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A01331 A sermon preached on Sundaye, being the .17. of March Anno. 1577. at S. Alpheges Church within Creplegate in London, by William Fulke doctor in diuinitie. Seene and allowed, accordyng to the order appoynted in the Queenes Maiesties Iniunctions Fulke, William, 1538-1589. 1577 (1577) STC 11454; ESTC S112799 25,975 72

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most ioyfully and thankefully receyue the glad tydings of libertie That wee maye beware by the punishment of Hierusalem to refuse freedome offered least wee bee chrust into perpetuall bondage No Citie nor people in the worlde had greater priuiledges of honour then the Citie and people of Hierusalem And yet we see nowe how iustly Hierusalem is turned into Sinay freedome into bondage glory into shame that we should not stande vpon any prerogatiues or priuiledges as though any thing could exempt vs from the seueritie of Gods iudgement if wee reiect the grace of God when it is freely offered If Hierusalem escaped not punishment for all her dignitie what shall become of Sodome or Babilon which haue no prerogatiue of dignitie if they being called to libertie doo still continue in bondage And here we haue an example whereby to shape the Papistes an answere for all that they can bring to commende the dignitie of theyr Churche of Rome For the present time or that hath been these many hundreth yeres they can speake little good of her if they will speake the truth that all men doo see with their eyes in this age or may reade in stories of the former ages written by their owne Registers but they haue a great glory to bring forth the auncient commendation of fayth which the Scriptures and olde doctors doo ascribe vnto the Churche of Rome the godly conuersation of the Anrient Christian Romanes the multitude of Constant Martyrs which that Churche did yeelde in the space of two or three hundreth yeeres but all in vayne yea all to their greater shame except they can proue the same fayth conuersation and Christian constancie to remaine now in the Churche of Rome that was in those golden dayes of the primitiue Churche S. Paule in deede commendeth the fayth of the Romanes to be celebrated in all the world which place the Papistes thinke to make much for the dignitie of the See of Rome But let them shewe that the Pope and hys Churche of Rome doo nowe hold the same fayth whych S. Paule praysed in the Romanes of hys time or else it maketh nothing in the world for the Churche of Rome nowe but to her shame and reproche which is degenerated from that doctrine of libertie which of olde time was wont to be imbraced in those places The fayth of the Romanes of that time which S. Paule commended was this that a man is iustified by faythe without the deedes of the lawe Is this the doctrine of the Churche of Rome according to the true meaning of S. Paule and the whole discourse of his Epistle to the Romanes Do they not teache the contrarie directly that a man cannot be iustified by faith only without the workes of the lawe Wherfore seeing the Romanes that are nowe haue a contrarie faith to the Romanes of olde time there is no cause why they should claime the aunciēt prayse which haue not retained the auncient fayth And forasmuch as they are fallen from the grace of Christ to seeke ryghteousnes by their owne merits there is no reason why they shoulde haue the commendation of the fayth of the Gospell which haue submitted themselues to to the bondage of the Lawe And if Hierusalem that is nowe be turned into Agar and the earthly Sion into the barreyn Sinay because shee hath despised the promise of mercy redemption which the auncient Hierusalem and Moūt Sion in the tyme of the godly Parriarches and Prophetes most ioyfully receyued why shoulde Rome that is nowe wyth her seuen hylles appointed for the throne of Antichryst enioye the prayse of the auncyent Romanes and the Christian Churche that sometyme was a straunger in that place whom nowe shee persecuteth and condemneth their fayth for Heresie Shee cannot bee taken for the heauenly Hierusalem that professeth the seruyle doctrine and Religion of the earthly Hierusalem Neither can her children the Papists be taken for Citizens of the heauenly Hierusalem which thinke so great a part of religion to consist in going a Pilgrimage to the earthly Hierusalem The Apostle here vtterly reiecteth Hierusalem that is nowe and thrusteth her out of the lande of promyse into Arabia the desatte The Papistes make no accompte of Hierusalem that is aboue but all their delight is in Hierusalē that is on earthe so they shewe themselues right Agarens Ismaelites What a great matter is made in Poperie of Hierusalem that is now yea although it be in the hands of Turkes Paganes yet they so esteeme it that they thinke they should haue the greatest treasure in the world if they coulde get the possessiō of that citie out of the Paganes handes And for that purpose howe manye thousand men haue lost their liues in the enterprises that haue beene aduentured to gayne that place out of the Turkes Souldans dominions What an hygh poynt in Religion is it made of the Papistes to visite Hierusalem that is nowe yea it is a matter of so great importance that the vowe which one hath made to go on Pilgrimage to Hierusalem cannot be dispensed withal by any other inferiour person but euen by the Popes owne holynesse hymselfe Such a goodly matter it is to be a Citizen of the earthly Hierusalem But let the Papistes alone with theyr holy mother the earthly Hierusalem mount Sinay or Agar and let vs returne to the comparison of the Apostle which saith But Hierusalē which is aboue is free which is the mother of vs al wee heard before that there were two mothers in the familie of Abraham Agar and Sara the one begetting into bondage the oher vnto libertie wee harde also that these mothers doo signifie two Couenants or two Churches and that Agar signifieth the Couenant of Iustice or Hierusalem that is nowe the Churche of Hypocrites which abuse this couenant in seeking to be iustified therby which was giuē to direct vs to the couenant of mercy Now must we consider Sara the seconde mother which was a freewoman how she was a figure of the new couenant and of the heauenly Hierusalē that is the mother of all the Children of god The first couenant in Mount Sinay what it was namely the Couenant of righteousnesse we haue sufficiently declared alreadie The seconde Couenant of mercy is excellently well described by the Prophet Ieremie Chap. 31. alledged by the Apostle to the Hebrues Chap. 8. Beholde the dayes come sayeth the Lorde that I wyll accomplishe with the house of Israel and Iuda a newe Couenant 9. Not accordyng to the Couenant which I made wyth theyr Fathers in the daye when I tooke them by the hande to bryng them out of the lande of Egypt for they themselues abyde not in my Couenant and I regarded them not sayeth the Lorde 10. For this is the Couenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those dayes sayth the Lorde I wyll gyue my Lawes into their myndes and wryte them in theyr hartes And I wil be their God and they shal be
it may best bee founde but if the condition of the Lawe bee so streight as it will admit nothyng but a perfecte obseruation in him that shall haue the reward why will you seeke too establish your owne righteousnes and so void your selues cleane of the righteousnes of God in Christ And so whyle you wyll bee iustifyed both by Christe and by the woorkes of the Lawe you shal bee iustifyed neyther by Christe nor by the woorkes of the Lawe For the Lawe can abyde no transgression nor the grace of Christ any satisfaction And yet there is perfect righteousnesse in the obseruation of the law And a mā is iustified by faith without the works of the law Wherupon the deuils sophistrie concludeth that if iustification be by either of these meanes by it selfe much rather it must be whē they are both ioyned together Wherefore wee must see whether they may be ioyned together or no. Let vs therefore first heare the lawe The lawe in deede is a perfect rule of righteousnesse to iustifie not the hearers but the obseruers The man that dooth all thinges commannded by the Lawe shall lyue thereby that is by his ryghteousnesse hath deserued eternall lyfe But here is a perfect obseruation requyred or else no ryghteousnesse obteyned no life deserued for cursed is hee that abydeth not in all the preceptes of the lawe to doo them So that here appeareth a double condition annexed to the lawe The one is an absolute and perfecte obseruation required of them that shall be rewarded the other euerlasting curse and damnation threatned to him that hath transgressed By which it is most euident that the Lawe and the Gospell grace and woorkes merite and mercye bee of so contrarie nature as it is impossible they shoulde bee ioyned together in the atteyning of eternall saluation One transgression if there were but one in a mannes whole lyfe and that neuer so small yet such is the rygour of the lawe as it barreth vs from ryghteousnes and maketh vs subiect to the sentence of Gods cursse Now let vs on the other side consider the Gospell and see whether that admitteth any mixture of deedes of the Lawe By the Gospell we are assured that wee are saued by grace but grace is a woorde of such freenesse as it ceasseth to bee grace if you adde anye thyng to it If it bee of woorkes sayth the Apostle then is it not of grace and if it bee of grace then is it not of workes for grace were not grace if it were not free And it coulde not bee truely sayde that we are iustified freely by his grace through the redemption of Christ Iesus if anye thyng in the worlde came in place of satisfaction besides the redemption of Christ Iesus ▪ But let vs heare what the lawe sayth It is written in the lawe for so are all the fyue bookes of Moyses accompted that Abraham had two sonnes one of a bondmayde another of a free woman the one called Ismael the other named Isaac Ismael was borne of Agar the Egyptian which was a bondwoman Isaac was borne of Sara the wyfe of Abraham which was a free woman such as Agar the mother was such was Ismael her sonne and Isaac was free as his mother Sara was Fyrst wee must obserue here that this comparison is altogether within the familie of Abraham that was a fygure of the Churche of god And therefore wee muste not seeke Ismaell and hys posteritie among them that are altogether wythout the Churche and professe open hatred agaynst the same But euen in the bosome of the visible Churche euen in the family of Abraham those that professe themselues to bee the sonnes of Abraham that is the sonnes of God and occupie no small ro●mes in the Churche but euen the highest oftentimes as Ismael for a season beyng the first borne of Abraham was accompted as the heyre of Abraham and so the most principal person in all the housholde Wherefore if we wil at this day know who be the Ismaelits we must not looke to the profane nations of the Turkes and misereantes that openly despise the Churche of God but euen to those that make the boldest and lowdest clayme to be heyres of the Churche euen the Papistes They haue their profession so had Ismael they haue their tytle so had Ismael they stand vpon their prerogatiue and so dyd Ismael They will haue a place in the familie of Abraham yea they wyll thrust out Isaac They claime they say by the elder tytle to be heyres of the Churche yea they weene they haue the Churche it selfe in possession And here it is marueilous howe they swell and stande vppon typtoes if you seeme to allowe them any place at all in the Church though it be but in the Belfrey they will streight way perke vp into the Chancell But softe a whyle my masters we allowe you no other place in the Churche of God then that which Ismael sometymes occupyed in the familie of Abraham And that in deede was no base roome in outwarde appearance and in the iudgement of men For who was thought to be the heyre of Abraham for sixteene or seuenteene yeeres but Ismael the eldest sonne of Abraham You who seemed to haue more right vnto the inheritance of Abraham then he that had the prerogatiue of the first begotten But all the sonnes of Abraham are not the heyres of Abraham For it is written In Isaac shall thy seede be called Wherefore we must not regard who maketh clayme to the inheritance of Abraham but who is rightly begotten to be the heire of Abraham for a bond man is capable of no inheritance And the child is accompted in the ciuill law of such condition as his mother is Therefore Ismael being borne of a bond woman hath no iust tytle to be the heyre of Abraham though he pretend to be his eldest sonne And he that was borne of the free woman though hee were younger by many yeeres yet by the prerogatiue of his free byrth became the heyre of Abraham his Father Wherefore if the Papists and all they that seeke to bee iustifyed by their workes be proued to bee the sonnes of the bond woman it wyll not helpe them any thing in the world that they haue of long tyme beene accompted as principal members of the familie of Abraham for it will fall out in the ende that they shall be found no better then Ismaelits and Agarynes and haue the same rewarde that Agar and Ismael had We haue heard now that Abraham had two sonnes of which the one only was hys heire And now let vs see why Ismael being the naturall sonne of Abraham the first borne was not the heire either before Isaac or at leastwise ioyntly with him here indeede standeth all the matter of controuersie although there be two sonnes why there is but one heyre but it is soone answered because there is but one way to come to the inheritance and that is onely by promyse
much as no man was euer able to obserue it except our sauiour Christ no man euer was or shall be iustifyed by it but by Christ onely And as the couenant of Iustice doeth require perfect righteousnesse and geueth no pardon so the couenant of mercy giueth righteousnes freely admitteth no satisfactiō These are those two Couenants that GOD hath made with mankynde concerninge their iustifycation saluation more then these two he hath not made so that he which wil be iustifyed by the law must looke for no mercy and hee that wyll be iustifyed by grace in Christe must not thinke of any merit worthynesse or satisfaction of his owne but only in Iesus Christ. What place then haue these mongrels that make a confusion of grace and merites of Fayth and Workes of the Law and the Gospell They haue no place in neyther of the two Testamentes the olde nor the new If they wyll haue a thyrde way of Iustifycation they must shew a thyrde Couenaunt yf they cannot shew a thyrde Couenant they cannot haue a middle way of Iustifycation Wee haue shewed good euydence for the two Couenants the one of Iustice the other of mercye and how the one Couenaunte neyther beareth wyth anye transgressyon nor alloweth anye pardon the other admitteth no dignity of the person nor alloweth any satisfaction of his for his vnworthinesse Let the Papistes which wil bee iustified partly by the grace of God and partly by their owne merites let them I say nowe stande foorth and shewe vs the Tables of suche a couenante if euer God made any such with men that he would forgyue them halfe their sinnes and allowe them to make amends for thother halfe let them shewe their euidence if they haue any if they haue none as there is none mentioned in the Scripture but the two Testamentes the two Couenantes the lawe and the Gospell what tytle or clayme can they make to the heauenly inherytance whereof they haue no promyse no Testament no couenāt but only a carnal perswasion of their owne fleshely reason an earthly Imagination of humayne wysedome yea an hellishe presumption of their prowde worldly affection whereby they shewe themselues to bee nothing els but Agarens and Ismaelytes Children of the bondewoman and borne after the fleshe as Ismaell their Father was whose tytle and clayme vntoo the spirituall inheritance was altogether earthly and carnall vtterly voyde of the promise and woorde of God. But let vs heare the Apostle descrybing the two Couenantes The one sayeth hee is from mount Sinay gendrying into bondage which is Agar The Lawe therfore which is the fyrst couenāt is cōpared to Agar bycause it begetteth into bondage as shee dyd yea mount Sinay from whence the Lawe was published is compared too Agar And then the Lawe is as it were the seede by which of Sinay that is the Church of Hypocrites are begotten no Children but vntoo perpetuall bondage But here nowe aryseth a doube howe of the lawe of GOD which is holy and good suche wycked and vngodly Chyldren shoulde bee conceyued For answer vntoo thys doubte wee muste vnderstande that not of the lawe rightely vsed suche vnhappie Children are begotten for wee knowe that the lawe is good if a man vse it lawfullye But when righteousnesse is soughte by obseruation of the lawe which is not attayned by any man but through grace only then is the lawe abused and of the Lawe so abused are begotten no Children but hypocrites vnto euerlasting bondage The Lawe is vsed rightly when it is made our Schoolmaster vnto Christe that wee may be iustified by Fayth But when Iustification is not sought by Fayth without the deedes of the Lawe but eyther by the deedes of the Lawe onely or by the deedes of the Lawe and Fayth then is the lawe which is holy of it selfe by this abuse made a corrupt seede of which is conceyued these bastardly Hypocrites that falsely chalenge to bee the Sonnes of god whereas they are in deede the sonnes of eternall sclauery and bondage You will say they seeke lyberty by this meanes and not bondage but certayne it is they fynde nothyng but bondage what soeuer they pretende too seeke For such is the nature of the lawe that it bryngeth all men intoo bondage that are not set at lybertye by the onely meane which GOD hathe appoynted for theyr infranchismente whiche is the Redemption of the Sonne of god Now when these men that seeke too bee vnder the Lawe refuse the onely charter of infranchismente which almightye GOD dooth most mercifully offer to gyue them freely they are intangled wyth double bondage and thraldome both that which is by nature whereunto all the sonnes of Adam are subiecte that are not set at libertie by the sonne of GOD and also that which groweth by theyr omne confession while they refuse the freedome offered and voluntaryly put their neckes vnder the yoke of the Lawe which promiseth no lybertie but vpon the keeping of an impossible condition and threatneth certein and perpetual bondage for euery voluntary yet necessary transgression So that it is impossible for al thē that are vnder the Lawe eyther to obteyne the reward which it promiseth or to avoyd the punishment which it threatneth Wherfore mount Sinay which is Agar the law thus abused begetteth no childrē but hipocriticall sclaues vnto euerlasting bondage For Agar is mount Sinay in Arabia and answereth in figure too that Hierusalem which is now is in bondage with her children First let vs here obserue that manner of speeche whyche the Apostle vseth when hee sayeth that Agar is the mount Sinay whereas it is euydent that he meaneth that Agar dooth figure or signifie the mount Sinay The Papistes make great exclamation agaynst those Interpreters which in the woordes of consecration as they cal them This is my body doo expounde est for significat This is my body that is this bread dooth signifye my body And a great matter they make of the verbe substantiue est as though that when soeuer it is vsed is Scripture it declareth a substaunce and no fygure or sygne of a substaunce Howbeyt there bee infynite places of Scripture where thys verbe substantiue est can not bee otherwyse interpreted then for significat and thys our Texte is one very manifeste place Agar sayth hee is the mount Sinay in Arabia What was Agar nowe chaunged into the substaunce of a Mount who is so vayde of reason or sense but he must needes confesse that hys meanyng is that Agar dooth sygnifye Mount Sinay or is a fygure of Mount Sinay in Arabia Yea but I knowe what will bee replyed Sayncte Paule speaketh not here of the Sacramentes That is true but when the holy Ghoste speaketh of Sacramentes which are holy and Heauenly signes it were more probable too vnderstande hys speache fyguratiuely and not litterally Yea it is most vsuall in the Scripture when the spirite of God speaketh of the Sacraments to say they bee those