other sonne after him whom he hath also established as he is man that which he was from all eternity as God Lord and king of all creatures and particularly of true Christians 9. Why is he called Iesus Because this name was giuen him by his Fathers appointment who commanded Ioseph to call him so And it signifyeth as much as Sauiour which holy name was giuen him with great reason because he caue to saue ād redeeme the world from the death of sinne and thraldome of the Diuell and it cost him his owne blood and his owne proper life to do it And so it is impossible to explicate the force and vertue of this name which is so efficacious as that it chaseth away diuell cureth diseases and worketh all sortes of miracles being pronounced with a liuely faith and it is honoured in heaven reuerenced on earth and feared in hell aboue all names 10. Why is he called Christ He is called Christ which signifieth annointed because Priests Kings and Prophets vsed to be annointed with oile which representeth grace to signify that their functions did represent the function of God whose Lieutenents they are in these charges for it belongeth properly to God to gouerne spiritually to gouerne temporally and to foretell thinges to come Now Christ Iesus is not only a Priest a King and a Prophet but the soueraine Priest of Priests King of Kings and Prophet of Prophets not annointed by men with a terrestiall ointment but by God with the plentitude of his graces So that the difference betwixt these two names is that Christ is a title belonging to his dignity Iesus is a title belonging to his merit which he purchased with the price of his blood and his life 11. Why is he called our Lord First because he is God and secondly also as man because he is our Redeemer for he who redeemeth a slaue as all we were is most properly master and Lord of him whom he redeemeth and the redeemed is most truly his seruant ARTICLE III. 12. DEclare the Third Article Who was conceaued of the holy Ghost borne of the virgin Marie I beleeue that Iesus Christ tooke vpon him for the redemption of the world our nature from the immaculate body of the blessed Virgin Marie not by any operation or power of man but by the diuine vertue of the holy Ghost who framed his body of the most pure blood of a virgin vniting a soule to it created expressely by God at the same instant in which instant also the second person of the blessed Trinity did vnite this body and this soule to himselfe and so he was borne on earth most pure and most holy And his Virgin Mother conceaued him and was deliuered of him remaining still a virgin yea she was more pure then before for both her body and soule receaued a greater purity and sanctity by the operation of the holy Ghost and by her coniunction to the sacred flesh of Iesus Christ 13. Why is the Conception of our Sauiour attributed to the holy Ghost To make vs understand that the great benefit and dignity bestowed vpon mankinde by the Incarnation of the sonne of God was a free gift proceeding purely from the loue of God and not from any merit of man and so although this operation was common to all the three persons of the blessed Trinity as all outward actions are yet it is peculiarly attributed to the holy Ghost because he proceedeth by loue and is called a gift 14. Why is not the holy Ghost called the Father of Iesus Christ since that he formed his body Because he did not forme it to the likenesse of his owne nature nor made it of his owne substāce which is required to make one a Father as a stone caruer who maketh a statue is not the father of the statue though he be the maker and former of it but he made it only of the pure blood of the Virgin And so Christ had in this second generation only a Mother and no Father 15. Wherein do consist the wonders of this mysterie First that his body was formed by the speciall operation of the holy Ghost Secondly that in the first instāt that it was formed it receaued a reasonable soule replenished with perfect knowledge of all thinges and with all graces as also with the full beatificall vision and fruition of allmighty God Thirdly that this body and this soule was in the same instant vnited to the second person of the bless◅ Trinity so that the childe conceaued in the wombe of the Virgin was both perfect God and perfect man Fourthly that his mother was both a virgin and a mother And lastly that she was mother both of God and of man which is the miracle of miracles that the same person should be God and man begotten from all eternity and borne in time omnipotent and infirme And yet it is most true for the nature of God and the nature of man were both in the second person of the Trinity without confusion or mingling one with another and also without making a diuersity of persons which may be some way exemplifyed in two grafts sett in the same stocke which keepe still their different natures since that they produce different fruits and yet make not diuers trees since that they are both in the same stocke 16. God then becoming man was not turned into man nor man into God nor both into a third thing No for God cannot be changed and so none of these three mutations could be made but man as we haue declared was ioyned to God and so God became man For seeing that what hath not the nature of man is not man and much lesse what hath not the nature of God is God we must acknowledge in Christ two distinct natures the one of God the other of man or else he should not be both God and man 17. Was man ioyned equally to God so that the thing made was equally God and man If we consider the two natures in themselues he had both of them truly and in all perfection but if we compare the natures together which are vnited in the same person certainly the maine thing must needs be God and man but a small portion of it As we see if a little other metall be cast into a great deale of gold the coine is principally gold and is commonly called so so since that God is infinitely greater then man the result of both remaineth principally God 18. How was he borne He was borne nine monthes after his conception as other children vse to be to shew that he was truly man He was borne without griefe to his Mother to shew that the blessed Virgin was opposite to Eue to whom it was said In dolore paries thou shalst bring forth with griefe He was borne in a stable and in as great pouerty as the poorest childe in the world thereby to hūble himselfe the more by how much the greater he was in himselfe He was swaddled
as men vse ordinarily to do for this kinde of position is a token of wearinesse but in heauen there is no wearinesse and therefore no bodie sitteth there but all shall stand vp right as it is generally conceaued which is the naturall position of man yet our Sauiour is sayd to sit because by this manner of speach is expressed the perfect repose which he enioyeth and shall enioy for all eternity in heauen 34. Why is he sayd to sit at the right hand of his Father He is not sayd to sit so as that we should imagine the Father to be at the left hand of his Sonne or in the middle betwixt the Sonne the Holy Ghost for seeing that these three persons are one only Diuine essence which is essentially in all places it is impossible that one person should be in one place and another in another place but euery one is euery where Wherefore he is sayd to sit at the right hand of his Father thereby to signifie that as man he excells all creatures whatsoeuer in glory maiesty and power and also to signifie that he is equall to his Father in Maiesty and glory which equality though it be principally to be vnderstood as he is God for as man he is without comparison inferiour to his Father yet the same honour from vs is to be giuen to Christ man which is due to him as God by reason of the vnion his humanity hath with his diuine person for seeing that adoration is directed to the person who is adored if one should adore him as man with one kinde of worship and as God with another he would diuide Christ and suppose him to be two persons ARTICLE VII 35. DEclare the seuenth Article From thence he shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead I belieue that this our blessed Redeemer Iesus Christ in the end of the world after the raigne of Antichrist shall come from heauen with most great power and glory to iudge all men both liuing and dead giuing to euery one the reward or punishment which he hath deserued saying to the iust come yee blessed of my Father inherit the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the world and to the wicked Depart from me yee cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the Diuell and his Angells 36. Shall Christ iudge vs as man or as God He shall iugde vs both as man and as God for it is reasonable that he should iudge as man to reward those who deserued it through the merits of his owne humanity and likewise to giue sentence against those who haue neglected to make vse of his sacred death for their owne saluation He shall iudge vs also as God and not only he but also all the blessed Trinity although it be particularly attributed to the second person because it is an act of wisedome the acts whereof are attributed to the sonne because they depend of the vnderstanding 37. When shall he iudge those that are dead There are two iudgements the one particular which is when euery man dyeth the other generall which will be when all men shall take their bodies againe for then the body and the soule being vnited they shall receiue ioyntly the iudgement which they did ioyntly deserue and they shall receiue it with shame or glory before the whole world and all together to the end that as soone as the sentence is giuen the earth opening it selse may swallow vp all the wicked at once and the heauens receiue all the blessed ARTICLE VIII 38. DEclare the eight Article I belieue in the holy Ghost I belieue in the holy Ghost who is the third person of the blessed Trinity and proceedeth from the Father and the Sonne and is in all and euery thing equall to the Father and to the Sonne that is he is God eternall infinite omnipotēt creatour and lord of all thinges as much as the Father and the Sonne 39. Why is the holy Ghost represented ordinaryly in the forme of a doue and sometimes also in the forme of fiery tongues and of a cloude The reason of it is because he hath appeared vnder these formes to make vs by these visible thinges apprehēd the effects which he worketh in vs as by a doue innocency by fire charity by a cloude a plenitude of glory wherewith we shall be enuironed in heauen 40. Were these creatures vnited to the holy Ghost as the nature of man is vnited to the sonne of God No for they were meere figures made by the hands of Angells or by God to represent vnto vs the effects of the holy Ghost which being represented these signes remained no more but did vanish presently away ARTICLE IX 41. DEclare the ninth Article The holy Catholike Church Communion of Saints I belieue also that there is a Church that is to say a societie of reasonable creatures vnited to God by supernaturall gifts Which church hath two principall members whereof one is called the church triumphant which conteineth all the blessed in heauen the other is called the church militant which consisteth of mortall men who fight perpetually with the flesh the world and the diuell which church is a visible congregation of all faithfull Christians that are baptized and vnited here vpon earth into one common body I belieue also that each member of this congregation doth partake of the assistance of all the rest and likewise of the assistance of the church triumphant 42. Why is this Church called holy and catholike It is holy because it hath the head which is Christ holy and also for that it hath many holy members besides the faith law and Sacraments are all holy and lastly because the holy Ghost doth neuer forsake it but doth allwayes informe it with sanctitie and glorify it with miracles And it is called Catholike that is vniuersall both for time and place It is also called such because all the faithfull in what part soeuer of the world they be must be vnited to it to be saued 43. Why did the Apostles sett downe in the Creed these two conditions of holinesse and vniuersality Because they are two infallible markes of the true Church to which vnity is also added as a third marke seeing that the Apostles call it the Church in the singular number and not Churches 44. What signifyeth the Communion of Saints It signifyeth that all the holy members of the church are so vnited to one another by the same faith and by brotherly vnion that as in a mans body all the members are partakers of the good or euill of each member thereof so do they partake of the goods and sufferings of one another according to the charity which euery one hath himselfe and according as it shall please the holy Ghost to distribute them who doth deuide the spirituall goods of the church as well as his graces as he pleaseth himselfe Besides all the goods of the church are common the sacraments are instituted for all euery one
Christ whereby we are obliged to professe him to be our Master and to serue him with all duty and obedience as seruants do their Masters and so we receiue a character which is as it were Christ his liuerie whereby we are knowne to belong to his familie By Confirmation we are made souldiers to fight in the cause of Christ and to follow him as souldiers do their Generall and so we are knowne for such as if it were by wearing his colours which is expressed by a distinct character from the former By Order those who are ordained are instituted officers to gouerne and vndergoe seuerall charges in Christ his familie who likewise are all distinguished by seuerall spirituall markes or characters which do alwayes remaine in the soule and cannot be blotted out 14. Why do not the other foure Sacraments conferre also characters Because by them a man is not designed for anie peculiar function in order to Christ his familie nor put into any permanent state but they are giuen only for some particular necessitie of our owne and are certaine meanes whereby to attaine vnto that perfection which we are obliged vnto by the dates or professions whereunto we do engage ourselues by the other three Sacraments As Pennance for reconciliation Eucharist for nouriture Extreme Vnction to take away the relickes of sinne thereby to strengthen vs against the last assaults of the Diuell and Matrimony to enable the married to beare the burden of wedlock 15. Why is it sacriledge to reiterate those Sacraments that conferre characters The reason of it is because by these Sacraments man maketh a gift of himselfe and his seruice to God according to the seuerall conditions of the states whereunto he is addicted by each Sacrament whereby he is no more at his owne disposing in that respect which as I saied before he doth in Baptisme as a seruant to a Master of a familie In Confirmation as a souldier to his Generall in an armie In Order as a married man to propagate his Church Now no man can giue any thing but that which is his owne and therefore he who hath once giuen himselfe to God anie of these wayes cannot giue himselfe againe to him the same way that is in respect of the same seruice for which he gaue himselfe before And so it is a sacriledge to reiterate these Sacraments for that were to release a gift by supposing himselfe still free of which he cannot be released by men but only by God for what is once giuen cannot be giuen againe but belongeth to him to whom it is giuen and not to the giuer 16. Wherefore are Godfathers also appointed in this Sacrament To the end that the confirmed may haue instructions how to weild his spirituall armes also to let him know that although he hath receiued the grace of the holy Ghost yet he must not be too confident in his owne forces but that he must humble himselfe and harken vnto the aduise and instruction of others who haue more experience then himselfe in Christian discipline 17. Which Sacrament is the next in order after Confirmation The holy Eucharist for nature teacheth vs that life cannot be long preserued in vs without nouriture through the want whereof we do by little and little loose our strength and at length perish LESSON XXVI Of the holy Eucharist 1. What is the holy Eucharist It is a Sacrament instituted by Iesus Christ vnder the outward formes of bread and wine wherein as vnder a veile are contained his true body and bloud put there by the words of consecration that so they may become a sacred food to nourish vs spiritually and to sanctify both the soules and bodies of them who shall worthily receiue them 2. What is the sensible signe in this Sacrament It is the bodie and bloud of Christ as they are presented to vs vnder the visible formes either of bread or wine 3. Where do we finde a promise of grace to this Sacrament In the sixth of S. Iohn where our Sauiour sayth that he who shall eate of this bread shall liue for euer and the bread which I shall giue you is my flesh for the life of the world Which places are commonly vnderstood by the Fathers to be meant of the blessed Sacrament And it was first put in execution by our Sauiour himselfe who gaue it to his Apostles at his last supper 4. Are we obliged to receiue this Sacrament Yes first by reason of the institution of it which as we sayed of the Sacrament of Confirmation doth oblige them for whom it was instituted to receiue it and it was instituted for all after a certaine age And secondly because we are in danger of spirituall death if we do not receiue this spirituall nourishment often for euery one that he may liue spiritually hath need to be nourished spiritually and therefore the Church doth command vs at least to receiue it once a yeare 5. Why was it instituted vnder the forme of bread and wine Because these foodes are most common and so most fit for that Sacrament which was instituted for all mankinde And also because bread and wine do signify the substance of all eating or drinking they being as it were the groundworke of all the rest and so they are most fit to expresse that this Sacrament worketh the like spirituall effects in the soule which meate and drinke worke materially in tho bodie 6. Doth there remaine after consecration bread in the hoste and wine in the chalice No for all the substance both of bread and wine are taken away to giue place to the substance of Christ his bodie and bloud which only remaine there vnited to the accidents of bread and wine 7. Doth the Priest by communicating vnder both formes receiue no more then he who receiueth the Sacrament vnder the forme of bread alone or of wine alone No for he who cōmunicateth vnder the forme of bread alone or of wine alone receiueth both the bodie and bloud of Christ because he receiueth his liuing bodie which from the instant of his most glorious resurrection can neuer more be separated from his bloud 8. How possibly can the true and naturall bodie of Christ be contained within so small a compasse as is a little piece of bread He who told vs that he was able to make a camell passe through a needles eye hath power also to do this and as he there tells vs though with men these thinges are impossible yet all thinges are possible with him whom we belieue in our Creed to be allmighty 9. Is Christs bodie and bloud vnder euery part of the hoste as well as vnder the whole Yes for as it is defined in the councell of Trent the least part of euery hoste and the least part of the consecrated wine doth containe all the flesh and bloud the bodie and the soule the humanitie and diuinitie of Iesus Christ And the reason of this is because Christ his bodie is brought into the visible
doubted will faile health may thereby be restored if God so please or the sicke person be furnished with grace to resist the last assaultes of the diuell and therefore as this Sacramēt ought not to be demanded when there is no danger to dye so ought it not to be deferred so long vntill no hope remaines to liue 9. Of what age ought they to be to whom this Sacrament is administred They ought to be arriued to perfect discretion and iudged capable of malice and sinne for otherwise it would want matter to worke its proper effect Wherefore such as may be iudged capable of the vse of the Sacrament of pennance may also vndoubtedly be admitted vnto this 10. Wherefore is this Sacrament applied vnto our eyes eares nose lippes hands and feet Because they are the organs of our corporall senses whence sinne doth vsually take its beginning as being the windowes and proper dores whereby sinne makes entrance into the heart of man to wound his soule 11. What Sacrament followeth Extreme Vnction Order for according to nature partes are precedent to the whole which results out of them wherefore we were first to declare the Sacraments which concerne euery particular member of the Church and afterwards that which concernes the whole body and the procreation of new issue which is Order LESSON XXIX Of Order 1. What is Order It is a Sacrament instituted by IESVS CHRIST whereby power is giuen to men to vndergoe Ecclesiasticall functions and grace to performe them worthily 2. What is the visible signe of this Sacrament and where do you finde grace annected to it The visible signe is the imposition of hands to which S. Paul declareth grace to be annected 1. Tim. 4. Do not neglect the grace which is in thee which hath been giuen thee through prophecy with imposition of the hands of the presbitery 3. What doth Order correspond vnto in our corporall life It correspondeth to mariage and must consequently be to breed spirituall children who being generated by Baptisme must afterwards be bred vp instructed and gouerned and this is proportionably deuided into three actions which in the mysticall language are called purgare illuminare vnire The first is to withdraw the parties from the loue of naturall obiects to that which is supernaturall the secōd is to instruct them and lett them know what is necessary to supernaturall life and to enable them to liue accordingly the third is to induce them to do what is necessary according to their knowledge and ability The first is done partly and chiefly in the beginning by ceremonies and maiesty of holy rites at which sensible men standing in admiration begin to thinke there is some greater mystery included and so desire to learne and vnderstand it the second is done chiefly by the holy Sacraments and by catechizing by which the people vnderstand what is to be belieued hoped and put in practise and are enabled to performe it the third is done by gouernment and preaching by which men are set forward and kept in order to do what they haue vnderstood ought to be done Now according to these three functions the Ecclesiasticall Hierarchy is constituted of Bishops Priests and Ministers and it is called Hierarchy that is holy principality 4. Which of these functions belongeth properly to the Bishop The third which is to gouerne and preach for gouernment is of greatest difficulty and most necessary seeing that it attendeth to make vs do what we know Now both the difficulty and necessity of doing is farre greater then of knowing for the obligation is greater after knowledge and the difficulty of doing no lesse so that to make vs do is the proper effect of the holy Ghost and the field where nature and grace vse their stratagemes and fight their pitched battaile Gouernment therefore by which we are set on to do what we know belongeth chiefly and properly to Bishops from whom all inferiour Priests as well as the people are to take their rule and directions And Christ to the end that their gouernment might be more authorized hath reserued to thē and to their character the Sacrament of Confirmation whereby we become perfect Christians by receiuing the manlike strength and growth of charity and also the Sacrament of Order by which authority is giuen to others to be gouerners Besides in regard of their gouernment Christ hath giuen to them iurisdiction in a more eminent degree then to other Priests that is an authoritie to excommunicate all publike and notorious sinners who being called to iudgement refuse to come or if they come refuse to obey the sentence of their iudge Which excommunication is not inflicted to destroy them but as a medecine to correct them that thereby they may be ashamed of their fault and seeing themselues depriued of the participation of Christ his merits giuen by the Sacraments and of the merits of the Church they may be moued to amend their liues and to returne to liue amongst Christian people like Christian men And as the Bishop hath power to excommunicate such persons so also hath he power to absolue them againe from excommunication when they are penitent and obedient So that these functions belong properly to Bishops to gouerne in chiefe to chastise the wicked and disobedient by excommunicating them to preach and exhort to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation and to administer the Sacrament of Order 5. Which function belongeth properly to Priests The second that is to instruct and administer the Sacraments to them also it belongeth to assist the Bishop and to gouerne vnder him and to preach by cōmission from him And Christ by reseruing to them the function of sacrificing and the administration of diuerse Sacraments hath dignified also their persons because it is necessary for their office that they be respected by the people So that the functions of Priests are chiefly these to assist the Bishop in gouerning and preaching by commission from him to offer vp to God the holy sacrifice of Masse and to administer all Sacraments excepting Confirmation and Order And from hence we may gather what respect is due to Priests for certainely if we owe respect to those who beare temporall offices in the common wealth we owe a farre greater respect to them whose persōs Christ himselfe hath dignified with the greatest and highests functions that are exercised vpon earth hauing made them his ministers not of riches and temporall commodities but by whose hands his heauenly graces and euerlasting treasures of his mercy are conueyed to the people 6. What function belongeth to Ministers The chiefe is to assist the Bishop and Priests in the administration of Sacraments and in the sacrifice and other Church seruices that so they may be performed with due maiesty by decent ceremonies and holy rites and discipline be obserued in the Church 7. How many degrees of Ministers be there They are in all six whereof the two first that is Deacons and Subdeacons are called Greater because they serue
acknowledge the greatnesse of his mercy and diuine grace when we looke vpon the miserie from whence he hath deliuered vs by Iesus Christ and therefore we ought to haue a perpetuall ioy and acknowledgment towardes God for that we are borne since the redemption of the world 8. How did God allmightie redeeme the world By the Incarnation Passion of our blessed Sauiour Iesus Christ LESSON IX Of the Incarnation of Iesus Christ 1. WHat is meant by the Incarnation It is a wonderfull mysterie whereby one of the three Persons of the blessed Trinitie was vnited to our nature after that it was become mortall and subiect to miserie by sinne 2. Which was that Person The second that is the sonne 3. Why the sonne rather then anie other Person of the blessed Trinitie Because he came to make vs sonnes to God and therefore it was fitting that amongst three Persons the sonne should be chosen to be our paterne and example and as it were our eldest brother Besides wisedome is appropiated to the sonne wherefore he coming also to be our master and teacher it was fitt that the wisedome of God that is the sonne and second Person should be chosen for that effect 4. Had the other Persons of the blessed Trinitie no hand in this mysterie Yes for the second Person was incarnated by their will and by their operation although he only was inuested with our flesh and with our nature remaining man as we are 5. Why was it necessarie that our redeemer should be both God and man It was necessarie that he should be God that his obedience and sufferings might be of infinite value as proceeding from such a person it was necessarie he should be man because the Godhead could not suffer besides it was conuenient that the same nature which had offended should suffer for the offence and that the same nature should ouercome the Diuell which had been ouercome by him and also that he who came to teach vs how to liue vertuously should haue the same nature and be composed of flesh and blood as we are that so we might haue a visible paterne and one whom we might imitate 6. Was he in all thinges like to other men Yes excepting only sinne concupiscence and ignorance And so the Apostle sayeth that he was made to the likenesse of the flesh of sinne whereby he doth not only except sinne it selfe but also concupiscence and ignorance for the flesh of sinne is not sinne it selfe but it signifyeth those peruerse dispositions in humane nature which do incline men to sinne which are comprehended vnder concupiscence and ignorance Yet the Apostle sayeth he was made to the likenesse of the flesh of sinne in regard that he was subiect to mortality and to painefull afflictions which are the direfull effects caused in man at first by sinne 7. Had he a father and mother like other men No for he was borne miraculously of the blessed Virgin without hauing a father here vpon earth as in heauen he had no mother For his bodie being framed by the power of the holy Ghost in the entrails of the blessed Virgin allmightie God breathed into this bodie as he did into Adams the breath of life in the wombe of his mother 8. How long did he liue Thirtie three yeares and three months or there aboute 9. How did he passe that time here He liued as other men doe vnlesse that his life was more heaped vp with woes When he was eight dayes old he was circūcised and his tender bodie painefully woūded After this he is thought to haue been kept in Bethleem vntill the three kings came out of the East to adore him vpon which king Herode growing iealous he fled into Aegypt and Herode executed his tyrannie vpon all the children from two yeares old and vnder in Bethleē and in all the confines of Bethleem In Aegypt we must imagine he was prouided as poore people are wont to be in strange countries yet he remained there for some yeares vntill the death of Herode After which being returned he liued in Nazareth for feare of Herode his sonne whence euerie yeare he went to Hierusalē at the solemne feasts and there was lost by his Parents at twelue yeares of age and after three dayes seeking found in the midst of the Doctors astonnishing them with his wise and learned answers As for the rest of his life he liued vntill he was thirty yeares old as a priuate mā leading an ordinarie course of life in the towne of Nazareth and other places without appearing to be more thē an ordinarie man and getting his liuing by working with his owne hands as a carpenter vnder S. Ioseph our ladies husband who for this reason was esteemed his father and although he was not so yet beeing married to his mother he had paternall iurisdiction ouer him and so he liued obedient both to him and to his mother 10. Why did he liue so priuately To giue vs an example of humilitie and to shew how those that are to be teachers in Gods church ought to prepare themselues by an humble and retired life 11. What did he doe after he was thirtie yeares old When S. Iohn the trumpet of God that came from the desert by summoning mankinde to pennance had soūded the march for him towards his eternall fathers worke for which he was sēt he was baptized by S. Iohn and receauing the visible testimonie of the holy Ghost he made his triall in the desert by a fast of fortie dayes and fortie nights and by the tentation of the Diuell all which he did for our instruction And then he began to exercise his charge in gathering of disciples and in preaching of the veritie of the ghospell by actiōs and words in prouing it by scriptures in cōfirming it by miracles through great contradictiōs and dangers and at last by effusion of his owne blood which he shed to maintaine this truth against them who did contradict it 12. What effect had his preaching It had no great effect as it seemes for all those whom he had made his disciples at least the chiefe of them did abandon him at the time of his Passion and so all that which he had done with so much labour was in a manner lost in one moment 13. How came it to passe that his word was of so small force in his owne disciples Because they had not as yet receiued the fullnesse of grace 14. How came it to passe that he had so few disciples since that he preached the Ghospell both by words and miracles to thousands of people Because the holy Ghost was not yet giuen for the word of the preacher though excellent and diuine worketh no effect at all vnlesse the holy Ghost do enter at the same time into the hearts of them who heare it to make them receiue it and keepe it 15. Was then Christ his preaching fruitlesse No for first it hath taught vs by experience that the word of the