recorde that they haue the zeale of God but not according to knowledge they haue the care and feare of God they are zelous in their doings they haue deuotion they pretend conscience they think they do wel and that they please God When they professed themselues to be wise they became fooles They knew not what they did for if they had knowlege they wold neuer haue crucified the Lorde of glorie But they knowe not the trueth of God they know not God they are caried away in y ◠vanity of their own hart Their prayers are no prayers The truth they holde is falshoode their faith is no faith they are shéepe without a shephearde Thus we haue heard what we are and in what place Nowe let vs sée what enemies bende their force against vs. We fight against the gates of hell with the Diuell the prince of darkenesse the father of lies with the Diuel which hath power ouer the children of disobedience by whose malice death came into the world Euen that Diuel bendeth his force against vs which deceiued Adam in Paradise which hath deceiued the learned Philosophers and beguiled the Princes and wisemē and the worthies of the world Which doth abuse and entice our hands our eyes our learning our wit and our owne heart to deceiue vs. He rampeth as a Lion and raungeth ouer the worlde séeking whom he may deuour This is his delite and studie Hée hath bene a murtherer from the beginning If this were euer true at any time our times haue founde it most true We are they vpon whom y e ends of y e world are come Nowe is this Scripture fulfilled in our eares Now sée we the dayes whereof Christ warned his disciples so earnestly They shal say Loe here is Christ and there is Christ This is the truth that is the truth There shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall deceiue many they shal betray the truth Many shal be offended by them if it were possible the verie elect They whose names are written in y e booke of life shold be deceiued And except those dayes should bee shortned there should no flesh be saued but for the elects sake those dayes shal be shortned The sun shalbe darkned the moone shal not giue hir light The sun is the word of God the moone signifieth the Church The powers of heauē shal be moued all the kinreds of the earth shal mourn Abhomination of desolatiō shal stand in the holy place Let him that readeth consider it This is the mysterie of iniquitie of which S. Paul speaketh to the Thessalonians Which worketh among them that perish Thus are we forewarned God hath giuen vs his worde to aduise vs that we be not caste awaye vnawares They that walk in the darke know not whether they go if the blinde leade the blinde both fall into the ditch he that is ignorant shal not be knowen Christ shall say vnto him I knowe you not departe from mée yée curssed into euerlasting fire Their worme shall not die and their fire shal not be put out In this case what shal a godly disposed simple man do How shall he settle himselfe To which fide may he safelye ioine himselfe If he make reconing of learning there are learned men on both sides if he make reconing of vertue and godly life there be vertuous men and of godly life on both sides if he make reconing of zeale either side is zelous in y ◠religion they hold if he make reconing of y e name of y e Church they take it as wel to the one side as to the other if he make reconing of the multitude there are many on either side but neither side hath so many as hath the Turke Whether then may a man turne himselfe and to which side may he safely ioine In this case we find the comfort and profite of the word of God In this case S. Paule telleth vs whatsoeuer things are writtē aforetime are written for our learning to lighten our eyes to resolue our doubts and to guide our féete This lighte God hathe kindled in his mercie to lighten them that sit in darkenesse Except he had left vs a sparkle of this light we hadde perished becom like to Sodoma Gomorrha Dauid saith Thy word is a Lantern to my pathes and a light to my feete By it I may sée the way which is before me by it I can escape danger and by it I can kéepe the path wherein I ought to walk When Christ perceiued that the Capernaites the Iewes misliked his doctrine went back walked no more with him he said to y e xij Wil ye also go away You are my disciples whō I haue chosen out of this world wil you also go away Simō Peter answered him Maister to whō shal we go thou hast the word of eternal life If we forsake thée who shall instruct vs thy word is the word of eternall life With this word Christ cōfounded the Scribes and Phariseis and put them to silence Yee reiect saith hée the commaundement of God that yee may obserue your owne tradition For Moses said Honor thy father and thy mother whosoeuer shall curse father or mother let him die the death But ye say if a man say to father or mother Corbam that is by the gifte that is offered by mee thou maiest haue profite he shalbe free With this word he confounded them for misusing of the Temple by buying selling It is written mine house shall bee called the house of praier but yee haue made it a denne of theeues With this worde he put them to silence confounded their error in y ◠they thought it lawfull for a man to put away his wife for euerie fault From the beginning it was not so With this worde he confounded the Diuel and chased him from him It is written man shall not liue by breade onely but by euery word that procedeth out of the mouth of God And againe It is written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God And againe It is written thou shalt worshippe the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue This word confounded the Arians all sects of heretiks What is become of Marcion of Nestorius of Valentinu◠of Menander of Sabellius of Eutyches and others they are blowen away as smoke before the winde the word of God hath confounded them and beat them away As Dagon fell and brake his hands and necke and coulde not stande in the presence of the Arke of the Lord euen so shall all falshode fall and hide it selfe in the presence of the truth of God As the Rod of Moses deuoured the Rods of the Charmers as the beames of the Sunne driue away and consume darknesse so shal the word of God chase away errors When the two Disciples walked by the way with Christ they said betwéene thēselues after their eyes were opened that they knew him
Martyr certaine men fit for that purpose and haue sent them ouer the world to go about say there is a wicked heresie of the Christians sprung vp Euen so it liketh the Pope to speake of them which be in auctoritie among vs and calleth them Heretiques God forbid his mouth shoulde be a sclander all be Heretiques whom he so calleth Then as many as reprooue his errors and refuse to fall downe and worship him shall be Heretiques They spare not to say so Qui Romanae Ecclesiae Priuilegium auferre conatur hic procul dubio labitur in haresim He doubtlesse falleth into heresie which goeth aboute to take away the priuiledge of the Churche of Rome But Heresie is an other matter An Heretique is he which denyeth the Articles of our Christian faith We deny thē not no not any one article We hold the Créede of the Apostles and of the Nicene Councell and of Athanasius We holde all the Scriptures of the olde and newe Testament We holde all the auntient Councelles We holde all the auntient Fathers Augustine Ambrose Chrysostome c. We condemne all Heresies which our Fathers condemned This is our profession and yet notwithstanding doeth the Pope lightly and rashly giue sentence against vs of Heresie But let him take héede least whiles he calleth others Heretiques and reconeth not the causes wherefore his Arrowe which he hath shot vp fall vpon his own head and he fall into the pit he hath digged for others Yet there remaineth one pretence more against hir Maiestie ad quam velut ad asylum omnium infestissimi perfugium inuenerunt Vnto whome all suche as are the worst of the people resort and are by hir receiued into safe protection Is it not lawfull for the Queene to receiue straungers without the Popes warrāt This he speaketh of the pore exiles of Flaunders and Fraunce and other Countries who either lost or left behind them all that they had goodes landes and houses not for adulterie or theft or treason but for the profession of the Gospell It pleased God here to caste them on land the Queene of hir gratious pitie hathe graunted them harbour Is it become so hainous a thing to shew mercie GOD willed the children of Israel to loue the stranger bicause they were straungers in the land of Egipt He that sheweth mercie shall find mercie If God shal turne his hand thou maist be in case of pouertie and banishment as wel as they I am not a Prophet nor the sonne of a Prophet but I doubte the time will come when men shall looke for the Pope at Rome and not finde him His seate shall be remoued he shall not be there Then shal he know what it is to be a stranger He whiche deuoureth shall be deuoured But what is the number of such who haue come in vnto vs Are they thrée or foure thousand Thanks be to God this Realme is able to receiue them if the number be greater You may remember what other straungers arriued within these parts not long sithence These are fewe they were many These are pore miserable they wer lofty proud These are naked they were armed These are spoiled by others they came to spoile vs These are driuen frō their country they came to driue vs from our coūtry These to saue their liues they came to haue our liues The difference is greate béetwéene these strangers If we were content to beare them then nowe let it not grieue vs to beare these It is the commaundement of God that wee loue the stranger yet a Prince that doth it shall abide the Popes controlment He himselfe is good to them and spareth the liberties of his Citie to some number and of worse condition For besides those which resorte thither oute of Englande Germanie Fraunce Spaine c. he giueth harbour to 6000. Iewes which liue by vsurie and pay him yearely pensions He alloweth in his Citie of Rom◠20000. Courteghians or common women This was the old reconing It may be the number is nowe improued All these liue by filthinesse and yéelds hym therefore a pension of 30000. Ducates If the Pope may maintaine so many thousand adultereres harlots Iewes and enimies of the crosse of Christ why may not Queene Elizabeth receiue a fewe afflicted members of Christ which are compelled to carie his crosse If it be no fault in him to receiue so many seruants of the Diuel why may not Queene Elizabeth receiue a fewe seruants of God Whome when he thought good to bring safely by the daungers of the sea and to set in at our hauens shoulde we cruelly haue driuen them back again or drowne them or hang them or sterue them Woulde the Uicar of Christ giue this counsel or if a King receiue such giue them succour must he therfore be depriued they are our brethren they liue not idlely If they haue houses of vs they pay rent for them They holde not our grounds but by making due recompēce They begge not in our streets nor craue any thing at our handes but to breath our aire and to sée our Sunne They labour truely they liue sparefully They are good examples of vertue trauel faith and patience The townes in which they abide are happy for God doth folow thē with his blessings Thus haue I opened 19. vntruthes all packed in this Bul. If I woulde haue béen curious or quarelous I might haue gathered twice so many But I haue no pleasure to passe farther in them God and man heauen and earth knowe they are vntrue I may say to Pope Pius thou sonne of man howe long wilt thou blaspheme the honour of God Why hast thou such pleasure in vanitie and séekest after leasing What opinion hath hee of our nation Doeth he thinke we are so simple to bee ledde in a masket with so vaine fables Doth he thinke wee haue neither eyes to sée nor heartes to iudge Doth he thinke his bare word wil go for Gospel Woulde he write thus if hée thought there were a God If he deceiue vs in these earthly thinges which we sée with our eyes no reason we credit him in heauenly things Christ is the trueth It becommeth not his Uicar to speake falsehood Now let vs examine how he wresteth corrupteth the Scriptures of God how he giueth vs a false interpretation corrupteth them In his whole Bul he hath one only place out of the Scripture only one place I say and no more the same he setteth downe to mainteine his owne authoritie to vphold his power wherby he setteth vp deposeth the Kings Princes and states of the worlde The words be y e first Chapter of Ieremie Behold this day haue I set thee ouer the nations and ouer the kingdomes to pluck vp and to roote out and to destroy and throw downe to build to plant If hée abuse this place of Scripture which hée hath aduisedly chosē sent ouer to make thereby some shew
people were changed the Temples and Sacrifices and Praiers were chaunged mens eyes and heartes were chaunged They forsooke their Gods their Kings their Priests they forsooke their antiquity customes consent their Fathers and themselues What power was able to work these things What Emperour by force euer preuailed so much what strength could euer shake down so mightie idols from their seate What hand of man could subdue and coÌ„quer the whole world make such mighty nations confesse they had done amisse This did the Lord bring to passe by the power of his word and the breath of his mouth This was it y t lead captiuiâ—ie captiue threw downe euery high thing that lifted it self vp against the Lorde brought all powers vnder subiection vnto the Lord It is the image the power the arme y e sword and the glorie of God It is mightie of great force and vertue of authoritie and maiestie because it is the worde of God therefore the glorie thereof is great Now let vs stand a farre of and humble our selues and in reuerence and feare learne to take the fruite and comfort of the same for so is the wil of God that we may be partakers of his glorie But where shal we finde enterance into this matter And howe shall we bée able to come a land For this is the Sea and the depth of all the workes of the iudgementes and mercies of the kingdome of God This is a Sea that hath no shore a pit that hath no botome The holy Scriptures are the mercie seate the registry of the mysteries of God our Chartre for the life to come the holy place in which God sheweth him selfe to the people the Mount Ston where God hath appointed to dwel for euer The more comfort in theÌ„ so much the more gréedily let vs desire them the more heauenly and glorious they are with so much the more reuerence let vs come vnto them For consideration of this mater of the fruite comfort which God worketh by the worde what may we better call to minde than that is réecorded by S. Paul Whatsoeuer thinges are written aforetime are written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might haue hope All that is writteÌ„ in the word of God is not writteÌ„ for Angels or Archangels or heauenly Spirites but for the sonnes of men for vs and for our instruction that by them we may receiue strength and comfort in all aduersities and haue hope of the life to come It is the word of God God openeth his mouth and speaketh to vs to guide vs into all truth to make vs full and readie in all good workes that we may be perfect men in Christ Iesus so rooted and grounded in him that we bee not tost to and fro with euery tempest The profite which the worde of God bringeth shal best apeare if we first take a viewe of our estate what we are in what place we stande what enemies make force against vs. We are y e sons of Adam stubborne children the children of vanitie and of wrath The châ—ldren of those fathers which forsooke God and haue erred in their hearts were deceiued God which created man breathed into him the breath of life saith The imagination of mans heart is euill from his youth Such are we eueÌ„ by the iudgment of God and his iudgement faileth not What errour what idol what wickednes euer hath bene heard which hath not bene forged and wrought in the heart of man wée can neither doe nor speake nor thinke the thing that is good our vnderstanding is heauie our will froward our eyes blinde and our heart vncleane We go astray through this worlde as lost shéepe euery man after his owne way Euen as a leafe is caried vp and downe with a blast of winde so are we easily driueÌ„ into errour in our selues we finde no stay no succour nor helpe Such are we and so weake of our selues But where are we in the world And what is the world Some thinke it to be a place full of all delights and pleasures a goodly strong and gorgious palace and a paradise of ioy Let no man deceiue vs nay rather let vs not deceiue our selues the world is a shoppe of vanities it is a dungeon of darkenesse a potte full of poyson a shippe full of leakes a way full of snares It blindeth our eyes beguileth our senses and helpeth vs forwarde into all daungers We are blinde our selues and the place wherein we are is nothing els but darkenesse Wherunto may I resemble our case Ieremy the Prophet was cast into a duÌ„geon There he sate without light and without comfort His case was miserable and the place lothsome yet he knew where he was he knew what he lacked he cryed vnto the Lord and was deliuered Daniel was cast into the den of Lions there to bee torne in péeces and deuoured But he sawe his misery and the daunger in which he stoode he sawe the Lions the pawes which shoulde gripe him and the téeth which shoulde teare him His case was miserable yet is ours more miserable We are in the déepe dungeon of hel and think we are in safetie we are in the middest of darkenesse and thinke it to be light we are compassed with Lioâ—s with Dragons and Scorpions yet think not of our miserie Who hath not heard the story of Ionas Ionas was in a Whales belly The place was very darke the waues beat on euery side he was drowned yet touched no water he was swallowed vp yet not consumed he liued without any sense of life the fish was his death y â— sea was death the tempest was death yet he died not but liued in the mids of death he could not sée he could not heare he knew not to whom he might call for helpe hée was taken carried away he knew not whether Let vs marke well this storie it is a true pattern of our estate sheweth what our life is in this worlde We are beset w t like dangers we are driuen w t teÌ„pests we are drowned in like flouds we liue in y e middest of horrible darknes we are caried we know not whether The Philosopher telleth vs trueth falsehode are nigh neighbors and dwell one by the other the vtter porch of y e one is like the porch of the other yet their way is contrarie the one leadeth to life the other leadeth to death they differ little to the shew saue that oft times the dore of falshod is faire painted grauen and beautifully adorned but the dore or fore front of trueth is plaine and homely Therby it hapneth that men be deceiued they mistake the dore and goe into errors house wheÌ„ they séeke truth They call euill good falsehoode truth darkenesse light They forsake that is good deny the truth and loue not the light This moued S. Paul to say of his brethren the Iewes I beare them
numbred I owe you obedience I will not resiste your power for if I shoulde resiste I shoulde resiste the ordinaunce of God I am subiect to you for conscience sake I will forsake my countrey my goods my children and my selfe at your commaundement I will say to mine owne fleshe I knowe thée not onely I can not forsake my Lorde God Deare sir you fight â—ot against me Alas what am I What can I doe You fight against God against the moste holy against him which can commaunde your life to goe out of your body it is a hard thing for you to kicke againste the spur It is no hard matter for you to kill me for so mightie a Prince to kill so wretched a worme But this I declare to you that my bloud which you shed is innoceÌ„t shal be required at your haÌ„ds It maye please God to giue vnto you repentance and the knowledge of the truth If my bloud may be a mean therto if my bloud may open your eies if my bloud may soften your heart it coulde neuer be spent in a better cause Blessed be the name of God whiche hathe made me his instrument for youre so happye conuersion thys is the onelye thing wherein I can not yéelde The Lorde hath spoken vnto me I haue heard his voice my hart hath felt it my conscience knoweth it I can not denye it No sworde can cutte me from it no water can drowne it no fire can burne the loue I beare vnto it there is no creature in heauen or earth that can carrie me from that blessed hope I haue conceiued by his word So constant is he that hathe learned the worde of God hath set his delighte vppon it and is through it assured of the wil of God Heauen shal shake the earth shall tremble but the man of God shall stande vpright His foote shall not faile his heart shall not faint he shall not bée moued Such a ground such a foundation suche a rocke is the worde of God Blessed is the man whose hope is in the name of the Lorde He shal builde vppon a sure place he layeth his foundation vpon the corner stone He néedeth no armie to make him strong he néedeth no friendes to comforte him in aduersitie His strength is within the gates of hel shal not preuaile againste him His comfort is inwardly within his hearte He speaketh to God and God vnto hym His eyes beholde the kingdome and power and glorie of God But what say we of the Fathers Augustine Ambrose Hierom Cyprian c. What shall we thinke of them or what accompt may we make of them They be Interpretors of the worde of God They were learned men and learned Fathers the instruments of the mercie of God vesselles full of grace We despise them not we reade them we reuerence them and giue thankes vnto God for them They were witnesses vnto the truth they were worthie pillars and ornamentes in the Churche of God Yet may they not be coÌ„pared with the word of God We may not build vpon them we may not make them the foundation and warrant of our conscience we may not put our trust in them Our trust is in the name of the Lorde And thus are we taught to estéeme of the learned Fathers of the Churche by their owne iudgement by that whiche they haue written either for the credite of their owne doings or of the auctoritie whych they haue thought due to the writings of others S. Augustine said of the Doctours and Fathers in his time Neque quorumlibet aâ—sputationes quamuis Catholicorum laudatorum hominum velut Scripturas Canonicas habere debemus vt nobis non liceat salua honorificentia quae illis debetur aliquid in eorum scriptis improbare aut respuere si fortè inuenerimus quod aliter senserint quà e veritas habet Talis sum ego in scriptis aliorum tales esse volo intellectores meorum Neither weigh we the writings of all meÌ„ be they neuer so worthy and catholique as wee weigh the canonical Scriptures but that sauing the reuerence that is due vnto them we may mislike and refuse somewhat in their writings if wee finde that they haue thought otherwise than the truth may beare Suche am I in the writings of others and such would I wishe others to be in mine Some things I beléeue some things which they write I can not beléeue I weigh them not as the holy Canonicall Scriptures Cyprian was a Doctor of the Church yet he was deceiued Hierome was a Doctor of the Church yet he was deceiued Augustine was a Doctor of y e Church yet he wrote a Booke of Retractations he acknowledged that he was deceiued God did therfore giue to his Church many Doctors many learned men whych all shoulde search the truth and one reforme an other wherein they thought him deceyued S. Augustine saieth Auferantur de medio chartae nostrae procaedat in medium codex Dei audi Christum dicentem audi veritatem loquetem Take away from amongest vs any our owne Bookes lette the Booke of God come amongest vs heare what Christe saieth hearken what the truth speaketh He is the wisedome of his father he can not deceiue vs. Againe he saith Audi dicit dominus non dicit Donatus aut Rogatus aut Vincentius aut Hilarius aut Ambrosius aut Augustinus Heare this the Lorde saieth heare not this Donatus saith or Rogatus or Vincentius or Hilarius or Ambrose or Augustine saith Al these were learned most of them were holy yet saith Augustine we may not yéelde to that which is saide by learned men but we must yéelde our ful consente and beliefe to the worde of God Origen saith Necesse nobis est in testimonium vocare sanctas Scripturas Sensus quippe c. Wee muste needes call to witnesse the holy Scriptures for oure iudgementes and expositions without those witnesses carry no credite Marke wel our words and expositions constructions vnlesse they be warranted by the Scriptures are not ynough they cary not credite Augustine saith Nos nullam Cipriano facimus iniuriam cùm eius quaslibet literas c. Wee offer no wrong to S. Cyprian when wee seuer anye his Letters or Writings from the Canonical auctoritie of the holy Scriptures Thus speaketh Aug. a Doctor of the Church of Cyprian another Doctor also of y e Churche Cyprian was a bishop a lerned Father a holy man a Martire of Christe yet saith Augustine his worde is not the Gospell his worde is not the worde of God there is no wronge done to him though his writings cary not like credit as the holy Scripture I could shewe many the like spéeches of the auncient Fathers wherein they reuerence the holy Scriptures as to which onely they giue consent without gainsaying which can neither deceiue nor be deceiued In this sort did Origen and Augustine and other Doctours of the Church speake of themselues and of
to the simple They are comfortable in peace in warre in heauinesse in ioy in health sicknesse in aboundance in pouertie in the day time in the night season in the towne in the wildernesse in companie and when thou art alone For they teach faith hope patience charitie sobrietie humilitie righteousnesse and all godlinesse They teach vs to liue and they teach vs to die Therefore hath Paule said well The whole Scripture is profitable It is full of great comforte It maketh the man of God absolute and perfect vnto al good workes Perfect in faith perfect in hope perfect in the loue of God of his neighbour perfect in his life and perfect in his death So great so large and ample and heauenly is the profite whyche we doe reape by the worde of God Nowe it followeth we consider howe necessarie and needefull it is for vs to be guided by the word of God in the whole trade of our life The worde of God is that vnto our soules whiche our soule is vnto our body As the body dyeth when the soule departeth so the soule of man dyeth when it hath not the knowledge of GOD. Man liueth not by breade onely but by euerie worde that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Beholde saith God I will sende a famine in the lande not a famine of breade nor a thirst of water but of hearing the word of the Lord. Their tongue shal wither their heart shall sterue they shal dye for hunger They shall wander from sea to sea and from the North vnto the East shall they runne to and fro to seeke the word of the Lord and shall not finde it They shall stumble at noone dayes as at the twilight they shall grope for the wall like the blind and truth shall fall in their streetes For howe shal they be saued vnlesse they call on the name of the Lord how shal they call on him in whom they haue not beleeued Howe shall they beleeue in him of whom they haue not heard how shall they heare without a Preacher howe shall they preach except they be sent Chrysostom therefore saith Neither can it be I say it can not be that any man shall attaine to saluation except he be alwayes occupied in spiritual reading The wise man faith Where there is no prophecie the people decay Where the Scriptures are not opened when there is none that can edifye and exhort and comfort the people by the word of God they must néeds perish for they knowe not the waye in whiche they shoulde walke they know not whome to honour nor vpon whose name they shoulde call they know neyther what to beléeue nor what to do Hel hath enlarged it selfe and hathe opened hys mouth without measure and they that are wilfull and ignorant and the children of darkenesse goe downe into it They become thrall and captiues vnto Sathan Their hearte is bounde vp they vnderstande nothing theyr eies are shutte vppe they can sée nothing their eares are stopte vppe they can heare nothing They are carried away as a pray into Hel because they haue not y â— knowledge of God So doth Christe tell the Sadduces Yee are deceiued because you know not the Scriptures nor the power of GOD. Thus he teacheth that error is the child of ignorance The cause why you are so deceiued is because you knowe not the Scriptures You haue hated the light and loued darkenesse You haue neyther knowen the Father nor mée Hée that knoweth not the truth of God knoweth not God Herein in this case there is no plea of ignorance Ignorance shall not excuse vs. Chrysostome saith Dices non legi non est haec excusatio sed crimen Thou wilt saye I haue not read the Scriptures this is no excuse but a sinne Againe he sayeth This is the working of the Diuels inspiration hee woulde not suffer vs to see the treasure leaste wee shoulde gette the riches Therefore hee counsaileth vs that it vtterly auaileth vs nothing to heare the Lawes of God least that vppon the hearing hee may see our doing folowe Gregorie saieth Qui eâ—quae sunt domini nesciunt à domino nesciununtur Who so know not the things that pertaine vnto the Lorde be not knowen of the Lorde Origen also giueth reason of this practise of Sathan Vnto the Diuels it is a torment aboue all kindes of torments and a paine aboue all paines if they see any man reading the worde of God and with feruent studie searching the knowledge of Gods Lawe and the mysteries and secretes of the Scriptures Herein standeth all the flame of the Deuils in this fire they are tormented for they are seased and possessed of all them that remaine in ignorance Carneades a Philosopher was wont to say of his Mayster and Reader Chrisippus if it hadde not bene for Chrisippus I neuer hadde béene any body He was my Maister and teacher he made mée learned whatsoeuer I haue I haue it of him How much better may we vse the like words of the Scripture and say vnlesse it were for the worde of God our wisedom were nothing our knowlege were nothing Whatsoeuer we haue we haue it by the worde Without it our prayer were no prayer without it our Sacramentes were no Sacramentes our Faith were no Faith our Conscience were no Conscience our Churche were no Church Take awaye the light of the Sunne and what remaineth but darkenesse Heauen and Earth are darkned No man can sée his way or discerne the things about him Euen so if y â— word of God be taken away what remaineth but miserable confusion and deadlye ignoraunce When the Philistines had shorne the haires of Sampson they fell vppon him tooke him bounde him and plucked oute his eyes they daunced aboute him and made scorne and games of him We are Samson the strength of our haires is the knowledge of the will of GOD It is laide vp in our heades in the highest and principal part of vs if that be shorne off if we be kept from hearing reading and vnderstanding of the worde of God then will error superstition and all wickednesse get the vpper hande and fall vpon vs and bind vs and plucke out our eies and make scorne of vs and vtterlye destroy vs. When the people of Ierusalem were besieged and wanted foode to eate they fedde on Rats and Mice and many vnwholesome and filthie things A woman was driuen for wante of meate to doe a cruel part vpon hir own child she tooke hir own babe which was the fruit of hir own bodie killed it cut it in péeces dressed it and fed vpon it a lothsome meat especially for a mother to eate hir owne childe But she was driuen to it by extremitie and hunger it was so cruell a thing to lacke wherewith life mighte be preserued Euen so fared it with vs and our Fathers after it pleased God to take away his Gospel to send a