and to knée to ducke with the heade and bende the body to fall downe to honour to worship and to reuerence The Saintes of olde did vse to bowe downe that is to bende the knée to vncouer the heade and to fall downe to the Magistrates the Prophets the Princes and teachers of the people and vnto all sortes of reuerend men And that they did partly by cause God had so commaunded who vseth their ministerie to common mens commoditie and partly againe by cause men are the liuely Image of God him selfe But deafe dumbe and blinde Idoles are wood and stone wherevnto we are forbidden to bend or bow downe how so euer we are made to beléeue that they doe beare the likenesse of god The latter is Thou shalt not worship them or else Thou shalt not doe any seruice vnto them In this clause is forbidden all the outwarde and vnlawfull honour done to God or to the Gods in the way of Religion nay rather in the way of superstition and diuelishe hallowing of Churches reliques holie dayes and such like trash and trumperie For to serue is to worship to reuerence to attribute some maiestie and diuine authoritie to that whiche we doe worship to haue affiaunce in to burne incense to offer giftes and to shewe our selues dutifully seruiceable to that which we worship There is no man that knoweth not what it is to serue and what is ment by seruice in matters of Religion We are forbidden therefore to runne in Pilgrimage to Idoles yea though they be the Images of God him selfe We are forbidden to do them any seruice in offering giftes or attributing vnto them any one iote of Gods preeminence thereby to binde our selues to mainteine and vpholde their vnlawfull honour in mingling such superstitions with better pointes of true religion This therefore considered since we may not attribute to Images any seruiceable honour I doe not sée how we can ascribe to them the office of teaching admonishing and exhorting which are the offices and benefites of Gods holy spirit and worde For Abacuck the Prophete of whose writings Paul did make no small account hath lefte in writing wordes worth remembring What profiteth sayth he the image for the maker of it hath made it an image and a teâ—cher of lies thogh he that made it trusteth therein when hee maketh dumbe Idoles â–ª Woe vnto him that sâ—yth to the wood awake and to the sâ—nâ—el 〈◊〉 stone arise Should that teachâ— thâ—â—â— Beholde it is couered with golde and siluer there is no breath in it But the Lorde is in his holy temple let all the earth keepe silence before him What coulde be sayde more playnely and agreeable to the trueth Images sayth he are méere and very lyes But howe can that teache the trueth which of it selfe is nought else but a lye There is no mouing there is no life there is no breath in a picture or Image But the Lord sitteth in his holie temple where he reigneth and teacheth by inspiration and the preaching of his worde the summe of godlinesse and where he liueth for euer in the hearts of all his Saintes and seruauntes Let therefore all the tongues in the whole world be stopte of them that goe about to mainteine and vpholde superstitious Idolatrie against the true and liuing God. Nowe againe in the thirde part of this commauncement the Lord doth briefly knit vp the pithy handling of sundry things For first he sheweth that men haue no iust or lawfull cause in turning from God eyther to make them straunge Gods or else to worship God otherwise then they ought to doe I am sayth he the Lord thy God a strong god If I be the Lorde then shouldest thou of duetie serue me honour me obey me and worship me so as thou dost vnderstand that I doe desire to be worshipped and honoured If I be God then am I of sufficient abilitie to minister to all men what so euer they lacke What canst thou want therefore that thou mayst not finde in me why then shouldest thou turne to straunge Gods Thou haste no cause at all vndoubtedly to turne from me I am moreouer a strong God a mightie yea an Allmightie God and Lorde Thou hast no cause to séeke a mightier or welthier prince then me by him to be deliuered out of my handes and by his liberalitie to be farther inriched then thou shalt be by my good giftes and blessings For I am that true and eternall God the inuisible and Allmightie Prince of the worlde the true and only helper and deliuerer the liberall and bountifull giuer of all good giftes or benefites I am also thy Lorde and thy God. Those goods of myne are thyne For I am thine yea I am thy helper and deliuerer out of al aduersities and afflictions Thou art mine I haue created thée I liue in thée I doe preserue thée Why then shouldest thou turne away from me and séeke after any straunge God what so euer What néedest thou any more hereafter to hunte after senselesse Idoles Thou arte the Church and Temple of god Doste thou not féele and perceiue within thy selfe that I doe dwell in thée and haue thine heart in possession And what I praye thée hath the Temple of God to doe with godlesse Images Then also he descendeth and doth very seuerely yet notwithstanding iustly threaten extreme and terrible reuengement I am sayth he a iealous god This may be taken two wayes very well and not amisse For firste the sense may be thus I will not haue thée to séeke any other Gods but me neyther will I haue thée admit or receiue any forreine or vnlawfull worshipping of me The cause is I am a iealous God enuious against my riuall not suffering myne equall nor by any meanes abyding to haue a mate I alone will be loued I alone will be worshipped and that too not after any other fashion than I my selfe haue appointed to be obserued For no man is so ignorant but that he knoweth howe God in the Scripture doth by the parable of wedlocke figuratiuely set downe the assurance and bond wherin by fayth we are bouÌ„d to God God is our husband bridegrome we are his wife chosen spouse A chaste and faithful wife giueth eare alone to her husbands voice him alone she loueth him alone she doth obey him excepted she loueth no man at al. Again on the other side a shamelesse faithlesse adultresse and whorish strumpet not worthy to be called a wife séemeth outwardly to sticke and cleaue to her husband but priuily she maketh her body common to many men and louâ—th other more then her husbande and for the most part burneth on theÌ„ being colde enough to him ward But God is a iealous God and will be loued and worshipped alone without any partener to robbe him thereof That is spirituall adulterie whore-hunting when men doe partly loue and worship God and yet notwithstanding doe therewithall giue reuerence to straunge and other
God and the hallowing of his holy name but yet it bendeth somewhat to the outward honour although neuerthelesse it frameth to the inward religion For the Sabboth doth belong both to the inward and outward seruice of god Let vs sée therefore what we haue to thinke that the Sabboth is how farre foorth the vse therof extendeth and after what sort we haue to worship our God in obseruing the sabboth Sabboth doth signifie rest and ceassing from seruile worke And this here I thinke worthy to be noted that the Lord saith not simply Sanctifie the Sabboth but Remember that thou kéepe holy the Sabboth daye meaning thereby that the Sabboth was of olde ordeined and giuen first of all to the auncient fathers and thē againe renued by the Lorde and beaten into the memorie of the people of Israell But the summe of the whole Commaundement is Kéepe holy the Sabboth day This summe dothe the Lorde by and by more largely amplifie by reckoning vp the the very dayes and particular rehearsing of the whole houshold to whome the kéeping of the Sabboth is giuen in charge The Sabboth it selfe hath sundry significations For first of all the scripture maketh mention of a certaine spirituall and continuall Sabboth In this Sabboth we rest from seruile worke in absteining from sinne and doing our best not to haue our owne will found in our selues or to worke our owne workes but in ceassing frō these to suffer God to work in vs and wholy to submit our bodyes to the gouernment of his good spirit After this Sabboth foloweth that eternall Sabboth and euerlasting rest of which Esaie in his 58. and. 66. Chapters speaketh very much and Paul also in the fourth to the Hebrues But God is truely worshipped when we ceassing from euill and obeying Gods holy spirit do exercise our selues in the studie of good works At this time I haue no leasure neyther do I thinke that it is greatly profitable for me to reason as largely or as exquisitely as I coulde of the allegoricall Sabboth or spirituall rest Let vs rather my brethren in these our mortall bodies do our indeuour with an vnwearied good wil of holinesse to sanctifie the Sabboth that pleaseth the Lord so well Secondarily the Sabboth is the outwarde institution of our religion For it pleased the Lorde in this commandement to teache vs an outward religion and kinde of worship wherein he would haue vs all to be exercised Nowe for bycause the worshipping of God cā not be without a time Therefore hath the Lord appointed a certaine time wherein we shoulde absteine from outwarde or bodilye works but so yet that we should haue leasure to attēd vpō our spiritual businesse For for that cause is the outward rest commaunded that the spirituall worke should not be hindered by the bodily businesse Moreouer that spirituall labour among our fathers was chiefly spent about foure things to wit about publique reading and expounding of the scriptures and so consequently about the hearing of the same about publique prayers and common petitions about sacrifices or the administration of the sacraments and lastly about the gathering of euery mans beneuolence In these consisted the outward religion of the Sabboth For the people kept holie day and met together in holy assemblies where the Prophetes read to thē the word of the Lord expounding it and instructing the hearers in the true religion Then did the faythfull iointly make their common prayers and supplications for all things necessarie for their behoofe They praysed the name of the Lord and gaue him thankes for all his good benefites bestowed vpon them Furthermore they did offer sacrifices as the Lorde commaunded them celebrating the mysteries and sacraments of Christe their redéemer and keping their faith exercised and in vre they were ioyned in one with these sacraments and also warned of their duetie which is to offer them selues a liuely sacrifice to the Lord their god Lastly they did in the congregation liberally bestow the giftes of their good will to the vse of the Church They gathered euerie mans beneuolence therewith to supply the Churches necessitie to mainteine the ministers and to relieue the poore and néedie These were the holy workes of God which while they hauing their hartes instructed in fayth and loue did fulfill they did therein rightly sanctifie the Sabboth and the name of the Lord that is they did on the sabboth those kinde works which do both sanctifie the name of God become his worshippers and also are the workes in déede that are holy and pleasing in the sight of god If any man require a substanciall and euident example of the Sabboth or holy daye thus holily celebrated he shall finde it in the eight Chapter of the booke of Nehemias For there the Priestes do reade and expounde the worde of God they praise the name of the lord they pray with the people they offer sacrifice they shew their liberalitie and doe in all points behaue them selues holily and deuoutly as they should Now least any peraduenture might make this obiection and say Ease brée deth vice Or else I must labour with my handes to get my liuing least I dy with hunger and my familie perishe he aunswereth The Lorde alloweth thée time sufficient for thy labour for thée to worke in to get a liuing for thy selfe and thy houshold For sixe dayes thou maist worke but the seuenth day doth the Lord chalenge and require to be cōsecrated to him and his holy rest Euery wéeke hath seuen dayes But of those seuen the Lord requireth but one for him self Who then can rightly complain I beséech you or say that he hath iniurie done vnto him More time is allowed to work in thē to kéep holy the Sabboth And he that requireth to haue this sabboth kept is God the maker the father Lord of al mākind Furthermore the Lord doth precisely cōmand and giue a charge to plant and bring in this holy rest this discipline and outward worship into the whole familie of euery seuerall house Whereby we gather what the dutie of a good housholder is to wit to haue a care to sée all his familie kéepe holy the sabboth day that is to doe on the sabboth day those good workes which I haue before rehearsed And for bycause the Lord doth know that mans naturall disposition is where it hath the maistrie there for the most parte to rule and reigne ouer haufily and too too Prince like therfore least peraduenture the fathers or maisters shuld deale too hardly or rigorously with their housholds or hinder them in obseruing of the sabboth he doth in expresse words exquisite steps of enumeration commaund them to allowe their familie and euery one in their familie a resting time to accomplish his holy seruice He doth not exempt or except so much as the straunger He will not suffer nor allow among them the exāple of such dulheads as say Let faith and religion be free to all
booke saith that the reliques of the Romans were kept by the townsmen of Cęres in y Frēch warre at what time the Frenchmen inuaded Rome By which occasion it is likely that for remembraunce of the benefite all the worshipp due to God and all the holy rites or customes were according to the name of the towne vsuallie called Ceremonies But from whence soeuer the woord is deriued wée in this treatise vse it for the holy déede of worshipping God and the ecclesiasticall rites of sacred religion Now Ceremonies are holy rites belonging to the ministers of religion and also to the place time and holy worship exhibited to God all whiche howe they ought to be kept and obserued according as they should be the lawes called Ceremonial doe exactly teach and precisely describe Ceremonies therfore are the actions or rites which the lawes or rules called Ceremoniall doe frame or appoint Nowe Ceremonies are ordeyned either by God or men As touching those which God hath instituted they are of two sorts The one sort wherof he did ordeine in the old testament to the auncient Israelites and the other at the comming of Christe to vs that are the people of the new testament or couenaunt Of the Ceremonies of the new testament I meane to speake when I come to treate of the Church the Sacraments thereof At this time I wil discourse of the Ceremonies of the old testament which were holy rites and actions ordeyned and deliuered by God himself to the people of Israel vntil the time of amendement partly to represent in a shadowe to shewe the mysteries of God and partly to worship God by them and also with them to kéepe the people of God in a lawfull religion and in the societie of one ecclesiasticall bodie But men also haue brought in very many and sundrie sortes of Ceremonies as amonge the heathen the Archflamines did who were the priestes and ministers of Idols whiche offices and romes both their kinges and princes did sometimes supplie Among the Hebrues Ieroboam king of Israel to the destruction of him and his did chaung the Ceremonies which God had ordeyned into his owne that is into mens inuentions and detestable blasphemies In this latter age of the world wherein we liue there is no ho of Ceremonies that are instituted daily by brainsick people The miserie whereof many learned men both haue and do yet at this day lament and bewaile Angustine complayneth that in his time Ceremonies did increase too faste in the Church of God what would he say thincke you if hee were aliue to sée them now a dayes But of this I wil speake at an other time Now forbecause the word Ceremonies is attributed as a name to any heathenishe rites whatsoeuer I in this treatise would haue you to knowe y I speake not of euery Ceremonie but of those onely which were deliuered of God by Moses to the people of Israell not at the will of Moses but at the wil of God by the meanes or ministerie of Moses according as it was said vnto him See that thou doest all thinges according to the patterne that was shewed thee in the mountaine The originall therefore or beginning of these ceremonies which we treat of are referred to God himselfe y most true and assured author thereof and they did therfore please God because they were godly and might be exhibited in faith Contrarilie the Ceremonies in religion that are deuised and ordeyned of men are vtterly condemned as is to be seene in the 12. of Deuteronomie In the 17. Cap. of the 4. of kinges also we finde I srael walked in the ordinaunces or Ceremonies which they themselues had made to themselues It is knowne to all men what happened to Ieroboam and his houshold and all the kinges of Israel that walked in the wayes of Ieroboam So then these Ceremonies of ours I meane the Ceremonies wherof I speake are actions and rites not in prophane but holy matters which god himselfe did first ordeine which Gods people doth vse and exercise These Ceremonies were not deliuered to al people or nations but to the people of Israel only and that too as the Apostle saith vntill the time of amendment as that which should lye vppon the shoulders of the Iewes till the coming of Messiah at what time they should be taken away and after that appeare no more And in this sense verily the Apostle Paul calleth the lawe the schole mistresse vntill Christe We haue moreouer to note the end wherunto Ceremonies were ordeyned Ceremonies do especially belōg to the doctrine of pietie faith For they were added to the first table as a shoare or propp to vphold or staye it For they teach the outward worship of the true God which godly men do giue vnto him and by them were the Israelits drawen not onely from strange gods but from strange worships also wherewith they were too much and too long inured trayned vp in the land of Aegypt to the end they should not haue any occasion to receiue oradmit any strange kinds of worships when they were furnished and as it were wrapped in so exquisite sorts of curious Ceremonies This doth Moses in the 12. of Deut. make to be the cause why God appointed such busie Ceremonies Therfore Ceremonies and the vse of Ceremonies are in the scripture expressely called the worship of god For with them it pleased God to be worshipped and with them he did retaine his people in the true worshipping of him and in the true religion cōmunion of one ecclesiastical body For the church is seuered and diuided by the admitting or bringing in of new or strange ceremonies as it is euident in the states and dealinges of Solomon Ieroboam Moreouer the Apostle Paul said Are not they which eate of the sacrifice partakers of the altar so consequently of the whole religion Furthermore the chiefe or especial mysteries of Christ and his Church were shadowed in Ceremonies and were the Sacraments of the Iewish people wherwith the Lord would bind them vnto him put them in mind of his benefits and lastly kéepe the pietie obedience and faith of his people in vre exercise And because the Lord did especially require faith and faithfull obedience at the hands of his seruants in the obseruing of Ceremonies therfore those Ceremonies did not please but vtterly displease his Maiestie so oft as the people were ignorant of the meaning of the secret mysteries conteyned in those figuratiue showes so oft I say as they were without faith and obserued onely the outward actions or Ceremonies without inward zeale and touch of conscience For the Lord in Ieremie crieth out and saith Heape vp your burnt offerings with your sacrifices and eate the flesh For when I brought your fathers out of Aegypt I spoke no word vnto them of burnt offeringes or sacrifices but this I cōmaunded them saying Hearken vnto and obey my voyce and I wil be your
this saying so often cited and beaten vppon in the Lawe and the Prophets Thou shalt worship the Lord thy GOD and a strange God thou shalt not worship Now a straunge God is whatsoeuer without and beside the onely liuing true and euerlasting God thou choosest vnto thée selfe to bee worshipped the onely and alone true liuing and euerlasting GOD therefore is to bée worshipped In the historie of the Gospell wée read that the diuel tempted our Lord Christe and hauing ledd him vpp into an high mounteine shewed him from thence all the kingdomes of the world and the glorie of them and said All these will I giue thee if thou falling downe wilt worship mee and that the Lord made aunswere Auoyd Sathan for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue And surely worshipping and seruing are lincked mutually the one with the other that they cannot bee seuered or put a sunder Wherevppon it followeth that séeing the Lord requireth onely and alone to bee serued hée will doubtlesse in like maner only and alone be worshipped And Helie the great prophete of God teaching that God can in no case abide to haue one ioyned vnto him in worship cryeth out vnto the people worshipping God and with him their God Baal How long sayth hée do you halt on both partes If the Lord be God follow him If Baal bee God goe after him As if he should haue said You cannot worship God and Baal at once No man can â—erue two maisters For the Lord our God requireth not a péece but our whole heart our whole minde and soule Hée leaueth nothing therfore for vs to bestowe vppon any other In the Epistle to the Hebrues Paule sheweth that Christ is more excellent than Angels because the Angels adore or worship Christe but they againe are not worshipped If then the Angels are not worshipped whome shall wee graunt beside the liuing true and euerlasting God that deserueth to bée worshipped God therefore onely and alone is to be worshipped For in the Reuelation of Iesus Christ made vnto the blessed Apostle and Euangeliste Iohn thus we reade written And I sawe another Angel fleeing throughe the middest of heauen haueing the euerlasting Gospel to preache vnto them that dwell vppoÌ„ the earth to all nations kinreds and tongues people saying with a lowde voyce Feare God and giue him honour beecause the houre of his iudgement iâ— come and worship him that hath made heauen and earth the sea and founteynes of waters And againe in the same booke we read And I fell downe before the feete of the Angel to worshipp him And he said vnto mee See thou doest it not I am thy fellow seruant and of thy brethren hauing the testimonie of Iesu worship God. Againe in the ende of the same booke thou dost read And after I had heard and seene I fel downe to worshippe before the feete of the Angel whiche shewed mee these thinges And hee said vnto mee See thou doest it not for I am thy fellowe seruaunt and of thy brethren the Prophets and of them that keepe the wordes of this booke With this thing the saying and doing of S. Peter doth not greatly disagrée at whose féete when Cornelius the Centurion fell downe and worshipped Peter said Arise I also mee selfe am a man and therewithall laying his hand on him which lay a long did lift him vpp and set him on his féete Right religiously therefore wrote Augustine touching True religion saying Let not religion be vnto vs the worshipping of mans handie woorke For better are the workemen themselues which make such whome notwithstanding we ought not to worship Let not religion be to vs the worshipping of mortall men beecause if they haue liued godlily they are not to be estéemed as those that would séeke such honours but their will it is that hee should bee worshipped of vs who inlightening them they reioyce that wee are made fellow partakers of his merite They are to be honoured therefore for imitation or following sake not to bee worshipped for religions sake And if they haue liued ill they are not to bée worshipped wheresoeuer they bee The same Augustine in his first booke De consensu Euangelistarum of the consent of the Euangelistes and eightéenth chap. reasoning why the Romanes neuer receiued both the God the worship of the God of the Hebrues considering that they receiued y gods almost of all the Gentiles to bee worshipped And hee aunswereth That that came to passe by none other occasion than because the God of the Hebrues would onely and alone be worshipped without a mate or partener If any require his words they are these There resteth nothing for them to say why they haue not receiued the holy rites and worshipp of this God saue onely because hee would be worshipped alone and hath forbidden them to worshipp the Gods of the Gentiles whome neuerthelesse these people did worship For the sentence or opinion of Socrates who as by Oracle it was ratified was the wisest of all men is that euery God ought in such sort to be worshipped as he himselfe hath giuen coÌ„mandement he would be worshipped Therfore were the Romans of very necessitie forced not to worship the God of the Hebrues Because if they would worship him after another fashion than he himselfe said hee would bee worshipped they should not then worshipp him but that whiche they themselues had deuised made And if they would in that maner worship him as hee himselfe prescribed than they sawe that they were debarred from worshipping other Gods whom hée forbad to be worshipped And vppon this they refused the worshipp of the onely true God to the intent they might not offend many counterfecte false Gods thincking that the anger of them would rather be more to their disprofite than the goodwill of him to their benefite Thus saith Augustine And althoughe these thinges are written concerning the worship and seruice of God and that we dispute of adoring Gods Maiestie yet notwithstanding they are not impertinent or beside our purpose For the worshipping and seruing of GOD are inseparably lincked and knitt together Of this seruing of God we will speake more hereafter But by the woordes cited before wée doe gather that onely and alone the true liuing and euerlasting God is to bée worshipped according to that commonly-knowne sentence of the lawe Thou shalt worship the Lord thy GOD him shalt thou feare and him onely shalt thou serue To him shalt thou cleaue and in his name shalt thou sweare Furthermore God from the beginning hath promised and perfourmed yea and will performe whiles this world standeth great rewards to his true woorshippers Contrarywise wée beléeue that great mischiefes or punishments are prepared for those which either doe not at all worshippe God or else in stéed of the true GOD doe worshippe straunge Gods. The Lord in his Reuelation
to be loued and followed and according to desert and order that is to bee exhibited vnto them whiche agreeth and is fit for them For it is written Thou shalt worship the Lorde thy God and him onely shalt thou serue These be Saint Augustines words And thus farre haue we intreated of one only liuing true and euerlasting God to be serued Moreouer whosoeuer cleaue vnto God with a sincere fayth and worship call vpon and serue one GOD lawfully they are rightly named religious their studie and action is true religion Some will haue Religion to be deriued a Relinquendo bicause therby we leaue or forsake false gods all errours and earthly desires and séeke after the true God after truth and heauenly things Massurius Sabinus sayth That is religious which for some holinesse sake wee put by and seuerally set aside The worde Religion hath his name a Relinquendo as Ceremoniae a Carendo But M. Cicero supposeth that Religio is so called a Relegendo of selecting or putting apart bicause they that be religious do carefully choose all thing◠which seeme to belong to the seruice of the Gods. But he is confuted in many wordes of Lactantius Firmianus an ancient writer of the church Lib. Instit 4. cap. 28. where among other things he sayth On this condition we are borne that being borne wee might doe to God iust and due seruice that wee should knowe him alone and that him wee shoulde followe With this bond of godlinesse we are streightly bound and tied vnto God whervppon religion it selfe tooke her name And anon after Wee sayde that the name of religion was deriued from the bonde of godlinesse bycause GOD hath tyed and bounde man vnto him selfe in godlinesse for that is needefull that wee serue him as a Lorde and obey him as a father Other Ecclesiasticall writers also following him as Hierome and Augustine deriued Religion a Religando of tying or binding For Hierome in his Commentarie vpon the ninth chapter of Amos sayth This bundle tyed vp with the religion of the lord which is one Religion therfore tooke her name a Religando of tying together and binding into the lords bundle And Augustine in his booke De quantitate animae chapter 36. sayth True religion is whereby the soule tyeth her selfe through reconciliatiō to one God from whome through sinne she had as it were brokē away The same Augustine in his booke De vera religione and last chapter sayth Let religion tye vs vnto one God almightie whereof it is beleeued to bee named religion We say therefore y true religion is none other thing thā a friendship a knitting a vnitie or league with the true liuing and euerlasting God vnto whome we being lincked by a true faith doe worship call vppon and serue him alone vpon whome we do wholy depend liuing in all thinges according to his will or according to the prescript rule lawe of his word Therefore most rightly is the whole matter of saluatiō and faith comprised in this one word Religion which elsewhere is called in scripture a league and couenaunt and elsewhere againe marriage or wedlocke For as they which be confederate are vnited and made one by a league so God and man are knit together by religion And as by marriage the husbande and the wife are made one body so by religion we are knit into a spirituall body with God as with our husbande and with the very sonne of God as with our bridegrome and our heade Hetherto therfore doth belong what so euer things are vttered in the scriptures touching the kéeping of the league or couenaunt and the faith of marriage Truce-breakers are they disloyall and infamous through their adulterie who so euer being not knit to one God by fayth worship him alone call vpon him through Christe and serue him also as he him selfe hath sayde in his worde he woulde be serued The very same are also called superstitious For superstition is false religion which doth not serue God but somewhat else for God or not God alone or not rightly or lawfully This worde superstition stretcheth it selfe euen to olde wiues tales and doting errors For in Dutche we call superstition Aberglouben mis glouben vnd mis brijth But Lactantius reasoning most exactly of this worde in his fourth booke of Institutions and 28. chapter writeth in this sort Religion is the seruice of the true God superstition of the false They are said to be superstitious not that wish their children to out-liue them for that we doe al wish but eyther they that reuerence the memorie remayning of the deade or else they that whiles their parents were aliue worshipped their images within their houses like housholde Gods. For those whiche did take vnto them selues newe rites to the intent they might in stead of Gods honour the deade whome they thought were taken from among men and receiued into heauen those I say they called superstitious but those that worshipped and serued publique and ancient Gods they named religious Wherevpon sayth Virgil. Vaine superstition ignorante Of th' olde and auncient Gods. But seeing wee doe finde that our auncients haue beene in semblable manner consecrated Gods after their death they therfore which serue many and false Gods are superstitious but we are religious which pray and make our supplications to one God being the true God c. Superstition consisteth chiefly in these pointes Eyther when the Lord is not serued but other Gods in his steade the onely one true and liuing God being left and forsaken Or else when the Lorde is serued but not alone but other together with him or else when he is serued but not with his lawfull seruice In the first kynde of superstition did the Gentiles in a manner offende who knewe not the true God in so muche that they in stead of the true God worshipped false feigned or straunge Gods. And that the Israelites also Gods people were sicke of the same madnesse the holy prophet Ieremie is a witnesse who expostulating and reasoning the matter with the people sayeth Heare ye the word of the Lord O house of Iacob and all the families of the house of Israel Thus sayeth the Lord What iniquitie haue your fathers founde in mee that they are gon farre from me haue walked after vanitie and are beecome vaine For they sayed not Where is the Lord that brought vs vpp out of the land of Aegypt that led vs thorough the wildernesse thorough a desort wast land throughe a drie land and by the shadowe of death by a land that no man passed thorough and where no man dwelt And I brought you into a plentifull countrie to eate the fruite therof and the cōmodities of the same but when ye entred ye defiled my land made mine heritage an abhomination The priestes said not Where is the Lord they that should minister the law knewe mee not the pastours also offended against mee and the prophets prophecied in Baal
neuer so sound pithy and effectuall to be read in Churches They are like Physicians whiche forbid their patients all those meates which they may haue and would do them good and appoint them only suche as by no meanes they can obteine for it will not yet be that euery parish shal haue a learned able preacher resident and abyding in it And in the meane time it cannot be denied but that an Homilie or sermon penned by some excellent clerk being read plainly orderly distinctly doth much moue the hearers doth teach coÌ„firme confute coÌ„fort persuade euen as the same pronounced without the booke doth Perhaps some hearers whiche delight more to haue their eyes fed with the preachers action than their hartes aedified with his sermon are more moued with a sermon not read but to a good christian hearer whose minde is moste occupied on the matter there is smalods Better is a good sermon read than none at all But nothing say they must be read in the open congregation but the verie Canonical scriptures That rule is somwhat straite praecise Then may not either the Creed called the Apostles creed or the Nicene creed or the creed called Athanasius creed or any prayers which are not word for word coÌ„teined in the canon of the scriptures nor any coÌ„tents of chapters be read in the CoÌ„gregatioÌ„ The church CongregatioÌ„ of the Colossians were inioyned by S. Paul Col. 4. ve 16. to read amongst them the Epistle written froÌ„ Laodycea which Epistle as Caluine thinketh was not writen by Paule but by the church of Laodycea and sent to Paule and is not conâ—eined in the Canon of the scriptures The Churche of Corinth also and other churches of the godly soone after the Apostles times as appeareth out of Eusebius lib. 4. cap. 23. and the writers of the Centuries Cent. 2. cap. 10. did vse to read openly for admonition sake certeine Epistles of Clement of Dionysius Bishop of Corinth Maister Bucer in his notes vpon the communion book in King Edwardes time writeth thus It is better that where there lackes to expounde the scriptures vnto the people there should bee godly and learned Homilies read vnto them rather than they should haue no exhortation at al in the administration of the supper And a little after he saith there be two fewe Homilies and too fewe pointes of religion taught in them when therefore the Lord shal blesse this kingdome with some excellent preachers let them be coÌ„maunded to make moe Homilies of the principal pointes of religion which may be read to the people by those pastors that cannot make better themselues And that worthie martyr doctor Ridley Bishop of London speaking of the Church of England that was in the reigne of king Edward as he is reported by maister Foxe in his booke of Actes and Mo To 2. Pag. 1940. sayeth thus It had also holy and wholesome Homilies in commendation of the principall vertues which are coÌ„mended in scripture and likewise other Homilies against the most pernicious and capital vices that vse alas to reigne in this Churche of Englande So long therfore as none are read in the Church but such as are sound godly learned and fit for the capacitie of the people and whiles they are not thrust into the Churche for Canonicall Scriptures but are read as godly expositions and interpretations of the same and whiles they occupie no more time in the church than that which is vsually left and spared after the reading of the Canonical scriptures to preaching and exhortation and whiles they are vsed not to the contempt derogation or abandoning of preaching but only to supplie the want of it no good man can mislike the vse of them but such contentious persons as defie all thinges which they deuise not themselues And if it be saide there be already good Homilies and those also authorized likewise wholesome expositions of sundrie parts of scripture tâ— the same purpose I graunt there be so But store is no sore And as in meats which are most deintie if they come often to the table we care not for them so in sermons which are moste excellent if the same come often to the pulpit they oftentimes please not others are desired But to end these sermons of maister Bullingers are such as whether they be vsed priuately or read publiquely whether of ministers of the word or other Gods children certeinely there will be found in them suche light and instruction for the ignorant such sweetenesse and spiritual comfort for consciences suche heauenly delightes for soules that as perfumes the more they are chafed the better they smell and as golden mynes the deeper ye digge them the more riches they shewe so these the more diligently ye peruse them the more delightfully they will please and the deeper ye digge with daily studie in their mynes the more golden matter they will deliuer forth to the glorie of GOD to whoÌ„ only be praise for euer and euer Amen ⧠Of the foure generall Synodes or Counsels SINCE THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES MANY Counselles haue beene celebrated in sundrye Prouinces Those Counsels then were Synodes or assemblies of Bishops and holy men meeting together to consult for keeping the soundnesse of Faith the vnitie of Doctrine and the discipline and peace of the Churches Some of which sorte the Epistles of the blessed martyr Cyprian haue made vs acquainted withall The first generall or vniuersall Synode therefore is reported to haue bene called by that moste holy Emperour Constantine in the Citie of Nice the yere of our Lorde 324. against Arius and his parteners which denied the naturall Deitie of our Lorde Iesus Christ And thither came there out of all nations vnder heauen 218. Bishops and excellent learned men who wrote the Creede commonly called the Nicene Creede Hitherto the Creede of the Apostles sufficed and had bene sufficient to the church of Christe euen in the time of Constantine For all men coÌ„fesse that all the churches vsed no other Creede than that of the Apostles which we haue made mention of and expounded in the firste Decade wherewith they were content throughout the whole world But for because in the dayes of Constantine the great that wicked blasphemer Arius sprange vp corrupting the purenesse of Christian faith and peruerting the simple trueth of doctrine taught by the Apostles the Ministers of the churches were compelled of very necessitie to set themselues againste that deceiuer and in publishinge a Creede to shewe forth and declare out of the Canonical Scriptures the true and auncient confession of faith condemning those nouelties brought in of Arius For in the Creedes set forth by the other three general counsels presently folowing neither was any thinge chaunged in the doctrine of the Apostles neither was there any new thinge added which the churches of Christe had not before taken and beleeued out of the holy Scripture but the auncient truth beeing wisely made manifest by coÌ„fessions made of
1067. 1068. 1073. 1078. 1079. Symbole 961. Synodes 1130 Synagogue 263. 339. 813 Synaxis 1019. 1063 T Tabernacle 334. 339. 341. 862 Table of the Lord. 1063 Tables of Gods lawes 111. 112 Tale carriers 322 Testament 49. 463. 1064 Testimonies 106. 364. 443. 669. 764. Teaching 909. 910 Temples of Christians 1126 Thanksgiuing 951. 652 653. 1063. Theft and deceipte 106. 270. 395 Thâ—uma and Thnupha 378 Theodosiu Emperour 181 Time holie 417. 349. 1129 Torments nothing dismaye the Apostles 723 Tongue 319. 1071 Toward what part of the world we must pray 1127. Traditions 5. 18. 447 Treasures heauenly all giuen vs of God in Christ 77 Tryall of oureselues by afflictions 294 Trinitie 612. 627. 628. ce True worship and adoration 652 True religion 672 True vnderstanding of the Lordes wordes This is my body 1085 True eating of Christes body 1097 True end of scholes 1117 Tyrannie 169 V. Valentinian Emperour 181 Verbum what it is 1 Vengeance taken of bloudy Rome 319 Vertues of the pastour 911 Vestal virgines 368 Vessells belonging to the Lordes Supper 1070 Vice is to be rebuked sharply and seasonably 894 Vigilius 74 Virgines and Virginitie 1134 Vowes and vowed sacrifices 379 380. 135. 421. 1137 Voluntarie sinne c. 497. 511 Vncleanethings 386 Vnitie ought to be kept 849 Vnderstanding 589 Vncircumcised soule 1048 Vrim Thummim 334 Vsurie and Vsurers 274. 275. 276 W. Warre Warres and Warriours 207. 208. 209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214. 215. c. 399. Wages of hirelings 396 Water and the Word 971 Wayes of eating the Lordes Supper 110â— Weight and measure 397 Wedlocke 222. 223 c. 227. 1133 1134 Wealth by inheritaunce 266 Who elected to life 643 Who an Heretique who a Schismatique 850 Who to be baptised 1050 Why God created maÌ„ so frayle 487 Whoredome and adulterie 393 Who do not rightly preach Christe 544 Why all men are not saued 546 Widowes and Widowhoode 1134 Wisedome of god 619. 96â— Without the church no light or saluation 843 Wicked are not partakers of the things signified in the Sacraments 98â— Witnesse Witnesse-bearing 39â— Wife the arme of her husband 224 Witches and Sothsayers 397 Worde Wordes and the Worde of god c. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. c. vsque 22. 24. 25. 26. c. vsque 29. 525. 528. 823. 940. 971. 975 978. 1102. Workes 53. 54. 98. 406. 453. 454. 456. 457. 620 Worship Worshipping and Worshippers 6. 652. 658. 744 Women-deacons and their office 875 Wormes take vengeaunce of Gods enimies 890 Worthy and vnworthy eating and drinking of the Lords supper 1106 Writings of the old Testament giuen to Christians 15 Wrath of God vppon kingdomes for vsurie 276 Y. Yeare of Iubilie 354 Z. Zuinglius 502. 1015. 1020. 1204 FINIS The first Decade of Sermons written by Henrie Bullinger Of the worde of God the cause of it and howe and by whome it was reuealed to the worlde ¶ The first Sermon ALl the decrees of Christian fayth with euery waye howe to liue rightly well and holyly and finally all true and heauenly wisdome haue alwayes bene fetched out of the testimonies or determinate iudgements of the word of God neyther can they by those which are wise men in déede or by the faithfull and those whiche are called by God to the ministerie of the Churches be drawn taught or last of all soundly confirmed from else where then out of the word of god Therefore whosoeuer is ignorant what the worde of God and the meaning of the word of God is he séemeth to be as one blinde deafe and without witte in the Temple of the Lorde in the schole of Christ and lastly in the very reading of the sacred Scriptures But whereas some are nothing zealous but very hardly drawen to the hearing of Sermons in the Church that springeth out of no other fountaine than this which is bycause they doe neyther rightly vnderstande nor diligently inoughe weigh the vertue and true force of the word of god That nothing therefore may cause the zealous desirers of the trueth and the worde of God to staye on this point but rather that that estimation of Gods word which is due vnto it may be layde vp in all mens hartes I will by Gods helpe lay foorthe vnto you dearly beloued those things which a godly man ought to thinke and holde as concerning the worde of god And praye ye earnestly and continually to our bountifull God that it may please him to giue to me his holy effectuall power to speake and to you the opening of your eares and mynds so that in all that I shall say the Lorde his name may be praysed and your soules be profited abundantly First I haue to declare what the worde of God is Verbum in the scriptures and according to the very propertie of the Hebrue tongue is diuersly taken For it signifieth what thing soeuer a man will euen as among the Germanes the worde Ding is moste largely vsed In S. Luke the Angel of God saythe to the blessed Virgin with God shall no worde be vnpossible whiche is all one as if he had sayde all things are possible to God or to God is nothing vnpossible Verbum also signifieth a word vttered by the mouth of a man Sometime it is vsed for a charge somtime for a whole sentence or speach or prophesie wherof in the Scriptures there are many examples But when Verbum is ioyned with any thing els as in this place we cal it Verbum Dei theÌ„ is it not vsed in the same signification For Verbum Dei the worde of God doth signifie the vertue and power of God it is also put for the Sonne of God which iâ— the seconde person in the most reuerend trinitie For the saying of the holy EuaÌ„angelist is euident to al meÌ„ The word was made flesh But in this treatise of ours the word of God doth properly signify the speach of God the reuealing of gods wil first of al vttered in a liuely expressed voyce by the mouth of Christ the Prophets and Apostles and after that againe registred in writings whiche are rightly called holy and diuine Scriptures The word doth shew the minde of him out of whom it commeth therefore the worde of God doth make declaration of god But God of him selfe naturally speaketh trueth he is iust good pure immortal eternall therefore it followeth that the word of God also which commeth out of the mouth of God is true iust without deceipt and guile without errour or euill affection holy pure good immortall euerlasting For in the Gospel sayth the Lord Thy word is truth And the Apostle Paule saith The word of God is not tied Againe the Scripture euery where cryeth The word of the Lorde indureth for euer And Solomon saythe Euery word of God is purely cleansed Adde thou nothing to his wordes leaste peraduenture he reproue thee and thou be founde a lyar Dauid also sayth The sayings of the Lorde are pure
vs which iudge very fondly of them and bestow on them the honour due to God in worshipping and calling vpō them as we should worship and call vpon our tutours and defenders The very deuils and deuilish men shal be straunge Gods if we for feare shall stande in awe of them more then of God to whō in déede our feare is due The starres the Planets and signes in the firmament shall be strange Gods if we being deceiued with the Mathematicals shall wholy hang on them and in all our doings euermore haue regarde to the impressions of the skie directing euery minute of oure liues to the course of the starres Likewise if we shall honour and loue money or men with honour or loue due vnto God then shal this money and men of ours be imputed to vs for straunge Gods. King Asa is blamed 2. Paral. 7. for putting too muche confidence in Physicke and Physicians Physicke and Physicians therefore may be abused and made strange Gods. The Iewes are rebuked by the Lord in Esay cap. 30. for trusting too much in the Egyptians their confederates Confederates therefore may be abused and made straunge Gods. But most of all are condemned here the leagues and couenaunts made with the deuill by witchraft to haue him at commaundement Those blessings also whiche of right ought rather to be called cursings I meane superstitious exorcismes or coniurations are vtterly to be reiected wherin also this is blame-worthy that the name of the moste high God is horribly abused and takē in vaine But what is he that can exactly reckō vp euery particular thing wherein this firste commaundement is transgressed considering that in it is taught the perfect rule of godlynesse whiche is the inward worship done to God to wit to acknowledge God to beléeue him to thinke rightly of him to call vpon him to cleaue vnto him and in all things to obey him The second precept of the ten Commaundementes is Thou shalt not make to thee selfe a grauen Image nor any likenesse of those thinges which are in heauen aboue or in the earth beneath or in the water vnder the earth thou shalt not bow downe to them nor worship them I am the Lorde thy God strong and iealous visiting the fathers sinnes in the children vnto the thirde and fourth generation of them that hate me and shewing mercy vnto thousandes to them that loue me and keepe my Commaundements In the first commaundement the Lorde did teache and drawe out before our eyes the patterne of his inwarde worship and religion nowe here in the seconde he amendeth that which might be amisse in the outward rites and ceremonies If we coulde haue rightly iudged of God and haue kept as deuouth as we shoulde the firste Commaundement then should there haue bene no néede of the seconde but bicause God knew our disposition nature he doth therfore expresly forbid the thing that otherwise we would haue done For many there are whiche thinke that God ought to be portraied in some similitude or likenesse and to be worshipped with some bodily or visible reuerence in offering golde siluer pearles yuorie and precious thinges of price Wherefore the generall ende of this commaundement is to drawe them from those grosse imaginations and carnal worshippings of God who as he is an incomprehensible power and an eternall spirit so can he not be resembled to any corruptible similitude he will be worshipped in spirite and holinesse Vnder the name of the Ivole or imagined likenesse is conteined all the outwarde reuerence done therevnto when therefore the Idols are forbidden together with them is also forbidden all outward honour irreligiously exhibited to the true and very god For whersoeuer an Idole is there muste the Idolaters set him vp a pillour place him in a seate erect him an altar and builde him a temple And all these againe require kéepers and ouerséers Ministers or Priestes sacrifices and offerings ceremonies furnitures holy dayes cost and labour that will neuer be ended In this sense did the Prophetes say that Idolatrous images were endlesse labours and infinit miseries For after images are once receiued there is no ende or measure of expences and toyle This doth experience teache to be true Nowe to procéede this commaundement standeth of thrée seuerall partes For first of all God flatly forbiddeth to make a grauen image or other kinde of Idole that is God doth vtterly forbid to set vp or hallow to him any image of what shape or substance soeuer it be For as God will not so in déede he can not be expresly represented in any manner of likenesse Nowe in this commaundement are reckoned vp in a manner al the similitudes of those things whervnto we are wont in portraying to liken our pictures Thou shalt not sayth he fashion like vnto God any shape or figure of those things which are in heauen which are I say aboue vs Aboue vs are the celestial bodies the Sunne the Moone the Planets the Starres and diuers birdes of sundry fashions In all whiche figures and shapes almost no smal number of the Gentiles did solemnly honour and reuerently worship the name of god Thou shalt not liken vnto God saith he any shape or fashion of those thinges that are in the earth In the earth are men beasts hearbes shrubbes trées and such like Nowe it is manifest that the Gentils worshipped God vnder the likenesse of men and beastes Cornelius Tacitus writing of the Germanes sayth But by the greatnesse of the visible celestiall bodyes they doe coniecture and verily thinke that the Gods are neyther inclosed in walles nor yet in fauour resembling mens visages and therefore doe they hallow woods and groues calling that hidden mysterie by the name of the Gods which with outwarde eyes they see not but with inward reuerence alone Lo here our auncestours worshipped God in the likenesse of trées and woods whiche neuerthelesse men are forbidden here to doe euen as also we are prohibited to worship our God in the likenesse of any thing that is in or vnder the water The Philistines worshipped God in the image of a fishe For Dagon their God bare the shape of a fishe Egypt honoured God in the similitude of Serpents All which and many other Paule knitteth vp together in the first to the Romanes where he argueth againste the Gentiles and saith Their foolishe heart was blinded when they counted them selues wise they became fooles and turned the glory of the incorruptible God vnto the likenesse not only of a mortall man but also of birdes and of fourefooted beastes and of creeping beastes Against this madnesse is the first part of the lawe directly giuen But nowe the cause why God wil not be represented in any visible or sensible image is this God is a spirit God is vnmeasurable incomprehensible vnspeakable all ouer and euery where filling heauen and earth eternall lyuing giuing life vnto and preseruing all things and lastly of a glorious maiestie exalted
determined the times before appointed and also the limites of their habitation that they shoulde seeke the Lord if perhaps they might haue fealte and found him though he be not farre from euery one of vs For by him we liue and moue and haue our being as certaine of your owne Poets haue sayde For we are also his ofspring For as muche then as we are the ofspring of God we ought not to thinke that the Godheade is like to golde or siluer or stone grauen by Arte or mans deuice These testimonies are so euident and do so plainely declare that which I purposed that I neede not for the further exposition of them to say any more They were great causes therfore that moued S. Augustine prâ—cisely to pronounce it to be horrible Sacrilege for any man to place in the Church the image of God the Father sitting in a throne with bended hammes Bycause it is detestable for a maÌ„ so much as to conceiue such a likenesse in his mind His very wordes I haue rehearsed in the eight Sermon of my first Decade where I had occasion to speake of the righte hande of the father and to teache you what it is to sit at the fathers righte hande Nowe touching other images also which men erect to creatures or to the heatheÌ„ gods they are no lesse forbiddeÌ„ then the pictures of God him self For if we may not hallow an image to the true and verie God much lesse shall it be lawful for vs to erect or consecrate an Idole to a strange or forreine god Man in his mynde doth choose him self a God and of his owne inuention deuiseth a shape or figure for it whiche lastly he frameth with the workmanship of his hands so that it may truly be sayd that the minde conceiueth an Idole and the hande doth bring it foorth But the Lord in the first commaundement forbad vs to haue any straunge Gods. Nowe he that neyther hath nor chooseth to him self any straunge or forreine Gods doth not in his imagination deuise any shape for them and so consequently erecteth no images For he thinketh it a detestable thing to make an image to the true and very God he is persuaded that it is a wicked thing to choose him selfe a forreine God and therefore he iudgeth it to be most abhominable to place the picture of a forreine God in the Churche or Temple of the true and very god And that is the cause that in the Church before Christe his time we doe not reade that any images were erected to any Saintes whereof at that time there were a great number suppose of patriarchs Iudges Kings Priestes Prophets whole troupes of Martyrs Matrons modest widowes The primitiue Church also of Christ his Apostles had no images either of Christe him selfe or of other Saints set vp in their places of publique prayer nor in their Churches The déede of Epiphanius is very well knowne whiche he committed at Anablacha in Syria It is written in Gréeke in an Epistle to Iohn Bishop of Ierusalem and translated into Latin by S. Hierome He rente the vaile that hong in the Temple bearing in it the image of Christ or some other Saint testifying therewithal that it is against Christian religion for the picture of a man to hang in the Church of God â–ª Saint Augustine in Catalogo haerese 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 maketh mention of one Marcella a folower of Carpocrates his sect whiche worshipped the images of Iesu Paul Homer and Pythagoras with falling downe prostrate before them and offering incense vnto them Verie well and wisely therefore did Erasmus of Roterodame being deepely séene in the workes of Ecclesiasticall writers when he had wittily spoken manye thinges touching the vse of images in Churches at the laste also adde this and say There is no decree no not so much as of men which commandeth that images shoulde be in Churches For as it is more easie so is it lesse perillous to take all images quite and cleane out of the Churches then to be able to bring to passe that in keeping them still measure should not be exceeded nor superstition couertly cloaked For admit that as some say the minde be cleane from all superstition yet notwithstanding it is not without a shewe of superstition for him that prayeth to fall downe prostrate before a wooden Idole to haue his eyes stedfastly bent vpon that alone to speake to that to kisse that not to pray at al but before an Idole And this I adde that who so euer doe imagine God to be any other than in déede he is they contrarie to this precept do worship grauen images And againe in the same Catechisme he sayeth Euen vntill the time of Hierom there were men of sounde religion which suffred not in the church any Image to stand neyther painted nor grauen nor woauen no not so much as of Christe bycause as I suppose of the Anthropomorphites But afterwarde the vse of Images by little and little crept vp and came into the Churches This hath Erasmus Furthermore for Christ our Lord and very God though he haue taken on him the nature of vs men yet that notwithstanding there ought no Image to be erected For he did not become man to that intent But he drewe vp his humanitie into heauen and therewithall gaue vs a charge that so often as we praye we shoulde lift vp the eyes of our myndes and bodyes into heauen aboue Moreouer being once ascended he sent his spirit in steede of him selfe vnto the Church wherin he hath a spiritual kingdome and néedeth not any bodily or corruptible things For he commaunded that if we would bestow any thing on him or for his sake we should bestow it on the poore and not on his picture or image And nowe since without all controuersie our Christe is the very true God and that the very true God doth forbid to hallow to him any likenesse of man that is to represent God in the shape of a man it foloweth consequently that to Christe no Image is to be dedicated bycause he is the true and very God and life euerlasting In the second part of this commandement we are taught howe farre foorth it is vnlawfull for vs to make any Image of God or else of fayned Gods and if so it be that any make or cause them to be made how and after what sorte then we ought to behaue our selues towarde them Images ought not in any case to be made for men to worship or otherwise to vse as meanes or instrumentes to worship God in But if so it happen that any man make them to the intent to haue them worshipped then must the zealous and godly disposed despise neglect not worship nor honour them nor yet by any meanes be brought to doe them seruice For in this precept are two things set downe especially to be noted The first is Thou shalt not bowe downe to them To bowe downe is to cap
feastes and holy dayes which we kéepe holy to Christe our Lord in memorie of his Natiuitie or Incarnation of his Circumcision of his Passion of the Resurrection and Ascension of Iesus Christe our Lorde into heauen and of his sending of the holy Ghost vpon his Disciples For Christian libertie is not a licentious power and dissoluing of godly Ecclesiasticall ordinances which aduaunce and set forward the glory of God and loue of our neighbor But for bicause the Lorde will haue holy dayes to be solemnized and kept to him self alone I do not therefore like of the festiuall dayes that are helde in honour of any creatures This glory and worship is due to God alone Paul sayth I wold not that any man should iudge you in part of an holie day or of the Sabbothes which are a shadow of things to come And againe Ye obserue dayes and monethes and yeares and times I feare least I haue laboured in you in vaine And therefore we at this day that are in the Churche of Christe haue nothing to doe with the Iewish obseruation we haue onely to wish indeuour to haue the Christian obseruation and exercise of Christian religion to be fréely kept obserued And yet as the hallowing of the Iewish sabboth so also the sanctifying or exercise of our Sunday must be spent occupyed about foure things which ought to be founde in the holy congregation of Christians if their Sunday be truely sanctified and kept holy as it should be Firste let all the godly Saintes assemble them selues together in the congregation Let there in that congregation so assembled be preached the worde of God let the Gospell there be read that the hearers maye learne thereby what they haue to thinke of God what the dutie and office is of them that worship God and how they ought to sanctifie the name of the lord Then let there in that congregation be made prayers and supplications for all the necessities of all people Let the Lord be praised for his goodnesse and thanked for his vnestimable benefits whiche he dayly bestoweth Then if time occasion and custome of the Church do so require let the sacramentes of the Church be religiously ministred For nothing is more required in this fourth commaundement than that we should holily obserue and deuoutly exercise the Sacramentes and holy lawfull profitable and necessarie rites and ceremonies of the Church Last of all let entyre humanitie and liberalitie haue a place in the Saints assembly let all learne to giue almes priuately and relieue the poore dayly and to do it frankly and openly so often as opporunitie of time and causes of néede shall so require And these are the dueties wherein the Lordes sabboth is kept holy euen in the churche of Christians and so much the rather if to these be added an earnest good wil to do no euil al the day long This discipline now must be brought in and established by euery householder in all our seuerall houses with as great diligence as it was with the Iewes Touching which thing I haue nothing to say here since I haue before so plainely handled this point as that ye perceiue that it agréeth euen to the Churche of vs that are Christians This one thing I adde more that it is the dutie of a Christian magistrate or at leastwise of a good housholder to compell to amendment the brekers and contemners of Gods sabboth and worship The péeres of Israell and all the people of God did stone to death as the Lord commaunded them the man that disobediently did gather stickes on the sabboth day Why then should it not be lawful for a Christian Magistrate to punishe by bodily imprisonment by losse of goods or by death the despisers of religion of the true and lawfull worship done to God and of the sabboth day verily though the foolishe and vndiscrete Magistrate in this corrupted age doe slackly looke to his office and duetie yet notwithstanding let euery householder do his indeuour to kéepe his seuerall familie from that vngodly naughtinesse let him punish them of his housholde by suche meanes as he lawfully may For if any one householder dwell among Idolaters which neyther haue nor yet desire to haue or frequente the Christian or lawful congregations theÌ„ may he in his own seuerall house gather a peculiar assemblie to prayse the Lorde as it is manifest that Lot did among the Sodomites Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the land of Chanaâ—n and in Egipt But it is a haynous sinne and a detestable schisme if the congregation be assembled either in cities or villages for thée then to séeke out bywayes to hide thy self not to come there but to contemn the church of God and asseÌ„blie of saints as the Anabaptistes haue takeÌ„ a vse to do Here therfore I haue to reckon vp the abuses of the sabboth day or that sinnes coÌ„mitted against this commaundement They transgresse this coÌ„maundement that cease not from euil works but abuse the sabboths rest to the prouoking of fleshly pleasures For they kéep the sabboth to God but work to the deuil in dicing in drinking in dauncing féeding their humors with the vanities of this world wherby we are not only drawn from the coÌ„panie of the holy congregation but do also defile our bodyes which we ought rather to sanctifie and kéepe holy They sinne against this precept which eyther exercise any handie occupation on the sabboth day or else lye wrapt in bed and fast a sléepe till the day be almost speÌ„t not once thinking to make one of Gods congregation They offend in this precept that awe their seruants to worke and by appointing them to other businesse do drawe them from the worship of God preferring other stinking thinges before the honour due to god And they aboue all other offende herein which do not only not kéepe holy the sabboth day them selues but doe also with their vngodly scoffes and euil examples cause other to despise and set light by religion when they do disdaine and mocke at the holy rites ceremonies at the ministerie ministers sacred Churches and godly exercises And herein too do both the goodmen and goodwiues offend if they be slacke in their owne houses to call vpon and to sée their families kéepe holy the sabboth day Who so euer do contemne the holynesse of the sabboth day they giue a flat and euident testimonie of their vngodlinesse and light regarde of Gods mightie power Furthermore the kéeping or despising of the sabboth doth always carry with it either ample rewards or terrible threates For the proofe whereof I will recite vnto you dearely beloued the wordes of Ieremie in his 17. cha Thus hath the Lord saide vnto me sayth he Goe and stand vnder the gate of the sonnes of the people through which the kings of Iuda goe in and out and vnder all the gates of Ierusalem and say vnto them Take heede for your liues that ye
of God. Wherefore this promise appertaineth as well to vs as to the Iewes bycause the prolonging of this present life is a testimonie of Gods especiall fauour He promiseth assuredly to them that do religiously honour their parents in what lande soeuer they dwel al kind of blessings felicitie and store of temporal things with a swéete prolonging of this present lyfe For Paule interpreting this in the fifte Chapter of his Eipstle to the Ephesians sayth That it may goe wel with thee and that thou mayst liue long vpon the earth Meaning any lande whatsoeuer and promising a Temporall blessing of the Lorde We therefore gather herevpon that the contrarie is threatened and set as a penaltie vpon the heades of those that disobediētly despise their parents By examples and other places of the scripture this shall be made more manifest Cham is cursed of his father Noe for behauing him self vnreuerently towarde him euen in his drunkennesse Ioseph is exalted to the chiefest dignitie in Egypt bycause from his childhoode he honoured God and reuerenced his father Iaacob Solomon in the. 17. Chapter of his Prouerbs sayth Whosoeuer rewardeth euil for good euill shal not depart frō his house Againe He that despitefully taunteth his father and despiseth the olde age of his mother shall bee confounded and left in reproch The sonne that leaueth to keepe the discipline of his father shall thinke of talke of wickednesse Who so curseth his father or mother his light shall be put out and the balles of his eyes shall see nought but darknesse For they are monsters and no men that are vnnaturall toward their parents and especially they which do not only neglect and despise thē but also beate and vncurteously handle them Such fellowes doth the Lord commaund to be slayne as people vnworthy to sée the light bycause they forget and will not acknowledge that by the meanes of their parentes they came into the world He that curseth father or mother sayth the Lorde let him dye the death And againe Hee that striketh his father or mother let him dye the death There is none of you whiche knoweth not the law called Lex Pompeia against such as kill their parents It is not amisse here to heare what the Gentile writers say touching this matter Homer sayth He did not nourish as he should his aged parents deare Therfore the Gods did frō his youth cut off the iolliest yeare And the auncient Poet Orpheus sayeth God sits aboue and sees the sonnes that do them selues apply To do their fathers hests and those that shamelesly deny Them to obey and as he doth blesse th' one with sundry gifts So for to vexe th' other he doth deuise a thousand drifts For though despised parents die yet do their ghostes remaine And are of force vpon the earth to put their sonnes to paine Moreouer the tragicall Poet Euripides hath To him that while he liues doth loue his parents to obey Whether he liue or else do dye God is a friend alwaye And Menander the Comicall Poet sayth The wretch is worse then mad that with his parents falles at oddes For wise men greatly reuerence them and honour them as Goddes Virgil also among other horrible vices which are punished in hel with eternall and vnspeakable paines doth say Here they that did their brethrē hate while life on earth did last Or beate their parents c. And immediately after He did his countrie sell for golde and made a tyrant King For bribes he made marde his coūtrie lawes and euery thing And Horace in his Odes sayth It is a sweete and seemely thing in countries cause to dye And Silius Italicus hath Doubt not of this forget it not but keepe it in thy mynd It is a detestable thing to shew thee selfe vnkind Vnto thy natiue countrie soyle for no such sinne remaines In hell to be tormented there with vtter endlesse paines As that so doth experience teache These testimonies haue I cited to this end purpose that by these dearly beloued ye may gather the hainousnesse of this offence which the verie Gentiles them selues do so grieuosly cry out against and vtterly condemn Caine slue his brother Abel but therby he gat his rewarde to be marked with a perpetuall blot of ignominie and reproche Semei did intollerably rayle vpon Dauid his ordinarie Magistrate and therefore was he punished according to his desarts Absalom rebelled vnnaturally against his father Dauid but being wrapped by the haire to a tree and hanging betwixt heauen and earth he is horribly thrust throughe with a Iauelin The Lorde called them that slue the Prophetes by the name of Adders broode and sonnes of the deuill As for them that haue reprochfully dealte with olde men or troubled widowes they haue not gone vnpunished For the Lorde in the lawe sayth Thou shalt not afflict the widowes nor fatherlesse children But if ye do go on to afflict them they shal vndoubtedly crie to me and I will heare them and my wrath shall waxe hote and I will slay you with the sword your wiues shal be widowes and your childrē fatherlesse Thus much hitherto Saint Paule alledging this lawe in his Epistle to the Ephesians dothe very aptly apply it to our learning and comfort For he sayth Children obey your parents for this is right honour thy father and mother which is the first commaundement in promise that thou mayste prosper and liue long on earth Fathers prouoke not your childrē to wrath but bring them vp in instruction and information of the Lord. In these wordes he telleth the parentes their duetie as well as the children Thrée thinges he doth require at the hande of the parentes that is to bring vp their children to instruct them and to correct them For it is the parents office to nourish to feede and bring them vp till they be grown to age that being once dispatched frō hanging on their parents any longer they may get their liuings with their owne labour and trauell It is the parentes office to teache and instruct their children That teaching or instructing consisteth in three things in religion in manners and skil of an occupation Nowe touching religion it hath certaine principles rudiments I say and Catechismes to teach by Secondarily it hath the Scriptures setting out the word of God with a full exposition of all things belonging to God it hath also mysteries holie signes and Sacraments to teache and to learne by If the housholder be conuersant amonge a people whiche honoureth the true religion and hath receiued the lawfull worship of God with true faythfull and godly Ministers and teachers of Christ his Church let him giue charge and sée that his children goe to the holy congregation there to be instructed in religiō by the publike preacher Yet neuerthelesse let the father at home examine his children and know what they haue learned by hearing the sermon Let both the father and mother also at home priuatly doe their indeuour to
be magistrate whose care is day and night to haue an eye that the flock of the Lord be not scattered indaungered nor vtterly destroyed And thus haue I hetherto told you what kinde of men they ought to bée to whom the charge is to be committed ouer the Lords people Last of all touching the maner of consecrating magistrates sondrie citties and countries haue sondrie customes Let euery countrie fréelie reteine their owne vsual order I for my part thinke best of that maner of consecrating wherein sumptuous pompe is little or none but what reason and decencie séeme to allow The best and most profitable way is in coÌ„secrating them that are once chosen to vse a certaine moderate ceremonie and that too in the face of al the people that euerie one may know who they bee that are the fathers of the people to whom they owe honour whom they ought to obey and for whose health and welfare they ought to pray The people of God had a certaine prescribed ceremonie which wée read that they vsed in consecrating their kings and magistrates and it is certeine that it was profitablie and for good causes first inuented and then commaunded by God himselfe The rest that is yet behind to bee spoken touching the magistrate I meane to deferre vntill tomorrow And now to end with thanckisgeuing let vs praise the lord c. ¶ Of the office of the Magistrate whether the care of religion apperteine to him or no and whether hee may make lawes and ordinaunces in cases of Religion ¶ The seuenth Sermon THE first and greatest thing that chieflie ought to be in a magistrate is easilie perceiued by the declaration of his office and duetie In my yesterdayes sermon I shewed you what the magistrate is how many kindes of magistrates there are of whom the magistrate had his beginning for what causes hée was ordeined the maner and order how to choose péeres and what kinde of men should be called to be magistrates To this let vs now adde what the office and duetie â—â— a magistrate properlie is The whole office of a magistrate séemeth to consist in these 3. points To Order to Iudge and to Punish Of euerie one wherof I meane to speake seuerallie in order as they lye The ordinaunce of the magistrate is a decrée made by him for mainteyning of religion honestie iustice publique peace and it consisteth on ij points in ordering rightly matters of religion and making good lawes for the preseruation of honestie iustice common peace But before I come to the determining and ordering of religion I will brieflie and in few words handle their question which demaunde whether the care of religion do apperteine to the magistrate as part of his office or no For I see many that are of opinion that the care and ordering of religion doth belong to Bishops alone and that kings princes senatours ought not to medle therewith But the catholique veritie teacheth that the care of religion doth especiallie belong to the magistrate and that it is not in his power onely but his office duetie also to dispose and aduaunce religion For among them of old their kinges were priestes I meane maisters and ouerséers of religion Melchisedech that holie wise Prince of the Chananitish people who bare the type or figure of Christe our Lord is wenderfullie commended in the holie Scriptures Now hée was both king and priest together Moreouer in the booke of Numbers to Iosue newlie ordeined and lately consecrated are the lawes belonging to religion giuen vp deliuered The kings of Iuda also and the electe people of God haue for the wel ordering of religion as I will by examples anon declare vnto you obteyned verie great praise and againe as many as were slacke in looking to religion are noted with the mark of perpetuall reproch Who is ignoraunt the the magistrates especiall care ought to bée to kéepe the common weale in safegard prosperitie which vndoubtedlie he cannot do vnlesse he prouide to haue the word of God preached to his people and cause them to be taught the true worship of God by that meanes making himself as it were the minister of true religion In Leuiticus and Deuteronomie the Lord doth largelie set downe the good prepared for men that are religious and zealous in déede reckoneth vppe on the other side the euil appointed for the contemners of true religion But the good magistrate is commaunded to reteine and kéepe prosperitie among his people and to repel al kinde of aduersitie Let vs heare also what the wise man Salomon saith in his Prouerbes Godlines and trueth preserue the king and in godlines his seate is holden vp When the iust are multiplied the people reioyce and when the wicked ruleth the people lamenteth The king by iudgemeÌ„t stablisheth his dominioÌ„ but a tyrant ouerthroweth it When the wicked increase iniquitie is multiplied the iust shall see their decay Where the word of God is not preached the people decay but happie is hee that keepeth the lawe Whereby we gather that they which would not haue the care of religion to apperteine to princes doe séeke and bring in the confusion of al things the dissolution of princes and their people lastlie the neglecting oppression of the poore Furthermore the Lord commaundeth the magistrate to make triall of doctrines and to kill those that do stubbornelie teach against the scriptures draw the people from the true god The place is to be séene in the 13 of Deut. God also forbad the magistrate to plant groaues or erect images as is to be séene in the 17. of Deut. And by those particularities he did insinuate things general forbiding to ordeine to nourish set forth superstitioÌ„ or idolatrie wherfore he commaunded to aduauÌ„ce true religion so consequently it foloweth that the care of religion belongeth to the magistrate What may be thought of that moreouer that the most excellent princes and friends of God amoÌ„g Gods people did challeng to themselues the care of religioÌ„ as belonging to themselues in so much that they exercised toke the charge therof eueÌ„ as if they had béene ministers of the holie things Iosue in the mount Hebal caused an altar to be builded and fulfilled all the worship of God as it was commaunded of God by the mouth of Moses Dauid in bringing in and bestowing the arke of God in his place in ordâ—â—â—ng the worship of God was so diligent that it is wonder to tel So likewise was Salomon Dauids sonne Neither doe I thinke that any man knoweth not how much Abia Iosaphat Ezechias and Iosias laboured in the reformation of religion which in their times was corrupted and vtterlie defaced The verie heathen kings and princes are praised because when they knew the trueth they gaue out edicts for the confirmation of true religion against blasphemous mouthes Nabuchodonosor the Chaldean the most mightie Monarch of all the world than who I
pageants I do not alledge all this as Canonical Scriptures but as proofes to declare that Princes in the primatiue church had power officiall authoritie and a vsuall custome graunted by God as Esai did prophecie and deriued from the examples of auncient kinges to commaund bishops and to determine of Religion in the Church of Christ As for them which obiect the churches priuilege let them knowe that it is not permitted to any prince nor any mortal man to graunt priuileges contrarie to the expresse cōmaundemēts and verie truth of gods word S. Paul affirmed that he had power giuen him to edifie but not to destroy I am the briefer because I wil not stād to proue that they are vnworthie of indifferent priuileges which are not such as priestes and Christ his ministers should be but are souldiers rather and wicked knaues full of all kind of mischiefe Amonge other thinges in the Canon Lawe Distinct 40 wée finde this written See to your selues bretherne how ye sitte vppon the seate for the seat maketh not the priest but the priest the seate the place sanctifieth not the man but the man the place Euerie priest is not a holie man but euery holie man is a priest Hée that sitteth wel vpon the seate receiueth the honour of the seate but he that sitteth ill vppon the seate doth iniurie vnto the seate Therfore an euil priest getteth blame by his priest hoode and not any dignitie And thus much thus farre touching this matter Since now that I haue declared vnto you déerely beloued that the care of religion doth belong to the magistrate too and not to the bishopps alone that the magistrate may make lawes also in cases of religion it is requisite that I inquire what kinde of lawes those are that the magistrates may make in matters of religion There is no cause whie the king or magistrate should suppose that power is giuen to him to make newe lawes touching God the worship of God or his holie mysteries or to appoint a new kind of true iustice and goodnesse For as euery magistrate is ordeyned of God and is Gods minister so must hée be ruled by God and be obedient to Gods holie word and commaundement hauing euermore an eye vnto that and depending stil vppon that alone The scripture which is y word of God doth abundauntly enough set downe al that which is proper to true religion yea the Lord doth flatly forbidde to adde too or take any thing from his holy word The magistrate therefore maketh no newe lawes touching God and the honour to be giuen to God but doth religiously receiue and kéepe doth put in vre and publish those auncient lawes in that kingdome which God hath allotted him vnto For hereunto apperteineth the giuing of the booke of Gods law vnto the kinges of Israell that they might learn therby the way to do the things which they of duetie ought to sée done To Iosue the Lord doth say See that thou doest obserue doe according to all the law that Moses my seruaunt commaunded thee Thou shalt not tourne from it either to the righte hand or to the left Neither shall the booke of this lawe depart out of thy mouth but occupie thy minde therein day and night that thou maist obserue and doe according to all that is written therein For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt do wiselie Deuout and holie Princes therefore did doe their faithfull diligent indeuour to cause the word of God to be preached to the people to reteine and preserue among the people the lawes ceremonies and statutes of god yea they did their best to spread it to al men as farre as they could and as place and time required to applie it holilie to the states persons on the other side they were not slack to banish driue away false doctrine prophane worshipings of God blasphemies of his name but settled themselues vtterlie to ouerthrow and roote it out for euer In this sort I say godly magistrates did make and ordeine deuoute lawes for the maintenaunce of religion In this sort they bore a godlie and deuout care for matters of religion The cities which the Leuites had to possesse were of old their scholes of Israel Now Iosue did appoint those cities for studies sake and the cause of godlines King Ezechias was no lesse carefull for the sure paiment and reuenue of the ministers stipēds than hee was for the restoring and renuing of euerie office For honour and aduauncemēt maketh learning to flourish when néede and necessitie is driuen to séeke out sondrie shiftes beggarie setteth religion to sale much more the inuented lyes of mens owne mouthes Iosaphat sendeth Senatours and other officers with the priestes and teachers through al his kingdome For his desire was by all meanes possible to haue Gods word preached with authoritie and a certaine maiestie and being preached to haue it defended and put in vre to the bringing forth of good workes King Iosias doth together with idolatrie and prophane worshippinges of God destroy the false priestes that were to be found setting vppe in their stéeds the true teachers of Gods word and restoring againe sincere religion euen as also king Ioas hauing rebuked the Leuites did repaire the decayed buildings of the holie temple I am not able to runne through all the Scriptures and rehearce al the examples in them expressed let the Godly Prince or magistrate learne by these fewe what and how hée ought to determine touching lawes for religion On the other side Ahia the Silonite saith to Ieroboam Thus saith the Lord Thou shalt reigne according to all that thy soule desireth and shalt be king ouer Israel And if thou hearken vnto all that I commaunde thee and wilt walke in my wayes and doe that is right in my sight that thou keepe my statutes and my commaundements as Dauid my seruaunt did then will I be with thee build thee a sure house But the wretch despised those large promises and reiecting Gods word his temple at Ierusalem and his lawfull worship refusing also the Leuites hée made him priestes of the dregges and rascall sort of people hée built himself new temples which hée decked nay rather disgraced with images and idolls ordeyning and offering sacrifices not taught in Gods woord by that meanes inuenting a certain new kind of worshipping god and a new maner of religion And although his desire was to séeme to be willing to worshippe God yet is he by God condemned for a wicked man Hearken I pray the sentence of the Lord which hee denounceth against him Thou hast done euil saith Ahia as the Lord had taught him aboue all that were before thee For thou hast gone and made the other Gods and moultē images to prouoke mee and hast cast mee behinde thy backe Therefore I will bring euill vppon the house of Ieroboam and wil roote out from Ieroboam euen him that pisseth against the wall
and him that is in prisoÌ„n and forsaken in Israel and will take away the remnaunte of the house of Ieroboam as one carieth away dunge till all be gone And al these thinges were fulfilled according to the saying of the Lord as the Scripture witnesseth in these words WheÌ„ Baasa was king he smote all the house of Ieroboam and left nothing that breathed of that that was Ieroboams But the very same king being nothing the better or wiser by an others mishap miserable example of his predecessour sticketh not to continue to teach the people to publish and defend the straung and forreine religion contrarie to the woord of God which Ieroboam had begunne But what followed thereuppon Forsothe the Lord by the preaching of Hanani the Prophete doth say vnto him Forasmuch as I exalted the out of the dust and made thee prince ouer my people Israell and thou hast walked in the way of Ieroboam and hast made my people Israell to sinne to anger mee with their sinnes behold I will roote out the posteritie of Baasa and the posteritie of his house and will make thy house like the house of Ieroboam Which was perfourmed as the scripture saith by Simâ—â— capitaine of the hoaste of Israel For he destroyed king Hela the sonne of Baasa when he was drunken and all his posteritie Amri succeeded in the kingdome who was the father of Achab that mischesous cutthroate whom the Syrians siue in fighting a battaile Aâ—ter him reigned his sonnes Ochosias and Ioram But when they left the religion taught in the woord of God to follow the new tradition of king Ieroboam and had thereunto added the worshipping of the shamefull idole Baal they were vtterly at last destroyed by the meanes of Iehu a very iust although a rigorous prince The ofspring of Amri reigned about the space of 40. yeares not without the sheading of much innocent bloud but it was at last destroyed when that measure of iniquitie was fulfilled was vtterly plucked vp at the rootes by the iust iudgment of Almightie god Let al Princes and magistrates therfore learne by these wonderfull and terrible examples to take héede to themselues how they deuise any new religioÌ„ or alter the lawful auncient maner of worshipping which God himselfe hath ordeined alreadie Our faithfull Lord is our good God who hath fullie simplie and absolutely set downe in his word his true religion lawfull kind of worshippe which hee hath taught all mâ—n to kéepe alone for euermore Let all men therefore cleaue fast vnto it and let them die in defence thereof that meane to liue eternallie They are punished from aboue whosoeuer doe adde too or take away any thing from the religion and kind of worshippe first ordeined and appointed of god Marcke this ye great men and Princes of authoritie For the kéeping or not héeping of true religion is the roote from whence aboundant fruite of felicitie or else vtter vnhappinesse doth spring and bud out Hee therefore that hath eares to heare let him heare Let no man suffer himselfe to bee seduced and caried away with any coloured intent how gooâ—ly to the eye secuer it bee which is in deede a meere vanitie and detestable iniquitie To God obedience is much more acceptable than sacrifices are Neither doe the decrees of the highest néede any whit at al our fond additions Here followeth now the second part of the magistrates ordinaunce which consisteth in making good lawes for the preseruation of honestie iustice and publique peace Which is likewise accomplished in good and vpright lawes But some there are who think it meere tyrannie to lay lawes on frée mens backs as it were a yoake vppon necks not vsed to labour supposing that euerie one ought rather to be left to his owne wil and discretion The Apostle in dede did say The lawe is not giuen for the iust but for the vniust But the cause whie the lawe is not giuen to the iust is because hée is iust For the iust worketh iustice and doth of his owne accord the thing which the lawe exacteth of euerie mortall man Wherefore the lawe is not troublesome to the iuste man because it is agréeable to the mind and thoughts of vpright liuers who doe imbrace it with all their hearts But the vniust desireth nothing more than to liue as hée iusteth hée is not conformable in any point to the lawe and therefore must hée by the lawe be kept vnder and brideled from marring himselfe and hurting other So then since to good men the lawes are no troublesome burden but an acceptable pleasure which are also necessarie for the vniuste as ordeined for the brideling of lawlesse and vnrulie people it followeth consequently that they are good and profitable for all men and not to bee reiected of any man What may bee said of that moreouer that God himselfe who did foresée the disposition of vs men what wee would bee and hath still fauoured the true libertie which hée desired alwayes to haue preserued amonge his people as one that euer meant them good and neuer did ordeine the thing that should tourne to their hinderaunce or discommoditie that God himselfe I say was their lawegiuer and hath not suffered any age at any time to liue as people without all lawe Yea too those common weales haue beene happie alwayes that haue admitted lawes and submitted themselues to be gouerned by lawes When as contrarilie those kingdomes haue of all other beene most miserable and torne in peeces by ciuil dissentions forreigne enimies which hauing banished vpright lawes did striue to mainteine their owne kind of fréedome their vncomptrolled dealing and licentious libertie that is their beastly luste and vnciuil rudenesse Good lawes therefore are for the health and preseruation of the people and necessarie for the peace and safegard of common weales and kingdomes Wherefore it is a wonder to see the follie of â—ome Christians since the verie Heathens haue giuen so honest report of lawes and lawegiuers They tooke their lawegiuers for Gods confessing therby that good lawes are the gift of god But the gift of God cannot be superfluous and vnprofitable Plutarch called lawes the life of cities Demosthenes did expressely confesse that lawes are the giftes of god Cicero named lawes the bondes of the citie because without lawes it is loosed dispersed the foundation of libertie and the wellspring of iustice and perfect honestie For lawes vndoubtedly are the strongest sinewes of the coÌ„mon weale life of the magistrates so that neither the magistrates can without the lawes conueniently liue and rule the weale publique nor the lawes without the magistrates shew forth their strength and liuely force The magistrate therefore is the liuing lawe and the lawe is the dumbe magistrate By executing and applying the lawe the lawe is made to liue and speake Which those Princes do not consider that are wont to say Wir sind das racht wée are the right wée are the lawe For they suppose
to all other nations we should séeme to shew our selues more than halfe madde And to what end should wée bring backe and set vppe againe among the people of God the ofscouringes of the heathen that were cast out a great while agoe The Aposiles of our lord Iesus Christ did binde or burden no man with the lawes of Moses they neuer condemned good lawes of the heathens nor commēded to any man naughtie lawes of the Gentiles but left the lawes with the vse and free choice of them for the Saintes to vse as they thought good But therewithall they ceassed not most diligently to beate into all menns heades the feare of God faith charitie iustice and temperaunce because they knew that they in whose heartes those vertues were settled can either easilie make good lawes themselues or picke and choose out the beste of those which other men make For it maketh no mattter whether the magistrate pick out of Moses Iewish lawes or out of the alloweable lawes of the heathen sufficient lawes for him and his countriemen or else doe kéepe still the old and accustomed lawes which haue before béene vsed in his countrie so that hée haue an eye to cutte off such wicked vniust and lawelesse lawes as are found to be thrust in among the better sort For I suppose that vpright magistrats ought to take off curiositie and new inuented nouelties Seeldom saith the Prouerbe is the Crowes eye pickte out without troublesome stirres and curious mens new lawes are for the most part worse than the old that are broken by them and vtterlie abolished Furthermore al lawes are giuen for ordering of religion or outward worship of God or else for the outward conuersation of life and ciuil behauiour Touching the lawes of religion I haue spoken of them before For ciuil and politique lawes I adde thus much and say that those séeme to bée the best lawes which according to the circumstaunce of euerie place person state and time doe come néerest vnto the preceptes of the tenne commaundements and the rule of charitie not hauing in them any spot of iniquitie licentious libertie or shamelesse dishonestie Let them moreouer be briefe and shorte not stretched out beyonde measure and wrapped in with many expositions let them haue a full respecte to the matter whereto they are directed and not be friuolous and of no effect Now marke that politique lawes doe for the most part consist in thrée especiall and principall pointes honestie iustice and peace Let lawes therefore tend to this end that discipline and honestie may bee planted and mainteyned in the cōmon weale and that no vnséemelie licentious and filthie act bee therein committed Let lawe forbidde all vncleannesse wantonnesse lightnesse sensualitie and riottousnesse in apparell in building in bibbing and banquetting Let wedlocke bee commaunded by lawe to bee kept holie Let stewes and brothell houses bée banished the Realme Let adulteries whoredomes rapes and incestes bée put to exile Let moderate feastinges be allowed and admitted Let thriftines be vsed which is the greatest reuenue that a man can inioye Brieflie whatsoeuer is contrarie to honestie and séemelines let it by lawe bée driuen out and reiected Let iustice by lawes be strongly fortified Let it by lawes be prouided that neither citizen nor forrenner be hurt or hindered in fame in goods in bodie or life Let vpright lawes be made for the obteyning of legacies and inheritaunces for the perfourming of contractes bargaines for couenaunts agréements for suretieshipps for buying and selling for weightes and measures for leasses and things let to hyre for lending and borrowing for pawnes in morgage for vse commoditie and vsurie of money Let order be taken for maintenaunce of peace betwéene the father and his children betwixte man and wife betwixt the maister and the seruaunte and to bee shorte that euerie man may haue his owne For my meaning is not here to recken vppe particularlie euerie seuerall point and title of the lawe Lastlie meanes must bee made by giuing of lawes that peace may bee established wherby euerie man may enioye his owne All violent robberies and iniuries must bee expelled priuie grudges and close conspiracies must not bee thought off And warre must be quieted by wisedome or else vndertaken and finished with manlie fortitude But that wée may haue such a magistrate and such a life the Apostle commaunded vs earnestlie to pray where hée saith I exhort you that first of all prayers supplications intercessions and giuing of thankes bee made for all men for kinges and for all that are in authoritie that wee may liue a quiet and peaceable life in all godlines and honestie I am now againe compelled to end my Sermon before the matter be finished That which remayneth I will adde tomorrow Make ye your earnest prayers with your mindes lift vppe into heauen c. ⸫ ¶ Of Iudgement and the office of the Iudge That Christians are not forbidden to iudge Of reuengement and punishment Whether it be lawfull for a magistrate to kill the guiltie Wherefore when how and what the magistrate must punish Whether hee may punish offenders in Religion or no. ¶ The eight Sermon I SPAKE yesterday derely beloued of the magistrats ordinaunce there are yet behinde other two partes of his office and duetie that is Iudgement and Punishment of both which by the helpe of God I meane to speake as brieflie as may bee giue yee atttentiue eare and pray yée to the Lord to giue mée grace to speake the trueth Iudgement is taken in diuers significations but in this present treatise it importeth the sentence of Iudges brought in betwixte men at variaunce which sentence is deriued out of the lawes according to right and equitie as the case put foorth of the parties required and is pronounced to the intente to take vppe the strife betwixt them at variaunce and to giue to euerie manne his owne For at Sessions or Assises parties appeare and sue one an other for some inheritaunce or possession which either partie affirmeth to bée his by lawe layinge for themselues whatsoeuer they canne to proue and shew what right and title they haue to the thing All which the Iudges doe diligently heare and perfectly noate then they conferre the one with the other lay them with the lawe lastly they pronounce sentence whereby they giue the possession to the one partie and take it from the other The like reason is also in other cases and matters And this is iudgmente yea this I say is the execution of iustice But this kind of quieting and setting parties at one is verie myld in comparison of reuengement and punishment which is not executed with words and sentences but with swords and bitter stripes And good cause whie it should bée so since there be diuers causes whereof some cannot bée ended but with the sword and some more gentilie with iudgement in words But herein consisteth the health and safegard of the kingdom or
heauen Which deede is reported by heathen Historiographers but that it was obtained at the prayers of our men they do not reporte for with them the other myracles which are done by our menne haue no place of credite But amonge our men Tertullian maketh mention hereof and amonge the Greekes Apollinaris whoalso affirmeth that for the miracle of that notable deede that legions name was chaunged by the Emperour and called the legion of thunder Tertullian addeth that the letters of Marcus the Emperour are yet to be had wherin the full and manifest trueth of this matter is plainly declared Hetherto Eusebius Wherby wée gather that Christian souldiers of old were not onely giuen to prayer but to iustice also and holines of lyuing For who knoweth not that Iames the Apostle said The earnest prayer of a righteous man auayleth much Elias was a man vnder infirmities euen as wee are and hee prayed in his prayer the heauens gaue rayne the earth brought forth her fruite It is moste euidente therefore that souldiers of old were verie godly and religious men Dure souldiers at these dayes because they are farre from religion yea because they are enimies to true religion doe in stéede of victorie suffer ouerthrowes abroad and losse and destruction of their citties at hoame And worthilie doe common weales suffer such plagues for trustinge somuch in such wicked souldiers For to trust in them is all one as if they should put confidence in the verie diuells whom these souldiers doe for the most parte excéede in all kinde of filthines vncleannesse crueltie and villanie But now the word of God doth set before our eyes an innumerable sorte of examples almost of holie and vpright warres and of excellent kinges and capitaynes Abraham oure father settinge forwarde with a verie small armie pursueth the fower most puissant kings or robbers of the world hée ouerthroweth and putteth them to flight and hauing recouered his people and restoared to them their substance againe he giueth the thanks to God as to the author of that vnlikely victorie Moses and Iosue destroyed about 39. kings they punished seuerelie the vnspeakeable wickednesse of al those nations and planted the people committed to their charge in the land which god had promised to giue them The Iudges of the people of Israell had notable warres against the Heathens and infidels wherby they brake the tyrannie of those wicked men vnlawfullie vsurped amonge Gods people restoaring them againe to their libertie and religion The Prophete Samuel is here to be numbred amoÌ„g the notable Capitaynes of Gods people Ionathas Saules sonne was a worthie Capitaine and a singular example of a godlie man Than Dauid none was more excellent or worthie to be praised In warre hée vaÌ„quished the Philistines the Idumits the Syrians and a good part of the Easte beside by warre hée reuenged iniuries by warre hée mainteyned his libertie and kept Gods people from a number of mischiefes and yet notwithstanding he that warred thus is said to be a man according to Gods heartes desire and the father of our Lord Iesus Christ touching his flesh or his humanitie In Dauids posteritie thou maiest finde manie excellent warriours and valiaunt Capitaynes Abia Asa Iosaphat Amasia Ofia Ezechias and other moe Amonge these Iudas Machabeus hath not the last nor leaste place of all who fought verie stoutely for the lawe religion and people of God and died at the last in the middest of the batteile in defence of religion and his countrie quarrell I will not adde to these the examples of ConstaÌ„tine Gratian Theodosius and other more that were excellent in feates of warre Of these and other writeth S. Augustine in the ende of his fiâ—t booke De ciuitate Dei and Orosius verie largelie in the 7. booke of his historie vnto the ende of the 28. Cap. This is sufficient for godly magistrates Hetherto haue I discoursed of warre to be made by the magistrate and the vse of the sword in the magistrates hand touching which I gaue some notes by the way in that sermon wherein I expounded the fifte commaundement This being thus ended I haue now to proue that ChristiaÌ„ men may beare the office of a magistrate which treatise I meane therfore to take in hand because our madde headed Anabaptistes and some other builders of A deuised common weale by gainsayinge that which hetherto we haue alledged do goe about to proue that a Christian may not beare the office of a magistrate their reason is because Christians as they say may not striue in lawe nor kil any man nor recouer by warre thinges violently taken away nor reuenge any iniurie that is done vnto them And although these causes of theirs be aunsweared euerie one in his fitte and seuerall place yet will I briefely gather héere together a few substantiall argumentes by which a politique and Christian man may vnderstand contrarie to the madnesse and dreames of the Anabaptistes if hée bée called to beare rule and authoritie that then he both may and of dutie ought to serue the Lord his God in taking vpon him and executing the office of a magistrate For whereas they faine that the doctrine of the Gospell doth vtterly cutte off all kinde of defence and whatsoeuer else belongeth to the defence of Christian mens goods and bodies that is nothing so and they are deceiued as farre as heauen is wide for the truth doth teach vs cleane contrarie For whatsoeuer thinges are ordeined by God for a meanes of mens safe gard and good estate they are so farre from misbecoÌ„ming and being vnsemely for a Christian man if hée vse them and applie himselfe vnto them that if hée refuse and neglect them he cannot rightly be called a true Christian For the first and greatest care of euerie ChristiaÌ„ is by all meanes that he may to set forward and mainteine that health and safegard of all sortes of men But the magistrate is not ordeined by any man but by god himself for the health and wealth of all mankinde as it is expressely witnessed by the Prophets and Apostles but by Paule especially in the 13. to the Rom who then cannot therby perceiue that a Christian may praiseworthilie execute a magistrates office Furthermore no man will denie I knowe that a Christian mans faith is not in wordes onely but in deedes also to giue a proofe of iustice and mercie by all meanes to care for publique peace and tranquillitie to doe iudgemente with iustice to defend the fatherlesse widowes and children and to deliuer poore oppressed people Neither doth hée contemne flée from nor reiect occasion places and meanes by which hée may put those good woorkes in vre And therfore a Christian refuseth not the place or office of a magistrate For the magistrates office is to doe iudgement with iustice and to prouide for publique peace Moreouer it is vndoubtedly true as before we haue declared that Moses Samuel Iosue and Dauid are not excluded from the name of
fellowshippe let there be betwixte man and wife For to that ende the woman was taken oute of the mannes bodie that the husbande should loue and chéerish his wife his owne bodie And for that cause the Apostle saith So must husbands loue their wiues euen as their owne bodies He that loueth his wife doth loue himself For no man at any time hath hated his owne flesh but loueth and cherisheth it as the Lord doth the Church What may bee said to that moreouer that the Apostle in the verie same place hath made the sonne of God and the holy Church an example for married folkes to follow in kéeping of wedlocke requiring at the husbands hand to loue his wife euen as Christ hath loued the Church and of the wife to reuerence her husbande and to loue him againe as the Church doth Christe Than which example there is none in the worlde more holy and effectuall For there is no loue greater than the loue of Christ toward his Church Neither is there any loue more chaste than that which the Church doth beare to Christe It is required therefore at the handes of wedded mates mutually to beare most ardente and holy loue the one to the other Let them vse all thinges in common let them bee partakers both of the same prosperitie and the same aduersitie Let them both draw vnder one yoake and beare betwixte them one an others burthen Briefly let them twaine bee the members of one and the verie same body I haue more at large set downe these offices of man and wife in my treatise which is called the Institution of Christian matrimonie Lastly let them bringe vppe their children in holy discipline the feare of God to the health of their owne house and the whole common weale Paule saith I would haue the younger women marrie to gette children and to gouerne the house for that is honest and acceptable before God. But touching the bringing vp of children I haue alreadie spoken in the fifte sermon of this Decade Now the very begetting of children alone is very profitable both to euery priuate or particular house and also to the common weale for héere I will not stand to shew that the honour and glorie of God is verie greatly augmented if children be not onely begotten but also brought vp in the feare of God and knowledge of his woord Hierocles saith I confesse that marriage is profitable especially because it bringeth children forth which is in deede a goodly fruite for they being of oure verie bloud doe while wee are in health ayde vs in all our affayres and in olde age when yeares come vppon vs they succour vs well with all that they maye they are familiar companions of our ioy in prosperitie and in aduersitie are our partners in sorowing with vs for our heauie mishapps And so forth Antipater also saith Man which is indued with a ciuil disposition to mainteyne societie must augmente his countrie and common wealth with increase of children for cities could not haue bene preserued by any meanes at all vnlesse the head men of euerie citie and the sonnes of noble gentlemen seing their auncetours wither and fal away like goodly leaues of a faire tree had married in time cōuenient and left behind them children as woorthie plantes to succeede in their countrie thereby to make it to flourish for euer doinge their beste so farre as they coulde to keepe it from the assaultes and conquestes of enimies and straungers They therefore shooting at nothing more than to defend and assist their countrie both in their life time and when they were dead did thincke it most necessarie and especially conuenient to marrie and be married desiring thereby both to doe all thinges that nature requireth and also those that touche the health and increase of their countrie most of all the worship of god c. Since therefore that lawefull matrimonie is of so great effect and so auayleable to liue well and happilie the faithfull doe not withoute cause beginne their marriages with religion and religious rites The Lord verilie did presently in the beginning blesse the first marriage of oure parentes Adam and Eue and did himselfe couple them in wedlock Whervppon the Church of God hath receyued a custome that they which ioyne in marriage before they dwell together doe come into the temple of the Lord where after prayer made in the middest of the congregation they are ioyned together and blessed by the minister of God in the name of God himselfe Wherefore in wedlocke the first and chiefest thinges that bée required are the earneste and continuall prayers of the married folkes to God that he wil vouchsafe to make the husbandes wyse relligious modest gentle honeste painefull sufferers and louers of their wiues and that it will please him to make the wiues obedient méeke chaste faithful louers of theyr husbands and children housewiues and fruitefull For no one man is able to declare all the euills that come euen of one corrupte naughtie marriage Through it whoale houses are wonderfullie disquieted all wealth and honestie do vtterlie decaye the children are bastards God is offended and prouoaked to anger and an endlesse mischiefe brought to the whoale cōmon weale God therefore must bée earnestly beséeched to blesse all married people that both the glorie of his holy name and the common weales prosperitie may thereby dailie increase more and more I am now come to speake of adulterie which is a sinne whereby the husband goeth to an other woman or the wyfe tourneth a side after an other man to whom they make common the vse of their bodies which are not their owne bodies nowe but their mates in wedlocke Some there are that flatter themselues and are of opinion that they are not culpable of adulterie if they haue the companie of any vnbetrouthed mayden or one that is vnmarried or if a woman play the harlotte with an vnwedded man They will haue it in Gods name to be fornication and not adulterie But the Scripture teacheth the contrary Thou goest to an other woman thou arte an adulterer Thou breakeste thy faith thou art forsworne Thy bodie is not thine but thy wiues when therefore thou bestowest this bodie on an other thou committest adulterie If thou being wedded doest lye with a married wife thou doubleste the sinne of thine adulterie This offēce was plagued with most sharpe punishmente euen in the beginninge almost and as soone as the world was created Pharao the kinge of Aegypt commaunded Sara Abrahams wife to be taken away and carried to his Palace that hée mighte vse her as his wyfe thinckinge verily that shée had bene Abrahams sister But the scripture sayth The Lord vexed Pharao and all his house with great plagues because of Sara Abrahams wife Loe here that king of Aegypt is punished with gréeuous plagues for his adulterie and yet he knew not that Sara was Abrahams wyfe how great plagues therefore are prepared for the
of the world differ much from the sonnes of god For these I meane the sonnes of God in comforting one an other in their calamities do say Suffer and grudge not at the thing that thou canst not alter It is gods wil that it shal be so and no maÌ„ can resist it suffer therfore the power of the Lord vnlesse thou wouldest rather double the euil that thou canst not escape But the worldlings on the other side being demaunded howe they suffer the hand of the Lord and whether they submit themselues to God or no do make this answere I must whether I will or no since I caÌ„not withstand it If therfore they could withstand it by thie wee may gather that they assuredly would But the children of God do patiently beare the hand of God not because they cannot withstand it nor because they must by coÌ„pulsion suffer it but for because they beleue that God is a iust and merciful father for therfore they acknowledge confesse that God of his iust iudgment doth persecute y sinns of them that haue deserued far more greuous and sharpe punishment than he layeth vpon them they do acknowledge also that god doth as a merciful father chasten them to the amendment of their liues safegard of their souls and therfore do they for his chastning of them yeld him hartie thankes and forsaking vtterly themselues their opinions do wholie coÌ„mit themselues whether they liue or die into the lords haÌ„ds The Apostle going about to settle this in the heartes of the faithfull saith God speaketh to you as to his sonnes my sonne despise not thou the chastening of the Lord neither faint when thou art rebuked of him For whom the lord loueth he chasteneth scourgeth euery son that he receiueth If ye endure chastening God tendereth you as his sonns For what sonne is he whoÌ„ the father chasteneth not But if ye be without chastisemeÌ„t whereof al are partakers then are ye bastards not sonnes Since therfore wheÌ„ we had fathers of our flesh they corrected vs we reuerenced them shal wee not much more rather be in subiection to the father of spirites liue Secondarilie let the faithfull beleeuer which is oppressed w calamities consider and weigh the causes for which he is afflicted For either he is troubled persecuted of worldlinges for the desire that hee hath to righteousnes true religion or else he suffereth due punishment for his sinnes offeÌ„ces Let them which suffer persecution for righteousnes sake reioyce and giue God thanks as the Apostâ—es did for that he thinketh them worthy to suffer for the name of Christ For the lord in the gospel said Blessed are they that suffer persecutioÌ„ for rightousnes sake for theirs is the kingdom of heauen Blessed are ye when men shal reuile persecute you and shal say all maner euil saying agaist you â—or my sake reioyce ye be glad for great is your reward in heauen for so persecuted they the Prophetes that were before you But if any man for his sinns doth féele the scourge of God let him acknowledge that Gods iust iudgemeÌ„t is fallen vpon him let him humble himselfe vnder the mightie hand of the Lord let him confesse his sinns to God let him méekely require pardon for them and patiently suffer the plague which he with his sinnes hath worthily deserued Let him followe the examples of Daniel and Dauid Daniel confesseth his sinnes vnto the Lord and saith We haue sinned wee haue committed iniquitie and haue done wickedly we haue not obeyed thy seruauntes the Prophetes which spake to vs in thy name O Lord vnto thee doeth righteousnes belong and vnto vs open shame Thou haste visited afflicted vs as thou diddest foretell by Moses thy seruaunt And Dauid wheÌ„ through Absaloms treason he was compelled to forsake Hierusalem and goe in exile said to the priestes which bare the Arcke after him Carrie backe the Arcke of God into the citie againe If I shal find fauour in the eyes of the Lord hee will bring me backe againe and wil shew mee both himselfe and his Tabernacle But if hee thus say I am not delighted in thee then here am I let him do with me what seemeth good in his eyes And verilie it is much more better and expedient to be punished in this world and after this life to liue for euer than to liue here without afflictions and in an other world to suffer euerlasting paines Paul verilie doth plainly say When we are iudged wee are chastened of the lord that we should not be damned with the world And the verie end of all chastenings and calamities wherewith the Sainâ—ts are exercised tendeth to nothing else but that by despising and treading downe the world they may amende their liues returne to the Lord and so be saued But touching the end of afflictions wée haue spoken of it before Furthermore the men that beare the yoke of afflictions doe lay before themselues the plaine and ample promises of God from which and from the examples of the sainctes they neuer turne their eyes There are innumerable examples of them which haue felt Gods helping hand readie in all needes to ayde and deliuer them Nowe our good God doth promise to helpe and deliuer not them onely which are afflicted for righteousnesse sake but them also whom he doth visite for their faults and offences For Dauid saith The Lord doth heale the contrite of heart The Lord doth loose them that are bouÌ„d in chaynes The lordgiueth sight vnto the blind The lord setteth vp againe them that doe fall Hee is not angrie for euer neither doth he alwayes childe Hee dealeth not with vs after our sinnes nor rewardeth vs after our iniquities And how wide the East is from the West so farre hath he set our sinnes from vs. To this beloÌ„geth the whole thirtieth chapiter of Ieremies Prophecie And Paule doeth beare witnesse to this and saith As the afflictions of Christe are many in vs so is our comfort great through Christ Neither are wee without examples enoughe to proue this same by and to lay before our eyes the present deliuerie of the Sainctes and the repentaunce of sinners in extreme calamities Our auncestours y Patriarchs Noe Lot with their families were by the mightie hand of God deliuered from the deluge that drowned all creatures vnder the heauens and the horrible fire that fell vppon Sodome Iacob and Ioseph being wrapped in sundrie tribulations were by their merciful God wooud out and rid from all Euen as also the children of Israell were brought forth and deliuered from the seruile bondage of Pharao in Aegypt The people of Israel did in the wildernesse vnder their guides and Iudges sinne often and greuously against the lord for which they were punished roundly and sharply scourged but they were quickly deliuered againe by the Lord so oft as they did acknowledge their sinnes and turne themselues to him againe There are also notable
in their SermoÌ„s did sharply accuse and euermore crie out vpon And in that sense and for that cause the people of Israel is many times called a carnall people not that all the Patriarchs and fathers before the comming of Christ were carnal or fleshly but for because they did as yet liue theÌ„ vnder those externall shadowes and outward figures and for because there were peraduenture amonge the people some that did not perceiue the spirituall thinges shadowed vnder those external figures and did thincke perhaps that they were acceptable to God for the woorking and doing of that externall woorke The second vse and an other office of the lawe is to teache them that are iustified in faith by Christ what to followe and what to eschue and how the godly and faithful sort should worship god For the lawe of God doth comprehend a most absolute doctrine both of faith in GOD and also of all good woorks For in the first vse of the lawe I declared how the Morall and Ceremoniall lawe doth teache vs faith in God and Christ his sonne and howe it bringeth man to the knowledge of himselfe that he may vnderstand how that in himselfe that is in the nature of man there is no good thing nor any life but that all the gifts of life of vertues and saluation are of God the father the onely wellspring of all goodnesse through Christ his sonne our sauiour In this second argument of the ende the vse or office of the lawe of GOD we must acknowledge all the formes of vertues and the treasure of all goodnesse to be set foorth vnto vs in the lawe of the Lord and that the Apostle applieth the precepts of the law to exhortation and consolation The first of the two tables of the Morall lawe doth teache vs what wee owe to God and how hee will be worshipped of vs The second table frameth the offices of life and teacheth vs howe to behaue our selues toward our neighbour The Ceremonies also doe beelonge to religion And the Iudicialls teach the gouernement of an house or a common weale so that by them wee may liue honestly amonge our selues and holilie to Godwards Therefore the lawe doth teach all iustice temperance fortitude and wisedome and in structeth a Godly man in euery good woorke wherin it is necessarie that an holy woorshipper of God should be instructed Wherfore so often as the holy Prophets of God would set vpp againe and restore the worship of God and true religion that was decayed so often as they would crie out vppon and rebuke the faultes and errours of men and lastly wheÌ„ they would teach them to doe those good woorkes which are good woorks in déed they led them alwayes vnto the lawe and cited all their testimonies out of the lawe Whereof we haue euident examples in the 15. Psalme of Dauid and in the first and 33. Chapiter of Esaies Prophecie and in the 18. of Ezechiel also Paule in the 13. to the Romans referreth all the offices of our life to y lawe of charitie For the Lord himselfe before Paule had done the same in the Gospell Moreouer the Prophete Dauid in the 94. Psalme crieth Blessed is the man O Lord whome thou instructest in thy lawe And in the 78. Psalme Hee made a couenaunt to Iacob and gaue a lawe in Israel that the posteritie might knowe it and put their trust in the Lord not forgett the woorkes of God but keepe his commaundements Againe in the 19. Psalme he saith The law of the Lord is an vndefiled lawe conuerting the soule the testimonie of the Lord is sure and giueth wisedome vnto the simple the statues of the Lord are right and reioyce the heart the commaundement of the Lord is pure and giueth light vnto the eyes The feare of the Lord is holy and endureth for euer the iudgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether more to bee desired are they than gold and pretious stone sweeter than honie and the honie combe And to this end tendeth the sense of all the Alphabetical Psalme which is in order of number the 119. The third vse or office of the lawe is to represse the vnrulie and those whome no reason can moue to orderlinesse the lawe commaundeth to constraine with punishment that honestie peace and publique tranquillitie may be mainteyned in ChristiaÌ„ common weales For some there are and that no small number of people which doe refraine from doing euill and liue somewhat tollerablie not so much for the loue of vertue as for the feare of punishment that will ensue their inordinate liuing Therfore it pleased the goodnesse of God by giuing the lawe to put in a caueat and to make a prouiso for the tranquillitie of mankind And to this it séemeth that the Apostle had an eye when he said Wee knowe that the lawe was not giuen to the iust but to the vniust to the lawelesse and disobedient to the vngodly and to sinners to vnholie vncleane to murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers to manslears to whoremongers to them that defile themselues with mankind to mansâ—ealers to lyers to periured and if there bee any other thing that is coÌ„trarie to hoalsome doctrine c. After the declaration of the vse the end and the office of the lawe I haue next to teache you howe and by what meanes the lawe of God is fulfilled It is vnpossible for any man of his owne strength to fulfill the lawe and fully to satisfie the will of God in all pointes For it is manifest that in the lawe there is not required the outward woorke onely but also the purenesse of the inward affections and as it were as I said euen nowe a certaine heauenly and absolute perfectnesse For the Lord himselfe in one place crieth Be ye perfect eueÌ„ as your father whiche is in heauen is perfecte But so absolute a perfectnesse is not found in vs so longe as wée liue in this fleshe For the fleshe euen to the very last ende of our life doth kéepe still her corrupt disposition and although it doth many times receiue an ouerthrow by the spirite that striueth against it yet doeth it still renue the fight so that in vs there is not found nor in our strength there doth remaine that heauenly and most absolute perfectnesse But let vs heare the testimonie of the holy Apostle Paul touching this matter who saith Wee knowe that the lawe is spiritual but I am carnall solde vnder sinne For that which I doe I allowe not For what I would that doe I not but what I hate that doe I. And againe I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing For to wil is present with me but I finde no meanes to performe that which is good Againe I delight in the lawe of God after the inward man but I see an other law in my members rebelling against the lawe of my mind and subduing me vnto the law of
were then forgiuen them that the people of God was set at libertie from al the burthen and yoke of the lawe Verilie when the wicked stiffenecked and disloyall people of the Iewes did after the death of Christ goe on to exercise prorogue and to obtrude to all men the Ceremonies which were finished and abrogated at the comming of Messiah then Christ sitting at the right hand of the father did by the meanes of the Romane Princes vtterly deface their citie and ouerthrow the temple wherin they boasted Which thing the prophet Daniel and Balaam many hundred yeares before Daniels time foretold and said should come to passe Neither hetherto yet by the space of 1500. yeares and more haue they had any place to restore and set vpp againe their citie and temple In Theodoretus and Ruffinus we read that in the reigne of Iuhan the Emperour the Iewes with very great hope and presumption wente about to build a newe temple and that they sought the foundation therof in the place where that temple stoode which was burnt by Titus sonne and generall to the Emperour Vespasian but Christ our Lord who in the Gospell foretold out of Daniels prophecie the desolation thereof and did amonge other speaches say And Hierusalē shal be troden vnder foote of the Gentiles till the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled did mightily represse their wicked endeuours hinder their labour for going forwarde For whē they had gathered brought together many thousand bushells of lyme and chaulk then soudeinly came a whirlewind w a wonderfull storme and blustring which scattered abrode and carried away the store of stuffe by them prouided There happened also a terrible earthquake by which all the buildinges almost of the whole place were swepte away made euen with the ground Finally when a great cōpanie which were busie in the worke did the same nighte remaine or take their rest in a certeine porch or galerie néere to the new begonne citie temple the whole building and roofe therof falling downe on a soudeine slue al the number that were within y reach thereof In the morning they whiche remained aliue ran together to séeke euery man for his frend among them that were slaine by the ruinous building and when those terrours could do no good nor turne them from their purpose then soudenly out of the trenches foundations and stoarchouses hard by where their tooles and other necessaries lay there sprange foorth a fearefull fire which burnt many that vrged the worke and compelled the rest to take their héeles For in that one day it brake forth sundry times and so at last repressed the stubborne rashenesse of that stiffnecked people And for because these thinges should not be thought to haue happened casually or at aduentures the night before and y night following there appeared in the skie a bright or glistering signe of the Crosse the garments of the Iewes were filled ouer w crosses not bright but blacke which could not be ridd away or wiped out by any paines taking or maner of meanes They therfore in spite of their téeth and full sore against their wills being compelled with those horrible terrours fearefull iudgementes and bitter plagues of Christ our Lord forsoke the place and fledd euery man to his house leauing the worke vndone and openly confessing that Iesus Christ whō their forefathers had crucified is a most mightie God howsoeuer Iulian with Pharao and the chiefe of the Iewes did perseauer still in their disloyaltie and despiteful blasphemie against him and his holy Church But howsoeuer the Iewes do euen at this day abide in their wilfull stubbornnesse the Lord did from heauen declare openly enough that hee is no longer delighted with the Ceremonial rites because he destroyed all the instruments belonging to that auncient kinde of worship and made the very shopp of that old religion I meane the temple and citie of Hierusalem leuel with the ground Touching the temple the Lord in the Gospel spake to his disciples when they with wondering did behold it and said Do ye not see al these thinges verilie I say vnto you there shal not be leaft here one stone standing vpon an other And againe weeping ouer the vnthanckful citie he said They shall not leaue in thee one stone standing vppon an other beecause thou knewest not the time of thy visitation And nowe that all this was word for word accomplished and fullie finished Iosephus an eye witnesse of the same doeth largely testifie in the 18. Chap. of his 7. booke De Bello Iudaico Euen very now I told you that from one thousand and fiue hundreth yeares agoe vnto this present time the Iewes neuer had anye place giuen them to build their temple vpp in againe whereby if they were not beside themselues they might easilye gather that the Messiah is alreadie come into the world and that hée hath abrogated all the Ceremoniall rites It is a very slender or rather no defence at all for the Iewes to alledge the woords in the lawe which are many times rehearsed where the Ceremonies are described Ye shall keepe it for an euerlasting ordinaunce For in this sense Euerlasting is taken for Longlasting and Vnchaungeable so farre foorth as it hath respecte vnto the will or authoritie of mankinde For the Lord did with threatening of gréeuous punishments forbidd that mankinds vnaduisednesse should chaunge or abrogate the holy Ceremonies And yet since hée did ordeine those Ceremonies vntil the time of amendment hée doeth neither sinne nor yet incurre the crime of vnconstancie when hée doeth chaunge or take away the Ceremonies according to the determinate purpose whiche hée intended from the beginning Moreouer so long as the thing signified doeth not decaye and that the shadowe onely or momentanie figure doeth vanish away it is assuredly certaine that the Ceremonie doth yet remaine in full effecte and substaunce The whole man doeth liue for euer and yet the thinges that are temporall or corruptible in him doe perishe in death and are abolished in his clarification But that all these thinges may appeare as cleare as the day light I will particularly runne through and touch the more notable sort of Ceremonies That the priesthood of Aaron is vtterly abrogated it is euident by the wordes whiche the Apostle citeth out of Dauid saying The Lord hath sworn and will not repent thou art a priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech Christ therefore is the one and onely high priest and that too an euerlasting priest hauing an immutable priesthood which cannot by succession passe from him to any other man or Angel. For hee now standing at the right hand of the father in heauen the very true temple which was prefigured by the Tabernacle and temple at Hierusalem doeth make intercession for vs doth all the offices of an high priest Of whom the Apostle of Christ S. Paule doeth speake very largely in his Epistle vnto the Hebrues This Christ Iesus our highe
the first precept thou shalt referre the feare the faith loue of God with assured hope perseuearing patience constancie inuincible in trouble and afflictions To the second belongeth the true and sincere worship wherwith God is pleased with the vtter refusall of all superstition and peruerse religion Vppon the third doeth depende the reuerence of Gods Maiestie the frée confession of his might the holie inuocation of his name and the sanctification of the same In the fourth is comprehended the moderate conseruation of the Ecclesiasticall Ceremonies y preaching of Gods word publique prayers whatsoeuer else doeth belonge to the outward seruice or externall worship due to god To the fifte thou mayest annexe the naturall loue of children toward their parents of men toward their countrie kinese-folkes the due obedience that we owe to the magistrates and all in authoritie and lastly the offices of ciuil humanitie To the sixte thou shalt ioyne iustice and iudgement the protection of widowes orphanes the deliuering of the oppressed and afflicted weldoing to all men and doing hurt to no man To the seuenth thou shalt add the faith of wedded couples the offices of marriage the honest and Godly bringing vp of childrē with the studie of chastitie temperance and sobrietie To the eighth is to bee reckoned vpright dealing in cōtracts liberalitie bountifulnesse and hospitalitie Vnder y ninthe is couched the studie of trueth through al our life time faith in words déeds with decēt honest profitable speach In the tenth and last thou mayest remember good affections holie wishes with all holy and honest thoughts And so this is the compendious platforme of good workes Nowe if thou desire to haue it more briefly expressed than this that thou séest then turne thee selfe hearken to the wordes of Christ our Lord who gathereth these 10. into two principall points saith Thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy heart with al thy soul with al thy mind thy neighbour as thy selfe Whatsoeuer therefore yee would that men shuld do to you euen so do ye to thē Vppon these precepts of the Lord let all the faithful which desire to doe good works most surely fixe their eyes and minds that too so much the more diligently and constantly as they doe more surely and euidently perceiue see that God in the lawe the prophets doeth require nothing else nor any other works at the hands of his electe chosen seruants Go to now therefore let vs heare out of the holy Prophets some such euidēt testimonies touching good woorks as do consent wholie agree with the lawe of the lord Moses in Deut. crieth And now Israel what doeth the Lord thy God require of thee but to feare the Lord thy God to walk in al his wayes to loue him to serue the Lord thy God with all thy hart and with all thy soule That thou keepe the cōmandements of the Lord and his ordinances which I cōmaund thee this day And the kinglye Prophete Dauid in the 15. Psalme asketh this questiō Lord who shal dwel in thy tabernacle And presently answereth it himselfe saying Euen hee that walketh vprightly doeth the thing that is iust right And so forth as is conteined in the 10. cōmaundemēts Esaie also in his 33. cap. moueth the same question and answereth it euen so as Dauid had done before him Ieremie in the 21. chap. doth vrge and reiterate these woords to the Iewes Thus the Lord cōmaundeth Keepe equitie and righteousnes deliuer the oppressed from the power of the violent do not greeue nor oppresse the strāger the fatherles nor the widow and shedd no innocent bloud in this place And Ezechiel in his 18. cap. knitteth vp a beadrowe of good workes in no point vnlike to these sauing only y it is somewhat more largly amplified In Osée the Lord saith I desire mercie more than sacrifice the knowledge of God more than whole burnt offerings Micheas doth diligently inquire what the worshipper of God should do to please him with all what workes he should doe to delight the Lord and immediatly by the inspiration of the holy Ghoste he maketh aunswere saying I will shewe thee O man what is good and what the Lord requireth of thee namely to doe iustly to loue mercie and with reuerence to walke before thy God. In like maner the Prophete Zacharie to them that demaunded of him certaine questions touching vertues such good woorkes as please the Lord gaue this answere saying Thus sayeth the Lord of hostes Execute true iudgement shewe mercie and louing kindenesse euerie man to his brother doe the widowe the fatherlesse the straunger and the poore no wronge Let no man imagine euill in his heart against his brother neither bee ye louers of false othes for these are the thinges which I do hate sayeth the Lord. With this doctrine of the Prophets doth the preaching of the Euangelists and Apostles fullie agrée teaching in euerie place that charitie righteousnesse and innocencie are the scoape summe of all good woorkes The Apostle Iames sayeth Pure religion and vndefiled before God and the father is this To visite the father lesse and widowes in their aduersitie to kepe himself vnspotted of the world It remayneth now for me to drawe to an end and in the rest that is yet be hind to be spoken touching the descriptiō of good works to confer places of the Scripture for the confirmation plaine exposition of the same Now therfore we said y good works in déed are wrought by them that are regenerate to the glorie of God the ornamēt of our life and the profite of our neighbour For the Lord in the Gospell prescribeth this end to good works where he saith Let your lighte so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your father whiche is in heauen The Apostle Paul also oftener than once exhorting vs to good woorks doth as a most effectuall cause to sett them forward add That by those workes of ours we may adorne the doctrine of oure Lord and Sauiour Christ Iesus And euen as a comelie and cleanely garment adorneth a man so doe good workes in déede set foorth the life of Christian people For herevppon it riseth that the Apostles of Christe did so often persuade vs to put off the old man and put on the newe which is created to the similitude and likenesse of god For thereby wee obteine both honour and glorie We both are and are called the seruaunts yea and the sonnes of oure Lord and God whose propertie and vertue shineth in vs to the glorie and praise of his holy name And as hée doth require good works at our hands so if we do them we on the one side do please and delight him and hee on the other doeth honour vs againe as may bee proued by many testimonies of the holy Scripture But the thing it selfe is so plaine
to minde that notable sentence of the Lord Iesus in the Gospell saying Woe be to thee Chorazin woe be to thee Bethsaida for if the wonders had beene done in the citie of Tyre and Sidon that haue beene done in you they would haue repented long ere this in sackcloth and ashes But I say vnto you it shal be easier for Tyre Sidon and Sodoma in the day of iudgement than for you The parable of the vnfruitefull figgetrée is knowen to all men whereof mention is made in the Gospell whiche withered vpp by the Iudgement of God to be an example to teache and terrifie all impenitent sinners What shall fall may wee thincke vppon the men of these dayes that do so boldly despise repentaunce now so many yeares so plainly preached vnto them and beaten into their heads Some there are a Gods name that will outwardly for a shewes sake only séeme to be desirous of the Euangelical truth other are vtter enimies contemners and persecuters of the Gospell an infinite rable thou shalt finde of Lucianists Epicures Nullifideans and Atheistes nowe since all these do equally in a manner swéetely deride or rather scoffingly mocke at this hartie repentance we cannot doe otherwise but still expect looke when the terrible iudgmeÌ„t of Gods mightie arme should fall vppon such vnrepentaunt sinners Let them y wish well to themselues spéedily turne to the lord and consider with themselues coÌ„tinually and earnestly howe great the damage is to kéepe the transitorie ioyes of this present life so to loose the eternal ioyes of the kingdome of heaueÌ„ Let euery one make hast to do that which hée perceiueth to be done the better by so much by how much the sooner it is taken in hand And yet I would not that any man should despaire in his sinnes if so be y he doth not stubbornely despise the remedie of repentaunce nor because of the facilitie and gentlenesse of his heauenly father doth not maliciously by the way of contempt deferre repentaunce euen til the very end And if any man be hindered by the flesh the world and the diuel so that it be late or ere he applie his minde to repentaunce neither would I haue him to fall to desperation But nowe because I haue somewhat more longe drawen out this discourse of repentance than I had thought to haue done that I may heere at last make an end of my sermon I wil in steed of a conclusion recite vnto you those golden words of the holy martyre s. Cyprian bishop of Carthage where he writeth against Demetrian to this effecte following Beleeue and liue ye that nowe for a time doe persecute vs reioyce with vs for euer When ye are once out of this life then is there no place for repentaunce nor any effect of satisfaction In this world the life is either wonne or lost In this world eternall saluation is prouided for by the vnfeigned worshipping of God and the fruites of true faith Let not any man either by his sinnes or yeares be held backe from comminge to lay hold vppon Saluation So long yet as a man is in this world no late repentaunce doth come out of season The entrie is open vnto Gods indulgence and to them that seeke and vnderstaÌ„d the truth the path to pardon is passing plaine Thou eueÌ„ at the verie end and last gaspe of this temporall life aske pardon for thy sinnes at the handes of him which is the true and onely GOD call to him for the confession faith of his knowledge to him that coÌ„fesseth pardon is granted and to him that beleeueth saluation is giuen he euen presently vppon his departure doeth passe to immortalitie This grace doth Christ communicate this gift hee doeth attribute vnto his owne mercie by making death subiect vnto the triumph of the crosse by redeeming him that beleeueth with the price of his bloud by recoÌ„ciling man to God the father by quickening the mortal by the heauenly regeneration Let vs all if it be possible followe him Let vs all professe his signe and sacrament He openeth to vs the way of life Hee bringeth vs to paradise againe He leadeth vs to the kingdome of heauen With him we shall alwayes liue and being by him made the sonnes of God wee shal with him alwayes reioyce being restored by the sheding of his bloud We shal be Christians glorified together with Christe blessed in God reioycing with perpetuall pleasure alwayes in the sight of God and euermore giuing thanckes to god For he cannot choose but be merrie alwayes and thanckefull who beeing once in daunger and feare of death is nowe made secure in immortalitie ¶ The end of the seconde Sermon TO THE MOST RENOVMED Prince Edward the sixt King of England and Fraunce Lord of Ireland Prince of Wales and Cornewall defender of the Christian faith Grace and peace from God the father through our Lord Iesus Christ THE promise that not long agoe I made to your most Royall Maiestie I doe nowe perfourme offering here the other eight Sermons of the 4. Decade which I dedicate vnto your Royall Maiestie that of mee you may haue two Decades of Sermons full and wholie finished In March I sent 12. Sermons vnto you which were fauourablie accepted of your Royall Maiestie as I vnderstand by the letters of that Godly and worthy learned man maister I. Hooper the most vigilant bishop of Glocester my brother reuerend fellow father in Iesus Christ Who also by the commendation of your Royall M. goodwill to me ward hath hartened mee on so that now with farre more confidence and libertie than before I send vnto your Maiestie this other part of my worke entreating of most weightie and holy matters In this my dedication I respect nothing else but that which I declared in my former Epistle to witt that I according to the gift that the Lord hath indued me withall may helpe forward and aduaunce the state of Christian religion nowe againe happily springing vp in the famous realme of England by your Royall Maiesties good beginnings and counsels of your worthy Nobles All they of euery nation that is in Christendome whiche doe truely beleeue in Christ Iesus doe hartily reioyce on your Maieâ—ties behalfe and the behalfe of your most flourishing kingdome for this renouation of true Religion and do earnestly pray to Christ the Lord that he will happily bring to a good end the thinge that you in the feare of him haue happily begonne Your Royall Maiestie verily hath aduentured vppon a woorke both very great and full of troubles but he will neuer faile your Godly endeuoures that sayd Behold I am with you for euer vnto the end of the world And now also euen as it hath beene alwayes from the first beginning of the Church there are many letts and great impediments that are obiect against most holy and wholesome intentes doing what they can to hinder and trouble the reformation of religion and amonge other
excommunication the secular power hath nowe by the space of 30. yeares and more beene called on and persecution hath beene euery where raysed vpp against guiltlesse Christians not for committing heynous crimes and defending naughtinesse but for inueighing against mischiefes and mischiefous men and for requiring the reformation of the Church and yet euen at this day most cruell edicts are out and crueltie is exercised euery day more more against them that confesse the name of Christ yea such is their impudencie brasen-faced boldnesse they dissemble not that the counsell if any must be celebrated shall be called for the rooting out of heresies yea they doe openly professe that the counsell once held at Trent was to this end assembled Nowe since these things more clearely than the sunne are perceiued to be most true thou shalt most holy kinge doe wisely and religiously if without looking for the determination of a generall counsell thou shalt proceed to reforme the Churches in thy kingdome according to the rule of the bookes of both testaments which we do rightly beleeue being written by the inspiration of the holy Ghost to be the very word of God. But nowe that it is lawfull for euery Christian Church much more for euery notable Christian kingdome without the aduise of the Church of Rome and the members therof in matters of religion depraued by them wholie to make are formation according to the rule of Gods most holy word it is therby manifest because Christians are the congregation the Church or subiects of their king Christ to whome they owe by all meanes most absolute and perfect obedience Now the Lord gaue his Church a charge of reformation he commended vnto it the sound doctrine of the Gospell together with the lawfull vse of his holy Sacraments he also condemned all false doctrine that I meane that is contrarie to the Gospell he damned the abuse and prophanation of the Sacraments and deliuered to vs the true worship of God proscribed the false therefore Christians obeying the Lawes commaundements of their Prince do vtterly remoue or take away all superstition and do restore establish and preserue the true religion according to the manner that Christ their Prince appointed them He verilie is a foole or a mad man which sayeth that the Church of Christ hath none authoritie to correcte such errours vicces and abuses as do daily creepe into it And yet the Romish tyrannie hath so bewitched the eyes of many men that they thincke that they cannot lawfully doe any thinge but what it pleaseth Rome to giue them leaue to doe The Ecclesiasticall histories make mention of prouinciall Synods held in sondrie prouinces wherein there were handled matters of faith and the reformation of the Churches and yet no mention once made of the bishop of Rome What may be thought of that moreouer that in certeine Synodes not heretical but orthodoxasticall and Catholique thou mayest finde some that were excommunicated for appealing from their owne Churches vnto the Church of Rome Sainct Cyprian writing to Cornelius the bishop of Rome doth say Since that it is ordeined by vs all that it is iust and right that euery mans cause should be heard there where the crime is committed that to euery seueral pastour is appointed a portion of the flocke which euery one must gouerne make accompt of his doings before the Lord it is expedient verilie that those ouer whome we haue the charge should not gad to and fro by that meanes with their subtile and deceiptfull petulancie to make the concord of bishops to be at iarre but to pleade their causes there where they maye haue their accusers present and witnesses of their crime committed But letting passe the testimonies of men we do now come to the testimonies in the booke of god The most holy king Iosias most godly Prince may alone in this case teach you what to do and how to do with the warrant authoritie of God himselfe He by the diligent reading of the holy booke of God and by the contemplation of things present and the manner of worshipping God that then was vsed did vnderstand that his auncestours did greatly very farre erre from the plaine and simple truth for which cause he calleth together the princes and other estates of his kingdome together with all the priestes to hold and celebrate a counsell with them In that counsell he standeth not long disputing whether the examples of the elders ought rather to be followed or Gods commuandement simplie receiued whether he ought rather to beleeue the Church or the Scripture and whether all the iudgement of religion ought to be referred to the high priest For laying abroade the booke of the Lawe he submitteth both himselfe and all his vnto the Sacred Scripture Out of the booke of the Lawe both he him selfe doth learne biddeth all his to learne what thinge it is that pleaseth God namely that which was commuanded and learned in the reading of the Lawe of god And presently hee gaue charge that all men should doe and execute that not hauing any regard to the auncient custome or to the Church that was at that time he made all subiecte to the word of god Which deede of his is so commended that next after Dauid hee is preferred before all the kinges of Iuda and Israel Nowe your royall Maiestie cannot followe any better or safer counsell than this cōsidering that it proceedeth from God and that it is most fit for the cause which is euen nowe in hand The disputation is of the Reformation of Religion and the true fayth of Christ You know that that doth spring from heauen namely that it is taught by the word of God and powred into our hartes by the holy Ghost For Paul sayth Faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ Therefore as true fayth is not grounded vppon the word of man so is it not taught or planted by the same For in an other place the same Apostle sayth My preaching was not in the enticing words of mans wisedome but in the shewing of the spirite and of power that your faith might not be in the wisedome of man but in the power of God. Not without good cause therefore doe we refuse the traditions of men and turne onely to the doctrine of the word of the Lord without which it is assuredly certeine that there is no doctrine nor any foundation of true fayth Neither are they worthie to be heard who thincke that the Canonicall Scriptures are not plaine enough full enoughe or sufficient enough to minister a perfect platforme of reformation They blaspheme the spirite of God imputing vnto it obscurenesse imperfection which faultes no prophane writer can well abide to heare off Sainct Paule in defence of the trueth sayth All Scripture giuen by inspiration of God is profitable to doctrine to reproue to correction to instruction which is in righteousnesse that
Father and the Sonne and name them the Trinitie teach that the man whiche God the Word tooke vppon him is to be accompted perfecte man not in body onely but in soule also euen as the auncient doctours of the Church did also thinck But forbeecause the question about Ousia and Hypostasis did trouble the Churches that there were sundrie contentions disputations concerning the differēce betwixt them they seeme to me to haue determined very wisely that those names should not at the first presently bee vsed in questions of GOD vnlesse it were that when a man wente about to beate downe the opinion of Sabellius hee were compelled to vse them least by lacke of words he should seeme to call one the same by three names when hee should vnderstand euery one peculiarly in that threefold distinction Socrates in the 7. Chap. and thirde booke of his historie addeth But they did not bring into the Church a certeine newe religion deuised of themselues but that whiche frō the beginning euen till then the Ecclesiasticall tradition taught and prudent Christians did euidently set foorth And so foorth Therefore awaye with the Popes champions to the place whereof they are worthie which when wee teach y all pointes of true godlinesse and saluation are fully conteyned and taught in the Canonicall Scriptures by the way of obiection do demaund in what place of the Scripture we find the names of Trinitie Person Essence and Substance and finally where we find that Christe hath a reasonable soule For although those very words consisting in those syllables are not to bée found in the Canonicall bookes which were by the Prophets and Apostles written in an other and not in the latine tongue yet the thinges the matter or substaunce which those woords doe signifie are most manifestly conteined and taught in those books whiche thinges likewise all and euery nation may in their language expresse for their commoditie and necessitie speake and pronounce them Away also with all Sophisters which thinke it a great point of learning to make the reuerend mysterie of the sacred Trinitie darcke and intricate with their straunge their curious and pernicious questions It is sufficient for the godly simplie according to the Scriptures and the Apostles créed to beléeue and confesse that there is one diuine nature or Essence wherin are the father the Sonne and the holy Ghoste Neither is it greatly materiall whether ye call them substances or subsistences or persons so that ye do plainly expresse the distinctiō betwixt them and eche ones seueral properties confessing so the Vnitie that yet ye confound not the Trinitie nor spoile the persons of their properties And héere now it will do verie wel out of the Scriptures to cite such euident testimonies as maye euidently proue the mysterie of the Trinitie with the distinction and seuerall properties of the thrée persons The Lord in the Gospel after S. Matthew saith All power is giuen to mee in heauen and in earth goe ye therfore teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Sonne of the holy Ghost teaching them to obserue all thinges whatsoeuer I haue commaunded you Tertullian alledging those wordes against Praxea sayth He did last of all commaund his disciples to baptise into the Father and the Sonne and the holy Ghost We are baptised not into one nor once but thrice at euery name into euery seuerall person Thus much Tertullian Nowe as euery seuerall person is seuerally expressed so the diuinitie of them all is therein singularely taught to be one and common to them all because hee biddeth to baptise not onely into the name of the Father but also of the Sonne and of the holy Ghoste The Apostle and elected vessell Paule doeth flatly denie that any man either ought to be or euer was baptised into the name of any man whiche is nothing else but méere man Were ye sayeth hée baptised in the name of Paule So then the Father is God the Sonne is God and the holy Ghost is GOD into whose name wée are baptised The same Lord in the Gospell after S. Iohn sayeth When the comforter commeth whome I will sende vnto you from the father that is the spirite of trueth he will lead you into all trueth He shal not speake of himselfe but whatsoeuer he shall heare that shall he speake He shall glorifie me for hee shall receiue of mine and shall shewe vnto you All things that the father hath are mine therefore said I vnto you that hee shall take of mine and shewe vnto you In these wordes of the Lords thou hearest mention made of the person of the father from whome the spirite is sente of the person of the Sonne whiche sendeth him and of the person of the holy Spirit which commeth vnto vs Thou hearest also of the mutual and equall communion of the Diuinitie and all good thinges betwixte the thrée persons For the holy Ghost speaketh not of himselfe but that which he heareth He shall sayeth the Sonne take of mine And againe All things that the father hath are mine And therfore what things the Sonne hath those are the fathers the diuinitie glorie and Maiestie of them all is coequall With these most euident speaches doe these two manifest testimonies of Iohn Baptist agrée First he sayth He whom God hath sent doth speake the words of god For God giueth not the spirite by measure vnto him The Father loueth the Sonne and hath giuen all thinges into his hand He that beleeueth on the Sonne hath euerlasting life c. Loe héere againe in the one Godhead thou hearest the three persons distinguished by their properties For the Father loueth sendeth the Sonne and giueth all things into his hand The Sonne is sent and receiueth all thinges but the holy Ghost is giuen of the Father and receiued of the sonne according to fullnesse Then againe the same Baptist crieth the second time and sayeth I sawe the spirite descending from heauen like vnto a Doue and it abode vppon him And I knewe him not but hee that sent mee to baptise with water the same said vnto mee vppon whom soeuer thou shalt see the Spirite descending and tarying still vppon him the same is hee whiche baptiseth with the holy Ghoste And I sawe and bare record that this is the Sonne of GOD. Héere againe are shewed vnto vs as clearely as the day-light the thrée persons distinguished not confounded For he that sendeth Iohn is the Father The holy Ghost is neither the Father nor the Sonne but appeareth vpon the head of Christ in the likenes of a doue And the Sonne is the sonne not the Father and that too the sonne of the Father vpon whose head the holy Ghost did abide And now to this place doth belonge the testimonie of the Father vttered from heauen vppon his Sonne Christ For he sayeth This is my beloued Sonne in whome I am wel
God in whome God might dwel and reigne and that he should therefore acknowledge God reuerence adore call vppon and worship and also be ioyned vnto God and liue with him eternally And first of all I will speake of adoreing God nexte of calling vppon God lastly of seruing god Wherevpon we shall perceiue without any trouble at all whiche is the true religion or which is the false The places truly propounded are verie plentiful but in fewe wordes I will comprehend what the scripture doth teach vs concerning them howbeit not euerie one particularly but the chiefest and so muche as séemeth sufficient for our saluation and sound knowledge To adore or worship in the holie scriptures doeth signifie for honours sake to vncouer the heade to bend the body to incline or bowe the knée or with the whole body to lye prostrate vpon the grounde to fall flat on the face at ones féete after the fashion of suppliants or petitioners in token of humilitie submission and obedience and it is referred chiefly to the gesture or habite of the body The Hebricians vse one only word Schahah whiche all interpreters haue expounded by this word Adorare to adore bende bowe and lye along with the face downward The Grecians haue expounded it by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is I bowe the knées I vncouer or make bare the head I humbly beséech or adore And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 adoration is so called either of kissing or of mouing the hat For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth I kisse And that a kisse was sometimes a signe of worshipping reuerencing or adoreing it is to be gathered out of the 31. of Iob. What and is it not a fashion verie much vsed euen at this day for honour and reuerence sake to kisse the hand Againe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth a hat a bonâ—et or a cap so that to adore is to make bare and vncouer the heade for reuerence sake The Latinistes also peraduenture had an eye to the habite of the bodie For Orare to pray signifieth both as well to craue as to speake a thing He therefore doth adore that casting his countenaunce vpon a man doeth craue somthing suppliantly Likely it is that the Germanes also had a respect herevnto For they turne Adorare to adore by this word Anbatten Whiche might moreouer haue ben turned Zu fussen fallen In the ninth of Matthewe thou doest reade Beholde a certeine ruler came to Iesus and worshipped or adored him But Marke writing the same historie And beholde saith he there came one of the Princes of the Synagogue whose name was Iairus and when he sawe him he fel downe at his feete and besought him instantly or muche thus expounding to vs what to adore is to wit to fall downe at ones féete and to submit and beséeche like a suppliant For so we reade in the olde testament of Iacob Israel our father And he going before them bowed him selfe to the ground seuen times vntill his brother Esau approched and drewe neare Of Dauid and Abigael thus we reade in Samuel When Abigael sawe Dauid she hasted and lighted off her Asse and fel before Dauid on her face and worshipped gâ—ound she â—ell 〈◊〉 his â—â—ete saying Let that iniquitie bee counted mine my Lord c. Likewise of Nathan the Prophete it is 〈◊〉 thus written And wheÌ„ he was 〈◊〉 in â—o the king he worshipped or made obeysaunce vppon his face on the ground For GOD communicating this honour doeth allowe the same vnto men either for their old age their authoritie or worthinesse sake For man is the liuely image of God. And it pleaseth God himselfe to call men that excell other in authoritie Gods. Wherevppon the Apostles of Christe Peter and Paule instructing the people of God taught them Hee verily Feare God honour the king and This the magistrate is Gods minister Giue therfore to all men honour to whom honour belongeth feare to whome feare is due In the lawe the Lord sayeth In presence of a hoare head rise vp And Honour thy parents In consideration of this commaundement of God y godly do reuerence the aged their parentes and magistrats and please God also with faithful obedience But to adore worship or honour images what representation or likenesse soeuer they beare the Lord doeth no where like or allowe For hee sayeth in the Lawe Thou shalt not bow downe nor worshippe them And by his Prophete Isaie None sayeth he considereth with him selfe of this matter and sayeth One peece of the woode I haue burnte in the fire I haue baked bread with the coales thereof I haue roasted fleshe therewithall and eaten it should I now of the residue make an abhominable idole and fall downe and worship a rotten peece of wood In the same Prophete thou readest with muche indignation pronounced Their land is fâ—l of vaine Gods or idols before the woorkes of their hands haue they bowed themselues and adored it yea euen before the thing that their owne fingers haue made There kneeleth the man there falleth the man downe before them therfore forgiue them not Therefore that auncient writer Lactantius inspired with a propheticall spirite disputing against the Gentiles hath thus lefte it written The images themselues whiche are worshipped are representations or counterfects of dead men And it is a peruerse and an absurde thinge that the image of a man should bee worshipped of the image of GOD to witt man For he worshippeth the thing that is worser and weaker Besides that the very images ofsainctes whiche most vaine men doe serue are voyde of all sense and féeling béecause they are earth And where is hee that vnderstandeth not that it is a wicked and sinnefull acte for an vprighte and streight creature to be bowed downe and to adore and worship earth whiche to that end is vnder our féete that it should be troden vppon and not adored of vs who therefore are made to goe vppright and looke vppward that wee should not lye groueling downeward that wée should not cast this heauenly countenaunce to the earth but thither looke and directe our eyes whither the coÌ„dition of their nature hath guided them Whosoeuer therfore endeuoureth to mainteine the mysterie of mans creation and to hold the reason of his nature let him raise vp himselfe from the ground and with a raised minde bende his eyes vnto heauen Let him not séeke a God vnder his féete nor digge from vnder his footesteps that which hee may adore or worship Beecause whatsoeuer lyeth vnder or is subiect to man the same must néedes be inferiour vnto man But let him séeke aloft let him séeke in the highest place because nothing can be greater than man but that which is aboue man But God is greater than man hee is therefore aboue not beneathe neither is he rather to be sought in the lowest but in the highest region or roome Wherefore there is no doubt but
word Colere is in Latine of large signification For we say Colere amicitiam to mainteine frendship Colere literaruÌ„ studia to loue learning Colere arua to till or husband our lands and Colere senes to reuerence olde men We in this place vse Colere for Seruire that is in all pointes like a seruant to be dutifull and to shewe him selfe obedient to reuerence or haue in veneration and to â—e worshippe The Hebricians vse their worde Abad which the Latine interpretour translateth Seruiuit coluit or sacrificauit that is he serued worshipped or sacrificed In the booke of Kings thou dost reade And Achab serued Baal worshipped him The GreciaÌ„s cal this seruice either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The one is taken for the other though in déede Seruire to serue be more than Colere to worshippe For thou canst abide without any adoe to worship some man but to serue the same thou canst not so well away withall We say therefore that the seruice of God is a seruice whereby men submit them selues reuerently vnto God and obey him and according to his will worship him They therefore serue God which serue him earnestly behaue them selues duetifully in obeying him seruing him inwardly and outwardly as he hath appointed For the seruice of God is two-fold or of two sortes The true and the false TheÌ„ true is called true religion true fayth and godlinesse The false is called superstition idolatrie and vngodlinesse For that is the true seruice of God which springeth from the true feare of God from a sincere fayth whiche submitteth it selfe to God alone and applyeth it selfe in all things to the will of god The false seruice consisteth in the contrarie Touching the whiche we will say more when we come to speake of superstition The true seruice of God is diuided againe for perspicuitie or plainenesse sake into the inward seruice of God and the outward The inwarde seruice is knowne to God alone who is the searcher of heartes For it is occupyed in the feare of God and perfect obedience in fayth hope and charitie from whence doe spring the worshipping of God the calling vpon him thankesgiuing patience perseueraunce chastitie innocencie weldoing and the rest of the fruites of the spirite For with these giftes of God and spirituall thinges God who is a spirite is truly serued Without these no seruice is allowed of God howe so euer in the sight of men it séeme gay glorious and pure This seruice of god hath testimonies both diuine and humane but firste of all of the Lawe the Prophetes and the Apostles For in the lawe Moses sayth And nowe Israel what doth the Lorde thy God require of thee but that thou shouldest feare the Lorde thy God and walke in all his wayes that thou shouldest loue him and that thou shouldest serue the Lord thy God with all thy hart and with all thy soul that thou shouldest keepe the commaundements of the Lord and his ordinaunces whiche I coÌ„mand thee this day for thy welth Micheas the Prophet bringeth in one asking questions concerning the true seruice of God in what thinges the same consisteth and he maketh answere I will shewe thee O man what is good and what the lord doth require of thee surely to do iustly or iudgement to loue mercy and to huÌ„ble thy selfe to walke with thy God. S. Paule the Apostle sayth I besech you brethren by the mercies of god that ye giue vp youre bodies a liuing sacrifice holy acceptable vnto God whiche is your reasonable seruing of god And fashion not your selues like vnto this world but be ye chaunged by the renuing of youre minde that ye may proue what is the wil of god and what is good and acceptable and perfect The same Apostle comprehending in few words the true seruice of God to be a turning from Idols vnto God and the fayth of Iesus Christ sayth They of Macedonia and other nations or quarters shewe of you how you are turned to God from Idols that ye might serue the liuing and true god and loke for his sonne from heauen whom he raysed from the dead euen Iesus who deliuereth vs from the wrath to come Moreouer S. Iames the Apostle saith Pure religion and vndefiled before God the father is this to visite the fatherlesse or orphanes and widowes in their aduersitie and to kepe him selfe vnspotted of the worlde These diuine and euident testimonies of holy scripture declare plentifully enough dearely beloued which is the true inward seruice of god Humane testimonies neuertheles nothing disagréeing from diuine verie many and euery where found in Ecclesiasticall writers Lactantius lib. Institut 6. cap. 9. sayth Therefore the knowledge of God and his seruice is all in all In this consisteth all the hope and saluation of man this is the first step or degrée of wisedome that we shoulde knowe who is oure true father that we should reuerence him alone with due godlinesse that wee should obey him and most deuoutly serue him and to obteyne his fauour let all labour care and industrie be bestowed Of this kinde the same authour citeth other testimonies also largely in the tenth chapter of the same booke and in the firste chapter of his booke De vero Dei cultu he giueth vs manifest But in stead of many we like well the citing of that one testimonie touching the true seruice of God fréely vttered by the mouth of a Romane martyr before iudge Asclepiades at y Romane Consistorie For after he had both couragiously and religiously tolde what God was in person and what in substance he addeth Thou knowest God nowe vnderstand as well The fourme and man-ner how he serued is What kynd of Church it is where he doth dwell What gifts to giue he thought it not amisse What vowes he askes whome he beside all this Will haue his priestes and in his Church like-wise What he commaundes to bring for sacrifice Vnto him selfe euen in the minde of man A Church he hath vouchsafed vp to reare A liuely feeling breathing Church which can Not sundered be faire beautifull and cleare And neuer like destructions dint to feare With loftie top and painted pleasantlie With coloures fresh of great diuersitie At th' holy porch a priest is standing there And keepes the doores before the Church which beene Fayth is her name a virgine chast and cleare Her haire tyed vp with fillets like a Queene For sacrifices simple pure and cleene And which she knowes are pleasing bids this priest Offer to God and to his deare sonne Christ A shamefast looke a meeke and harmelesse hart The rest of Peace a body pure and chaste The feare of GOD which sinners doth conuart The rule like-wise of knowledge truly plaste A sober fast from all excessiue waste Of Gluttonie an hope which doth not faint A liberall hand which giues without restraint From these oblations a vapour doth
manifest that this godly inuentioÌ„ of those men who liued holily in the time of Abraham which of late by the doctrine of Christe is preached to all nations is the first moste auncient and eldest of aâ— Thus much Eusebius Furthermore if we behold our selues in this looking-glasse of a Christian name we shal see that very few at this day are worthie of this name Truly all of vs are commonly so called we will be all named christians but fewe of vs liue a life worthie of our profession We are named christians of holy annointing The holy annointing is the holy ghost himself Vpon whom shal my spirit rest saith the Lorde Euen vppon him that is poore and of a lowly troubled spirite and standeth in awe of my wordes But we set light by the word of God we haue very troublesome heades we are corrupt with euil affections and lewde lusts we swel with pride therfore we want the oyntment of holy oyle or are voide of the holy ghost Who therefore can say that we bée Christians We are all of vs in maner ruled by wicked desires by the flesh the world and the prince of this worlde fewe of vs rule the world the flesh and those thinges which are in them Therefore not the spirite of God but the spirite of the world and the fleshe beareth rule in vs The diuel the world and the fleshe haue dominion ouer vs for in them wee liue and them we doe obey wherevppon being estranged and let loose froÌ„ all righteousnesse and holines we are beecome flaues seruing a most vile filthie slauerie For we not desiring to be deliuered do neither séeke a redéemer nor being impatient of their tyrannie rise rebell against them but like faint-harted cowardes wée yéeld our selues to be brought in subiection and to be kept vnder their tyrannie nay it repenteth and yrcketh vs of our labours watchinges prayers of all duties of Godlines béeing carelesse wee lie lurking as in a place of voluâ—tuousnesse But who would 〈◊〉 â—uch swine the most holy name of a Christian but he that is bothe exceeding foolish and wicked No maruel theÌ„ iâ— such be thrust down into hell there eternally to burne and there eternally to be yoked vnto him whom they haue moste wickedly chosen to themselues to follow And now what one of vs is there y doth teach admonish exhort those that boast brag of this Christian name I speak nothing heere concerning the Doctors or teachers of the Church but my talke doth touche the office dutie of a christian man Truly the most part of vs are slowe in instructing our families and felowe-brethren For either it grieueth vs to take the paine or else we feare daunger Therefore we turne the office of admonishing instructing vpon the publique ministers of the church as though nothing at all of this matter were required of vs For this cause speaches in a maner vnséemly to be spoken are heard vttered of men I haue not the office of a minister I am no Pâ—aff priest why therefore should I 〈◊〉 â–ª why should I admonishe And these care not howe blasphemous and filthie things be spoken either at home or abroade For they liue to themselues and thinke that the glorie of God and the soules-healthe of their neighbour belongeth nothing vnto them But what sacrifices offer wee worthie of God and our name where are prayers and thanksgiuings where is the mortification of our fleshe and the denying of this world where is compassion or well-doing where is an holy and harmelesse life The contrarie if néede so required I coulde reckon vppe in a long bead-rowe but to what ende were it to make a large discourse of those thinges that are manifest vnto all men For who I pray you doth denie that the life of this presente age of men I meane whiche bragge and boaste of their Christian name is filthie stincking and pestilent Whiche thinges since they bee too too true and euident I haue nothing done amisse in saying a litle before that at this day there are fewe Christians They that are wise and desire to bee according to their name let them heare our Sauiour speaking in the Gospel of Matthew Striue to enter in at the streight gate for wide is the gate and broade is the waye that leadeth to destruction and many there be whiche goe in thereat Because streight is the gate and narrowe is the way whiche leadeth vnto life and fewe there be that finde it Furthermore they whiche thing ought first of al to haue béen spoken doe verie greatly offende against religion and Christian profession whiche as they doe not sincerely acknowledge the priesthoode kingdome of Christ so they boast theÌ„selues to be chiefly praise worthie coÌ„mendable catholike because they coÌ„mit those things which by al meanes obscure darken the kingdome priest hood of Christ Christians being content with this only title name doe not ambitiously séeke after or admit another name But these men as thogh the name of a christiaÌ„ were but a light trifling name neuer rest vntil they be also called by other names as though they were babtised into the name of BrioÌ„ Benet Robert or FrauÌ„cis Christians cleauing only to their lawgiuer maister teacher Christ do not acknowlege the voice of strauÌ„gers neither goe a strawes breadth from the diuine scriptures But these men charge thée with heresie vnlesse thou receiue and woorship for heauenly Oracles al kinde of constitutions of the Romish Church though they be flat contrarie to the wordes teaching of Christ Christians acknowlege themselues to haue one king one deliuerer one sauiour one head in heauen These men worship his vicar in earth and attribute saluation not onely to triâ—â—ing things but to verie stinking loathsome thinges Christians put all their trust in God to whome they offer all their vowes and prayers by Iesus Christ whome they beléeue to be the only highe priest and most faithfull patrone and aduocate of all that beléeue They make their prayers to creatures and mens imaginations and choose to themselues so many patrones and intercessours as there doe liue saintes in heauen Christians know that the sacrifice of Christ once offered is alwayes effectuall to make satisfaction for all the sins of al men in the whole worlde and of all men of al ages But these men with often outcries say that it is flatte heresie not to confesse that Christ is daily offered of sacrificeing priests consecrated to the purpose Therfore the name of a christian is common to al but the thing signified ment by the name is common to the faithfull only who cleaue vnto one Christ Nowe I conclude my whole discourse of Christ a king and a priest with these words of saint Augustine The sonne of God whiche made vs is made among vs and beeing our king ruleth vs therfore we are Christians because he is Christe He is
are gathered and knitt together into the vnitie of the bodie of Christe are separated from all other religions fellowships assemblies more too we are bound by them as by an othe to the true worship of one God and vnto one sincere religion to the which wée openly professe that we agrée and giue our consent with all them that are partakers of the sacraments Where this chiefly is to be marked that the gathering or knitting together into the vnitie of the body of Christe hath a double respecte for either wée are ioyned with Christe that hée is in vs and wée liue in him or else wée are coupled with all the members of Christe to witt with Christes faithfull seruauntes I meane with the Catholique Church it selfe Furthermore we are knit together with Christ in spirite and faith But we are ioyned to the Church or to the members of Christ by the vnitie of faith and of the spirite and by the bonde of charitie All which verily are the inward giftes of the spirite whiche fréely are bestowed on vs by the Lord onely not by any creatures not by any elementes Sacraments therefore do visiblie graffe vs into the fellowship of Christ his saincts who were inuisibly graffed by his grace before we were partakers of the Sacramentes but by receyuing of the sacramentes we doe nowe open and make manifest of whose body wée would bée and are members the Lord with his signes or markes by his minister also visiblie marking vs for his owne household and for his owne people Whiche thing by the Scriptures wée will more fully open and make manifest They who in time past by the force of the couenaunt by the grace mercie and promise of God were the people of God were by Circūcision visibly gathered together into one Churche knit together into one bodie For the Apostle S. Paule sayeth vnto the Ephesians Wherefore remember that ye beeing in time passed Gentiles in the fleshe called vncircumcisiō of them which are called circumcision in the fleshe made with handes that at that time I say ye were without Christe and were aliantes from the cōmon wealth of Israel and straungers from the couenaunt of promise c. Whereby it is also easilye vnderstood how the Iewes by circumcision were distinguished from other religions and fellowships and that circumcision in another place for this cause is put for them that are circumcised and why the name of vncircumcised was reprochfull For those that were vncircumcised were counted for vngodly and vncleane persons that had no fellowshippe nor parte or inheritaunce with God and his Sainctes Of baptisme whiche was ordeined in the stéede of circumcision some thing is spoken in my former Sermons And also the apostle setteth it out most plainely As the bodie sayeth hée is one and hath many members and all the members of the bodie whiche is one thoughe they bee many yet are but one bodie euen so is Christ For by one spirite are wee all baptised into one bodie whether wee be Iewes or Gentiles whether wee be bond or free and haue been all made to drinke into one spirite Wee are therefore knitt together by the Sacramente of baptisme into the vnitie of the bodie of Christe so that to haue broken this bond and to yeld our selues into another fellowshipp of religion and brotherhoode may worthilie be called sacrilege and treason Herevnto the Apostle séemed to haue respect when he asked the Corinthians Are ye not baptised into the name of Christe declaring thereby that they whiche are baptised into the name of Christ haue openly sworne and bound their faith before the church of Christe so that nowe they neither can nor ought to reioyce in any other name than in the name of Christ into whose household they are receiued by baptisme So I say wée are separated by baptisme from all other religions and are onelye consecrated to Christian religion Hée hath the like place in all pointes touching the supper of the Lord 1. Corinth cap. 10. For when the Apostle would declare to the Corinthians that it is a thinge farre from all godlines vnséemely yea and sacrilegious that Christians should eate in the idols temples thinges offered to idols and be partakers of the Gentiles sacrifices reasoning from the manner and nature of the Sacrament of the Lords supper he sayeth Flie from idolatrie I speake as vnto them that haue vnderstanding iudge ye what I saye The cupp of blessing whiche wee blesse is it not the communion of the bloud of Christ The bread whiche we breake is it not the communion of the bodie of Christe For wee that are many are one bread and one bodie because we all are partakers of one bread Behold Israel whiche is after the flesh are not they whiche eate of the sacrifices partakers of the altar What say I then that the idol is any thinge or that that whiche is sacrificed vnto idols is any thing Nay but rather this I say that those thinges whiche the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to diuels not to god And I would not that yee should haue fellowship with the diuels Ye cannot drincke the cupp of the Lord and the cupp of the diuels Ye cannot bee partakers of the Lords table and of the table of diuels c. For all this is Paules saying whiche since it serueth notably to oure purpose and is verie plaine I will but briefly runne ouer it First he layeth downe the state and scope of the matter whervnto he immediatly directeth his whole discourse Flie saith he idolatrie And he meaneth by the word Idolatrie whatsoeuer perteyneth to idolatrie especially the eating of meate offered to idols But if you know not what Idolothytū is which word he there vseth vnderstand that it is a Gréeke word whiche Paule vseth in this case and it signifieth a thinge sacrificed to an idol or a thing publiquely in sacrifice consecrated to an idol And it was the manner of the Corinthians to sacrifice at the altars of their Gods in idol-houses that is to say in their idol temples and to call Christians vnto those their sacrifices and they when they came sate and eate of that whiche was offered vnto idols eating without difference with the idolaters thincking they might haue done that without any fault at all béecause by the bright shining of the Gospel it appeared that neither the idol neither that God whome the idol represented and therefore also the thinges themselues that were offered to idols were nothing else but vaine names and thinges of no price or estimation But Paul disputing against these from the 8. Cap. vnto the 11. teacheth that it is farre wide from Christianitie to be partakers of the Gentiles sacrifices and saith I wil speake vnto you as vnto them that haue discretiō that after I haue shadowed out vnto you which way to walke you by the sharpenes of your witt maye vnderstand what is true what is false and to be
short which waye you must incline And then hee scattereth certeine groundes of argumentes which they afterward discussing might by their diligence polishe and make perfecte They sayeth he that are partakers of the supper of the Lord in which the bread of the Lord is broken and the cup of the Lord is dronken are of the same communion fellowship or body with the lord For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whiche word Paul vseth héere and which interpreters haue translated Communion or partaking though fellowship is better than partaking as in the Dutch translation Gmeind is better than Gmeind chaffe is not taken actiuely as I may so say for the distributing giuing or reaching out Christes bodie by the minister but passiuely for the fellowship and societie for the bodie I say of the Churche as when the churche is called a communion that is an assemblie a gathering together and societie of saincts or godly Christians Furthermore the Churche is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a communion of the bodie and bloud of Christe beecause it is redéemed by the bodie and bloud of Christ being partaker of Christ liueth by him For he liueth in the godly Christians communicating vnto them all his good gifts of life And that the partakers of the supper of that Lord are the bodie or communion of Christ he declareth by a reason which followeth saying Because we that are many are one bread and one bodie Wherevnto by by hee addeth another more euident reason for interpretations sake saying For we are all partakers of one bread In that we are partakers of one bread sayth he we doe openly testifie that we are partakers of the same bodie with Christe and all his Sainctes In which wordes hée hath a notable respecte to the Analogie For as by vniting together of many graines as Cyprian saith is made one breade or one loafe as of many clusters of grapes one wine is pressed out so out of many members groweth vpp and is made the bodie of the Church which is the bodie of Christ Nowe in the woordes of Paule these thinges offer themselues vnto vs to be marked First for that nowe hée calleth that a multitude or manye by a woorde expressing his minde better whiche before he named a communion A communion therfore is nothing else but a multitude or congregation For he said The bread is the partaking of the bodie of Christe but now he saith We being many are one bread one body We being many sayeth he that is all wée which are a multitude and a congregation or Churche redéemed by the bodie of Christ which was giuen and by his bloud whiche was shedd for vs Afterwards hée saith We being many are one bodie hee doeth not say are made one bodie For wee are not first graffed into the bodie of Christe as wée haue often repeated alreadie by partaking of the sacramentes but wée whiche were before ingraffed by grace inuisiblye are nowe also visibly consecrated Againe by the like reason of Sacraments or by an example of the scripture taken from the Sacramentes of the people of the old Testament hee sheweth that the partakers of the sacramentes are one bodie both with him to whome they offer and with them with whome they offer or with whome they eate of thinges offered to idols Behold saith hee the Israelites whiche offer sacrifices after the flesh Are not they that eate the sacrifices 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say communicants fellowes or partakers of the thinges of the temple or of the altar For vnder the word of the things of the temple or of the altar 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is his word he comprehendeth whatsoeuer doth belong to the worshipp and religion of the God of the Iewes so that the sense or meaning may be this Are not all they one bodie one communion one people both with the God of Israel and with his people which eate of the sacrifices offered to the God of Israel by the Israelitish people As if hee had said There is none that is ignoraunt of it or that can denie it since it is confessed and manifest amonge all men By these thinges hée leaueth to the Corinthians of their owne accord thus much to be gathered Therefore they that are partakers of the sacramentes of the Gentiles are one bodie and one fellowship with the Gods of the Gentiles and the Gentiles which do sacrifice Nowe by the figure Occupatio which is when in aunswearing we preuent an obiectiō that may bee made hée placeth these woordes betwéene What saye I then That the idol is any thinge Or that that whiche is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing Wherevnto by and by he addeth But this I saye that the thinges whiche the Gentiles offer in sacrifice they offer to diuels and not to God. Herevpon he might lawfully haue inferred Therefore if you continue to bée partakers of thinges offered to idols ye shall verilie be one bodie and one fellowshippe both with the diuell him selfe and all his members But béecause this might haue béene taken of many to haue béene bitterly spoken hée addeth another sayinge some-what more milde and gentle and sayeth And I would not that yee should bee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is communicants or partakers haue fellowship with diuels After which woords by comparing the contrarie partes hée bringeth in the summe of the whole matter to whiche he directed all his reasons and sayeth Yee cannot drincke the cupp of the Lord and the cupp of diuels ye cannot bee partakers of the Lords table and of the table of diuels And so forth The Sacramentes therefore doe separate vs from all other worshippinges and religions and doe binde and consecrate yea and also as it were make vs of the same body with one true GOD and sincere Christian Religion béecause wée béeing partakers of them doe openly professe that wée be the members of Iesus Christe whiche no man that is well in his wittes will take and make them the members of fornication and of idols That which Zuinglius that learned man hath In expositione fidei Christianę ad regem Christianum is not impertinent to this purpose Sacramentes sayeth hée are in steede of an oathe For Sacramentum with the Latines is vsed also for an oathe For they that vse one and the selfe-same Sacramentes are one peculiar nation an holy sworne cōgregation they are knitt together into one body and into one people whome whoso betrayeth shall perishe Therefore the people of Christe since by eating his bodye sacramentally they are knit into one bodie Now he that is faithlesse and yet dare be so bould as to make himselfe one of this societie or fellowship betrayeth the body of Christe as well in the head as in the members c. Thus farre he By this it is easie to vnderstand that sacramentes put vs in minde of oure duetie especially if wée marke in the writings of the Apostle how considering the maner of sacraments
The same also is mentioned in Luke In the Gospel of Iohn the third chapter baptisme is called Purifying In the Actes of the Apostles Peter saith to the people which demaunded what they should do Repent ye and let euery one of you be baptised in the name of Iesus Christe for the remission of sinnes Ananias also sayth to Paule Arise and be baptised wash awaye thy sinnes in calling on the name of the Lord. And now Paule himselfe saith Christ loued the church gaue himselfe for it to sanctifie it when he had cleansed it in the founteine of water in the word Wherefore the promise yea the trueth of sanctification and â—rée remission of sinnes is written and ingrauen in oure bodies when we are baptised For God by his spirite thorough the bloud of his sonne hath newly regenerated and purged againe oure souls and euen now doth regenerate and purge them And baptisme is sufficient and effectual for the whole life of man yea and reacheth and is referred to all the sinnes of all them that are baptised For the promise of God is true The seale of the promise is true not deceiueable The power of Christ is euer effectuall throughly to cleanse and wash away all the sinnes of them that be his Howe often therefore soeuer wee haue sinned in our life time let vs call into oure remembrance the mysterie of holy baptisme wherewith for the whole course of our life we are washed that we might know not doubt that our sinnes are forgiuen vs of the same God and oure Lord yea and by the bloud of Christe into whome by baptisme once we are graffed that he might alwayes woorke saluation in vs euen til we be receiued out of myserie into glorie Neither is there any doubt that Abraham in his whole life had continually in his minde the mysterie of circumcision and rested in God and the séede promised vnto him Yet I thinke that that ought diligently to be marked which S. Augustine pithily plainly hath ofteÌ„ cited That our sinnes are forgiuen or purged in baptisme not that they are no more in vs for as long as we liue concupiscence beareth swaye alwayes breedeth and bringeth forth in vs somewhat like it selfe but that they shuld not be imputed vnto vs neither that wee may not â—inne but that it should not bee hurtfull for vs to haue or had sinned that our sinnes may be remitted when they are committed not suffered to be continued De Fide operib cap. 20. And also many more of this kind Gratian reciteth Distinct 4. de Consecrat Beside that by baptisme wee are gathered together into the fellowship of the people of god Wherevppon of some it is called the first signe or entrie into Christianitie by the whiche an entraunce into the churche lieth open vnto vs Not that before wee did not belong to the church For whosoeuer is of Christ partaker of the promises of God and of his eternall couenaunt belongeth vnto the Churche Baptisme therefore is a visible signe and testimonie of our ingraffing into the bodie of Christ And it is rightly called a planting incorporating or ingraffing into the bodie of Christe For I said in the generall discourse of Sacramentes that wee first by baptisme were ioyned with Christe and afterward with all the members of Christ our brethren For Paul saith All ye that are baptised haue put on Christ But to put on Christ is to bée made one with him as as it were to be ioyned and incorporated in him that he may liue in vs and we in him For hée onely by his spirite regenerateth and renueth vs and most liberally inricheth vs with all manner good giftes which the same Apostle in another place expresseth in these words God saued vs by the founteine of the regeneration renuing of the holy Ghost whiche he shedd on vs richly through Iesus Christ our sauiour Yea and therefore Christ our Lord is baptised in oure baptisme to declare that he is our brother and we ioynte-heires with him Verie well therefore said S. August That baptisme is thus farre forceable that wee beeing baptised are incorporated into Christ and counted his members The same Aug. calleth Baptisme the sacrament of Christian felowship For we are gathered againe visibly by baptisme into the vnitie of one bodie with all the faithfull as many as haue beene are and shal be For Paule also saith By one spirite wee are all baptised into one bodie And it followeth hereby that baptisme serueth for our confession and is rightly called the token of Christian religion For it is a badge or cognizaunce wherby we witnesse and professe that wée consent and are lincked into Christian religion Wée coÌ„fesse that we by nature are sinners and vncleane but sanctified by the grace of God through Christ For if we were cleane by nature what néeded we then any cleansing But now since wee are cleansed who doubteth of the truth of God Therefore when we receiue baptisme wee truely and fréely confesse both our sinne wherein we were borne and also frée forgiuenesse of sinnes Lastly the remembrance and consideration of the mysterie of baptisme putteth vs in minde of the dueties of Christianitie and Godlines that is to say al our life long to weigh diligently with our selues of whose bodie we be made members to denie our selues and this world to mortifie our fleshe with that coÌ„cupiscences of the same and to be buried with Christ into his death that we may rise againe in newnesse of life and liue innocently to loue our brethren as our meÌ„bers with whom by baptisme we are knit together into one bodie to remaine in the bond of concord in the vnitie of the church not to followe straunge religions béeing mindeful that we are baptised into Christ to whome alone we are consecrated and farre separated and diuided from all other Gods worships or religions and to be short from all heresies Let vs thincke also that wée must constantly and valiantly fighte against Sathan and the whole kingdome of Sathan As often therefore as wée remember wée are baptised with Christes baptisme so often are these thinges put into our mindes and wée admonished of our duetie But the Apostle handleth this matter more at large in the sixt Chapter of his epistle to the Romanes where hee expresly maketh meÌ„tion that we by baptisme are made the graftes of Christ that is to say that we might growe out of him as braunches out of the vine and féele in our mindes and bodies both the death and resurrection of Christe For since we are indued with the spirit of Christ which worketh in vs our body verily dieth daily but oure spirite liueth and reioyceth in Christe To whom be glorie for euer and euer Amen ¶ Of the Lords holie Supper what it is by whome when and for whome it was instituted after what sort when and howe oft it is to be celebrated and
with christian charitie for the Lords sake to beware that we defile not our bodies with the filthe of the world since we be cleansed with the bloude of Christe Paule the Apostle sayth So often as ye shall eate of this breade and drinke of the Lords cup declare the Lordes death vntill he come But to declare the Lords death is to praise the goodnes of God to giue thanks for our redemption obteined through his death For the Apostle Peter saith Ye are a chosen generation a royall priesthod an holy nation a people set at liberty that ye shuld shew forth vertues of him that hath called you out of darknes into his meruelous light But hereof we haue spokeÌ„ also in another place Thus much I thought good in fewe words to repeate touching the ends of the supper which euery godly man being instructed by the holy ghost doth diligeÌ„tly coÌ„sider I wold now let you go déerely beloued brethren but that I sée it wil be a coÌ„moÌ„ coÌ„moditie to teach in few words flow euerie one should prepare himselfe to the lordes supper that he come not to it vnworthily But it were not loste labour first of all to search 〈◊〉 who do worthily or vnworthily eate and drinks of the Lords bread and cup. There is no man that can denie that there are degrées in our worthinesse and vnworthines if he rightly examine the iudgements of God and looking narrowly into the nature of our religioÌ„ is able to giue iudgement thereof The chiefest degrée of vnworthines is to come to the holy mysteries of faith without faith He coÌ„meth worthily that commeth with faith vnworthily he that commeth without faith Such are said to be workes worthie of repentaÌ„ce in that gospel as are penitent works or séemly for such as professe repeÌ„taunce But what is more beséeming more méete and iust than that he who is to celebrate the Lords Supper doe beléeue that he is redéemed by Christes death who was offered vp as a price for the whole world and that for that cause is desirous to giue thanks to Christ his redéemer Contrariwise what is more vnséemly vniust thaÌ„ to receiue that pledge of Christes bodie and in the meane while to haue no communion or felowship with Christ To come to thankesgiuing yet not to giue thanks from the bottome of his hart For what vniteth vs to Christe or what maketh vs partakers of all his benefites therwith also to be thankfull but faith What doth separate vs froÌ„ Christe and spoyleth vs of all his gyftes and maketh vs moste loathesome but vnbeliefe Therfore faith or vnbeléefe maketh vs partakers of the Lords table woorthily or vnworthily Paule the Apostle in the Actes sayth to the Iewes who through vnbeléefe did reiect or set at nought the preaching of the Gospell The word of God ought first to bee preached vnto you But bicause you reiect it and iudge your selues vnworthie of euerlasting life beholde we turne vnto the Gentiles How did the Iewes pronounce against theÌ„selues that they were vnworthie of euerlasting life and like Iudges gaue sentence against themselues In setting them selues againste Gods worde through vnbeléefe neither apprehendinge Christ by faith who is the life and righteousnesse of the world Wherefore the chiefe and greatest portion of our worthinesse vnworthinesse is and consisteth in â—aith or vnbeléefe S. Peter witnesseth that our hartes are purified by faith true faith therfore is the cleannes of christians Wherevpon S. Augustine sayth The vnbeleeuer eateth not the flesh of Christ spiritually but rather eateth and drinketh the sacrament of so great a thing to his owne condemnation Because beeing vncleane he hathe presumed to come to Christes sacraments which no man receiueth worthily but he that is cleane Of whom it is said Blessed be the cleane in hart for they shal see God c. Moreouer they eate and drink of the Lords supper vnworthily who although they be not destitute of faith yet by their abusing of it do peruert the right institution of the Lord such séemeth to haue béene the errour of the Churche of Corinth which mingled the priuate and prophane with the Ecclestastical and mystical banquet did put no difference betwéene the Lords bread which is called Christs bodie common meate For Paule saith Who so eateth drinketh vnwoorthily he eateth and drinketh his owne damnation making no difference of the Lordes bodie Therefore to make no difference of the lords bodie is vnworthily to eate the lords bread and to drinke of his cup. For this woorde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to iudge or to make a difference is to weigh and consider of a mater exactly with iudgment to the vttermost of a mans power to iudge of it make a difference betwéene that and al other things Furthermore the Lords bodie is not only that spiritual body of the Lord to wit the church of the faithfull but that verie bodie which the Lord tooke of the virgin offred vp for our redemptioÌ„ that now sitteth at the right hand of the father To be short the bread of the sacrament in the supper is the Lords bodie it is I say the sacrament of the true bodie which was giuen for vs Whosoeuer therfore putteth no difference betwéene this the Lords mystical bread prophane meate but commeth to Christes table as he would to a table of common and grosse meate and acknowledgeth not that this heauenly meats differeth farre from other humane meate neither commeth after that sort as the Lord hath instituted but foloweth his owne reason surely he maketh no difference of the Lords bodie but eateth and drinketh his own damnation Paul againe expoundeth himselfe saying Therefore my brethren when you come together to eate tarrie one for another that yee meete not to condemnation Who so therfore preuenteth the publique supper by eating his own priuate supper that is to say who so suppeth not as the Lord hath appointed the same eateth drinketh vnworthily For before vn worthie eaters drinkers are said to eate and drinke their own damnatioÌ„ here they are said to méete togither to their condemnation the make hast to the supper not tarying for their brethren and they make no difference of the Lords bodie S. Augustine in his 26. treatise vpon Iohn sayth The Apostle speketh of those which receiued the Lords bodie without difference carelesly as if it had bin any other kind of meate whatsoeuer Heretherefore if he be reproued which maketh no difference of the lords bodie that is to say doth not discerne the lords body froÌ„ other meates how then shuld not Iudas be daÌ„ned who came to the lords table feigning that he was a friend but was an enimie c. How much more grieuously doe they séeme to sinne at this day who peruerting the lawfull and first vse the was instituted by the Lord do stablish their own abuse with great contentioÌ„ yea grieuously persecute them that cry out against it
he might leaue off from béeing a clerke for that no man could well be bothe a monke and a clerke since the one is an impediment to the other Then liued they not of the common reuenues of the Church but of the trauel of their owne hands as the lay people do S. Hierome disputing of the originall of monkes in the life of Paulus hath thus written Among many it hath oftentimes been called into question who first beganne chiefly to dwell in the wildernes of the monkes Some fetching the matter somewhat farre off beginne to reckon from Helias the holy prophet and S. Iohn of whome Helias seemeth to vs to haue beene more than a monke and that S. Iohn began to prophecie before he was borne But others in which opinion the moste part of all people doe commonly agree affirme that saint Anthonie was the firste beginner of that order which in part is true For he was not onely the first but also the motioner of all others therevnto Amathas Macarius saint Anthonies scholars whereof the first buried his maisters bodie do nowe affirme that one Paulus Thebius was the first beginner of that way whiche thing we also confirme not only in name but also in opinion And anon hee addeth that Paulus forsaking the citie being thereto inforced for feare of torments vnder the persecuters Cecius and Valerianus departed into the wildernesse where he found a â—aue and lay hid therein vntil hee was founde out by S. Anthonie The Emperours Decius Valerianus gouerned the Empyre about the yeare of our Lord 260. but it is saide that S. Anthonie dyed when he was an hundred fiue yeres olde in the yeare of our Lord 360. S. Augustine in the 80. epistle to Hesychius who reporteth of his own time howe that he liued in the yeare of our Lorde foure hundreth and twentie but Eutropius and Beda reporte howe that he died in the yeare of our Lord foure hundreth and thirtie in the thirtie and one chapter of the maners of the catholique church reciting the manners and institutions of the monkes in his time reporteth suche thinges as are verie farre from the orders institutions of our Monkes now a dayes In the time of Iustinian the Emperour who made certeine lawes of Monkes and Monasteries there liued one Benet whom many of the Monkes nowe a dayes do call father whose life I will recite vnto you out of Trittenheymius who died aboue fiftie yeares since to the intent you may vnderstande what power and dignitie they obteyned in processe of time who at the beginning were contemned of none authoritie Benet Abbat of Cassina sayeth he first founder beginner and gouernour of the monkes in the West wroate in eloquent style and with graue iudgement the rule for monkes in one booke whiche beginneth Giue care O my sonneto my precepts c. and it conteineth thrée score and thirtéene Chapters He died in the yeare of our Lord 542. But Marianus Scotus supposeth that hée died in the yeare of our Lord 601. in the last yeare of the Emperour Maurice He writeth also of twentie orders of Monkes that were vnder Benets rule Of S. Benets order there haue béene eighttéene Popes in the Sea of Rome Cardinals aboue two huÌ„dred Archebishops in diuerse Churches to the number of one thousand sixe hundred Bishops almost foure thousand Famous Abbats who excelled in life doctrine and writings fiftéene thousand seuen hundred Of suche as are Canonized fiftéene thousand sixe hundred And that I may not recite many other orders of monkes it is knowne that the mendicant Monkes and Friers beeing the faithful diligent valiaunt Romane champions of the Pope and the spirituall Monarchie were confirmed by Honorius about the yeare of our Lorde one thousand two hundred twentie and two Hereby I would declare nothing else but onely that all men shoulde vnderstande that Monkerie was deuised by mannes inuention not deliuered vnto the Churche of Christe by the Apostles and that at the firste it sémed to be tollerable but afterward became altogether intollerable Howe profitable it is to the common wealth experience it selfe teacheth And who so euer knoweth not that it is quite repugnant to true religion knoweth nothing They feigne that it is meritorius before God and the state of perfection But who séeth not how repugnant it is to Christes merite and to the sincere doctrine of the Gospell What godlinesse or necessitie is it that moueth vs after that we haue wholy betaken our selues to one God in baptisme to betake our selues also and to make our vowes to Sainctes and to binde our selues by religioÌ„ of an othe to the obseruing of their rules True religion forbiddeth vs to vowe our selues to Saintes or by any meanes to depende in way of religion vppon them True religion forbiddeth vs to choose vs any other Fathers or Maisters True religion forbiddeth vs to deuise new maÌ„ners of worshippings or new religions or to receiue them that are deuised by others The example of Ieroboam and his fellows maketh vs affeard True religion forbiddèth vs to sweare by the names of other GODS Religion referreth vs to one GOD by faith and obedience Superstition breaketh this bande and admitteth creatures S. Paul to the Corinthians saith Euerie one of you sayeth I am Paules I am Apollos I am Cephaes and I am Christes Is Christ diuided was Paule crucified for you Or were you baptised in the name of Paule Beholde Christ is our redéemer and our maister The faith of Christe hath made vs one bodie By baptisme we are baptised into one body that we might be called Christians not Petrines or Paulines S. Paule would not suffer that Christians shoulde take their name of the Apostles how much lesse would he abide that at this day some shoulde bee called Benedictines some Franciscanes some Dominicanes We are the Lordes inheritance and possession it is not lawfull for vs to binde our selues to the seruice of men But who so binde themselues they teare in sunder the vnitie of Christes body they prophane the crosse and baptisme of Christ The Apostle sayeth playnly Is Christe diuided was Paule crucified for you or wer you baptised in the name of Paul And therefore although they be commonly called Spirituall persons yet are they nothing lesse than spirituall For the Apostle sayth When one of you sayeth I am Paules and I Apolloes are ye not carnall To what end is it after the receiuing of the gospel of Christe Iesus and the doctrine of the Apostles whiche conteyne and deliuer vnto vs all godlinesse to inuent newe rules For truely when they had once founde out certeine peculiar lawes and meanes of liuing they separated themselues from the common sorte of Christians in all outward maner of liuing in their behauiour and in all their apparell to the intent that by that meanes they might make euident to all men that they woulde liue a-part as it were from that common laye and imperfect Church to liue more holily perfectly and
from the truth the narrowe breadth of one small haire The aunswere therefore is this if any man shall sweare against the faith and charitie so that the kéeping of his othe maye tâ—â—d to the worse then it is better for him to chaunge his othe then to fulfill it Whervpon Saint Ambrose saith It is somtime coÌ„trarie to a mans duetie to performe the othe that he hath promised as Herod did Isidore also saith In euill promises breake thine othe in a naughtie vow change thy purpose The thing thou haste vnaduisedly vowed do not performe The promise is wicked that is finished with mischiefe And againe That othe muste not be kept whereby any euill is vnwarely promised As if for example one shoulde giue his fayth to an adultresse to abide in naughtinesse with her for euer vndoubtedly it is more tolerable not to keepe promise then to remaine in whordome stil Beda moreouer saith If it shal happen that we at vnawares shal with an othe promise any thing and that the keping of that othe shall be the cause of further euill then let vs thinke it best vpon better aduice to chaunge our othe without hurt to our conscience and that it is better vpon such a necessitie for vs to be forsworne then for auoyding of periurie to fall into another sinne tenne times worse then that Dauid sware by God that he woulde kyll the foolishe fellowe Naball but at the firste intercession that his wyfe Abigail wiser then him selfe did make hee ceassed to threaten him hee sheathed his sworde agayne and did not finde him selfe any whit grieued for breaking his hastie othe Augustine also sayeth Whereas Dauid did not by sheading of bloude perfourme his promise bound with an othe therein his godlynesse was the greater Dauid sware rashly but vpon better and godly aduice he performed not the thing he had sworne By this and the like it is declared that many othes are not to be obserued Now he that sweareth so doth sinne but in chaunging his othe hee doth verie well Hee that chaungeth not suche an othe committh a double sinne firste for swearing as he ought not and then for doing that he shuld not Thus much hitherto haue I rehearsed of other mens wordes which al men verily acknowledge to be true and so in déede Nowe by this ye doe easily vnderstande dearely beloued what ye haue to thinke of those monasticall vowes and Priestes othes whiche promise chastitie no farther ywis by their leaue than mans fraile weaknesse will suffer them For it is better sayth the Apostle to marrie theÌ„ to burne And more commendable is it not to perfourme those foolishe hurtfull and vnpure promises that driue them perforce to filthy vncleannesse then vnder the colour of kéeping an othe truely to lye and to liue vnchastly God wot Fiftly and lastly I haue briefly to put you in mynde that ye indeuour your selues by al the meanes ye may deuoutly to keep that which ye swere and therewithall in fewe wordes to let you vnderstande what rewarde is prepared for them that do religiously and holily kéepe and obserue the holy othe once solemnely taken If we loue God if we desire to sanctifie his name if we take the true God for the very true God and for our God if we will haue him to be gentle and mercyfull to vs warde and to be our present deliuerer and ayder at all assayes then will we haue a most diligent care to sweare with feare deuoutly and holily to kéepe and perfourme the othe that wée deuoutly make But vnlesse we do this then terrible threatenings and sharpe reuengement of Gods iust iudgement are thundred from heauen against vs transgressours The very heathens shall rise vp and condemne vs in the day of iudgement For the Saguntines the Numantines and they of Petilia chose rather to die with fire and famine then to breake or violate their promise once bound with an oth Moreouer the lawes of all wise and ciuil Princes and people do adiudge periured persons to dye the death Howe great offences howe great corruptions howe great and many mischiefes I praye you doe rise through periuries They intangle trouble disgrace marre and ouerthrowe the estates both ciuil and Ecclesiasticall Who so euer therefore doth loue the common weale and safegarde of his countrie who so euer dothe loue the Church and good estate thereof he wil aboue all things haue an especiall regard to kéepe religiously the promise of his othe Nowe to those that holily do kéepe their othes the Lord doth promise a large reward For Ieremie saieth And the nations shall blesse theÌ„selues in him in him shall they glory As if he should say If the people of Iuda shall sweare holily and kéepe their othes then will the Lorde poure out vpon them so great felicitie and abouÌ„dant plentie of al good things that when as hereafter one shal blesse or wishe well to another he shall say The Lorde shewe thée his blessing as of olde he did to the Iewes And who socuer shall prayse another he shall say That he is like to the Israelites It is therefore assuredly certayne that they shall be inriched with all good thinges and worthy of all manner prayse who so euer shall inuiâ—lably kéepe their othes and promyses Let vs indeuour oure selues my brâ—thâ—â—n thren I beseeche you to sanctifie the Lords name and to adde to this third commandemeÌ„t your earnest and continuall prayers saying as our Lorde Iesus hath taught vs O heauenly father hallowed be thy name or let thy name be holily worshipped To him be glory for euer and euer Amen Of the fourth precept of the first table that is of the order and keeping of the Sabboth day ¶ The fourth Sermon THE fourth Commaundement of the first table is worde for word as followeth Remember that thou kepe holy the Sabboth day Sixe dayes thou shalt labour and do al thy workes but on the seuenth day is the Sabboth of the Lorde thy God in which thou shalt not do any manner of work neither thou nor thy sonne nor thy daughter nor thy man seruant nor thy maide seruant nor thy cattell nor thy straunger whiche is within thy gates Bycause in sixe dayes the Lorde made heauen and earth the sea and all that is therin and rested the seuenth day Therefore the Lorde blessed the Sabboth daye and hallowed it The order which the Lorde vseth in giuing these commaundements is naturall and very excellent In the first precept the Lorde did teache vs faith and loue to God ward In the second he remoued from vs Idoles and all forreine kinde of worship In the third he beganne to instruct vs in the true and lawfull worship of GOD which worship standeth in the sanctifying of his holy name for vs to call thereon and holily and fréely to praise it and to thinke and speake of it as religiously as he shall giue vs grace The fourth Commaundement teacheth vs also the worship due to