23 By this inbred corruption our vnderstanding is so darkened that naturally we cannot perceiue the things which are of God no we count them foolishnesse our will is in such thraldome and slauerie vnto sinne that it cannot like of any thing spirituall and heauenly but is wholly caried vnto fleshly desires 24 If therefore we perceiue the things that are of God and doe like of them if our hearts be enclined to doe his will because this cannot come of our selues our nature bending a cleane contrarie way we acknowledge most willingly and vnfeinedly The good we doe is his it is not ours our beginning to doe and our continuance in dooing well proceedeth onely and wholly from him If any man receiue the grace of God offered it is because God hath framed his heart thereto If any man come when God calleth it is because his grace which calleth draweth If being brought vnto Christ we continue in him we haue no other reason to yeeld of our dooing but onely this he hath linked vs and fastened vs vnto himselfe We neither rise when we are fallen nor stand when we are risen by our owne strength When we are in distresse we are of our selues so far from abilitie to helpe our selues that we are not able to craue helpe of him vnlesse his spirite wrest out Abba Father from vs. We cannot mone our owne case vnlesse he doe grone and sigh for vs we are not able to name Iesus vnlesse by the speciall grace of his spirite our mouthes be opened no we cannot of our selues so much as think of naming him if to thinke of naming him be a good thought 25 When against our naturall inclination to euill his spirite which worketh all in all hath so preuailed that wee now beginne to hate the workes of the flesh hauing an earnest desire to abounde in loue ioie peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meekenesse temperaunce and all other fruites of the spirite yet by reason of the strength of that bodie of sinne which euer fighteth against the spirite our inward man is so weakened that we cannot do the things which we would and the things which we do euen the best of them are so farre beneath that perfection which the Lawe of God requireth that if he should rigorously examine them in iustice no fleshe could euer be accounted righteous in his sight The loathsomest things that can be imagined the cloathes that be most vncleane are not so foule as our very righteousnes is vnrighteous Wherupon we conclude that whatsoeuer wee receiue by way of reward at Gods hand either in this life or in the life to come wee receiue it as a thing freely giuen by him without any merite or desert of ours we doe not say in our hearts The Lord hath giuen vs these good things to possesse for our righteousnesse For seeing it is he which giueth both to will and to doe he crowneth in deede his owne worke when he rewardeth ours and he neuer rewardeth any worke of his owne wherein there is not somwhat of ours which he pardoneth 26 Thus being naked and vtterly destitute in our selues we seeke all things in Christ Iesus Him onely we acknowledge to be our wisedome our iustification our sanctification our redemption our priest our sacrifice our king our head our mediator our phisition our waie our trueth our life In our selues we finde nothing but pouertie and weakenesse praise and honour and glorie wee giue to him The onely marke we ayme at is to set vp his throne to aduaunce his kingdome to make it knowne that in him the Father hath layde vp all the treasures of heauen to the ende that vnto him the thirstie may repaire for water the hungrie for bread the naked for cloathes and wee all for all things needeful to the safetie of our soules and bodies 27 This is not the scope which the Church of Rome proposeth They direct all things to an other end How can ye beleeue saith Christ to the Iewes which receiue honour one of an other and seeke not that honour which commeth of God alone And howe can the faith of the Church of Rome be sound sith they hold such doctrines as tend wholly to their owne glorie their owne gaine and not to the praise and honour of God 28 That they seeke not his glorie but their owne it may appeare vnto any man which throughly considereth of their doctrine First they will not acknowledge that pouertie and nakednesse those filthie garments of corruption and sinne wherein Adam hath wrapped his posteritie But in the pride of their hearts they dissemble it diminish it and make light of it For although they denie not but that mans nature is corrupted yet marke how they paire and lessen this corruption The Prophet Dauid doeth terme it wickednesse and sinne but they make it onely an inclination vnto sinning The Lorde himselfe doeth witnesse that by it all the imaginations of the thoughts of mans heart are only euill they restraine it to the inferior part of the soule and make it onely a mother of some grosser desires The blessed Apostle prayed groned and wept against it as a thing which made him altogeher wearie of his life But after Baptisme they make no more account of those inward rebellious motions against the spirite than they doe of the beating of a mans pulse 29 And as they hide that weakenesse which indeede they haue so they boast of that strength which is not in them For being subiect vnto miserable bondage vnder sinne by reason of that corruption which hath spred it selfe ouer all flesh they bragge notwithstanding of the freedome of their wil as if sinne had not vtterly bereaued vs thereof but stil it were in vs to frame and fashion our owne hearts vnto good things For proofe whereof their maner is to make long discourses teaching that Gods foreknowledge doth not take away free will that men are not violently drawen to good or euill Which things we easily and willingly graunt neither doe we teache or euer did that the freedome of our wil is taken away by the eternall decree of his vnsearchable purpose but this we say and all that haue the trueth doe say the same that the will of man being free vnto naturall and ciuill actions hath of it selfe no freedome to desire things heauenly and spirituall not because the eternall purpose of God but because the corruption of our nature hath addicted vs only vnto euill We doe not teache or euer did that any man is the seruaunt either of sinne or of righteousnesie by constraint For whether we obey the one vnto death and condemnation or vnto life and saluation the other our obedience is alwayes voluntarie it is not wrested from vs against our wils But the question being how we are made willing vnto that which is good this is the difference betweene our aunswere and theirs We say onely by the grace of God
they say partly by grace but principally by the power and strength of their owne nature For being ashamed to affirme with Pelagius that a man may doe the workes of righteousnesse by nature without the grace of God they hold his grace to be a thing indeede necessarie But howe As a birde that is tyed or a man that is in fetters needeth onely to haue those incumberances remooued hauing then a naturall abilitie to flie and walke without any further helpe so man as they say hath in himselfe abilitie to doe good if the grace of God doe but remooue lets Is not this to make nature the principal cause of our well dooing whereas in trueth without the speciall motion of Gods spirite and that in euerie particular action wee are no more able to walke in the waies which GOD hath commaunded than a drunken man to goe without leading who staggereth euen in the plainest ground though all stumbling blockes be remooued though his waie lie neuer so smooth before him such is our weakenesse In consideration whereof the blessed Apostle sayth plainely It is not in him that willeth or in him that runneth but in God that sheweth mercie We dragge and are not able of our selues to set one foote before an other Drawe me saith the spouse in the Canticles and then we will runne after thee But these men litle considering of what fraile metall they are made perceiuing not how sinne hath weakened the faculties of the soule vaunt of freedome of strength of inward power and make their owne will the chiefest cause of their wel dooing 30 And when they haue doone any thing which to their seeming is wel doone they prise it so high and esteeme so much of it that God as they thinke should doe them iniurie if in iudgement he did not pronounce them iust and righteous for their workes sake If it were possible that God entering into iudgement should finde any so vpright and perfect that by their workes they might be iustified in his sight doubtlesse he should finde his owne seruaunts to be such or else none if any of his seruaunts surely his Prophets if any Prophet rather Dauid than any other But Dauid crieth out Enter not into iudgement no not with thy Seruaunt O Lord. For in thy sight shall none that liueth be iustified For whether we consider workes forbidden or commaunded by the Lawe what man is there liuing which can say in the one My heart is pure in the other I haue doone all that is enioyned me For if it were so that we knewe nothing wherein we had transgressed the lawes and statutes of the almightie yet herein could we in no wise be iustified because of secret sinnes hidden euen from our owne selues For which if God shal call vs to our reckoning and marke straitely what is doone amisse O Lord saith the Prophet who shall stand Againe if we had doone whatsoeuer wee could yet because we cannot doe so much as we should we ought to acknowledge our selues vnprofitable whereas we euen the best of vs are farre from dooing that which if we would we might doe 31 Nowe if God notwithstanding for his sonnes sake doe so allowe and accept the worke of our hands that he bountifully rewardeth our weake seruice with an excellent and an eternall waight of glorie how much are wee bound both to praise his mercie and to hate the insolencie of those men who besides al this swelling in the proude conceit of their workes will haue eternall life which is his gift to be their merite nor onely that but the worthinesse of their deserts to be so great that many of them dooing God more seruice than can bee sufficiently rewarded in their owne persons deserue heauen not onely for themselues but for others too These shipwracks of faith they haue made by reason of their inward pride 32 The excessiue desire of outward pompe hath furthermore caused them to disdaine the basenesse of Christ Iesus and of his Apostles to bee ashamed of the meane and lowe estate wherein they liued to make of their Deacons and Priests Cardinals exceeding the kings of the earth in glorie of their Bishop a Monarke vnder whose foote the Emperour himselfe hath beene a footestoole whose stirrop the greatest Soueraignes haue scarse beene deemed worthie to holde at whose bridle kings haue attended as seruaunts that the wordes of the Preacher might bee iustified Follie is set in great excellencie and the riche set in the lowe place I haue seene seruaunts on horses and Princes walking as seruants on the ground 33 This pompe cannot bee maintained with nothing it must haue strong sinnewes And therefore whatsoeuer mans wit might possibly deuise for gaine they haue both founde it out and put it in vre setting Offices Masses Prayers Pardons Sacramentes Heauen and Earth all the treasures of the house of GOD to sale if wee may terme it the house of God which they haue made a shoppe of so vile merchaundise It were infinite to recite what huge summes of money they haue heretofore by religious pretenses euerie yeere gathered within the compasse of this one Ilande What heapes then haue they raked out of other partes of Christendome Which offals and profites if once men beginne as here so in other kingdomes also to withholde from them if men leaue off buying their wares any more if things which are fatte and excellent depart doubtlesse that citie which nowe is cloathed in fine linnen and purple and skarlet which nowe is guilded with golde and decked with pretious stones and pearles shall in one houre be made desolate This they know and it maketh them carefull to maintaine whatsoeuer is commodious and gainefull to them As for the glorie of GOD it is the least part of their care nay they care not howe heynous sacrilege they commit in spoyling and robbing him of his honour 34 It is an honour vnto God when all men by faith point their fingers as it were at Christ Iesus naming him the onelie Lambe which taketh away the sinnes of the worlde when he is acknowledged the onely mediatour betweene God and vs when wee confesse that hee is that Priest according to the order of Melchisedech which hauing offered one sacrifice for sinnes hath therewith because it was a perfect sacrifice consecrated for euer them that are sanctified when our faith is so ascertained and grounded vppon his promises that we can bee bolde as Lyons assuring our selues that the eye of the Lorde is on them which trust in his mercie to deliuer their soules from death as the Prophet witnesseth But how doe they giue vnto him this honour who haue deuised so many waies to take away sinne besides the bloud of the Lambe of GOD who as though wee might not be bolde to enter into the holie place by the newe and liuely way which hee hath prepared for vs through the vaile which is his fleshe or as
feare me whose God is their bellie and whose felicitie is meate and drinke Our excesse this way is intollerable and abhominable we striue to equall almost Vitellius who had serued vnto him at one feast 2000. fishes 7000. birds and Heliogabalus that monster of the worlde who at one supper was serued with 600. ostriches There is no birde that flieth no fish that swimmeth no beast that moueth which is not buried in our bellies This excesse is an enemie both to wealth health it hath cut off much housekeeping and brought many men to extreme beggerie and as many great diseases are cured by abstinence so fulnesse hath beene the cause of sundrie straunge and vnwoonted sicknesses Aurelian the Emperour did neuer sende for phisitian in time of his sicknesse but cured himself only by thin diet And as immoderate feeding doth much hurt to the bodie so it is more noysome to the minde For as the grounde if it receiue too much raine is not watered but drowned and turneth into myre which is neither fit for tillage nor for yeelding of fruite so our flesh ouerwatered with wine is not fit to admit the spirituall plough or to bring foorth the celestiall fruites of righteousnesse The herbes that growe about it will be lothsome and stinking weedes as brawling chiding blasphemie slaunder periurie hatred manslaughter and such like bad workes of drunkennesse and darkenesse Are not these vnsauourie fruites ynough to make vs abhor the tree A drunken bodie is not a man but a swine fit for Diuels to enter into For these sins are against nature which being moderately refreshed is satisfied being stuffed is hurt violated deformed God hath giuen vs his creatures soberly to vse and not so shamefully to abuse we should if we did well feede the body to serue not to rule to obey not to leade the spirite I chastise my body sayth S. Paul and bring it into seruitude Is it not perillous trow you to pamper make strong our aduersarie or haue we a greater or stronger enemie than our rebellious flesh Ful bellied drunkards are no better then traytors in this spirituall warre Ge â—deon a figure of Christ would no other souldiers to fight against the Madianites but such as stood tooke vp water in their haÌ„d lickt it out of such there were but 300. in number the rest y t were afraide or lay downe to drinke their fill he sent away they were not for his purpose Such filled bellies were not fit to serue God nor able to fight against the Madianites Satan and sin Gods and Gods peoples enemies The Israelites lusted after quailes but to their owne confusioÌ„ Esau for his belly sake sold his birth right inheritance Beware their examples Lucullus a Romaine had a seruant alwaies at his elbow to pul him by the sleeue at such times as he porred in too fast But we haue the blessed Apostle of Christ the seruaunt of God to put vs in minde of sobrietie in diet Nor in diet onely but also in attire 10 A mans apparell laughter gate doth shew his nature In apparell this is to be obserued that auoyding vanitie pride therein euery man weare according to his calling Iohn Baptist ware a rough cote of camels haire But SalomoÌ„ vsed rich glorious apparel yet both vsed y t which did become theÌ„ There is no more holinesse in a Fryers coule than in a sheepheardes cloke Yet that is comely in one which is not seemely in an another Saint Paule is verie earnest with women and requireth them to goe in sober apparell decking themselues with shamfastnes and modestie not with brodered haire or with golde or pearles or sumptuous attire but as becommeth women that professe the feare of God And S. Peter telleth theÌ„ that their godlie mother Sara went soberly apparelled Sara was a good woman a rich woman and a noble woman such as followe hir footesteppes neede not be ashamed Yet doe I not condemne all other apparell yea euen such apparell as is costlie and gorgious may be fit for some states and personages I doe not doubt but that Hester and Iudith did weare golde and were gorgiously decked But if Paule and Peter did liue in our dayes they would not spare the vanitie of our women much lesse of our men The vaine and monstrous apparell of all other countries and nations Englande hath scraped together and in a brauerie put it on the estimation whereof is this A light wauering minde matched with a vaine proude heart desireth a light vaine strange proude and monstrous apparell to couer and cladde it withall But sobrietie is content with that which is seemely Be sober in your apparell 11 Be yee sober also in your speech and gesture Be slowe to speake and when you speake let your woordes be so seasoned that they may be wholsome and not offensiue to the hearer Let no lewde speech proceede from your mouthes A mans speech and gesture will bewray his thoughtes The talke of a foole is vnsauourie altogether and his gesture vncomely but a wise mans vnderstanding is seene euen in his lookes A foole exalteth his voice in laughter but the man that is soberly minded will scarcely smile to himselfe He that is guiltlesse hideth not his face but the murderers heade is in his bosome Our outwarde actions are liuelie tokens of our inwarde disposition from which they proceede Wherefore it greatly behooueth al estates and conditions of men both inwardly in minde and outwardly in diet attire speech and gesture to be sober 12 With sobrietie S. Peter ioyneth watchfulnesse Be sober and watching I will not heere recite vnto you the manifolde kindes of watching whereof the Scriptures make mention but rather note a fewe vnto you most necessarie and such as the Apostle chieflie meaneth Before we can watch we must be wakened Wherefore he sayth Awake thou that sleepest and stande vp from the dead and Christ shall giue thee light He speaketh not of naturall sleeping but of a sleepe which is in death He that liueth in pleasures is dead being aliue and they that wake vnto sinne are asleepe vnto righteousnesse All such as liue in error and lie in sinne are but dead men in the sight of God Aristotle saith that seuen houres of sleepe suffice naturally the bodie Let it suffice the soules of men to haue slept in the lappe of Antichrist 700. yeares and to haue beene rocked so long in the cradell of that deadly errour It is now high time to awake and arise from the dreames of poperie for they are not sickly but deadly At the length let Christ shine vnto thee the light of his Gospell if thou embrace it will driue away the darke cloudes of errour and ignoraunce Awake I say at the sounde of Gods woord from thy former superstition and at length embrace the trueth which will be as a lanterne nay as a bright shining starre to guide thee vnto