shew the worke of the lawe written in their hearts But who is he that writeth in their hearts but God alone who is the searcher of all harts And what I pray you writeth he there The lawe of nature forsooth the lawe I saye it selfe commaunding good and forbidding euill so that without the written lawe by the instruction of nature that is by the knowledge imprinted of God in nature they may vnderstand what is good and what is euill what is to be desired and what is to be shunned By these wordes of the Apostle we doe vnderstande that the lawe of nature is set against the written law of God and that therefore it is called the lawe of nature bycause it séemeth to be as it were placed or grafted in nature We vnderstande that the lawe of nature not the written lawe but that which is grafted in man hath the same office that the written lawe hath I meane to direct men and to teach thē and also to discerne betwixte good and euill and to be able to iudge of sinne We vnderstande that the beginning of this lawe is not of the corrupt disposition of mankinde but of God him selfe who with his finger writeth in our harts fasteneth in our nature and planteth in vs a rule to knowe iustice equitie and goodnesse Then also the Apostle maketh his seconde argument wherby he proueth the Gentiles to be guiltie of sinne and this argument he fetcheth from the witnesse bearing of their conscience For the conscience being instructed by the lawe of nature doth accuse and condemne the euill committed bycause this conscience onely and alone is in stéede of a thousande witnesses And againe it excuseth that is it absolueth and acquiteth them if nothing be committed contrarie to the lawe But although in this present life we doe set light by the iudgement of our conscience yet verily we may not thē despise or lightly passe ouer the consciences accusations when the Lorde shall come with iustice and equitie to iudge the world So then by all this it followeth that all nations are sinners whome vnlesse the Sonne of God the common and onely Sauiour and deliuerer of all the worlde doe cleanse from their offences it can not be but that all nations must néedes perish in their sinnes But nowe we come againe to the lawe of Nature of whiche there are two pointes especially for you to be put in mynde of The firste is Acknowledge God and worship him The seconde is Kéepe or mainteine societie friendship among mē Touching the first we haue these wordes of Christ his Apostle Whatsoeuer may be knowne of God is manifest among them to wit among the Gentiles for God hath shewed it to thē For his inuisible thinges being vnderstoode by his workes throughe the creation of the worlde are seene that is both his eternall power and Godhead so that they are without excuse bicause that when they knew God notwithstāding they glorified him not as God neyther were thankfull c. So then the Gentiles knewe God yea they knewe what so euer might be knowne of god But what teacher had they or what maister They had God to their maister In what order taught he them or out of what booke Not out of the written bookes of Moses or the Prophetes but out of that great and large booke of Nature For the thinges that are not séene of God in whiche sorte are his euerlasting eternitie his vertue power maiestie goodnesse and Godhead those he woulde haue to be estéemed of according to the visible things that is the thinges whiche he hath created For Gods eternall Godheade is knowne by mans creation by the continuall mouing of Heauen and the perpetuall course of riuers For it muste néedes be that he is moste mightie whiche susteineth all these thinges whiche moueth strengtheneth and kéepeth all thinges from decay and which with his becke shakes the whole worlde Finally who doth not sée the goodnesse of him whiche suffereth the Sunne to rise vpon the good and the euill But to what intent reuealeth he these thinges to the Gentiles To the intent forsoothe that they may acknowledge him to be God that they maye glorifie and worship him as God and be thankfull to suche a benefactour When therfore they doe not this they are inexcusable and perishe deseruedly for their vnbeliefe and vnthankfulnesse sake So then it is manifest that the lawe of Nature doth expresly teache that there is a God which is to be acknowledged and reuerently worshipped Touching the latter of these two especiall pointes that is for the preseruing of friendship and societie among men the Lorde in the Gospell sayth What so euer ye woulde that men shoulde doe to you doe ye the same to them This sentence did Alexander Seuerus the Emperour turne and expresse thus What soeuer thou wouldest not haue done to thee selfe that doe not thou to another Whiche saying he loued so well that he commaunded it to be written vp in his Palace and common houses of office Moreouer to that generall lawe belong these that followe Liue honestly Hurt not another Giue euery man his owne Prouide thinges necessarie for life and kéepe it from distresse But nowe bycause the lawe of Nature is made opposite to the written lawe of God it is requisite that it be aunswerable also to the lawe of God let vs therefore sée what the wise men and law giuers of the Gentiles haue left in writing to counteruaile the tenne Commaundementes and how farre their writings are answerable to the law of God. Pythagoras in S. Cyrils first booke Contra Iulianum writeth thus of god God verily is one and he too is not as some doe imagine without the gouernement of the worlde but being wholy in euery place of it doth view al the generations in the whole compasse thereof and is him selfe the moderation of all ages the light of his owne vertues the beginning of all works the light in heauen the father of all things the life and quickening of all thinges and lastly the mouing of al the circles Sée here Pythagoras confesseth that there is but one God who is the maker preseruer and gouernour of all things the father of al and the light and life of al things Zaleucus in the Preface of his lawes writeth as followeth It is necessarie that all men which inhabite any citie or region what soeuer be throughly persuaded that there are Gods which is euident to be seene by the contemplation of heauen and all the world and by the goodly disposition and order of that that is therein For it is not conuenient to thinke that these are the workes of Fortune or mans abilitie Then also the Gods must be worshipped and honoured as they that are the causes of all good thinges that are done to vs by any manner of meanes Euery one therefore must do his best to haue his mind purely clensed from all euill For God is not honored of a
earthly Gods he shall not doo amisse considering that for the nighe affinitie betwixt vs thei ought to be if it be lawful so to say more to be honored of vs thē the Gods thē selues And it is necessarie to be persuaded that we must with a continuall readinesse of minde doe our indeuour to repay the benefites receiued at their handes with the like again And although we shal do very much for them yet notwithstanding all will be too litle in comparison of that we ought to doe And so foorth as followeth For sooner will the time faile me then that I can conueniently rehearse this and the like belonging herevnto out of heathen writers neyther did I purpose to reckon vp all Against murder wrong and iniurie very seuere lawes haue ben made by the Gentiles From them also came the lawe called Lex Iulia against adulterie and detestable buggerie They ordained excellent lawes for the contracting obseruing of Matrimonie And the worde of truth doth expresly declare that the Chananites were wiped away bycause of their incest in marriage and horrible lustes Leuit. 8 Lycurgus also Solon and the Romans did publishe lawes for the restraint of outragious expences in riotous persons And here of purpose I ouerpasse that which is naturally ingraffed in all men the begetting I meane and nourishing of their issue and ofspring Against thefte deceipt and vsurie for the lawfull getting and possessing of goods for the distributing of riches and for bargaining the Gentiles haue very commendable lawes That saying of Ausonius is notably knowne If greedie gaping after gaine to get another groate Makes vsurie dispatch apace to cut the poore mans throate All the Gentiles in their writings do worthily commend the truth and do by all meanes they can crie out on and condemne lying slaundering and all such kinde of knauerie The lawe of the twelue tables is that a false witnesse shoulde be cast headlong downe from the top of Tarpey Charondas Catanaeus among other excellent sayings of his owne hath this also Let euery one saith he loue honestie and truth and hate dishonestie and lying For they are the markes wherby vertue is knowne from vice We must therfore beginne with children while as yet they are litle ones inure our selues to chastise them if they delight to lye and to make muche of thē for telling the truth that thereby the best and fruitfullest braunche of vertue may be graffed in euery seuerall mynde so be turned as it were into their nature The wiser sorte of the Gentiles doe vtterly condemne concupiscence and euill affections whiche the Poet in his Satyres blameth as the root of all mischiefe where he saith Frō thence almost comes euerie cause of mischief for no vice That reigns in man so many times could franticke heades intice To mingle poyson priuily to stop anothers breath Or else in armour openly to worke his riuals death As beastly raging lust hath done So then by all this we may easily gather that euen in the Gentiles mindes also were grauen a certaine knowledge of God and some precepts whereby they knewe what to desire and what to eschue whiche notwithstanding they did corrupt and make somewhat mystie with the euill affections and corrupt iudgements of the flesh For whiche cause God also beside the lawe of nature did ordeine other meanes to declare his will I meane the liuely tradition of the Fathers the aunsweres of Angels the voices of Prophets wonderfull miracles and written lawes which he published by wise and very deuout Patriarches All these did God ordeine to be a helpe to the law of nature What soeuer therefore is to be found among the Gentiles agréeable to trueth and honestie that is to be referred to God the author of all goodnesse and on the other side whatsoeuer is contrarie to the trueth that must be attributed to the corrupt nature and euil affections of mankinde In all this that I haue sayde ye haue to note especially that here I speake of knowledge and not of abilitie The knowledge of the lawe is after a sorte manifest in the Gentiles but the consent the will and abilitie to fulfill the law is weake and not easie to be foūd in them Wherefore as we affirme that the vnderstanding of the law must be inspired from heauen so also we say that abilitie to fulfill the lawe muste of necessitie be giuen of God aboue Nature without grace is herein without force and effect But whereas some of the Gentiles beare the name and praise of righteousnesse as Melchizedech Iob Iethro other more they haue that not of their own abilitie but of the grace of God as by the hystorie of Iob we may euidently gather by probable argumentes Wherefore if any of the Gentiles be saued then are they saued not by the workes of nature or their owne desertes but by the mercy of God in our Lorde Iesus Christe Moreouer the lawe of nature is not graffed of God in man to the intent that it without grace and Christ should worke mans saluation but rather to teache vs what is good and what is euill thereby to conuince vs to be sinners and without excuse before the Lorde Paule verily prouing that the Gentiles by the lawe of nature are guiltie of sinne as well as the Iewes by Moses lawe doth shew that in Christ alone the sonne of God is iustification life and all good else Thus farre touching the law of nature The lawes of men for my promise was that in my seconde part I would speake of them are those which are by men ordeined published to the preseruation of the common weale and Church of god Touching these they are of diuers kindes For there are politique lawes there are ecclesiasticall lawes and mens traditions Politique lawes are those which the magistrate according to the state of times places and persons doth ordeine for the preseruing of publike peace and ciuilitie Of this sorte there are an innumerable company of examples in the ciuil lawe and constitutions of the Emperours especially of Iustinian All which ought to come as neare as may be to the lawes of God and Nature and not to be contrarie to them or to haue any smacke of impietie or cruell tyrannie To such lawes Saint Peter willeth vs to obey where he sayth Submit your selues vnto al maner ordinaunce of man for the Lords sake whether it be to the king as hauing the preeminence or vnto rulers as they that are sent by him for the punishment of euill doers but for the praise of them that doe well For although the Apostle by ordinaunces or mens constitutions doth inclusiuely meane the kings and magistrates them selues as in the seconde clause of the sentence he doth immediately declare yet notwithstanding he doth bid vs therefore obeye good lawes and iust bycause by them the Magistrates support and rule the common weale Moreouer iust and honest politike lawes are an helpe to loue and
the people beare your trouble your burden and the stâ—ifes that are among you What may be thought of that moreouer that in the most sure felowship of the auncient and Apostolique Church yea in those very vessells which were regenerate the wrangling disposition of slesh did shew it self For the Gréekes murmured against the Hebrues because their widowes in the daily ministerie were little regarded The Corinthians also go to lawe before Heathen Iudges and therefore doth Paul very sharply rebuke them and chargeth them to appoint honest iudges among themselues to take vppe matters betwixt them that were at variance Let no man therfore make this obiectioÌ„ and say that the old people of Israell were a carnall people and not regenerate For wée see that eueÌ„ in the regenerate the roliques of flesh remayne which euer and anon wheÌ„ occasion is offered do shew forth themselues trouble the quiet state of euery thing For I will not now say that the greater sort of men do rather follow the flesh than the spirite And for that cause God who loueth man who kéepeth and preserueth ciuilitie peace humane societie hath prepared and applied a medicine against those gréeuous diseases of men hée hath appointed the magistrate I say to step betwixt them that striue with the authoritie of law equitie to iudge and discusse matters betwixt them that are at variance to bridle suppresse wrong and affections and lastly to saue the giltlesse innocents Whosoeuer subuerteth this ordinaÌ„ce of God till such time as men do leaue their wayward disposition hée bringeth vtter confusion to euery state and aydeth wrongful dealers and violent robbers to oppresse and roote out the best sort of people By this verilie which hitherto wée haue alledged it is manifestly apparaunt that the magistrate is ordeyned by God for the safegard of the good punishment of the euill I meane for the good and quiet state of mortall men Wherefore wée read that from the beginning there haue béene magistrates in the world Hereunto doe appertayne these testimonies of the holy Scripture Moses in y Law calleth The iudges Gods and this iudgement saith hee is Gods. From whence also Iosaphat borowed that saying which he spake to y Iudges where hée sayth See what ye do For ye iudge not to man but to the Lord which is with you in the causes which ye iudge let the feare of God therefore be in your harts S. Peter sayth That we must obey the magistrats for the Lords sake by whom he is ordeyned to the praise of the good and terrifying of the euill And Paul the teacher of the Gentiles saith There is no power but of God and the powers that are are ordeyned by God and whosoeuer resisteth the power resisteth the ordinaunce of God and he that resisteth shall receiue to him selfe damnation For rulers are not feareful to them that do well but to the euill For hee is the minister of God reuenger of wrath on him that doth euill The magistrate therfore is of God his office is good holie pleasing God iust profitable and necessarie for men and the rulers which do rightly execute their office are the friends and worshippers of God they are his elect instruments by whom he worketh mans health and safegard Wée haue examples hereof in Adam all the Patriarches our father Noe Ioseph Moses Iosue Gedeon Samuel Dauid Iosaphat Ezechias Iosias Daniel many other after the time of Christ who rightly executed the office of magistrates Now many there are which will haue the magistrate to be of two sorts to wit either good or badde The good magistrate is hée who being lawfully ordeyned doth lawfully execute his office duetie The euill magistrate is he which wheÌ„ he hath by euil meanes got the authoritie doth tourne dispose it as hée himselfe lusteth And herevpon the question is wont to be demaunded Whether an euill that is a tyrannicall magistrate be of God or no To this I aunsweare that God is the author of good and not of euill For God by nature is good and all his purposes are good being directed to y health and preseruation not to the destruction of vs men Therefore the good and healthfull ordeyning of the magistrate without al doubt is of god himselfe who is the author of all goodnesse But héere it is requisite that wée make a difference betwixt the office which is the good ordinaunce of God the euill person that doth not rightly execute that good â—ffice If therfore in the magistrate euill be founde and not the good for which he was ordeyned that commeth of other causes and the fault thereof is in the men and persons which neglecte God and corrupt the ordinaunce of God not in God nor in his ordinaunce for either the euill Prince seduced by the diuell corrupteth the wayes of God and by his owne fault and naughtinesse transgresseth Gods ordinaunce so farre that hée doth worthily deserue the name of diuelish power and not diuine authoritie Wée haue an example hereof in the magistrate of Ierusalem For although he were able to referre the beginning of his power by degrées vnto Moses and so vnto God himselfe who did ordeyne it yet for because hée taketh the Sauiour in the Gardeyne and byndeth him to his seruaunts it is sayd Ye are come out as it were to a theefe with swords and staues WheÌ„ I was daylie with you in the temple ye stretched not forth your hands against mee But this is euen your houre and the power of darcknesse Loe héere he calleth the ordinarie magistrate the power of the diuell when hée abusâ—th his power What could be more euidently spoken But here ye must marke that the reproch was in the person and not in the office Likewise also the Romane Empire was ordeyned by God as by the visions of Daniel it is clearely euident And yet wheÌ„ Nero not without Gods ordinaunce bare the sway in the Empire whatsoeuer hée did as king and Emperour contrary to the office of a good king that did hée not of God but of the diuell For whereas he honge vp beheaded the Apostles of Christ mouing a bloudie persecution against the Church that sprang not from elsewhere than from the diuel the father of murder So then verily wée ought not at any time to defend the tyrannicall power and say that it is of god For tyrannie is not a diuine but a diuellish kind of gouernment and tyrauntes themselues are properly the seruauntes of the diuell and not of god Or else otherwise some people do deserue by their wicked deedes to haue not a king but a tyraunt So then the peoples sinne is an other cause that euil magistrates are found in common weales In the meane while the king is of the Lord sometime hée makes an hypocrite reigne Wherefore the euill magistrate is of God euen as also seditions warres plagues hayle frost and other miseries of mankind come from the Lord as
that they at their pleasure may cōmaund what they liste and that all men by and by must take it for lawe But that kind of ruling without al doubt is extreme tyrannie The saying of the Poet is verie well knowen which representeth the verie words of a tyraunt I say it and it shal be so my lust shal be the lawe The Prince in déede is y liuing lawe if his mind obey the written lawes and square not from the lawe of nature Power and authoritie therefore is subiecte vnto lawes For vnlesse the Prince in his heart agree with the law in his brest doe write the law and in his woords and déedes expresse the law he is not worthie to be called a good mā much lesse a Prince Againe a good Prince and magistrate hath power ouer the Lawe is maister of the lawes not that they may tourne put out vndoe make and vnmake them as they liste at their pleasure but because hée may put them in practise among the people applie them to the necessitie of the state and attemper their interpretation to the meaning of the maker They therefore are deceyued as farre as heauen is wide which thinck for a few priuileges of Emperours kinges graunted to the magistrate to adde diminish or chaunge some point of the lawe that therefore they may vtterly abolish good lawes and liue against all lawe and séemelinesse For as no Emperours or kinges are permitted to graunt any priuileges contrarie to iustice goodnesse and honestie so if they do graunt any such privilege it ought not to be receiued or taken of good subiects for a good tourn or benefite but to be counted rather as it is in déede their vtter destruction and cleane ouerthrowe Among all men at all times and of all ages the meaning substaunce of the lawes touching honestie iustice publique peace is kept vnuiolable if chaūge be made it is in circumstances and the law is interpreted as the case requireth according to iustice and a good end The law sayth Let no man kill an other let him that killeth an other be killed himself That law remayneth for euer vnchaungeable neither is it lawfull for any man at any time to put it out or wipe it away And yet the rigour of the law may be diminished and the law it selfe fauourablie interpreted as for example If a man kill one whom hee loueth entirely well and kill him by chaunce not of set purpose or pretended malice so that when hee hath done hee is soarie for it at the verie hart would if it were possible buye his life again with what soeuer hée hath to giue for it in such a case the killer ought not to be killed and therin the magistrate may dispence with the rigour of the lawe An other beareth a deadly and continuall grudge to one whom hee killeth and goeth about to colour the matter vnder the pretence of happe misfortune For hée sought occasion that hée might for himself haue a shew of chauncemedley In such a case as this the magistrate cannot chaung any iote of the law but must néedes kil him whom the meaning of the law commaundeth to kill I could alledge more examples like vnto these but my care is of purpose somuch as I may not to bee too tedious vnto you with too a long a discourse By this that I haue spoken it is apparauntly euident that lawes are good and not to be broken how farre forth they doe admit the Princes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the Princes moderation interpretation limitation or dispensation least peraduēture that old and accustomed Prouerbe bée rightly applied vnto them Lawe with extremitie is extreme iniurie Hetherto I haue declared that lawes are good profitable necessarie and not to bee broken it remaineth now to tell what and what kind of lawes the magistrate ought most chieflie to vse for the ordering and mainteyning of honestie iustice publique peace according to his office Some there are whose opinion is that the magistrate ought not to vse any written lawes but that hée should rather giue sentence as hée thought best according to naturall equitie as the circumstances of place time persons and cases doe séeme to require Other some there are that do their indeuour to thrust into all kingdomes and common weales the Iudiciall lawes of Moses And some there are which hauing once reiected the lawe of Moses wil haue no iudgement giuen in law but what is deriued out of the lawes of heathen Princes But since they that haue the preeminence and magistrates autoritie are men either good or bad and since that euen in the best men courtousnes anger hatred fauour griefe feare and other affectiōs are rife to be found to whom I pray you haue they committed the common weale which reiecting all written statuts and certein lawes would haue euerie man that is a magistrate to giue iudgment as hée himself thinketh best Haue they not committed their common weale to the rule of a beast But what shal I say then of euill men that are in authoritie since in the best men thnges are so amisse As good were a kingdome subiecte to the furies of hel as bound to the iudgments of naughtie men But wée will say they haue them giue iudgement according to the equitie of natures lawe and not after the luste of their corrupt affection Mine aunswere is to that that they will giue iudgement as affection leadeth them without controllment and say that they iudged by naturall equitie They cannot they wil say iudge otherwise nor otherwise vnderstand the pith of the matter They thincke that beste which they haue determined and nothing is done contrarie to conscience and thou for thy labour shalt be called Coram nobis for daring find fault with their sentence in iudgment And so shal the iust man perish barbarous affections shall haue the vpper hand and naughtie men rule all the roste Yea and admitte wée graunt all men are good that are called to be magistrates yet diuersitie of opinions that will rise in giuing of iudgement will stirre vp among them endlesse braules and continuall troubles If all thinges therefore be well considered the best way by a great deale is to put written lawes in vre Let vs learne this by the example of our eternall wise excellent and mightie God who gaue to the Iewes his peculiar people such lawes as at his cōmaundement were set downe in writing The magistrate hath otherwise busines enough to iudge that is to applie and conferre the causes with the lawes to sée how farre and wherein they agrée or disagrée and to iudge who hath offended against the law and who haue not transgressed the lawe Now it is to be marked that in Moses Iudiciall lawe there are many things proper and peculiar to the Iewish Nation and so ordeyned according to the state of the place time and persons that if wée should goe about to thrust on and applie them
Againe Contra Faustum Manichaeum Lib. 22. Cap. 27. Sinne is a deede a woord or a wishe against the lawe of God. The same Augustine De duabus animabus coÌ„tra Manichaeos cap. 11. sayeth Sinne is a wil to reteine or obteine that whiche iustice forbiddeth and is not free to absteine And In Retract Lib. 1. Cap. 15. he sayeth That will is a motion of the minde without compulsion either not to loose or else to obteine some one thinge or other All whiche definitions as I doe not vtterly reiecte so doe I wishe this to bée considered and thought off with the reste Sinne is the naturall corruption of manhinde and the action whiche ariseth of it contrarie to the lawe of God whose wrath that is both death and sundrie punishments it bringeth vppon vs. Thou hearest howe well this definition doeth consist vppon his partes Thou hearest in it of our natural corruption in the naming whereof appeareth how this definition doeth not agrée to the sinne of our first parents in whome there was no naturall corruption Of which I meane to speake in place conuenient Thou hearest the action named whiche ariseth of that natural corruption and is repugnaunt to the lawe of god Thou hearest that sinne doeth bring vppon vs the wrath of God that is death and sundrie sorts of punishments appointed by the mouth of God to plague vs for our sinnes Of which I wil speake in order as they lye so farre foorth as the Lord shall giue mée grace and abilitie Now therefore it séemeth that this treatise maye most aptly bée begonne at the discussing of the originall cause and beginning of sinne Some there bee that doe deriue the originall cause of euill or sinne from the influence of the Planets saying I sinned because I was borne vnder an vnluckie Planet Other there are which when they sinne and are rebuked for it do make this aunsweare Not I but the diuel is in fault that I haue committed this greeuous crime And sometime laying a side all excuses they doe directlye cast the blame vppon God and saye Why God would that it should bee so For if hee would not haue had it so I had not sinned An other sayeth Since God could haue letted it and would not he is the cause authour of my sinne But it is no newe thinge nowe that men doe whâ—t their blasphemous tongues against God the maker and ruler of all thinges For our first parents when they had sinned were accused of it by God himselfe found a shifte for to translate the sinne whiche they committed from themselues to other would not confesse the trueth as it was in very déede Such is the abhominable wickednesse of man For Adam as it were aunswearing GOD ouerthwartlye casteth the faulte of his offence not onely vppon his wife which God had coupled vnto him but also vppon GOD himselfe The woman sayeth hee whome thou gauest to bee with mee gaue mee of the tree and I did eate As if he should haue said If thou haddest not giuen mee the woman I had not sinned But the Lord coupled him to a wife not to the end that shée should bée an occasion of euill but that the man mighte bée in the better case and condition Againe the woman doeth simplie impute the cause of that euill vnto the diuel saying The Serpent beguiled mee and I did eate Loe these are most corrupt false wicked and detestable opinions touching the originall cause of sinne wherewith the iustice and trueth of God is mightily offended Neither is the nature of man the cause of sinne For God which created all thinges did also create the nature of man and made it good euen as all thinges else whiche hée created were also good Therefore the nature of man was good For it is an accidental qualitie that hapened to man either in or immediatly after his fall and not a substantiall propertie to haue his nature so spotted with corruption as nowe it is Nowe wee being borne in sinne of sinnefull progenitours haue sinne by descent as our naturall propertie For Sainct Augustine writing De Fide contra Manichaeos Cap. 9. sayeth And if wee saye that any men are euill by nature wee meane that they are so because of the originall descent of our first parentes sinne wherein wee mortall men are wholie borne But this nowe requireth a more exacte and ample declaration That the diuel alone is not the authour of sinne so that when we sinne the blame thereof should redound to him and wee that sinned escape without fault this doth greatly argue béecause it is in his power to egge and persuade but not to inforce a maÌ„ to do euill For God by his power restrayneth the diuel from being able to doe the thing that he would do He can do no more theÌ„ God permitteth him to do for if he had no power ouer an hierd of filthie swine how much lâ—sse authoritie hath hee ouer the excellent soules of Gods most excellent creatures Hée hath I confesse great subtilties and more then Khethoricall force wherewith to persuade vs but God is stronger and neuer ceasseth to prompt good and hoalesome counsels vnto the soules of his faithfull seruants Nether doth he permit more to Satan than is for our commoditie as is to be séene in the example of that holy man the patient Iob and also in the example of Paul 2. Cor. 12. and in his words saying God is faithfull whiche will not suffer vs to be teÌ„pted aboue that wee are able to beare They therefore are vainely seduced whiche caste the faulte of their sinne vppon the diuels shoulders To procéede if thou demaundest of them whiche laye the blame of their sinne vppon their euill destinie what destinie is they will answeare either that it is a course knitt together by eternitie and lincked to it selfe as it were a certaine chaine and continuall roawe of counsels and workes necessarilie following one vppon an others necke according to the disposition and ordinaunce of God or else that it is the euill starres or planets Now if thou demaundest againe who made the starrs they haue none other answere but God it followeth therefore consequently that they inforce the cause of their sinne vppon God himselfe But al the auncient and best Philosophers did neuer pretend or alledge destinie much lesse such Christians as did freely confesse the mightie power of their God and maker And euen amonge our men I meane amonge them that would séeme to bee Christians they which stoode in the opinion of destinie and constellations were such kinde of fellowes as wise men would be ashamed to follow them as authors Bardesanes imputed to destinie the coÌ„uersations of mortall men And the Priscillianists who were condemned in the first counsell helde at Toledo thought and taught that maÌ„ is tyed to fatall starres and hath his bodie compact according to the 12. signes in heauen placing Aries in the head Taurus in the necke and so
reason of that first corruption which roote bringeth foorth a corrupt braunche in nature like vnto it selfe which braunch Satan euen nowe as hee hath done alwayes doeth by his sleightes subtilties and lyes cherish tende and tender as an impe of his owne planting and yet notwithstandinge hee laboureth in vaine vnlesse wee yelde our selues to his handes to bee framed as he listeth Nowe therefore that there may herein appeare lesse doubte or darkenesse I will for confirmations sake adde two moste euident testimonies the one out of the writinges of the Euangelistes the other out of the doctrine of the Apostles The Lorde in the Gospell saith The diuell was a murderer from the beginninge and stoode not in the trueth because the trueth is not in him When he speaketh a lye he speketh of his owne because he is a lyar and the father of lyes By these wordes of the Lorde wee gather that euill is to be referred to the diuel who being created in trueth and goodnesse did not stand fast in trueth and goodnesse but degenerated from his nature wherein hee was made good and fell into another nature corrupt and wicked and hath out of him selfe dispersed al euil as it appeared by the historie of our first parentes into the worlde to wite murther and lyes vnder which two are comprehended all other euils of which he is expressely saide to be the father that is the cause the author the welspring and beginning not because he was made suche an one of God but because hee stoode not fast in the trueth To them therefore that do demaunde of what beginning Satan came and whether God made him or no Our aunswere is that God in déede made all the Angels and those also which afterwarde did become reprobates and wicked diuels but we do not therefore saye that the cause of euil doth redound to god For we knowe that God in the beginning made all the Angels good For all things which hee made were good Furthermore it is saide that the diuel stoode not in the trueth that is that he reuolted from the trueth froÌ„ which he could not haue reuolted if he had neuer stoode in it Therefore God in the beginning did place all his Angels in the trueth Hee required of them trueth faith or fidelitie and the duetie that they ought him which they were able to haue done if they them selues would But they did disloyally fal from their allegiaunce and sinned as the Apostle Peter testifieth against the Lorde and therefore the fault of their falshood and of all their naughtinesse was not in God but in the rebellious and reuolting Angel. For since the time of his fall there is no trueth no fidelitie no integritie no feare of God no light or goodnesse to be found in him Therefore truely saide Sainct Iohn in his Canonicall Epistle He that committeth sinne is of the diuel for the diuell sinneth from the beginning For he is the first sinner and the beginning of sinne To this also may this note be added that of Peter and Iohn the diuel is saide to sinne For sinne is repugnaÌ„t to the will of God therefore God would not haue had him perish whervpon since he perished it followeth that he perished not by the faulte of God but by his owne fault Let vs nowe heare the other testimonie concerning the corrupt will of man which is in verie deede the cause of sinne Sainct Iames the Apostle saith Let no man saye when hee is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot bee tempted with euil neither tempteth he any man But euerie man is teÌ„pted when he is drawen away and enticed of his owne concupiscence then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth forth death In these wordes Sainct Iames I hope doth euidently enough make God to be free from all faulte of sinne and doeth deriue it of vs our selues shewing by the way the beginning and procéeding of sinne Neither doeth Iames in this place gainsay the place in Genesis where Moses saide God tempted Abraham For in Moses to tempt doth signifie to make a triall or a proofe But in this argument of ours it signifieth to stirre or drawe to euil and so to corrupt vs Therefore God as hee cannot saith he be â—â—mpted of euil that is to saye as God is by nature good and vncorrupt so doth he not corrupt depraue or defile any man with euil For that is contrarie to the nature of God From whence then hath sinne his beginning The holie Apostle aunswereth saying Yea euery one is tempted corrupted and drawen into euil while he is withdrawen and enticed with his owne concupisence Lo here sinne taketh beginning of our concupiscence and is accomplished and finished by our owne woorke and labour Note heere by the waye what a weight and Emphasis euery one of y Apostles wordes doeth carrie with it For firste hee maketh concupiscence our owne or proper to vs al euen as the Lorde before did saye of Satan When he speaketh a lye he speaketh of his owne Nowe because concupiscence is our owne therefore sinne is our owne also For concupiscence doth withdrawe vs from that that is true iust and good to that which is false vniust and euil The same coÌ„cupiscence enticeth vs that is by making a shewe of false hope it doth deceiue vs as foulers are wont with meate to entice birdes into their nets which wheÌ„ they haue deceiued them they catch vpp and kill What I pray you could bee spoken more plainely wee are by our owne concupiscence cast into euil This concupiscence draweth vs from God it doth entice and vtterly deceiue vs And then hauing layde the foundation of sinne and opened y welspring from whence it floweth he doth verie properly allude and by an Allegorie shewe vs y genealogie that is the beginning and procéeding of sinne That concupiscence saith he which is proper vnto vs all doeth as it were a matrix conceiue sinne in vs and immediatly after doeth bring it forth to wite when our lust bursteth out into the act when wee do gréedily prosecute that which we lusted after and being once obteined we do inioye it against the lawe of God vppon the necke whereof death doeth followe without intermission For the reward of sinne is death I haue I trust by these euident proofes of Scripture plainly declared that God is not the cause of euil but our corrupt will or concupiscence and the diuel which stirreth prouoketh and inflameth our depraued nature to sinne and wickednesse as he which is the tempter and vtter enimie to mankind and his saluation It will not be a misse here to heare the obiections of certeine cauillers against this doctrine and to learne howe to aunswere them accordinge to the trueth Some there are which when they sée that wee deriue sinne not of the nature of God but of the corrupt will of man and false suggestion of the diuel do presently obiect that
that all the ministers of the Churches euen from the Apostles time did both acknowledge and openly teach original sinne In that place he citeth the testimonies of IrenÄ™us Cyprian Retilius Olympius Hilarie and Ambrose his father and maister in Christian doctrine Innocent Gregorie Basil and Iohn Chrysostome And at length hée inferreth Wilt thou now call so great a consent of Catholique priestes a coÌ„spiracie of naughtie men Neither thincke thou that S. Hierome is to be coÌ„temned because he was but a priest onely and no bishop who being skilful in the Greeke Latine and Hebrue tongues and passinge from the West vnto the East Church liued in holy places and the studie of the sacred Scriptures euen to his croane crooked age He read all or in a maner al the woorkes of them whiche in both partes of the world did write of Ecclesiasticall doctrine and yet he neither held nor taught any otherwise of this point of doctrine And againe the same Augustine in his third booke De peccatoruÌ„ meritis remissione Cap. 7. sayeth Hierome expounding the propheâ—ie of Ionas when he came to that place where meÌ„tion is made that euen the little children were chastened with fasting sayth It began with the eldest and came euen to the yongest For there is none without sinne no not hee which is but one day old nor hee whose gray head hath seene many yeares For if the starres are not cleane in the sight of God how much more vncleane are duste and putrifying earth and those which are in subiection to the sinne of Adams transgression To these words of Hierome doeth Augustine himselfe annexe this that followeth If it were so that wee might easilie aske it of this most learned man how many teachers of the holie Scriptures in both the tongues and howe many writers of Christian treatises would hee reckon vp which since the time that Christ his Church was first planted haue themselues nether thought of their predecessours learned nor taught their successours any other thaÌ„ this doctrine touching originall sinne I verilie thoughe I haue read nothing so much as hee do not remember that I haue heard any other doctrine of Christians whiche admit or receiue both the testaments whether they were in the vnitie of the Catholique Church or otherwise in Schismes and heresies I doe not remember that I haue read any other thing in them whose writinges touching this matter I could come by to read them if either they did followe or thought that they did follow or would haue men beleeue that they did followe the Canonicall Scriptures Thus farre hath Augustine teaching in the very beginning that all the Sainctes did by a full consent and agréement in doctrine most expressely graunt and confesse that originall sinne is euen in newe borne infants Mée thincketh that Sainct Hierome did not onely in Ionas but also much more euidently in Ezechiel confesse and affirme originall sinne His wordes are to bée séene Comment lib. 14. in cap. 47. ad Ezechielem and are verbatun as followeth What man can make his boaste that hee hath a chaste heart or to whose minde by the windows of the eyes the death of concupiscence or to vse a mylder terme the tickling of the minde doth not enter in For the world is set in wickednesse euen from his childhood the hart of man is set to naughtinesse so that not the very first day of a mans natiuitie his nature is free from sinne and naughtinesse Wherevppon Dauid in the Psalme sayeth For behold I was coÌ„ceiued in iniquitie and in sinne my mother conceiued mee Not in the iniquities of my mother or in mine owne sinnes but in the iniquities of our mortall state And therfore the Apostle saith death reigned from Adam vnto Moses ouer them also whiche had not sinned with the like transgression as did Adam Thus much hath Hierome and we haue hetherto alledged al these sayings to the end wee might proue that originall sinne is the naturall or hereditarie corruption of mans nature Let vs nowe sée what and howe great the hereditarie naughtinesse or corruption of our nature is and what power it hath to woorke in man Our nature verilie as I shewed you aboue was before the fall most excellent and pure in oure father Adam but after the fall it did by Gods iuste iudgement become corrupte and vtterly naught which is in that naughtinesse by propagation or Extraduce deriued into all vs whiche are the posteritie and ofspring of Adam as both experience and the thing it selfe doe euidently declare as well in sucklings or infantes as those of riper yeares For euen very babes giue manifest tokens of euident deprauation so soone as they once beginne to bée able to doe any thing yea before they can perfectlye sounde any one syllable of a whole word All oure vnderstandinge is dull blunt grosse and altogether blinde in heauenlie things Our iudgement in diuine matters is peruerse and friuolous For there arise in vs most horrible and absurd thoughtes and opinions touching God his iudgementes â— wonderfull woorkes yea our whole minde is apt and readie to errours to fables and our owne destruction and when as our iudgements are nothing but méere follie yet doe wée preferre them farre aboue Gods wisedome whiche wee esteeme but foolishnesse in comparison of oure owne conceiptes and corrupte imaginations For hee lyed not whiche saide The naturall man perceiueth not the things of the spirite of God for they are foolishnesse vnto him neither can he know them because they are spirituallie discerned Nowe Paule calleth him the naturall man which liueth naturally by the vitall spirite and is not regenerate by the holy Ghoste And since we all are such wée are therefore wholie ouercome and gouerned of Philautie that is too great a selfeloue and delight in our selues whereby all things that wee oure selues doe woorke doe highly please vs loking still verie busilie to oure owne selues and our commoditie when in the meane time wée neglecte all others yea rather doe afflicte them Neither did Plato vnaduisedly estéeme that vice of selfeloue to bee the very roote of euery euill Furthermore our whole will is ledd captiue by concupiscence which as a roote enuenomed with poyson infecteth all that is in man and doeth incline drawe on driue man to things carnall forbidden and contrarie to God to the end that hée maye gréedilie pursue them put all his delight in them and content him selfe wyth them Moreouer there is in vs no power or abilitie to doe any good For wée are sâ—owe sluggish and heauie to goodnesse but liuely quicke and readie enoughe to anye euill or naughtinesse And that I may at last conclude and briefely expresse the whole force and signification of our hereditarie deprauation and corruption I say that this deprauation of our nature is nothing else but the blotting of Gods Image in vs There was in oure father Adam before his fall the very Image and likenesse of God
hee is not regenerate and is yet without the true light of Gods moste holie Spirite For in another place the Apostle saith We are not able to thinke any good as of our selues but all our abilitie is of God. And therefore it is that wée do so often in the Scriptures finde mention of Inlightening or I lumination which shoulde without cause be expressed or named if so bee mannes vnderstanding were cleare of it selfe not darke and mistie There is therefore borne togeather with all men a blindenesse of heart mynde a doubting in the promises of God and an vnbeléefe and peruerse iudgement in all heauenly thinges For albeit that man hath at Gods hand receiued vnderstanding yet by reason of his owne corruption ignoraunce is a peculiar and proper heritage belonging vnto him For he is then in his kingdome when he is blynd when he doth erre when he doth doubte when hee doth not beléeue nor vse the gifts that God hath giuen him rightly as hee should that is to his owne saluation and the glorie of his maker Let vs nowe sée what the will of the olde man is able to doe Therefore since this will doeth followe a blynde guide God wote that is to say corrupt affection it is vnknowen to no man what foolishe choyce it maketh and wherevnto it tendeth And although the vnderstanding bee neuer so true and good yet is the will like to a shippe tossed to fro with stormie tempestes that is of affections For it walloweth vpp and downe with hope feare lust sorrowe and anger so that it chooseth and followeth nothing but euil For the holie Apostle speakinge of him selfe doth saye I knowe that in mee that is in my fleash there dwelleth no good thing For to will is present with mee but I finde no meanes to perfourme that whiche is good For the good that I woulde doe I not but the euill which I woulde not that do I. But nowe since the Apostle spake this of him selfe when he was regenerate what I praye you shall wee saye of the will of the olde man The olde man willeth all thinges whiche God willeth not and breakinge into all kinde of wickednesse doeth foulie fulfill his filthie lustes that is to say hee giueth his members seruauntes vnto vncleannesse and wickednesse from one iniquitie vnto another We haue of this verie many examples exhibited vnto vs bothe by the holie Scriptures and daily experience Let vs nowe against this oppose or set the newe man that is the man which is regenerate by the spirite of GOD through the faith of Iesus Christe Nowe regeneration is the renuing of the man by which through the faith of Iesus Christe we whiche were the sonnes of Adam and of wrath are borne againe the sonnes of God and do therefore putt off the olde man and put on the new which bothe in vnderstanding and wil doeth fréely serue the Lorde This regeneration is the renuing of the minde not of the bodie as we hearde in an other place out of the thirde Chapter of Sainct Iohns Gospell The author of this regeneration is the holie Ghost which is from heauen giuen vnto man I meane to a faithfull man For the gifte of the holie Ghoste is giuen for Christe his sake and that too vnto none but those that do beléeue in Christe This spirite of God doeth testifie with our spirite that wee are the sonnes of God and therefore the heires of his kingdome Wee are therefore a newe creature repayred nowe according to the image of GOD and indued with a newe nature or disposition whereby it commeth to passe that wee doe dayly put off that olde man and putt on the newe whiche thinge is done when we walk not in concupiscence after the Carnall inclination of the fleshe but in newenesse of sense according to the woorkinge of the holie Ghoste by whome wee are regenerate The same substaunce forme of the bodie abideth still the minde is chaunged the vnderstanding and wil renued For by the spirite of God the vnderstandinge is illuminated faith and the vnderstanding of God and heauenly thinges is plentiousely bestowed and by it vnbeleefe and ignoraunce that is the darkenesse of the olde man are vtterly expelled according to that saying of the Apostle Through Christe ye are made riche in all thinges in all speeche knowledge Againe Wee haue not receiued the spirite of the worlde but the spirite which is of GOD to knowe what thinges are giuen of Christe to vs. And againe We haue or know the spirite or mynde of Christ And againe ye haue no néede that any man teache you but as the verie annoynting doth instruct you of all thinges and is true abide ye in it And in this regeneration of man the will also doth receiue an heauenly vertue to do the good whiche the vnderstandinge perceiued by the holie Ghoste so that it willeth chooseth and woorketh the good that the Lorde hath shewed it and on the other side nilleth hateth and repelleth the euil that the Lorde hath forbidden it For Paule saith I knowe to be humble and I knowe to exceede I can doe all thinges through Christ who strengtheneth mee And againe to the Philippians he saith To you it is giuen for Christe not onely to beléeue in him but also to suffer for him And againe yet he doeth more plainly say It is God that worketh in you bothe to will and to performe according to the good purpose of the minde But now note this that what soeuer they doe whiche are regenerate by the spirit of God they doo it fréely not by compulsion nor against their willes For like as God requireth a cheerefull giuer so where the spirit of the Lord is there is frée libertie and hartie goodwil And Zacharie the Father of Iohn Baptist saide That we beeing deliuered from the handes of our enimyes might serue him without feare in holinesse and righteousnes before him all the dayes of our life Yea and our Lorde him selfe in the Gospel saith If ye abide in my sayings ye shal be my Disciples in deede and ye shall know the trueth and the trueth shall make you free And againe If the sonne set you at libertie or make you free then shall ye be free in deede Touching this libertie of the sonnes of GOD I haue alreadie discoursed in the ninthe Sermon of my first Decade This libertie of the sonnes of God wée doe willingly acknowledge and fréely confesse but the arrogant disputations of some blasphemous praters concerning frée will as thoughe it were in our power of our selues to doe any heauenly thing wee doe vtterly reiecte and flatly denye And yet wee doe not make man subiecte to fatall necessitie nor turne vppon GOD the blame of iniquitie As we haue else-where more at large declared And S. Augustine in his controuersie with the Pelagians did so attemper his disputation that hee attributed the good to the Grace of God and the euill vnto our nature so that
Pharistis confesse both And in déede the whole scripture doth testifie that there are Angels making mention in many places that they haue appeared vnto men and haue reueled vnto them the will of God or otherwise accomplished his worke Truely the Lord Iesus reasoning against the Saduceis in the Gospel sayth Ye erre not knowing the scriptures nor the power of god For in the resurrection they neither marrie nor are giuen in marriage but are as the Angels of God in heauen Let vs therefore beléeue that there are Angels For the authoritie of the sonne of God and the irreuocable trueth of the holie scriptures ought worthily to winne more â—râ—dite with vs than the toyes of all Saduceis and wicked men What haue not the heathenish Poets and philâ—sophers confessed that there are Angels whome they call Gods for they 〈◊〉 that Gods in the likeness 〈◊〉 were lodged and interteyned of righteous men séemed to al learned men to haue ment nothing else than that whiche the holy scriptures make mention of howe Abraham and Lothe receiued Angels into their houses resembling straungers But howsoeuer the case staÌ„deth most certeine it is both by the holy scripture and by manifolde experience that there are blessed spirites of God that is to say good angels Now what the nature of Angels is it can not throughly be declared of any man. For there are many things in the order of creatures whose nature can not directly and perfectly be expounded they may neuerthelesse after a sorte according to our capacitie be shadowed out Some therefore there are whiche say that Angels are good spirites ministers of a firie nature created for the ministerie or seruice of god and good men Othersome say Angels are heauenly spirites whose ministerie and seruice God vseth to execute all thinges which he hath determined Wherefore we shall not séeme to misse much of the marke if we say that Angels are good spirites heauenly substaunces I meane incorruptible created for the ministerie or seruice of God and men That Angels are created of God the writinges of the Prophetes and Apostles doe witnesse For Paule citeth that saying of Dauid Whiche maketh his Angels spirites and his ministers a flame of fire The same Apostle saith By Christ all thinges are created that are in heauen and that are in earth visible and inuisible whether they be maiesties or lordships either rules or powers Wherfore heretiques haue set foorth toyes saying that Angels are workers in the creation of al things and coeternall with god For God in time by the sonne as wel created angels as all other creatures Nowe touching the time when angels were created whether with the light before man or after man and al the workes of God let him tell that can the holie scripture passing it ouer with silence and pronouÌ„cing no certeintie therof Epiphanius and Augustinus auÌ„cient interpreters of the scriptures learnedly and truly confesse that there is nothing deliuered in the scriptures of y matter And that which is not deliuered in the scriptures can not without daunger be inquired after but without daunger we may be ignoraunt thereof It is sufficient to acknowledge that angels were created at what time soeuer it semeth they were created Let vs rather giue god thankes that he hath created for mankind so excellent ministers Let vs liue an holie and an angelike life in the sight of Gods holy angels Let vs watche least he which transfigureth and turneth him selfe into an angel of light vnder a good shewe and likenesse deceiue vs Nowe we must further sée what maner of creatures angels are They are heaueÌ„ly spirits incorruptible most swift substaunces We say expresly that angels are substances that is to say creatures hauing essence or being For some denie that they are substaÌ„ces subsisting in their proper essence or being For they imagine that angels are nothing else thaÌ„ qualities motions or inspirations of good mynds But the canonical scripture calloth them ministers Oursauiour saith that they whiche rise againe shall be like vnto the angels of god Saint Paule declareth that the sonne of God is more excellent them the angels for that they worship him as God their creator The selfe same apostle saith For ye shall reade in no place that the sonne taketh on him the angels but the seede of Abraham taketh he on him Whiche testimonies most manifestly teache that angels are substances not qualities or motions in mens myndes that I say nothing nowe how they haue oftentimes appeared vnto men in likenes or shape of men Let vs therefore hold and confesse that angels are substances Furthermore what substaunces angels are other peraduenture haue better declared for the which I beare no man grudge I confesse that there are good spirites to make difference of them that are euill Whereof shal be spoken hereafter I confesse that they are good not so much for the goodnesse of their nature in whiche they continued as for their operation or working For they alwayes stirre vp and further vs to that which is good I confesse also that angels are spirits that is to say spirituall heauenly incorruptible and excéeding swift substaunces For the Scripture witnesseth and saithe Whiche maketh his Angels spirites and his ministers a flame of fire The scripture I say nameth Angels spirites and a flame of fire not that angels of their owne nature and substaunce are corporal fire but bicause fire after a sort resembleth them which in clearnesse beautie and incorruptiblenesse and also in swiftnesse quicknesse and brightnesse are y most beautiful and excellent creatures The 〈◊〉 definitions groâ—â—ely enoughe â—ay that the angels are bodily substances but of their owne kinde For God only is without body In thâ—se wordes therefore thus they haue â—etdowne Euerie creature is bodily Angels and all heauenly powers are bodily though they consist not of flesh Nowe hereby we beléeue that they are bodily bycause they are limited in place as the soule also is inclosed with fleshe Angels peraduenture at this daye are more aptly sayd to be locall or in place not circumscriptiuely but definitiuely We must beléeue that nothing by nature is bodilesse and inuisible but God onely that is to say the father the sonne and the holy Ghost who therefore is rightly beléeued to be bodilesse bycause he is in euerie place and fulfilleth and conserueth all thinges and therefore he is inuisible to all creatures bycause he is without body Thus much from theÌ„ But those bodies eyther of young men or olde men in whiche Angels oftentimes appeared vnto the fathers were not their proper or natural bodyes but taken vpon them and as it were borrowed from elswhere for a time and for the weaknesse of oure capacitie And what manner bodyes those same very bodies were whiche they tooke or from whence they were taken or where they were bestowed when they had ended their businesse it is verie hard to declare S.
whole scripture and all Godly wise men as many as haue liued from the beginning of the world euen vnto this day haue confessed that there are euil spirits or diuels Nowe what thing diuels are it is no lesse harde and doubtfull exactly to define 〈…〉 than I 〈…〉 difficult to dâ—scribe fully the nature of Angels howbeit I will shadow them out by one or other kinde of description to the end I may entreate of them in a certeine order Euill angels are corrupt and wicked spirites and for their reuolting or falling away euerlastingly condemned subiect in déede they are to God but yet neuerthelesse aduersaries to God and men for that they turne all their traueileâ— and studies to the contempt and despiâ—ing of God and to the deceyuing and destruction of men First that the diuell is a creature hereby it is manifest béecause there is but one creatour onely to wit that God in Trinitiâ— Vnitie He created all spirits but the diued also falleth in the reckoning of spâ—rites We said before that the time of their creation is not set downe in the sâ—ripture when as we shewâ—d that it was no where expressed at what 〈◊〉 whether before man or after man Angâ—ls were created Herevnto we 〈…〉 add that euil angels became euil not by creation but by their owne reuâ—lting and falling away For all things whiche God created were and are excéeding good all angels therefore as men in like manner were naturally created good But they continued not stedfast in this goodnes granted giueÌ„ and graffed in them of God but they beeing corrupte with their owne malice as men also are fell and were by the most iust god throwne out of heauen as out of the felicitie or happines which was giuen them Now when or at what time this was done the scripture doth not againe expresse howbeit it seemeth to haue béen done before the fall of man For the diuel by the serpent egged our parentes to sinne drewe them into miserie and death 〈…〉 particularly shâ—w y 〈◊〉 how 〈◊〉 were 〈◊〉 out of 〈◊〉 Iâ—â—â—yth gâ—â—â—rally y there 〈◊〉 â—â—lly or 〈…〉 â—ound in the angels that therefore they were throwne downe headlong into hâ—ll For we read in the booke of Iob Behold he found no truth in his seruaunts and in his angels there was follie or wickednes S. Peter nothing disagréeing from this said That God spared not the angels which sinnâ—d but cast them downe into hell deliuered them into chaines of darknes to be kept vnto iudgment But 〈◊〉 also the brother of Iames the Apostle of the Lord syrnamed ThaddÄ™us rehearâ—â—ng the same sentence in a manâ—r said The angels whiche kept not their first estate to witt the nature wherein they were created but left their owne habitation to witt their 〈◊〉 their officâ— and their faith the Lord hath reserued in euerlastinge chaines vnto darcknes vnto the iudgment of the great day â–ª What doth not our lord and â—â—uiour Christ speaking of y diuel say thus He was a murtherer from the beginning abode not in the truth For herevppon we maye gather that the diuel sometime abode or was in the truth but shruncke and forsooke it by faithlesse falling awaye Those testimonies which witnes that an angel sinned by reuolting was throwen down headlong into hell are sufficient for godly minds and such as are not curious Furthermore out of Esaie and Ezechiel there are recited of others testimonies making for the same matter which as we reiect not so we doubt not but that by an Allegorie they are applied vnto these of ours That which is alledged out of Luke I fawe 〈…〉 property expounded of the â—â—rst full of Angels for there is another fal of the diuell towâ—tt whâ—reby thy he fell by his owne â—y 〈◊〉 whereby he haâ— possessed the minds of men and 〈◊〉 them with wickednesse and sinne thorough the comming of Christ into the world through the sincere preching of the gospel Nowe thereis no dâ—ubt that all Angels were created good and that the euil fell through theâ—â— owne not thorough Gods faulteÌ„ and foâ—lie whereof I spake somwhat also in the 10. Ser. of the. 3. Decade where I intreated of the beginning of 〈…〉 To which I wil now 〈…〉 and euident declaratioÌ„ of 〈◊〉 bishop of Cyrus taken out 〈…〉 of the scriptures who in his 〈◊〉 decret saith Let vs coÌ„sider whether the diuels iustly sâ—â—er punishment since they receiued of him that made the a nature like his 〈◊〉 can he which is good be called the creator of wickednesse And howâ— is he 〈◊〉 righteous iust that punish◠〈…〉 which can do nothing y 〈◊〉 but is tied bound with fetters oâ— wâ—ckednes and vice But we know that the God of al things and the 〈◊〉 of iustice righteousnes is righâ—â—ous and iust Therefore he wil not punish the diuels vniustly And we knowe that god was their guide and captein and that the good angels are his workmanship that he is called good of all such as are rightly minded He therefore made not the nature which could do no thing that is good traueling bringing foorth wickednes only dooing things contrary to his will minde If God therefore did neither make the euill nature for he is the maker and worker of all good things as hee him selfe is good then doeth he not so much as 〈…〉 or 〈…〉 he wil punish y 〈◊〉 â—uch also as serue are vnder him Therfore â—he diuell of his owne wil accorde is euil they y take his part For as god made man good in y beginning with frée will of minde these 〈◊〉 to wit good angels kept their nature whiche they receiued pure vncorrupt but those to wit men declined sel into the worse corrupted their heauenly shapes they that were like vnto God made theÌ„ selues brâ—tish so also y diuel rout of diuels which were with other bodilesse creaâ—â—â—â—s 〈◊〉 not folow the goodwil of them 〈…〉 â—he Lord God but béeing puâ—t vp with y disease of hautines pride 〈◊〉 them selues vnto y which was the 〈◊〉 fel froÌ„ their former state 〈…〉 Thus farre he With Theodoâ—â—â— â—oâ—h S. Augustine agrée 〈…〉 De vera relâ— ca 13 〈◊〉 The diuell in as much as he is 〈…〉 not euil but in asmuch as he 〈…〉 wicked of his wil for setâ—â—â—g more by him self than by god he woâ—ld not be in subiection vnto him but swelling through pride he fel froÌ„ his chiefe essence excellent beeing And againe in his tretise vpoÌ„ Ioh. 42 〈…〉 demauÌ„d froÌ„ whence the 〈◊〉 froÌ„ thence doutles froÌ„ wheÌ„ce also th' other angels are but th' other angels constantly coÌ„tinued in their obedieÌ„ce he by disobedience pride sell froÌ„ an angel became a diuel Now that which I affirmed touching those wicked spirits who for their reuolting falling away are adiudged to daÌ„nation I see it denied
and comfort imprisoned captiues Herevnto Lactantius lib. Institut 6. cap. 12. hath an eye where he sayth The chiefest vertue is to keepe hospitalitie and to feede the poore To redeeme captiues also is a greate and excellent worke of righteousnes And as great a work of iustice is it to saue and defend the fatherlesse widowes the desolate helplesse whiche the law of God doth euery where coÌ„maund It is also a part of the chiefest humanitie and a great good deed to take in hand to heale and chearish the sicke that haue no body to helpe them Finally that last and greatest duetie of pietie is the buriall of strangers and of the poore Thus muche hitherto touching the duetie of ciuil humanitie which true loue sheweth to his neighbour in necessitie But it is not inough my brethren to vnderstande how we ought to loue our neighbour though we ought often to repeate it but rather we must loue him excéedingly and aboue that that I am able to say Let vs heare the Apostle who with a wonderful goodly grace of spéech with a most excelleÌ„t exquisite holy example of Christe doth exhort vs all to the shewing of charitie to our neighbour and sayth If therefore there bee any consolation in Christe if any comfort of loue if any fellowship of the spirite if any compassion mercie fulfill ye my ioye that ye be like minded hauing the same loue being of one accorde and minde let nothing be done through strife or vaine glory but in meekenesse let euery man esteeme one the other better then him selfe looke ye not euery man on his owne thinges but euery man also on the thinges of others For let the same minde be in you that was in Christ Iesus who being in the fourme of God thought it no robberie to be equall with God but made him selfe of no reputation taking on him the forme of a seruant and made in the likenesse of men and found in figure as a man he humbled him selfe made obedient vnto death euen the death of the crosse Wherefore God also hath lightly exalted him and giuen him a name which is aboue euery name that in the name of Iesus euery knee shoulde bow of things in heauen and things in earth and things vnder the earth and that euery tongue shoulde confesse that the Lorde Iesus Christe is the glory of God the father To him alone be honor power for euer euer Amen The end of the first Decade of Sermons The Second Decade of Sermons writen by Henrie Bullinger Of lawes and first of the lawe of Nature then of the lawes of men ¶ The first Sermon THE summe of all lawes is the loue of GOD and our neighbour of which and euery parte whereof bycause I haue already spokeÌ„ in my last Sermon the next is that nowe also I make a particular discourse of lawes and euery part and kinde thereof Let vs therefore call to God who is the cause and beginning of lawes that he through our Lorde Iesus Christe will vouchsafe with his spirite alwayes to direct vs in the waye of trueth and righteousnesse A heathen writer no base authour ywis made this definition of lawe that it is an especiall reason placed in nature coÌ„mauÌ„ding what is to be done and fordidding the contrarie And verily the lawe is nothing but a declaration of Gods will appointing what thou hast to do and what thou oughtest to leaue vndone The beginning and cause of lawes is God him selfe who is the fountaine of all goodnesse equitie trueth and righteousnesse Therefore all good and iust lawes come from God him selfe althoughe they be for the most parte published and brought to light by men Touching the lawes of men we muste haue a peculiar consideratioÌ„ of theÌ„ by theÌ„ selues For of lawes some are of God some of Nature some of Men. As concerning Gods law I wil speak of it in my seconde Sermon at this present I will touch first the lawe of Nature and then the lawe of Men. The law of Nature is an instruction of the conscience and as it were a certaine direction placed by God him self in the mindes and hearts of men to teach them what they haue to doe and what to eschue And the conscience verily is the knowledge iudgement and reason of a man whereby euery man in him selfe and in his owne minde being made priuie to euery thing that he eyther hath committed or not committed doth eyther condemne or else acquite him self And this reason procéedeth from God who both prompteth and writeth his iudgementes in the hearts and mindes of men Moreouer that which we call Nature is the proper disposition or inclination of euery thing But the disposition of mankind being flatly corrupted by sinne as it is blinde so also is it in all pointes euill and naughtie It knoweth not God it worshippeth not God neyther doth it loue the neighbour but rather is affected with selfe loue towarde it selfe and séeketh still for the owne aduauntage For whiche cause the Apostle sayde That we by nature are the children of wrath Wherefore the lawe of nature is not called the lawe of nature bicause in the nature disposition of maÌ„ there is of or by it selfe that reason of light exhorting to the best things and that holy working but for bycause God hath imprinted or ingrauen in our myndes some knowledge and certaine generall principles of religion iustice and goodnesse which bycause they be grafted in vs and borne together with vs do therefore séeme to be naturally in vs. Let vs heare the Apostle Paule who beareth witnesse to this saith When the Gentiles whiche haue not the lawe do of nature the things conteined in the law they hauing not the law are a law vnto themselues which shew the workes of the lawe written in their hearts their conscience bearing theÌ„ witnesse and their thoughts accusing one another or excusing in that same day when the Lorde shall iudge the secrets of meÌ„ by Iesus Christ according to my Gospel By two arguments here doth the apostle very euidently proue that the gentiles are sinners For first of all least peraduenture they might make this excuse and say that they haue no law he sheweth that they haue a law and that bicause they transgresse this law they are become sinners For although they had not the written law of Moses yet notwithstanding they did by nature the things coÌ„teined in the law The office of the law is to disclose the wil of God and to teache thée what thou haste to do and what to leaue vndone This haue thei by nature that is this know they by the lawe of nature For that whiche followeth maketh this more plaine They when they haue no law are to them selues a law That is they haue in theÌ„ selues that which is written in the law But in what sort haue they it in them selues This againe is maâ—e manifest by that which followeth For they
they were simple and yet they pearce to the inward partes of the heart When hee speaketh softly beleeue him not for there are seuen mischiefes in his hart And therefore in Ecclesiastes it is very well sayd It is better to heare the rebuke of a wise man than the songe of a foole That is of a flatterer And yet althoughe flatterie bée so great an euill it is notwithstanding fauoured of all men so that as an infecting plague it is crepte into the Church into Princes Palaces into Iudges Courtes and euerie priuate house For like an alluring Mermayde it hath a songe that doeth delight our flesh For wée like fooles are blinded with selfe loue and doe not marke that flatteries and allurementes doe breede oure destruction Ezeâ—hiel blameth greatly all flattering Preachers and sayeth Woe vnto them that lay to the people peace people peace peace when there is no peace which dawbe with vntempered morter which sowe entising pillowes vnder euerie elbowe and put alluting kercheifes vpon euery head to hunt after catch soules Of such kinde of teachers that delight more in lyes and flatterie than in syncere veritie the Apostle Paule saith The time shall come that they shall not abide to heare sounde doctrine but they whose eares do ytche shall gett them teachers according to their lustes and shall turne their eares from the truth and shal be turned vnto fables And Dauid praying against this plague as the thing that is most pernicious to all kinges and Princes in authoritie doeth say The righteous shall smite mee friendly but the precious baulmes of the wicked shal not annoynt my head And againe Lord deliuer mee from lying lippes and a deceiptful tongue Thus much haue I hetherto said for the exposition of the ninth commaundement Now followeth the tenth and last commaundement which word for word is expressed thus Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house thou shalt not couet thy neighbours wife nor his manseruaunt nor his maydseruaunt nor his oxe nor his asse nor any thing that is thy neighbours Which words the Lord in the fifte of Deut â–ª doth lay downe in this maner and order Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours wife thou shalt not couet thy neighbours house nor his field nor his manseruaunt nor his maydseruaunt nor his oxe nor his asse nor any thing that is thy neighbours Neither is there any difference or contrarietie in the thing it selfe although in Exod. Thy neighbours house and in Deuteronomie Thy neighbours wife be set first in order Now this maketh somewhat against them that diuide this laste precept into two commaundements which is in deede but one as it may be partly gathered by this order thus inuerted in the setting of it downe in two sundrie places In this precept coueting is especially forbidden I meane euill longing and corrupt desiring For coueting is a word indifferently vsed as well in the better as the worse signification For Dauid affirmeth that he did long after God and his lawe I haue wished for saith hee O Lord thy saluation And I haue longed after thy commaundementes Psal. 119. Wée must here therfore be able with discretion to iudge betwixt that good affection which God did first create in man and that other motion the roote of euill that groweth in our nature by the discent of corruptioÌ„ from our first father Adam There was in Adam before his fall a certaine good appetite with pleasure and delight He was not so hungrie that huÌ„ger did pain his emptie bowels whiche is in déede a plague for sinne but he did eate with a certaine swéet and delectable appetite Hee was delighted with the pleasures of Paradise Hee did with a certaine holy desire both loue and long after the woman which God had brought and placed before him And this good appetite or desire procéeded from God himselfe who made both Adam and all his affections good at the first Yea and at this day also there are in men certaine naturall affections and desires as to eate to drink to sléepe and such like belonging to the preseruation of mans life which of themselues are not to be accompted among the number of sinnes vnlesse by corruption of originall vice they passe the bounds for which they are ordeyned But in this treatise vpon the tenth commaundement desire is vsed in the worser part and is taken for the concupiscence or coueting of euil things This concupiscence being translated from Adam into vs al is the fruite of our corrupt nature or ofspring of original sinne whose seate is in the hart of man and is the fountaine and he adspring of all sinne and wickednesse that is to bee found in mortall men For the Lord in the Gospell doeth expressely say whatsoeuer entreth in by the mouth goeth into the bellie and is caste out into the draught but the things that come out of the mouth proceede froÌ„ the heart and those defile the man For out of the heart doe come euill thoughts murders adulteries whordomes theft false witnesse bearinges despiteful speakig these be they that do defile the maÌ„ And the Apostle Iames speaking altogether as plainely in an other place doeth say Let no man when he is tempted say that he is tempted of god For euery one is tempted while he is drawen away entised with the baite of his owne concupiscence then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth â—oorth sinne and sinne when it is finished bringeth forth death Concupiscence therfore is a moti-on or affection of the minde which of our corâ—upt nature doth lust against God and his lawe and sâ—â—rreth vs vp to wickednesse although the consent or déed it selfe doth not presently followe vppon our conceipt For if the deede do follow the lust then doth the sinne increase by stepps and degrées For first wée must consider the very blotting out or corrupting of the Image of God in vs Originall sinne and that disease that lyeth hidd in our members which is by vse called euill affections Secondarilie wee must consider that it increaseth by our delight and pleasure therein Thirdly it is augmented if wee consent and séeke after counsell to commit the crime and lastly if the consent breake forth to the déede doing than is it greater and greater according to the qualities of accidentes or circumstances Now al these are reckoned in the number of sinnes thoughe by degrées the one of them is greater thaÌ„ the other touching which I will by Gods sufferaÌ„ce speake somewhat more largely when I come to the treatise of sinne Wherefore that euill and vnlawfull affection which is of our naturall corruption and lyeth hidd in our nature but bewrayeth it selfe in our hartes against the purenesse of Gods lawe and maiestie is that very sinne which is in this lawe condemned For although there be some which thinke that such motions diseases blemishes and affections of the mind are no sinnes yet God by forbidding them in this lawe doeth flatly condemne them But if any man doubt
firste begotten or auncient of euery housholde did circumcise before the lawe which office was turned to the priestes when once the lawe was giuen It is a singular example and no more to be found like vnto it that Zippora the wife of Moses did circumcise her sonne Exod. 4. Chap. Nowe also the time of circumcision is set downe to wite the eighth day when the newe borne childe beganne to be of a little more strength And we gather out of the fifte Chapter of the booke of Iosue that they did circumcise them not with kniues of yron but of stone for in that Chapter the Lorde doth in expresse wordes commaund to circumcise the sonnes of Israel with kniues of stone But it is manifest by the rites of the sacraments that God doth alter nothinge in the ceremonies of the sacraments and therefore we coniecture and gather that Abraham vsed none other but kniues of stone especially since we read that Zippora Moses his wife did circumcise her sonne with a stone The rest of the Iewishe trifles which they sowe abrode touching the ceremonies of cicumcision I do of purpose here let passe For they are vtterly vnworthie to be heard and haue no mysteries conteined in them But the knife of stone is of force in the exposition of the mysterie of circūcision For circumcision had a mysterie and a moste certeine meaning hidden within it For firste circumcision did signifie that the whole nature of man is vncleane and corrupt and therfore that all men haue neede of cutting and regeneration And for that cause that cuttinge was made in the member wherewith man is begotten For we are all begotten and borne the sonnes of wrath in originall sinne Neither doth any man deliuer vs from that damnation but he alone that is without sinne to wite the blessed séede Iesus Christ our Lord who was conceiued by the holy Ghost and borne of the virgin Marie who with the shedding of his bloud which was prefigured in the bloud shed in circumcision doth cleanse vs from sinne and make vs heires of life euerlasting And now this circumcision maketh sorely against them that denye original sinne and putteth them to their shiftes that attribute iustification and saluation to our owne strength and vertue For if we were cleane if we by our owne power could get saluation what néeded our fathers to bee cutt in that sorte The things that are cutt off are either vnpure or else superfluous But God made nothing vnpure or superfluous Nowe hee made the flesh of the foreskinne If the fleshe of the foreskinne had béene euill God had not made man with the fleshe of the foreskinne The skinne therefore is not euill of it selfe nor yet superfluous but the cuttinge of the foreskinne doth rather serue to teache vs to vnderstande that by our birth and nature wée are corrupt and that wée cannot be cleansed of that corruption but by the knife of stone And for that cause verily was circumcision giuen in that member and in none other I will anon adde another cause out of Lactantius why it was giuen in the priuities and in none other parte of all the bodye Moreouer circumcision did signifie testifie that God almightie of his méere grace and goodnesse is ioyned with an indissoluble bond of couenant vnto vs men whome his will is first to sanctifie then to iustifie and lastly to inriche with all heauenly treasures through Christe our Lorde and reconciler For that was the meaninge of the stoanie knife Because Christ the blessed séede is the rocke of stone out of which doe flowe moste pure and cleansing waters and he by his spirite doth cutt from vs whatsoeuer thinges doe hinder the mutuall league and amitie betwixt God and vs he also doth giue and increase in vs both hope and charitie in faith so that wee may be knitt and ioyned to God in life euerlasting which is the blessed and happie life in déede Nowe here it is expedient to heare the testimonies of the lawe and the Apostles In the 30. of Deuteron Moses saith The Lord thy God shall circumcise thy harte and the harte of thy seede that thou maist loue the Lorde thy God. Now the outward visible cutting was a signe of this inwarde circumcision And Paule also speakinge of Abraham saith And he receiued the signe of circumcision as the seale of the righteousnesse of faith which he had being yet vncircūcised that he should be the father of all them that beleeue though they were not circūcised that righteousnesse might bee imputed to them also c. Lo here Abrahams circumcision was a signe y God by his grace had iustified Abraham which iustificatiō he receiued by faith before his circumcision which is an argument that they which beléeue though they be not circumcised are neuerthelesse iustified with faithfull Abraham and againe that the Iewes which are circumcised are iustified of God by faith And for that cause was circumcision giuen in the verie bodie of man that he might beare in his bodie the league of God and be thereby admonished that hee is iustified by grace through faith Whereby wee gather also that the grace of God and the iustification of the godly is not tyed to the signe For if it had then had not Abraham béene iustified before his circumcision but euen in his circumcision Furthermore if it had béene so then the Lord whose wil is to haue mankind saued would not haue giuen commaundement to haue them circumcised vpon the eighth day For many children died before the eighth daye and neuer came to circumcision and yet they were not damned To which wee may adde that Sara Rebecca Rahel Iochabeth and Marie Moses sister with innumerable mo matrones and holie virgines could not be circumcised and yet they were saued by the grace of God through faith in the Messiah that was to come The grace of God therefore was not tyed to the sacrament of circumcision but yet it was not despised and neglected of the holy sainctes of the olde church but vsed to the end for which it was ordeined that is to be a testimonie and a seale of frée iustification in Christ who circumciseth vs spiritually without handes by the working of the holie Ghoste Furthermore God by the outwarde and visible signe did gather into one church them which were circumcised in which number those which he had chosen before hee did ioyne to him selfe with the bonde of his spirite For sainct Paule for the verie same cause did call the people of one religiō the circumcision as is euident by the 15. Chapter to the Romanes and the third to the Philippians Therefore by circumcision God did separate his people from the vnbeléeuing nations Whereupon it came that to be called vncircumcised was as great reproache among them as to be called dogge is nowe adayes among vs For an vncircumcised person was reputed for an vncleane prophane man and for such an one as had no parte
consequently to euerie signe his seuerall limins S. Augustine In opusculo S 2. quaestionuÌ„ Quist 45. confuting soundly the destinies of Planets amonge other his reasons sayeth The conceyuing of twinns in the mothers woÌ„be because it is made in one and the same acte as the Physicians testifie whose discipline is farre more certeine and manifest than that of the Astrologers doeth happen in so small a moment of time thaâ— there is not so much time as two minuts of a minute betwixt the conceyuing of the one and the other How therfore commeth it that in twinnes of one burden there is so great a diuersitie of deâ—des wills and chaunces considering that they of necessitie must neds haue one and the same planet in their conception and that the Mathematicals do giue the constellation of them both as if it were but of one man To these woordes of S. Augustine great light maye bee added if you annexe to them and examine narrowely the example of Esau and Iacobs birth and sundrie dispositions The same Augustine writing to Boniface against two epistles of the Pelagians Lib. 2. cap. 6. sayeth They which affirme that destinie doeth rule will haue not onely our deeds and euents but also our very wils to depend vpon the placeing of the starres at the time wherin euerie man is either conceyued or borne whiche placeings they are wonte to call Constellations But the grace of God doth not onely goe aboue all starres and heauens but also aboue the verie Angels them selues Moreouer these disputers for destinie do attribute to destinie both the good and euil that happen to men But God in the euils that fall vppon men doth duely and worthily recompence them for their ill desertes but the good which they haue he doth bestowe vppon them not for their merites but of his owne fauour mercifull goodnesse through grace that cannot be looked for of duetie laying both good and euil vppon vs men not through the temporall course of planets but by the déepe and eternall counsell of his seueritie and goodnes So then wée sée that neither the fallinge out of good or euill hath any relation vnto y planets Therefore this place may be concluded with the wordes of the Lorde in the Prophet Ieremie saying Thus saith the Lorde ye shal not learne after the manner of the heathen and ye shall not be atraide for the tokens of heauen for the heathen are afraide of such yea all the obseruations of the Gentiles are vanitie For the planets haue no force to doe either good or euill And therefore the blame of sinnes is not to bee imputed therevnto I haue now to proue vnto you that God is not the cause of sinne or the author of euill God saye they would haue it so For if he would not haue had it so I had not sinned For who may resist his power Againe since he could haue letted it and would not he is the author of my sinne and wickednesse As though wee knewe not the craftie quarels and subtile shiftes of mortal men Whâ— I pray you knoweth not that God doth not deale with vs by his absolute power but by an appointed lawe and ordinance I meane by commodious meanes a probable order God could I know by his absolute power kéepe off all euil but yet he neither can nor wil either corrupt or marre his creature excellent order Hee dealeth with vs men therefore after the manner of men he appointeth vs lawes and layeth before vs rewardes punishements he commaundeth to imbrace the good and eschue the euill to the perfourming whereof he doth neither denye vs his grace without which we can do nothing neither doeth he despise our diligent good wil and earnest trauaile Herein if man bee slacke the negligence and fault is imputed to man him selfe and not to God although he could haue kept off the sinne and did not for it was not his duetie to kéepe it off least peraduenture hee should disturbe the order and destroy the work which he him self had made and ordeined Therefore God is not the author of sinne or naughtinesse Touching which matter I will firste adde some testimonies of the holie Scripture then aunswere to sundry obiections of the aduersaries of this doctrine and lastly declare the originall cause or headspring of sinne and wickednesse The testimonies which teach that God is not the author of sinne or naughtinesse are many in number but among the rest this is an argument of greatest force and probabilitie because God is saide to be good naturally and that all which he created were made good in their creation Whervppon it is that Solomon saith God hath not made death neither hath he delight in the destruction of the liuing for he created all thinges that they might haue their being and the beginnings of the world were health full there is no poyson of destruction in them nor the kingdome of hell vppon the earth for righteousenesse is immortall but vnrighteousnesse bringeth death and the vngodly call it to them both with wordes and woorkes and thereby come to nought And so forth as is to be séen in the firste Chapter of the booke of wisedome which wordes do passingly agrée with y firste Chapters of that most excellent prophet Moses In the fifth Psalme Dauid saith Thou art the God that hast no pleasure in wickednesse neither shal any euil dwell with thee the vniust shall not stande in thy sight for thou hatest all them that woorke iniquitie thou shalt destroy them that speake leasing the Lord doth abhorre both the bloudthirstie deceiptful man. Lo thou canst deuise nothing more contrarie to the nature of God than sinne nauâ—htinesse as thou mayest more at large perceiue in the 34 Chapter of the booke of Iob. The wiseman saith God created man good but they sought out many inuentions of their owne And therefore the Apostle Paule deriueth sinne damnation and death not from God but from Adam and from God he fetcheth grace forgiuenesse life through the mediatour Iesus Christe That place of Paule is farre more manifest than that it néedeth any large exposition let it onely bee considered and diligently weighed of the Readers and hearers whome I woulde wishe alwayes to beare in mouth and mynde the verie wordes meaning of this notable sentence Euen as by one man sinne entred into the worlde and death by sinne And so foorth as followeth The same Apostle in the seuenth to the Romanes doeth euidently declare that the lawe is holie the commaundement good and iust and therby he doth insinuate that in God or in his will there is not and in his lawe which is the will of God there springeth not any spott or blurre of sinne or naughtinesse In our fleash saith he the euil lurketh and out of vs iniquitie ariseth I knowe saith hee that in mee that is in my fleshe there is no good In that Chapter there are many sentences to be founde which doe
God created Adam and so consequently created sinne in Adam To this wee aunswere that sinne is the corruption of the good nature made by God and not a creature created by God either in or with man God created man good but man beeing left to his owne counsell did through the persuasion of Satan by his owne action and depraued will corrupte the goodnesse that God created in him so nowe that sinne is proper to man I meane mannes corrupt action against the lawe of God and not a creature created in him of god To this they replie but the will and abilitie that was in Adam was it from else where than from God him selfe vndoubtedly no it was from god Therefore saye they sinne is of GOD. I denye it for God gaue not to Adam will and power of working to the ende that he should worke euil For by expresse commaundement he forbadd him to do wickednesse Therfore Adam him selfe did naughtily applye the will and power which he receiued of God by vsing them vntowardly The prodigall sonne receiued money at his fathers hand whose meaning was not that he shuld waste it prodigally with riottous lyuing but that hee might haue wherevppon to liue and supplye the want of his necessities Wherefore when he had lauishly lasht it out and vtterly vndone him selfe the fault was in him selfe for abusing it and not in his father for giuing it vnto him Furthermore to haue the power to doe good and euill as Adam had of God is of it selfe a thing without fault euen as also to haue poyson to beare a weapon or weare a swoorde is a thing that no man can worthily blame They haue in them a force to doe good or harme They are not naught vnlesse they be abused And hee that giueth thee them doeth leaue to thee the vse thereof If hee bee a iust man hee putteth them into thy hande not to abuse but to vse as equitie and right requireth Wherefore if thou abusest them the faulte is imputed to thee selfe and not to him that gaue thée them Nowe since God which gaue Adam that will and power is of him selfe moste absolutely iust it followeth consequently that hee gaue them to Adam not to doe euil but good why then is the moste iuste God blamed in such a case as sinfull man is without all blame in Wee do therfore conclude because affection in Adam beeing moued by sense and egged on by the serpent did persuade him to eate of the forbidden fruite when neuerthelesse his vnderstanding did yet holde the worde of God which forbadde him to eate and that his will was at free choyce and libertie to incline to whether parte it pleased him he did notwithstanding will and choose that which God had forbidden him wee do therefore I saye conclude that sinne is properly to be imputed to man which willingly transgressed and not to God which charged him that hee shoulde not sinne Here againe the aduersaries aske this question why did God create man so fraile that he of his owne will might incline to euill why did hee not rather confirme in him the goodnesse and perfecte soundnesse of nature that he could not haue fallen or sinned To this the Scripture aunsweareth saying What art thou that disputest with God woe to him that striueth with his maker Wo to him that saith to the father why begottest thou and to the mother why broughtest thou foorth Vnlesse God had made man fallable there had béene no praise of his workes or vertue For hee coulde neither haue willed nor choosed but of necessitie haue béene good Yea what if man ought altogether to be made fall-able For so did the counsell of God require him to bee God giueth not his owne glorie to any creature Adam was a man and not a god But to be good of necessitie is the proper glorie of God and of none but god And as God is bountifull and liberall so also is he iust He doth good to men but will therewithall that men acknowledge him and his benefites and that they obey him and bee thankfull for the same He had bestowed innumerable benefites vppon Adam there lacked nothing therefore but to giue him an occasion to declare shewe his thankfulnesse and obedience to his good God and benefactour Which occasion hee offered him by the making of the lawe or giuing his commandement We sée therefore that God ordeined not that lawe to bee a stumblinge blocke in Adams waye but rather to bee a staffe to staye him from falling For in the lawe he declareth what he would haue him to doe He sheweth that he wisheth not the death or destruction of Adam he teacheth him what to do that he may escape death and liue in felicitie perfect happinesse For which cause also hee prouided that the lawe should be a plaine and easie commandement Of the tree of knowledge of good and euil thou shalt not eat saith the Lorde for if thou doest thou shalt dye the death but of any other tree in the garden thou shalt eate What else was this than as if hee shoulde haue saide thou shalt in all thinges haue an eye to mée thou shalt stick to mee obey mee be subiect vnto mee and serue mee neither shalt thou frō elsewhere ferche the formes of good euil than of mee and in so dding thou shalt shewe thy self obedient thankfull vnto mee thy maker Did God in this desire any vniust thinge or more than he should at the hands of Adam He shewed him the trée as a sacramēt or signe of that which he inioyned him by the giuing of the law to wite that the trée might be a token to put him in memorie that he ought to obey the Lord alone as a wise bountiful excellent and greatest God and maker And what difficultie I pray you or darknesse was there herein Sainct Augustine is of the same opinion with vs who in his booke De natura boni aduersus Manichaeos Cap. 35. saith He did therefore forbidd it that hee might shewe that the nature of the reasonable soule ought to be not in mannes owne power but in subiection vnto God and that by obedience it keepeth the order of her saluation which by disobedience it doeth corrupt and marre And herevppon it commeth that he called the trée which he forbadd by the name of the trée of knowledge of good and euil because Adam if hee touched it against the Lordes commaundement shoulde by tryall feele the punishmēt of his sinne and by that meanes knowe what difference there was betwixt the good y followeth obedience the euil which ensueth the sinne of disobediēce Now therefore when the Serpēt was crept in and beganne to tell man of other fourmes of good and euil directly contrary to the lawe of God and that mā had once receiued them as thinges both true and credible hee did disloyally reuolt from God and by his owne fault through disobedience hee wrought his owne destruction Therefore
euil for warre and maketh it the contrarie to peace Againe Sainct Augustine De natura boni contra Manichaeos Chap. 28. saith When we heare that all things are of him and by him and in him we must vnderstande it to be spoken of all the natures that are naturally For sinnes are not of him beecause they do not keepe but defile nature which sinnes the holie Scriptures doe diuersly testifie to bee of the will of them which committ them Thus much Augustine Neither is it a matter of any great difficultie to answere to that sentence of Solomons where hee saith God created all thinges for his owne sake yea the vngodly against the euill daye Prouerb 16. For wee beleeue that the moste iust God hath appointed a day of affliction iudgement or punishement which shal come vppon them in due time and season But whereas the Apostle saith Hee hath mercie on whome he wil and whom he wil he â—ardeneth wee must not so wrâ—st it to say that God doeth of necessitie driue any man to sinne and that therefore he is the cause of sinne For the will of God is good and iuste and willeth nothing but what is expedient and not repugnant to nature and the word of god And therefore it is that the Prophet cryeth The Lorde is iuste in all his wayes and holie in all his woorks Psalme 145. Thus haue I out of much that may be saide picked out a little and layed it before your eyes dearely beloued for you to consider of the cause of sinne Wee are nowe come to demonstrate the first partes which were set downe in the description of sinne immediately vppon the beginning of this sermon They are in number two the first is Sinne is the natural corruption of mankinde The latter is and the action that riseth of it contrarie to the lawe of God. Some verily in setting downe the kindes or differences of sinnes doe verie well aduisedly saye Of sinnes one is originall and another actuall I meane in order to speake of both so farre as God shal giue mée grace and firste of the same naturall corruption in mankinde that is of originall sinne Nowe therefore it is called originall sinne because it commeth from the firste beginning being deriued from our firste parents into vs all by lineall descent and continual course from one to another For wee bring it wiâ—h vs in oure nature from our mothâ—rs wombe into this life Of this sinne there are many definitions made which as they doe not disagrée among them selues so yet is one of them more full and euident than another of them is Some say Originall sinne is the corruption of nature from the first perfectnesse Other some saye it is the corruption of mannes nature which maketh that wee doe not truely obey the lawe of God and are not without sinne Againe some call it a want or defect other call it concupiscence whiche might better séeme to be the fruite of originall sinne that is of oure corruption Other call it an inordinatenesse of appetites which is leaft in nature Anshelmus a late writer saith Originall sinne is the want of originall righteousnesse But this is thought to haue beene spoken somewhat too briefely For the force of sinne seemeth to bee not sufficiently expressed For our nature is not onely voyde and baren of goodnesse but also most aboundant and fruitefull of all euils and naughtinesse Therefore the definition of Hugo is taken for the better who saith Originall sinne is ignoraunce in the mynde and concupiscence in the fleashe But yet this séemeth to bée a farr fuller and better definition Originall sinne is the vice or deprauation of the whole man whereby hee cannot vnderstande GOD and his will but of a peruerse iudgement of thinges doeth ouerthwartly and peruerteth all thinges And nowe among all these definitions I wishe you dearely beloued to consider of this also Originall sinne is the inheritablie descending naughtinesse or corruption of oure nature whiche doeth firste make vs indaungered to the wrath of God and then bringeth foorth in vs those woorkes which the Scripture calleth the woorkes of the fleashe Therefore this originall sinne is neither a déede nor a woorde nor a thought but a disease a vice a deprauation I saye of iudgement and concupiscence or a corruption of the whole man that is of the vnderstanding will and all the power of man out of which at last doe flowe all euil thoughtes naughtie wordes and wicked déedes This sinne taketh beginning at and of Adam and for that cause it is called the inheritablie descendinge naughtinesse and corruption of oure nature Concerning the corruption and sinne of Adam out of whome we are all borne sinners I haue allreadie sufficientlye spoken where I treated of the cause of sinne and by and by hereafter shall followe somewhat more of the same argument so that I haue no néede to repeate any thing here I will therfore now passe forth to the rest The Pelagians denyed that this euill of Originall sinne was hereditarie For these are the verie woordes of Pelagius him selfe As without vertue so are we also borne without vice And before the action of our own wil that alone is in man which God created These woordes of his are somewhat obscure but Caelestius the partener of Pelagius did more openly spue out this poyson and saye Wee did not therefore saye that infants are to bee baptised into the remission of sinnes to the ende that we should seeme thereby to affirme that sinne is Ex traduce or hereditarie which is vtterly contrary to the Catholique sense Because sinne is not borne with man but is afterwarde put in vre by man because it is declared to bee not the fault of the nature but of the will. Againe Pelagius saide that that first sinne did not hurte the first man onely but all mankinde also his issue and ofspring but he doth immediately adde not by propagation but by example that is to saye not that they which came of him drewe any vice of him but because they that sinned afterwarde did in sinning imitate him that sinned first and before them This is to be seene in Aurelius Augustinus De peccato originali contra Pelagium Caelestium Lib. 2. Cap. 6. 13. et 15. Wee therefore must proue by the testimonies of holie Scripture that the euil is hereditarie in man and that originall is borne together with vs that is that all men are borne sinners into the worlde The Prophet therefore doth plainly crye Psalme 51. Beholde I was borne in wickednesse and in sinne hath my mother conceiued mee Or as another translation out of the Hebrue saith Beeholde I was shapen in iniquitie and in sinne my mother cherished or warmed mee That is to saye sinne did then immediately cleaue vnto mée when I was once conceiued and nourished in my mothers wombe Nowe that happened vndoubtedly not by any vice of matrimonie for the wedlock bedde is holie and vndefiled
He that obeyeth the commaundement of Christe and in his name maketh inuocation the same néedeth not at al the mediation of Saintes Hath not he all thinges plentifully in Christe We say therefore and affirme that onely Christe is the mediatour intercessour and aduocate with the father in heauen of all men whiche are in earth and in such sorte the onely mediatour c. that after him it is néedelesse to haue other aduocates Many do graunt that Christe is giuen vnto vs an intercessour with God but bycause they ioyne with him many other they do not surely send all vnto him alone neyther yet do they preache one onely mediatour They imagine that Christe is the mediatour of redemption yea and the onely mediatour how be it not the onely mediatour of intercession but together with him many more But the scripture setteth foorth vnto vs Christ as the only mediatour of redemption so also of intercession The office of a mediatour touching redemption and intercession is one and the selfe same A mediatour putteth him selfe in the middest betwéene them that are at variance or disagréement and he is ioyned to eache in disposition and nature An intercessour putteth him self in the midst betwéene them that are at strife and dissention and vnlesse he be indifferent for eyther side he can not be an intercessour On both parts reconciliation or attonement is required and looked for There muste néedes therefore be a certeine cause of discorde which being taken away the discord or debate doth also ceasse The cause of discorde is sinne It is the duetie therefore of a mediatour or intercessour quite to raze out sinne that disagréement may no longer remayne For this there is no amendes or satisfaction made with wordes or with prayers but with bloude and death Hebr. 9. Wherevpon we doe necessarily gather that only Christ is the mediatour or intercessour with the father For principally Christ may set him selfe in the middest betwéene God and men bycause he onely is partaker of both natures The Saints participate but onely one For they are men But Christe is both God and man Furthermore he that is an intercessour muste also be a reconciliatour or an attonement-maker For the end wherat he y maketh intercession doth shoote is reconciliation But Christe is the onely reconciliatour of men therfore also the onely intercessour For it belongeth to an intercessour to disolue the cause of contention and discorde that is to say to abolish and take away sinne But Christ alone and no creature taketh awaye sinne It remayneth therefore that Christe is the onely intercessour Hetherto doe nowe perteine the testimonies of scripture Paul sayth There is one god and one reconciler or mediatour of God and men the man Christ Iesus who gaue him selfe the price or raunsome for the redemption of all And although the Apostle speake expressely of redemption yet notwithstanding these wordes are placed in the middest betwéene the disputation of the inuocation vppon God which is done by Christ who is the onely mediatour of redemption and intercession For as he alone redeemed vs so doth he alone euen now commend vs being redéemed vnto the father Touching this let the Apostle be heard once againe saying to the Romanes Christe when as yet we were sinners dyed for vs muche more therefore no we being iustified or made righteous by his bloud we shall bee saued from wrath through him And yet againe somewhat playner For if when we were enimies we were reconciled to god by the death of his sonne much more being recoÌ„ciled we shall be saued by his lyfe For in an other place the same Apostle sayth Christ euer liueth for this ende to make intercession for vs. And againe It is God that iustifieth who is hee that can condemne Christ is he that dyed yea that is raysed vp who also is at the right hande of God and maketh intercession for vs The same Christe openeth the waye or maketh accesse for vs vnto the father Hebr. 4. chapter and Ephes 2. chapter For the Lorde Iesus him selfe in the gospel doth not shew vnto vs many doores but one onely doore I am sayth he the dore And againe I am sayth he the way the truth and the life None commeth to the father but by me Doth not he which sayth I am the way the truth and the life yea and such a way that there is accesse to the father by none other than by me that is by me onely and alone exclude all other meanes al other wayes and al other patrones or aduocates what so euer Also in an other place of the Gospell least any through shamefastnesse â—nowledge of their owne vnworthinesse and guiltinesse of sinnes or the maiestie and glory of Christ the sonne of God shoulde be hindered from calling vppon God in the name of Christe and commiting them selues to Christ his defence he in his owne person plainly and louingly calling all vnto him to the benefite of his defence cryeth Come vnto me al you that labour are heauie loaden and I wil giue you rest Out of the Epistle to the Hebrues no lesse euideÌ„t testimonies thaÌ„ these and that good store may be gathered Amongst other this one is excellent Christe for that hee endureth for euer saith the apostle hath an euer lasting priesthoode Wherefore he is able perfectly to saue them that come vnto God by him seeing he euer liueth for this ende to make intercession for theÌ„ For such an high priest it became vs to haue which is holy harmlesse vndefiled separated from sinners and made higher than the heauens c. Marke I praye you howe many arguments in this testimonie of Paule we haue to proue that Christe is the onely intercessour of the faythfull in heauen with the father The proper or peculiar office of the prieste is to make intercession But only Christe is priest in the presence of God He therefore is the only intercessour Nowe also the priesthoode of Christe is euerlasting or vnchangeable Therefore not by once offering vp hath he redeemed vs being made the onely and alone mediatour of redemption but the euerlasting and perpetuall mediatour also of intercession making intercession for vs euen till the end of the world For albeit our Lorde be a iudge yet notwithstanding he is a iudge of the vnfaythfull a defender and vpholder of the faithfull and at the length when the worlde is at ende a iudge of all And if so be he haue an euerlasting priesthood and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not conueyable I say or remoueable which can not eyther by succession resignation or part-taking passe ouer to any other then certeinely Christe onely and alone remayneth intercessour of the faithfull Moreouer there is no cause why we should choose and take to our selues eyther after Christe or with Christe other intercessours For he is able him selfe alone to worke oure saluation at the full leauing vnto others nothing at all whereabout to