mother such fauour towarde the fruite of her womb that she wil rather dye then suffer her children to take wrong or iniury But if any mother could so forget her selfe as not to be touched with the feeling of her childrens harmes yet ought al christians to beleue that god neither wil nor can forget his loue and mercy towards vs His faith loue surpasseth the loue of all creatures as Christ himself sufficiently sheweth in mathew by the example of the father which geueth not a stone to his sonne in stead of bread which he required If we therfore which are euil cā geue our childrē good things dayly protect them and that with al care and diligence how much more carefully firmely and constantly shal god loue vs and faithfully defend vs his poore children This is a notable and worthy saying but only here apprehended by faith otherwise we vnderstand it not Furthermore the prophet declareth how the lord loueth his church where he saith that he hath grauen it on the palme of his hand or he holdeth it in his hand By which he geueth vs to vnderstand that he diligently careth prouideth for the church that he cā no more forget it thē I cā forget that which I haue alwayes before mine eyes and in my hand And seeing the Lord alwaies beholdeth the walles of this spirituall citie to wit vs that vpon purpose to preserue vs care for vs watch ouer vs and look to vs surely none can so assault vs or besiege vs our city but the lord wil see it although for a time he suffer vs to be tempted or afflicted yet wil he not see vs ouerwhelmed or deuoured This city hath also skilfull builders or carpentars to wit sincere godly teachers which daily enlarge and fortefy it And though tirants hereticks assail it and goe about to ouerthrow it yet haue they no succes in their doings but by their attempt reape perpetuall shame for it is builded vpon a sure and strong rock against which the gates of hel shal not preuail The prophet in the words following saith that a great and infinite number of people shall come together out of all places and shal beleeue the gospel be gathered into the church God also swereth by his holines that many euen of those which in the beginning stode against the church shal afterward come into it and be such ornaments to it that it may glory in them which came to pas in Paul many others And it shal be daily more and more inlarged by the great multitude of people which dayly run thus vnto it At the beginning it was but litle and had but a small company and was like a barrayn woman which is solitary in her house but these faithfull christians whereof the number was at the first so small shall wonder to see themselues made so great a multitude and to be so increased And they shall maruaile whence such a great people can come Vnto this the holy Ghost maketh answere and saith I will bring them behold I wil open or lift vp my hand and I will hold vp the signe that is the cros of Christ whereunto I will make thy disparsed children assemble and that shal be done by a singular and notable way of mildnes and lenity For the Gospell is a sweete gentle faire and fatherlye kinde of speech which draweth such as be children by most comfortable and sweet promyses of help and comfort And by this Gospel the most mighty potentates and puissaunt kinges of this world are drawen and allured into the Church that they may beleue the gospel and be a helpe and protection vnto the Church Yea they shall reuerence honour and highly esteeme the church for they shall worship it with their faces towards the earth That is they shal fal prostrate before the church This is the promise of the lord it must nedes be fulfilled though oftentimes in the eyes of the world it seemed impossible to be brought to pas and cleane contrarye to reason But wee must expect the Lords leasure and liue in hope For the Lord will performe what so euer he hath promised Which when he shall doe then are we deliuered and most happy For whosoeuer beleeueth in the Lord and paciently watcheth for his helpe and beleeueth his word shall not be confounded but haue and see his hope fulfilled But now if the church in her weakenes and infirmity say O god how shall this be that thou sayest I shall haue so many children which shall come vnto the Gospell seeing they are so subiect vnto cruell tirants that they cannot get from them and come vnto me For sinne is a cruell tirant and by it they are sore blinded yea death and hell also keepeth them close prisoners and by good right for their harts are hardened which thing these words folowing import where the Prophet saith Shall the pray be taken from the mighty to which God maketh answere saying the church shall be great ample and famous and those which are now in bondage shall haue their freedome whether those tirantes will or not for God will destroy those tirants and will bring forth his people and deliuer the church and the very tirants themselues shall be their own destruction And where he sayth Shall that which is in bondage by the iust man be brought to freedome this is the meaning The law sinne death had duly brought vs into bondage for in that we were bond and captiues to sinne we were seruants and bondslaues to the law sinne and death But there is a stronger Lord whose name is Iesus he by good right hath made vs free and that by his most pretious inestimable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 redemption to wit he by him self hath redeemed vs so that we are not onely by might but also by right freed from the power of Sathā Esay hath excellently described the state and condition of Christes kingdome Least Afterwarde any man should looke for an earthly kyngdome of Christ as the Anabaptistes and Iewes do Esay in his 50. chap. doth plainly prophecy of the passiō of Christ and he speaketh thus in his person I gaue my back vnto the smiters my cheekes vnto the nippers I hid not my face frō shame and spitting for the Lord god wil help me therfore shal I not be confounded therefore haue I set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be ashamed These two disciples thought that Christ had bin cleane confounded and extinguished but the thyrd day they saw it hapned far otherwise to wit Christes enemies were subdued and Christ himself exalted And Esay in his 51. chapter doth comfort the church congregated of the Iewes and Gentils The church in this world hath affliction and tribulation and therfore he comforteth it with the example of Abrahā and Sara Abraham and Sara were by reason of their old age past all hope of
scriptures as the Lord Iesus appeareth in his talke to haue opened to his two disciples going to Emaus And in lyke respect no lesse commendation also is of his part deserued and of our part to be recounted to this our good brother and learned scholemaister Hilton who at request hath taken paines to translate the same into our english countrye speach for the better instructiō of such as haue not ben brought vp in the skill of the Latine tongue Accept therefore well in worth gentle reader the laborious trauaile of this godly man read it as the Lord shal geue thee time and leasure vpon a more fruitfull matter thou canst not employ thy diligence For when all other thinges shall faile thee onely fayth in Iesus the Lord is that must saue thee both body and soule Read and pray The Lord Iesus heare thy prayers and blesse thy reading Amen Yours in Christ Iesu fellow laborer Iohn Foxe The translator to the Christian Reader WHereas Doctor Vrbane hath here set down the doctrine which our Sauiour Christ taught his disciples on the way to Emaus in a dialoge and not as it semeth in a sermō as both in this booke it is called and in deed it is for euery godly dialoge such as this is is a sermon or rather a great many sermōs think it to be done beloued reader for thy profit good insāple For though this familiar kinde of talking be not the most glorious kinde of oration for the teacher yet is it the most commodious way of instruction for the learner And here behold how the godly byshop sought more thy profit then his owne prayse Agayne it is a good insample for all that haue charge of others thus to instruct them and reason with them in diuinitye and commonly after they haue hard a sermō that so they may see how their younglinges heare and beare away the sermō which they here But maryed men especially haue in this dialoge a good ensample as good byshops of their houses to instruct their wyues and to haue such talke with them at home as may be to the vse of edifiyng Then which nothing is more comely nothing more fruitfull nothing more necessarye For as man and wife are the Image of Christ and his spirituall church so ought there communication to be of heauenly and spirituall thinges And they which will vse this way of domesticall instruction shall reape the fruite thereof euen to haue their wiues cōforts not crosses and helpers not hinderers of their godly proceedings yea they shall haue thē though they be but women by this meanes as great defences to their houses families and people as was Lot to Sodome as was Phenies to Israell and as Moses was to the Iewes when he stode in the gappe and tourned away the wrath of the lord But women children and families cōtrarily vsed do shew contrary fruites and worke contrary effects And here if any aduersarye of the gospell hold that such hye matters would not be handled in such homely dialogs with women send them to the example of Christ in the gospell and the apostles in the Acts who are Vrbans warrant in this matter And if they require examples of doctors they shall finde that Hilarius in his booke to his daughter Aphra Ambrose to his sister Hierom to Principia Hedibia Algasia Eustachius and Paula and Saint Augustine to his mother haue all vsed the lyke participation of hye misteries with women as Vrbane hath here done in this dialoge And therfore can it not be sayd but that this manner of teaching is godly profitable and vsual Wherefore receaue it reade it and pray beloued reader that thou mayst profite in it to Gods glorye and thy saluation ⧠The principall contents of this booke discoursed at large in their places quoted as followeth OF the knowledge of Christ how necessarye it is 2.3 Of the gospell and doctrine thereof 4.5 Of originall sinne and the promises of grace 12 14. Of Christ his kingdome and of the Iewes 17.20 Of the figures of Christ in the olde law 2.24.25 Of the Genealogie of Christ 28. Of the Citie Bethleem where he was borne 29. Of the virgine Mary and Christes conception 33 36. Of Christ his name 37.39.86 Of his former comming how base 41. the time therof 63. Of his eternall Godhead 70. and humane byrth 84. Of his flight into Egipt 90. Of his minesterie that he should be a king priest doctor mediator redeemer and iudge of the world 91. Of his miracles 97. Of his death descending into hell resurrection kingdome euerlasting and commodities thereof 98. FINIS †Certaine places of the Scripture expounded cap. ver  Fol. 3 15 I will put enmity betwene thee and c. 7 26 4 By my selfe haue I sworne 11 46 10 The scepter shall not depart 16 49 11 He shall binde his Asses 20 8 4 What is man that thou 98 22 1 My God my God why 106 110 1 The Lord sayd vnto my Lord. 112 8 22 The Lord hath possessed me 71 2 1 It shall be in the last dayes 115 4 2 In that day shall the. 117 8 13 Sanctifie the Lord of hostes 118 7 14 Behold a virgine shall conceaue 33 11 1 But there shall come a rod. 119  10 And in that day the roote of Iesse 121 12 3 Therefore with ioye shall 122 13 14 The Pallace shall be forsaken 125  21 And the Lord went before him 117 26 19 Thy dead men shall liue 123 27 2 In that day sing to thy vineyard 124 35 1 The defeart and the wildernes 126 42 1 Behold my seruant I will stay 47  5 He that created the heauens and. 51 52 13 Behold my Seruaunt shall prosper 137 53 1 Who will beleue our report 157 60 1 Arise Ierusalem 150  17 For bras will I bring gould 152 61 1 The spirite of the Lord is with me 55 62 8 The Lord hath sworne by his right hand 156 31 31 Behold the day is come sayth the Lord. 171 37 1 The hand of the Lord is vpon me 175  21 And say vnto him thus sayth the Lord. 176 2 34 I saw a stone cut of a mountaine 35 2 44 And in the dayes of these kinges 63 9 24 Seuenty weekes are determined vpon 62 5 2 And thou Bethleem Ephrata 29 3 8 Therefore waite ye vpon me 199 2 7 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes 202 3 8 Heare now O Iehosua the hye priest 205 9 9 Reioyce greatly O daughter Sion 42 1 17 But vpon mount Sion shall be deliueraunce 190 2 6 Thou art not the least 29 1 1 In the beginning was the word 72 8 58 Verely Verely I say vnto you before 31 FINIS ¶ A Dialogue of Vrbanus Rhegius vpon the Sermon which Christ made out of Moyses the Prophets to those two his Disciples as they went from Ierusalem to Emaus immediatly after his Resurrection
The Archangell Gabriel did rightly expound this prophesie in Luke For after he had saluted Mary he sayd Loe thou shalt conceiue in thy wōbe and beare a sonne and shalt call his name Iesus He shal be great and shal be called the sonne of the highest And whē Mary doubtfull of these things asked how that could be seyng she had not known a man the Angell by and by answered and opened vnto her a singuler strange and supernaturall way of conception saying The holy ghost shall come vpon thee and the power of the highest shall ouershadow thee Therfore also that holy thing that shal be borne of thee shal be called the sonne of God. ¶ Anna. This by the gift and grace of God I beleue constantly Neyther do I doubt but that Christ was borne of a pure and chaste virgin seyng the holy ghost himselfe doth beare witnes of the same And S Math. alledgeth this place out of the seuēth chapter of Esay interpreteth this Ebrue word Haalmah Virgin which interpreter we both ought and may certaynely beleue But whereas that faithles and obstinate people the Iewes enemies to Christ exclaime saying that Haalmah doth not signify a virgin but a maid or yong woman alredy maried to a man and whereas they contemne the virginitie of Mary and falsly accuse it as fayned and seyng they also wrast this prophesie other wayes then to Mary according as our frend Rabbi Antonius Margarita tolde vs I pray you let me heare how these false Iewes may be refuted and conuinced out of the old testament For they deny the autoritie testimony of the new ☞ Vrb. The Iewes as vtter enemies to the puritie of the gospell obiect in deed many thinges agaynst this prophesy but al without ground and reason But that you may better vnderstand the meaning of this prophesie I will first expound vnto you certaine Hebrue wordes and cleare the controuersie in some principall pointes wherof the ground of the controuersie doth depend The Iewes haue three wordes which signify maydes the first is Naerah which signifieth a yong woman mayd or no mayd For as Rabbi Lizhak Nathan testifieth the true signification of this word is generally Youth The second word is Bthulah which as the same Rabbi sayth signifieth a pure shamefast virgin The third worde is Haalmah which in this place the prophet vseth of Mary as most proper and fit for the purpose For it signifieth a virgine whose virginitie is pure and vntouched but ripe marigeable and able to beare children And it is worthy the obseruatiō that this worde is neuer taken in holy scripture for a yong woman that hath knowen a man This also is as well worth noting that Haalmah doth not signifie generally euery mayd which is pure and vntouched but as S. Hierome noteth a virgin close kept in whom the parents diligently carefully and watchfully retayne and kepe in at home This may be gathered of the worde Schoresth For Alam signifieth to hide couer keepe out of sight And so is Mary called haalmah not onely because she was a pure and vndefiled virgin but because the yōg mayd which is diligently and vigilantly kept vp of her parents is for the most part godly and holily brought vp vertuously instructed And the Prophet could not haue vsed a worde more to the purpose and fitter for this place thē this word Haalmah which most properly agreeth with Mary For Bthulah signifieth indifferently any mayde as well yonger as older whether she be fit for child bearing or not There be many maydes well striken in age of threescore or threescore and ten yeres old and so vnfit for to beare children but the prophet would here declare and set forth a virgin both yong marigeable and fruitfull Secondly the Iewes all without reason standing vpō no ground but only desirous to make braule being in hart obstinately impudently and wilfully blynded and hardened cauill and falsly say that haalmah signifieth a yong woman which in mariage hath already known a man But they may be conuinced and proued liers out of the olde testament In which haalmah neuer signifieth a yong womā that hath had the company of man but only a pure chast and vndefiled virgin As in Genesis Rebecka when she was not yet maried to Isaac is called haalmah And as then certainly she had neuer known man but was a pure chast virgin as the wordes of the text and history manifestly and without question do proue and conuince The text in Exodus vseth the same worde in the same sence speaking of Meriam Moises his sister so doth it in the 67. psalme and in the Canticles 1. and in many other places which were both laborious to recite yet not greatly needfull in so playne a matter But the Iewes alledge an other thing to wit that this prophesie imported and was ment of king Achas his sonne Ezekia they say that he was giuen to the house of Dauid as a signe by which they might know that they should be once deliuered from those two kings Rezin and Pekah ¶ Anna. They that faithfully beleue the Gospell be not troubled with this obiection at all Yet am I desirous to heare how it is refuted ☞ Vrb. The text in the 4. of the kings and 16. chap. wipeth away this obiection And I meruayle much at the shameles impudency and malipertnes of the Iewes in this place that they be not afrayd so grosly and manifestly to lye The history of the holy scripture testifieth plainly that king Achas raigned in Iuda but 16. yeres In which tyme this was prophesied as appeareth in that 7. of Esay After Achas was Hiskia placed on his father Achas his trone to gouern the people And he begā to raigne when he was 25. yeares of age Now conferre these together you shall see that this prophesy could not be fulfilled in Hiskia For he was .9 yeres old when his father began his raigne And so it appeareth plainly that Hiskia of whom they falsly affirm this prophesie to be geuen was at least 9. yeares of age when this prophesie was published How now I pray you can this prophesie then be either spoken or thought of Hiskia What nede many wordes The Iewes be blinded and their hartes are hardened neither haue they any knowledge or vnderstanding of the holy Scriptures God be mercifull vnto them Amen Thus haue you heard that the mother of Christ was a pure and vndefiled virgin and that this conception was not after the maner of other men by carnall copulation but by a new strange and marueilous maner euen by the holy ghost and yet the virginitie of his mother pure and perfect And so the prophet Daniel beholding her with spirituall eyes sayth in the vision of the 4. monarchies that he saw a stone cutte of a mountayne without hand Which wordes the holy church euer yet to this day interpreted of Christ and his blessed mother the
virgin Mary For Christ in deed is that stone which without handes that is without the seed or helpe of man was taken out of the pure body of Mary For so the holy and godly doctors of the primatiue church as Didimus Ambrosius Hierom Augustine and Irenaeus tooke it And so doth the holy church now take it consenting and agreeing with these godly doctors Now where as the sonne of this virgin is called Emanuel or Immanuel it ministreth great and infinite comfort to the godly For Immanu doth signifie with vs and El signifieth God because God is now with vs and amongst vs not onely thorow his grace as he is alwayes in euery place as he was in tymes past with our fathers but he is with vs otherwise after a new and singuler maner to wit in a bodily presence or in his present body For God is become man And as Paul sayth In Christ dwelleth all fulnesse of the Godhead bodily That is God is not only in Christ in power and grace as he is in all other holy and godly men But very God himselfe dwelleth in the holy manhood of Christ euen as in his temple so that both God and mā is in Christ one person And as Athanasius saith in his Creede As the reasonable soule and flesh is one man so God man is one Christ ▪ That is as Augustine sayeth Of things which God made this is the most gracious that man is ioyned with God in vnitie of person in heauēly things the highest truth is rightly attributed to the word of God. What greater honor and more excellent dignity could our humaine nature haue then to haue God himselfe descend from heauen out of his high maiesty and glory and come into the earth and take into vnity of person not angels nature but mans nature euen the seed of Abraham and so become true man that by that meanes he might bring our nature to the glory of the blessed euerlasting life and as it were hauing now laid apart his power wisdome and dietie shewe himselfe altogether as myld meeke lowly louing tractable duetifull to vs as if he were our seruant and bondeman bought with our mony For as Paul to the Phil. saith When he was in forme of God he thought it no robbery to be equall with God but he made himselfe of no reputation and tooke on him the forme of a Seruant and was made like vnto men and was found in shape as a man He humbled himselfe and became obedient to the death euē the death of the crosse And to Titus he sayth that the goodnes and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is loue towardes men of God our Sauiour appeared Truly that was an infinite great 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For how could he by any means set forth the flagrant affection of his loue towardes vs more then both sweetely and louingly to imbrace our miserable and humaine nature and also earnestly seeking our saluation vouchsafe to be made man. Be not these I pray you especiall arguments and sure signes of his great mercifulnes good will loue infinite affection towards mankind Surely he would not haue become man for any other cause but only that he might plentifully poure vpon vs vnworthy wretches his vnmesurable incomprehensible vnsearcheable treasures with the infinite riches of his abundant goodnes and grace Verily we may now truely say Immanuell God is with vs seeyng he is not onely graciously with vs and amongst vs as a creator and gouernor with his creatures mouing renuing nourishing and preseruing all things by his power But also in that he is man and for our cause only to the ende he may make vs partakers of his kingdome and lyfe euerlasting and so is with vs after a new and peculiar maner Afore tyme he dwelt with his creatures only as God But now he is with vs men as man yea he is a heauenly man and a humaine god What sounder greater truer or fruitfuller comfort can there be in all affliction and calamitie then that God in this sort is with vs who now as Paul boldly sayth can be against vs If God after this admirable vnspeakable incomprehensible and maruelous maner of his manhood had not bene with vs we needed not haue looked for lyfe For there had bene neither hope nor helpe counsayle nor comfort left for man to looke for who by reason of sinne is in so great and horrible danger of eternall death But we may now in the Lord alway reioyce we ought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 always to giue thanks to Christ our God for this great mistery of his holy and sauing incarnation For now our mortall nature hath a certayne and sure hope nay it hath so sufficient and precious a pledge of lyfe that it cannot wauer or doubt But that together with Christ it shall liue for euer For as Athanasius that godly and auncient Doctor saith touching this matter in his booke of the passion of Christ the mortall body was ioyned to the immortall and corruptible man was coupled with the incorruptible worde Wherefore death by the worde which discended from heauen in Christ is abolished euen as stubble is of the fire consumed ¶ Anna. Blessed be that Haalmah for euer amongst all women and blessed bee the fruite of her wombe our true Emanuel world without ende ☞ Vrb. Amen ¶ Anna. You promised to expound me the name of Christ and to open the prophesies in the scriptures which spake of it long before Of Christes Name Vrbane CHrist in the holy scriptures hath many names and all of them most sweete and comfortable as is this Emanuel of which you heard euen now out of the seuenth of Esay But there be two especial chief names which the scripture giueth him which we wil first hādle The former of them is Iesus a name most proper and agreeing with him and most comfortable to vs This name is an Hebrue word for the Hebrues say that Ieschuah or Iehoschuah is as much to say as health a sauiour or keeper and it cōmeth of the worde Iascha which is saued or deliuered or els it may come of Hoschia that is he hath saued kept or deliuered This roiall or glorious name agreeth not with any so truely fitly as with Christ He iustly in deed and by good desert is honoured and called by this name for he onely it is that deliuereth and saueth vs from all calamities both temporall and eternall And thus doth the Angell interprete this name in Mathew where he sayeth to Ioseph Ioseph thou sonne of Dauid feare not to take Mary for thy wyfe for that which is conceiued in her is of the holy ghost she shall bring forth a sonne and thou shalt call his name Iesus for he shal saue his people from their sinnes And whē Hanna the high priest and Caiphas and Ioanne and Alexander and as many as were of the kindred
way my paths shal be exalted Behold these shall come from far And loe these from the North and from the West And these from the Lord of Sinim Reioyce O Heauens and be ioyfull O Earth burst forth vnto prayse O Mountaynes for God hath comforted his people and will haue mercy vpon his afflicted But Sion saith the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me Can a woman forget her child and not haue compassiō on the sonne of her wombe Though they should forget yet wil I not forget thee Behold I haue grauen thee vpon the palmes of my hands Thy walles are euer in my sight thy builders make hast thy destroyers and they that made thee wast are departed from thee Lift vp thine eyes round about and behold all these gather them selues together and come to thee As I liue saith the Lord thou shalt surely put them all vpon thee as a garment and gird thy selfe with them like a bride For thy desolation and thy wast places and thy land destroyed shall surely be more narrow for them that shall dwell in it And they that did deuour thee shall be far away The children of thy Barons shall say againe in thine eares The place is straite for me geue place to me that I may dwell Then shalt thou say in thine hart who hath begotten me these seeing I am barrain and desolate a captiue and a wanderer to and fro and who hath nourished them Behold I was left alone Whence are these Thus saith the Lord god Behold I will lift vp my hands to the Gentils and set vp my standard to the people and they shall bring thy sonnes in their armes and thy daughters shall be caryed vpon their shoulders And kings shall be thy nursing fathers and Queenes shall be thy nurses They shall worship thee with their faces towards the earth and lick vp the dust of thy feet And thou shalt know that I am the Lord for they shall not be ashamed that wayt for me Shall the pray be taken from the mighty Or the iust captiuity deliuered But thus saith the lord Euen the captiuity of the mighty shall be taken away and the pray of the tirant shall be delyuered For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee and I will saue thy children and will feed them that spoyl thee with their own flesh and they shal be dronken with their own bloud as with sweet wine And all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Sauiour Redeemer the mighty one of Iacob This prophecy comforteth true Israell to wit the church the spiritual kingdome of Christ congregated of the Iewes and Gentils and it teacheth vs what is the state of Christes kingdome in this world to wit that nothing in this world is more contemptible and vile then the true Israelites or the right beleeuers in Christ Iesus For the king him self in this earth shewed all humility and submission and was so far frō al pride cruelty ostentation and worldly pompe that the world vtterly despised and contemned him euen as if all that euer he had done had been nothing For when he had continued almost 34. yeares in very humble and low state euen as a pilgrim or stranger here on earth at last they put him to a most shamefull and ignominious death And those as S. Paul witnesseth that beleue in Christ must be like vnto their head Christ that is in this world they must be contemned persecuted afflicted and subiect to all calamities Tertullian in his Apologie against the Gentiles saith that in his time Christians of all other were counted vnprofitable persons and men good for nothing And Ciprian against Demetrian sayth that in his dayes what euil so euer happened in the earth either dearth of victuall or other euil or misfortune it was alway imputed to the Christians And Paul to the Rom. saith out of the 44. psalme that Christians in this world are accounted as sheepe for the slaughter For who so euer they be that be enemies to Christ the same also goe about to kill or destroy those that truely beleeue in Christ and they that kill them thinke they doe God seruice Wherefore it is specially to be required that the godly here arme them selues and strengthen their harts with true consolations against all assaults least they be discouraged and faint vnder the cros ¶ Anna. What comfort then doth the holy Ghost geue them in these great calamities ☞ Vrb. First he calleth the remnant of his people that is the faithfull Christians poore and contemptible soules which the world abhorreth and which are constrained to be sheep ordained for the tirants slaughter But on the other side he promiseth that there shal be in those enemies great change to wit that they shal be so clean altered and haue their disposition maners and nature so changed and become such that they will imbrace and honour the godly for Gods sake whom they shall by the preaching of the gospell know and professe And this was fulfilled when the Romaine Emperors who before time had bitterly vexed and persecuted the kingdom of Christ continually destroying his faithful christians at last were content in their own persons to professe the name of Christ and did highly honour the christians and decrely and hartely imbrace and reuerence them as the only beloued people of god Of this sort was Constantine the great Theodosius and Charles the great and many other Emperors wherby they which beleeue in Christ haue euen in this world much pleasure and ioy But the true comfort conteyned in the words following shall at last appeare The prophet saith I haue heard them in an acceptable time c. This acceptable time or time of mercy is that time of grace of the new testament in which the Lord the most plentiful welspring of mercy opened the treasure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the most precious gifts of his grace and commaunded the euerlasting couenant of his mercy to be published abroad preached throughout al the world as Paul expoundeth this prophecy to the Cor. For the Lord sent Christ and Christ performed al things which made for mans deliuerance for with his sacrifice he pacified God for sinne blotted out sinne and swallowed vp death and fulfilled the law and conquered Sathan All which great benefits and rich treasures together with his royal victory and life God cōmaunded shold be offered and geuen to the world by his gospell Indeed this day of the Lord is a most acceptable ioyfull and comfortable day This is the day of perfect health help The Lord also hath geuen his seruants to wit the true beleeuers in Christ for a league of his people euen as Christ is a league betwixt God and man For the word of God and the holy sacraments by which the church doth bring other also into the league of grace that they likewise may be partakers of Gods promises are found and remain in
with the church Wheras men which are without knowledge of God being in heresies superstition idolatry exercised and blinded are by that euil destroying and disturbing spirit dispersed and the heritage deuided Cōtrarily Christes faithfull are by the gospell and doctrine of the church gathered together into the vnity of faith which iustifyeth ¶ Anna. But what saith the church to them which yet beleeue not ☞ Vrb. It saith that which Esay speaketh of here saying Goe forth and shew your selues as if he should haue sayd ye sit in Sathans prison in darknes of vnbeleef but if you abide in that pryson and darknes you shall die for euer And therfore arise and come out and fly speedely out of sathans kingdome repent amend your selues and beleeue the gospel and then shal your harts be lighted with knowledge then shall you both learn to know your selues you shall also receiue true holynes be saued In the kingdome and dungeon of sathā is nothing els but euerlasting hunger penury of al things but in the church which is the kingdome of Christ are most delectable pleasant pastures For the gospel is a most ioyful messenger and comfortable word of life which floweth with al delites comforts ioyes in which we finde and haue plenty and ful store of al pleasure goodnes to wit forgeuenes of sinnes true holynes peace with God ioy of spirite and peace of conscience and life yea true and perfect consolation And this is the meaning of these strange words of the prophet where he saith They shal feed in the wayes and their pastures shal be in the plaines or in al the tops of hils they shal neither be hungry nor thirsty and the heat of the day shal not touch them But whence haue they such delights and pleasures The prophet answereth because their deliuerer wil rule gouern thē They are as you here in the kingdome of mercy Christ conducteth thē by his word spirit These three to wit the word the sacraments and the holy spirit are the welsprings and flouds by which only this spirituall thirst may in all places and for euer be quenched And least this spirituall thirst shold not be quenched or these pastures of life be hid and not easely found the Lord wil make all the mountaines into a way that is there shal be in all congregations or companies of Christians place that euē easely with no troble mē may come vnto him There shal be a very broad frequented way redy and easy to be found so that no man shall haue need to aske which is the way lest therby the free acces to Christ might be hindered For in what kind and state of life so euer any man shal be so that it be not quite cōtrary to gods word if he beleeue in Christ doubtles he shall both haue forgeuenes of sinnes and be inheritor of euerlasting life whether he be Iew or Gentil master or seruant mistres or mayd maiestrate or subiect and they shal come from far Before the people of god was in the litle land of Chanaan and the church of God was straitly laced hēmed in but now it shal be let lose through the wholl world and as Christ saith in Luke they shal come frō the East and from the West and from the North and from the South and shall sit in the kingdome of God. Then the prophet biddeth all creatures reioyce and be glad for al creatures which are are in two places to wit in heauē earth now the occasion cause why they ought to triumph and reioyce is this First because God the father hath sent his sonne into this earth geuen vs his gospel from heauen which is a messuage of reconciliation betwixt God man and the word of grace remission of sinnes Secondly because that now the people of God faithful christians are out of al danger and in a happy ease for death is subdued But he calleth the good christians poore or afflicted because while they liue in this earth they are heauy troubled inwardly with feare terror of death and gods iudgement and outwardly they are shaken with persecutions and all kinds of calamities But this is our consolation that god calleth vs his people for if we be his people he our comforter protector thē may we in deed reioyce For if God be with vs who can be against vs what hurt can the creature doe vs how cā it dismay vs seeing the creator himself doth comfort help vs the flesh is very weak and when the tempest thick mistes of aduersitie and tribulations come vpon vs when we are ouerwhelmed with vehement crosses when we are something sharply assaulted with sorowes feares and temptations then doe these comfortable promises of gods grace and help vanish away and fly out of our sight in so much that we think God hath forsaken vs and that he is angry and so plagueth vs because he intendeth to destroy vs For thus saith Sion to wit the miserable afflicted godly in their infirmities and greeuous temtations The Lord hath forsaken me the Lord hath forgotten me my sinnes O Lord are haynous great greeuous and to heauy for me to beare What shal become of me O wretch that I am what shall I doe how shal I escape euerlasting death and the wrath of God ¶ An. Truely husband it is oftentimes so with me for I am many times so afflicted and am in such heuynes feares and temtations that I thinke God careth not for me and that he will euē in these trobles feares afflictions and temtations leaue and destroy me most miserable woman ☞ Vrb. Our weake fearfull flesh cannot alwayes expel such feares cogitations For though the promises of God be neuer so plentiful manifold though god euery foot help vs yea and that so manifestly and redely that we may euen grope and feel him yet whē troble and greef come again we are so vnmindful of al the former helps which we haue had and we are so trobled soroful as if the lord could forget or forsake vs which in deed he can neuer doe For he hath promised both to help comfort vs and surely he will performe his promise for he is true therfore he wil doe it he is of such might that whatsoeuer he saith he can perform it Wherfore Esay addeth to this complaint of the godly which mourn vnder the cros a most ioyfull comfortable consolation by which we may help this our dastardly weaknes and desperation and comfort our heuy harts thus wrastling vnder the cros pressed down with aduersitie desperatiō And to doe it the liuelier he boroweth a similitude of nature which is commōly knowen amongst all men to wit the louing and motherly affection of women which of all other are most naturall to their children We know that God hath planted in the