change May not men adde therunto some Laws some articles some new ceremonies Learne this my friend that the true religion as a man from his first birth hath all his members all his ioints any the least part cannot be taken from it thou findest it so in thine owne body without maiming it any the noblest that thou canst imagine cannot be applied vnto it out of the work with out disproportion without deformity without wronging the whole frame if any thing be in it more then should be it is extuberancie or some vnnaturall flesh that groweth out because that Religion is not a thing invented by man but by a diuine Law and the rule of Gods service and of mans saluation and none other but God can giue or enioine it vnto man because that his thoughts are aboue the thoughts of man and are higher then the heauens that are aboue the earth Cor. 2.1 because that no man knoweth the thinges of a man saue the spirit of a man not one man of another mā though they haue the same ofspring do consist of the same faculties and like parts but every one of himselfe And with much more reason then no man hath known no man hath ever beene able to know the things of God but the spirit of God Who art thou Esa 40 13 saith the Prophet that instructest the spirit of the Lord or art his coūsailour to teach him any thing And hence it is that we see all those authours of religions among the heathen to haue bin so childish and ridiculous in their ceremonies and can we imagine that when wee vndertake to adde any thing to that religion which was ordeined from God by Iesus Christ wee should be less so thē they were can we thinke that the dirt and dust and smoke which we cast vpon it can any way honor nay canne it chuse but disfigure or pollute his worke And neuerthelesse do not thou think therfore that the Doctours in the church are vnprofitable or that they are not very profitable that the church her members all and euery one of them cannot helpe or grow vp Truely the right Religion can growe both in it selfe and in thee hath growne heretofore and can alwaies goe on in grouth But learne also how shee groweth She groweth in her selfe and even in thee also if thou canst make thine vse of it when the old Testament hath taught thee that it behooved the Christ of God to die and rise againe and the new that hee hath died indeed and is risen againe And beholde a sufficient clowde of witnesses of holy martyrs which many ages ago by hundreds and thousandes togither haue died for the witnes of this death of this resurrection by their suffrings and deaths haue subdued the world vnto him knit together vnder the banner of his crosse those which hee hath separated from the world dost not thou thinke that these articles I beleeue that he rose againe from the dead I beleeue the resurrection of the body are very well perfected by them well growne and strengthned both in them and in thee so far as to beleeue them and to embrace them euen to the death for this faith seeing that by this faith thou art to liue Behold also the lawe hath told thee that this Christ should be the son of God and neuerthelesse be borne of a Virgin and the Gospell that he is that Iesus that sonne of the living God God of God there fore from everlasting as the Father and that word nevertheles made flesh conceiued in the wombe of the Virgin Mary God and man both together Sundry heretickes Arius and Nestorius aboue the rest begin they to call in question some his eternity and Godhead and some his manhood and mortalitie and by a consequent the Character of the Saviour of the world wherevpon the Almightie through his spirit stirreth vp many great doctors frō al quarters powerful in the Scriptures which by the same doe ouercome and convince them doe demonstrate with efficacie in one only person as well the one as the other nature both the wills as well the one as the other to be necessarie for our salvation the one working without preiudice to the other And that by places well expounded and aswell applied and by arguments drawne from them both strong in themselues and as strongly vrged so that after many cumbats the field is left to the truth the victory glory to the simplicitie and to that seeming weaknesse of the Gospell Dost not thou thinke that these articles of our creed I beleeue in Iesus Christ the only son of the Father Almightie our Lord borne of the virgin Mary conceiued by the holy Ghost these very same in number as they vse to speak in the schools haue bred in thee a new impressiō in themselues new forces The like also is to bee thought of so many others for all that the hereticks doe set vpon thē which harden and make themselues strong against them and we by them as wrestlers against the skirmish according as the hereticks do trouble vex thē Those articles of the fall of man by himself of his restitution by one Iesus alone of the grace of God of free iustification for all that Pelagius Celestius their consorts either lay battery against them or vndermine thē stand fast notwithstāding with out once moving thēce where the Master-builder placed thē make no breach in the proportion of the building stir not from their first conformity to the which nothing cā be added but in the manner of a botch quite contrary to the nature of the first Law giuers intent and to that Lawe in the which nothing can bee altered without high treason from which nothing cā be derogated without sacriledge Vincent Lirinen contra hęreti cos Heare therevpon what saith our Vincentius Lirinensis for in such matters I speake not willingly without mine authour and such an authour as may please thee The Canon saith he of the Scriptures is perfect and more then sufficient in it selfe for al things What thē shall it not bee lawfull to put somewhat of our own there vnto Timothy saith hee thou that art a Doctour of the Church Depositum custodi keep that which hath beene trusted vnto thee thou hast received it of gold giue it vp againe of gold I will haue no lead nor brass or base mettle from you God hath hee endowed thee with his spirit or with learning then be thou a Bezeleel in his spirituall Tabernacle in his church cut and square these pretious stones of his divine doctrine set them cunningly in some worke giue a luster vnto them and a sparkling and grace But goe no farther then hee did presume not to change any thing either in the matter or the forme which the Lord hath prescribed vnto thee vnto this Bezeleel God had prescribed of euery thing euen to the very badgers skins and the loopes of the
TWO HOMILIES CONCERNING the meanes how to resolue the controversies of this time First written in French by Ph. Mornay and now translated into English AT OXFORD Printed by Ioseph Barnet 1612. To the Reader THou hast here gentle Reader two homilies for so the authour himselfe whosoever hee bee entitleth them written first in French and now for thine vnderstanding translated into English Two homilies indeed very necessary in these times not only for the authours countrymen and such like who liue amongst opē Papists but also for vs of England amongst whom it is to be feared too too many Papists do lurk The authour by his writing shews himselfe to be a French-man that a true religious zealous Protestant a French mā he may be thought to be because he writs in french as also the same may be gathered out of his second homily wherein in some two or three places he speaketh according to the discipline of the reformed French P. 84. 134. Churches which haue no Bishops over them and wherein no clergy man hath any temporall iurisdiction A Protestant he is for how would he else haue thus writtē against the errours of the Romish church that a true religious and zealous one for how coulde hee else haue written them vvith such earnestnes and soundnes of doctrine The homelies thēselues need not be commēded vnto thee they will commend thēselues sufficiently if thou wilt but take the paines to read thē over advisedly Farewell HVNC AVDITE Matth. 17. v. 5. YOV Christians that are perplexed in your minds amidst the controversies of this time hovering betweene the choice of that which is Diuine that which is humane of that which is Authenticall and that which is Apocryphal of that which is true and that which seemes to bee true two only words out of the holy Gospell are able to put you out of doubt and to cause you to see the difference betweene them And behold here is one of them for you Hunc au dite Heare him Him and no other Our Lord Iesus had nowe takē apart three of his disciples Peter Iames Iohn brought thē vp into an high mountain There had hee beene transfigured before them his face shining as the Sun his cloathes being becōe as white as snowe which in this basenes were as pledges of his future glorie of that glorie which hee tooke againe when it pleased him and which hee had neuer put away There were Moses Elias seene by his disciples talking with him Moses and the Prophets as in a manner giuing up there charge into his hands his indeed which was the marke and the end the perfection and accomplishmēt both of the law the Prophets Here Peter comes in as it were in opposition Master it is good for vs to be here Being already ravished and drunken with the shew of this glory these spirituall delightes Let vs make here three Tabernacles one for thee and one for Moses and one for Elias And we doubt not but in this first he reserued a roome for himselfe and his fellow-disciples But as he spake and knew not saith both S. Mark and S. Luke what he said Mar. 9. v. 6 Luc. 9. God from heauen directed him Out of a cloud that shadowed them came a voice saying This is that my beloued sonne in whome I am well pleased Heare him No longer Moses no longer Elias the old things are come to an end I bring you new tidings good new tidings There is here no longer any need of Tabernacles or that wee should passe from one figure to another She hath from henceforth a place where shee may rest She is to be built on the firme ground Wilt thou Peter wil yee my disciples one day enioy this glory and possesse eternally that which you haue seene as in a glimpse behold here the meanes the only means to wit my welbeloved your happinesse and all my delight But Heare him For it is he of whom Moses the same which you haue scene talking with him which did here come to rēder homage vnto him for the whole law told you heretofore very neere two thousand yeares agoe See how the Lord fulfilleth his sayings in their due time Deut. 18.1.18 The Lord said vnto mee I will raise them vp a Prophet from amongst their brethren like vnto thee and will put my words in his mouth and hee shall speake vnto them all that I shall cōmand him And whosoever will not harken vnto my words which hee shall speake in my name I will require it of him It is thē profit to heare him and daunger to turne the eare from him It is he of whom I spake vnto you by Esay my Prophet Esay 42. v 1. Behold my servant hee is mine elect I haue put my spirit vpon him And do not stand vpon his lownesse or his humiliation in that he will not cause his voice to bee heard in the street nor will not make much noise For so much the rather ought you to harken vnto him whatsoeuer you see him to be yet he shall bring forth iudgement in truth And is not that it which you ought to looke for in these daies Hee shall not faile nor bee discouraged Vers 4. til he haue set iudgement in the earth till he haue instructed the whole world Finally it is he of whom Iohn the Baptist that Elias which you looked for which you haue seene spake vnto you in these daies hee being not the worde made flesh vnto the which you ought at this time to harkē but the voice which cryeth in the wildernesse the forerunner of this word Not that light which lighteth every man that commeth into the world but a lamp that beareth witnesse of that light This is he of whom I said hee that commeth after mee was better thē I oh 1.15 for he was before me Before me in as much as hee is the everlasting word After mee in as much as hee is the vvord made flesh V. 16. Of his fulnesse haue al we receiued Moses Elias all the Prophets V. 17 For the law was given by Moses the law that entertained vs with figures vs euery one bound ouer also to sinne therefore to death Grace and truth is come vnto you by Iesus Christ And againe therefore Heare him the rather truly because no man hath seene God at any time No man can tell you any thing concerning diuine matters concerning things that appertaine to your salvation but by him But the only sonne more then any other and after another manner For as much as he is from everlasting in the bosome of the father Prov. 8. From euerlasting and before all ages That eternall wisdome which was with him in the creation of all things and in the which he took his delight Shee which cryed so long agoe Giue eare for the opening of my lips shal teach thing that be right Prov 8. v. 6 7.
worship them call vpon them is there any thing in all this wherof God may complaine To whom doth this honour redounde but to him his Saints beeing glorified in their images he in his Saintes But know thou will he answere thee that God as he is a Spirit so he will haue such as worship him in spirit and truth he wil be worshipped as he himselfe hath commanded and not after the fansies of men Know also that an image is a teacher of lies Habak 2 v. 18. and maketh of men beasts and confoūdeth those that are inclined therevnto and as for those Masters that haue giuē you images insteede of Masters they did this since the time that they are become ignorant and carelesse and haue bin dispensed withall for not preaching my Gospell dumbe Pastors as they were themselues they haue givē thee these dumbe preachers But frō the beginning it was not so before the law and vnder the law for the space of fower thousand yeares the church of God hath had no images To haue them or not to haue them as some particular liverie did then put a difference betweene the beleeuer and the infidell Yea and for eight hundred yeares together since the time that by mee grace was come into the world in the better part of Europe in France it selfe there were none of them I therefore say vnto you Of the ignorance of your Masters doe not you make your knowledge make not your Christianitie of the imitation and emulation of Paganisme The word of the Lord standeth fast for ever That which once he hath ordained hee never superannuateth nor disanulleth Let another proceed I know Lord that thou art the Lambe which takest away the sinnes of the world But wee are told also of a certaine fire at our going out of this world wherein wee must be purged and must for all this pay and make euen our rekoning what must I beleeue in this matter And therevpon hee will tell thee all that which the holy Scripture teacheth vs hast thou not read what my Prophets say That I was wounded for your transgressions Esai 53. v 5. and broken for your iniquities that the chastisemēt of your peace was vpō me God which is al iustice all mercy will he haue the same debt paid twise Zacharie saith There shall be a fountaine opened to the house of David Zacharie 13. v. 1. to the Church for sinne for every vncleanesse whatsoeuer and I verily am this fountaine a fountaine that neuer dryeth vppe to what purpose serues thy fire if this water doe suffice And that this water is not sufficient who can say it without blasphemie But yet if thou wilt haue a fire also heare what Iohn the Baptist saith Matth. I baptize thee with water and with fire Thy spirit indeed with a spirituall fire euen with mine own spirit And here thou wilt reply for thou art for bidden to yeeld But S. Augustine and S. Gregorie doe not they speak of a fire to the which wee must goe when wee depart out of this world Doe not they say thee it is not altogether incredible that there is one and that it may be true And at all aduentures hath it not beene a good thing to keepe the soules in such aw For how many faire Churches haue beene founded thereby how many cloisters Chappels and Masses And will you then haue the olde doubts of those men to be vnto you as articles of faith The fables of Platonikes as truth The fictiōs of Poets as sound diuinitie Our Lorde moreouer will say vnto thee He that beleeueth in the Sonne hath life euerlasting he is already gon from death to life hee that beleeueth not in him the wrath of God remaineth vpon him hee is already condemned and shall not see life Betweene these two where canst thou finde any place for this Purgatorie And then will the Sonne of God say vnto thee againe Do not stand vpon that which the Doctours tell thee thereof They could never create it From the beginning it was not so If it had beene from the beginning there is no question but the Church of Israell would haue made vse of it by so much the more because that fountaine for the cleansing of sinne was not as then opened And yet for foure thousand yeares together is there any one word spoken of it Amongst so many sacrifices and those of so many fashions is there any one word spokē of such sacrifices as were for the dead or for their sinnes And if it had been created since that time would then the Apostles haue hidden it from vs would they haue told vs. Blessed are they that die in the Lord from henceforth they do rest from their labours If wee confesse our sinnes God is faithfull and iust The blood of his Son Iesus Christ doth purge and cleanse vs from all sinne This Purgatorie then is a strange fire in the Church such a one as quencheth her naturall heate her confidence in the merit of the Redeemer And therefore That which the Lord hath paid and quitted for vs so dearely so fully the faithfull mā needs not to buy it againe Let no servant of God therefore sel it him againe Let another also come that perhaps hath looked more deepely into it and say Master I knowe that thou hast bin made an oblation on the tree of the Crosse wiped out and vtterly abolished the handwriting that was against vs. And neuerthelesse we are told that thou art every day offered vp euery day sacrificed in Masse and herevpon is all this stirre To what opinion therefore shall we stand fast and hereupō he wil tel thee Hast thou not read what Esay saith of me His soule shall bee made an oblation for sinne The soule of the Sonne of God At what rate thē dost thou reckon her and knowest thou not that I haue giuen my flesh for the life and my blood for the remission of the sins of the world In comparison of this price all your pretended Oblations can amount to nothing Knowest thou not also that likewise all the other sacrisices of the Law are fulfilled and abolished in this one onely And here either blown vp by tradition or forestalled by custome thou wilt reply but would then our Fathers for so long time together haue made so great account of the Masse and all for nothing Why then art thou not then really with thy flesh and bones sacrificed therein every day Did not men speake of this oblation even in the time of good S. Gregorie not aboue six hundred yeares after thine incarnation The ill disposed facilitie of men in accommodating themselues to infidelitie hath brought in these things And this carnall wisdome hath beene found to be but naturall and is rightly convicted of folly before God The outward worship of Iewes and Gentiles consisted in sacrifices and when they haue been brought to the Christian faith they were willing to content them with the word