priest hath consecrated all the faithfull to be Kinges and Priestes vnto himselfe And yet notwithstanding he doth ordeine ministers of the Church by doctrine and examples to instructe the Church and to minister the sacraments I meane not those old auncient ones but those which the Lord hath substituted in steed of the old ones What doctrine they must teach hée doth expressely declare The mysticall attyre and garmentes of the priesthood hee neither did commend to his Apostles nor leaue to his Church but toke them away with all the Ceremonies that are called the middle wall betwixte she Iewes and Gentiles The Lord himselfe and his Apostle Paule will haue the pastours of the people cladd with righteousnesse and honestie and do precisely remoue the ministers of the Church from superioritie and secular affaires They doe also appoint stipendes for the ministers to liue vppon yet not those which the law allowed them but such as were most tolierable and conuenient for the state and condition of euery Church The Lord left the place to serue and worshipp God in frée without exception or binding to any one prescribed or peculiar place when in the Gospel after Iohn he said The houre shall come and is alreadie when the true worshippers shall worshipp the father neither in this mountaine nor at Hierusalem but in the spirite and in truth For such the father requireth to worship him God is a spirite and they that worship him must worship him in spirite and in truth The Apostle followed the Lord in this doctrine and said I will that men pray in euerie place lifting vp pure hands without anger Neither did the Lord in â—aine as I shewed you eueÌ„ now sufâ—â—r the temple to bee vtterlye ouerthrowne considering that at his death hée had rent the vaile therof And yet for all that the Ecclesiasticall assemblies are not thereby condemned Of whiche I spake in the exposition of the 4. precepte RemeÌ„ber that thou keepe holy the sabboth day Verily y tabernacle the temple bare the type of the catholique Church of God out of which there are no prayers noroblations acceptable to the lord But the Church is exteÌ„ded to the very ends of the world And yet it followeth not theruppon that all are in the Church which are in the world they alone are in the Churche whiche thorough the Catholique faith are in the fellowship of Christ Iesus and by the agréement of doctrine by charitie by the participation of the Sacramentes vnlesse some great necessitie hinder them are in the coÌ„munion of the holy Sainctes But they burne incense sacrifice in highe places whosoeuer séek after any other sacrifice than the one and only oblation of Christ Iesus or looke for any other to offer their prayers to God the father than Christ alone as they are taughte by the mouth of the Pastour sincerely preaching the word of god Moreouer the Church of God hath no néed now of any arke any table any shewbread any golden candlestick any altar either of incense or burnt offeringes nor yet of any braseÌ„ lauer for Christ alone is all in all to the catholique Church which Church hath all these things spiritually and effectually in Christ Iesus and can séek for nothing in any other creatures insomuch that if it perceiue any man to bring in againe either these or such like Ceremoniall instruments it doth sharpely rebuke bitterly curse him for his vnwarranted rashenesse blasphemous presuÌ„ption in the church of Christ For what néede hath the churche of shadowes and figures when it doeth nowe enioye the thing it selfe euen Christ Iesus whose shadowe and figure the ceremonies bare Moreouer the church hath signes enough in that it hath receiued of Christ two Sacramentall signes wherein are conteined all the things which the old church did comprehend in sundrie and verie many figures Furthermore he hath leaft the holy time to worship God in frée to our choice who in the Gospel saith The Sabboth was made for man not man for the Sabboth therefore the sonne of man is Lorde also of the Sabboth And the Apostle Paule saith Let no man therefore iudge you in meate or drinke or in parte of an holie daye or of the new moone or of the Sabbothes which are the shadowes of things to come but the bodie is of Christ Of the Christian Sabboth I spake in the exposition of the fourth Commaundement As for the newe moones they are not solemnized by the churche of Christ in so much as it is taught by Christ to attribute to God not the beginning of Moneths onely but the whole yeare also and the commoditie thereof with the light of the Sunne the Moone and all the starres in heauen Moreouer the Christians do celebrate their passeouer more spiritually then bodily euen as also they doe solemnize their Pentecoste or whitsuntide For as he sent his spirite vppon his disciples so doth hee daily sent it vppon all the faithfull And that is the cause that in the faithfull the alarme is striken vpp to incourage them as souldiours to skirmish with their enimies For the fleash lusteth against the spirite and the faithfull are daily assaulted and prouoked to battaile by the world and by the deuil the prince of the world Furthermore the feast of propitiation being once finished vppon the crosse endureth for euer neither do the Sainctes any more sende out a scape goats to beare their sinnes into the desarte For Christ our Lord came once and was offered vp and by his sacrifice tooke awaye the sinnes of all the worlde Finally since the faithfull doe daily consider beare in their mindes that they haue no abydinge place in this transitorie worlde but y they looke after a place to come they néede not as the Iewes did once a yere to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles In like manner the faithfull do no more acknowlege any yeare of Iubilie For Christe came once and preached vnto vs y acceptable yeare euen the Gospell whereby it is proclaymed that all our sinnes and iniquities are clearely forgiuen vs For so doth Christ himselfe interprete it in the fourth of Sainct Lukes gospell takinge occasion to speake of it out of the sixth Chapter of Esaies prophecie And thus the holy time and festiuall dayes are abrogated by Christ in his holy Church which notwithstanding is not leafte destitute of any holy thing or necessarie matter But nowe because this present yeare wherein this booke is firste of all printed is the yeare of Grace one thousand fiue hundred and fiftie and according to the Romish traditioÌ„ is called the yeare of Iubilie I am therefore compelled as it were of necessitie to make a little digression speake somewhat of the Romish Iubilie I do therfore call it the Romish and not the Christian Iubilie because as I shewed you euen now the church of Christe after oure redemption wrought by Christ and preached by the gospel doth neither acknoledge nor receiue any
God did alwayes deale iustly with him and man contrarily dealt too too vniustly and was vtterly vnthankfull howesoeuer men will go about to cloake or not to heare of his vnthankfull stubbornnesse But whereas wee saye that man was made fall-able wee will not haue it to bee so vnderstoode that anye man shoulde thincke that there was in Adam any one iotte or pricke of infirmitie before his fall For as hee was in all poyntes moste absolutely perfect so was hee in no poynt created so fraile that he shoulde sinne or perish by death For God which is one in substaunce and thrée in persons saide Let vs make man in our image after our owne likenesse Note here that Zaelaem doeth signifie the picture or counterfaite of an other thinge and that Demuth importeth the verie patterne whereby any picture is drawen or image portrayed Therefore in God is the example or patterne to the resemblance whereof there was a picture or similitude framed But that representing likenesse cannot be this bodie of ours For God is a spirite in no poynt like to the nature of dust and ashed wee must of necessitie therefore resemble the image of God to spirituall thinges as to immortalitie trueth iustice and holinesse For so hath the Apostle Paule taught vs where he saith Bee ye renued in the spirite of your mind and put on that newe man which after God is shapen in righteousenesse and holinesse of trueth Wherefore there was no want in our graundefather Adam of any thing that was auailable to absolute perfectnesse so that euen a blinde man may perceiue that man was not created to death and destruction but vnto life felicitie and absolute blessednesse But say they God did foreknow the fall of man which if he would he coulde haue withstood nowe since he could and would not God is to bee blamed because Adam sinned It is a goodly matter in déede when all feare of God beeing layde aside men wil at their pleasure fall flatly on railing against the maiestie of God allmightie I aunswered in the beeginning of this discourse to this obiection And yet this I adde here more ouer that vppon Gods foreknowledge there followech no necessitie so that Adam did of necessitie sinne because God did foreknowe that he would sinne A prudent father doth foresée by some vntowarde tokens that his sonne will one daye come to an ill ending Neither is he deceiued in his foresight for he is slaine being taken in adulterie But he is not therefore slaine because his father foresawe that hee woulde be slaine but because he was an adulterer And therefore Saincte Ambrose or whosoeuer it is that was author of the seconde booke De gentium vocatione Chap. 4. speaking of the murther whiche Cain committed saith God verily did foreknowe to what ende the furie of that mad man would come And yet because Gods foreknowledge could not bee deceiued it doth not thereupon followe that necessitie of sinning did vrge the crime vppon him c. And Sainct Augustine De libero arbitrio Lib. 3. Cap. 4. saith As thou by thy memorie doest not compell those things to be done that are gone and past so God by his foreknowledge doth not compell those things to be done which are to come And as thou remembrest some thinges that thou hast done and yet hast not done all thinges which thou remembrest so God foreknoweth al things which he doth and yet doeth not all which he foreknoweth But God is a iust reuenger of that whereof he is no euil author And so forth Like vnto this is an other obiection which they make that saye God did before all beginninges determine with him selfe to deliuer mankinde from bondage therefore it could not otherwise be but that we should firste be intangled in bondage therefore it behoued vs to be drowned in sinne that by that meanes the glorie of God might shine more clearely as the Apostle said Where sinne was plentious there was Grace more plentious But it is meruaile that these cauillers do no better consider that God of him self without vs is sufficient to him selfe vnto absolute blessednesse and moste perfecte felicitie and that his glorie could as it doth of it selfe reache aboue all heauens althoughe there had neuer béene any creature brought into light Is not GOD without beginning but we his creatures had a beginning God is glorious from before all beginninges therefore he is glorious without vs and his glorie woulde be as greate as it is though we were not But what dullarde is so foolishe as to thinke that that eternall light of God doeth drawe any brightnesse of glorie at oure darkenesse or out of the stinking dungeon of our sinne and wickednesse Should Gods glorie be no glorie if it were not for our sinns The wise man in Ecclesiasticus saith Saye not thou it is the Lordes faulte that I haue sinned for thou shalt not do the thing that God hateth Saye not thou he hath caused mee to doe wronge for hee hath no neede of the sinner Or for the wicked are not néedefull vnto him God hateth all abhomination of errour and they that woorship God will loue none such Why therefore doe wee not chaunge our manner of reasoning and so consider of the matter as it is in verie déede God of his eternall goodnesse and liberalitie whereby hee wisheth him selfe to bee parted among vs all to oure felicitie did from euerlastinge determine to create man to his owne similitude and likenesse but for because hee did foresée that he woulde fall headlonge into a filthie and miserable bondage hee did therefore by the same his grace and goodnesse ordeine a deliuerer to bringe vs out of thraldome to the ende that so hee might communicate him selfe vnto vs that wee might praise his gratious fauour and render thankes to his fatherly goodnesse And so whatsoeuer wee men haue sinned and turned to our owne destruction that same doeth God conuert againe to our commoditie and saluation euen as he is read to haue done in the case of Ioseph and his brethren which is as it were a certeine type of spirituall thinges and cases of saluation And wee must wholie endeuour our selues to doe what wee maye in reasoning of this argument so to turne it that all glorie maye bee giuen to God alone and to vs nothing else but silence in the sight of God. Nowe last of all there are yet behinde some places of Scripture which must by the waye be runne through and expounded The Apostle verily saith God gaue them vpp to a reprobate sense But this kinde of giuing ouer is as Augustine also saith a woorke of iudgement and iustice For they were woorthie to bee giuen vpp vnto a reprobate sense The cause is prefixed in the woordes of the Apostle For God had made him selfe manifest vnto them but they were not onelye vnthanckefull towardes him but waxed wise also in theire owne conceiptes and went about to obtrude vnto him I wot
that wheresoeuer an image is there is no religion For if religion consist in diuine thinges and that nothinge is diuine vnlesse it be amonge heauenly thinges than doe images lacke religion Because in that which is made of earth there can bee no heauenly thing Whiche matter euen by the very name it selfe may appeare bee manifest to a wise man For whatsoeuer is counterfecte that must néeds be false neither can that which hath a representation or glose of truth at any time take vnto it the name of truth If then not euery representation or coūterfect be not a thing in earnest but as it were a toy a sport religion is not in images but there is lesse religion where they bée That whiche is true therefore is to be preferred before all things that are false Earthly thinges must bee troden vnder foote that we maye get or obteine heauenly thinges These words not vnaduisedly haue wee cited hetherto out of Lactantius We returne nowe to our purpose But because the outward gesture or habite of the bodie is commonly framed according to the inward qualitie of the minde and the outwarde habite of his body which adoreth submitteth yealdeth and maketh subiect him that worshippeth to him whiche is worshipped therefore adoration is translated likewise to the inner man so that to adore is to reuerence and respecte God to bequeath oure selues wholie vnto him and to cleaue inseparably vnto him vppon him only and alone to hange in all thinges and to haue recourse vnto him in all our necessities whatsoeuer Furthermore the outward adoration doth immediatly when it is néedfull and abilitie graunted followe a minde rightly indued with true faith and holy feare of god For adoration is two-fould or of two sortes one of the minde or spirite which is inward sound sincere and true another of the bodie whiche is outward vnsounde counterfecte and false whiche maye procéede from him in whome there is no sparckle of religion True adoration is the fruite of true faith and holy feare of God namely a lowly or suppliant yéelding and humble consecrating whereby we bequeath oure selues yeald and submitt oure selues vnto our God whome as wee vnderstand to be our best and most merciful father so to be our most highe and Almightie God vppon him therefore alone we do wholie depend and to him onely wee haue respecte whiche also forthwith so soone as occasion is ministred vnto vs wée expresse and testifie by outward adoration All this wée shall the better vnderstand by these testimonies of Scripture following Dauid sayth O come let vs singe vnto the Lord let vs hartily reioyce in God our saluation Let vs come before his presence with thanckesgiuing and shewe our selues ioyfull in him with Psalmes For the Lord is a great GOD and a great king aboue all Gods because in his hand are the corners of the earthe and the highte of the hilles are his For the sea is his and he made it and his hands fastened the drie land O come let vs adore or worship and fall downe and kneele before the Lord that hath made vs Beecause hee is the Lord our GOD and we are the people of his pasture and the sheepe of his handes Thou perceiuest therfore that we must adore or worship God and that wee must cleaue vnto him and singe praises to his name because hee is the most mightie GOD creatour of all thinges yea our creatour our father and our shéepeheard Likewise in the Gospell according to Matthewe adoration doeth followe faith and doeth as it were growe out of it and by it is nourished For after that the disciples béeing taughte by myracle beléeued that Iesus was Christ they came sayeth Matthewe and adored or worshipped him saying Thou art truely the sonne of God. Againe thou readest in Iohn that the Lord asked the blinde man that was excommunicate or caft out of the Synagogue whome he restored to his sight saying Doest thou beleeue in the sonne of God And that the blinde man aunswered Who is hee Lord that I might beleeue in him And that Iesus aunsweared and sayde Thou hast both seene him and hee it is that talketh with thee Moreouer vppon this by and by followeth in the historie But hee said I beleeue Lord and he worshipped him Hetherto nowe belongeth that whiche the Lord sayed to the Samaritane in the Gospell The true worshippers shall worship the father in spirite and in trueth For the Lord doth allowe spirituall and inward adoration or worshipping not that outward counterfecte or hypocriticall worshipping but that whiche procéedeth from a minde regenerated by fayth through the holy Ghost and that tendeth sincerely towardes one god For wee read in the historie of the old testament that those princes worshipped in trueth whiche consecrated and made holy themselues vnto one God with their whole heart and on him onely depended againe that they worshipped not the Lord with their whole heart which beeing destitute and voide of sincere faith depended also vppon creatures Nowe a reason of this adoration or worshipping the Lord adioyneth in the Gospel Worshipp sayeth he ought in all poincts to agree with him that is worshipped But God that is worshipped is spirite and trueth and is delighted with spirituall worshipp and vnfeigned fayth in spirite and trueth therefore hée must bée worshipped Wherefore the Sainctes haue a speciall care and regard that the inward worship of the minde be sound and that first of all they worshippe in heart and truely with a sincere faith and a reuerence of Gods Maiestie and whiles they are inwardly so occupied they doe no lesse outwardly falling on their faces with humilitie and doe worship in Gods presence For the outward worship is a companion of the inward and followeth it Hypocrites also worshippe God in body suppliantly and lowly enoughe but because their mindes goe a woll-gathering and neither with faith nor reuerence cleaue vnto the Lord they heare this spoken of the Lord by the Prophete This people honoureth mee with their lippes but their heart is farre from mee but in vaine doe they worship me teaching doctrines precepts of mē And this verily is the counterfecte and false worshipping And that worshipping also is false nay it is most wicked and abhominable wherwith the creatures are worshipped either with GOD or for God or without god And to saye sooth they doe not worship God at all whiche neither feare God neither beléeue in God nor yet depend or hange onely vppon God. All men truely confesse that God must bee worshipped but euery one doeth not surely acknowledge and cōfesse that God onely and alone is to bee worshipped It remayneth therefore to be declared that God only and alone is to be worshipped of men Adoration or worshipping is ioyned with true faith and perfecte or sincere reuerence of Gods maiestie whiche séeing they are due to GOD alone it followeth that god alone is to be worshipped and therefore is
Cap. 33. sayeth When he had called the comforter the spirite of trueth that is to say his spirite for he is the trueth he addeth that he procéedeth from the father For as hee is the spirite of the sonne naturally in his abiding and through him procéeding so also surely is hée the spirite of the father But vnto whome the spirite is common surely they cannot by any meanes bee disseuered in substance Againe S. Augustine in his fiftéenth booke De Trinitate Cap. 26. sayeth Who may vnderstand by this that the sonne sayeth as the father hathe life in himselfe that he gaue life vnto the sonne as béeing then without life but that hee so begatt him without time that the life whiche the father gaue to the sonne in begetting him is coeternall with the life of the father which gaue it him Let him vnderstand as the father hath power in himselfe that the holy Ghoste mighte procéede from him so hath he giuen to the sonne that the same holy Ghoste maye procéede from him and both without beginning and so it is said that the holie Ghoste procéedeth from the father that that which procéedeth from the sonne might be vnderstoode to be of the father and the sonne For if the sonne haue ought he hath it of the father surely hee hath it of the father that the holy Ghoste procéedeth from him Thus farre hée By all this wée gather that the holy Ghost procéedeth as well from the father as from the sonne Nowe as concerning the manner of procéeding wée saye that the procéeding of the holie Ghoste is two-fouldor of two sortes temporall and eternall Temporall procéeding is that whereby the holie Ghoste procéedeth to sanctifie men The eternall procéeding is that whereby from euerlasting he procéedeth from god The spirite procéedeth from both partes from both of them as well from the father as the sonne Neither doeth hée procéede from the father into the sonne seuerally and from the sonne into creatures For I say the nature and substaunce of the father and the sonne is one and the self same inseparable and coeuerlasting too Temporall procéeding commonly is called a sending and gifte For the holie Ghoste is sent two manner of wayes vnto men visiblie that is to say vnder some visible fourme as of a Doue of fierie tongues as hée is read in the Gospell and in the Acts of the Apostles to haue béene giuen to Christe and the Apostles inuisibly hée is daily and as it were euerie moment giuen to the faithfull the spirite of Christe wateringe vs with his grace and giuing faith hope and charitie vnto vs. Moreouer the eternall procéeding of the holie Ghoste whereby hée procéedeth out of the substaunce of the father and the sonne is vnspeakeable as the begetting of the sonne by the father Wherevppon it is not said in the Gospel hath procéeded or shall procéede but Proceedeth for so the Lord declareth his eternitie of procéeding and that the substaunce of the father and of the sonne and of the holie Ghoste is coeternall and vnseparable and nothinge at all differing Sainct Augustine in his fiftéenthe booke De Trinitate and 26. Chapiter sayeth Hee that is able to vnderstand the beegetting of the sonne by the father without time let him also vnderstand the proceeding of the holie Ghost from them both without time And if anye aske this question Since the holie Ghoste proceedeth from the substance of the father and the sonne howe commeth it to passe that hee is not called the sonne I aunsweare that the Scripture calleth the second person the sonne and testifyeth that hée is the onely begotten of the father and that the same no where maketh any mention that the holie Ghoste is begotten or that hée is called the sonne Neither haue the auncient fathers made any other aunswere to this question And I like the similitude whiche whâ—ere expressed If one streame should flowe from two springs it might wel bee saide to flowe from them both yet it could be said to be the sonne of neither of them Herevnto I shall not séeme vnfruitfully nor beside the purpose to add the disputations of Didymus concerning sending least any should vnderstand that peruersly and according to the flesh whiche is spiritually to be interpreted by faith The holy Ghost the comforter is sent of the sonne sayeth he not according to the ministerie of Angels or Prophets or Apostles but as it becommeth the spirite of God to bee sent of the wisedome and trueth of God hauing an vnseparable nature with the selfe same wisedome and trueth For the sonn being sent of the father abiding in the father and hauing the father in himselfe is not separated nor sundered from the father And the spirite of trueth also being sent of the sonne after the manner aforesaid procéedeth from the father not from elsewhere remouing vnto other thinges For this is impossible and blasphemous likewise For if this spirite of trueth bee limitted within a certaine space according to the natures of bodies leauing one place he goeth to another but euen as the father not consisting in place is farre aboue and beyond the nature of all bodies so also the spirite of trueth is not limitted within space of place séeing he is bodilesse and as I may more truly say excelling all and euerie reasonable creature Béecause therefore it is impossible and wicked to beléeue these thinges which I haue said in bodily creatures we must vnderstand that so the holy Ghost went out and came from the father as oure Sauiour doeth beare witnesse that he himselfe went out and came from the father saying I went out and came from God. And as we separate places and chaunginges of places from bodilesse things so also we do separate these speaches inwardly I meane outwardly from the nature of things intellectuall For these two woordes perteine to bodies that may bee touched haue biganes Therefore wee must beléeue the vnspeakeable woord whiche faith onely and alone maketh knowen vnto vs that our Sauiour is said to come out from GOD and the spirite of trueth to procéede from the father c. Other questions both scrupulous and very many I passe ouer vntouched in these things I require a mind religious and not a curious a faithfull minde and not a subtile Now there is but one holy Ghost béecause hee is alwayes one and the selfe same god It is the same spirite therefore whiche spake vnto the Patriarches prophets and Apostles and whiche at this day speaketh to vs in the Church For therefore the counsel of Constantinople is thus read to haue confessed their faith I beleeue in the holy Ghost the Lord. And anon after Who spake by the prophets And I beleeue one Catholique and Apostolique Church These sayings are taken out of the holy Scripture For S. Peter testifieth in expresse words that the spirite of Christe was in the Prophetes and there was none other spirite in the Apostles than the spirite of
ouerthrowe the trueth they are neuer able For the soules of the faithfull euen out of the verie mouth as is commonly said Von mund vss zu himmel faren vppon a sodeine enter into their blessed seats and by faith enioy euerlasting felicitie Againe we read in the Reuelation of our Lord Iesus Christe made to Iohn the Apostle that it was said And I heard a voice from heauē saying vnto mee write Blessed are the dead which hereafter die in the Lord euen so saith the spirit that they may rest from their labours their workes followe them In these words an heauenly and vndoubted oracle touching the blessednes of all such as die in faith is knitt vpp and S. Iohn is commanded to write the oracle from heauen that it may remaine to all times and be read of all people The summe of the oracle is this Blessed are the dead whiche heerafter die in the Lord. But they die in the Lord whosoeuer depart out of this life in the faith of Iesus Christ For so the Apostle vseth this kind of speach in the 1. Cor. 15. and 1. thess. 4. Furthermore they whiche depart out of this life in the faith of Iesus Christe are simplie and truly pronounced blessed to witt happie and free from all miserie Yea a note of the time when they shal obteine this blessednes is added namely Hereafter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say presently at an instāt by and by out of hand to witt as the Lord saith in the Gospel forthwith after the death of the bodie There is added also another testimonie whereby againe the certainetie of felicitie is expressed and perfection too not delayed till the morrow Euen so saith the spirit that they may rest from their labours The spirite I meane of trueth whiche cannot lie sayth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say Amen so it is truely the faithfull are blessed in déed and euen at an instāt they are blessed and so blessed that They rest from their labours The labours of the faith full are miseries calamities afflictions sorrowe feare or dread and other euils of this sort wherewith in this world they are vexed yea rather exercised in faith From these thinges the soules of the faithfull departing from their bodies are deliuered therefore they are not purged by torments and vexations they are not scortched in that middest of their iourney but beeing happie and blessed are forthwith deliuered from all anguish and trouble And if so bee that they suffered any thinge whiles they were yet liuing in the bodie if they did any good workes in faith they do follow them Let no man thincke that those woorkes beecause they nowe ceasse were and are vaine For they receiue their reward in that blessed life For that it is that Their works do folow them And let vs marke that he sayth not The workes of other followe them to deliuer them forsooth out of purgatorie but Their owne works follow them For in the Gospell also the wise virgins which had oyle readie in their lamps went in with the bridegrome to the mariage the folish virgins which had prepared themselues no oyle but did hope to haue from elsewhere to serue their turne are excluded and shut out from ioy To the omnipotent God therefore our most mercifull father and continuall-running founteine of all good Graces and whiche is neuer drawne drie who fashioned our bodie in our mothers wombe and breathed or powred into it a reasonable soule whiche might whiles it is ioyned to the bodie quicken and direct vs and when it is separated from the bodie might forthwith after the death of the bodie be translated into heauen there to liue in ioy and happines vntill it returne againe vnto the bodie beeing raised from the dead in the last iudgement with the which it maye reioyce and be glad for euer and without end to that God I saye thoroughe Iesus Christ for whose sake we are made partakers of so great a benefite be glorie praise and thankes giuing for euermore Amen ¶ The ende of the second Tome THE FIFT AND LAST DECADE OF Sermons WRITTEN BY HENrie Bullinger The thirde Tome IESVS This is my beloued Sonne in whome I am well pleased Heare him Matth. 17. THE FIFTE DECADE OF Sermons written by Henrie Bullinger ¶ Of the holie catholique Church what it is how farre it extendeth by what markes it is knowen from whence it springeth how it is mainteyned and preserued whether it may erre Also of the power and studies of the Church ¶ The first Sermon THE order course of things so leading vs next after God the workeman and authour of all thinges wee come to speake of his most excellent worke to witt the Church For so great is the goodnesse of our good God and most louing father that not he himself is desirous to liue happily blessedly alone but moreouer to bestowe and powre vppon vs men his beloued creatures all kinde of blessednes and that wée should enioye his goods by all meanes possible And for that intent he choseth men to him self who liue in this world that he may once translate vnto him selfe in whome also euen while they liue héere hee maye dwell whome he may enriche with all his goods in whom he may reigne and that they should be called by his name to wit a people a house a kingdome an inheritaunce a flocke a congregation or Church of the liuing god Of which Church I will speake being ayded with your prayers such things as the Lord of the Church shall graunt vnto mée to vtter This word Ecclesia which signifieth a Church or Congregation is a Gréeke word vsed receiued amonge the Latines signifying as I said a congregation communion or assemblie in the Dutche tongue Ein Gemeind or a people called together to heare of matters of the cōmon wealth For so it is founde that S. Luke vsed this word in the 19. Chap. of the Actes of the Apostles But it was translated to an holy vse and began to bée called a congregation assemblie or companie of the faithful calling vppon the name of the lord S. Paul saith that he persecuted the cōgregation or Church of God who in another place sayeth I receiued authoritie from the highe priestes to binde all those that call vpon the name of christ For now doth hee terme them such as call vppon the name of Christ or Christians whome before he named the Church Or else this word Ecclesia the church or congregation is so called of caling forth together for in the Gréeke tongue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth to call forth For God calleth forth from al parts of the wide world and from the whole congregation of men all beléeuers together with their séede that they may bee his peculiar people he againe may be their God that is to say that they may be the Church of the liuing god In times paste the congregation or assemblye of the Iewishe
which honge vppon the Crosse did heare the Angell of the Lord say Whie seeke yee the liuinge among the dead hee is not heere but is risen c. This historie of the Lords resurrection is set forth in the 24. after Luk and the 16. after Marke Peter the Apostle also in the seconde of the Actes affirminge the Lords resurrection by the testimonie of Dauid doth expresslye shew that the Lord is verily risen againe After this wée say againe that hée is risen out of or from the dead Which member doth expresse the truth both of his death and resurrection For the bodie or flesh dieth or is destroyed but being dead is raysed vp again this body therfore or flesh is raised vp again as thoughe hee that maketh confession of his beliefe should say Our Lord died euen in the very same condition of nature that other mortall men doe die in but hee taried not nor yet stack faste amonge the dead For the very same mortall fleshe which hee had taken vnto him and by dyinge had layde asyde hee nowe taketh againe immortallie As Dauid had foretolde before sayinge Because thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell nor suffer thy holie one to see corruption For Christe is the first begotten of them that rise againe in whom as in the heade there oughte to be declared in what sorte the resurrection of all Christ his members shal be in the day of iudgement And wee confesse that this resurrection was made the thirde daye I meane the thirde day after his death For vppon the daye of Preparation hee is taken downe from the Crosse caried into a sepulcher where his bodie resteth the whole Sabboth daye and about the beginning of the first day of sabbothes which I say is the first day of the weeke and amonge vs at this day is called Sunday in the morning hée rose againe from the dead Wheras therfore in the twelfth Chap. of the Gospell after S. Mathewe wee reade that the Lorde saide As Ionas was three dayes and three nightes in the belly of the Whale So shall the sonne of man bee in the harte of the earth three dayes and three nightes Yet notwithstandinge in the sixtenth and twenteth Chapters expoundinge himselfe as hauinge spoken that by Synecdoche hee sayth I must goe to Hierusalem and suffer many thinges of the Scribes and elders and be killed and raysed vp againe the thirde daye The sixt Article of our fayth is He ascended into Heauen and sitteth at the right hande of God the father Almightie That bodye which is of the same substaunce with our bodies taken oute of the Virgine Marie and taken verilie of the substaunce of the Virgin which honge vpon the Crosse and dyed and was buried and rose againe the very same bodie I say ascended into the Heauens sitteth at the righte hande of God the father For after that by the space of 40. dayes our Lord had abundantly enoughe instructed his Disciples touchinge the truth of his resurrection and the kingdome of God hee was taken vp into Heauen By that ascension of his hee declareth to the whole compasse of the earth that hee is Lorde of all thinges and that to him are subiecte al things that are in Heauen and in earth that hee is our strength the power of the faithfull and hee of whom they haue to boast againste the gates of Hell. For hee ascendinge into Heauen hath lead Captiuitie captiue and by spoylinge his enimyes hath inriched his people on whom hee dailye heapeth his spirituall giftes For hee sitteth aboue that by powringe his vertue from thence into vs hee maye quicken vs with the spirituall lyfe and decke vs with sondrie giftes and graces and lastlie defende the Church against all euills For God is our Sauiour kinge and bishoppe Whereuppon when as once the Capernaites were offended because the Lord had called himselfe the bread of life that came downe from Heauen to giue life vnto the Worlde Hee sayth Doth this offende you What therefore if you shall see the sonne of man ascende thether where hee was before As if hee should saye then verilie ye will gather by my quickeninge resurrection and glorious ascension into the Heauens that I am the breade of Lyfe broughte downe from Heauen and now againe taken vp into the Heauens there to remayne the Sauiour life and Lord of Heauen and earth Moreouer S. Peter the Apostle in the Actes sayth Let all the house of Israell knowe for a suretie that God hath made the same Iesus whom yee haue Crucifyed Lord and Christe Furthermore hee did not onely ryse againe from death and come to his Disciples but also ascended into Heauen as they béehelde and looked on him to the ende that wee thereby might bee assuredlie certified of eternall saluation For by ascending hee prepared a place for vs hee made readie the way that is hee opened the verie Heauens to the faithful God hath placed in heauen the very humanitie that hee tooke of vs which is in deede a liuelye and vnreproueable testimonie that all mankinde shall at the laste be translated into Heauen also For the members must needes be made conformable to the heade Christe oure heade is risen agayne from the deade therefore Wée his members shall also rise againe And euen as a cloud tooke away the Lord from the sighte of his Disciples So shall wée that belieue be caried in the Cloudes to meete the Lorde and shal whoalâ—e in Soule and bodie bée and for euer dwell in Heauen wyth oure head and Lord Christe Iesus And this doth Iohn euidently teach him that readeth his fourtenth chapter where the Lord sayth I go to prepare a place for you and will come againe to you and take you vnto my selfe that wheresoeuer I am yee may also be Paule the Apostle also witnesseth and sayth Wee that liue and shal be remayninge in the comminge of the Lorde shal be caryed in the Cloudes together wyth them that are raysed vp from the deade to meete the Lorde in the ayre Wee confesse therefore in this article that Iesus Christe being taken vp into Heauen is Lorde of all thinges the kinge and byshoppe the deliuerer and Sauiour of all the faythful in the whoale world Wée confesse that in Christe and for Christ wee belieue the lyfe euerlastinge which wee shall haue in this bodie at the ende of the worlde and in soule so soone as wee are once departed oute of this world But nowe by the waye wee must weighe the very woords of this article Hee ascended wee saye Who ascended I praye you Hee that was borne of the Virgine Marie that was Crucifyed dead and buried that rose againe from the deade Hee I saye ascended verilie both bodie and soule But whether ascended hee Into Heauen Heauen in the Scriptures is not taken alwayes in one signification First it is put for the Firmament and that large compasse that is ouer our heades wherein the birds flye too and
caught into the ayre there to méete Christ that they may for euer be with the lord For then doe the soules returne out of Heauen euery one to his owne body that the whole perfect ful maÌ„ may liue for euer both in soule and body For the soule of Christ dying on the Crosse did out of hande departe into Paradise and the thirde day after returned to the body whiche rose againe and ascended into heauen Euen as therefore eternall life came to the heade Christ so shal it also come to all and euery member of Christ Now whereas Paule citing Esai sayth What the eye hath not seene nor the eaâ—e hearde nor hath at any time come into the heart of man that hath the Lord prepared for them that loue him I suppose verily if all were sayd touching eternall life that might be spoken by all the men of all ages that euer were or shall be yet that scarcely the very leaste part thereof hath or shall be throughly touched For how so euer the Scripture dothe with eloquent and figuratiue speches with allusions and harde Sentences most plainly shew the shadowe of that lyfe and those ioyes yet notwithstanding all that is little or nothing in comparison to speake of vntill that day do come wherein we shall with vnspeakable ioy beholde God him selfe the creator of al things in his glory Christ our sauiour in his Maiestie and finally all the blessed soules Angelles Patriarches Prophetes Apostles Martyrs our Fathers all nations all the hâ—ast of Heauen and lastly the whole diuine and heauenly glorye Moste truely therefore sayde Aurelius Augustine Lib. de Ciuitat Dei. 22. Cap. 29. When it is demaunded of me what the Saintes shall doe in that spirituall bodye I aunswere not that which I nowe see but that that I beleeue I say therefore that they shall see God in that spirituall body And againe If I shoulde say the trueth I knowe not in what sort that action quietnesse and rest shall be For the peace of God doth passe all vnderstanding To be short we shall sée God face to face we shall be filled with the companie of God and yet be neuer wéerie of him And the face of God is not that countenaunce that appeareth in vs but is a most delectable reuealing and inioying of God whiche no mortall tongue can worthily declare Goe to then dearely beloued brethren let vs beléeue and liue that when we shall departe from hence we may in very déede haue tryall of those vnspeakable ioyes of the eternal life to come which nowe we doe beléeue Hytherto haue I throughout the foure laste Articles declared vnto you the fruite and ende of Christian fayth Fayth leaneth vpon one God the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghoste which saÌ„ctifieth the faithful purgeth and halloweth a Churche to him selfe whiche Churche hath a communion with God and all Saintes All the offences of which Church God pardoneth and forgiueth And dothe preserue it both soule and body For as the Saintes Soules can not dye so God rayseth vp their bodies againe and maketh them glorious and euerlasting to the end that the whole man may for euer liue in heauen with the Lorde To whome be prayse and glory world without end AmeÌ„ Of the loue of God and our Neighbour ¶ The tenth Sermon IT remaineth since I haue in some sermons discoursed of true faythe that I do nowe also adde one Sermon touching loue towards God and our neyghbour For in my fourth Sermon I promised so soone as I should haue done with the exposition of fayth that then I would speake of loue towarde God and our neighbour bycause the exposition of the Scriptures ought not to goe awrye out of faythe and charitie whiche are as it were the right and holy markes for it to drawe vnto Ye as hitherto ye haue done so cease not yet to pray that this wholesome doctrine maye be by me taught as it shoulde be and by you receiued with much increase and profite And first of all I will not curiously put any difference betwene Charitie and loue I will vse them both in one and the same sense S. Augustine De doctrina Christiana saith I cal Chatitie a motion of the minde to delight in God for his owne sake and to delight in himselfe and his neighbour for Gods sake And therfore I cal loue a gifte giuen to man from Heauen wherby with his hart he loueth God before and aboue all thinges and his neighbour as him selfe Loue therfore springeth from Heauen from whence it is powred into our hartes But it is inlarged and augmented partly by the remembrance and consideration of Gods benefits partly by often prayer and also by the hearing frequenting of the worde of Christ Which things them selues also are the giftes of the spirite For the Apostle Paule saith The loue of God is powred out into our hartes by the holy Ghoste which is giuen vs. For verily the loue of God wherwith he loueth vs is the foundation cause of our loue wherewith we loue him and of both these iointly consisteth the loue of our neighbour For the Apostle saith We loue him bicause he first loued vs. And againe Euery one that loueth him which begot loueth him also that is borne of him Hereby we gather againe that this gifte of loue can not be diuided or seuered although it be double For he that loueth God truly hateth not his neighbour and yet neuerthelesse this loue bicause of the double respect that it hath to God and our neighbour staÌ„deth of two partes And bicause of this double Charitie the tables of Gods law are diuided into twaine the first wherof conteineth foure commaundeâ—â—nts touching the loue of God the seconde comprehendeth sixe precepts touching the loue of our neighbour Of which I will speake in their owne place But at this time bicause the loue of God and of our neighbour are twaine I will first speake of the loue of God and then of the loue of our neighbour In these two commaundements saith the Lord hang the law and the Prophetes With that which wee call the loue of God we loue God entirely wel we cleaue to God as the onely chiefe and eternal goodnesse in him we do delight our selues and are well pleased and frame our selues to his wil and pleasure hauing euermore a regarde and desire of him that we loue With loue wée loue God most hartelie But wee doe hartelie loue the thinges that are deare vnto vs and the things that to vs séeme worthie to be desired and we loue them entirely in deede not so much for our coÌ„modity as for because wée do desire to ioyne and as it were for euer to giue and dedicate our selues whoalie to the thing that wée so dearelie loue So verilie wee desyre for euer to be ioyned with God are in charitie fast lincked vnto him as the Apostle sayth God is charitie and he that dwelleth in charitie dwelleth
Prophets in a solemne set and appointed Sacrifice Eliseus at the Lords commaundemente annointed Iehu king to the end that hée might roote out the house of Achab and kill at once all Baals priestes Ioiada the priest slue Athalia And good king Iosias destroyed together the wicked stubborne priestes of all high places S. Augustine Tractatu in Ioan. 11. disputing against the Donatistes doth proue by the example of Nabuchodonosor that Christian Princes do iustlie punishe the Donatistes for despising Christ and his Euangelicall doctrine Among other thinges he saith If king Nabuchodonosor did glorifie God for deliuering three childreÌ„ out of the fyâ—e yea and glorified him so much that he made a decree throughout his kingdom for his honour and worship whie should not the kinges of our dayes be moued so to do which see not three children saued from the flame alone but themselues also deliuered from the fire of hell when they behold Christ by whom they are deliuered burnt vpp in Christian men and when to a Christian they heare it said Say thou that thou art no Christian This they wil doe and yet this they wil not suffer For marcke what they doe and see what they suffer They kill soules they are afflicted in bodie They kill other eternallie and doe complaine that they themselues doe suffer a temporall death Thus much hath Augustine In that new testament we haue most euideÌ„t examples of Peter Paul Christ his greatest Apostles The one wherof sâ—ue Ananias and Saphyra for their lying hypocrisie and feined religion The other strucke Elymas the Sorcerer blinde bereft him of his eyes Neither is there one hayres difference to choose whether a maÌ„ be killed with a sword or with a word For to kill is to kill by what meanes or with what instrument soeuer it be done God wrought that by his Apostles and doth the like by the magistrate also For vengeaunce is Gods who giueth it to the magistrate and chiefe men to bée put in vre and execution vpon wicked offenders There are to be séene many lawes made by holie Christian princes for the state of religion which giue an especiall charge to kill idolatrers apostataes heretiques and godlesse people I will recite vnto you déerely beloued one lawe among many made by the holie Emperour CoÌ„staÌ„tine the great For in an epistle intituled ad Taurum P. P. hée saith It pleaseth vs that in al places throghout euerie citie the temples be out of hand shut vpp and libertie denied to wicked men to haue accesse thether to commit idolatrie Wee will also and commaund all men to bee restrained from making of sacrifice And if so be it happen that they offend herein our pleasure is that they be slain with the sword and the slaine mans goods to be confiscate And wee haue decreed that the rulers of the prouinces shall suffer like punishment if they neglect to punish the offenders The verie same almost do Theodosius and Valentinianus by proclaimed edicts commaund In Codice Theodosiano tit 2. And Valentinianus and Martianus in Codice Iustiniano tit 11. lib. 1. Lastlie without al controuersie adulterers murderers rebells deceiuers and blasphemers are rightlie punished and not against religion Wherfore it followeth consequentlie that false Prophets and heretiques are by good right slaine For they are deceiuers blasphemers and manquellers But in the execution of this punishment there must a great consideratibe had and obserued First of the persons then of the errours and lastly of the penalties For in persons there is great diuersitie because there are some standard bearers and headie graund capitaines which are stoute hypocrites and full of tongue therfore y aptest for to seduce who falling headlong without ameÌ„dment to their owne destruction do with themselues draw other into daunger They must by al meanes be brideled and kept vnder as plagues to the Church least like a cancker they spread all ouer Againe there are some sillie seduced soules made fooles by other men which erre not of malice nor stubborne stomach but doe repente and amend in time These the magistrate must not streightway condemne but pray to the Lord and beare with their error and teach them in the spirit of gentlenesse vntill they be brought to a better minde Moreouer in erronious doctrines som are more intollerable than other some are Some there be so wicked blasphemous that they are vnworthie to bée heard much lesse to bee done Some there are which do directly and openly tend to the ouerthrow of the common weal vnlesse they be in time appensed and resisted But those crimes that are brought in and accused ought first to be by the Scripture and manifest truth coÌ„uinced to be such as they are said to be When the truth is knowen and manifest proofes of scripture alledged then is it lawfull most sharpely to punish those blasphemers of God and ouerthrowers of the Church and common weale But a light and easier penaltie must be set on the heads of them whose offence consisteth in light and smaller errors For some doe erre so that by their error God is not blasphemed that Church not subuerted nor the common weale in any daunger at all Where by the way euerie one must thincke of that saying of the Apostle Beare ye one an others burthen And againe The weake in faith receiue yee not to the doubtfulnes of questions Furthermore in punishment and penalties there is a great difference They that erre stubbornely and doe their indeuour to drawe in and kéepe other men in their errours blasphemers troublers and subuerters of Churches maye by lawe bee put to death But it followeth not therevppon that euery one which erreth must therefore by and by suffer losse of his life The things that by threates and faultfinding may bée remedied and amended must not be punished with sharper correction A meane in euerie thing is alwayes the best There is a penaltie by paiment of money There are prisons for them to be shut vppe into which are corrupted with the poison of false doctrine and lacke of beliefe least peraduenture they infecte others with their contagious disease There are also other meanes to punish the bodie whereby to kéepe them vnder that erre from the trueth to kéepe them from marring those that are sounde and to preserue them selues that they perish not vtterlie but that through repentaunce they may fall to amendment But the feare of God iustice and the Iudges wisedom shal by the circumstaunces make him perceiue how hée ought to punish the naughtie doctrine and stubborne rebellion of malicious seducers and howe to beare with the foolishe lighte beliefe of sillie seduced men grounded vppon simplicitie and not enuenomed rancour Earnest and diligent admonition is giuen to late when the fault is allreadie committed and is so detestable that it ought streight waye to be plagued with the sword Let the magistrate therefore alwayes haue an eye to admonish them in time that are to be warned
heauen Which deede is reported by heathen Historiographers but that it was obtained at the prayers of our men they do not reporte for with them the other myracles which are done by our menne haue no place of credite But amonge our men Tertullian maketh mention hereof and amonge the Greekes Apollinaris whoalso affirmeth that for the miracle of that notable deede that legions name was chaunged by the Emperour and called the legion of thunder Tertullian addeth that the letters of Marcus the Emperour are yet to be had wherin the full and manifest trueth of this matter is plainly declared Hetherto Eusebius Wherby wée gather that Christian souldiers of old were not onely giuen to prayer but to iustice also and holines of lyuing For who knoweth not that Iames the Apostle said The earnest prayer of a righteous man auayleth much Elias was a man vnder infirmities euen as wee are and hee prayed in his prayer the heauens gaue rayne the earth brought forth her fruite It is moste euidente therefore that souldiers of old were verie godly and religious men Dure souldiers at these dayes because they are farre from religion yea because they are enimies to true religion doe in stéede of victorie suffer ouerthrowes abroad and losse and destruction of their citties at hoame And worthilie doe common weales suffer such plagues for trustinge somuch in such wicked souldiers For to trust in them is all one as if they should put confidence in the verie diuells whom these souldiers doe for the most parte excéede in all kinde of filthines vncleannesse crueltie and villanie But now the word of God doth set before our eyes an innumerable sorte of examples almost of holie and vpright warres and of excellent kinges and capitaynes Abraham oure father settinge forwarde with a verie small armie pursueth the fower most puissant kings or robbers of the world hée ouerthroweth and putteth them to flight and hauing recouered his people and restoared to them their substance againe he giueth the thanks to God as to the author of that vnlikely victorie Moses and Iosue destroyed about 39. kings they punished seuerelie the vnspeakeable wickednesse of al those nations and planted the people committed to their charge in the land which god had promised to giue them The Iudges of the people of Israell had notable warres against the Heathens and infidels wherby they brake the tyrannie of those wicked men vnlawfullie vsurped amonge Gods people restoaring them againe to their libertie and religion The Prophete Samuel is here to be numbred amoÌ„g the notable Capitaynes of Gods people Ionathas Saules sonne was a worthie Capitaine and a singular example of a godlie man Than Dauid none was more excellent or worthie to be praised In warre hée vaÌ„quished the Philistines the Idumits the Syrians and a good part of the Easte beside by warre hée reuenged iniuries by warre hée mainteyned his libertie and kept Gods people from a number of mischiefes and yet notwithstanding he that warred thus is said to be a man according to Gods heartes desire and the father of our Lord Iesus Christ touching his flesh or his humanitie In Dauids posteritie thou maiest finde manie excellent warriours and valiaunt Capitaynes Abia Asa Iosaphat Amasia Ofia Ezechias and other moe Amonge these Iudas Machabeus hath not the last nor leaste place of all who fought verie stoutely for the lawe religion and people of God and died at the last in the middest of the batteile in defence of religion and his countrie quarrell I will not adde to these the examples of ConstaÌ„tine Gratian Theodosius and other more that were excellent in feates of warre Of these and other writeth S. Augustine in the ende of his fiâ—t booke De ciuitate Dei and Orosius verie largelie in the 7. booke of his historie vnto the ende of the 28. Cap. This is sufficient for godly magistrates Hetherto haue I discoursed of warre to be made by the magistrate and the vse of the sword in the magistrates hand touching which I gaue some notes by the way in that sermon wherein I expounded the fifte commaundement This being thus ended I haue now to proue that ChristiaÌ„ men may beare the office of a magistrate which treatise I meane therfore to take in hand because our madde headed Anabaptistes and some other builders of A deuised common weale by gainsayinge that which hetherto we haue alledged do goe about to proue that a Christian may not beare the office of a magistrate their reason is because Christians as they say may not striue in lawe nor kil any man nor recouer by warre thinges violently taken away nor reuenge any iniurie that is done vnto them And although these causes of theirs be aunsweared euerie one in his fitte and seuerall place yet will I briefely gather héere together a few substantiall argumentes by which a politique and Christian man may vnderstand contrarie to the madnesse and dreames of the Anabaptistes if hée bée called to beare rule and authoritie that then he both may and of dutie ought to serue the Lord his God in taking vpon him and executing the office of a magistrate For whereas they faine that the doctrine of the Gospell doth vtterly cutte off all kinde of defence and whatsoeuer else belongeth to the defence of Christian mens goods and bodies that is nothing so and they are deceiued as farre as heauen is wide for the truth doth teach vs cleane contrarie For whatsoeuer thinges are ordeined by God for a meanes of mens safe gard and good estate they are so farre from misbecoÌ„ming and being vnsemely for a Christian man if hée vse them and applie himselfe vnto them that if hée refuse and neglect them he cannot rightly be called a true Christian For the first and greatest care of euerie ChristiaÌ„ is by all meanes that he may to set forward and mainteine that health and safegard of all sortes of men But the magistrate is not ordeined by any man but by god himself for the health and wealth of all mankinde as it is expressely witnessed by the Prophets and Apostles but by Paule especially in the 13. to the Rom who then cannot therby perceiue that a Christian may praiseworthilie execute a magistrates office Furthermore no man will denie I knowe that a Christian mans faith is not in wordes onely but in deedes also to giue a proofe of iustice and mercie by all meanes to care for publique peace and tranquillitie to doe iudgemente with iustice to defend the fatherlesse widowes and children and to deliuer poore oppressed people Neither doth hée contemne flée from nor reiect occasion places and meanes by which hée may put those good woorkes in vre And therfore a Christian refuseth not the place or office of a magistrate For the magistrates office is to doe iudgement with iustice and to prouide for publique peace Moreouer it is vndoubtedly true as before we haue declared that Moses Samuel Iosue and Dauid are not excluded from the name of
full The place where the temple was afterward builded is reported to haue béen shewed to Dauid by the Angle of the Lord and that Dauid did first of all make sacrifice there vnto the Lord and addeth these words This is the house of the Lord God and this altar is for the sacrifice of Israel As if hée should haue said This plat of ground is appointed for tâ—e temple in this péece shal be builte the house of the Lord yea here shall be offered that onely and effectual sacrifice for all men the very sonne of God Christ Iesus incarnate For all the interpreters of the holy scriptures agrée that the place was at Ierusalem vppon the mountaine Moria where Abraham once would haue offered his sonne Isaac that in that appointed or fatall plâ—ce the temple â—as erected and thâ—t the hill Golgotha or Caluarie was not farre of but in the very topp of the mountaine Moria which was the place and holy hill wherein the holy Gospell doth testifie that Christ was offered for the sinns of al the world which was prefigured in a type of the auncient sacrifices other Ceremonies belonging to the temple The vse and end of the temple was none other than the vse and end of the tabernacle was before Ieroboam therfore and the kings of Israel did sinne most gréeuously when they forsooke the temple to make sacrifices in the high places in their Cathedrall Churches at Bethel and at Dan and in other high pleasaunt places The people of Iuda with their kinges did sinne most gréeuously either for sacrificing to God in the high places or else because they did not vtterly cutt downe those highe places For the Lord would and his wil was to be worshipped in one place which hée had chosen vnto himselfe The plaine lawe touching that matter is extante in the 12. of Deuteronomie is very expressely set downe in the 17 of Leuit. in these woords following Whosoeuer of the house of Israell shall kill an Oxe or a sheepe or a goate within the host or without the host to witt for a sacrifice vnto the lord For otherwise they mighte lawefully kill a beast for their sustenance in any place wheresoeuer and shall not bring it to the doore of the tabernacle of the coÌ„gregation to offer his Sacrifice before the dwelling place of the Lord bloud shal be imputed to that man as if he had shedd bloud Wherefore when the children of Israell bring their offeringes let them bring them to the Lord before the dore of the tabernacle of appointment vnto the priest that hee may offer them And let them no more offer their offerings to diuels after whoÌ„ they haue gone a whoring This shal be an ordinaunce to them for euer in their generations And he that doth not this shal be rooted out from amoÌ„g his people There are in these words thrée thinges to be noted First that it was not lawfull to sacrifice but in that one place onely that was before the altar of burnt offeringes Secondarilie wée haue to marke that that commaundement was giuen to the end that al men should vnderstand that the sacrifice was made to God to whom the tabernacle did belong Thirdly that to offer sacrifice out of y place against Gods comaundement was to make sacrifice vnto the diuel that the offerer was to be iudged as a murderer and that hee was excommunicated by the lord God as he that was excluded froÌ„ the companie of God his holy saints But wheras Samuel Helias and certaine other Patriarches did by Gods sufferance make sacrifices vpon some especiall causes in other places not before the altar in the tabernacle they did it by dispensation They therefore that sacrificed in highe places not to straunge Gods onely but euen to the very true God did sinne first of all by disobedience For God doth mislike yea he curseth al the worship done vnto him which we our selues do first inuent without the warrantise of his word it is faithfull obedience y pleaseth him best SecoÌ„darilie they sinned by making a schisme in the vnitie of the Ecclesiastical body Thirdly for despising the mysterie of Christ that was to be offered in the mount of Golgotha for not referring the meaning of their sacrifices to Christ the onely truth of all their typicall Ceremoines Lastly they sinned by trusting in their sacrifices as in well wrought woorkes to iustification and by neglecting the worship of God chaunging it into trifles of their owne inuentions The teÌ„ple stood from the time that Solomon did first build it vntil the first destruction of it vnder king Zedechias 440. yeares And from the reparatioÌ„ of it vnto the vtter ouerthrowe vnder Vespasian it stood 582. yeares Other there be that do accompt it otherwise Thus haue I hetherto spoken a litle of a great deale concerning the temple Now it remayneth for me to touch and lightly to passe ouer the holy instruments belonging to the tabernacle and temple of the Lord amonge which the arcke of the couenant was the chiefe which arcke was so called because of the tables of the couenant that were put within it It was also called the arke of the Lord God of hostes which dwelleth vppon it betwixt the Cherubim by that meanes the Lord himself was called by the name of Him that sitteth betwixt the Cherubim because he did from theÌ„ce giue aunsweares vnto his seruauntes and had placed it in the middest of his people to be a signe that his presence was alwayes amonge them Touching the stuffe whereof and the for me how the arcke was made I will say nothing here For the matter fashion are in their colours very liuely painted out in the 25. Chap. of Exod. Of the meaning mysterie vse of the arcke I will speake somewhat now We men lay vp in our coffers and cheasts the treasures y we most sett by And therfore we vnderstand that in the arcke was layed the treasure of the Church and all the substance of which the faithfull made most accompt We must not therfore seek for them in meÌ„ in Noah Abraham Isaac Iacob Moses Dauid S. Marie Iohn Peter or Paule much lesse in the Romish indulgeÌ„tiarie but in him in whom all fulnesse dwelleth and in whom all the treasures of gods wisedome and knowledge are heaped vp in store who is not séen here on the earth but in the Sanctum Sanctorum in heauen I say aboue and is called Iesus Christ whose diuinitie is figured by the most pure gold and his humanitie by the Sittim wood that is of Cedar or rather white thorne For he tooke vpon him flesh like to our sinnefull flesh euen the very flesh that wée haue in al pointes sauing that it was not sinnefull Out of this arke do the faithfull fetche all good and necessarie things for the vse of their life and eternall saluation For in the arcke wée read that there was layd the tables of the couenaunt the
should once set a foote out of doores vntil the next morning By which thing it is giuen vs to vnderstand that neither Christ nor our saluation is to bee found without the church in the sects or schismes of wicked heretikes Christe the Lambe of God doth gather al the faithful into one church wherin he kéepeth them lastly doth saue them Last of al this ceremonie did put gods people in mind of their duetie of thākfulnes especially of y studie of godlinesse harmelesse innocencie They therefore did giue thanks to God for these all other his benefites they praised his name and did vtterly absteine from all leauened bread For ye shal finde nothing so seuerely forbidden in this ceremonie as the eating of leauened bread Who soeuer eateth leauened bread saith the Lord his soule shall perishe from amonge the congregation of Israel whether he be a straunger or an Israelite borne The same saying is afterward often times repeated thoroughly beaten into their braines Nowe the Apostle Paule whose cunning and learning was much in the law of Moses expounding what was meant by the leauened bread doth say Therefore let vs keepe the feast not in the olde leauen nor in the leauen of malice and vnrighteousnesse but in vnleauened bread that is in sinceritie trueth Thus muche hitherto touching y eating of y Paschal lamb To these sacraments were also added sacrifices of sundrie sorts many kindes which were not first inuēted and taught by Moses but were taken vp and vsed immediately after the world was created For Caine Abel offered burnte sacrifices to God the maker of the world the one of the fruites of the earth and the other of the cattaile that was in his flock Like wise Seth Noah Sem Abraham Isaac and Iacob with al the other patriarches are knowne to haue sacrificed vnto the Lorde Nowe since the heathenish sacrifices of the Gentiles as the verie heathen writers them selues did testifie were partely like vnto and in many pointes all one with the Iewish sacrifices it is not vnlikely but that the graunde partriarchs of the Gentiles did teach euerie one his owne nation the manner of sacrificing which they had learned of their forefathers Sem Cham Iaphet and of the holie Patriarche Noah him selfe But it is vndoubtedly certein that the holy fathers did bring in nothing of their owne inuention nor adde any thinge to the sacrifices more then they had receiued learned of God who is the author of all goodnesse although Moses did more precisely distinguish certeinly order the sortes the kindes differences betwixt sacrifice and sacrifice And yet whatsoeuer he did that did hee at the Lords appointment God instructed Moses in all that he did For the booke of Leuiticus wherein are especially described all the kindes of sacrifices doth immediatly after the verie beginning testifie that Moses was called by God and that he learned of the Lord all the ceremonies of the sacrifices which he commaunded the Israelites to kéepe And in the 7 Chap. of y booke of Numb we read And when Moses came into the Tabernacle of appointment hee heard the voice of God speakinge vnto him out of the mercie seate Now as I was about to say there were diuers sacrifices sundrily differing in many pointes amōg thēselues yet hauing many thinges cōmon general one with another It was general to al sacrifices not to be offered in any other but one apointed place alone It was general to all sacrifices that they ought of duetie to be offered by faith according as they were taught by y word of god It was general to al sacrifices to be made according to the Lords cōmandement with holy fire not with strange fire or fire prophanely kindled Nadab Abihu the sonnes of Aaron were slaine for nothing else but for because they vsed prophane or strange fire in sacrificing to the lord For when the Israelites or Leuites did first of all sacrifice as the Lord had commaunded them in the tabernacle of appointmēt then did God by sending fire from heauen giue a token that he did like of that manner of sacrifice Whereupon in the sixte of Leuiticus the priestes are charged to mainteine or kéepe the holie fire alwayes burning first in the tabernacle and then in the temple whiche thinge it is manifest that the heathen did imitate in commaunding the vestall virgins at Rome alwayes to kéep the holie fire burning By this perpetual fire is meant the perpetual working of the holie Ghost in the church of Christe which must be kept quicke stirred vp in the heartes of the faithful with feruent prayers with the sincere doctrine of the Lorde with the right vse of his holie Sacraments It was also generall to all sacrifices that in them neither wilde nor vncleane beasts were offered to y lord Moreouer this generall rule of sacrifices is giuen by Moses in the 22. Chapter of Leuiticus saying Let no deformitie bee in the thinge that thou shalt offer If it be blinde or lame or maymed if it haue pusshes or scabbes or tettar ye shall not offer it vnto the Lorde neither shall ye put ought of it vpō his altar Verily if any man had brought a deformed oblation vnto the Lorde hee shewed him selfe plainly to be a contemner vtterly vnthankfull toward his maker And therefore the Lorde in Malachie cryeth out and saith When ye bring the blinde for sacrifice do ye not sinne and when ye bring the lame and sicke do ye not sinne Offer it nowe I praye thee to thy prince or capteine wil he be content with it or wil he accept thy person saith the Lorde of hostes And so I saye my name is in contempt of no estimation among you The iust and true God therefore doth at all times require trueth liberalitie sinceritie and integritie in them that worship him and on the other side he abhorreth and vtterly detesteth vncleanenesse lying and hypocrisie There are certeine other thinges also which be generally cōmon to all sorts of sacrifices but I will not at this time make particular rehersal of euery seuerall iott or minute But what peculiarities euery sundrie sacrifice hath it wil euidently appeare in the exposition of their sundrie sorts which I wil nowe speake of in order as they lye First of all I will expound to you that kinde of sacrifice which in the scripture is called Holocaustum That sacrifice was wholly consumed with fire so that nothing but the skin or hyde of the beast was leafte for the priest The woorde is deriued of the Gréeke For it is called Holocaustū as one should saye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is wholie burnt or consumed with fire This sacrifice was of thrée kindes I meane it was made after thrée sortes to wite with greater with little and with lesse liuing creatures namely with an Oxe a bullocke or a calfe or if any mannes abilitie were not sufficient
omnipotent must be present with all men in all places The sonne of God therfore is true and verie God bycause he is the Messias Furthermore what is more manifest and lesse called in controuersie than that God only forgiueth sinnes It must needes be therefore that nothing is more euident and lesse doutfull than that we beléeue Christ to be true and verie God bycause He is the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world Againe whereas Paule truly calleth Christ Our hope for Esay foretolde In him shal the Gentiles trust And wheras Ieremie cryeth Curssed be the man that putteth his trust in man but blessed is the man that putteth his truste in GOD we muste necessarily confesse that Christe is god For in Iohn he oftentimes repeateth Verily I say vnto you he that beleueth in me hath euerlasting life I coulde bring innumerable examples of this kynd out of the scriptures which witnesse that the sonne of God our Lord Iesus Christe is of one and the selfe same nature with the father and therefore is verie God of verie God but I trust that to holie hearers and not giuen to contention those whiche I haue alreadie cited will suffice It remaineth that we declare vnto you that the sonne of God was incarnate for vs and was borne verie man of the Virgine Marie consubstantiall or of the selfe same substaunce with vs in all pointes sinne excepted The Lawe the Prophetes and the Apostles shewe vnto vs most manifest arguments of the true flesh or humanitie of the sonne of god For in the lawe the Lorde saith The seede of the woman shall crushe the serpents head But who knoweth not that the heade of the serpent is the kingdome force or power of the diuell And that Iesus Christe brake this power the whole scripture doth witnesse And here he is called the séede of the woman And truely he is called séed to verifie his true humane nature and he is termed the séede of the woman not of the man bycause of his conception by the holy Ghoste and his byrthe of the Virgine Marie And bicause she was the daughter of Dauid of Abraham and Adam it followeth that the sonne of Marie was verie man For as we haue heard it sayd to Adam The seede of the woman shall bruise the serpents heade so also we read that the same promise was renued and repeated to Abrahā in these wordes In thy seede shall al the nations of the world be blessed And Paule to the Galat. manifestly sayth that this séede of Abrahā wherin we haue obteined blessing is Christ Iesus The same Apostle sayth For in no sorte tooke he the Angels but he tooke the seede of Abraham By Angels doubtlesse excluding all manner of spirituall substaunces by the séede of Abraham vnderstanding the verie substance it selfe of the fleshe of man. For he addeth Wherefore in all things it became him to be made like vnto his brethren And bicause they be partakers of flesh and bloud he also him selfe likewise tooke part with them of the same Verily the Scripture draweth the lineall descent of Christe most diligently from the loynes of Abraham vnto Iacob and frō him againe to Iudas and from him in like sort to Dauid To him againe the promises of the incarnation of the sonne of God are remied For Nathan sayth to Dauid Thus sayth the Lorde When thy dayes bee fulfilled thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers I will set vp thy seede after thee which shal procede out of thy body and will stablish his kingdome he shall build a house for my name and I wil stablish the throne of his kingdome for euer Neyther is there any cause why any mā shuld interpret this of Solomon For he was borne while his father Dauid liued his kingdome quickely decayed But Nathan speaketh of a sonne which should be borne to Dauid after his death When thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers sayth he I wil set vp thy seede after thee And what maner of séede this should be he most euidently declareth and sayth Whiche shall proceede out of thy bodie For in the 132. Psalme we reade Of the fruite of thy body will I set vpon thy seate Furthermore Marie the virgine descende lineally of the séed of Dauid of whome Christ our lorde was begotten and borne of whome the Angel speaking and expounding those olde and auncient prophecies sayth vnto the Virgine And the lord God shall giue vnto him the seate of his father Dauid and he shall reigne ouer the house of Iacob for euer and of his kingdome there shall be none ende Herevnto also belongeth that which Elizabeth sayth to the virgine which came out of Galilée into the hil countrie of Iuda And whence commeth this to me that the mother of my Lorde should come to mee Blessed art thou among womē and blessed is the fruite of thy wombe Truly Matthewe and Luke drawe the lineall descent of Christe from the loynes as it were of Dauid euen vnto the virgine Marie whiche conceiueth by the holy Ghoste that is the holy Ghoste making her fruitfull She when the moneths were fulfiled that she shoulde bee deliuered brought foorth a sonne and he which is borne in all respectes appeareth to be true and verie man he is layde in a manger wrapped in swathling cloutes he grewe in stature and increased in yeares according to the manner of mans body he is wearied he is refreshed he is glad he is sad he is hungrie he is thirstie he eateth he drinketh he feareth to be short he dyeth Whiche the trueth of the historie of the Gospel in many words declareth Neyther is the Scripture it selfe ashamed to call Marie the mother of our Lorde not the putatiue or supposed but the true and natural mother whiche of the substaunce of her owne body gaue true fleshe and substaunce of man to the sonne of God the Angel of God so witnessing with Esaie and saying A virgine shall conceiue in her wombe and shall bring foorth a sonne Loe he sayth In her wombe And againe in Matthewe the selfe same Angel saith That which is conceiued in her is of the holy Ghoste Wherevppon the Apostle vnto the Galathians sayth that The sonne of God is made of a woman to wit according to mans nature For Christe is the fruite of the body of Dauid and of the virgine Marie begotten and borne of the loynes of Dauid and Iohn also the Apostle and Euangelist saithe The worde was made fleshe and dwelt among vs. In calling God fleshe doubtlesse he calleth him verie man For the same Apostle in an other place fayth Euerie spirite that confesseth that Iesus Christe is come in the fleshe is of God And euerie spirit which cōfesseth not that Iesus Christe is come in the flesh is not of God. Therfore we fréely pronounce that Valentinus Marcion Apolles and Manichęus denying the true and very flesh
of Christe are of the diuell and therefore that they by al meanes together with all their disciples sectaries are to be auoyded This treatise of the true flesh of Christ we knit vp with these most plaine wordes of Paul WheÌ„ Christ was in the forme of God he made himselfe of no reputation taking on him the forme of a seruant and made in the likenesse of men found in figure as a man He huÌ„bled him selfe made obedient vndeath euen the death of the crosse Wherefore it is without doubt that the sonne of God tooke true and humane flesh and in the same is consubstantiall or of the selfe same substance with vs in all points sinne excepted Neither did oure Lorde after he was risen againe from the dead though he were glorified put off or lay aside his true body which he had once taken and put on And his glorification doth not take away the trueth of his nature For he saith vnto his disciples A spirite hath not fleshe and bones as ye see me haue Wherefore he carried that his true verie fleshe into heaueÌ„ with him in his true flesh he appeareth alwayes for vs in the sight of good the father in his true flesh he will come to iudge the quick the dead in his true flesh they shal sée him which crucified him Christ according to this nature who in respecte of his Godheade is no creature but a creatour is a creature For the fleshe of Christ hath beginning lineally descended from Adam who is the creature of the liuing god And albeit these thinges be sufficiently fenced with the force of the scriptures yet it shall not séeme yrckesome vnto you dearely beloued to rehearse the opinion of the blessed father Cyril which concerning the same matter he hath left written in his Epistle vnto Successus Byshop of Isauria Diocesse in these wordes Bycause I founde in your aduertisement such a kind of thing as though the holie flesh of Christe the sauiour of vs all were turned into the nature of his deitie after his resurrection so that now he shuld seme to be wholy solie god we thought good also to make answere vnto this And a fewe wordes after After the resurrection certeinely it was the selfe same body whiche suffered but yet not hauing now in it self mans infirmities For we affirme not that it abideth hunger labour or any such like thing but we confesse that now it is incorruptible and not this only but also that quickneth and giueth life For it is a body that both hath and giueth life that is to say of the onely begotten sonne of God and it is glorified with the most worthy brightnesse of God and it is knowne and taken to be the bodie of god Therefore if any man say that that is Gods body as the body of a man is mans body he swarueth net from allowable reason Wherevpon I thinke that most â—lessed Paule also sayde Though wee haue knowne Christ after the flesh now yet hencefoorth knowe we him no more For being as I sayde the proper body of God it farre passeth all humane bodies But a body made of earth could not abide to be turned into the nature of the Deitie or Godhead For this is impossible Otherwise we abase the Godhead as if it were made and as if it had taken somewhat into it selfe whiche according to nature doth not properly belong to it Hereby it is proued to be as much follie to say that the body is turned into the nature of the Godhead as that which is the worde to be chaunged into the substance of flesh For as this is impossible bycause it is proued to be a bodye not able to be turned and chaunged so also it is not possible that any creature can be turned into the essence or nature of the Godhead but fleshe is also created And therefore we say that the body of Christ is diuine bycause it is the body of God and beautified with vnspeakable glorie and nowe let vs confesse that it is vncorruptible holy and giuing life but that it is chaunged into the nature of the Godhead neyther haue any of the holy fathers so thought or taught neyther doe we so thinke Thus farre Cyrill And Theodoretus Byshop of Cyrus Dialog 2. Eranist sayth I will shewe that the body of the Lorde yea after the ascension was called a bodie Heare Paule therefore saying Our conuersation is in heauen from whence wee looke for a Sauiour the Lord Iesus Christ who shall chauÌ„ge our vile bodie that it may be fashioned like vnto his glorious bodye Therefore it is not chaunged into an other nature but remaineth indéede a true very body replenished with diuine glorie casting foorth beames of light But if it be chaunged into an other nature their bodies also shall likewise be chaunged For they shall be fashioned like vnto him But if the bodies of Saints kéepe the substance of their nature the body of the Lord likewise hath his substance vnchangable Thus farre Theodoret. Furthermore when we professe that Christ hath true and verie flesh we doe not meane fleshe withoute soule For we must confesse that Christe hath a reasonable or humane soule not voyde of a mynde Arius taught that the sonne of GOD tooke fleshe onely without a soule and that the worde was in place of the soule And Apollinarius did attribute vnto Christe a soule but hée toke away the minde denying that it was reasonable The scripture doth both attribute vnto Christe a soule and taketh not away the minde from the soule The Lord himselfe sayeth in the Gospell The sonne of man came not to bee ministred vnto but to minister and to giue his soule a redemptioÌ„ for many The same Matth. hath left written of him He began to be sorowfull and heauie And Iesus said My soule is heauie euen vnto the death And in another place the Lord himselfe saith Now my soule is troubled And if so bee that this soule of Christe lacke the minde which is the chiefest part of the soule how hath he a soule how could he be sorrowfull and vnderstand desire and remember With hartie desire sayth the Lord haue I desired to eate this passeouer with you before I suffer But this desire came not from his godhead neither from his flesh only nor from his soule waÌ„ting a mind but from his perfecte manhood of body and minde Moreouer we read in the Gospell that the Lord said The sonne of man came not to destroy mens soules but to saue them Therefore hee toke not flesh onely but a reasonable soule also For man had perished both soule and body therefore that he might bée saued both body and soule oure sauiour Christ toke a very mans body a reasonable soule that is to saye a most perfecte man Therefore blessed Athanasius teaching vs according to the scriptures the coÌ„fession of true faith said Christ is God of the substance
And where the spirite of the Lord is there is libertie This is he which by water woorketh the second byrth or regeneration being a certeine seede of heauenly generation and he that consecrateth the heauenly natiuitie being a pledge of the promised inheritance and as it were a certein hand writing of euerlasting saluation who maketh vs the temple of God and bringeth to passe that wee be his dwelling house who perfourmeth the office of an Aduocate maketh intercessioÌ„ for vs in the hearing of God with sighes that can not be vttered And pouring foorth his gifts of defence is giuen to be a dweller in our hearts and a worker of holinesse who exercising that in vs bringeth oure bodies vnto euerlastingnesse and vnto the resurrection of immortalitie while hee accustometh them to bee partakers in him of his heauenly power and to bee coupled with the heauenly eternitie of the holy Ghost For our bodies are trayned vp in him by him to proceede to immortalitie whilest they learne to behaue them selues moderately according to his ordinaunces For it is he that lusteth contrarie to the flesh bycause the fleshe fighteth against him It is he which bridleth insatiable lustes which tameth immoderate coÌ„cupiscences which quencheth vnlawful desires which vaÌ„quisheth flaming affections whiche abhorreth drâ—nkennesse whiche banisheth 〈◊〉 which abandoneth 〈◊〉 bâ—nkettings which knitteth the knot of loue and charitie which subdueth the affections driueth awaye sectes sheweth the rule of truth conuinceth heretiques casteth out the wicked is a dâ—fence to the gospell Of him the apostle also saith For we haue not receiued the spirite of the world but the spirit which is of god Of this spirit he triumpheth saith And I thinke verily that I haue the spirite of god Of him he saith And the spirite of the prophets is subiect to the prophetes Of him he saith againe Nowe the spirit speaketh euidently that in the latter times some shal depart froÌ„ the faith giuing hede vnto spirits of error and doctrines of diuels which speake false in hypocrisie hauing their conscience scared with an hote yron No man beeing guided by this spirit calleth Iesus execrable no man denyeth that Christe is the sonne of God or forsaketh god the Creator no man vttereth any of his own words against the scriptures neither doth any maÌ„ establish other wicked decrees no man coÌ„mandeth contrarie lawes Whosoeuer blasphemeth against this spirite shall neuer haue forgiunes neither in this world nor in the world to come It is he that in the Apostles beareth witnesse to Christ that sheweth constant faith of religioÌ„ in martirs that planteth maruelous continencie of assured loue in virgines that kepeth the lawes of the Lords doctrine vncorrupted and vndefiled in others that confoundeth heretikes reformeth the froward reproueth the vnfaithful reuealeth dissemblers and punisheth the wicked and preserueth the church chaste and vnstained in purenesse of perpetuall virginitie and holinesse of trueth Thus farre Tertul. Thus farre not without trembling we haue intreted of the moste holie mysterie of the reuerend Trinitie the father the sonne and the holie ghoste which we haue learned out of the scriptures and here nowe we will stay humbly worshipping this vnitie in trinitie and trinitie in vnitie And let vs kéepe in mind and acknowledge this distinction or diuision most manifestly declared in the scriptures and the vnitie also coÌ„mended vnto vs with excéeding great diligence For in the scripture the beginning of doing and the flowing founteine and welspring of al things is attributed to the father wisedome counsel the verie dispensatioÌ„ in doing things is ascribed to the sonne y force effectual power of working is assigned to the holy ghost Howbeit let vs take heede least through the distinction we separate the vnitie of the substaunce of god For there is but one God in whome those properties are It is but one fire thoughe there be thrée things séene in it light brightnesse and heate For these rise together and cease all at once The light goeth not before the brightnes 〈◊〉 that the 〈◊〉 before the heate And though onâ— thing â—e â—â—â—â—â—buted to â—he light an other thing to the brightnesse and a third thing to the heate yet they worke vnseparably Therefore when we reade that God created the worlde we vnderstande that the father from whome are all things by the sonne by whom are all thinges in the holy ghoste in whome are all thinges created the worlds And when we read that the sonne became flesh suffered died and rose againe for our saluation we beleue that the father and the holy ghost though they were not partakers of his incarnation and passion yet notwithstanding that they wrought that our saluation by the sonne whom we beléeue neuer to haue bene separated from them And when sinnes are said to be forgiuen in the holy ghoste we beléeue that this benefite and all other benefites of our blessednesse are vnseparably giuen and bestowed vpon vs from one onely true liuing and euerlasting God who is the father the sonne and the holie ghoste To whome be peayse and thankesgiuing for euer and euer Amen Of good and euill spirites that is of the holie Angels of God and of diuels or euill spirits and of their operations The ninth Sermon NExt vnto this sermon of the holie Ghost I will adde a treatise of good and euill spirites that is of the holie Angels of god and of diuels or wicked spirites and of their operations Of whome since the holy scripture deliuereth vs an assured doctrine and in all pointes profitable it séemeth that we ought not lightly to regard it but with as much faith and diligence as we can to bring it vnto light It were a foule fault in him that studieth after godlinesse to be ignorant of the dispositions of good and euill angels of whome so often mention is made in the holy scriptures yea it were a thing most dangerous not to know what maner of creatures the diuels are which vnder that 〈…〉 spoyle vs â–ª But firâ—â— we will speake of holy angels and then 〈…〉 The worde Angel some sâ—y to â—e a name of office not of 〈…〉 common to the 〈◊〉 and Gréeks of whome it is borrowed and it signifieth an embassadour or legate and therefore it hath a larger signification For the preachers of the truth are called Angels as in Malachie and in the Apostle Paule For they are the embassadours or messingers of the Lord of hoastes S. Peter also calleth euill spirites Angels as Paule also doth saying that the faithful shal one day iudge the Angels and that the Angel or messinger of Sathan was sent vnto him howbeit the scripture peculiarly calleth Angels the blessed spirites of God Ministers and messingers and heauenly armies But the Saduceis denied that there be angels For Luke in the Actes of the Apostles sayth The Saduceis say that there is no resurrection neyther Angel nor spirite but the
haue for the deade for the dead haue their sinnes forgiuen them therefore al lets delayes vnto life are taken away so they liue with god But they which haue not beleeued haue reteined kept their sinnes stil being east down into the bottomlesse lake sticke fast in the myâ—e of hell Which thinges since they are 〈◊〉 certâ—ntie truly theâ— is a 〈◊〉 of praying for y dead 〈◊〉 before goâ—â— nor among the faithful Herevnto are annexed so many examples of the â—aintes in both the Testaments which are to be preferred both before vs 〈…〉 condeÌ„nations of men Which I pray you of the holy fathers euer prayed 〈◊〉 their dead Did Adam pray for his Abel did the sonnes pray for their father Adam What prayers did Abraham offer to God for the soule of his father Thare or for the soul of his most deare wife Sara What prayers poured Esau and Iacob forth for their father Isaac when he died the â—â— sonnes of Israel for Iacob Solomon for Dauid In the new Testament Iohn baptist is beheaded of Herode Stephan stoned of the Iewes Iames his head is cut off by the shoulders at the coÌ„mandemeÌ„t of Agrippa their disciples burie their bodies do all things religiously belonging to their burials but in somany 〈…〉 made of prayâ—r for the soules of the deaâ—â— For they beléeued they forthwith after death were carried into euerlasting life Who theÌ„ after so many notable examples after so cleare profession of the catholique and sinnere fayth 〈◊〉 ye vs to the necessitie of praying for the soules of the dead Who can say hereafter that we are hereâ—iques who fulfill that in worke whiche we professe in profession of fayth or confession of the mouth yea which do no other thing thaÌ„ the most excellent worshippers of God of both Testaments haue done before vs. The last pâ—st wherewith they vnderprop their purgatorie least it should fall is the appearing of spirites For Rabanus a byshop sheweth out of the testimonies of Pope Gregorie and reuerâ—nd Beda that the soules of dead men haue very often appeared and taught that oblations and praiers do profite them verie much But I wonder that men of learning wold grouÌ„d their worke vpon so rotten ruinous foundations For the Lorde in the lawe forbiddeth to aske the truthe of the spirites or soules of the deade In the Prophetes we are sent from such 〈◊〉 to the law the testimonie In Luke the rich glutton cryeth in torments saith I pray the father Abraham that thou wouldest sende Lazarus to my fathers house for I haue fiue brethren that he may witnesse vnto them least they also come into this place of torment But he heareth They haue Moses and the Prophetes let them heare them But when the riche glutton hadde answered No father Abraham but if one come vnto theÌ„ from the dead they will beleeue and repent He heareth againe If they heare not Moses and the Prophetes neyther will they beleeue if one rise from death Therefore it is most certeine and confirmed by the authoritie of the gospel that blessed soules are not sent of God vnto vs to teache vs any thing Who I pray your woulde giue eare to wicked and condemned soules The Gospell of Christe sendeth vs all to the canonicall scripture Wherevpon it followeth that the testimonies which are fetched from Oracles or appearings of the spirites of the dead are of no weight but most deceiuable and full of lying Mans testimonies are agreeable with Gods which also teache vs that souls being separated from their bodies can not wander or stray in these regions The wordes are too long to rehearse which Tertullian learnedly disputeth of this matter in the ende almoste of his booke De Anima yet they are all leuelled to this 〈◊〉 to shew that souls separated from their bodies and appointed to their places do not returne again into this world To the obiection of some that boast of arte Magicke and also that by the power of God many haue returned froÌ„ the deade into this life he answereth But although the power of God hath called backe againe some soules into their bodies to giue vs instruction of his might and right yet therfore that shall not be communicated with the credite and boldnesse of Magicians and the deceitfulnesse of dreams and licentiousnesse of Poets but in the examples of the resurrection when Gods power eyther by Prophetes or by Christe or by Apostles bringeth soules into bodies it is manifestly declared by sound euident and ful truth that it is the shape of a true body that thou mightest iudge all appearings of 〈◊〉 men 〈…〉 Therefore 〈◊〉 in his 29. Homelie vpon Mâ—â—demauÌ„ding What then shall wee answere to those speaches I am such a soule Hee answereth It is not the soule of that dead body which speaketh these things but the diuell who deuiseth these things to deceiue theÌ„ that heare him And anon he sayth Wherefore these are to be counted the wordes of olde wiues and of dotards and childrens toyes and phantasies And againe A soule separated from the body can not wander in these regions For the soules of the righteous are in the hands of God and the soules of infants likewise for they haue not sinned And the souls of the wicked after this life are by and by carried away Which is made apparant by 〈◊〉 and the rich glutton But in an 〈◊〉 place the Lorde also sayeth Thâ—◠〈◊〉 they shall require thy soule againe from thee Therfore the soule when it departeth from the body can not wander here with vs and that not without cause For if they which go a iournie chauncing into vnknown countries know not whether they are like to goe except they haue a guide howe much more shal the soule bee ignoraunt whether it shall goe after it hath left the body and entereth altogether into a newe life and straunge way vnlesse it haue a guide Out of many places of the scripture it may bee proued that the souls of iust righteous men do not go astray after death For Stephan sayth Lorde Iesu receiue my spirite And Paul desired to be losed to be with Christe Of the Patriarch the scripture also sayth He dyed in a quied or good age and was gathered vnto or layd by his fathers And that the soules of the wicked can not tâ—rrie or haue their abiding heere giue eare what the rich glutton sayth and consider what he craueth and obteyneth not For if the souls of meÌ„ might be conuersant here he had come him selfe as hee desired and had certified his brethreÌ„ of the tormeÌ„ts of hel Out of whiche place of scripture this also plainely appeareth that foules after their going out of the body are carried into som certein appointed place froÌ„ wheÌ„ce they caÌ„ not return of their owne accord when they wil returne but waite and looke for that terrible day of iudgement Thus much hitherto out of
Chrysostome Against these thinges they oppose the appering of Samuel fetched 〈◊〉 the holie Scriptures 〈…〉 goe about to proue that 〈…〉 againe after death and instruâ—t men touching thinges which they shall demaund We answere in few woods that that disguised masker which séemed to be Samuel was called Samuel by a trope or figure but in very déede he was not Samuel For of a certeintie it was a spirite a iugling and delusion of sathan For sorcerie is streightly forbidden in the law of the Lorde therefore blessed spirites obey not forbidden ways and vnlawfull practises which when they were as yet ioyned with their fleshy bodies by all meanes abhorred and resisted them in their assaultes as for damned spirites they exercise them selues therein But who would beléeue their oracles Samuel say they foretolde what happened the morrowe after And what of that That was no hard matter for the diuell since that the true and liuing Samuel foretolde many things a litle while before but this craftie foxe might foreknowe the iudgement of GOD whiche was to come euen by things present and by the 〈◊〉 and quaking of the hoastes 〈◊〉 in his booke De Anima saith God forbid we should beleue that the soule of any Saint much lesse the soule of a Prophete can be fetcht vp by the diuell since wee haue learned that sathan is transfourmed into an Angel of light much more into a man of light yea that hee will pretend that he is God and will shewe wonderfull signes to ouerthrowe if it 〈…〉 euen the elect c. S. Augustine is of the same iudgemeâ—â—â—oncerning that appearing 〈…〉 Simplicianum 2. quaest 3. And 〈…〉 quaest c. 〈◊〉 testimonies it is aboundantle 〈…〉 trust that soules of 〈…〉 from bodies doe not wander or appeare after death in these regions For they remaine vntill iudgement in the places appointed for them by the determination and prouidenâ—e of god Wherefore they are neither sent by God neyther can they enter in vnto men to instructe and warne them eyther of things present or of things to come Wherevpon it foloweth that appearings of soules that reuelations and oracles are méere delusions of Sathan ordeyned contrarie to the sinceritie and purenesse of true religion And bicause they which do what they can to proue vnto vs that there is purgatorie vse the defence and safegard of these vanities it is vndoubtedly true that they proue a falshood by deceite and an vncerteine thing by a thing of muche more vncerteintie Furthermore it remaineth vndoubtedly true that purgatorie wherein soules hauing put off their bodies shuld be purged vnto life euerlasting can not be shewed out of the Scriptures And bycause we haue remoued and put by the lets whiche were cast in the way to hinder the most spéedie iournie we returne to oure purpose wherein we intended to declare that the soules of the faithfull separated by death from the body doe immediately after the death of the body passe the right and ready way into heauen so most certeinly and vpon the souden be saued Likewise we vnderstand that the soules of the vnfaithful are thrust downe the right and ready way into hell and that by and by after the death of the body they perishe with most certeine and souden damnation For the Lorde expresly sayth in the Gospell Hee that beleeueth in the sonne of God is not condemned or iudged but he that beleueth not is condemned or iudged already bicause hee hath not beleeued in the name of the onely begotten sonne of God. Againe He that beleeueth in the sonne of God hath eternall life but he that beleeueth not the sonne shal not see life but the wrath of god abideth in him And yet againe This is the will of him that sent mee that euery one which seeth the sonne and beleeueth on him hath euerlasting life and I will raise him vp at the last day Nowe the last day of man is the point of death in it Christe saueth vs by his power leaste our soule shoulde eyther perishe or féele any torments but that it might liue and inioy euerlasting blessednesse Moreouer the last days is that last daye of iudgement wherein Christ shal raise againe and iudge al flesh glorifying the bodies of his faithful people vnto life euerlasting Againe the Lord sayth in the Gospell Verily verily I say vnto you he that heareth my worde and beleueth on him that sent me hath euerlasting life and shal not come into iudgmeÌ„t or damnation but is escaped from death vnto life These only wordes of our Lorde are able enough without any gainesaying to set foorth declare proue and confirme sufficiently our opinion concerning the moste certeine and souden saluation of soules For first of all lest any man shuld doubt of the most assured trueth touching the matter whiche he was setting foorth immediately vpon the beginning most holily he sweareth that is to say he confirmeth the trueth by giuing witnesse therevnto with an othe Afterwardes he annexeth the whole maner of our saluation which consisteth in hearing the word of god and in true faith which receiueth the truth of Gods worde For it is not enough to haue hearde the word of the gospel vnlesse we â—leaâ—e vnto y same by true faith But nowe marke with what assurance Christ promiseth life and saluation to them that beléeue in him Hee hath life euerlasting saithe he he said He hath not He shal haue Therefore he lefte no space either to doubting or to space of time Yea yet more plainely by interpretation expounding when and how the faithful haue or obteine life he saith He shall not come into iudgement or damnation but is escaped from death vnto life They come into iudgemeÌ„t which haue their cause to be examined and discussed before the iudg They come also into iudgemeÌ„t which by the sentence of the iudge are punished for their euil cause But the faithful haue no cause to be tryed and disenssed before the iudge For their sinnes are fully forgiuen them It is God which iustifieth and forgiueth Who is he that condemneth Therefore they are not subiecte to any punishments for Christ bare the punishmeÌ„t of the crosse the his faithful people might be deliuered saued harmeles from all torments But rather least anye man should thincke there were a stay or space of time betwéene the death of the bodie the life of the world to come hee sayeth But is escaped from death vnto life Loe he sayth Hee is escaped not Hee shal escape that by the Verbe of the Pretertence he might signifie the certeintie of the time past and might shewe that the soules of them that beléeue are by and by after the death of the bodie caught vpp into life euerlasting And I know well enough that the aduersaries héere haue no soâ—nd argument to sett against so manifest and inuincible a truth In déede with their wrangling words and their Sophistâ—ie they maye wrestle with the trueth but to
Iesu through the gospel And the same apostle saith in an other place Faith cōmeth by hearing and hearing cōmeth by the word of god Since ther fore faith cōmeth by hering hearing by the word of God and that specially by the word of God the church truely can by no meanes spring or be builded by the decrées doctrines of men Therefore we affirme that onely the word of god is apt for the building vp of the church of god Mens doctrines set vppe mens churches but Christes word buildeth the Christian churche For the doctrines of men proceede of flesh and bloud But Peter confessing Christ with a pure faith and therfore grounded vpon Christ who is the foundation of the church heard these words of Christ him selfe Fleshe and bloud hath not reuealed these thinges vnto thee but my father which is in heauē And therefore Paule saith When it pleased God that I should preach his sonne among the Gentiles I conferred not of the matter with fleshe and bloud c. He also most manifestly abolishing all doctrines of men from the setting vp building of faith and the church only commending the word of God saith to the Corinthians My word and preaching stood not in the enticing spech of mans wisdome but in plaine euidence of the spirit of power that your faith should not be in the wisdome of men but in the power of God. To this now perteineth these testimonies of Christ He that is of God heareth Gods word Againe He that is of the truth will heare my voyce And againe more plainely he saith The shepe wil follow the shepheard bicause they know his voyce They will not follow a stranger but wil run away from him bicause they know not the voice of strangers But vnder the voice of straungers we include all traditions and decrées of mē differing from the doctrine of Christ to which traditions the apostle S. Paul doth attribute the shape of wisdome but the truth he denieth them caleth them superstitious For our lord him selfe in the gospel bringeth foorth of the prophete Esaie the immutable saying They worship me in vaine teaching for doctrines mens preceptes Let vs therefore holde that the true church is not built by mans decrées but y she is founded planted gathered together builded onely by the word of Christe We doe adde that it is out of doubt y the church of God is preserued by the same word of God least at any time it should be seduced or least it shuld slip perish y neither can it at any time be preserued by any other meanes Paul againe witnessing and saying Christ hath giuē some to be apostles some prophets some Euāgelists som pastors techers for the gathering together of the Saintes for the work of the ministerie that is to say to teach preach the word for the edification of the body of Christ till we al meete together in the vnitie of faith and knowledge of the sonne of God vnto a perfect man vnto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christ that we hēceforth be no more children wauering carried about with euery winde of doctrine by the deceit of mē marke I praye howe mens doctrines are condēned againe with great inuiolable authoritie with craftinesse whereby they lay in wait to deceiue But let vs folow the truth in loue in al things grow vp into him whiche is the heade that is Christ by whom al the body being coupled and knit together by euery ioint for the furniture therof according to the effectual power which is in the mesure of euery part receiueth increase of the body vnto the edifying of it selfe in loue increaseth the body vnto the edifying of it self through loue These words of the apostle are so plaine that they néed no better expositiō thā they haue of thē selues In this place also the order maner of the church by the preaching of Gods word shuld of right be set downe which many doe terme call the ministerie of the word or of the church but we wil speak of the God willing in the third sermō It shal be sufficient in this place to defend that our Lorde God hauing giuen doctours vnto the church doth found build mainteine inlarge the church by his word yea by his word only There come two things now to be cōsidered First that the church of good for y continual and constant studie of the word of God is called propheticall apostolical ye also orthodoxical For it is called prophetical or apostolical bicause by y trauell of the prophets apostles it was first builded by their doctrine is preserued euen at this time shall by it be spred abroad euē vnto the end of the world It is called Orthodoxical bicause it is soūd of iudgement opinion faith For without the church there is no true faith neither any perfect doctrine touching true vertue felicitie The faith doctrin of the church was reuealed from God him self by Adā the patriarchs by Moses the prophets by Christ and the apostles Wherby she elsewhere is named a mother whereof we will speake in the next sermon Secondarily that the succession of doctor or pastors of the church doth proue nothing of it selfe without the word of god The chāpions defenders of the papisticall churche do boast that they haue a most certein marke of the apostolique church to wit in y continuall succession of bishops cōming from S. Peter by Clemēt the first so to Clemēt y 7. to Paul y 3. who died of late so cōtinuing to Iulius y 3. not lōg agoe created Moreouer they add that al such members are cut off as do separate themselues from the church in that which only that apostolical succession is found And we do not deny but that the right succession of pastors in the primitiue church was of gret weit For thei which then were call pastors were pastors in déed executed the office of pastors But what maner of pastors they haue ben a great many yeares which of the rout of Cardinals mitred bishops sophisters haue ben caled pastors none is ignorāt but he which is altogether without any vnderstāding The Prophete Zacharie heard these words spoken to him from that lord take to thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd for loe I wil raise vp a shepheard in the lande whiche shall not looke for the thing that is lost nor seeke the tender lambs nor heale that that is hurt nor feede that that standeth vp but he shal eate the flesh of the fat and teare their hoofes in pieces Woe be to the idle shepeheard that forsaketh the flocke c. Therfore neuer a whit more do these men proue by their continuall succession of Byshops who teache not the worde of God sincerely nor execute the
Gospell that is of that whiche giueth the spirite of Christ yea which poureth it into the beléeuers but they are not preachers of the letter of the lawe which doth not giue grace and remission of sinnes but worketh wrath and bringeth sinne to light Touching the keyes and the power of the keyes there will be elsewhere a more fit place to speake And moreouer it séemeth that here is a méete place for those things which I haue disputed of in the first sermon of this Decade touching the power and ministerie of the Church Againe whereas the Lorde vseth in teaching his Church mans helpe and vs as labourers together in finishing the saluation of mankinde he sheweth most euidently howe greatly he loueth vs and howe muche he estéemeth of vs who hath layde vp so greate a treasure in earthen vessels and euen in vs our selues worketh what so euer is most excellent and ouercommeth all the highe excellencie of the world Whereby we learne againe to attribute all the glorie vnto Christ Paul againe teaching vs and saying We preache not our selues but Iesus Christe the Lorde and our selues your seruaunts for Iesus sake For it is God that commaunded the light to shine out of darknesse who hath shined in our hearts for to giue the light of knowledge of the glorie of God in the face of Iesus Christe But we haue this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellencie of the power may bee of God and not of vs Wee are afflicted on euery side yet are we not in distresse c. Moreouer all the members of the Ecclesiasticall body are wonderfully glued together by the Ecclesiasticall ministerie For this chiefly helpeth to make concorde and continue vnitie bicause we want mutuall instruction and vnto euerie Churche is one peculiar pastour appointed as a gouernour as it were some faythfull housholder gouerning and kéeping in order his whole familie Truely it can not be denyed that in time past that moste exquisite order of the tabernacle and temple and the tribe of Leuie consecrated to the priesthoode were to this ende ordeyned of God whiche as soone as that vngodly king Ieroboam throughe wicked presumption forsooke hee rent the kingdome in péeces and at the length vtterly ouerthrewe both his owne house and the whole kingdome S. Paule also speaking of the endes of the holy ministerie instituted of God doth not forget the vnitie of the Ecclesiasticall body wherevnto also he ioyneth other notable good things If any man desire his wordes they are these He instituted ministers for the gathering together of the Saintes for the woorke of the ministerie and for the edification of the body of Christe till we all meete together in the vnitie of faithe and knowledge of the sonne of god vnto a perfect man and vnto the measure of the age of the fulnesse of Christe that we henceforth be no more children wauering and carried about with euery winde of doctrine by the deceite of men and with eraftinesse whereby they lay in waite to deceiue But let vs followe the truth in loue and in all things grow vp into him which is the heade that is Christe c. These endes of the Ecclesiasticall ministerie are manifest in the preaching of the worde of god GOD hathe instituted a ministerie in the Church that all the members may be brought into the vnitie of the bodye and that they maye be subiect and cleaue to Christe their heade that thereby we may growe to be of full age and become perfect men that we be not alwayes children and that we lye not open to the deceites and bewitchings of all heretiques but being ioyned together in true faith and charitie let vs holde fast the pure and simple truth of Christe and seruing Christe vnfeignedly in this worlde we may after death reigne with him in heauen Out of these things let vs also deriue this that the Ecclesiasticall ministerie thoughe it be executed by men yet is it not of man that is to say inuented by man For the beginning thereof is from heauen and the authour or institutour thereof is God him selfe and therefore the worthinesse of it doth greatly excell The first preacher in paradise was God him selfe yea the sonne of God him selfe who by the ministerie of the holy ghoste alwayes spake to the Fathers euen as afterwardes being incarnate he was giuen of the father to be a maister and teacher to the whole worlde He preached vnto our parentes Adam and Eue remission of sinnes and repentance He ordeyued and reuealed a sacrifice insteade of a sacrament wherein might be represented ratified vnto them y price of the redemptiō promised by the séed in time couenient to be paide c. There succéeded in the ministerie Adā with his sonnes nephues Seth Enos Enoch No◠Sem Abrahā with their sonnes and nephues euen vnto Moses in whose time while he gouerned the Church and after him there are giuen Prophetes and Priestes euen vnto the time of Iohn Baptist and Iesus the promised séed I meane Christe our king and highe Prieste He in likewise sent into the worlde his disciples that is to saye the Apostles who ordeyned for their successours Byshops and Doctours Of whiche thing I haue spoken more largely in an other place God him selfe therefore is hearde in the voyce or doctrine of his ministers So that we are commaunded to giue eare to the ministers preaching the Gospell as to the verie Angels of God yea as to the Lord him selfe For this cause Paule prayseth the Galathians saying Ye despised not neyther abhorred my triall which was in the flesh but receiued me as an angel of God yea as Christe Iesus Wherevpon S. Augustine also in his third treatise vpon Iohn Let vs heare sayth he the Gospell as if the Lord were present and let vs not say Oh happie are they who could heare him bycause there were many of them which saw him and yet consented to kill him and many among vs who haue not seene and yet beleued For that also whiche sounded precious out of the mouth of the Lorde is both written for our sakes and kept for vs and is also read for our sakes and for our posterities sake shall bee read vnto the end of the world The Lord is aboue yea and the Lord whiche is the trueth is here also For the body of the Lord wherewith he rose may be in one place but his trueth is spread abroade euery where Let vs therefore heare the Lord and that also which he shal giue vs of his words Thus much he The Lord our highe prieste speaketh vnto vs euen at this day by the ministers preaching his word And we haue all things what so euer the Lorde spake by the patriarches prophets and apostles set out in the scriptures which the ministers of the churche doe reade and declare before vs Who therefore hereafter can despise the ministerie and the faithfull ministers of Christe especially since our Lord and
of God the father Here true Christiās are separated from Iewes from Turkes yea and Papistes also For they despising the sonne of God call vpon the father only without the mediation of Christ Iesus But the voice of God by the Gospel and his Apostles pronounceth against them In the Gospel we read the Lord said The father hath committed all iudgement vnto the sonne beecause that all men shuld honour the sonne euen as they honor the father He that honoureth not the sonne the same honoreth not the father which hath sent him And againe I am the way the trueth the life No man cōmeth to the father but by me And Iohn the Apostle and Euāgelist saith Who soeuer denieth the sonne the same hath not the father But these men doe not acknowledge Christ to be the only intercessour but teach the saincts in his stéed or with him ought to bee called vppon as patrones before god But the same Iohn shewing an aduocate vnto Christiās did not appoint him selfe did not lay before vs sainctes in stéed of Christ or them with Christ But saieth he wee haue an aduocate with GOD the father Iesus Christ the righteous Neither doeth Paule shewe vs any other in 1. Tim. 2. cap. and Heb. 7. cap. To the Ephesi By Christ sayth he wee haue bouldnesse entraunce with confidēce by faith in him Christ is sufficient for them that beléeue as in whom alone the father hath stoared vpp all good things commaunding vs to aske those thinges in him and by him thorough prayer These thinges are sufficient for minds not desirous of contention They that wil let them serch further in the third Sermon of the fourth Decade I haue told you who is to be prayed vnto or called vppon of the godly worshipers of God and by whome to witt God alone by the onely sonne of God our Lord Iesus Christ Let vs now sée what should stirre vp man to call vppon God surely the spirite of our God principally For prayer is rightly counted amonge the giftes of grace For neither could we earnestly nor hartily call vpon our God vnlesse we be stirred vpp and prouoked thervnto by the spirite of god For albeit the commaundement of God will vs to pray present necessitie and daunger driue vs and the example of other allure vs to pray yet all these thinges would doe nothing vnlesse the spirite inforce our minds vnto his will and guide and kéepe vs in prayer Therefore though there be many causes concurring whiche moue men to prayer yet the chiefe original of prayer is the holy Ghost to whose motion and gouernement in the entraunce of all prayers whosoeuer pray with any fruite do begge with an holy preface To this perteine these words of the holy Apostle The spirite also saith hée helpeth our infirmities For we know not what to pray as we ought but the spirite it selfe maketh requests for vs with sighes which cannot be expressed But he which searcheth the harts knoweth what is the meaning of the spirite for he maketh requests for the saincts according to the will of God. In déede the spirite of God is said to make intercession not that he in very déed prayeth groaneth but because he stirreth vp our mindes to pray and to sighe and bringeth to passe that according to the pleasure of GOD wée should make intercession or pray for the Sainctes that is to saye for oure selues But let vs consider with what abilities hée must be furnished which cōmeth of purpose to pray vnto god First it is necessarie that hée lay aside all opinion of his owne worthinesse and righteousnesse that hee acknowledge himselfe to bee a sinner and to stand in néed of all good thinges and so let him yéeld himselfe vnto the méere mercie of God desiring of the same to be filled with all things that are good For that great prophete of God Daniel saieth Wee doe not present our prayers before thee in our own righteousnes but in thy manifold mercies Also you read the like prayers offered vnto God Psal. 79. For the people of the Lord crie Helpe vs O Lord of our saluation for the glorie of thy name deliuer vs and be mercifull vnto our sinnes for thy names sake Remember not our sinnes of old make hast and let thy mercie deliuer vs. In the new Testament the Phariseie in Luke trusting in his owne righteousnesse is put by and cast off from the Lord but the Publican fréely confessing his sinnes and crauing mercie of God is heard and iustified For vnlesse we acknowledge our nakednes weakenes and pouertie who I pray you wil pray vnto God For not they that bestrong but they that bee sicke haue neede of the Physician And the Lorde in the Gospell sayth Aske and ye shal receiue knocke and it shal be opened vnto you seeke and ye shall finde Hee therfore that is commaunded to aske that he may receiue hath not as yet that he asketh he that knocketh by knocking signifieth that he standeth without doores and he whiche séeketh hathe lost that which yet he séeketh for We therefore being shut out from the ioyes of Paradise by prayer do séeke and aske for that whiche we haue lost and haue not Therefore where as Dauid and Ezechias and other saintes of God in prayer do alledge their owne righteousnes for which they séeme worthily to require to be heard truely they regarde not their owne worthinesse but rather the trueth of god He hath promised that he will heare them that worship him therfore the Godly say Beholde wee are thy worshippers therefore it is méete thou shouldest not neglect vs but deliuer vs In the meane while in other places they speake in suche sort of their righteousnesse that we cannot doubt that in their prayers they made mention of their righteousnesse with a certeine measure and limitation Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant sayth Dauid for in thy sight shal no man liuing be iustified c. Furthermore and that whiche is the chiefe of all it is needefull that they which pray must haue a true feruent faith Let the doctrine of faith therefore in the matter of prayer shewe vs lighte as the morning starr and with an assured hope to obtein of God the thing which is asked let him that prayeth make his petition Let him aske in faith sayth saint Iames nothing wauering for he that wauereth is like a waue of the Sea tost of the winde and carried with violence Neither let that man think that he shal receiue any thing of the Lord. And Paule also sayth Howe shall they call vppon him on whome they haue not beleeued I haue spoken of faith in the fourth sermon of the firste Decade But to the ende that faith may increase in iust measure flourish and continue stable we must labour in the promises and examples from euery place gathered together We will recite a fewe In the booke of Psalmes
in old time he shal not finde in â—he celebration of CircumcisioÌ„ the feast of the Passeouer sacrifices any words to haue ben spoken or pronounced wherby thei were formed as it were created sacramentes were made effectuall To which belongeth this that Iohn Baptist did not only baptise the common people without respect of person but the Lord Iesus himself also in the water of Iordane no words in the mean while béeing pronounced wherby he called drew down the heauenly grace ouer or vpon the water of baptisme Againe whiles Christe our high bishop did institute his supper in the gospell he coÌ„maunded nothing to be spokeÌ„ or pronounced by vertue of which spéech or pronuntiation the elementes might either be chaunged or the things signified béeing drawen down from heauen should be present with or ioyned to the signes but what the lord hath simply done what his wil was we should doe after what maner to what end he instituted his supper the Euangelists haue declared We read in no place that the Lord said As often as ye speake or pronounce these my wordes This is my body this is my bloud it shall come to passe by the vertue of my words that the substance of the signe shal be made void that in the same prick of time wherin the words are spoken it shâ—l begin to be the true bodie and the true bloud of the lord vnder y formes or likenesses of bread wine or that the formes or likenesses the truth of y signe remaining it shal begin at once with the bread and wine to be the very body and blood of Christ Wherfore in the pronouÌ„cing or speaking of that words of the lord in the supper there is no power or vertue either to cal down the things signified or to change that things preseÌ„t These imaginations do rather séem more to mainteine superstition than religion As though the words pronouÌ„ced according to the forme conceiued had power to call down out of heaueÌ„ to bring froÌ„ one place to another to restore health to draw to to put from or to transforme or change S. Au. reconeth vp amonge superstitions vanities those things which for remedies of diseases are tyed or fastened about the body which also physick maketh no account of whether it be in charmings or in certein signes called characters or in hanging certeine thinges about some parte of the body The place is to be séene Cap. 20. Li. De doct Christ 2. And Chrysost béeing very angry with them that hang the writeÌ„ gospel about their neck hath these words vpon Mat. 23. cha Wherin consisteth the force or power of the gospel in the forme and figure of the letters or in the vnderstanding of the meaning and sense of the same If in the forme of letters thou dost wel to hang it about thy neck but if in the vnderstanding of the meaning it is better they were laid vp in thy hart Thus saith he But there is the same reason of the figures and of the pronuntiatioÌ„ of the letters or words of the gospel For as the figure of the letters is of power to doe nothing euen so is there no force or vertue either in the pronuntiation or sounde of words Plinie an hethenish writer alledgeth many heathenish examples wherin he declareth that words are effectual but yet among other thinges which he bringeth he hath this It is a queâ—â—io 〈◊〉 he whether words or inchanting speeches are of any force but euerye one that is wise is so far from beleeuing it that euen man by man they vtterly denye it The place is to be séene Lib. 28. Cap. 2. But most worthily is the true word of God it self preferred before al these the which by Moses Deu 18. with great seueritie forbiddeth and condemneth all kinde of superstitions and inchantments I knowe what the aduersaries wil here obiect vnto me namelie that it is a blessing or consecration and not a superstition which they vse Besides this they bring many examples out of the scripture set downe in their Canonicall decrées whereby very foolishly most vnaptlie doutlesse they go about to proue that by blessing or consecration as they say the natures of the things are chaunged whervpon they also gather that the breade by the wordes of blessing or consecrating is turned into flesh Their examples are these and of this sorte The water flowing out of the rock after it was smitteÌ„ with Aarons rod the riuer Nilus turned into bloud the water at the marriage in Cana of Galile turned into wine the bitter waters of Marath chauÌ„ged into swéet water Moses his rod turned into a serpent But I beséech you what make these to the Lords supper wherwith they haue no maÌ„ner of similitude or likenes so that this must néeds be a very vnapt coÌ„parison a doltish which they make The riuer Nilus was turned into blod therfore the bread is turned into flesh the water at the mariage in Cana was changed into wine therefore the wine in the lords supper is changed into the blood of Christ For while that the water gushâ—d out of the rock when it was smitteÌ„ while the riuer Nilus was turned into blood while that water at the mariage was chaged into wine while the bitter waters of Marath becaÌ„e swéet while Moses rod was turned into a serpeÌ„t the water truly the blood the wine the swéet water the serpeÌ„t so turned chaÌ„ged were not vnder y forme or likenesse of 〈◊〉 things which they were before 〈◊〉 were they at once that whiche they were before that which thei were theÌ„ made but y water of Nilus was very bloud not water bloud together nether was there inuisible bloud vnder the visible forme of water And so standes the case also in the other examples therfore they do nothing agrée with the sacramental signes but are so farr from béeing like them that they are altogether vnlike them Moreouer who can wel tell by what pronuntiation of wordes Moses made water brust out of the hard rock turned the riuer Nilus into bloud changed the bitter waters into swéete Who knoweth what forme also of wordes the lord vsed when he changed water into wine Therefore very vnfitly do they apply these examples to their blessing or consecration changing the natures of thinges since it cannot be shewed what maner blessings y saints or holy men vsed Likewise we reade not that Moses Iosue pronouÌ„ced any wordes of blessing wherby they diuided the chanell of the Erithean sea the riuer Iordan Eliseus is read to haue vttered no words of blessing when he made y are to swim reached it out of the water by the helue In al these things the power of God did worke But we must not imagine what we list to procede from it For it is weakenes and not power which is repugnant to iustice taketh things in hande which are contrary to gods trueth But the
of the inuisible grace whiche by faithe onely is receiued Whervpon yet againe it followeth that the signe is not confounded with the thing signified but bothe of them do reteine their substance and nature distinguished What doth not the scripture expressely pithily make a difference betwéene the outward ministerie of man and God the inward worker and giuer of spirituall gyfts For Iohn Baptiste saith I baptise you with water But he Christ shall Baptise you with the holy Ghoste Wherewith agréeth that saying of Peter Baptisme saueth vs not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but in that a good conscience maketh request to God. To this nowe pertcineth that euident testimonie of saint Augustine which is read 3. Quest lib. in Leuit. Quest. 83. In these wordes Wee must diligently consider as often as he saith I the Lord which sanctifie him that he speaketh of the priest when he also spake this to Moses thou shalt sanctifie him Howe therefore doth both Moses and God also sanctifie for Moses doth not sanctifie for the Lord but Moses doeth sanctifie in the visible sacraments by his ministerie and the Lorde by inuisible grace by his holy spirit where the whole fruit of visible sacraments also is For without this sanctificatioÌ„ of inuisible grace what profite haue we by visible sacraments Thus farre August As Iohn Baptist made distinction betwéene his owne ministerie in Baptisme and the power of Christ euen so maketh he distinction betwéen the ministerie of preaching the drawing of the spirituall teacher I am saith he the voyce of a crier in the wildernes make streight the way of the Lord. And againe He that commeth from on high is aboue all he that is of the earth is earthly speaketh of the earth he that coÌ„meth from heauen is aboue all and what he hath sene and heard that he testifieth c. Saint Paule also agréeing therevnto sayth Who is Paule What is Apollos but ministers by whom ye beleeued euen as the Lorde gaue to euerie man I haue planted Apollos watered but god gaue the increase So that neither is hee that planteth any thing neither he that watereth but God that giueth the increase Albeit the comparison of ministers with the signes agrée not altogether and in euerie part which I told you before â–ª because ministers are fellowe labourers with Christ according to their office but the signes which are without life are not so vnlesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we translate vnto them that whiche is the ministers yet by other proofes I suppose it to be made plaine that the signe thing signified do reteine their natures distinguished in the sacraments These things doe specially disproue and conuince those who are persuaded of that papisticall traÌ„substantiation of bread and wine into the substance of the bodie bloud of Christe For these men vtterly denie that the breade and wine béeing consecrated in the mysteries do remaine in their owne substances For they contend that these substaÌ„ces of bread wine are annihilated turned into the verie bodie and bloud of the Lord so that after the consecration the accidents of bread and wine doe remaine and no part of the substance thereof at all For they say that the Lorde in expresse words pronounced ouer the bread wine This is my bodie This is my bloud that the Lord can easily bring to passe by his own omnipotencie that that which he said may be as he said For proofe wherof they alledge these such like places that the Lord for soothe fashioned man out of the clay of the earth by by of the rib of man made woman also turned Lots wife into a piller of salt therfore y he by the selfe same his power can make of bread his bodie of wine his bloud And these truely are their bulworkes But we in another place haue plentifully disputed of the meaning of the Lords words This is my bodie So that it is superfluous to make long repetition of them I haue also tolde you y of the omnipotencie of God we muste not gather determine whatsoeuer commeth into our braine also that Gods power doth nothing against trueth neither against it selfe and that no Godly man ought to take that in hand vnder pretence of the power of God whiche is repugnant to the plaine Scriptures and the articles of the catholique faith Now it is euident and plaine that after consecration there remaineth in the sacrament the substaÌ„ce of bread wine And herein we néed no other witnesses than our verie senses whiche perceiue sée taste and féele no other thing than bread and wine but while clay was turned into a mans bodie the ribb into a woman Lots wife into a piller of salte they were not as the sacrament of the supper that which they were before neither did there appeare vnto the senses any iotte of the clay of the ribbe of Lots wife Verie foolishly therefore and vnaptly are these examples applyed to the mysterie of the Lordes supper wherewith they nothing agrée whiche thing also we touched before The Gospel verie diligently describing the moste holy institution of the Lordes supper and the maner thereof maketh no mention of miraculous transubstantion but calleth the bread and wine whiche the Lord tooke and distributed to his disciples and which they also receiued by the names of bread wine as wel after the words of consecration as they tearme it were spoken as also before consecration Doeth not the Lorde in the 26. cha of Mat. call the wine being coÌ„secrated not wine only but the fruit of the vine after a more vehement and significatiue kinde of spéeche lest any shold be ignorant that the wine was wine in déede and so remained In Marke we reade this of the Cuppe And he tooke the Cuppe and when he had giuen thanks he gaue to them And they dranke of it and he saide vnto them This is my bloud of the new Testament c. Loe they dâ—anke all sayth he of the Cuppe before the words of consecratioÌ„ as they terme it were spoken therefore they dranke wine Nowe if so be they answere that this place of the Euangelist is to be expounded by the figure Hysteroâ—protero that is wheÌ„ any thing is declared out of order preposterously theÌ„ admitt they tropes figures in the celebration of the supper which notwithstandinge they haue contended ought simplie to bee vnderstoode without the help of tropes or figures But Paule also the Apostle in the 1. Cor. cap. 10. calleth the bread of the Lorde beeing nowe in the verie holy vse and that I may so say consecrated by the name of bread And in the 1. Cor. 11. chap. the thirde time hee calleth it bread To this apperteyneth that the Actes of the Apostles doe testifie how that the Churche of the Apostles do call the whole mysticall action The breaking of breade not The breaking of
whiche are persuaded that the sacramentall speaches are not to be expounded as figuratiue and borrowed but most properly and literally so that by that meanes the water bread and wine are not nowe signes and tokens onely of regeneration and of the body of Christe giuen and of his bloude shed for vs but regeneration it selfe and the verie substantiall body and bloude of oure Lorde Iesus For being of this opinion they are offensiue vnto the common manner both of speaking and interpreting vsed in all ages they are also repugnaunt to true fayth yea to common sense Whereby it commeth to passe that by their confounding of the signe with the thing signified they bring in a seruile weaknesse that I may vse S. Aug. words A carnall bondage For he Li. 3. de doct Ch. ca. 9. intreating of the Sacramentes of Christians sayth The Lorde him selfe and the Apostles in their doctrine haue left vs fewe thinges in steade of many and those most easie to be done most reuerend in vnderstanding and moste pure in obseruing as is baptisme and the celebration of the body and bloud of the Lorde Which Sacramentes euerie man when hee receyueth being instructed acknowledgeth wherevnto they are referred that wee should not worshippe them with carnall seruitude or bondage but rather with spirituall freedom or libertie And as to folow the letter and to take the signes in stead of the thinges which are signified by them is a point of seruile weaknesse so to expound the signes vnprofitably is a point of euill wandering error And yet he speaketh more plainly chapter 5. First of all you must beware leâ—t you take a figuratiue spech according to the letter For to this agreeth that which the Apostle saith The letter killeth but the spirite giueth life For wheÌ„ that which is figuratiuely spoken is taken as though it were spoken properly it is carnally vnderstanded Neyther is there any thing that may more agreably be termed the death of the soule then wheÌ„ that wherein we excell beasts which is vnderstanding or knowledge is made subiect to the fleshe by following the letter For he that followeth the letter vnderstandeth words translated or borrowed as proper or naturall neither doth he referre that which is signified by a proper worde to another signification but if for an example he shall here mention of the Sabbaoth he vnderstandeth it no otherwise but as one day of the seueÌ„ which by continuall course come goe And when he heareth mention made of sacrifice it wil not out of his heade but that this is ment of that whiche was wont to be done aboute offering of beastes and fruites of the earth To be shorte this is the miserable bondage of the soule to take the signes for the things them selues and not to bee able to lifte vp the eyes of the mynd aboue the bodily creature for the obteyning of euerlasting light Thus farre August By these wordes of Augustine we doe gather that they reuereÌ„ce the sacraments by spirituall libertie which neither stick to the letter neither worship and reuerence the visible thinges and elements as water breade and wine in steade of the thinges signified but being rather admonished and stirred vp by the signes they are lifted vp in their mindes to behold the things signified The same Augustine in the same booke chapter 15. teaching when and after what manner a trope or figure is to be receiued or acknowledged sayth In figuratiue speaches this manner of rule shall be kept that so long you viewe with diligent consideration what is read vntill the interpretation come vnto the rule of charitie For if it be not repugnaunt to charitie thinke not that it is a figuratiue speach And yet more plainly hee addeth in the 16. chapter following If it bee an imperatiue speache eyther forbidding any haynous offence or wicked deede or coÌ„maunding any profitable or good deede it is no figuratiue speach But if it commaund any wicked deede or forbid any deede of charitie then it is figuratiue Except ye eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and drinke his bloude ye haue no life in you Hee seemeth to commaund some horrible offence or wicked deede therefore it is a figuratiue speache commaunding vs to communicate with the passion of Christe and comfortably and profitably to lay vp in our remembraunce that his fleshe was crucified and wounded for vs The Scripture sayth If thine enimie hunger feede him Heere no man doubteth but hee commaundeth well doing but that whiche followeth For in so doing thou shalte heape coales of fire vppon his head A man would thinke that a wicked and euill deede were commaunded therefore doubt not but that it is figuratiuely spoken And so foorth All these thinges doe conuince their errour whiche interprete sacramentall speaches as proper and reiect al figures and tropes especially in the institution of the supper Neuerthelesse I am not ignoraÌ„t what they set againste this last testimonie of S. Augustin that the words of our sauiour in the sixte of Iohn doe make nothing to the interpretation of the ministration of the sacrament and therefore that the place of S. Augustine doth nothing agrée to our purpose But it is manifest that in the same booke S. Augustine disputeth of signes and of the sacramentall speaches And that is manifest also by many other places oute of S Augustine that he often alledgeth these wordes of our sauiour out of the sixte of Iohn to expounde the celebration of the supper But why doe they nothing perteyne to the celebration of the Supper Doth he speake of one body in the Supper and of an other in the 6. chap. of Iohn shal we beleue that the Lorde had and hath two bodies Our Lorde Iesus hath but one body the whiche as it profiteth nothing being eaten corporally according to S. Iohn 6. chapter euen so that body being corporally eateÌ„ doth nothing auaile according to S Mat. 26. chapter But this matter we haue elsewhere handled And of as little force is this vnsauourie obiection of theirs which is that the consequence is false when we argue thus Circumcision is the couenant the lambe is the Passoeuer Sacrifices are sinnes and sanctifications or cleansings are sacramentall speaches mysticall and figuratiue therefore this also This is my body is a mysticall and figuratiue speache For since in Sacramentes there is the like reason why may wee not frame arguments from the one to the other And that sacraments haue the like reason it is receyued of all them whiche acknowledge the trueth aright and it shall be proued hereafter to the full But if it be not lawfull to reason froÌ„ the sacraments of the olde testament and by them after a certeine comparison to interprete ours and by ours to make them plaine truely then the Apostle did not well who by a false consequent by comparison we reade to haue argued from their sacrameÌ„ts vnto ours in the 1. Cor. 10. and to the Coloss
Distinct 1. Quest 3. among other thinges at the length sayth Wee must not say by any meanes that grace is conteyned substantially in the Sacramentes as water in a vessel or as a medicine in a boxe yea to vnderstande it so it is erronious But they are saide to contein grace in that they signifie grace and because vnlesse there bee a want on the part of the receiuer grace is alwayes giuen in them so that ye must vnderstand that grace is in the soule and not in the visible signes For this cause they are called also vesselles of grace They may be also called vessels after another maner Because as that whiche is in a vessel is no parte of it neyther commeth of it and yet neuerthelesse is drawen out of it so grace commeth neither of nor by the Sacramentes but springeth from the eternall founteine and is drawne out from thence by the soule in the sacramentes And as a man when he wold haue liquor goeth streight to the vessell so he that seeketh after the liquor of grace and hathe it not must haue recourse to the sacramēts Thus farre Bonauentura who rightly referred grace vnto GOD the founteine of all good thinges I would he had also more purely and simplie sett downe the rest He also saide truely that the soule of man was the seate and receptacle of grace and of the gyftes of GOD and not thinges without sense For the holie Scripture teacheth euery where that the minde of man not any Element or whatsoeuer is forged by mans deuise is the mansion place of the grace of god and that it is not to be sought for or worshipped as included in any insensible thing If the heauen of heauens sayth Solomon be not able to conteine thee howe shoulde then this house do it that I haue builded Wherevnto the most constant martyr of Christ Stephan alluding saieth He that is highest of all dwelleth not in Temples made with handes as sayeth the prophete Heauen is my seate and earthe is my footestoole What house will ye builde for mee sayeth the Lorde or whiche is the place of my reste Hathe not my hand made all these thinges Which that great Apostle of Christe Paule following sayth God that made the world and al that are in it seeing that he is Lord of heauen and earth dwelleth not in temples made with hands neither is worshipped with mennes handes as thoughe he needed of any thing seeing he himselfe giueth to all life and breath and all thinges c. Wherevpon Christ him selfe in the Gospell speaketh more expressely The houre commeth when yee shall neither in this mounteine neither at Hierusalem worshippe the Father But the houre commeth and now is whē the true worshippers shal worship the father in spirit and truth The faithfull therefore do lifte vpp the eyes of their minde from earthly and visible thinges vnto heauenlie wherevppon our godly forefathers when they celebrated the Lords supper heard that saying repeated or soūg vnto them most agréeable to such holy mysterics Lifte vpp your hands all the people answearing together Wee lifte them vpp vnto the Lorde Doth not the verie grosse absurditie of the thing plainely proue that grace is not conteyned in the signes For if by grace you vnderstande the fauour and good will of God if pardon and forgiuenesse of sinne cleansing I saye and iustifying of the beléeuers if finallie the giftes and graces of the spirite what I pray you can be imagined more absurde and senselesse than that suche excellent thinges shoulde be kepte inclosed in water bread and wine The signes truely haue no néede of grace nor a-any pardon and forgiuenesse of sinnes To what purpose then should grace be conteined within Sacramentes What profite I pray you will redound vnto men Or who knoweth not that all the institutions GOD were ordeyned for the commoditie of man Or shall wee say that grace is therefore kepte included within the Sacramentes that from thence it might be conueyed vnto vs by chanels But the scripture speaketh not after that manner For grace as hath béene often nowe repeated is the fauour and good will of GOD whereby he him selfe not by sensible matters but of his owne accorde and thoroughe his power and might is brought vnto vs These thinges are spirituall and therefore are brought to passe by the gyft and mediation of the holy Ghost GOD is ioyned vnto vs by his spirite and we are coupled to him by faith thorough the gyfte of the holy Ghoste whiche thing in the writinges of the Euangelistes and Apostles is euerie where to be séene Moreouer the wordes of the Canon of the counsell of Nice are not to be vnderstoode after suche a grosse and rude manner Our baptisme is not to be considered with the bodily eyes but with the eyes of the minde Thou seest water weygh the heauenly force whiche lyeth hidde in the water c. For it is a Sacramentall spéeche whiche truely euery bodie at that time vnderstoode as also at this day to vs it is no new nor harde kinde of speaking to say that in the seale there is faith and trueth in a marriage ring the faith and loue of wedlocke in a Scepter and crowne the kinges authoritie For no man is so foolishe that by reason of the kinde of speeches he will affirme that the thinges them selues are conteyned and inclosed in the signes euerie man knoweth this kinde and manner of spéech To this matter also apperteineth that Iohn the Baptist baptised in the riuer Iordane that the Apostles also themselues baptised with water neither cōsecrated nor prepared with any inchauntmentes breathinges or crossinges that it might receiue the grace of God into it and make them that are baptised partakers thereof The Aethiopian in the Acts of the Apostles saw a founteine not mingled with Dyle neither consecrated with any holy charmes neither moreouer prepared with any breathinges nor putting in of waxe candles nor pictures of crosses yet neuerthelesse he said to Philip the Apostle See here is water what doth let me to be baptised But Philip required faith of him in the Lord Iesus and vpon his confession he foorthwith baptised him no consecration of the founteine first prouided for by the whiche forsoothe he might call downe the grace of the holy Ghoste and the power of regeneration into the water and forthwith might applie it to the purifying of the Aethiopian And if so be wee procéede to include the grace of GOD within the Elementes and the thinges themselues within the signes by the whiche they are represented who séeth not with howe great daunger wee shall doe the same especially among the simple sorte For vnto those we shall giue occasion of idolatrie and to cleaue vnto the visible signes of whome also they will require and aske that whiche ought to be asked of God the authour of all goodnesse with mindes lifted vpp into heauen For where as it is obiected
mingled with the wine in the cuppe the people is vnited vnto Christe and the multitude of the beleeuers is coupled and ioyned vnto him in whoÌ„ they beleeued And thus in blessing the Lords cup only water may not be offred neither in like sort may wine only For if any man offer onely wine the bloud of Christe beginneth to be without vs but if it be water only then doeth the multitude beginne to be without Christe But when they are both mingled together and are ioyned with a confused mixture betwixt them theÌ„ is there an heauenly spiritual sacrameÌ„t wrought By these words truly doth S. CypriaÌ„ shewe vnto vs a good mysterie but why doe we seeke to bee wiser than Christ and to mingle together moe mysteries than wee haue receiued of him The holy scripture maketh mention of no water but rather reporteth that the Lorde vsed nought else but meere wine For the Lord sayth Verily I say vnto you that henceforth I will drinke no more of the fruite of the vine For he plainely sayde not the wine but the fruite of the vine that herein wee shoulde make no manner of mingling But what if that the holy martyr of God himselfe Saint Cyprian hath laboured by all the meanes hee might to shewe that the only is to be followed of the faithfull in celebrating of the Lordes supper which they haue receiued of our Lord Christe himselfe And forasmuche as that testimonie doth make much to all this our treatise concerning Christes supper to be celebrated according to the words of the gospel I will recite it worde for worde out of the second epistle of the 3. book of his epistles We must not sayth he depart in any respect from the doctrine of the Gospel and those things that our maister taught did himself the scholers also ought to obserue and do The blessed Apostle in another place speaketh more coÌ„stantly and stoutly saying I meruell that you are so soone chaunged from him that called you to grace vnto another gospel which is nothing else but there besome that trouble you go about to ouerthrowe the Gospell of Christ Howbeit if we our selues or an angel from heauen do preach vnto you any other thing than that wee haue taught let him be accursed As I haue said before so say I now againe if any man preache any other thing vnto you than that whiche you haue receiued let him be accursed Since therefore neither the Apostle himselfe neither an angel from heauen can preache or teache otherwise than Christe him selfe once hathe taught and his Apostles haue preached I muche maruell from whence this custome hath growen that contrarie to the doctrine of the Gospell and the Apostles in some places water is offered in the Lords Cup whiche being taken alone caÌ„not expresse the Lords bloud And againe there is no cause déerely beloued brother that any man should thinke that the custome of certeine men is to be followed if there be any that heretofore haue supposed that water alone is to bée offered in the Lordes â—up For it must be demaunded of them whom they haue followed herein For if in the sacrifice which is christ none is to be followed but Christe doubtlesse then ought wée to hearken vnto to do after that which Christ hathe done and commaunded to bee done since he him selfe sayeth in his Gospel If you do that which I commaunde you to do I will call you no longer seruaunts but friendes And the Christ alone should be heard the Father him selfe also witnesseth from heauen saying This is my welbeloued sonne in whâ—â—e I haue delight heare him Wherefore if onely Christe is to be heard wee ought not to regard what any other before vs hath thought meete for vs to doe but what Christ did first who is before all other Neither ought we in any case to follow the custome of men but the trueth of God considering what the Lord speaketh by the prophet Isaie saying They worship me in vaine teaching the commandements doctrine of men And againe the Lord repeating the selfe same words in the gospel sayth Ye set Gods commandementes aside to establish your owne traditions And in another place he sayth He that shall breake any one of the least of these commaundementes and shal on this sort teache men shal be accounted least in the kingdome of heauen But if it be not lawful to breake the least of the commaundementes of God howe muche more heinous is it to breake thinges so greate so weightie and so muche belonging to the Lordes passion the sacrament of our redemption or else to change it into any other order by mans traditions than is instituted by God And so forth as followeth There is no man can denie but that these thinges are of authoritie euen against the authour himselfe For neither by the scriptures nor by the example of Christe can it bee proued that water was mingled with the wine at the supper As for the authorities and testimonies which the author alledgeth euery man may perceiue how litle they make to the purpose yea that they be wrested froÌ„ their naturall meaning The gospel plainly pronounceth that the Lord dranke of the fruite of the vine vnto his disciples And as often as Paule maketh mention of the cup yet teacheth hee in no place that water was mingled with the wine or that it ought to be mingled with it Wherefore these watermen that is to say they that vse water only in celebrating the Lords supper are iustly condeÌ„ned such as the Martionites and Tâ—â—tianes were Howbeit it is an indifferent matter whether you vse râ—d wine or white in the supper Againe why did not the Lord deliuer the Sacrament of the Supper vnto vs vnder one fourme of bread or wine only but rather vnder both kindes the doctours of the church by one coÌ„sent suppose this to be the cause for that he would signifie or rather testifie vnto vs that he tooke both soule flesh vpon him and gaue the same for vs and also hath deliuered our soules flesh froÌ„ euerlasting destruction For although there be 2. kinds yet do they make but one sacrament and they may not be separated Neither is their opinion of iudgemente to be allowed of who of their owne priuat or rather sacrilegious authoritie do corrupte the institution of Christ offering to the Lay people whiche do coÌ„municate the one kind only of bread graunting to priests both kinds so challenging both kinds to themselues only But Paul the Apostle receiued the authoritie from the lord himself to admit all the faithful people of Christ vnto the Lords cup and therefore let these bold fellowes consider from whome they haue receiued commaundement to put back the Layitie and to forbid them the cup whiche by the Lorde our God is graunted vnto them For Christ in plaine wordes and as it were by the spirite of prophecie foreséeing what shoulde come to passe in the Church saide
treatise of the sacramēts therefore at this presēt we will do no more but touche them briefly for memories sake meaning to handle those things somewhat more largly which shall by occasion arise as they are intreated vppon But this word Cōmunion I meane the societie cōiunction or partaking of the lord Christ by the which through his spirit he doth wholy knitt and ioyne himselfe to vs and wee are made partakers of him by faith are coupled vnto him so that being by him deliuered from sinn and death we may liue in him being made heires of euerlasting life and that hée maye liue in vs and bee wholie ours as we be wholie his Neither doe wée say that the communion of the Lords body bloud is any thing else For by his body which was deliuered ouer to death for vs and by his bloud whiche was shed for the remission of our sinns it is come to passe that we being purged from oure sinnes are made his members and he now quickeneth vs and susteineth vs as food which giueth life wherevppon wee are also said to eate and drinke him as the meate and drinke of life The promise therefore wherof we made mention euen now is none other than the woord of God which declareth vnto vs that life is in Christ only For Christ deliuered his body to the death and shedd his bloud for the remission of our sinnes that we beléeuing in him maye haue life euerlasting But this promise communion of Christ is not nowe first of all giuen in the supper or by the supper For the Lord our God immediatly after the creatiō of the world promised life and remission of sinnes vnto Adam his séed through Christ afterward renued the same promise w Noe Abraham Moses Dauid and the other fathers And that the fathers did communicate with Christ were partakers of his goodnes Paul the Apostle w the whole scripture is a witnes But this so great goodnes happened not to the fathers onely For the promise was made vnto vs also and the communion of Christ was conueyed vnto vs is conueyed particularly vnto euery one of vs in holy baptisme also in the manifest preaching of the Gospel moreouer we receiue the same by faith by which we are ioyned to Christ and are made his members Therfore as we are not void without Christ before the supper but are quickened by him made his members or partners so in the verye action or celebration of the supper the promise is renued vnto vs and we renue continue that fellowship which we haue with Christ by the body and bloud of Christe spiritually truly participating his life and all his good giftes through faith And by this meanes we eate the Lords body and drinke his bloud Moreouer the Lord doth visibly declare scale vnto vs the spirituall cōmunion promise of life made through Christ by visible signes to wit the banquet of bread and wine ioyned to his word or promise namely that he is the quickening bread and drinke that we hauing receiued the signes by faith and obedience beeing therto sealed do take vppon vs the promise communion of Christe by imprinting or transferring into our bodies the seale or sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ Of which thing the Apostle hath also intreated in the first Corinth cap. 10. And also to the Rom. cap. 4. we also haue said more thereof in the generall treatise of the sacraments But before I intreate further of other ends of the supper consisting in the description thereof I wil recite what othersome allege of the promise and communion of Christ They condemne our doctrine as hereticall For they contend that the lord promised the hee would giue vnto the faithfull his very body bloud to be eaten dronken vnder the forme of bread wine therfore it must by al meanes and without al contradiction be beléeued that the bread is the Lords naturall body and the wine his bloud that these ought to be eaten and dronken not only spiritually but also corporally vnto life euerlasting And that Christ is bodily present in the supper and the the bread is his body the wine his bloud thus they proue That which the lord speaketh cānot be false for he is the trueth it selfe But he saith that the bread is his body the wine his bloud Therefore the bread and wine of the sacrament are verily really and essentially the body bloud of Christ Whiche trueth they say must simply he beléeued although reason it selfe the whole world all senses and nature it selfe be against it We answere the in déede all things are very true which the Lord hath spoken who is truth it selfe but in that sense which he himself said and vnderstood not in that meaning which we wil inforce vpō his words Wherfore before all things we must search out the true sense of the Lords words in the supper This is my body This is my bloud c. These men crye out saying that the Lords words ought to be expounded simply according to the letter For they are wordes of the testament and the same would not haue his words to be taken by a trope of figure But wee say that all the Euangelical and apostolical bookes are numbered vnder the name of the testament therefore throughout all and euery place of the Scripture nothing must be corrupted nothing added nothing taken away vnlesse we will be subiect to the curse Wée are also constreined to confesse that there be infinite sentences in the holy scripturs which if we will procéede to expound simply according to the letter we shall ouerthrow the whole scripture the true faith or we shall séeme to goe about to reproue the scriptures of lyes or contradictiō I wil bring forth one of two examples of this sort The Euāgelist S. John writeth The word became flesh Now if we wil cleaue to the very words then must we say that God was chaunged into man But forasmuch as this sense is contrary to the faith and the scriptures For God is immutable and Christ is perfect God and man without all mingling or conuerting of naturs but remayning stil in their ownepropertics and so do we admit this exposition which declareth that the word toke flesh and that God was made man And this sense is not against scripture For Paul saith that the sonne of God neuer toke vpon him the nature of angels but the séede of Abraham And therefore the eatholique fathers together with the apostle doe expoūd this word Est is by this word Assumpsit toke vppon him Whereof Theodoret hath intreated at large in his Polymorphus Dialog 1. Againe the Lord saith in the same John The father is greater than I we should make an inequalitie in adoring the Trinitie if wee should contend that the Lordes words are simply to be vnderstood without interpretation But by cōference of other
places taking aduise of faith we say that the sonne is equall with the father touching his diuinitie but inferiour vnto him in respect of his humanitie according to that saying of the prophete which is alleged by the Apostle to that purpose Thou hast made him litle inferiour to the angels We read in the Eospell that Christ our lord had brethren and that S. John the Apostle was called the sonn of Marie Marie called the mother of John. But who vnlesse he were infected with the heresie of Heluidius wil stand herein that these places are to be expounded according to the letter specially since other places of the scripture do manifestly proue that they were called brethren which in déede were brothers sisters children cousen germans kinsmen or néere of bloud also the circumstāces of the place in the 19. cap. of S. John proue that Marie was committed to John as a mother to her sonne Wherefore if they haue a desire stil to wrangle as hetherto at their owne pleasures wee haue by proofe founde them to doe crying out and in crying to repeate This is my bodie This is my bloud This is This is This is This is Is Is Is Wée will also repeate The woord was made was made was made flesh The father is is is greater than I. Christ hath brethren I say he hath brethren hee hath brethren The scripture hath so The trueth sayeth so But tell mee nowe what commoditie shal there redound to the Church by these troublesome odious outcries and most froward contentions Howe shall the hearers be edified Howe shal the glorie of God be enlarged How shal that truth be set forth Necessitie therfore cōstreyneth vs to confesse that in some places wée must forsake the letter but not the sense and that sense is to be allowed which faith it selfe w other places of scripture conferred with it and finally the circumstances of the place the first being compared with the last do yeld as it were of their owne accord Howbeit we also cry out and repeate againe and againe that we ought not without great cause to goe from the simplicitie of the word But when as the absurditie not of reason but of pietie and the repugnancie of the Scriptures and contrarietie to the articles of oure faith doe inforce vs then we say affirme and cōtend that it is godly yea necessarie to departe from the letter and from the simplicitie of the words And that these places which we alledged euen now doe constreine vs to depart from the letter in these words of the Lord This is my bodie This is my bloud wée will proue by most sound arguments taken out of the sciptures when I haue first briefly declared the true auncient sense meaning of those vsuall and solemne words The Lord sitting at the selfe same table with his disciples reached the bread vnto them with his owne hand And he hauing only one true humane and natural body with the very same bodie of his deliuered bread vnto his disciples and not a body either of any other mans or that of his owne Neither doeth that trouble vs whiche S. Augustine reciteth of Dauid in expounding the 33. Psalm And he was borne in his owne hands where vnto he addeth immediatly Who is borne in his owne handes A man may bee borne in the hands of other men but none can be borne in his owne This is therefore ment of Dauid not of Christ For Christe was borne in his owne handes when as commending his very body vnto them he said This is my body For that body was borne in his owne handes For by these wordes S. Augustine doth not feigne that Christ hath two humane bodies but he meaneth that the humane body bare in his handes the Sacramentall bodie that is to say the bread which is the sacrament of the true body For he speaketh plainely saying He cōmending his body bare that body in his owne hands For in the second sermon almost in the same words being but a litle chaunged he saith How was he borne in his owne hands For whē he had commended his body bloud he toke that in his handes whiche the faithful know and after a sort he bare himselfe when he said This is my bodie By which words he manifestly de clared that he ment not that Christ in his naturall body deliuered his naturall body to his disciples but the which the faithful do know to wit the sacrament or mysterie For it followeth And hee bare himselfe after a sort I pray you marke this saying After a sort when hee said this is my body Wherfore those solemne words This is my body whiche is broken for you And likewise this is my bloud which is shedd for you can haue none other sense thā this This is a cōmemoration memoriall or remembrance signe or sacrament of my bodie which is giuen for you This cup or rather the wine in the cup signifieth or representeth vnto you my bloud whiche was once shed for you For there followeth in the Lords solemne words that which notably confirmeth this meaning Do this in the remēbrance of me As if he should say Now am I present with you before your eyes I shall die ascend vp into heauen then shall this holy bread wine be a memorial or token of my body and bloud giuen shed for you Then breake the bread eate it distribute the cup and drink it and do this in the remembrance of me praysing my benefits bestowed on you in redéeming you giuing you life Althoughe this interpretation bee most slaunderously reuiled and become abhominable in the sight of many yet is it manifest to be the true proper and most auncient interpretation of all other Tertul. lib. 4. contra Mart. saith Christ taking the bread and distributing it to his disciples made it his bodie in saying This is my body that is to say the figure of my bodie Hierom vpon S. Matt. Gospel saith That like as in the prefiguring of Christ Melchisedech the priest of almightie God had done in bringing forth bread wine so he might represent the truth of his bodie Chrysostome also in his 83. homilie vpon Matt. If Iesus be not dead saith he whose token signe is this sacrifice Ambrose vppon the first to the Corinthians cap. 11. Because wee be deliuered by the Lords death saith he being mindeful thereof in eating drinking we do signifie the flesh and the bloud whiche were offered for vs Au. Aug. also in many places heapeth vpp many speaches like to this same kind of speach The bloud is the soule The rock was Christ And This is my body Let vs heare then what he saith of these speaches that we may vnderstand what he thinketh of the true interpretation of this text This is my body In the 3. booke of Questions in the 57. question vppon Leuiticus hee saith It remayneth that that be called the soule whiche signifieth the
all that is their owne For if this their mysterie be vnspeakable why then do they vse these termes essentially substantially really corporally For they that speake so doe â—â—ter truly and set down the manner of his presence If the bread be supâ—rnaturally the body of Christ why thâ—â— do they ad naturally And if the bread be Christes bodie inuisibly then can it not be corporally neither can it be a true body whose propertie is to be visible Who would not laugh if hee should heare that fire burnt and gaue no heate and that light did shine and gaue no light If he be not present in qualitie quantitie and as in a place then is he not corporally present For I pray you are not qualities quantities and place belonging to the body Hearken what Augustine saith vnto Dardanus touching the presence of God Take saith he space of place froÌ„ bodies and they shal be no where and because they shal bee no where they shal not be at al. Take the bodies theÌ„selues from the qualities of bodies they shal be no where and therfore it must needes be they cannot be at all Let not vs therfore robb or spoile the Lords bodie of the properties thereof and so denie the trueth of his bodie Againe that we bring not so many contrary and absurd things into one and the same opinion we interprete the words of the Lord This is my bodie this is a memorall or remembrance of my body or else This signifieth my body Moreouer if this word Est Is be to bée vnderstoode substantiuely in the Lordes words This is my body it followeth then that the breade is chaunged into Christes body But that this is not so all our senses doe witnesse the verie substance remayning not onely the accidentes of the breade It is necessarie therefore that our aduersaries doe vnderstand that in this with this or vnder this is Christes body But so are they gone from the simplicitie of the Lordes wordes who sayde This is my body and not vnder this is my body Againe if we we be so tyed to the words aboue recited that vpon paine of sacrilege we may not starte from them an haires breadth I beséeche you then how durst Luke and Paule recite the words which belong to the cup farre otherwise than Matthewe and Marke For these two doe sette downe the wordes belonging to the cup in this sorte This is my bloude which is of the new Testament whiche is shead for manye for remission of their sinnes But they two recite them thus This cup beeing the newe Testament through my bloud whiche is shead for you And This cuppe is the newe Testament in my bloud But shal we thinke that there is no difference betwéene the bloude of Christe and the newe Testament S. Paule defineth the newe Testament after Ieremie to be a full remission of all sinnes And the self same sayth that this remission of sinnes is obteined through the bloud of Christ But who will so impudently contend as will dare to affirme that the verie cup or the wine in the cup is really and substantially the remission of sinnes What cause is there if wee holde on and sticke precisely to the letter why we should be forced to confesse that the cuppe not the wine nor the drinke is eyther the bloude of Christ eyther the newe Testament or the remission of sinnes For the Lord sayth not This wine but This cup. Howbeit in this place to avoyde absurditie wee willingly admitte a trope wherfore theÌ„ are we not indiffereÌ„t in a matter of equal importaÌ„ce Therfore like as the cup or the wine is the Testament or remission of sinnes so likewise the cup or the wine is Christes bloude and in like maner also the breade is Christes body But the cup is not substantially the remissioÌ„ of sinnes or bloud but the sacrament of Christes bloude whereby the new Testament was dedicated full remission of sinnes obteyned for vs therefore the breade is the bodye of Christe bycause it is the sacramente of the body of Christ Surely it is a strong and firme argumente that wee haue brought foorth and of no lesse force and strengthe we hope is that behinde whiche we will nowe bring foorth The Lord at the celebrating of the holy supper sayth Doe ye this in the remeÌ„brance of me These wordes do not import that we should determine them to be really present whome we ought to remember For who shall be sayde to remember those things which he beholdeth before him in presence But we must not goe from the simple signification of remembrance or memorie specially since Paule sayth Declare the Lords death vntill he come For thus wee gather thereby Hee whose remembrance is repeated vntill hee come or returne hee surely is not counted to be present but is looked for to come therfore the Lords body which was giuen for vs the remembraunce whereof is celebrated in the mysticall Supper is not present but is looked for to come Now those places touching Christes leauing the world and departing hence doe not simply admit the interpretation of the words of the supper It is expedient for you saith he that I depart For if I goe not away the coÌ„forter shal not come vnto you But if I depart from you then will I send him vnto you Also I went from the father and came into the worlde Againe I leaue the world and go to the father And againe And hencefoorth I am not in the worlde but these are in the worlde and I come vnto thee These sayinges truely are repugnaunt That he went hence That he is no longer in the world That he left the worlde and that his natural body is in the world and that verily it is giuen and receyued really and substantially in the Supper Neyther is it lawfull figuratiuely to interpret the testimonies whiche are brought foorth of Sainte Iohns Gospel concerning Christes departure For the Apostles doe confesse that the Lord spake plainely or simply without any parable In so much therefore as the Apostles do testifie that this speach of the Lord was simple and simply pronounced it is needeful that those other wordes whiche are contrarie vnto these This is my body be expounded by a figure that the Scripture be not repugnant Moreouer those places whiche to it selfe beare recorde that Christes bodie after the resurrection was circumscribed by place seene and felt which also doe make a difference betwéene Christes body clarified and the angelicall spirites where by the way we may sée that here is no place left for the deuice of the definitiue meane do not admit the bare interpretation of the solemne wordes of the Lorde The Angels say He is risen he is not here Beholde the place where they layde him Also He shall goe before you into Galilee there shall you see him And againe he him selfe saythe to his disciples Feele me and see A spirite hath not fleshe and bones as you see mee haue
laide not a side his true and very body 2. Cor. 5. Philip. 3. Christ â—ath a reasoâ—able soule Matth. â—0 Matth. 26. Iohn 12. Luke 22. Luke 9. The hereticall error and the sounde truethe touchinge the mysterie of Christes â—ncarnation * Aprouer biall kind of speache whereby is meante that in avoyding a lesse error he fall into a greater Of the vnitinge of Chrste his Godhead and manhood Iohn 1. â— Tim. 3. Heb. 2. Heb. 2. Christ reteineth both natures vnmeddled or vnconfounded to gether 〈◊〉 7. â—sai 9. 〈◊〉 5. Matth. 22 Psal. 110. Luke 1. Iohn 14. Marke 14. Matth. 28. Rom. 1. The Natures in Christ are not mingled or coÌ„founded Christe in one persoÌ„ remaineth vndiuided 1. Cor. 2. Actes 20. Of communicatinge of â—â—opeâ—ties Iohn 3. Heb. 2. Iohn 6. Iohn 20. The person of Christ is not diuided Matth. 8. Marke 16. Actes 1. Actes 8. Christ is king of al. Gene. 3. Luke 11. Colos 1. 2. Pet. 2. Matth. 21. Christ is a monarche Psal. 2. Psal. 110. Esai 49. Isai 16. Ierem. 23 Of the kingdome of God. Mich. 4. Rom. 24. Matth. 25. Luke 23. The kingâ—ome of God which 〈◊〉 one iâ—â—wo waiâ— â–ª â—â—nfidereâ— Gods kingdome of grace in â—arth Pro. 24. 1. Sam. 7. Howe Canst reigâ—etâ— on 〈◊〉 in â—is kingâ—ome â—poc 1. The spiritual kingdome of God. Iohn 18. The â—ounds of Christes kingdome â—n earth The seate of our King Christe 〈◊〉 1. Ephe. 5. Gods kingdome of glorie in heauen Apoc. 21. 22. The kingdome of Christe is in euerlastinge kingdome Matth. 16 Matth. 24 Dan. 7. Matth. 6. The kingdome of the world what maÌ„ner of one it is Iohn 12. 2. Cor. 4. 1. Iohn 3. Christ Ieâ—us the â—â—gh pries â–ª Psal 110. Heb. 6. Hebr. 7. Gen. 14. Hebr. 5. Psal. â— Christ is aÌ„noynted Psal. 45. Esai 61. Howe Christ our priest doth the offices of a priest Christ the teacher of the church Christ maketh intercession Christ blesseth Christ sacrificeth Christ sanâ—â—ifieth Iohn 7. Iohn 17. Of Christs priesthood Heb. 8. Heb. 13. 1. Iohn 2. Esai 4 4. Hebâ— 5. Iohn 16. Heb. 9. Heb. 10. Apoc. 1. 1. Pet. 2. Of the name of a Christian Christians are kinge and priests Christians are kinge Rom. 6. I. Iohn 5. Christians are priests Heb. 3. Heb. 13. The name of a Christian moste auncient There are but fewe Christians Esa. 66. Matth. 7. A gainste false Christians The conclusion The word Spirit is â—â—pounded Spirit is â—ayer or 〈◊〉 Iohn 3. 1. Cor. 14. Spirit signifieth an Angel. Psal. 104. Hebr. 1. Spirit signifieth life Psal. 145. 104. Gene. 6. Spirit signifieth the soule of man. Luke 23. Iohn 19. Actes 7. Eccle. 12. Spirit signifieth affection of minde Spirit signifieth spiritual motions Rom. 2. 2. Cor. 3. Spirit â—ignifieth reuelation 1. Iohn 4. Iohn 4. What the holy ghosâ— is That the â—olyghost 〈◊〉 verie God. 1. Cor. 13. 1. Cor. 12. Matth. 28. ob 25. Luke 1. 2. Pet. 1. Actes 5. 1. Cor. 3. 1. Cor. 6 1. Cor. 12. The holy ghost is neither minister â—or instrument The holie ghost is a substance not an accident Rom. 8. Gal. 5. Of the proceeding of the holie ghoste The holie ghost procedeth froÌ„ the father and the sonne Gal. 4. Matth. 10. Iohn 15. Iohn 14. Iohn 15. Iohn 5. The proceeding of the holie ghost is two-fouldor of twoe sortes Temporal proceding Eternall proceding Looke in the. 3. Sermon of this decade about the beginning 1 Pet. 1. 2. Cor. 4. â—ncreasinges of the spirite 4. Reg. 2. Iohn â— Matth. 13. 1. Sam. 16. Psal. 51. Of the effect and power of the holie ghost The holie ghost The holie ghost is the Spirite of God aâ—d of the sonne 1. Cor. 3. Rom. 8. The holâ—e ghost is the comforter Iohn 14. The holiâ— ghoste is a comforter giueth ioye and gladnesse The holie ghost is the Spirite of trueth Iohn 16. Iohn 14. The Spirit of promise Gal. 3. The holie ghost the singer of god Luke 11. Exod. 8. Looke in the. 3. Sermon of this decad what things are spoken against the heretiques called the Anthropomorphites The spirit is called water and a liuely founteine Esai 44. Iohn 7. The holie ghost is fire The holie ghost a mightie winde The holie ghost a fiâ—ie tongue The holie ghost a loue Matth. 3. â—sai 53. â—ohn â— Actes 8. â—api 7. The holie ghost oyle and aÌ„noyning 1. Iohn 2. Iere. 31. Hebr. 8. 2. Cor. 1. The holy ghost is the earnest of our inheritance Ephe. 1. 1. Iohn 4. 1. Iohn 3. The holie ghost loue or charity Rom. 5. The operations of the holie ghost Isai 1â— Wisdome VnderstaÌ„ding Counsell Strength Knowledg Feare Rom. 8. The spirit doth morâ—fie and quicken The spirit â—r holie ghost reuealeth â—he mysteries of the â—ingdome of God. 1. Cor. 2. Iohn 16. The spirite foresheweth thinges to come Actes 11. The diuers giftes of the holy ghost Gal. 5. Tertullians notatable treatise of the holy ghost Isai 11. Isai 6â— Psal. 54. Rom. 8. â— Cor. 3. Rom. 8. 1. Cor. 7. 1. Cor. 14. 1. Tim. 4. 1. Cor. 12. Mark. 3. A summe of the vnitie and Trinitie of God. Aâ— angel â—al 2 3. 1. Cor. 11. â— Pet. 2. 1. Cor. 6. â— Cor. 12. That there are angels Actes 23. Matth. 22. A. Steuchus in his 6. and. 8. booke de perenni philosophia What Angels are That Angels are created Heb 1. Coloss 1. When Angels were created Angels are Substances Heb. 1. Matth. 22. Hebr. 2. What maÌ„ner of Substances angels are Psal. 104 â–ª Bodily SubstaÌ„ces What bodies are taken of Angels Angels are incorruptible Matth. 22. 1. Cor. 15. Luke 20. Angels are moste free swifte and speedie Actes 5. Actes 1â— Iohn 5. Luk. 23. 16. Dan. 9. The strength of Angels Dan. 10. The knowledge of Angels Of the multitude and order of Angels Dan. 7. Matth. 26 Hebr. 12. The exposition of names giuen to Angels Angels Archangels 1. Thes 4. Thrones or Seates Psal. 18. Lordships Principalities Powers Cherubim Seraphim God vseth the ministerie of Angels Psal. 103. Exod. 19. Dâ—uâ— 5. Actes 10. Luke 15. Zacha â–ª 1. What the ministeries of angels are Esai â— Ezech. 3. Luke 2. 1. Pet. 1. Matth. 13. Luke 1. Matth. 2. Luke 22. Gen. 16. Actes 17. Exod. 12. Actes 12. 4. Reg. 19. 2. Reg. 24. 2. thess. 1. Apoc. 16. Psal. 34. Psal. 91. Matth. 18. Gen. 32. 4. Reg. 6. * Seruants Gene. 24. Exod. 34. 〈◊〉 10. â—an 4. We muste â—ot attribute too much vnto Angels Sainctes wil not be worshipped of vs. Actes 7. Gen. 16. Actes 27. Apoc. 22. The worâ—hippinge â—f Angels greatly coÌ„demned Marke what he thinketh of the temple builte to S. Michael in Mount Garganuâ— Of euill spirites That there are diuels What the diuel is That the diuel is a creature The diuel was not created euil Of the fall of Angels from heauen Iob. 4. 2. Pet. 2. Iohn â— Isai 14. Ezech. 2â— The diuel is euerlastingly coÌ„demned Maâ—th 25. Mark 9. Iohn 5. Daâ— â—2 Apoc. 20. Diuels are spirits and