooke the occasion and began to flatter And wheras before he doubted to preuail hearing God cal Christ his dearely beloued sonne Yet now perceiuing Christ to be hungry he began to be somewhat more confident and yet doubted too For these two pointes seemed very absurd to him that he shoulde both be the sonne of God and be hungry And therefore here he beginneth to be busie and by reason of his hunger to tempt and seduce him Beginning with our sauiour as he had don with Eue when he Gen 3. perceiued she was desirous of the apple forbidden For when he perceiued her appetite prouoked he perswaded her to distrust and disobey Gods word which threatned they shoulde die the death whensoeuer they eate of the apple forbidden These subtle waies he vseth with all afflicted consciences and troubled mindes when they once begin to faint or doubt of God his promises In the desart when the children of Israel began to lack such sustenance as they had in Aegypt hee moued them to grudge and murmure both against Moses and God In time of dearth and famine which is a scourge of God hee endeuoureth to make man thinke and beleeue that God hath forgotten him or else that God doth not regard him otherwise he beareth them in hande that God according to his promise would blesse all them which keepe his will and commandements with corne cattell and all other things most plentifully and not suffer them to lack in time of neede And where he seeth the good afflicted with the bad he causeth them to grudge and murmure against God in such time of visitation But if ye require examples of Sathans suggestions you may easily remember how of late days in this realme he procured vs to murmure grudge with open mouth to blaspheme God in the time of our scarscitie and pouerty sent amongest vs for the triall of our fayth and perfection And because we haue not such aboundance of victuals and other thinges wherewith this realme hath heretofore beene moste plentifully blessed the deuill moueth vs not to impute it vnto the true cause which is our abhominable liuing but vnto a false fained cause which is the extirpation of hypocrisie and superstition the rooting out of all Idolatry I meane to speake plainlie the suppression and ouerthrow of abbeys Monasteries and all other false religious and rebellious houses For thus sayth the vngodly we had neuer good world since the abbeys and such other houses were pulled down with suche blasphemous wordes against God as it grieues me to repeat The deuill perceiuing vs more bent to serue our bellie then God and that we lacke part of those things which wee inioyed abundantlie before so tempts our gready guttes impatient of any lack that he maketh vs to blaspheme God and to slander his word Hee mooueth vs not to consider how much better it is to serue the liuing Lorde in the desart with a little then to be captiue vnder the proud hand of Pharaoh and to continue in bondage and slauery by the fleshe pots of Egipt But if we know how much libertie from sinne is to bee preferred before the tyrannie of Pharaoh or the deuil we woulde not grudge but be thankfull for our deliueraunce When Abbeis stood Monasteries or houses of religion or misrule rather florished we were vnder Pharaoh the prince of darkenesse we were Captiues to the seruitude of sinne and bondslaues to ignoraunce with all the wealth that we had and now beeing set free and at liberty from the same shal we grudge at our God because Sathan tempteth vs He taketh an occasion of vs or els he would not be so busie He tempted Eue when he saw her delighted Ciril lib. 9. cap. 16. in Ioh. with the apple And amongst vs hee seeth necessitie and that we are not content with it and therefore would haue vs murmure and grudge In like sort dealt he with Christ taking occasion of his hunger saying If thou be the Sonne of God c. As though he would haue sayd to Christ Perchance thou thinkest thy selfe to bee the Sonne of God because that when thou wast Baptised of Ihon thou heardst a voice saie This is my dearely beloued sonne in whom I am well pleased Yet thou mayest be deceiued For who can thinke or beleeue that God will suffer his sonne so to be destitute of all comfort to liue in the desart to be in company with beasts and to lacke mans helpe and succour in time of neede Now thou art hungrie what wilt thou eat Here is no bread go to if thou be Gods sonne as thou persuadest thy selfe by the voice which thou heardest linger no longer in hope prouide for thy selfe seeing God doth not
Here is nothing to eat and thou art fair from the City here be stones change them into bread it is an easie thing for thee to do being Gods son Thinkest thou God loueth thee that letteth thee hunger so long Thou mightest quickly perceiue that thou art deceiued being so sore hungrie and yet God sends thee nothing to satisfie thy desire Thus the deuell laboured not so much to tempt Christ by bidding him satisfie his hunger as to make him discredite God his word that he was not Gods beloued as before he had hard Likewise perswaded he our forefather not to beleeue Gods word which was a farre greater matter then the eating of the forbidden fruite Hee knoweth right well that the promises of God are set foorth for the saluation of man and that our health dependeth onely thervpon And therefore hee studieth to make vs let slip our hold and the hope that wee haue therein Let vs then watch and be diligent least our fayth grounded on the infallible trueth of Gods worde by his craft be weakned and peruerted For if he preuaile so much with vs as to seduce vs from the veritie of Gods holy worde to yeeld our selues ouer as slaues to his wicked temptations Lord what shal become of vs will not horrour be besore our eyes continually to trouble and terrifie vs Shall we not liue in darknesse and in the shadow of death and stand euen at the brim of the pit of desperation O then dearely beloued what need had we to be circumspect and to take heed of sathans suggestions For he goeth about continually either by him selfe or his ministers euen like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may deuour whom resist in faith as S. Peter biddeth you Pet. 5. For though he pretend neuer so faire a countenance and seeme to giue you neuer so good councel though he counterfait the similitude of an Angell of light yet he will be sathan and a lier still and will seeke your confusion Resist him therefore stedfast in faith The wicked members of Sathan tempted our sauiour Christ when he hanged on the crosse for mans rebeÌ„ption and reuiled the mighty God with contumelious wordes If he be the Sonne of God let him come downe and we will beleeue him And if God will haue him let him saue him with many like wordes of detestable wickednes and horrible blasphemie And thus he daylie tempteth the Godly to bring them to infidelity Against the which I beseech you marke Christ his aunswere it will be much to our consolation and comfort It is written Man liueth not by breade onely but by euerie ward that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Which testimonie or aunswere is taken out of the olde Testament where Moses spake vnto Israell on this wise Thou shalt remember all the Deut. 8. way which the Lord thy God hath brâ—ght thee this fourty yeares in the desâ—rt that he might chasten thee and prooue thee to know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldest keepe his commandements or no. Therefore hee humbled thee and made thee hungry and fedde thee with Man which neither thou nor thy fathers knew of to make thee know that man must not liue by breade onely but by euery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord must a man liue The euangelist following the seuentie interpreters addeth euery worde which is not in the Ebrew text to signifie the vertue and power of God his worde to be of as great efficacie and streÌ„gth to nourish man as other creatures appointed for the same For as by his word all creatures and things were made and created so by and from the same worde haue all creatures their vertue and strength for mans food and nourishment And therefore our sauiour Christ bringeth scripture to confirme that albeit customably and ordinarily man liueth by his meate and drinke yet God both hath and can shewe his power other wayes He fed the children of Israell in the desart not with accustomed meates as at other times but with a straunge maner of bread and such as none of them knew Séeing then God so maruailously fedd his people in time past in the desart and that not for fourtie dayes but for fourtie yeares space should he not be thought able to féede his dearely beloued sonne in the desart now also vnlesse hee transubstantiat stones into bread If â—e be able to feede man fourty yeares without breade is hee not able to feed his dearely beloued sonne fourty dayes without bread Nay bearly beloued God is not bound to meanes but sometimes he dealâ—th with meanes sometimes without and sometimes against all meanes and as it pleaseth the Lorde so come all thinges to passe For the Lorde God is omnipotent What needeth bread then when God can send him heauenly food from aboue Man liueth not by breade onely but by euery worde that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lorde must man lyue Our sauiour thus with scripture confoundeth the temptation of the deuil that thereby we may learne to do the same without the consent either of custome or councell For this was the Deuill his intent to make Christe thinke that because man lyueth commonlie by bread and drinke therfore Christ coulde not possibly liue any other waies But he was far deceiued for Christe easely conuinced him I coulde wishe that all they which eyther are tempted or asked a question woulde vse to aunswere by scripture yea or no and not be so much addicted and sworne to customes and councels For they consider not what iniurie they doe to the maiestie of God that preferre mans doctrine before the holy scripture Christ might haue aunswered otherwise if it had pleased him but he aunsweared by scripture to teach vs to adhere and sticke to scripture as to a sure ancker in all questions proposed For hee might haue sayd why temptest thou me As though I coulde not lyue without breade Can not I that giue life to others and am life it selfe liue without bread and prouide sufficiently for my selfe without thy councell Thou hast no charge ouer me and therefore care not for me for I can care for my selfe Thus might our sauiour haue cut him off if hee had thought it conuenient and haue rebuked him sharp lie but he replyed with the scripture and that with such gentlenesse that the deuill was more ready and more bould to tempt him now then before For it followeth Then the Deuil tooke him vp into the hâ—ly Citie and set him on a pinacle of the Temple c. THE deuill perceiuing that his former temptation preuailed not inuenteth an other For when hee coulde not bring Christ to infidelitie before now he trveth him with vaine glory It is wonderfull to see the fetches and shyfts that sathan vseth and yet neuer any without some probalitie For it may seeme that he grounds his deuises vpon the practises of such mâ—n as thinking they bee in Gods fauour to winne praise and commendation
dare run headlong into daungers on their owne accord without any necessity at all This consideration he may seeme to haue had when he takeâ—h and setteth our Sauiour on the pinacle of the temple at Ierusalem reasoning with him selfe as it were on this maner For as much as my first purpose is frustrate I wil attempt the matter an other way I wil try whether vaine glory will allure him to shew some miracle at Ierusalem where the multitude that looke behold him may magnifie and speake gloriously of him There is no man in this desart to looke vppon him but at Ierusaâ—em there is greate prease of people and therefore I will lead him thither and set him on the pinacle and will him if he be desirous of fame or glory to throw him selfe downe headlong in the sight of all the people that he may be had in reputation amongst them and perchaunce be made their king cheife gouernour But to bring this pollâ—cie to some effect he repeateth the same words that he had vsed before If thou be the sonne of God c. Seeing thou stickest so much to the words that thou heardest at thy baptisme and that thou trustest so surely in Gods prouidence that thou wilt not seeke for thy selfe in extreame pouerty and hunger caring for nothing to refreshe thy feeble body withall it were good for thee if thou wouldest be accounted as thou takest vpon thee to be to shew some straunge feat to the people to settle and perswade them in the truth of the matter And therefore if thou wouldest follow mine aduise I woulde giue thee councell to goe to Ierusalem that famous and populous City where to confirme vnto all the people which shall behold thee with a miracle that thou art Gods son the sauiour of the world the Messias that they haue long looked for thou shalt cast down thy selfe headlong from the pinacle where I will set thee Thou needest not to doubt or feare any danger the peril is foreseene and a remedy prepared For God whose sonns thou thinkst thou art hath giuen his Aungels charge ouer thee They shall take thee in their hands least at any time thou shouldest dash thy foote against a stone Is not this a goodly pretensed councell to set a man in the mast of vainglory with such coloured words What a strong perswasion was this Tell me beloued what Orator or counsailor of them all can handle his matter more cunningly Surely it is so baited with sweete and entising wordes that it is impossible for any but the sonne and saints of God and such as God miraculously deliuereth to auoid him and escape his temptation For infinite no doubt is the nuÌ„ber of them that both in time past and at this present Sathan hath enchaunted and enflamed with vaine-glory and I beseeche God there bee none amongest vs. Amen Here you may note with me the deuill his expertnes in scripture who disdaining to take so sudden a repulse at Christs hand alleageth one place of scripture for an other The place that he citeth is in Dauids psalmes where the Prophet Psal 91. setting forth the happy state and felicitie of them that are vnder Gods protection and prouidence among other comfortable verses hath these two which sathan in this place inferreth against Christe saying as it is written He shal giue his angels charge ouer thee for to keepe thee in all thy ways They shal be are thee in their hands that thou dash not thy foote against a stone Which words declare in what assurance they liue that put their whole trust in Gods defence and what fatherly care the lord hath ouer his seruaunts that coÌ„miteth them as kings and great men do their heirs to faithfull nourses vnto the protection of his angels that they fal not into danger But the deuill both depraueth abuseth the true sense meaning of this place For one part he omitteth which is in the Prophet and all the rest he applieth to false promises and wicked perswasions For notwithstaÌ„ding the faithfull and elect of God be kept of angels in all their waies yet are they not beside or against their waies The waies of man you know are common and ordinary and therefore it were a madd point for a man because aungels are his ouerseers to take vpon him to swim ouer the sea when he may sail ouer by ship or for Christ to haue cast him selfe headlong from the pinacle wheÌ„ he might come downe by some other ordinary way For this had bin to tempt God his father to suspect him as it were that he would not be as good as his word Take heed therfore how ye trust Sathan whosoeuer ye are yea though he bring scripture with him For though he apply the scripture neuer so truely which he seldom doth yet al tendeth to your vtter destruction Hence learn likewise to out your whole affiaunce in the prouidence of God and yet alwayes vse the ordinary meanes that he hath apointed you For otherwise you shew your selues not so much to trust in him as to tempt him as the deuill did our sauiour To reason here how the deuill tooke Christe whether bodily or by imagination as some haue don because it is a questioÌ„ more curious then fruitful I thinke it better to passe it ouer then to search it out Let vs for our parts learn herely that the deuil is busie in tempting all them that be placed in authority For like as that citie or castel that is set builded on the top of an hil is most open and obiect to all stormie tempests and blasts of weather so they that be aduanced and set as it were on the pinacle or top of office honor or dignitie are most egged on by the deuill to cast down them selues thorow ambition vaine glory couetousnes such like offences All of vs trauaile with too much loue of our selues and that yâ— deuill espies well inough or els hee woulde not be so néere our elbowes at all times as he is But we minister him matter to worke on still which vntill we cease to doe he will neuer leaue off his temptations For Gods sake therefore remember your selues betime and reforme these things presently that God may haue his glory Gods ministers ioye and the deuill shame by your good conuersatioÌ„ Now let vs heare what aunswere Christe made to this scripture alleaged of the deuill Againe it is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God BEcause the deuil alleaged scripture our sauiour replieth with scripture againe Thou shalâ— not tempt the Lord thy God As though he should say thou perswadest me to cast my selfe downe backward and to haue no care what I do Because God appointeth his angels to keepe me I beleeue certainely that the angels will beare me in their handes that I hurt not my foot against a stone I know that God hath deputed them to kéepe mee yet will I not follow thy wicked councell for I haue
Euangelist but after Lukâ— it is Luk. 4. the second Wherby you may see they laboured not so much of the order and maner as of the matter it selfe They both agree of three temptations though they vary in the order of them But the deuill desirous to bring his purpose about I know not thorow what hoâ—chauing the â—oile before is not ashamed to assay the matter againe And therefore he vseth a more easie way He willed not Christ here to deny God directly nor to worke any miracle but he went about to make him in loue with that world with welth riches wherby many men many times decline from God vnawares Neither doth the deuill trifle in the matter but he offereth euen the largest and the welthiest kingdoms of the world and to enflame him as he thought the more hee sheweth them and al the glory of theÌ„ in a vision Marke the subtletie of the â—ipter He biddeth not Christ fal down and worship him on the plaine ground in the desart but he taketh him vp into an exceediâ—g high mounâ—aine and sheweth him all the coastes and kingdomes of the worlde in the brauest and gloriest maner that he coulde saying Is not this a pleasant kingdome Is not this a welthy realm Is not this a glorious empire O how happy fortunate are those rulers that are in so high estate What a delicious lyfe might he lead yâ— were Lord ouer two or three of theÌ„ Might not yâ— man triumph Al these kingdoms which thou seest are in my hand to dispose beslow where how I list This I giue to this maÌ„ and that to an other but if thou wilt do as I would haue thée be ruled by me I wil set thee aboue them all For it is meet yâ— the son of God should haue larger greater kingdomes then any worldly prince And therefore I am contented to giue thee not onely al these kingdoms which thou seest but also the power and glory of them Thou shalt not buy them thou shalt pay neither gold nor siluer for theÌ„ I wil aske but reason of thee the thou fal down before me in token of obedience homage and worship me I require but little yet do this I will performâ— my promise The world would think this a maruailous teÌ„ptation here are as swéet words as can be For who is more bouÌ„d to his lord then he that payeth no rents for his lands Our landlords wil not let out their groundes so good cheape But thâ—se words as the tempter vseth theÌ„ are most false and full of blasphemous I dolatry For though the deuill the ruler of darknes be called the prince of the world yet he is not so called as though he had kingdomes or empires at coÌ„mandemeÌ„t for the land is the lords in his hands are the ends of the world but the deuil is called the prince of the world because he ruleth beareth the chiefe strook ouer the children of vnbeleife which sometimes in scripture are called the world So that he lyed falsly in saying all the kingdomes of yâ— worlde were his and it was a blasphemous prâ—sumptioÌ„ against God to motioÌ„ Christ Iesus to fal down worship him Who as he hath béene a blasphemer of God his works froÌ„ the beginning so he continueth in these our daies perswading the worlde no lesse to fall downe worship him now then he did heretofore For I know not how but sure it is so my conscience wil not suffer me to conceale it Sathan hath taken many of our ministers and carried theÌ„ vp to an exceeding high mountain and shewed them al the spiritual liuinges almost in that world Byshopricks Deanries Prehends Personages and vicarages and hath told them this is a welthy Byshoprick this is a rich Deanrie this is a fat benefice they are all in my gift I am the patron of them fall downe therfore before me worship me and if one wil not content you I wil giue you pluralites Let nâ—maÌ„ think these things to be forged or sucked out of mine owne fingers For writers make mention that the deuil in déed gaue the Bishoprick of Rome once since that time it was neuer good And is he not so able now thinke you to giue a poore benefice as he was then to giue the faitest bishoprick in the world Let no man be offended with me for speaking that which al the world by experieÌ„ce séeth to be true For where these ministers should be preachers they are tong tied and that coÌ„meth not without great temptatioÌ„ For thus he reasoneth with theÌ„ speak no more of iustification meddle no more with controuersies ruâ— no maÌ„ on the sore let euery man liue as he list without reprehensioÌ„ or admonion you shal lack no liuing Do you thinke that sathan hath not thus sworne many to silence I haue hard of diuers the at the beginning haue beene very godly preachers but after they haue bin once chooked vp with many liuinges they haue had such a bone in their throates as the deuil wold haue it the they would seldem open their mouth to speake any more I besech God giue vs grace to withstand auoid this his flattring and sweet teÌ„ptation Once not long since I spake aganst such in a place where I was after my sermoÌ„ was ended it was tolde me that some called me a yong maÌ„ said it was but a pang of heate that I gaped for a liuing which obtained I woulde be as quiet as other men I am a yong man still I am not sorry for it but I thank my God for it who I trust will at his pleasure turn both my youth mine old age to his glory For S. Paul hath taught me not to contemne youth â—ut where they sayd it was but a pang the was not true for I was as circumspect in it as I could I haue now the same mind and iudgement yâ— I had then though a little more confirmed by the scriptures ancient doctors and to say I gaped for a liuing it is vntrue For I might haue had since that time a rich and worshipfull liuing if I would haue taken it but if to take a benefice should make me tong-tied I had rather haue none whilst I liued Yet what I should do I cannot tel I will not presume too much of mine own strength seeing more godly better learned men seduced by the flattery of yâ— deuil and the world But as I am now minded I had rather go on begging froÌ„ dore to dore and liue in extrem pouerty then without diligent preaching to my flock liue neuer so magnificeÌ„tly I enuy no maÌ„s liuing thogh it were thrée times so much but the men take vpon theÌ„ more then eyther they are able or willing to discharge it is great sinne and seemes to proceed from sathan his temptation For vndoubtedly men take not so many benefices now because they caÌ„ or mean to discharge