is then frée will. We haue here still a clogge Consider wel the seuenth chapter of the Epistle of S. Paule to the Romanes from the fouretenth Verse to the ende of the chapter and you shal be able to stop the mouthes of all frée will men His wordes are these For we know that the law is spirituall but I am carnall sold vnder sin For that whiche I doe I allow not for what I would that doe I not but what I hate that doe I. If I doe now that whiche I would not I consent vnto the law that it is good Now then it is not I that doe it but sinne that dwelleth in me For I know that in me that is to say in my fleshe dwelleth no good thyng For to will is present with me but I finde no meanes to performe that which is good For the good that I would doe I not but the euill which I would not that do I. And if I doe that I would not then is it not I any longer that doth it but sinne that dwelleth in me I finde then by the law that when I would do good euill is present with me For I delite in the lawe of God after the inward man But I sée another law in my members rebellyng agaynst the law of my mynde and subduyng me vnto the law of sinne which is in my members O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the body of this death I thanke God through Iesus Christ our lord So then with the minde I my selfe serue the law of God but with the fleshe the law of sinne We shall then be frée whē this mortalitie hath put on immortalitie and this corruption hath put on incorruption If any man will describe the will of man not regenerate he may note it thus In naturall actions he may doe somewhat but not without the generall grace of God In morall ciuill actions lykewise he may doe somewhat but not without the speciall grace of God In spirituall matters before he be borne agayne and hath receiued light of the holy spirite he can doe nothing at all The tyme is spēt euen in the entrye of my third part I will be short They inuocate creatures Ergo they breake the net We must direct our prayers to God alone our heauēly father in the name of Iesus Christ For it is writtē Dominum Deum tuum adorato eumque solum colito Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serue Albeit Christ is not here expresly mentioned notwithstanding he is included For the faythful praying to God alwayes thinke vpon Christ The publican prayed God be mercifull to me a sinner He thought vpon Christ c. It is horrible sayth D. Luther to thinke vpon God without Christ for that without Christ we haue no saluatiō He is our onely mediatour vnto the father therefore no Saint is our mediatour Christ sayth Ego sum via veritas vita nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me I am the way the truth the lyfe no man cōmeth to the father but by me Which wordes S. Augu. noting sayth Ambulare vis Ego sum via Falli non vis Ego sum veritas Mori non vis Ego sum vita Hoc dicit tibi Saluator tuus Non est quò eas nisi ad me Non est quà eas nisi per me Wilt thou walke I am the way Wilt thou not be deceiued I am the truth Wilt thou not dye I am the lyfe This sayth thy Sauiour vnto thée there is no place whether thou mayest goe but to me There is no way for thée to passe but by me No man knoweth the father but the son and he to whome the son will reueale him S. Paule sayth There is one God and one mediatour betwene God and man the man Iesus Christ The kingly Prophet Dauid sayth in the person of God Call vpon me in the day of trouble so will I deliuer thée and thou shalt glorifie me The Prophet Esay sayth also in the persō of God I euen I am he onely that for mine owne sake doe away thyne offences and forget thy sinnes so that I will neuer thinke vpon them The scripture plentifully and strongly proueth this matter What is more cleare then the prayer which our Sauiour Christ hath taught vs Our father which art in heauen c. It is horrible idolatrye to inuocate any creature whether dead or aliue They are not gods for there is one onely God who is to be inuocated Therefore creatures ought not to be inuocated Creatures are not omnipotent neither knowe they the hartes of mē here is none excepted neither Mary nor Peter nor any creature esle Therfore they ought not to be inuocated or prayed vnto Prayer must be made with fayth But fayth onely must be reposed in God Therfore onely God is to be prayed vnto We haue no expresse commaundemēt or example in holy scriptures concerning inuocation of creatures Therefore it cannot be done with fayth and good conscience God himselfe doth expreslye prohibite it and the prophets condemne it It is a manifest marke and playne note of Antichrist To beleue in other creatures beside Christ is not to beleue in Christ But the Papistes beleue in other creatures beside Christ Ergo they beliue not in Christ The argument is sure and the conclusion must néedes folow I speake of a true and a right beliefe These thinges Paule neuer planted Apollo neuer watered Christ neuer encreased If holy Augustine were now aliue heard such wicked and blaspemous opinions he would surely say vnto these men as he once sayd to Iulianus a Pelagian heretique with his sect Mira dicitis noua dicitis falsa dicitis Mira stupemus noua cauemus falsa conuincimus Marueilous thinges you speake new thinges you speake false thinges you speake Your marueilous thinges wée are astonied at your new sayings wée will beware of your false sayings wée will conuince The more you stirre the faster you stick the longer ye striue the weaker ye are you cannot blind the Sunne beames will ye nil ye the truth will conquere There is no wisedome there is no policie there is no coūsaile against the Lord. The truth of God will stand vanitye will fall of it selfe Remember the counsaile of Gamaliel fight not agaynst the spirite of God. Thus you sée how the nette is brokē by corrupt doctrine The same is also brokē by ill maners Of the first you haue somewhat heard Now a word touching the second The same breakers of the nette the shakers of the ship still breake the nette with their ill manners They shew intollerable disobediēce in refusing to come to the Church Some of them maintayne trayterous persons beyond the sea and on this side the sea and of these some they make their Bailifes some their stewardes some their Caters some their Scholemaisters and some their seruaūts of chiefe trust to waite
Scriptura enim speculū est foeda ostēdens corrige dicens Vse to read the holy Scripture vse the glasse sée the glasse That deformitie may be amēded fayrenesse preserued and fayre thynges performed For the Scripture is a glasse shewyng deformitie saying amend Gregory sayth Sacra Scriptura tanquam speculum quoddam mentis The holy Scripture is as a certaine glasse of the mynde S. August sayth Scriptura sancta sit tibi tāquam speculū Speculum hoc habet splēdorem non mēdacem non adulantē nullius personam amantem Formosus es Formosum te ibi vides Sed cum foedus accesseris foedum te ibi videris noli accusare speculum ad te redi nō te fallit speculum tu te noli fallere Let the holy Scripture be to thée as a glasse This glasse hath no deceitfull or flatteryng brightnesse it is not in loue with any mans person Art thou bewtifull Thou séest thy selfe there bewtifull But when thou commest deformed séest thy selfe there deformed accuse not the glasse aduise thée selfe The glasse deceiueth thée not deceiue not thou thy selfe It is lyke to a cleare fountaine or well The womā of Samaria found Christ at the well Would you finde Christ At the well of his word shall you finde him S. Basill sayth the Scripture of God is like to Apothecaries shop full of medecines sundry sortes that euery man may there chose a conuenient remedy for his dissease This is that pillar exhibited to the children of Israell Factae sunt tene brae horribiles in vniuersa terra Aegypti vbicunque habitabant filij Israel lux erat There was a thicke darknes vpon all the lād of Egypt but all the children of Israell had light where they dwelled Where the word of God is there is light Where the same is not there is darkenes Without this fierie piller we can not walke in the light He that walketh in darknesse knoweth not whether he goeth This is that piller which mightely conducteth our vnderstandyng out of the the Egypt of infidelitie This is that Lucifer the bright mornyng starre whiche commeth before the sunne of righteousnesse by whom the light of grace doth rise whom foloweth the day of glory This is that starre of the sea descrying port and coūtrey to the saylers on the sea of this world This is that starre which led the wise and faythfull men frō a far countrey to Christ This is that most heauenly iewell treasure the precious stone whiche the Christian Marchantman sought with great diligēce and care ▪ when he had found it sold all that he had to buy the same He whiche preferreth the word of God before all transitorie thynges Which for saketh him selfe taketh vp his Crosse and foloweth Christ is truly sayd to sell all that he hath and to buy the same This is a most pleasaunt garden In this garden you may gather many swéete flowers the plantain of sayth the roses of patience the lillies of innocēcie the oliues of mercy and many other of most excellent vertue In this garden are planted many goodly and fayre trées bringyng forth most swéet and delitesome frute The Ceders of contemplation the Cyprusses of noble fame the Okes of constācie the Laurels or Bay trées of vertue and many other such like It is called a candle or light The kingly Prophet sayth thy word is a candle vnto my féete and a light vnto my pathes The lighters of this cādle sayth Chrisost are the father the sonne and the holy ghost The candle sticke is the Church or euery godly man hauyng the word By this cādle the théefe or false teacher is espyed so sayth Theophilact It is called the bread of the soule for that it feedeth the soule Man shall not liue by bread onely but by euery word that procéedeth out of the mouth of god A fishe can not liue without water a shéepe can not liue without pasture this mortall body cā not long endure without foode the soule cā not long liue without the word of god This is the meat of fayth This word is light The people that walked in darknesse haue sene a great light This is condēnation that light is come into the world and men haue loued darknes rather then light because their déedes were euill To giue light to them that sit in darknes c It is named water Christ said to the woman of Samaria if thou knewest the gift of God who it is that sayth to thée giue me drinke thou wouldest haue asked of him he would haue geuen thée the water of life It is a royall and kyngly feast It is the sword of the spirit This sword is very necessary to all that be in this warfare For who goeth to battaile without a sworde Hee that hath no sword let him sell his coate and buy a sword The spiritual Māna Gather your Manna while you haue tyme The horne of saluation The incorruptible séede whiche liueth and lasteth for euer A hāmer that breaketh the hard stone A key that giueth entry into the house which is the kyngdome of of heauen The scepter of the kyngdome An arrow that pearceth the enemy A heauēly trumpet A net enclosing and bringyng vs together The word of grace The word of saluatiō The word of recōciliation The word of truth The word of vertue The word of lyfe euerlastyng The word and way of righteousnesse yea righteousnesse it selfe Grace and veritie The wisedome of God in a misterie That good word whereof Esay speaketh which is called good for that it bringeth all goodnesse And to conclude it is called the kyngdome of God The kyngdome of God shal be taken from you and giuē to a nation bringyng forth the frutes therof The premisses considered I may say with the Prophet Hieremie Terra terra terra audi verbum Domini O thou earth earth earth heare the word of the lord The foolishe carle Nabal still carieth earth in his eyes earth in his eares and earth in his toung Aboue all thynges he desireth to sée earth to heare of earth and to speake of earth Many Nabals many carles many fooles But one thyng is necessary one thyng is necessary one thyng is necessary that is the word of god Mary hath chosen the good part whiche shall not be taken away from her The first precept that Isocrates gaue to prince Demonicus was τίμα τὸν θεό◠feare God. The first law that should be geuen to any man sayth Plato should be to the encrease of godlynes The chiefest oth which the Atheniens toke was this Pugnabo pro facris cum alijs solus In defence of Religion I will fight both in company and alone Among the Atheniens no king was created before he had taken orders and was a priest They iudged the wisest best and most renowned to be
vnitye to the Church of Roome and to their Byshop the head thereof the aduersary of Christ and vtter enemy to his crosse boldly braying and bragging that out of the vnitye of this bodye and head of theirs no man can be saued For these miserable men ought to vnderstaÌ„d that this necessary vnitye without which no man can haue saluation is not that vnitye whereby members are ioyned to members bunches to bunches monsters to monsters and the deceiued to Antichrist the deceiuer but that it is that vnitye wherby the true members of the true bodye are conioyned to the true and onely one head Iesus Christe our mediator and Sauiour The tyranne of Roome is not the head of the true church I proue thus He hath not the worde of God for his warrant Ergo he is not the head of the true church Christ sayth that he himselfe is the onely vniuersall Shepheard The prophets haue prophesied so of Christ Esai 40. Ezech. 37. 34. Hierem. 30. Psal. 33. c. The Apostle so nameth him Christ himselfe not long before he left this worldâ— sayd to his disciples I will pray the father and he shall geue you another coÌ„forter that he may abide with you for euer euen the spirite of truth Here we learne what vicar Christ hath substituted Not the Pope but the holy ghost So writeth Tertul. Barnard and others This place of Iohn I am the good shepheard S. August expoundeth of Christ So doth Chrisost So doth Nicholas Lyra as simple an interpretour as he was Fiet vnus pastor id est Christus There shal be one shepeheard that is to say not the Pope but Christ The Apostles had no knowledge of this monstrous head The Nicene Councell knew it not The Councell of Carthage excommunicated cursed him to the deuill that called him selfe vniuersall Byshop or chief Priest The whole Councell of Aphrica condeÌ„ned the attempt of this vsurped iurisdiction and called it the smokie pride of the world The Romish Prelate doth subuert corrupt prophane the doctrine of Christ and his Sacraments manifestly maintaineth Idolatrie Therfore he caÌ„ not be the vniuersall Shepheard He is not worthy to be called a Shepheard A Shepheard nay a fleashéepe A Byshop a Butcher a Pastour a Pyrate a Prelate a Pylate a Vicar of Christ a Vicar of Venus a Cephas Caiphas Phocas that execrable murtherer was he that first proclaimed the Byshop of Rome to be head of the vniuersall Church about vj. hundred xiij yeares after Christ was borne This Phocas beyng but a common souldiour did by treason and conspiracie lay hands vpon his liedge Lord and Maister the Emperour Mauritius and in cruell sort did him to death and so by trayterous vilanie he aspired to the Empire The maner of his crueltie was this First he commauÌ„ded foorth the Emperours yongest sonne and caused him to be slayne euen in the fight of his father and so the second and then the third and afterwarde the Empresse Mauritius heauely lookyng on lamentyng saying vnto God Righteous art thou O Lord and rightfull is thy iudgement Last of all he vsed the like tyranny also vpon the Emperour and layd him his wife and his iij. children on a heape together After that he had thus liued and coÌ„mitted sundry murthers and other great misâ—â—â—â—â— the people tooke him slue him â–ª 〈◊〉 â—â—ew him in to the fire Here you maâ— sée the first promotour a holy promotour of the Popes holynes A murtherer â—â—e finder out of supremacie And Supâ—â—â—â—cie fouÌ„ded and builded vpon murther S. Cyprian calleth Stephen and Cornelius Bishops of Rome brethreÌ„ and companions And whereas certaine Schismatickes yelded them selues subiect to the Byshop of Rome perswading them selues that the Bishops of Aphrica had lesse power theÌ„ the Byshops of Rome Cyprian called them desperate wicked persons for so doyng I frame this Argument out of Chrisost Quicunque desyderauerit primatuÌ„ in terra in Coelo inueniet confusionem Whosoeuer ambitiouslye desireth supremacy vpon earth shall finde in heauen confusion The Byshop of Roome ambitiouslye desireth supremacye on earth Therefore he shall finde confusion in heaueÌ„ The Pope is Antichrist Ergo he is not the head of the Church He which auauÌ„ceth himself aboue all that is called God is Antichrist The pope doth so Ergo the Pope is Antichrist Irenaeus a most auncient doctour of the Church who liued almost fiften hundred yeares since disputyng of Antichrist sayth thus Antichristus cum sit seruus tamen adorari vult vt Deus Antichrist notwithstaÌ„ding he be but a slaue yet he will be worshipped as if he were god Ioachimus Abbas saith Antichristus iam pridem natus est Romae altiùs extolletur in sede Apostolica Antichrist is long since borne in Rome yet shall he be higher aduaunced in the Apostolick sea Antichrist sayth Gregory is he that shall clayme to himselfe to be called the vniuersall Byshop and shall haue a garde of priestes to attend vpon him S. August sayth BabyloÌ„ is the first Roome and Rome the second Babylon And to come nearer the matter S. Iohn sayth Antichrist shall sit in the Citye that is built vpon seuen hilles and so is the Citie of Roome And Sybilla sayth that the greatest terror and furye of his Empire and the greatest woe that he shall worke shall be by the bankes of Tyber and there is Roome He that hath eyes to sée let him see he that hath eares to heare let him heare Agayne Christ was humble the Pope proude Christ was poore the Pope rich Christ patient the Pope impatient Christ merciful the Pope vnmercifull Christ vsed admonitioÌ„ the Pope imprisonment Christ communication the Pope extirpation Christ all manner of clemencie the Pope all manner of tyranny briefely you shall finde the Pope in all vertue seuered from Christ you shall finde him to Christ Beliall to light darcknes to truth falshode Are not these and such lyke the very fruites of Antichrist the trée is knowne by his fruite Whereas these shakers of the ship of Christ vrge Antiquitie Vniuersalitye and Succession to make much for them I aunswere these thinges make nothing for them but rather agaynst them Notwithstanding their Vincentius Lirinensis whome they haue in so high price This is Vincentius pretious assertion In ipsa catholica Ecclesia magnopore curandum est vt id teneamus quod vbique quod seÌ„per quod ab omnibus creditum est In the Catholick Church we must haue especiall care to hold that which euery where alwayes and of all men is beléeued Yet to helpe his credite the Church of Roome was not so deformed with heresies at the time when he did write which was a thousand yeares more since as it is mentioned Antiquitye doth not preiudice or hinder trueth Their antiquity is no marke of the Church Their Antiquitie is iniquitye Tertull. sayth nothing can prescribe agaynst truth neither time nor authoritye of