works which he hath done and suffered noe doubt but they shall see and confesse that which his very enemys confessed who hauing seene the passages of his death went away Mat. 27. saying Indeede this was the Sonne of God Let them beleeue and professe this in the true Church of Christ and let neither life nor death nor the loue of any creature euer be able to separate them from it But there remaineth yet to shew which of all christian Churches is the true Church of Christ This by Gods grace I shall shew in the exposition of the ninth article where I shall destinguish the Catholike Church from all false Churches Now we will goe on to THE THIRD ARTICLE WHO was conceiued by the Holy Ghost The attributes of the B. Trinity borne of the Virgin Mary Although the mystery of the Incarnation be attributed here onely to the Holy Ghost as though Christ were conceiued by his onely power yet we are not to thinke that it was done by him onely without the Father and the Sonne For this is a rule without exception in the mystery of the blessed Trinity that all the externall works of God to wit those which he doth in respect of creatures are done indiuisibly by all the Persons of the B. Trinity because their power is all one indiuisible power in them and soe the Conception of our Sauiour was done by the same power of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holy Ghost And to say here that Christ was conceiued by the Holy Ghost is the same as to say that his conception was by the power and speciall gift of God after a supernaturall and not after a natural manner It is here attributed particularly to the holy ghost by reason of the great loue and bounty of God which he shewed in it For although all the diuine perfections be equally commune to all the Persons of the B. Trinity yet some certaine titles or attributes there are which are vsed as propper and particular to them seuerally Soe we attribute power to God the Father because the Sonne and the Holy Ghost proceede from him We attribute wisdome to the Sonne because he proceedeth from the Father by way of vnderstanding We attribute goodnesse loue bounty and the like to the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father and the Sonne by the operation of the will which loueth nothing but that which either is good or at least is apprehended then as good And soe those works of God in which his power is most manifested are attributed to the Father those which declare most his wisdome are attributed to the Sonne and those which shew most his goodnes loue bounty and the like are attributed to the Holy Ghost Neither was it an inuention of men by these termes and attributes to destinguish the diuine Persons but it was an inuention of God himselfe The Apostles were inspired to attribute power particularly to the Father saying I beleeue in God the Father Almighty S. Iohn was inspired to attribute wisdome to the Sonne calling him the Word of God which was from the beginning And Christ himselfe attributed goodnes in particular to the Holy Ghost Luc. 11. saying your father from heauen will giue the Good Spirit to those that aske him Soe although all the diuine persons be equall in power wisdome goodnes and in all perfections the same according to S. Iohn These three be one and soe all of them concurre equally to the Conception of Christ yet here it is attributed particularly to the Holy Ghost because the loue of God is soe eminently manifested in it For the same reason we paint the Father as an auncient man because the Sonne and the Holy Ghost proceede from him we paint the Sonne in humane nature an intellectuall creature because his procession is by way of vnderstanding we paint the Holy Ghost as a done because the done is a bird that sheweth most loue and loue as I haue said is the property of the Holy Ghost Neither can it be displeasing to God that we expresse him by these corporal shapes and species of visible things which are naturall and necessary for our vnderstandings And to shew this he would expresse himselfe soe appearing in those very shapes by which we expresse him He appeared vnto Daniel like an old man Dan. 7. I beheld saith he till the thrones were set and the auncient of dayes sate his vesture white as now and the haire of his head life cleane wooll The Second Person was not onely made into the similitude of men but appeared in the true nature of man in Iesus Christ our Sauiour Phil. 2. The Holy Ghost at the baptisme of Christ was seene as a done ouer him S. Iohn testifying I saw the Spirit descending as a done from heauen Io. 1. and he remained vpon him Thus would God represent himselfe to vs and we can not represent him better then as he hath represented himselfe Borne of the Virgin Mary By this article the Apostles professe the procession of Christ according to his humane nature For hauing in the first article professed the Father who is the first Person and in the second the Second Person in Iesus Christ his onely Sonne now they goe on to speake of him as man according to the nature which he assumed of the Virgin Mary his mother For where as other children proceede both of father and mother he by the operation of the Holy Ghost was conceiued of his mothers nature onely she remaining allwais a Virgin S. Ioseph as the husband of our blessed lady was taken for the father of Christ And when they heard him with that knowledge and wisdome disputing in the temple Mat. 13. admiring they said is not this the carpenters sonne noe he was the sonne of the blessed Virgin and assumed humane nature of her nature and of her Virginal body but of noe man And this was a mystery which God would reueale and foretell by his Prophet long before Esa 7. saying behold a Virgin shall conceiue and beare a sonne For as soone as the Angel had deliuered his message to her and she had answered Behold the handmaid of our Lord Luc. 1. be it done to mee according to thy word consenting to the mystery propounded by him the sacred body of our Lord was of the Virgins body presently formed and his soule was infused into it and they being vnited to the diuine Person there was then in one person the vnion of two natures and Christ who was the eternall sonne of God was also the sonne of man as he proceeded of the Virgin Mary both natures in that admirable coniunction keeping their perfections that as S. Leo saith the glorification neither consuming the inferiour nor the assumption deminishing from the superiour This is a mystery incomprehensible by vs and therefor the omnipotency of God was propounded by the Angell to our blessed lady as to be considered
the mysterious vnion of our nature vnto God in Christ that the Apostle might wel say we are made the consorts of the diuine nature for as man and woman are made consorts by holy marriage Petr 2 1. their mindes bodys and temporal riches becomming common and as it were all one betwixt them soe the Sonne of God vniting mans nature vnto his they were then two natures in one person and man was made coÌ„sort to the diuine nature and endowed withall the titles and riches of God that according to S. Athâ—nasius his Creede as man consisteth of a spiritual and corporal nature soe that of soule and body is constituted an intire man soe doth Christ consist of two natures diuine and humane There is noe good thinge which we can desire but we haue it in this mystery For our soules being sanctifyed by the passion of Christ they are made also the consorts of the diuine nature by grace and God comming to them as to his spouses bringeth with him all good thinges to them and in the end will carry them into his glorious kingdome These two mysterys of the Blessed Trinity and and of the Incarnation are as I haue said the two cheife mysterys of the christian faith propper onely to christians and destinguishing them from all other people and therefor the signe of the Cros which conteineth them is vsed in the Catholike Church as a breife and ready profession of the faith of Christ that as nations commonwealths and noble familys haue their armes and cognisants by which they are knowne and destinguished and in which they honour themselues soe christians haue the signe of the Cros as their propper armes by which they are knowne and professe themselues to be the children and disciples of Christ and therefor we haue great reason to glory in it and to thinke it our cheife honour and security to haue the armes of such a king and father Hauing declared the sense and signification of the figne of the Cros now we wil speake OF THE WORSHIP WHICH good Christians ought to giue to the Cros of Christ BY that which hath bene said it doth easily appeare that all Christians haue reason to honour the Cros. Infidels Iewes and Turks haue allwais opposed the honour of it pulling downe breaking and defacing of crosses pretending that which is true indeede that the dishonour which they doe to the Cros is done to Christ whose enemys they professe themselues to be Heretiks agree with Infidels Iewes and Turks when they pull downe chrosses and yet wil pretende themselues to be the freinds of Christ and his faithfull seruants hauing wilfully blinded themselues not to see that which the others by nature see that the iniurys which are done vnto the Cros fall voon Christ for whose sake we honour it Heretiks as you see agree here in their actions with Infidels Iewes and Turks and differ onely in pretence from them and natural reason sheweth that Infidels Iewes and Turks say truely in that which they pretende and that such haeretiks haue both euill actions and af alse pretence also and soe they haue in this lesse verity then the former But the Catholike Church hath neuer consented to the iniurys of the Cros because we know that such iniurys fall vpon Christ crucyfied and therefor as fast as they pull downe crosses we labour to set them vp and as they striue to dishonour the Cros we striue against them to honour it We blesse ourselues with the signe of the Cros bow to Crosses kisse and reuerence them we institute holy dayes in honour of it and in all thinges we glory in the Cros of our Lord Iesus Christ as the cheife instrument of his passion and therefor we thinke it a sitte signe to putte vs in minde of it and that we may aptly vnderstande his passion by it Thus hath the Church of God in the Apostles times and euer since vsed the Cros to signify the passion of Christ and honored it in that signification Thus did S. Phil. 3. Paul vnderstande by the enemys of the Cros the enemys of Christs Passion and thus doe Infidels Iewes and Turkes thinke that shewing themselues to be enemys of Crosses they shew themselues to be enemys of the Passion of Christ and haeretiks who professe themselues the Disciples of Christ should by reason conceiue as without doubt they doe a feare and horrour when they abuse Crosses and cannot by reason but thinke themselues enemys of the Passion of Christ when reason telleth them the relation which Crosses haue to it and therefor we rightly honour and worship them What did S. Paul but that which we doe when he said God forbidde that I should glory sauing in the Cros of our Lord Iesus Christ Gal 6. did not he vse here the Cros to signify the Passion of Christ and honour it in that signification in the very same sense doth the Catholike Church vse it and doth nothing but that which S. Paul here did and we may very well make this argument S. Paul vsed the Cros to signify the Passion of Christ and then honoured it in that signification therefor we may lawfully doe soe he gloried inwardly in his hart in the Cros and his tongue and lipps moued corporally in honour of it meaning still to honour the Passion of Christ by it and this is that which good Catholikes doe honouring with their harts and their whole bodys mouing in honour of the Cros vnderstanding by it the Passion of Christ Aug. tract 43. in lo. S. Augustine sayeth that Christ choosing the death of the Cros hath fixed the signe of the Cros in our foreheades that we might say God forbidde that I should glory sauing in the Cros of our Lord Iesus Christ The Cros is the cheife instrument and weapon with which our Sauiour fought and obtained that glorious victory by which he saued vs and therefor we ought to glory in it and to keepe it in great reuerence Dauid fighting for the people of God ouercame the Philistaean gyant and with a sword cut of his head and it pleased God that his sword should afterwards be honored by the people being carefully lapt vp and kept in the temple as a memoriall of their champions victory This is very propper to our purpose Dauid may represent Christ who is our champion but infinitly more glorious and therefor more worthy to be honored by vs. But as the sword was to Dauid soe was the Cros in respect of Christ the instrument of his victory and if it were the will of God to haue Dauid honored afterwards in his sword because the honour of it redounded to him shall not we honour Christ in his Cros and thinke that the honour of the Cros redoundeth vnto Christ If some euill minded man had entred into the Temple and taking downe king Dauids sword from behind the Ephod had abused and broken it would not this man haue bene iust y thought to haue dishonored king Dauid himselfe and
sentence which they giue soe priests are made of God the iudges ouer soules they beare his person they forgiue sinnes and whose sinnes they forgiue vpon earth those are forgiuen by him in heauen By sinne we become debtours to God he is the creditour who onely of himselfe can forgiue but he substituting others to forgiue in his name his substitutes can validly forgiue and the substitutes of God are his priests To say that men can not haue power to forgiue sinnes is that which the Iewes obiected against Christ and which he answered and disprooued by a miracle shewing by it that himselfe not onely as he was God but also according to his humanity could forgiue sinnes A lame and impotent man being brought vnto him he said Mat. 9. Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee And when the Iewes heard those words presently they said that he blasphemed as though the power of forgiuing sinnes had bene soe propper to God that he could not haue imparted it to man But they shall see the contrary and that there was noe blasphemy in his words Wherfor thinke you euill in you harts saith Christ whether is easier to say thy sinnes are forgiuen thee or to say arize and walke but that you may know that the Sonne of man hath power on earth to forgiue sinnes Arize take vp thy bedd and goe into thy house And he aroze and went into his house And the multitudes seeing it glorifyed God that had giuen such power to men Now let none euer say that men cannot haue power to forgiue sinnes It is soe farre from being a blasphemy or iniury to God to say that he giueth power to men to forgiue sinnes that to say the contrary is a blasphemy and iniury to him to wit that he can not or doth not giue that power to men For as the honour and power of the king is not diminished but rather his loue and care ouer his subiects is demonstrated in making iudges to conserue iustice and order amongst them and especially in giuing power to his iudges to pardon offences done against him soe is it a special demonstration of the loue of God vnto men to giue power to priests to forgiue sinnes which are committed against him And this is that which the Apostles would haue vs here to professe to wit the forgiuenesse of sinnes by power giuen to the Catholike Church He that considereth the euill of mortall sinne how that it woundeth and quite killeth our soules leauing them depriued of the grace of God and guilty of the paines of hell will esteeme greatly of this power and will thinke that there is nothing in the world which soe much behoueth a sinner as the right application of that power to himselfe Esa 27. This is the end and fruit of all that sinne be taken away Saith the Prophet By this our soules when they are as a dead and filthy carrion in the sight of God are restored to the life of grace made cleane and beautifull and all the happines of future life also becommeth then due to them This we shall learne how it is to be applyed in the Sacrament of Pennance where the benefit of it is obtained THE ELEAVENTH ARTICLE THe Resurrection of the flesh How necessary this article was to the establishing of the christian doctrine it appeareth in this that the holy scriptures doe not onely professe it but also prooue it S. Paul prooueth the resurrection of our bodys by the resurrection of Christ If saith he there be noe resurrection of the dead neither is Christ rizen againe Cor. 1 15. And if Christ be not rizen againe then vaine is our preaching vaine also is your faith And he declareth and confirmeth it by the similitude of corne which corrupting in the seede rizeth vp fresh and faire corne againe With these and the like arguments he disputeth against certaine men that denyed the resurrection Tim. 2.2 as Hymenaeus and Philetus who interpreted the scriptures to be vnderstoode of the resurreation of the soule to the state of grace Christ also himselfe disputed with the Saducaeans about this point and confirmed in fact the truth of it when he raized Lazarus to life who although he had bene fower dayes dead and laid then stinking in the monument yet when Christ called he heard Io. 11. and obeyed comming forth fresh and liuely Holy Iob in the midst of all his assictions comforted himselfe with these words Iob 19. I know that my redeemer liueth and in the last day I shall rize out of the earth And I shall be compassed againe with my skinne and in my flesh I shall see God Thus did this holy man solace himselfe with the thought of the resurrection which he saith he had laid vp in his bosome vsing it as a cordiall and antidore against his great miserys Our soules and bodys desiring by nature to be vnited together for the complete and intire constituting of man it stands with reason that they should once come together againe that the soules of the blessed may enioy their desire and be satiated in the naturall appetite which they haue vnto their bodys And for this reason the immortality of the soule and the resurrection of the body is mentioned in the scriptures and was taken by the auncient Philosophers as it were for the same because such is the connexion betwixt them that by the immortality of the soule the resurrection of the body is inserred for if the soule be immortal and haue a natural appetite to the body as being ereated to constitute man consisting of both soule and body then that appetite must once be satiated by the resurrection of the body after death and revnion of the soule to it againe and soe take away the resurrection of the body and you take away the immortality of the soule and then all grounds of faith and the hopes of future life are taken away with it our soules being mortal with our bodys and therefor S. Paul If I fought with beasts at Ephesus what doth it profit mee Cor. 1.15 if the dead rize not againe let vs eate and drinke for to morrow we shall dy And therefor S. Chrysostome calleth the Saducaeans who denyed the resurrection the most pernicious haeretiks that euer were S. Ambrose hauing prooued it by scriptures and by the examples of those who haue rizen from the dead and by reasons which he calleth euident concludeth all in this plane and certaine truth that the corruptions of seedes and productions which we see of new thinges are vnto God the resurrection of the old That which we beleeue by this article is that the very same bodys which liued before although neuer soe much corrupted shall be vnited to their soules againe and remaine for euer with them for if it were not the same body which was before it were not a resurrection but a production of a new thinge and that this resurrection is general to all Cor. 1.15 according to the
then most Gracious Princesse your desired Patronage which is soe proper and necessary to this worke that I neither will nor can in reason looke for any other What Englishmans hart tender by nature will not so farre resent your condition and his owne as at least to receiue and reade that which commeth commended by you for the good of his soule It vill goe for pure gold when you haue accepted of it vnder your Name and character all will receiue and reade it and with Gods assistance shall profit by it This is the cause why I dedicate it first to God and then to you desiring no other reward for my selfe but your gracious acceptance for the good of others Because for a booke to doe much good I consider it as necessarie to procure that it be currently accepted of and much read as it is to contriue and compose it good in it selfe And hauing now prouided as well as I can for both I haue done all and will rest Your Highnesses Most humble seruant and deuoted Oratour to pray for you A. E. APPROBATIO NOs infra scripti in Sacra Theologiae Facultate Parisiensi Doctores perlegimus librum Anglicano idiomate scriptum cui titulus est CATECHISTICAL DISCOVRSES in which first an easy and efficacious way is proposed c. In quo nihil inuenimus à Catholica Fide alienum aut bonis moribus auersum Quinimo iudicamus Discursuum horum institutum ad Christianam doctrinam elucidandam Catholicam fidem confirmandam veramque pietatem promouendam non minus studiose pertractari quam religiose pro Catholicorum Angliae praesenti conditione vtiliter susceptum esse Quapropter librum hunc non approbamus modo praeloque dignum censemus verum etiam quantum possunt vota nostra omnium vsui commendamus Quod nostris testamur signaturis Datis Parisiis 1. Sept. anno salutis humanae 1654. HENRICVS HOLDEN P. O. LONERGAN WE the vnder written Doctours of Diuinity in the Faculty of Paris haue perused an English booke intituled CATECHISTICALL DISCOVRSES in which first an easy and effiâ—acious way is proposed c. In which we finde nothing dissonant from the Catholike Faith or good manners But we rather iudge the institute of these Discourses for declaring of the Christian Doctrine confirming of the Catholike Faith and promoting of true piety to be noe lesse studiously prosecuted then religiously and for the present condition of England profitably vndertaken where for we not only approoue of it as worthy of the presse but also commende it as much as lyeth in vs to be vsed by all giuen vnder our hands at Paris Septemb. 1. in the yeare of our Lord 1654. HENRICVS HOLDEN P. O. LONERGAN APPROBATIO LEctis testimoniis quatuor Doctissimorum in Anglia Sacerdotum quorum examini liber cui titulus CATECHISTICALL DISCOVRSES c. commissus est quique illum non modo in doctrina moribus sanum testati sunt sed communi sententia laudauerunt magnumque ex eo fructum sperauerunt meum erat eorum sententiis assentiri quantum per me licet efficere vt speratus inde fructus in medium proferretur fidelibus communicaretur Quare librum hunc approbo summo desiderio omnibus commendo Datum Parisiis Sept. 21. 1654. LANCASTER Theologiae Professor in Anglia Librorum Censor HAuing read the testimonys of fower of the most learned Priests of England to whom the examining of this booke intituled CATECHISTICALL DISCOVRSES c. was committed who did not onely declare it to be sound in doctrine and manners but also vnanimously praysed it and hoped for much fruit by it it was my part to assent vnto their sentences and with all my power to further their hopes of the publike benefit Wherfor I approoue of this booke and earnestly commende it vnto all Giuen at Paris Sept. 21. 1654. LANCASTER Professour of Diuinity and Censurer of bookes in England The cheife Errours in printing Page 2 there their p. 17. witht he with the. 20. authoritority authority 24. some anes some meanes 44. declace declare 45 wich which 57. paofesse professe 57. lin 22 not nor 58 hy by 60. voon vpon 60 af alse a false 68 oue our 64. eratederect 64. fiâ—d fixed 64. anotheri another 82. life like 85. life like 137. condemning contemning 153. the eues theeues 165. Danid Dauid 183. there in is there is in 301. ef of 301. lsgacy legacy 310. lin 23. by dy lin 31. consecrate consecrated 313. lin 24. then thee 316. kinden kindes 3â—8 barished vanished 343 absently absolutly 358. hedrew Hebrew 384. fathers hould father should 426. atheiued atcheiued 433. liues on liue on 439. whorty worthy 481. thinigs things 483 putting darknesses darkenesse fulnesses fulnesse 494. and en an end 499. be try he try 532. sometihing something 5â—3 departing departed 557. by glad be glad 559. Glory into the ihghest God Glory in the highest to God 565. sixty tens six tens 589 is patrone his patrone 600. outwards outward 602. whit a long with a long 618. but to mutuall but to exhort them to mutuall 625. lin 1. spiritually supernaturally 626. he will but he will but. 630. laaine latine 639. theit their 645. consist subsist 684. seruants of seruant of 685. in intentions in intension 703. fly grom fly from 704. is in worse are in worse THE DISCOVRSES conteined in this Booke The first Discourse Of the education of children and of the obligation which all haue to learne the Christian dostrine The Second Of Faith The Third Of the signe of the Crosse The Fourth Of the Creede The Fifth Of the Sacraments The Sixt Of the Commandements The Seauenth Of the Pater Noster The Eighth Of the Haile Mary The Ninth Of the Rosary The Tenth Of the Masse The Eleauenth Of the Praecepts of the Church The Twelfth Of Sinne. A PREFACE to the Reader THE great want of instruction which I saw in many mouing mee to apply my selfe more seriously to the practise of catechizing I tooke into my hands that Catechisme which the Councell of Trent caused to be made and was settforth by commande of Pius Quintus Pope and is commonly called the ROMANE CATECHISME Which as it hath the authority not of some one authour onely but was made by expresse commande of an intire and that soe flourishing a Generall Councell it may iustly take place of all other Catechismes and is of all others the most worthy to be followed And it added not a litle to the esteeme which I had of that booke to vnderstande afterwards that it came cheifly by the care and paines of that blessed man and late mirrour of pastors S. Charles Borromaeus The first thinge which I obserued in it was an earnest desire and almost continuall exhorting of pastors to the catechizing of their people This it commendeth not onely once of purpose in the beginning but all ouer in euery cheife subiect which it treateth and almost in euery thinge which it mentioneth it
into this sinne as they haue done into murder and euen to murder themselues which notwithstanding by nature they abhorre and can expect noe pleasure but vtmost paine in it It is indeede a meruaile and most admirable that atheisme giuing soe great liberty to all sinne there haue bene in the world soe few that haue fallen into it and by this it is manifest that God fights particularly against it and hath giuen by nature to reasonable creatures to defende his power and goodnesse And perhaps neither those aboue mentioned were guilty of this sinne First for that it is not likely that those men were soe much peruerted in their mindes and wills as Epicure was in the desire of liberty who notwithstanding as you haue seene came short of atheisme Secondly I finde by chance in S. Iohn Chrysostome where he putteth them by name and Socrates together for defending of the same doctrine and mainteining of this proposition Ignoro ' Deos I know not Gods meaning I know not many Gods in the plurall number Chrysosâ—o 4. in primam ad Cor. l. 14. but one onely God and he sayeth that they vltimum subierunt periculum that is either lost their liues or were in danger of their liues for defending of that proposition Now it is well knowne that Socrates lost his life for defending of that proposition in the sense aboue mentioned of one onely God and for this they might well be then in danger of their liues Atheisme then is a sinne which cannot be incurred but by a generall contradiction to the whole world and by a violent forcing of nature and conscience to admitte of all sinnes and which hath in it selfe the malice of all sinnes as allowing of all wickednesse whatsoeuer How great then are the punishments of this greeuous sinne soe much abhorred by the world and conteining after a sort the guilt of all sinnes Socrates dranke poyson forced vnto it by Infidels for defending of one God yet this was neuer a singularity in the world and euen then was professed by the whole nation of the Iewes famous in the world what shall the atheist deserue for professing of that which all nations of the world haue euer abhorred and for contradicting of that which all nations haue euer professed and was before men professed by Angels and euen by Lucifer the worst of deuils the atheist in this goeth beyond Lucifer and as for the hight of his prophanenesse he deserueth in a higher nature the damnation of his soule then Lucifer deserued hell because he denyeth the first principle of nature and all nations hauing by instinct of nature some religion he will haue none De leg Cicero There is noe nation soe barbarous but although it know not what God it should haue yet it knoweth it should haue a God Now if the atheist shall set himselfe to exclaime against all nations and shall say that they haue all done this for some temporal respect it shall auaile him noe more then if some hainous malefactour or very vicious man should exclaime against his superiors and against all nations for punishing of him and for hindering the mischeifs which he would otherwise perpetrate And by this saying atheists condemne themselues the same natural reason that condemneth sinne and vice condemning them in the opinion of all nations as more destroying of nature and order then any vicious men whatsoeuer And therefor as it were a vaine thinge in publike malefactors and should auaile them nothing to condemne the lawes of nations that condemne them soe were it in atheists to exclaime against all nations and should auaile them nothing when all the world shall condemne them before God OF THE NATVRALL AND experimentall feeling which we haue of God MEn vse rather to disswade from vices then to disprooue them because nature of it selfe without discourse of arguments at the first apprehension abhorreth vice and therefor there needes noe disproofe of it The same may be said of atheisme that as naturally we loue vertue and hate vice for the beauty and goodnes which appeareth in the one and for the deformity and euill which we perceiue in the other soe the diuine beauty and goodnes draweth vs to it and by nature we are conuerted to God and auersed from atheisme euen at the first apprehension as the greatest of all euills and our consciences tell vs that after the very salfe same manner that we feele ourselues auersed from vice soe doe we also finde ourselues from atheisme but onely that we behold atheisme as more deformed and monstruous then any vice is And as we loue and cannot but loue vertue soe we cannot but loue God in himselfe and naturally we loue those whom we see to loue and serue him Because we cannot but see and feele the goodnes of God towards vs and his power ouer vs working in vs and disposing of vs and dispensing vnto vs such perfections as he would giue and not we would choose and laying vpon vs such imperfections of greifs sicknes soares Passions of minde as he would and that which to nature is most terrible to wit death By all which we see a supernaturall power-aboue our nature which ordained these thinges And that power as by nature we see and feele it soe also by nature wefeare it naturally abhorring sinne by which we displease him It is true great sinners haue many times sensibly but litle of this feare left and may perhaps come to that hardnes of hart as to haue noe feeling at all of the feare of God when they sinne according to the holy Prouerbe The impious when he shall come into the depth of sinnes contemneth Prou. 18. But this prooueth not but that by nature he feareth God it prooueth indeede the great mercy of God to suffer those vessels of wrath to continue soe long without their due punishment that they feare him not and the great inclination which our corrupted nature hath to corrupt still more and more and to fall deeper and deeper into sinne and sheweth how good a thinge it is after any sinne presently to repent for it and as soone as we can to vse those meanes which we haue in the Catholike Church for the cleering of our consciences againe least that by continuance in one sinne we fall into another and harden our harts by litle and litle to all sinnes Although I say such men when they sinne haue noe sensible feeling of God or feare of his iustice yet by nature they haue that feare when they feele it noâ— Hawks by long custome to their keepers loose the feeling of that natural feare which they haue of them and will sport with them and bite at them without any feare at all yet naturally they haue allwais the same feare of them and their keepers permitting this haue still the same power ouer them which they had before Soe many sinners by much sinning and long continuance in sinne may perhaps I say perhaps for perhaps they cannot quite
propper office with such parts and abilitys as are necessary for the dew performance of it some of them incorruptible others corrupting and those after a strange manner concealed from our vnderstandings when they are dead to reuiue againe to life by the corruption of their seede Soe from bodys we come to spirits that gouerne them and amongst spirits to some supreme cause and gouernour of them All which if we will attende vnto we cannot but reflect vpon the workman that made it and admire at his power and greatnesse That meruelous mother worthy of good mens memory seeing all her sonnes but one to haue passed through cruell torments to the crowne of martyrdome and the yongest of seauen to be brought to execution with a manly courageexhorted him Mach. 2.7 saying I beseech thee my sonne that thou looke vp to heauen and earth and to all thinges that are in them and vnderstande that God of nothing made them and mankind And Cicero sayth that there is nothing soe manifest when we looke vp to the heauens Giâ— l. 2. de â—at deer as that there is a diuine power that made and gouerneth them Behold then amongst visible creatures first the heauens see their huge greatnes and capacity conteining not onely a thousand and twenty two starres which astronomers haue mentioned but an innumerable number which they caÌ„not discerne to reckon and some of them may be thought to be a thousand times bigger then the whole globe of the earth how exceeding great then must the capacity of the heauens be to conteine them all Behold them of a nature incorruptible soe solid and strong that with that mighty violent motion which some of them haue they neuer breake nor corrupt nor weare away the least haire bredth See their great brightnes calmenes and quietnes without any noyse at all in that violence of motion Looke vpon the elements the fire next vnto the starry heauens vnder that the ayre and then the waters and the earth all of them of contrary natures yet agreeing together in those admirable effects which we see to result of their concord that all sublunary productions depende not onely of some one of them but of them all Looke now downe vnto the earth and behold there the many kindes of liuing and sensible creatures and amongst them all one onely endowed with reason as the Prince of the rest to order them and he inuested with such power and commande that by nature they feare and tremble at his voyce Behold them more in particular and first thy owne soule a spirituall creature which can moue in an instant to the furthest part of the earth or of the heauens and yet for the present is bounde to an earthly body whether it will or noe Consider then the disposition of thy body prepared as a seate sitte to receiue it and with parts conuenient for its operations and this not by its owne reason for that it hath none Behold the many diuerse natures of sensible creatures that moue themselues some flying some walking some creeping some swimming all liuing by the ayre some on the earth some within the earth some in the fire some in the waters all of them directed by some reason to loue that which is good for them and congruous to their nature Behold those creatures that liue without sense trees plants flowers and herbes producing fruits with admirable variety of tasts smells pleasant colours and profitable effects to delight the senses of higher creatures which are sensible and to serue them And lastly behold the earth with being onely yet susteining all liuing thinges in the life which they haue All these haue their limits set their perfections and operations and are bounde within them whether they will or noe and did not choose for themselues but haue onely that which another would giue them These are the testimonys which God hath left of himselfe and by these testimonys we must confesse the supreme power that caused all this and sett it in that order which we see it to haue And therefor it is natural to man when he looketh vp to the heauens with gladnes of hart to blesse God and if we haue a litle bird fly flower or any creature though neuer soe imperfect in our hands and consider attentiuely the parts and composition of it reason presently telleth vs that it could not make it selfe and by nature we blesse God that made it Say now according to reason and tell vs who it was that made the heauens and gaue them that huge vastnesse and capacity more then we can thinke that brightnes calmenes solidity and incorruptibility who gaue to the elements their mighty power by concorde to produce those great effects who gaue to man the principality ouer other creatures and made them by nature to feare and obey him and who was that superiour of mankind that commanded his spirituall and incorruptible soule to his corporall and corruptible body what reason was it that directed vnreasonable thinges to that which is good for them and made those which are vnsensible to yeeld such pleasure and profit to the senses and who gaue to the earth that hath not life power to conserue the liues of other thinges He that had power to doe all this we will confesse him to be God and we will praise and blesse him For of themselues they could not be at all nor would haue bene with the imperfections which they haue Here now reason is sufficiently satisfyed and the malice of man conuinced that shall deny God For the reason of euery man of it selfe presently consents if by malice and liberty it be not forced to the contrary vnto some superiour power that caused these thinges And that power all though we cannot comprehende it because it is aboue vs and must needes be infinite in perfection but of what nature soeuer that supreme power be meaning the supreme we say God and blesse him All this is breifly formed out of S. Thomas and Aristotle after this manner Wheresoeuer we see motion and alteration in any thinge there we must grant a cause of that motion and alteration but we see motion and alteration in the productions of creatures which beginne to be and before were not therefor we must grant some cause of that motion and alteration by which they are produced and come to be This doth S. Thomas call a demonstration and Aristotle with the rest of Philosophers call it a Metaphysicall Euidence that is to say an euidence which is not onely deduced by Physical principles of nature but that the contrary conteineth repugnance in it selfe and that it is the first euident certainty from which all natural euidences are deduced And to contradict it is either to say that all the world came by chance or els to runne from cause to cause without end into insinites which in substance commeth to be the same noe cause at all being assigned First the alterations which we see can not come by chance for
particularly in this worke Luc. 1. when he said the Holy Ghost shall come vpon thee and the power of the most high shall ouer shaddow thee For as the loue and goodnes of God towards vs appeareth here most illustrious soe was it most congruous that his power should appeare aboue our vnderstandings most miraculous The conception of Christ surpassed all ordinary conceptions not onely in that he was conceiued of a Virgin mother but also in the circumstances of it For where as the space of some dayes is required for the framing of our bodys and to dispose them for our soules the sacred body and soule of our Lord were both vnited together in the first instant of his conception and the diuine nature vnto them by which his humanity was enriched with diuine gifts and was in eminency of dignity and sanctity aboue all all others being by adoption onely and Christ by nature the sonne of God This is not vnderstoode by vs but beleeued yet it was as easy to God that by his high power a Virgin should conceiue and bring forth without the concurse of man as it was for the rodd of Aaron to conceiue nourishing moysture and to putt forth budds leaues flowers Nu. 17. and almonds by the same power of God without the natural concourse of the earth And it is indeede as easy to God to make a Virgin to conceiue as the blessed Virgin did of her owne nature onely with out the helpe of man and to frame a body in an instant as our blessed Sauiours was as it was for him to make all other women to conceiue with the helpe of man and to frame the body by litle and litle with fitte dispositions for the soule which he could haue ordained otherwise but would not because he would haue the conception of Christ to be aboue all most pure and miraculous And as the conception of Christ was most misterious soe was it fitting that his birth also should be that she who had conceiued with the priuilege of her Virginity free from corruption should bring him forth in her deliuery free from paine and other myserys which other women are then subiect vnto And that as the ioy with which she conceiued him was not corporal but heauenly and spiritual soe that his birth should be also full of ioy and heauenly consolation to her For if God would send his Angell to the shepheards to comfort their harts and to fill them with ioy for the birth of our Sauiour how great may we thinke the ioy of the B. Virgin then to haue bene who was soe singularly chosen of God to be his mother We can not but with reuerence thinke of those consolations which she had in his birth He came from her sacred wombe as the beames of the sunne pierce through cleare crystal without hurting it and as the same sacred body of our Lord passed through the sepulcher in his resurrection without breaking it soe did he passe out of his mothers wombe without any violence done to her We ought very much to reioyce in the birth of Christ for the reason which the Angell gius because this day is borne to you a Sauiour What greater ioy can prisoners and condemned persons haue then in one that will saue them We haue then great reason to reioyce in that ioy which the Angell brought and to celebrate euery yeare that sacred day And yet soe great is the malice of heresy soe dishonorable to God and peruerting the mindes of men that some in this kingdome who call themselues christians dare venture to worke on Christmas day refusing to giue that honour which all christians haue soe long giuen to the birth day of Christ We reade in holy scriptures that kings in auncient times kept festiuall the yearely day of their birthes soe Pharao Gen. 40. Antiochus Mach. 2.6 and Herod Mat. 14. and can the birth day of any king with iustice be obserued and not the birth day of Christ the king and Sauiour of the world If some courtyer of Pharao had refused to keepe the feast of his birth day opposing the solemnity which the rest did obserue would not he with reason haue iudged it as an affront and punished it as a dishonour done to him How dare then any christian be soe bold and prophane as not to keepe the solemnity of Christs birth knowing that one day he shall iudge him for it It is true authors differ in assigning the day on which he was borne But what then shall we therefor keepe noe day at all in honour of it or shal any one shew himselfe soe singular and prowde as vpon his owne sense and authority to disobey the whole Church of Christ We know not for certaine the time in which the scriptures were written nor the authors that wrote them all shall we therefor reiect them as some haeretiks haue done and haue noe scriptures at all we know not iust the time in which the Sundays Sabaoth was first begunne to be kept shall any one therefor refuse to obserue it but if the Church could change the Sabaoth from the seuenth day on which God had instituted it to the eight day and could binde all soe to obserue it although it were not the day on which God rested from the creation of the world shall not the Church binde all to obserue a day which she determineth in honour of Christs birth although perhaps he was not borne iust on that day Luc. 2. we reioyce in that message which the Angell brought when he said behold I Euangelize to you great ioy which shall be to all the people for to day is borne to you a Sauiour It is fitting that the Church should institute a yearely solemnity of that ioyfull day and it is fitting that we should obey the Church The day which the Church instituteth is Christmas day and therefor we keepe it Besides this is most likely to be the true day of his birth which Aug. l. 1. de Trin. c. 5. according to S. Augustine was on the eight of the Calends of Ianuary Euer blessed and most solemne may that day be in which our Sauiour was borne in which the sonne of God first appeared in the nature of man in which our nature first appeared vnited to God and in which both natures being married together came forth of the Virgins wombe as out of their bride chamber the Angels reioycing and bidding ioy vnto men Luc. 2. Then it was when they were heard to sing Glory in the highest to God and in earth peace to men of good will Let vs with the Angels say those words and doe as we say in all our actions The mystery of the Incarnation often represented This the Catholike Church laboreth to doe in this mystery of the sonne of Gods incarnation representing it vnto her people and stirring them vp to a gratefull remembrance and thanksgiuing for it by many deuour prayers and caeremonys which they often
repeate in honour of it as by the signe of the Cros the masse the Creede the Haile Mary and the like in which it is still commemorated that we behold in them the fullfilling of that great vision which Moyses had Exo. 3. when our Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middes of a bush and the bush was on fire and was not burnt By which the Conception of Christ was fignifyed to be of the blessed Virgin without detriment of her Virginity and that he was to be borne without paine to her And this vision as it signifyed the Sonne of God vested with our nature was soe high and glorious that Moyses was commanded to bare his feete for the holinesse of the very ground on which it appeared Iob. 16. He at whose beck the pillars of heauen tremble and dread is inuolued in the myserys of our nature to draw vs to vertue and to saue vs by his merits THE FOVRTH ARTICLE SVffered vnder Pontius Pilate was Crucifyed dead and buried The Apostles hauing professed Christ in the glory of his diuinity as the onely Sonne of God and in the mystery of his conception and ioy of his birth set him now before our eyes in his passion and death That sacred body which was conceiued by the Holy Ghost and was vnited to the diuine word in the wombe of a Virgin we behold it now in the hands of cruell executioners who haue free power to torment and to kill it see now that body nailed vpon a Cros and soe exposed to the scorne of the world That face of life whose beauty the Angells desire to behold is left pale and dead without comlinesse and beauty The horrible paine which Christ suffered in his Passion is not to be apprehended by vs but was without doubt soe great in it selfe that the apprehension of it in him had bene sufficient to haue bereaued him of life if he had not supported nature by supernaturall meanes as he did in that agony which he suffered in the garden by the apprehension onely of his future Passion Mat. 26. when he said my soule is sorrowfull euen vnto death For his body as it was conceiued and framed onely of the Virgins blood was of a more tender complexion and more sensible of paine then others are and soe he had a more liuely apprehension greater horrour and more repugnance from the torments of his Passion which he foresaw and according to the inferiour part of his soule he desired and prayed to be freed from although they were woluntary to him For the vnderstanding of which we are to vnderstande two powers in the soule of man commonly called the Superiour and Inferiour part or portion of the soule The superiour power is in respect of its higher operations of reason and will which it hath equall with the Angels The inferiour part or portion of the soule is the inseriour powerwhich it hath as it is sensitiue causing vs to feele by our senses as inferiour creatures doe According to the superiour of the soule the Passion of Christ was nothing sorrowfull to him as not being contrary to his reason and will but it was most voluntary nay ioyfull to him he went as a gyant to runne that race and was straightened vntill he had perfected the baptisme of his Passion According to the inferiour power of the soule as it is sensible he could not but feele paine and his senses did abhorre the torments of his Passion for otherwise they had bene noe torments vnto him and as the complexion and constitution of his body was more perfect soe was he more sensible of paine and therefore the very apprehension of his Passion had a more violent effect in him then the paines of death is euer read to haue had in any other causing a sweat of blood to runne downe to the earth from him This would he suffer before his Passion to shew that his sorrows were aboue all sorrows and most horrible to him Yet he would preserue his life vntill he had suffered those thinges and fullfilled that which the scriptures had foretold of him For two reasons the Apostles would specify that Christ suffered vnder Pontius Pilate First for the more particular and exact relation of his Passion to shew that the Prophecys were fullfilled that had signifyed the time about which it should be And secondly for the performance of his owne words to shew the accomplishing of that which himselfe had foretold when speaking of his Passion he said Mat 20. they shall deliuer him to the Gentils to be mocked and scourged and crucifyed Which was fullfilled when the Iewes apprehending him deliuered him to Pilate and his souldiers who were Gentils and scourged and crucifyed him For the cheife of the Iewes seeing that they could not resist the doctrine which he preached nor the power of his miracles caused him to be apprehended and to be sent as a malefactour to Pontius Pilate who was then the Romane President of Iury Crucifyed and who by the instigation of the Iewes adiudged him as they desired to the death of the Cros which was held in that place the most disgracefull kind of death that malefactours could suffer and was soe much abhorred by the law that we reade in deuteronomy he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree Deut. 21. Yet this the most reprochfull of all deaths was Christ contented to vndergoe for vs and that in a most ignominious manner betwixt two the eues We haue in the scriptures many mysterious types and honorable figures by which God would foreshew the death of his sonne Innocent Abel murthered by his brother was a figure of Iesus Christ killed by the Iewes Gen. 4. Gen. 22. The Sacrifice which Abraham was commanded to offer in his onely sonne was a type of Christ offered for vs on the Cros. Exo. 12. The vnspotted lambe which the Israëlits were commanded to offer when they came out of Aegypt represented also our Sauiour offered for our redemption of whom the Prophet saith Hier. 11. and I as a mild lambe that is carried to a victime The brazen serpent which God commanded to be erected that the people beholding it might be cured from the stings of the fiery serpents was as it were the shaddow of Christ nailed on the Cros. For as those that were wounded by serpents were cured by that and as of vipers and scorpions a medicine is made against their poyson and stings soe the malice of sinne committed by man was cured by man againe in Iesus Christ contrary to him By a man death sayth the Apostle and by a man the resurrection of the dead Cor. 1.15 And as the brazen serpent was in shew a serpent but had noe sting nor poyson to hurt but vertue to cure the stings of other serpents soe Christ in the similitude of the slesh of sinne had noe sinne Rom. 8. but tooke away the sinnes of the world and therefor
soe obscured and thy sacred and life giuing face to become pale and void of life as a roote from a thirsty ground that there is noe beauty nor comlinesse in it It was by vs that thou camest into this plight thou didst beare our sinnes and they put thee to paine and disfigured thee Thinke now O Christians of that which you beleeve and confider who he was and what he suffered for you Iesus Christ the onely sonne of God suffereth for man the master for the seruant the Creatour for his creature he that made Angels and men heauen and earth he of whom and by whom and in whom are all thinges he bore our infirmitys our sorrowes he carryed Rom. 11. and became as a lepar strucken of God and humbled Esa 53. He was wounded for our iniquitys and with the waile of his stripe we are healed our sinnes drew blood of his sacred body and crucifyed and killed him Heauen stoode astonished the sunne was ecclypsed a terrible darknesse was spred ouer the earth the earth was shaken graues opened and the bodys of the dead roze vp to life againe at this mystery and shall it make noe impression in vs Behold ô Christians Christ expired on the Cros and say often with your selues who is this that is Crucifyed and dead who is this that is crucifyed and dead It is the onely sonne of God whom the Angles adore the latchet of whose shoe S. Iohn Baptist was not worthy to loose Thinke then againe what he was crucifyed for It was to take away our sinnes and to blesse vs with euerlasting glory O blessed Lord O God our Sauiour how great was thy loue to vs and thy hatred to sinne that could cause the miracle of thy incarnation and death for our redemption I reioyce in thy merits by which I am redeemed and being now at liberty I dedicate my selfe for euer to thy seruice Keepe thou my soule and let it neuer forsake thee The benefit which we haue by the death of Christ was praefigured vnto vs in the law of Moyses where guilty persons that had sled to the cittys of sanctuary were set at liberty and went home pardoned at the death of the high Priest Our high Priest was Iesus Christ heauen is our blessed home sinne banished vs from thence but thither we returne againe by the death of Christ Heb. 10. hauing considence saith the Apostle in the entring of the holys in the blood of Christ Let vs serue him as we ought and then indeede we may haue confidence in him THE FIFTH ARTICLE HE descended into hell the third day he arose againe from death The Apostles hauing in the former article professed the Passion and death of Christ declare now his victory and triumph ouer it That which by this article is proposed to be beleeued is that the soule of Christ departing in death from his body descended truely into hell For as long as his body remained in the sepulcher his soule was separated from it and all that while was descended into hell Some haeretiks haue wickedly denyed this article of Christ his descension into hell ignorantly vnderstanding by hell his sepulcher Not considering that his descending into the sepulcher was professed before in the former article and therefor there needed not another article to repeate it ouer againe and to say that he descended into the sepulcher Neither is it a propper manner of speech in that sense for the body of our Lord was then dead and descended not but was laid by others in the sepulcher This therefor can not be vnderstoode of his body descending into the sepulcher but of his soule descending into hell Aunciently by hell some place in general was vnderstoode where the soules of men resided after death and it was not onely taken for the place of the damned but also for the residence of the iust As when the holy Patriaâ—ke Iacob mourning for the death of his sonne Ioseph said Gen. 37. I will descende vnto my sonne into hell and when the Apostle saith Phil. 2. In the name of Iesus euery knee bow of the caelestials terrestrials and insernals For hell in Latine is as much as to say a place inferiour vnto vs or below vs which is therefor in the earth For the vnderstanding of which we may destinguish fower places in the earth the receptacles of soules departed Fower kinds of hell First there is the lowest hell of euerlasting damnation which is the furthest place from heauen as most suetable to those whose liues and actions were furthest of and most opposite to God and therefor in respect of punishment it is the deepest hell Secondly the next aboue that in paine is Purgatory Thirdly aboue purgatory is the place where the soules of those are detained who dy onely in original sinne Fourthly aboue that there was a place for the soules of the iust that dyed before Christ not hauing the guilt of any sinne or satisfaction to make for it For it was not conuenient that any should enter into heauen before Christ who purchased it for all and therefor those soules remained in an inferiour place vntill the death of Christ and then he descending to them freed them from that place This was some times called the bosome of Abraham because Abraham was the father of the elect and comprized as it were in him all the iust as Christ came of his seede who was the head of all the iust Thither therefor did our blessed Sauiour descende to blesse and to free those holy soules And perhaps he would also shew himselfe to the soules of purgatory for their comfort as also to the damned soules for their terrour and rebuke Christ was buryed on the fryday on which he suffered For the death of the Cros was held in that ignominy that the law commanded those that were Crucifyed to be taken from the Cros on the same day After his buriall he remained in the sepulcher all that day and all Saturday and part of Sunday vntill about breake of day all which time his soule was descended into hell Then he released the iust out of that place in which they were detained and brought them with him to the sepulcher where vniting his soule and body together againe the third day he arose from the dead not as those who haue bene reuiued by the power of others to a second life and to dy a second death but by his owne power he aroze againe to dy noe more For the diuine nature being allwais present with his body and soule as vnited with them in the vnity of person he had power to raise himselfe and by his owne power he tooke life againe and aroze glorious and therefor he said of himselfe Io. 10. I yeeld my life c. I yeeld it of my selfe and I haue power to yeeld it and I haue power to take it againe We reade of diuerse who haue bene raised from death to life both before and since the
33. l. 3. c. 43.44 l 2. cont Gauden c. 3 l. de vntco bap â—â—s c 15. ep 48. L. 2. cont Petâ—lâ— c. 19. as may be seene in The Authour of the Protestant Religion l. 2. c. 11. They must therefor shew some iust cause why they went forth and separated themselues For as S. Augustine alluding to the holy Prouerbe c. 30. often obiecteth against the Donatists The euill child calleth himselfe iust but he can not excuse his going forth And in another place You must come and giue an account of your separation But none of them haue a iuster cause nor can giue a better account of their separation then those whom they confesse to be false Churches therefor they are all false Churches I haue now sufficiently performed one thinge which I promised in the title of this booke The verity of the Roma â—e Cathelike faith is demonstrated by industion from aâ—l other religions to wit to demonstrate by induction from all the religions that are in the world the verity of the Romane Catholike faith As for the atheist he ought indeede to be excluded from all speech of religion for that he hath none yet his prophanesse is disprooued in the first article of the Creede in which the Apostles laid the foundation of religion saying I beleeue in God The Pagans religion is disprooued in the same article in that he beleeueth not in one God the maker of heauen and eaâ—th The Iewish and Turkish sects are disprooued in the second article for that they beleeue not in Iesus Christ the onely Sonne of God All sects of Christians that are out of the Romane Church are disprooued in that they haue broken this ninth article of the Creede I beleeue the Cathâ—like Church disobeying its authority in the lawfull head and pastors of it Let them harken to the words of the Holy Ghost Deut 17. If thou perceiue that the iudgment with thee be hard and doubtfull c. Thou shalt come to the Priests of the Leuitical stocke and to the iudge that shall be at that time and thou shalt doe whatsoeuer they that are presidents of the place which our Lord shall choose shall say and teach thee according to his law and thou shalt follow their sentence neither shalt thou decline to the right hand nor to the left hand But he that shall be prowde refusing to obey the commandement of the priest which at that time ministreth to our Lord thy God and the decree of the iudge that man shall dy Here now I cry to all those christians that are out of the Romane Church Graecians Arians c. and to all the seueral Churches of Protestants and especially to you my very deere Countreymen for whose soules I haue long hazarded my corporall life You haue contemned this great authority or rather a greater then it was You haue refused to obey the commandement of the priest and priests not of the Leuitical stocke but of the institution of Christ to wit the Successour of S. Peter and his pastors that is to say the Bishop of Rome and his pastors who gouerned the primitiue Church of Christ and were then actually gouerning it when your Churches beganne These you know you haue disobeyed and stande still disobedient vnto General Councels haue declared against you all and especially against the seueral sects of Protestants the Councell of Trent consisting of two hundred and fifty fiue fathers besides the most eminent doctors of the Catholike Church All Romane Catholiks obey this Councell in all points of faith and you disobey it Disobedience to the Leuitical priest and priests by the law of Moyses was punished with death and your disobedience I am sorry with all my hart but I haue noe scruple to speake it shall without doubt if you repent not be punished with eternal death Therefor I coniure you by the sweet merites of Iesus Christ in whom you beleeue and whom you expect to be your iudge to reflect ypon your soules and vpon true religion Call to minde how your Churches beganne and how schismes and heresys beginne and if you finde as you shall easily finde that you haue begunne after the very same manner as they in disobedience to the head and pastors of the Church and to all but your owne wills your beginners were as Core Nu. 16. Dathan and Abiron that beganne diuisions in the Church of God their followers that liued with them were as the followers of the former whom God destroyed also with them and you rising vp to mainteine their disobedience when they are dead and gone are like to those who after their deaths rose vp to iustify their cause and were therefor by the iudgment of God consumed with fire Forsake their company desert that vnlawfull cause and returne againe into the sheepfold of Christ if you desire to be saued THE TENTH ARTICLE FOrgiuenesse of sinnes None can rightly consider these words as made by the Apostles to be an article of the Creede but he must needs conceiue some greater mystery to be conteined in them them onely to professe that God can or doth forgiue sinnes Neither can he in reason vnderstande any other thinge then that there is power of forgiuing sinnes in that Church which they had newly professed This was indeede a gift and priueledge worthy to be mentioned in the publike Creede Christ after his resurrection before he ascended into heauen appeared to his Apostles and breathing vpon them said Io. 20. Receiue ye the Holy Ghost whose sinnes you shall forgiue they are forgiuen and whose you shall retaine they are retained This was a mystery which the Church of God had great reason to remember and often to inculcate vnto her people and therefor the Apostles hauing professed their beleefe in the Catholike Church in the next place would commemorate this gift and power which the Catholike Church hath of the forgiuenesse of sinnes that with gratitude we might remember it and make good vse of it It is a greater worke saith S. Aug. tract 52. Augustine to make an euill man good then to make the world of nothing Yet it is giuen vnto man to doe this great worke It is giuen I say vnto man for it is not of his owne power but of the gift of God God onely of his owne natural power can forgiue sinnes Esa 43. I am he that taketh cleane away thine iniquitys but he can if he will giue that power vnto men The Apostles had that power by the gift of God as they had of him to worke many miracles which were as hard and vnpossible to nature as to forgiue sinnes Iudges of themselues haue not power to iudge but when the king maketh them iudges and giueth them power then they haue power and may exercize it and the exercize of it is good and valid because the king who gaue them that power setteth them in his owne place giueth them to represent his owne person and ratifyeth the
against the deuils power Sixtly the corporal life of man as he is ordained to the society of other men requireth a superiour authority to be in some for the gouerning of others and soe an orderly gouernment is necessary for vs in the Church of God and for this we haue the Sacrament of orders in which power is giuen to some in spiritual things Seauenthly for the continuance and conseruation of humane nature a continuall succession and propagation of mankind is necessary in the world and for this the spiritual life of man requireth that it be done by a Sacrament for the orderly propagation of men and the increase of soules to the worship of God This is by the Sacrament of Matrimony which as it is a duety of nature is onely for corporal generation but as it is a Sacrament it giueth grace for the increase of soules in the diuine worship The number of the Sacraments shall appeare furthermore out of the scriptures in that which I haue to say of euery Sacrament in particular The same is declared by diuerse Councels And although the fathers haue had noe occasion in their writings to name them alltogether yet they haue made mention of them all as occasion serued Neither is it necessary that we should assigne the time when euery Sacrament in particular was instituted of Christ We know the times of the institution of some of them and we know that for forcy dayes betwixt his resurrection and his Ascension he frequently appeared vnto his Apostles and taught them many things which they were to obserue in the Church which are not mentioned in the scriptures and we know that the Sacraments of the Church must be of Christs teaching and ordaining We haue for the number of the Sacraments the same authority that we haue for any of the scriptures to wit the authority of the Church which although it declare not the time when the scriptures were written yet it assureth vs of all their verity and soe it doth of the number of the Sacraments ad Casulan S. Augustine giueth vs this rule that for those thinges which are generally receiued by the Church if their beginnings be not knowne they are to be taken for Apostolical traditions but such is the number of seauen Sacraments therefor they are of Apostolical tradition Thus much of the Sacraments in general let vs now come to their particular declarations OF BAPTISME OF THE NECESSITY OF baptisme BAptisme is commonly called the doore of the Sacraments because it is the entrance to the rest necessary to be had before them For vntill we be christened we are not christians and vntill we be made christians we can not receiue the Sacraments of the people of Christ Baptisme is our first spiritual generation and before generation we haue noe operation because we are not soe before baptisme we haue noe spiritual being in grace and therefor it is to be supposed before the rest of the Sacraments be receiued the words of S. Iohn being then verifyed he gaue them power to be made the sonnes of God Io. 1. For as we are borne the children of Adam and of wrath in our corporal births soe in baptisme we are borne the sonnes of God by grace through the merits of Iesus Christ As necessary then as generation is to the corporal being of all men soe necessary is baptisme to the being of all soules in the diuine grace and fauour and as necessary as birth is to the perfection of man in this world soe necessary is baptisme to come to the perfect state of glory Vnles a man be borne againe of water and the spirit he can not enter into the kingdome of God Iâ— 3. By which words it appeareth that Baptisme is a Sacrament that is to say an outward rite or signe that causeth grace in vs. Baptisme a Sacrament We haue a rite and outward signe in the water and we haue the effect of grace in that the kingdome of heauen is obtained by it Heretiks that would confounde all things in the Church of God haue gone about to take away our christendome from vs affirming quite contrary to the words of Christ that a man not borne of water may enter into the kindome of heauen pretending that children are sanctifyed by their parents faith and therefor will not baptize them But this as I haue said is directly contrary to the words alleadged and in it selfe most absurde in that it maketh the kingdome of heauen to come to children not by grace but by inheritance from faithfull parents and supernaturall glory to be obtained by natural and corporal meanes Children are not absolutly holy in that they come of holy parents good parents are indeede a meanes to thee sanctification of their children by procuring for them that which God hath ordained for their sanctification but the goodnes of the parent can not merit grace for the child nor sanctify him This must be done by applying the merits of Christs passion to children in some Sacrament And soe the children of the Iewes in the law of Moyses were saued by the faith of their parents in this sense that they hauing the true faith applyed vnto their children those meanes of sanctification which God then ordained for them but neither in the law of Moyses nor of nature were children euer sanctifyed by onely being borne of good parents but somethinge was allwais done to them as Circumcision or some other outward signe for their sanctification which although it were farre inferiour to our baptisme yet it was necessarily required there being noe proportion betwixt kinred in blood and the diuine grace and glory S. Augustin Doe not beleeue Aug. l. 3. de anima eâ—â—s origineâ— 9. doe not say that children before baptisme can haue their original sinne forgiuen them if thou wilt be a Catholike OF THE EFFECT OF BAPTISME THE propper and particular effect of Baptisme is to make him that receiueth it to become a member of the body of Christ as being admitted into his Church by it and to dispose and prepare him for the rest of the Sacraments after it The general effect of Baptisme which it hath commune with all the Sacraments is to giue grace to the sanctification of soules and this it doth after soe full and plentifull a manner that it remitteth all sinne whatsoeuer original and actual great and litle and forgiueth all punishment due to it in the next world Rom. 6. We are buried saith the Apostle together with him by Baptisme vnto death That is to the death and destruction of sinne and of all punishment after it We haue a figure of this in Naaman the leptose Prince of Syria who washing himselfe in the waters of Iordan Reg. 4 5. as the Prophet had praescribed to him he came forth soe cleane and perfectly cured that the Holy Ghost saith his flesh was restored as the flesh of a litle child Ezechiel prophecyed of this saying I will powre out
vpon you cleane water and you shall be clensed from all your contaminations Ezech c. 36. The Baptisme of S. Iohn had not this effect but was a Sacrament that is to say a holy mystery betwixt the law of Moyses and Christ not remitting of sinnes but ordained of God as an honorable preparation for christian Baptisme and for this reason Christ himselfe would be baptized by it not to be purifyed saith S. Augustine by the waters but to purify them by touching his most pure flesh And as it were to prepare them for that more honorable Baptisme which he was to commande The Apostles haue declared the effect of our Baptisme by some typical figures of the old Testament S. Peter applyeth the miraculous Saluation of mankind by water Pet. 1.3 in the dayes of Noë as a figure of our saluation by the water of Baptisme S. Paul deliuereth the passage of the Israëlits through the sea to the land of promise as a figure of our passing the waters of Baptisme to our desired rest in glory Thus would God honour our Baptisme with these honorable figures and inspire the Apostles to take notice of them We ought therfor with great reuerence humility and deuotion to be present at the administring of this great and powerfull mystery OF THE CAEREMONYS OF Baptisme THE dignity of the Sacraments of Christ requireth that they be deliuered with deuout and reuerent caeremonys such as may both expresse the nature of them and moue vs to deuotion in those holy mysterys Haeretiks when we speake of caeremonys presently beginne to laugh and as those that are possessed with euill spirits deride holy things soe doe they the caeremonys of the Catholike Church But this is the spirit of haeretical pride which is in them proceeding from their owne willfull ignorance because they will not consider and vnderstande truely the nature of caeremonys The original cause and grounde of caeremonys which is to be a corporal worship of God according to our nature and an humble acknowledgment of our weake and corporal nature who are indeede spiritual creatures in our soules but tyed vnto and clogged with a body which is earthly and therfor we must honour God both with our soules and bodys with our inward affections as the operations of the soule and with corporal caeremonys as the duety of our bodys euery creature being to honour him after that manner which is natural to it Angels honour God onely by affections which are spiritual because they are onely spirits but man that consisteth both of soule and of body must worship him both with spiritual affections of the soule and with corporal reuerence It is true God respects most the inward of our harts and without that nothing is acceptable to him but he will accept of corporal works together with our harts he will haue vs to pray in spirit inwardly yet he refuseth not our vocal prayers which are corporal expressions of our inward reuerence to him Nay he is soe farre from refusing them that Christ would both practise them himselfe and commende them to his Disciples giuing them a forme of vocal prayer And as God who respects most the inward of our harts would neuerthelesse allow of and commende vocal prayer that we might vse it as an expression natural to vs to humble our selues in the consideration of our weake nature soe will he haue vs to expresse our inward submission of hart by corporal caeremonys and humble ourselues by them vnto him This is the original cause of vocal prayer and of caeremonys as kneeling holding vp our hands and the like at our prayers and for this cause God would haue caeremonys to be vsed in his seruice both in the law of nature and of Moyses and Christ would initiate the law of grace with many caeremonys which himselfe vsed Read the fifteenth of Genesis Gen. 15. and you shall finde that God commanded to take for sacrifices such and such creatures of such an age to be diuided after such a manner and to be laid in such a posture all which an haeretike may laugh at if he will Afterwards in the law of Moyses he that should reade with the spirit of an haeretike all those very many and strange caeremonys which were then vsed Exod. 29. and should see in the ordaining of Aaron the blood of a ramme put vpon the tippe of his right eare right thumbe and right great toe would perhaps laugh them to scorne although they were ordained of God as this whole law was which was soe full of caeremonys that it may well be diuided into the Caeremonial law He that in the spirit of an haeretike should reade the seauenth of S. Marke Mark 7. and should see Christ take the deafe and dumbe man out of the multitude might aske to what purpose did he soe could he not as well haue cured him amongst the people he putt his singars into his eares to what purpose would this haeretike say could he not haue cured him as well without that caeremony he spitted touched his tongue looked vp to heauen groaned said Epheta To what purpose might he say was all this could not he haue done the miracle as well without it Yes Luc. 18. Christ could haue cured him without these caeremonys with a word onely as he did the blind man with onely Respice or without any word at all but onely the word of his will as he did the Centurions boy neither speaking nor touching nor soe much as seeing him but with his eyes of pitty being then in body absent from him But although then he would vse noe caeremonys yet at other times as you haue seene he did and for the most part he cured by imposition of hand and that to very good purpose and if the haeretike will know to what purpose it was it was to teach him and all men to worship God according to their nature and to humble themselues in the consideration of their corporal nature Holy Dauid seeing the arke of our Lord coming forth of Obededoms house moued with the zeale of diuine worship deuested himselfe of his princely maiesty and being a king he thought it noe disparishment to gird himselfe with a linnen Ephod and to leape and dance before the arke of our Lord Michol his foolish wife looking through a window and seeing it despised him in her hart for that caeremony of deuotion and when the king came to his house she mette him and vpbraided him with it as a scornefull caeremony But what was his answere to her Reg. 2.6 Before our Lord will I play and will become more vile then J haue bene and I will be humble in mine eyes This is the effect of the caeremonys of the Church to humble vs to God whilst we reuerence him both in body and soule Dauid was an humble man and the type of a good Catholike Michol was a prowde woman and may signify haeretiks for as she derided Dauids deuotion
eminently blessed aboue the rest of the Sacraments and infinitly blessed in that it conteineth the authour of all blesse These are the words of S. Denis the disciple of S. Eccl hier c. 3. Paul concerning it for it is saith he according to our renewmed master the Consummation of the Sacraments Neither is it almost lawfull for any of the priestly functions to be exercized but this diuine and high Sacrament of Eucharist must be performed It is the highest indeede and most diuine of all the Sacraments because the rest conteining onely the vertue and power of Christ this truely and really conteineth Christ himselfe And therefor the Apostles called it the Eucharist that is to say a high and blessed grace or gift By it the Church of Christ is placed in a midle ranke of honour aboue the synagogue of the Iewes and vnder the cittizens of heauen we being but a litle lesse exalted then they The Synagogue of the Iewes in the law of Moyses had Christ in sigure onely we in the Eucharist haue him as really as the cittizens of heauen but they haue him in glory In the Eucharist all Christ is conteined for although by vertue of the words This is my body c. his body onely be really present in it yet because all his perfections are allwais accompanying his sacred body and wheresoeuer it is there is all Christ hence it followeth that both his body and soule and all the perfections of his diuine and humane nature and all whatsoeuer is in Christ is really in the Eucharist in company of his body If his body were without his soule then it were dead Rom 6. as it was in the sepulcher but Christ rising againe from the dead now dieth noe more Saith the Apostle Christ therfor being now not dead wheresoeuer his body is there his soule is all ouer vnited to it There is then his intire humane nature of body and soule and being that his diuine and humane nature are allwais vnited together there is also the diuine word and nature of God All Christ is intirely in the host and all Christ is intirely in the chalice although vnder different signes and species And Christ is not onely all in all the host and chalice but all Christ is in euery part of them soe that he that receiueth onely the host receiueth as much as he that receiueth both host and chalice and he that receiueth the chalice onely receiueth as much as both chalice and host and the least particle of either of them is as much as all The reason of this supposing the truth of Christs words may easily be vnderstoode for that he did not determine any particular quantity to be consecrated which if he had done then a lesser quantity had not bene consecrated but leauing the quantity indifferent and the least part of it being consecrated as well as the whole it is the perfect Eucharist and perfect Christ as well as the whole Christ being shortly to depart this world would leaue vnto vs a great testimony ef his loue and although his passion and death were sufficient to testify it yet besides them he would bestow a gift token and pledge vpon vs which might allwais remaine with vs as a memorial of him He called therfor his disciples to supper and being there all together he made his wil and last testament amongst them bequething vnto them the most pretious gift that was in his hands to giue and in his blessed hands were all thinges It was his owne pretious body which then he bequeathed and gaue to them and with it all the perfections of his diuine and humane nature and he gaue it not in promise onely and for the future but he deliuered it then to them for themselues and for all good christiaÌ„s for euer And that noe haeretike might misconstrue his will and defraude the world of this pretious Isgacy he declared his minde soe planely and in such termes as could not wel be misinterpreted telling them that it was the very body which Was to be deliuered and that blood which was to be shedd Gâ—r 1.11 For the Apostle sayth that whilst they were at supper Iesus tooke bread and blessed and brake and he gaue to his disciples and said take ye and eate THIS IS MY BODY which shall be deliuered for you and taking the chalice he gaue thanks and gaue to them saying drinke ye all of this For this is my blood of the new testament which shall be shed for many vnto remission of sinnes Commanding them to doe the same in commemoration of him If then his true body and blood was deliuered and shedd it was his true body and blood which then he gaue to them And although as there is noe absurdity soe great but haeretiks wil finde out how to mainteine it the Manichees haue conceited that an apparent body onely and not the true body of Christ was deliuered on the Cros for vs yet now that I heare of there are noe such haeretiks in the world All christians then beleeuing that his true body was deliuered on the Cros why shall not all as wel beleeue that his true body is conteined in the Eucharist seeing that we haue the same authority for it After this the Apostles vndertooke to consecrate the Eucharist and honored it as the very true body and blood of our lord Cor. 1.11 Mat. 26. S. Paul whosoeuer shall eate this bread or drinke the chalice of our Lord vnworthily he shall be guilty of the body and blood of our Lord. and that he eateth and drinketh iudgment to him selfe not discerning the body of our Lord. Thus did the Apostles receiue the Eucharist from Christ and honored it as his true body And the primitiue Church that receiued it from them gaue it the same honour as they did and as the Romane Church now doth That the Rom. Church doth now giue it that honour it is well knowne and that the primitiue Church honored it as much it shall appeare by the sentences of those fathers and first by the honorable names which they giue it Hier. Eccl. c. 3. Ignat. ad Ephes Iustin Apoll Cyp. de lapsis S. Denis termeth it hostia saluta ris the sauing host S. Ignatius calleth it medicamentum immortalitatis antidotum non moriendi the medicine of immortality the antidote against death Iustinus Caro sanguis incarnati Iesu the flesh and blood of Iesus incarnated Cyprian de laps Sanctum Domini gratia salutaris sacrificium perpes holecaustum permanens the holy one of our Lord the sauing grace the continual sacâ—ifice an offering allwais remaining Concilium Nicaen Agnus Dei qui tollit peccata mundi the lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world S. Cyr mystag 4. Cyril hath these words of it Vnder the shew of bread the body is giuen to thee and the blood is giuen vnder the shew of wine Doe not consider it as naked bread and wine For it
God because God sheweth himselfe there in glory as a King reigning in the mindes and hearts of his Saints who are in perfect loue and subiection to him And supposing here that which we prayed for before to wit that it be for the honour of God we may be vnderstoode to pray that our soules may be freed out of the prison of our bodys Phil. 1. and come soone to that happy state as the Apostle desired to be dissolued and to be with Christ The Kingdome of Heauen is the first thing Mat. 6. which we ought to aske for our selues Seeke first the Kingdome of God and the iustice of him and all these things shall be giuen you besides Christ said this to his disciples after that he had delinered the Pater noster to them in which he taught them first to aske the honour of God and then those things which were good for themselues and amongst all those things in the first place the kingdom of heaven Tract 102. This is saith saint Augustin that full and perfect ioy which we ought to pray for and which oll our prayers ought to aime at as the only true ioy Here the Romane Catechisme admonisheth Pastors to excite their people to the loue of that Kingdome by the sentences of holy Scriptures which are indeede frequent enough for it But in order to this it ought to be sufficient that Christ hath said in few words Aske and you shall receiue that your ioy may be full For what ioy should we desire but that which is full ioy and fullnesse of ioy is not to be had but in heauen Euery thing aspireth to that in which its cheife and full ioy consisteth Sensible things to that which pleaseth the senses liuing things to the conseruation of life and those things which haue onely being and noe life delight in that which is according to their nature and seeke to it because there is the fulnes of their ioy And shall the soule of man which is reasonable aboue all these things forsake that which is its cheife and full ioy All corporall things tende with violence thither where their cheife ioyes are and rest not contented vntill they enioy them The Sunne Moone and Planets reioyce in their courses the Starres in their stations and keepe themselues in them because there is the fullnes of their ioy The creatures of the earth are some aboue the earth some within it and some part within and part without it as trees and herbes and will not liue otherwise because there is the summe of their delight The fishes of the Seas and fresh waters seeke allways to be there and striue by violence to that place Light thinigs tende vpwards and heauy things to the centre of the earth because there they haue the fulnesses of their ioy The fulnesses of our ioy is noe where but in Heauen and why doe not we then seeke to it and abhorre all that hindereth vs of it We liue in this world as it is were out of our element in a place most lothsome to our soules a deadly prison condemned to dy continually and in danger of eternall death Rom. 7. What ioy can we take in this condition Vnhappy that I am saith the Apostle who shall deliuer mee from the body of this death The Kingdome of God is diuersely vnderstoode First it is general ouer all the world as he gouerneth and prouideth for his subiects which are the multitude of all creatures Secondly it is more particularly ouer the Catholike Church as the people of a Kingdome gathered together to worship him as their true King Thirdly more particularly yet his Kingdome is with the iust in whose harts he reigneth by grace of whom Christ the Kingdome of God is with you Luc. 17. Lastly his Kingdome is most especially ouer the blessed to whom at the day of iudgement he shall say Mat. 25. Come the blessed of my Father possesse you the Kingdome prepared for you Here we aske that we and all people may soe liue in the Communion of the Catholike Church by Faith and good works that in the end we may obtaine the glory of Heauen For this Kingdome is not otherwise obtained but by such faith as S. Gal. 5. Paul requireth which worketh by charity as by those who haue giuen meate drinke and cloths for Gods sake and they shall be excluded that come with the profession onely of Catholiks saying Mat. 7. Lord Lord open vnto vs but bring not with them the light of good workes Not euery one that sayeth Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heauen but he that doth the will of my Father of which point Saint Augustine wrote a booke de fide operibus in which he sheweth that the Epistles of S. Paul were misconstrued by some of those times as though he required not good works after baptisme cap. 14. but that faith alone did iustify And therefore saith he the other Epistles of Peter Iames and Iude were written to auouch vehemently that fait without good works profiteth nothing THE THIRD PETITION THY will be done in Earth as it is in Heauen Man hath not a greater enemy then his owne will when it is not gouerned by the will of God All good things which we haue come by the goodnesse of the diuine will and all euills that befall vs come through the malice of our owne wills The ignorance of our vnderstandings neuer hurteth our soules but when it is voluntary and all our sinnes proceede from thence that either we will not doe what we know is to be done or will not know what we are to doe Esa 5. Hence is that curse of the Prophet Woe vnty you that call euill good and good euill putting darknesses light and light darknesse putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter This curse commeth by the euill of our wills because we will follow our owne blindnes and not the will of God which ought to be our rule and guide in all things The malice of men beganne presently to be much vpon earth and the cogitations of their hart were soe bent vpon vpon euill that a deluge of waters was sent to destroy them This euill was in their harts that is to say in their wills because they followed not the will of God which is sweet and lightsome but their owne wills which are darke and bitter in effect and so haue all the euils of the world come Therefore we are topray and to labour with ourselues for conformity with the will of God Besides we not knowing what is best for vs aske that some times which is hurtfull as sicke folkes in a feauer desire that which hurteth them and as children who would take poison for treacle if they had there owne wills and therefore sicke folkes and children haue keepers whose wills they must follow and be directed by We are as children in our wills and vnderstandings both deficient by sinne God is our
Word it may be said to be infinite in grace The fullnes of his grace was also eminent aboue all in that grace was giuen to him as to the head source and fountaine which was to serue vs all with grace of his fullnes saith S. Iohn all we haue receiued noe grace being euer giuen to any but as flowing from the merits of his passion Next vnto Christ the B. Virgin had the greatest fullnes of grace For grace is giuen vnto creatures with proportion and in order to the offices and dignitys to which God designeth them and soe the B. Virgin had a greater proportion of grace then any Angell or Saint had for that she was designed to a higher office and dignity then any Angell or Saint was Her grace was to be such as might render her worthy to be the woman whom God would choose aboue all women to take flesh of to nourish him in her wombe to bring him forth to the world to haue the charge of his infancy and education and to haue him subiect vnto her as the Euangelist declareth him to haue bene For all which a great measure and proportion of grace was necessary that as her charge and dignity was eminent aboue all soe might her grace be suetable vnto it In the third place is the fullnes of grace which the Angels and Saints had to the fullfilling of those works to which God had ordained them And soe S. Steuan had fullnes of grace in order to the well performing of a Deacons office to confounde the Iewes and to be the first martyr and encourager of others to suffer martyrdome for Christ by his example and soe to enter into glory Soe that Christ according to his humanity was most eminent in grace goodly of beauty aboue the sonnes of men Ps 44. in that his humane nature was vnited to the diuine word and was the fountaine of grace to vs. Our Blessed Lady was next to him in that she had the highest office and greatest charge in relation to the mystery of the Incarnation The Angells and Saints were in a lower degree then she yet they also had fullnes of grace in their measures and in proportion to their offices They all haue fullnes of grace but in seuerall kindes and in a different nature The Angels and Saints in the lowest place our B. Lady aboue them and Christ in a higher nature transcending both them and her And our B. Lady had not onely a higher nature of grace then the Angels and Saints had but she had also a greater capacity in her soule which God created as a more ample and capable vessell conteining a greater measure of grace then they could conteine although full also in their measure and capacity and therefore she is compared to that huge vessell called the Sea Reg. 3.7 which Salomon caused to be made for the Temple which conteined ten thousand gallous according to Authors and vnto the maine Ocean Chrysol ser 146. Albert. sup missus Bonau in spec virg cap. 2. But it is to be obserued that our blessed Sauiour being not onely creature according to his humanity but also the Creatour of the world according to his diuine nature hee is not to be numbered in the number of creatures and therfore the Saints and holy Fathers commonly say that our B. Lady in grace and glory surpasseth all creatures not numbring Christ and so wee say properly that she is aboue all pure creatures that is to say onely creatures But that wee may not seeme to exaggerate towards her prayses more then due and to say any thing without good grounds you shall see as much and more then we haue said to be grounded vpon the solidity of many bundreds of yeares standing euer from the times of the primitiue Church of Christ for the first six hundred yeares when the very enemys of the Catholike Church that now are confesse the Christian Faith to haue bene most pure from errour and the Church most flourishing the holy and learned men of those times haue setforth her prayses after the same manner and in the very same termes which wee now vse and haue prayed vnto her calling her Mistres Lady Queen Mother of God and the like titles to honour her and to increase the denotion of people vnto her First in the first age Saint Iames the Apostle in in his Lyturgy which he made for the Church service would not omitt to make a commemoration of her But beginning the words of the Haile Mary as the Angell did he repeateth them and calleth her most holy vndefiled blessed aboue all our Queene Lady Mother of God Saint Ignatius liued in the same age was disciple to Saint Iohn Euangelist and died a glorious Martyr in the next age after hedeclareth how greatly she was honored euen then when she liued that multitudes of people came to visit her when they were cōuerted to Christianity Great is the concourse of people saith he that goeth to see the Queene of Heauen Ign. ep 1. and to heare her and againe hee calleth her the Mistres of the Christian Faith Saint Denis first Philosopher of Athens and then the disciple of S. Paul in his booke de diuinis nominibus cap 33. relateth how that himselfe after his conuersion went to see her for that she was left to be the comfort and ioy of Christians after the Ascension of Christ and in his Epistle to Timothe hee describeth the manner of her departure out of this life how that all the Apostles except S Thomas being brought together miraculously from the severall parts of the world to be present at her death with deuout Canticles they celebrated her funerals for three dayes the Angels ioyning their heauenly melody with them and that Saint Thomas comming the third day and desiring to see her sacred corps her tombe was opened that he might see her at least after her death but he saw her not for that she was not there to be seene A great sweetnes issued out of the Sepulcher and the linnens in which she was wrapped were left in it but her sacred body was not there Thus Saint Denis and he concludeth this narration saying That it could not bee thought but that as God would preserue her Virginal body free from corruption in the Conception of her Sonne soe he would preserue it from corruption after her death and Assume it to the glory of Heauen before the generall glorification of other bodys at the day of iudgment Saint Iohn Damascen relateth this history out of S. Denis De dorm deip whom he citeth as an eye witnesse of it and sayeth that her tombe and linnens that were left in it were transferred in the time of the Emperour Marcion with great solemnity from Hierusalem to Constantinople Saint Augustine doth not onely approoue of the corporall Assumption of our blessed Lady into Heaven but also prooueth it as most congruous to the dignity of the Mother of God Aug. de Assump
to determinate those materiall things to pious vses which in themselues are indifferent to any for this reason the ornaments and vessell of the Church seruice were commanded to be consecrated in the law of Moyses Exod. 40. and are now in the law of Christ The sodality of the Rosary is â—rected in the order of Saint Dominike and priuileges are granted vnto it to excite all vnto that deuotion and I hope our blessed Lady will graciously acknowledge me one day although now an vnworthy Sodales of it Euer since the Empresse of the world was assumpted into Heauen it hath bene the custome of the Catholike Church for all the people both riche and poore to beseech her gracious countenance and to pray to her the holy to be strenghtned in holines and sinners to he freed from sinne and as we haue through out the yeare diuerse Feasts which were aunciently by the holy Saints and are now by vs obserued in her honour soe to commend vnto all the deuotion of the Rosary Pope Gregory the XIII of holy memory appointed the first Sunday of October to be kept in honour of it For in the yeare of our Lord 1571 when the Catholike Church appeared destitute of humane helpe and leaned onely on the armes and strength of her diuine Spouse the Northerne parts of Europe being then lately fallen into heresys and the Turke comming on the otherside with a formidable nauy to assalt her it pleased God to defende the Catholike cause and to couer our enemys in the sea by a glorious victory which we gott ouer the Turke surpassing vs in number and force but inferiour by the diuine protection ouer vs and by the power of our B Lady then particularly called vpon For the victory was gained on that day on which the Sodality of the Rosary was called together to implore especially her assistance and therefore the holinesse of the foresaid Pope dedicated it as solemne to the Rosary shewing in two things his wise and pious minde First in giuing the victory not vnto humane power but to the diuine protection and especially in those circumstances to our blessed Ladys prayers and secondly by instituting a continuall memoriall in thanksgiuing for it that as in S. Dominiks dayes when the deuotion of the Rosary was first begunne by him our blessed Lady appeared in Earle Monforts army sighting against the Albigenses haeretiks who in mighty numbers wasted the Kingdome of France so it was the will of God that her power should be acknowledged and the mysterys of the Rosary honored in that late batle against the enemys of Christ And as when Queene Ester pecitioning the King obtained the liues of the Israeliticall people a day was set a part for the solemnity of it and as the victory of Iudith had also a day of solemnity afterwards soe might this day of the Rosary be glorious in our victory when the Procession of Saint Dominiks order shall sing Aue maris Stella to the triumph of our Lady and the whole Catholike Church shall answere in their harts Iudit 15. Thou art the glory of Hierusalem thou the ioy of Israel thou the honour of our people because thou hast done manfully thou shalt be blessed for euer c. THE TENTH DISCOVRSE OF THE MASSE I Am now to speake of the high glory and bright Sunne of all deuotions I meane the Holy Sacrifice of Masse Which as it is a Sacrifice it is the supreme and highest of all worships proper onely to God and as such a Sacrifice of the Body of our Lord it is more eminent and perfect then all the Sacrifices that euer were or euer can be offered Fist I will speake of the Masse as it is a Sacrifice Secondly of the particular parts and ceremonys of the Masse And lastly something of its fruits and benefits Let vs say the Haile Mary for our blessed Ladys intercession Haile Mary c. First OF THE MASSE AS IT IS A SACRIFICE Quest What is the Masse Answ The Masse is the continuall Sacrifice of the law of Christ in which his true body and blood is offered vnder the signes of bread and wine THERE are seuerall kindes of Sacrifices Diuerse kinds of Sacrifice First there are spiritual sacrifices to wit our inward thoughts and good purposes And soe King Dauid sayth that an humbled spirit and contrite hart that is to say an act of humility and Contrition is a Sacrifice to God And S. Peter writing vnto all the faithfull requireth of them that they be a holy Priesthood by this kind of Sacrisice Pet. 1.2 Be ye a holy priesthood to offer vp spirituall hosts There are also diuerse sorts of corporal Sacrifices First such as vocal prayer kneeling adoring offering of gifts and the like which as they are corporal worships they may be called Sacrifices in a large sense and S. Augustine sayeth that euery good worke is a true Sacrifice nor that it hath truely the nature of a Sacrifice but that it is an offering with fruit and good effect to our soules and not a false Sacrifice without fruit as Christ said of himselfe that he was a true vine that was to say a good vine that bringeth fruit and not an ill vine which falsifyeth the hopes of it But nene of these neither spiritual nor corporal are properly Sacrifices but onely in an vnpropper and large sense in that they are good works offered vp to God but they are not offered as the highest worship propper onely to him but may be and are in their kind giuen to men as when we worship our friends both in our harts and with our bodys and when we offer gifts to our superiors as the Kings did to Christ their superiour euen as man but propper Sacrifices are offered to none but God A Sacrifice therefor properly speaking is the offering vp of some corporal and sensible thinge as the supreme and propper worship of God The Masse then is a Sacrifice in its true and propper sense that is to say the offering vp of some corporal thinge as an act of highest worship special and propper onely to God to acknowledge diuine power in him And thus a Sacrifice may be vnderstoode two wayes either for the action of offering and Sacrifizing or els for the thinge that is offered and Scrifized as the word Offering is sometimes taken for the action of offering as when we say he was long or short gracious or tedious in his offering and is sometimes taken for the thinge that is offered as when we say it was a rich or poore offering Soe the Masse is a Sacrifice vnderstanding the action of Sacrifizing And soe all the prayers and caeremonys of Masse are parts of it belonging to its integrity as it is such a manner of Sacrisizing and offering and for the thinge offered it is the true body and blood of our Lord vnder the signe of bread and wine Soe that both the Masse is a Sacrifice and the body and blood of
they are as due to them as wages are to workemen And we may speake by experience to them that know not the truth that our labour is without comparison greater then the labour of day tale workmen I haue no more to say of the Praecepts of the Church You haue seene first the authority of the Church to be diuine and her Praecepts to oblige vnder amortall sin Secondly you haue in particular the declaration of them Let vs keep them with deuotion and zeale of the honour of the Church that coÌ„mandeth them She is the immaculate spouse and glorious Bride of God She is our mother and neuer was there any mother so disirous of her childreÌ„s good nor so efficaciously procuring their true prefermeÌ„t as the Catholik Church doth ours The mother of the Zebedoes was sollicitous for her sonnes with Christ asking to haue them neere him in his Kingdome but she knew not what she asked The Catholike Church asketh nothing for her children but that which God will haue her to aske and which he inspireth her how to procure and which they if they will obey her are sure to obtaine and that is the highest honour and greatest felicity of all honours and felicitys to be made indeede the courtiers and fauorits of Christ in his euerlasting Kingdome Let vs then obey her Eccli 3. As he that gathereth treasure soe he that honoreth his mother And then a little after he is cursed of God that doth exasperate his mother How much then ought we to honour the whole Catholike Church and with what reuerence to receiue her Precepts THE TVVELFTH DISCOVRSE OF SINNE I Haue now a most hidous and fearefull monster to set before your eyes I meane to describe vnto you the euill of sinne which is indeede the most hideous monster of the world so deformed that neither men nor Angels can comprehende the deformity of it none but God can rightly vnderstande it and he vnderstanding it is moued with infinite detestation and auersion from it as from that which is most opposite of all things to his goodnesse and most hurtfull to his creatures I would stire vp in your hearts a vehement abhorring and vtter renouncing of sinne This is all the fruite saith the Prophet that sinne be taken away Esa 27. and this is all the fruit which I desire and labour for in you and which you ought to labour for in your selues to haue your sinnes taken away fot this we preach catechise and exhort that we may detest all sinne and fly it as the most dreadfull monster in the world We may conceiue somethinge of the power and malice of sinne by the vision which Saint Iohn had in the twelfth of the Apocalipse Apoc. 12. First he saw a very glorious woman soe glorious that she was clothed with the Sunne and had the Moone vnder her feete and vpon her head a crowne of twelue starres Then there appeared another signe in the Heauens a great dragon with seauen heads and tenne hornes and seauen diademes on his head And this dragon was soe strong and powerfull that he drew downe from Heauen the third part of the starres and cast them to the earth and assalting the glorious woman for all her glory he put her to flight and although she had giuen her the wings of an Eagle to fly into the desert yet the dragon sending forth of his mouth a flood of waters ouertooke her with them and had swallowed her vp if she had not gotten helpe By this dragon we may vnderstande something of the power and malice of sinne Sinne is the enemy of all glory it ascended into the Heauens and threw downe from thence the celestiall Angels and made them who were as the starres of Heauen in naturall beauty to wander now vpon the earth and vnder it full of shame and paine The Church farre more glorious in the sanctity of soules then the Sunne is in corporall brightnesse and which may well be signifyed by the glorious woman iâ— sometimes so persecuted by the sinnes of Infidels and euill Catholiks that although the true worship of God be neuer quite banished out of the world yet in some places it is so obscured that the Church in those places is driuen into corners as it were into the desert Sinne is that monster which brought the flood of all humane miserys and a reall flood of waters vpon the Church in the deluge and had quite swallowed her vp if God had not miraculously saued her Sinne hath brought plagues vpon houses citys and Kingdomes and taged in the end so violently destroying of soules that the Sonne of God was incarnated to destroy it It made the Sunne to be eclipsed with a horrible darkenesse the roofe of the Temple of Hierusalem and the rocks there abouts to be rent in peeces the ground to tremble graues to open and dead bodys to rise againe at the destruction of it It made our Saviour to weepe vpon Hierusalem and it made HierusaleÌ„ within a while to be as a stinking graue that swelled vp to an incredible hight with the multitude of dead carcases which were in it It made thousands of that people to languish away with famine and hundreds of thousands to come into their enemys hands and to become subiect to their slauery and torments Sinne hath brought haeresys into the Church of Christ and by them cruell blood â—hed amongst ChristiaÌ„s It is the cause of all dissentions and all the euills that euer were were caused by sinne It maketh the prowde to be contemned the enuious to be enuyed the contentious to be killed the couetous to be full of perplexity the luxurious to dispaire and all sinners to detest that in the end which once they loved and to be full of horrour when they come to dy Wise and holy men haue liued hard and austere liues to keepe themselues cleare from sinne and haue chosen to submitte themselues rather to the cruellest deaths that sinners could devise to inflict then to be sinners with them These are the effects of sinne what monster could euer doe the like if those tall and strong men that terrifyed the Israelites were called monsters for their extraordinary strength and tallnesse why may not we call sinne a monster which hath such power Num. 13. and if excesse or defects or disorders of members make monsters How monstruous is sinne that is the originall cause of all the excesses defects and disorders that euer were it peruerteth the order of all our actions it corrupteth our nature and euen as poyson put into wine intoxicateth it quite and changeth it all into poyson so sinne corrupteth all that is good in our soules and all our good workes being poysoned with one mortall sinne goe downe with it into hell What reason then haue we to abhorre and to fly from sinne If we looked behinde vs and saw a Lyon Beere or terrible Serpent pursueing vs at our heeles our harts would faint presently our whole bodys would
tremble with feare and our leggs would scarce be able to beare vs and if we had any strength left we should imploy it all in crying out and in making haist to get away from it So let vs feare and fly from sinne Sonne hast thou sinned Eccli 21. doe see noe more as from the face of a serpent flee from sinnes The teeth of a lyon the teeth thereof killing the soules of men But let vs keepe order First we will speake of the nature and malice of sinne Secondly of the authour and cause of sinne Thirdly of the seuerall kindes of sinne But first of all we will salute the blessed Mother of God and pray for her intercession Haile Mary c. OF THE NATVRE AND MALICE OF SINNE Quest What is sinne Ans Sinne is that by which we depart from the diuine Law and are separated from God THE Law of God is the line and rule by which all our actions are to be ruled sinne is the forsaking of that rule and we forsaking it are presently separated from God soe that we are then cast out of his fauour and in the number of the gracelesse and wicked soules that are to be damned S. Augustine defineth sinne to be a thought Aug. l. â—2 cont Faust c. 17. word or worke contrary to the diuine Law and Diuines commonly call it the deformity of a reasonable creature displeasing to God All which is in substance the same to wiâ— that sinne is a deformity of thought word or worke by which we depart from the diuine Law and are diuided and put away from the grace and glory of God Hence it followeth first that sinne is voluntary Free will and that if we had not free will we could not sinne For God is not displeased without reason and he had noe reason to be displeased at our sinnes if they were of necessity and naturally in vs and not of malice The malice therefor of sinne is the malice of the will as it proceedeth from the malicious will of him that will not absteine from that which he knoweth oâ— ought to know to be a sinne But of this we shall speake afterwards Secondly it followeth that those things which are done ignorantly are noe sinnes except it be a culpable ignorance of that which we should and might haue knowne but did not for otherwise there is noe malice in such actions Sinnes against conscience Thirdly it followeth that those things which are done against conscience are allwais sinnes For our conscience is the iudgment which we make of euery particular action which we doe which iudgment being giuen vs of God as a guide to direct vs in his diuine Law we are bounde to follow it and to be directed by it And if we erre in our actions when we follow our conscience we erre not in that we follow them for that we ought to doe but we erre and offende in that we blindly resolue vpon such actions before that we haue informed our selues sufficiently of the lawfullnesse of them and in that we depose not and lay aside not first the errour of conscience which we haue Counsaile It is good therefor not to be too wise in our owne eyes and conceited of our owne knowledge but to aske of those that are to direct vs and if we chance to be taken on a suddaine thaâ— we haue not time and opportunity to informe our selues let vs commende it breâ—fly to God and then act resolutly according to our conscience all wais iudging that to be lawfull which we intende to doe least thinking or doubting it to be vnlawfull we be condemned by our owne conscience and at the tribunall of God for nor following the guide which he gaue vs. Sinne therefor is a voluntary act of the will by which we depart from the diuine Law and are separated from God Hence we may gather the first euill of sinne The first euill of sinne and that it is an incompreheÌ„sible and infinite euill in that it is contrary to God and separating from him an incomprehensible and infinite good For what is God but an infinite power an infinite wisdome an infinite goodnes beauty and glory nor can we say any thinge of God but by infinites Then what is sinne as it is contrary to God but an infinite of all euills contrary to that infinite good he that could lay what God were and could declare the goodnes of God might say what sinne were and declare the euill of it but this none at all can doe and therefor the euills of sinne are vnspeakeable and as the goodnes of God soe are they incomprehensible in that they separate vs from him Thinke with your selues sometimes of that supreme goodnes contemplate God and blesse him whom you can neither speake not thinke Hiero. l. 2. inc 2. abac â—as ho. 13. ex varijs qua est de side Aug. l. de Spiritu anima tract 4. Moyses saith S. Hierome called himselfe alogos irrationalis without speech and without reason when he was to speake of God and of diuine thinges and Dauid saith he called himselfe iumentum a dumbe â—reature in that respect S. Basil It is naturall for all to loue God but to speake rightly of him is aboue the nature of men Say saith S. Augustine say my soule to God who art thou O. Lord and whom shall I conceiue thee to be truely thou onely are what then art and who thou art That is to say that then which there is nothing to be thought that is greater or better or more delightsome the cheife good Ser. 1. de verb. Apost to 1. And in another place If thou desirest greatnes he is greater if beauty he is more beautifull if sweetnes he is sweeter if brightnes he is brighter if iustice he is iuster if strength he is stronger if piety he is more clement for it is written he that made strong things himselfe is stronger Sap. 13. and he that made the beautifull is more beautifull himselfe What would S. Augustine say by this for God to be the greatest the sweetest the most beautifull of all things we easily vnderstande it but to be greater then greatnes sweeter then sweetnes c. We vnderstande it not That which S. Augustine said in this was that God is a greatnes a sweetnes a glory a goodnes which can not be vnderstoode I tasted and became hungry Aug. l. 10. Confess c. 27. and thirsty thou touchedst mee and I burned with the loue of thy peace Saith he God is a ioy which none can vnderstande but which all doe loue and hungar and thirst after by nature A ioy which is aboue all ioyes and which conteineth all ioyes and is still desired by those that enioy him All that can be said of God is in breife but this that he is the supreme goodnes and that infinite How euill then is sinne that separateth from him A sort of robbers enter into Michas his house
Aegypt we cannot but pitty to see them loaden with huge burdens toiling in mire and dirt and performing euery day a wearisome and almost impossible taske of bricks being forced vnto it by the cruell Aegyptians without any helpe or ease at all onely that straw was prouided to their hands and this also in the end was taken from them that they must both spate men to goe vp and downe Aegypt to seeke straw and must performe their taske too or els they must be scourged They complaine to Pharao Exod. 5. straw is not giuen vs and bricks are commanded vs behold we thy scruants are beaten with whippes but what remedy all that they gotte of him was You are idle goe and work straw shall not be given you there shall not a whit be deminished of the bricks for euery day This waâ— their remedy Poore slaues they must worke and be beaten But this was nothing to compare with the deuills slauery Pharao although cruell yet he was a man the deuill is a deuill of a higher nature of cruelty and malice which by our nature is not rightly conceiued yet we haue in the Scriptures all kinds of miserys and torments threatned to make vs conceiue more lively of it that as those who are made slaues by the Turks are put vnto base and slauish offices of carrying heauy loades grinding in mills and the like and when their masters will they must he called to be beaten without remedy or muttering a word so would the holy Ghost describe the state of sinners Come downe sit in the dust Esa 47. ô virgin daughter of Babylon sitt on in the ground Take a mill and grinde meale I will take vengeance and no man shall resist mee Sitt holding thy peace and enter into darknesse ô daughter of the Chaldees O Christians thinke of these words before you sinne and thinke that it is God himself that speaketh them to you Imagine that you heard him threaten and thinke that this is not onely an imagination of your owne or exaggeration of ours but the reall words of God in the Scriptures We amplify nothing we speake noe allegorys but suâ—h as God himselfe hath spoken to terrify men from sinne Heauy burthens and rods of iron are threatned to the deuils slaues and more then so without comparison Esa 28. when it is said We haue strucken a league with death and with hell we haue made a couenant There is no more can be said of miserys then death and hell Death the greatest of temporall and hell an eternall horrour By death we loose all the pleasures of this world and by hell we loose the pleasures of Heauen and beginne an euerlassing punishment of ragious paine that looke whatsoeuer we could haue wished for in Heauen we should haue had it and whatsoeuer we detest and abhorre that shall be forced vpon vs in hell and we shall neuer be pittyed nor freed from it Time shall beginne and end in this world and beginne and end againe as long as any time shall last and after that their eternity is still in which they are setled in that cursed state of continuall roaring rage and strugling with paine which shall neuer cease nor deminish that as euery thing is setled in its owne nature and kind Angels to be Angels men to be men and Lyons to be Lyons and cannot change into another kind so the damned soules are setled in that kind of being and state of torments without hopes of any change from it or easement for euer And besides the eternity of these torments the intension and vehemency of them is such that all the paine which we can imagine is but as a fly biteing as it were to compare with it We reade in the liues of the fathers of a certaine holy man who being tempted to sinne by an impudent woman burnt his fingars one after another In vit pat l. 3. §. 107. bidding her to try how she could endure the fire of hell and dying that night the holy man by his prayers teuiued her to life againe hist angl l. 3. c. 19. in which she liued a more chast and happy life Saint Bede relateth of Saint Furseus that hauing seene one time in a vision the torments of hell that sight was so terrtible allafterwards to him that euen in the midst of wintour allthough he wore but one single garment he would droppe downe with sweat when he thought of it How great then may we imagine the paine it selfe to be when the thought of it onely was of such force with him to shew this God although his mercys be soe great and much commended in the Scriptures yet neuertheles he is said to be in a fury against the damned soules and therefore King Dauid Prayed Lord rebuke mee not in thy fury Psal 6. That is with the paines of hell for as a man in his fury putteth all his strength against those whom he is angry at soe God seemeth as it were to exhaust all his power and strength against those whom he condemneth to hell And as a master though neuer so mercifull yet when noe warning nor correction will mende his seruant he is incensed with iust fury and forgetting his mercy he thrusteth him out of doores for euer and deliuereth him to the tormenters as the vngracious seruants of the Ghospell was Mat. 18. so God although in himselfe he be infinitly pittyfull yet when it commeth to the paines of hell he is iustly inceÌ„sed against the damned soules and deliuereth them without any pitty at all to the deuills to be tormented Behold saith the Prophet the name of our Lord commeth from farre Es 30. his burning fury heauy to beare his lipps are filled with indignation and his tongue as a deuouring fire his spirit as a torrent ouerflowing euen to the midst of the necke He shall dash to peeces in whirle winde and in hailestone Tophet is prepared since yesterday that is to say hell was prepared of God in the day of his eternity before all dayes of time prepared of the king deepe and wide the nourishments their of fire and much wood The breath of our Lord as a torrent of brimstone kindling it Thus was the Prophet inspired to describe God in a fury against the damned which next to the losse which they suffer of God himselfe is the greatest of all euills Thirdly by sinne we incurre many temporall afflictions in this world which although they be neither in duration of time nor in intentions and violence of paine to compare with those of the soule which are spirituall and eternal yet in reason it should be a great motiue especially to wordly men who seeke after temporal felicitys to fly sinne which is the losse and hinderance of them A man committeth some great sinne and within a while he is strucken with sicknesse greifes or hurts by which he remaineth wounded lame and miscrable perhaps for many weekes and months and perhaps for all