of our Forte I suppose that you cannot finde any words in that Epistle that are more forcible then these are Quid proderit fratres mei si fidem quis dicat se habere operra autem non habeat nunquid poterit fides saluare eum What shall it auayle my brethren if a man shoulde say that he hath fayth and yet hath no workes doo ye think that faith can saue him And againe Sic et fides si non habeat opera mortua est in semetipsa Euen so faith also if it haue not workes it is dead in it selfe And againe Abraham pater noster noÌ„ne ex operibus iustificatus est offerens filium suum Isaac super altare Abraham our Father was he not iustified by workes when he offered Isaac his sonne vpon the Altare And againe Videtis quoniam ex operibus iustificatur homo et non ex fide tantum You sée that man is made righteous by workes and not by faith onely Iames. Chap. 2. I am sure that these be the places that you your selfe would picke out of S. Iames Epistle as sentences that in your iudgement doo make most against that which we beléeue and confesse which is That workes be not meritorious to saluation Nowe let vs consider of these sentences that we may sée whether they be likely to make against vs or against you For the first we say as S. Iames doth that if a man shall say that he hath faith yet hath no déedes that saying shall profite him nothing at all For although hee doo say that he hath fayth yet he hath iâ— not indéede For faith can no more be without good works then a good trée can be without good fruite The good trée is neuer without good â—ruites either Actâ—â— or Potentià that is either in acte or in power Euen so faith is neuer without good workes but hath them in power euen when shee séemeth to be most barren and vnfruitfull and when occasion serueth shee bringeth them foorth that all men may sée them and be assured that she is the same faith that S. Paul wrote of to the Galathians Fides quâ— per dilexionem operatur Fayth that worketh by loue To the seconde sentence we say as S. Iames doth also That is that fayth which hath no workes is deade in it selfe Men of your sorte can sometimes take holde vpon distinctions when they hope to haue any aduantage thereby against vs but in the vnderstanding of the meaning of S. Iames in this place they can not see any distinction of fayth at all No not though the text doo giue them neuer so great occasion to vse a distinction Your Schoolemen can tell you that Fides is Triplex Fayth is of thrée sortes Historica Ciuiliâ— and Ecclesiastica The Ecclesiasticall Faith is that wherby we are assured of the goodnes of our Godtowards vs whereby we are made his children by Adoption inheritours of his kingdome and heyres annexed with the onely begotten sonne of God Jesuâ— Christ our Lord. And wherby we are assured of the continuance of his fatherly goodnes towards vs in the performance of all his promises made vnto vs. Yea and by this faith we receiue good gifts from him in such quality number and measure as he knoweth to be méetest for vs so that therby we are made able to perseuer and coâ—tinue in séeking to set sorth his glory and in some measure to set it forth in déede euen to the ende of this our transitorie life Moreouer by this faith we doo certainly know these thingâ—s to the knowledge whereof mans reason could neuer bee able to attaine or reache as the mistery of the creation of all creatures the mistery of the incarnation of our Sauiour Christ the mistery of our redemption by him the mistery of our Râ—surrâ—ction â—c This fayth is it that S. Iâ—mes sayth wrought together wyth Abâ—al ams workes and brought forth in him obedience to God when he commaunded him to offeâ—â—p his sonne Isaac vpon the Altare so that nowe he was made righteous before men as he was before righteous before God in that he beléeued and was assured of the performance of that promise that God had made vnto him Thys fayth is alwayes linked with loue and worketh by loue as S. Paule wryteth in the fifte Chapter to the Galathians and is therefore all in all as S. Paule wryteth there and without it nothing can auayle vs. When we therefore doo say that wee are iustified by Faith onely our meaning is that onely Faith is the meane wherby we doo apprehend the righteousnes of Christ which is by the frée gyft of GOD bestowed vpon such as be faythfull according to that which S. Paule wryteth 1. Cor. 1. Exipso autem vos estis in Christo Iesuâ— qui factus est nobis sapientia a Deo Iustitia sanctificatio redemptio And by him are you in Christ Jesus whom God hath made our wisedome our righteousnes our sanctification and redemption Hauing this righteousnes which is in Christe we are in him righteous before God But lacking this righteousnes which without this Faith we can not haue neyther Ciuill nor Historicall fayth can helpe vs. For by them we can be but righteous before men The Ciuill fayth can bring forth none other righteousnes then that which is Ciuill and so make vs such as the Philosophers were and no better And by the Historicall fayth we can not be better then are the deuils in whom that faith bringeth forth an horrible feare of iudgment which must néedes be ioyned wyth hatred So that they which haue none other fayth but that must néedes hate God as the deuill doth We doo therefore conclude with S. Iames that man is iustified by workes and not by fayth onely By workes was Abraham iustified before men when his fayth had brought forth her fruite which was obedience to the commaundement Take thy sonne Isaac c. which obedience sprang out of that Fayth that S. Paul wrote of Rom. 4. Qui contra spem in spem credidit which beléeued in hope euen contrarye to hope Thus was Abraham made righteous before men as S. Paul hath written and was declared and made knowne to men by hys obedience which was the good fruite that his good Fayth brought forth If you lyst to appose your selfe against S. Paule you may and in the ende haue the foyle S. Iames doth not but meaneth to mooue Christians not to make an account of any other fayth then that which worketh by loue We will hold with Saint Iames and not oppose our selues against S. Paul with you Wée doo sée that these two Apostles being ledde by one spirit of Christ agrée in one Although Paule doo say Arbitramur enim iustificari hominem per fidem sine operibus legis We suppose that man is iustified by Fayth without the déedes of the Law Rom 3. And the other sayth Videtis quoniam ex operibus iustificatur homo non ex fide
tantum You sée that man is iustified by works and not by faith onely Iames. 2. Wée doo rather choose to be anathematized of your holy father the Popes holines and of all those fathers that were gathered together in the Tridentine Councell then of father Paul whose holines doth surmount the holines of your holy father the Popes holines Father Paul hath written thus in his Epistle to the Galathians Chap. 1. Licet nos aut Angelus de coelo euangelizet vobis praeterquam quod euangelizauimus vobis Anathemasit Although I my selfe or an Angel from heauen should preache vnto you anie other Gospell then that which I haue preached vnto you holde him accursed The Gospell that S. Paul had preached to the Galathians and others was and is the Gladtydings of frée iustification or discharge of all their sinnes onely by the mediation of our onely Mediator our Lord Sauior Jesus Christ Take héede Fryer John that you be not within the reache of this Anathematization if you be 4000. whyskes with your whip wil not brushe it away from your naked and scuruie shoulders I terme them scuruy because I suppose that whipping your selfe so often and so sore as in your Letters you haue reported the skynne of your shoulders and backe can not be without skabbes Well let vs nowe consider your other péece of Ordinaunce which is a part of the xxv Chapter of S. Mathewes Gospel First you haue sayd thus The Fryar As concerning your opinion that by fayth onelye we are iustified I referre you to the Epistle of the holye Apostle S. Iames as also to those words of our Sauiour Iesus Christ written in the Gospell after S. Mathew Cap. xxv Where it is written that our blessed Sauiour Iesus Christ in the latter day giuing the finall and euerlasting sentence as well vnto the saued as vnto the damned shall vtter these wordes Venite benedicti patris mei c. That is to say Come ye blessed of my father and possesse the kingdome prepared for you from the beginning of the worlde Nowe hauing spoken these wordes he sheweth the cause of thys ioyfull sentence For sayth he when I was hungry you fed mee when I was a thyrst you gaue me to drinke when I was naked ye clothed me but what are these things if they be not good works Therefore and by this place of Scripture good workes are meritorious to our Saluation Reade likewise I pray you the second Chapter of the Epistle of S. Paule to the Remaines a little way of from the beginning You shall there finde howe God will reward all men according to their workes The same also if you wyll search you shall find in the xvi Chap. of S. Mathew and in many other places of the Scripture I doo not conclude by these partes of the Newe testament that by good workes onely wee are saued but mine intention is to proue that neither by faith without good workes nor by good workes without fayth we are iustified or saued Crowley As I haue explaned vnto you the meaning of the Apostle Iames in that which he wrote touching the iustifying of men by workes in such sort I hope that your selfe doo sée that you are much deceiued in your iudgment touching the meaning of the Apostle So I hope I shall explane the meaning of our Sauiour Christ in the wordes which you cite out of the xxv Chapter of S. Mathewes Gospell And first because you haue said before that we admitte not the words of y e holy Doctors of the Catholicke church I wyll let you sée certaine words that one of them hath written euen vpon these very wordes y t you haue cited out of the xxv Chap. of S. Mathewe Iohannes Chrysostomus Homelia 80. in Mat. John Chrysostome in his 80. Homelie vpon S. Mathewes Gospell hath written thus His igitur rationibus isti non iniurâ—a puniuntur illi etiamsi mille talia fecerint per gratiam tamen coronantur Gratiaenamque omnino illa benignitas est vt pro rebus minimis vilissimis coeleste regnum tantus honor tribuatur That is to say For these causes therefore both the one sort are without iniury punished and although the other sort haue doone a thousand such workes yet it is by frée mercy that they are crowned For that bountifulnesse whereby the kingdome of heauen and so great an honor is gyuen for the smallest and most vils thinges is altogether of frée mercy Thus hath Chrysostome wrytten as the conclusion of all that hée hath written before in commendation of those that feede the hungry giue drinke to the thirsty clothe the naked c. and in discommendation of them that leaue those workes vndoone The one sort sayth he that is they which leaue those works vndoone are iustlie punished And the other are crowned and yet not for the worthines of the workes although they worke them neuer so often but that bountifull liberality wherby the kingdome of heauen and that great honour of being crowned in that kingdome are gyuen for so small and vile matters as our workes are commeth altogether of Gods frée mercy and not of any worthines that eyther is or can be in vs or in any workes that we can worke This Chrysostome is not onely in this part of his wrytings but in all his workes a very earnest mayntainer of the merites of good workes and yet sée howe he co 〈…〉 udeth In this conclusion he ioyneth with vs and we ioyne with him We holde that good workes such as GOD hath commaunded and prepared for vs to walke in are acceptable in the sight of God and that God doth and wyll reward them both in this lyfe and also in the life to come And we craue of GOD that we may kéepe still in minde the wordes of the Apostle Heb. 13. To doo good and to distribute forget not for with such sacrifices God is well pleased Yea we craue of God that we doo neuer forget the saying of the Apostle Paule to Timothe 1. Chap. 4. Exerce teipsum ad pietatem nam corporalis exercitatio ad modicum vtilis est pâ—etas autem ad omnia vtilis est Promissionem habens vitae quae nunc est futurae Exercise thy selfe to godlines saith S. Paul for bodily exercise is profitable but to a small matter but godlines is profitable to all thinges Hauing a promise of the life that nowe is and of the lyfe that shall be Thys we holde this we teache and this we are willing to practise And for a further explanation of the meaning of Chrysostomes conclusion aboue mentioned marke I pray you what he wryteth in his 53. Homelie to the people of Antioche Omnia quae fâ—cimus agimus debitum implentes proper hoc ipse dicebat Cum omnia feceritis dicite quia inutiles serui sumus quae enim debebamus facere fecimus I gitur siue charitatem exhibuerimus siue dederimus pecunâ—asegenis debitum implemus non
tantum quoniam a beneficijs ipse cepit verum quoniam ipsius bona distribuimus si cuncta erogâ—mus All that we doo sayth Chrysostome we doo as satisfying or paying our debt wherefore he himselfe also that is Christ did say When you shall haue doone all say thus We are vnprofitable seruaunts for we haue doone those thinges that we ought to doo Therefore whether we shall shewe charity or whether wée shall giue money to the néedy we doo discharge our debt not onely because he did first beginne to bestowe benefites vpon vs but also because we doo but distribute his goods although we bestow al that we haue No man can write more plainly or pithily for confirmation of that which we holde concerning the meriting by workes then thys Chrysostome hath doone in these two places Thus you may sée if you be wylling to sée that the holy Doctors of the Catholicke Church are not so contrary to vs in iudgment as you haue perswaded your selfe that they be but when their works bée thorowly reade and the scope an purpose of their wrytings thorowly weyghed and considered they are found to be of a iudgment contrary to yours and be of one iudgment with vs. You alledge these wordes of our Sauiour Christ as a declaration of the cause of our saluation For you say hauing spoken these words Venite benedicti patris mâ—i c. Come ye blessed of my Father c. He sheweth the cause of this ioyfull sentence c. If you had sayde he sheweth a cause your spéeche might haue béene suffered For our féeding of the hungry giuing of drinke to the thyrsty clothing of the naked our harbouring of the harbourlesse c. are a cause of thys ioyfull sentence For they are Causa sine qua non A cause wythout which this ioyfull sentence shall not be pronounced To them onelie that haue doone these déedes it shalbe sayd Come ye blessed of my father c. But sith you say he sheweth the cause your meaning must be that these workes are the efficient cause of this ioyful sentence Which meaning is contrary to the definition or description of an efficient cause which is A quo primo fit motus That is The thing that maketh the first moouing That is to say the thing that doth principally or chéefely worke y e making of another thing And the efficient cause in giuing of this ioyfull sentence is by S. Chrysostome affirmed to be the frée mercy of God For in hys 80. Homely vpon Mathew whereof I haue made mention he sayth Per gratiam tamen coronantur Gratiae namque omnino illa benignitas est Although they in whose fauour this ioyfull sentence shalbe gyuen haue doone a thousande such workes yet they shalbe crowned through frée mercie for that bountifull liberality is altogether of frée mercy When you haue said he sheweth the cause you say that he sayth thus For when I was hungry you fedde me when I was thirsty ye gaue me to drink wheÌ„ I was naked you clothed me but what are these thinges if they be not good workes Therfore and by thys place of Scripture good workes are meritorious to our saluation If you coulde prooue or if we would yéelde vnto you that these good workes were the efficient cause of the giuing of this ioyfull sentence which neither is confessed by vs nor can be prooued by you then might your conclusion be allowed of in the Schooles amongst Schollers But séeing that all men which haue knowledge to discerne one cause from another must néedes confesse that these workes be but Causa sine qua non A cause without which that ioyfull sentence shall not be giuen your argument is as good as this argument is Baculus stat in angulo Ergo Deus non est in coelo The staffe standeth in the corner Therfore God is not in Heauen From this place of S. Mathewes Gospell you sende vs to the seconde Chapter of S. Paule to the Romaines a little way of from the beginning of that Chapter where you say we shall finde howe GOD wyll rewarde all men according to their workes And you say furder that if we will searche we shall finde the same most euidently in the xvi of S. Mathewes Gospell and in many other places of holie Scripture You might very well haue spared this laboure For we knewe before you were borne that both in those places that you name and in many other places of holy scriptures it appeareth euidently that God will giue vnto all men or as you terme it rewarde all men according to their works But what can you conclude vpon this Shall we therefore say that workes are the efficient cause of our saluation your selfe doo deny it For you say thus I doo not conclude by these parts of the New Testament that by good workes onely we are saued but mine intention is to prooue that neither by faith without good workes nor by good workes without faith we are iustified or saued Héere you haue flatly denied that which you haue before as flatly affyrmed For before you haue sayd that our Sauiour Christ sheweth the cause of the ioyfull sentence which he shall giue when he shal say Come ye blessed of my Father c. Wherein you affirme as before I haue prooued that the good workes that our Sauiour maketh rehearsall of are the efficient cause of gyuing that sentence and so by good consequence of our iustification or saluation And nowe you say that you conclude not so but that good workes and faith together are the efficient cause of our iustification or saluation For so men of your sorte doo meane by that manner of spéeche that you doo vse héere when you say by workes or by fayth But we haue another meaning of that spéeche as I will by Gods helpe let you vnderstand When S. Paul sayth thus Rom. 3. Arbitramur enim iustificars hominem per fidem sine operibus legis We suppose that man is iustified by faith without the déedes of the Lawe His meaning is that faith is the instrument y t God vseth in making vs righteous Gods frée mercy is the efficient cause and our faith is the instrumentall cause of our iustification So that God dooth make vs righteous by that fayth that himselfe hath wrought in vs by the word of his Gospell which is Virtus Dei in salutem omni credenti Rom. 1. The power of God to saluatition to euery one that beléeueth Thus we may sée that the word of the Gospell is the instrument that God vseth in making vs faithfull and faith is the instrument whereby he maketh vs righteous Fdes ex auditu auditus autem per verbum Christi Rom. 10. Fayth commeth by hearing and hearing commeth by the worde of Christ or as the Gréeke hath it of God So that the worde that is preached and the Preacher that preacheth are Gods outward instruments which he vseth in working fayth in the hartes of the hearers And in
bewayle themselues in the day of â—udgment Crovvley Thus farre goeth your merginall note To this note of yours I say thus There is good cause to moue you to thinke that we doo think that you are fooles for you can not but know that we doo know that there is no wisedome in theÌ„ that doo so waste the good creatures of God as you doo that waxe which you doo burne in the day light when there is no vse of that artificiall light because the naturall light dooth then serue the turne of euery creature that néedeth y e vse of light And that madnes of yours is so much the greater for that you set those lightes before stocks and stones that are fashioned like men and women and haue the forme of eyes but not y e sence of sight Yea and the Prophet Dâ—â—iâ— in the Psalme 115. Doth account you no wiser then those stocks and stones be when he sayth thus They that make them are like vnto them and so are all they that repose trust in them You say that your other Ceremonies doo cause vs to thinke that you are fooles and your Religion folly In truth you coniecture right For wee know that no wise man in the world would vse such Ceremonies as you doo nor professe such a Religion wherin there is in maner nothing but méere madnes As I hope I shall make manifest to al wisemen in my discourse vpon the seuerall points thereof But first wée must lende you our eares a while tyll you haue tolde vs what we may reade in the Booke of Wisedome Chapter 5 Where it is written that the damned in the latter day be wayling their foolishnes shal speake these words c. as aboue First of all I must say vnto you that wee did knowe and did vnderstande the meaning of those words of wisedom before you were Frier John yea and before you were Samuell Debnam If you had asked câ—unsell of Nicholaus Lycanus which was a Fryer Minor hâ—â— would haue tolde you another meaning of the wisemans words thâ—n that which you doo gather He writeth thus Siabiâ—t iustâ—in magna constantâ—â— quia perfecti â—um Christo indicabunt A duersos â—os qui se angustiauerunt inferendo eis noeumentum in personis â—t qui aâ—stulerunt labâ—res corum eis nocendo in rebus possessis The rightecus shall stand in great constancie for the perfect men shall sit in indgment with Christ against such as haue distressed them in dooing them hurte in their persons And such as haue taken from them theyr labours in hurting them in those things that they possessed If these words of the wise man must be applied to you so that you shoulde bée the Just men that shouid stande foorth with so great constancie then must you also be the damned that in the latter day shall bewayle their owne foolishnes for that none doth disâ—resse you in your owne persons but your selfe You are they that doo punish your selues by going and lying woolward by abstaining from flesh by rysing at midnight and by whypping and scourging of your sâ—lues and who dooth or can hurt you in those things that you possesse â—ith you haue voâ—â—ed neuer to possesse any thing no not so much as the garments that belong to your owne bodies And who can take from you anie fruits of your labours séeing that you neuer laboure and therefore can not reape any fruites of any laboure that is doone by you but are fedde and haue professed that you wyll and must still be fedde by the labours of other But wyll you know what Saint Austen writeth against the second Epistle of Gaudentius that was Bishop of the Donatistes In the 27. Chapter of that booke Tom. 7. S. Augustine writeth thus Agnoscite scelus vestrum nolâ—te vobis vsurpare no men alienum Scriptura dixit Tunc stabunt â—usti in magna constantia aduersus eos qâ—i se angustiauerunt qui abstulerunt labores eorum Non dixit stabunt omâ—es qui â—ala passi sunt sed stabuntâ—iâ—sti Sicut dominus cum dixisset Beati qui persecutâ—â—nem patiuntur â—isâ— addidisset propâ—er iustitiam non solos significaret qui pro sâ—a in domino patientia coronantur sed etiam illos qui iâ—stis legibus puniâ—ntur Quapropter siad vos put at is haec iustonum verba quae scripta sunt pertinâ—re prius an iusti sitâ—s â—stendite Acknowledge sath S. Austeâ— your owne wickednes and doo not vsurpe a name that belongeth not to you The Scripture hath sayd Then the iust shall stand in greate câ—nstancie against them that haue distressed them and haue taken away their labours It hath not sayd as many as haue suffered euill shall stand but the iust shall stand Euen as when the Lorde had sayd Blessed are they that suffer persecution except hee hadde added for righteousnes he should haue meant not theÌ„ alone which are crowned for their suffering in the Lord but them also that are punished by iust lawes Wherefore if you doo thinke that these words that are written doo appertaine vnto you shewe first whether you be righteous or no. And in y e same place it foloweth thus In déede you haue amongst you righteousnesses y t you brag of great matters as y e deuiding of Christ the cutting off of the Sacraments of Christ y t for saking of the peace of Christ war against y e meÌ„bers of Christ accusations against the spouse of Christe the denying of the promises of Christ These are your righteousnesses for which forsooth you shall stand in great constancie Thus farre Augustine Nowe if I may be so bolde with you let me sée whether these latter words of S. Austen may not be rightly applied vnto you Minime Fryers and such other Religious personnes Doo you not deuide Christ when you ascribe your saluation partâ—y to faith in him and partly to your owne workes and to the merits of Saints and when in the Office of mediation you ioyne with him his blessed mother and such other as liued holily in this transitory life Do you not cutt off the Sacraments of Christ and after a sort you abrogate them when you minister Baptisme to belles Churches and Churchyardes and shyppes which you call the hallowing of these thinges and when in your conâ—urations you christen Cattes and such other creatures to deceiue the deuill withall when you haue promised to giue him a christened creature And when you teache that in the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ there remaineth no substance of bread and wyne and so you make it no Sacrament For as you once learned and did openly confesse in my Church euery Sacrament must consist of two parts that is both of earthly and of heauenly matter and not of the one matter onely And when you giue it that newe name calling it the Sacrament of the Altare and when you doo reserue it hanging it ouer your Altar carrying it abroade to shew it to the people teaching them
to fail downe and worship it and so make an Idoll of it Yea when in your masse you make a sacrifice of it for y e sins both of the liuing of the dead yea and in stormes tempestious wether you make it a bugge to feare the deuill withall And wheÌ„ you teache that the peace of mens consciences must not bee stayed vppon the fayth in Christ onely but vppon the worthines of the workes that are wrought by men doo ye not forsake the peace of Christe Yea when you holde some of Frauncis as you the Gray Fryers doo some of Austine as the Augustine Fryers doo some of Dominicke as the Dominicane Fryers doo some of Marye as the Carmelite or whyte Fryers doo and some of Jesus as the newe founde Jesuites doo And to bee briefe all the rable of your Religious doo ye not all forsake that peace that GOD hath giuen in his peace maker Christ and séeke it in them whose Religions you professe whose rules you followe and whose names you beare Dyd not S. Paule blame the Corinthians for that they forsaking this peace of Christ would hold one of Cephas another of Apollo another of Paule another of Christ Were you baptised in the name of Paule sayth he Was Paule Cruâ—ified for you I feare me you be rebaptised For what meaneth the chaunging of your name In your first baptisme you were called Samuell and by your Fathers progeny Debnam and by your profession a Christian But now you must be called Iohn Frauncis And what meaneth this but that the name of Frauncis hath blotted out both the name of Debnam and the name Christian also If serche shalbe made in the Register that is kept in the Parrish Church of Waltam it wyll be sound there that one Samuell Debnam was baptised there and not Iohn Frauncis So that Samuell Debnam is the Christian and Iohn Frauncis is the Fryer Iudge you whether of these is likely to be founde in Gods Register which is called the booke of life If Christ bee that life then they are written in the booke of life that be Christians If Frauncis be not that life then are not they written in the booke of life which be Franciscans and so of all other your Popish Religious Be not deceiued therefore Samuell The Corinthians whom Paule rebuked did vndoubtedly thinke as you doo That is that holding of Cephas Apollo and Paule they did not forsake y e peace of Christ For so I am assured you thinke that hauing professed the Religion of Frauncis you haue not forsaken the Religion of Christ And yet Paule doth charge them as men that in their dooinges gaue occasion to him to conceiue this opinion of them that they were become Cephasians Apollianistes and Paulists and not Christians Take héede Samuell our aduersary the deuyll is subtyll and doth oftentimes shewe himselfe in the likenes of an Angell of light You haue I thinke read the sixt Chapter of Saint Iohns Reuelations And you either haue or may reade the godlie and learned interpretations that godly learned men haue made concerning the foure horses therein mentioned The firste being white doth prefigure the time that was begunne when this Reuelation was shewed to Iohn and did continue all his dayes and hath continued euer since and shall continue euen to the ende although not so generallie and so apparantlie as at the first Thys white horse is gone forth and is not returned again but goeth forth still whether soeuer his rider will direct him And his ryder dooth with his arrowes strike the harts of such as he wyll conquere and make subiecte vnto him And thus hee goeth foorth still conquering that he might ouercome and conquere The seconde horse beeing redde doth signifie the time of bloodie persecution which was also begunne when this Reuelation was shewed to the seruaunt of Iesus Christ blessed S. Iohn And his ryder had power giuen him to take peaâ—e from the earth and he had a great sword giuen him also Whereby were signified the tenne bloodie persecutions that folowed immediatly after the white horse was gone foorth and had conquered many And those bloody perfecutions were executed by that great sword the Romane Monarchie The third horse was black whereby was signified the time of ignorance that beganne againe after the persecution was staied but not ended for it continueth to this day and so shall it continue euen to the ende The rider that rydde on this horse had a Ballance in his hand wherwith he wayed Gods Lawes and mens inuentions and déemed them to bee of like waight and héereof sprong all those horrible heresies that euer since haue and doo still trouble the Church and especially that Pelagian heresie that your sort doo still maintaine and the making of mens inuentions equall with Gods lawe yea rather proferring them before Gods lawes but wine and Oyle that rider might not hurt That is he had no power to corrupt the text either of the old or newe Testament The fourth horse was pale and signified the time that followed immediatly after this time of déepe ignoraunce and doth continue to this day wherein great swaâ—mes of pale Hypocrites eueÌ„ such as you haue professed to bee to continue to your liues ende haue béene and are still bredde The ryder of this horse is death and hell followeth after him Take héede therefore your way is not the way of life but of death They that will follow such blinde guydes shall fall into the pyt with them You are they that shall say in the last day We haue â—râ—ed from the trueth and the light of righteousnes hath not shined vpon vs neither hath y e sunne of vnderstanding risen vp vnto vs. We haue weried our selues in the way of iniquity and destruction and wee haue walked in harde wayes but the way of the Lord we haue not knowne For you bee they that haue distressed such as God hath by the mediation of hys Sonne discharged of sinne and so iustified them in his sight you haue tolde them that except they shall punish themselues as you doo your selues they can not be saued You haue taken from such their labours when by your perswasions they haue bestowed that which they haue gotten by their labours vppon you to maintaine you in idlenâ—s hoping to be saued by your holines which is nothing but méere hipâ—crisie And thus much concerning your forsaking of the peace of Christ You make warre against the members of Christe you accuse the spouse of Christ and you denie the promises of Christ as Saint Austen hath sayd to the Donatistes You proclaime open warre against all such as dare say y t they haue receiued the spirit of Christe and that they are by that spirit certified that GOD in mercy hath made them his owne children by adoption and so consequently meÌ„bers of his sonne Christ You accuse as Heretickes all such as dare say that Christ Iesus hath washed them so in the fountaine of hys owne hart
the Forte of our fayth you séeme to haue determined to batter foure of the especiall Bulworkes thereof Namely the denyall of Prayers for the dead The denial of works to be meritorious of saluation The denyall of the reall presence of the body and blood of Christ in the blessed Sacrament of the Altar And the denying that there be any moe Sacramēts then two To batter these Bulworkes you will not bring any Ordinaunce taken out of the Storchouse of the holie Fathers but you wyll vse that great forcible Ordinaunce that is to be had in the Storehouse of the holye Bible and therewith you wil batter and beate down the strongest parts of our Forte of Faith Against the first Bulworke you plant a péece of Ordinaunce taken out of the 12. Chap. of the seconde booke of Machabees Against the seconde Bulworke 2. péeces of Ordinaunce one taken out of the Epistle of S. Iames and the other out of the 25. Chapter of S. Mathewes Gospell Against the third you doo plant foure péeces of Ordinaunce one taken out of the 26. Chap. of S. Mathew one other taken out of the 14. Chapter of S. Marke the third out of the 22. of S. Luke and the fourth you take out of the sixt Chap. of S. Iohns Gospell But against the fourth Bulworke you bring no Ordinaunce at all neither out of the Storehouse of the Bible nor out of the Storehouse of the holie Doctors of the Catholicke Church Onely you say that it is an heresie condemned long ago But let vs sée of what force these péeces of Ordinaunce be The first séemeth a farre off to be a double Cannon of great force But at hand it is founde to be but a sillie Base embossed and made great by cunning clowting together of Paste made of paper in the forme of a double Cannon with the colour of Brasse cunningly layde vpon it Who would not thinke that this were a Cannon of great force when he shall heare the Captaine himselfe say I will turne you to the Bible it selfe which if you dare either deny c. you shalbe no longer Heretickes but plaine Infidels Looke I beséeche you c. A Captaine of the Jewish Armie made a collection c. Yea and the latter wordes of the Chapter are these Sancta ergo salubris est cogitatio c. And tell me not nowe I pray you a tale of a tubbe c. Yea and last of all well may it be saide of you Aure audietis non intelligetis c. But let vs drawe néerer to this terrible péece of Ordinaunce that we may sée of what force it is First because Fryer John dooth charge vs that we admitt not the words which the holy Doctors of the Catholicke Church haue spoken I require him to reade that which S. Ierome hath written in his preface vpon the bookes of Salomon immediatly after those wordes that I put you in minde of when I answered to that sentence that you alledged out of the booke of Wisedome Chap. 11. S. Ierome writeth thus Sicut ergo Judeth Tobiae Machabeorum libros legit quidem Ecclesia sed eos inter canonicas scripturas non recipit sic baec duo volumina legat ad edificationem plebis non ad authoritatem ecclesiasticorum dogmatum confirmandam Euen as the Church dooth indéede reade the bookes of Iudith and Tobias and of the Machabees but dooth not receiue them amongst y e Canonicall Scriptures euen so she may reade these two bookes meaning the booke of Wisedome and Ecclesiasticus to the edifying of the people but not for the confirming of Ecclesiasticall doctrine Loe Master Frier John one of the holie Doctors of the Catholicke Church hath tolde you that this Scripture was not written by the holie Ghost and yet I trowe you will not say that he hath tolde you a tale of a tubbe nor that he hath belyed the holy Ghost or that the saying of the holie Esay may be well applied vnto him But if your selfe would vouchsafe to reade the last lynes of this seconde Booke of Machabees I thinke you woulde not thinke this booke to be of such authority as hetherto you haue in these writings séemed to thinke For in the wordes written in those lynes the author or writer of this booke dooth shewe himself to be in doubt whether he haue doone so well as himselfe wished to doo and in case he haue not doone so well he craueth pardon of his Readers and vseth a similitude to perswade him to pardon him Which is a thing all together vnséemely to be doone by the holie Ghoste Yea I suppose your selfe woulde account it blasphemie in him that wold say that the holy Ghost may doubt whether ought that he doth bée well doone or not And if you will take the paines to reade the latter part of the 14. Chapter of this booke you shall finde there a great commendation giuen to one Razias for that he murthered himselfe which commendation could not come from y e holy Ghost For such murder is not onelie contrarie to the expresse commaundement of GOD but it is contrarie to nature also Yea and I doo yet thinke that though you doo thinke that you doo deserue much at Gods hande by whypping your selfe with your discipline as your selfe doo report yet you are not perswaded that you shoulde deserue more if either by whipping your selfe or otherwise you shoulde kill your selfe Moreouer if your selfe be not of that number that Esay the Prophet speaketh of in the sixt Chapter of his booke cited by your selfe then there is hope that you will not sticke to reade weigh the circumstaunces of the place in the 12. of this second booke of the Machabees that you doo so much vrge vs with In the text that goeth immediatlie before that which you doo beséeche vs to looke vpon the Historian hath saide that after the Armie of Gorsias was by the mighty power of God put to flight Iudas hauing gathered his Army together came to the Cittie Odolla And when the seauenth day was come and they were purified according to the custome they did in the same place spende the time of the Sabaothe And the next day following Iudas came with his company to take vp the dead bodies of them that were slaine and to bury thē with their fathers in the buriall places that belonged to them And they founde vnder the garments of them that were flayne certain of the gifts that had béene offered to the Idolles that were at Iamnia from which the Lawe commaunded the Iewes to abstaine It was therefore made manifest to all men that this was the cause wherefore they were slayne The whole company did therefore commende the iust iudgment of the Lord which had made manifest the déedes that had béene hidde and kept in secrete And so they gaue themselues to prayer and besought God that the fault which was committed might be blotted out of memory But the moste valiant man Iudas exhorted
this meaning S. Paul writeth thus to Timothe 1. Tim. 4. Attende tibi doctrinae insta in illis Hoc enim faciens et teipsum salum facies et eos qui te audiunt Take héede to thy selfe and vnto doctrine be instant or earnest therein for in dooing this thing thou shalt saue thy selfe and them that heare thée Héere we sée that Timothe being careful in looking to hys owne lyfe and to the soundnes of his doctrine and being earnestly bent to teache both by good example of life and by sownde doctrine is by S. Paule sayd to be the sauiour of himselfe and of them that heare him And yet it is manifest that he was neither the sauiour of himselfe nor of any other but an instrument that God vsed in working saluation both in himselfe and in other Because that by his carefull diligence in looking to his owne lyfe and sowndnes of doctrine and by his earnestnes in preaching the same fayth was begunne and increased in his hearers and continued and confirmed in himselfe Which fayth both in him in his hearers layd holde vpon and heldfast y e mercifull promise of God made in the mediation of the onely Mediator betwixt GOD and man euen the man Christ Iesus our Lorde 1. Tim. 1. And so bothe Timothe hys hearers and all the rest that haue béene are or shalbée by Gods good meanes made faithful are by Gods frée mercy saued according to the saying of the Apostle to the Ephesians Cha. 2. Gratia enim estis saluati per fidem et hoc non ex vobis Dei enim donum est non ex operibus vt nequis glorietur Ipsius enim sumus factura creati in Christo Iesu ad opera bona quae preparauit Deus vt in illis ambulemus By Grace are you saued through fayth and that not of your selues for it is Gods gyft not of workes least any man shoulde boaste For we are hys workmanshyppe created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes which God hath prepared that we shoulde walke in them And to the Rom. 9. Chapter The Apostle sayth thus Non volentis neque currentis sed miserentis est dei It standeth neyther in mans willing nor in mans running but in the mercy of God It séemeth to me a strange thing that any man professing the Religion of Christ dare conclude as you doo so directly contrary to the expresse wordes of the Apostle Paule You say in your conclusion we are iustified or saued by fayth good works together S. Paule sayth Wée suppose that man is iustified by fayth without the déedes of the Lawe Nowe if you can teil vs of any déedes y t are of more force to make vs righteous before God then the déedes that God hath commaunded in his Law then haue you sayd somewhat although but a little For those déedes must bée déedes commaunded of men whereof the Prophet Esay writeth thus Chap. 29. Theyr feare towards me was taught by the precepts of men therefore beholde I wyll take in hand to worke a strange worke that shall be a miracle and an astonishment to this people For wysemen shall loose their wisedome and vnderstanding shalbe hydde from the prudent I would wysh you to weighe well these wordes of the Prophet Esay and to consider whether they be not already verified in you and in men of your sorte Consider also what our sauiour Christ addeth to these wordes Mat. 15. In vayne doo they worship me teaching the doctrines and commaundements of men Whereby we are admonished that it is but lost labour for a man to goe about to be made righteous before God by such workes as men doo or can deuise and commaund S. Paule to the Ephe. 2. sayth That through fayth wee are saued by frée mercie and that not of our selues For it is the gyft of GOD and commeth not of workes least any man might haue any occasion to boast and how dare any man conclude as you doo that faith and works coupled together may make vs righteous before God I doo therfore conclude according to y e true meaning of the wordes of our sauiour Christ the Prophet Esay and the Apostle Paul that neither the workes that God hath commaunded nor the workes that men haue deuised or can deuise and commaund yea or y e faith that God hath dooth or shall worke in the harts of men either bée or can be the efficient cause of mans righteousnes or saluation But the frée mercy of God onely is the alone efficient cause that hath wrought doth and shall worke saluation in the faithful onelie and in none other In whom he himselfe worketh faith that by that fayth they may laie hold vpon holde fast that saluation that in frée mercy he doth and will fréely bestowe vpon them And surder I conclude that though the workes that GOD hath prepared for the faithfull to walke in neither be nor can be the efficient cause of saluation yet they are Causa sine qua non that is a cause that must be founde in them to whom it shalbe sayde Come yee blessed of my Father c. so that they that shall heare that ioyfull sentence must hunger and thirst after righteousnes of life all the dayes of their life And vse that faith that GOD hath wrought in them in laying holde vpon and holding fast that righteousnes that God hath in frée mercy bestowed fréely vpon them hauing a continuall care to shewe themselues thankfull to him for the same by walking in those good workes that hee hath prepared for them to walke in Nowe for the meaning of those places that you direct vs vnto namely the 2. to the Romans the 16. of S. Mathew and many other wherin we may by search find how God will reward al men according to their works I say thus I could by y e knowledg that God hath giuen me answere you sufficiently Yet because my wordes be of small credite with you I wyll aunswere you by the wordes of a holy father of the Catholicke Church whose wordes I hope you will admit and giue credite to them although as I coniecture you be not much acquainted with them S. Augustine writeth thus Quod est ergo meritum hominis ante gratiam quo merito accipiat gratiam cum omne meritum nostrū non in nobis faciat nisi gratia Et cum Deus coronat merita nostra nihil aliud coronet quam munera sua What is the merite of man before whereby he may receiue grace séeing that nothing but grace dooth worke in vs all our merite And when God doth crowne our merits he crowneth none other thing but his owne gifts Thus writeth S. Augustine Tom. 2. Epistola 105. And againe in his 7. Tom. in the 7. Chap ter of his booke De gratia libero arbitrio he wryteth thus Si ergo Dei dona sunt bona merita tua non Deus coronat merita tua tanquā merita tua sed tanquam dona sua
knoweth them to be Traytours to GOD to our Prince and Countrey and to all such simple Christians as doo hearken to them Her stâ—dfast purpose therefore is to confesse her sinnes to God euerie day bothe in sicknes and in health She doth continually craue at Gods hande the grace of continuall and vnfained repentaunce Of full and frée pardon of all hâ—â— sinnes by the mediation of Christ Iesus she craueth a full and perfect assuraunce With all popish Priestes pepish shriâ—t and with all maner of popery she is and styll wylbe at defiaunce But you procéede with your exhortation and thus you say The Fryer Beleeue without doubting all that the holy Catholicke Romaine and Apostolicke Church doth belceue although that they surpasse and excell mans vnderstanding To be briefe say euery day these wordes O sweete Iesus I doo stedfastly beleeue all that my Sonne Saâ—â—uell beleeueth And in that fayth in which he is I will liue and die Be mercifull vnto me a moste wretched sinner for thy names sake Holie Marie mother of GOD pray for me thyne vnworthy handmayde nowe and in the hower of my death Say thys prayer onely euerie day And if you can goe to shrift confesse your sinnes and receiue the bodie and blood of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ Crovvley Your mother hath iust cause to musâ— what you meane by this part of your exhortation wherein you will her to beléeue all y e the holy Catholick Romane and Aposâ—â—lick Church doth beléeue For there is no such Church as that in any part of the world There is indéede a Romaine Church but that Church is neither holy Catholick nor Apostolick Holy shee is not because she renounceth that holines that is fréely giuen in Christ and cleaueth to an holines that she imagineth to be in her owne workes wherein no holines at all either is or can be before God The case of this Romaine Church is as euill or worse then the case of the Church of the Jewes was when they béeing ignorant of the righteousnes of God sought to establish their owne rightâ—ousnes and so neyther were nor could be subiect to the rightcousnes of God Rom. 10 Euen so these Romaines which you call the Romaine Churche beeing ignoraunt of that holines that is fréely giuen in Christ and is therefore the holines of GOD and not of men doo séeke to sette vppe and aduaunce their owne holines which is no holines indeede and so are not neither can be subiecte to that holines that God giueth in Christ and so by good consequence there is in them no holines at all Catholicke that Romaine Church is not for that she holdeth not that fayth which Christ in his owne person taught in Jerusalem and in other parts of the lande of Iewrie and at the time of his Ascention into heauen commaunded his Apostles to teache Catholickly that is all the worlde ouer according to the signification of the worde Catholicè That is Catholickly or vniuersally In his owne personne our Sauiour Christ did preache this fayth as appeareth in the first Chapter of S. Marke PostquaÌ„ autem tradiâ—us est Johannes c. After that Iohn was imprisoned Iesus came into Galile preaching the Gospell of the kingdome of GOD and saying The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God draweth nigh Repent and beléeue the Gospell To beléeue the Gospell is that fayth which is called Catholicke And whosoeuer beléeueth the Gospell is a Catholicke And on the contrary he that beléeueth not the Gospell is no Catholicke To beléeue the Gospell is to bâ—léeue Gods word For in our olde Englishe spéeche Gods worde was called Gods speale and nowe corruptly we doo call it Gospell This Gospell or Gods speale is that promise that GOD made firste to Adam the firste man when he promised that the womans séede shoulde breake the Serpentes heade Gen. 3. This promise was renued to Abraham when GOD sayd to him In thy séede shall all the Nations of the earth bee blessed Gen. 22. And this Gospell is by the Grecians called Euangelion which worde dooth by interpretation signifie a gladde tydinges This Glad tydings dyd our Sauiour declare first to the lost shéepe of the house of Israell both in his owne personne and by the ministerie of his Apostles And at y e time of his ascending into heauen he gaue commaundement to those Apostles to declare the same Catholickly that is to say generally all the worlde ouer For thus he sayd vnto them then Euntes in mundnm vniuersum praedicate Euangelium omni creaturae Goe into all the world and preach the Gospell to euery creature Vnderstanding by creatures all Nations and sortes of men By thys meanes thys Gospell or Gladde tydinges which at the first was made knowne but to few in comparison of all was made knowne to the whole worlde and was therefore called Catholicke And when in the primitiue time of the preaching of thys Gospell certayne fantasticall heades beganne to teache doctrines contrary to thys Catholick doctrine and to drawe disciples after them then the Fathers that held taught thys doctrine called themselues Catholicks and those other Schismatickes and Heretickes The first Romysh Christians were right Catholicks as appeareth by that Epistle that the Apostle Paule wrote to them and so the Christians of that Cittie continued many yéeres after saynt Paules time as appeareth in the Histories of the Church But for the space of a thousande yéeres last past almost that Church that hath béene and is in Rome hath béene and is styll schismaticall and therefore the name Catholick is no méete name for that Romyshe Church They denie the frée iustification by fayth which S. Paule taught the first Romysh Chrystians and they beleeâ—ed hys doctrine They glory in theyr owne wysedome ryghteousnes holines and redemption presuming to redéeme theyr owne sinnes and the sinnes of others also by theyr fastings their prayers theyr whyppings and other workes that they haue deuised whereby they thinke and perswade as many as they can to think that satisfaction may be made to God for sinne committed in breaking the commaundements of God whereas by the Catholicke fayth we are taught that as there is but one God so there is but one mediator betwixt God and man which is the man Christ Iesus â— Tim. 2. And this Mediator had none other meane wherby hée might worke our reconciliation but onely the shedding his of own hart bloude for vs. That death which our sinnes had deserued was and of necessity must bee suffered by him y t purchased our peace with God I conclude therefore that the Romish Church taking vpon it in some sorte the Oâ—â—yce of the Mediatour is not Catholicke but Antichristian And therefore your mother béeing a Catholicke Christian indéede may not harken to her sonne Samuell when he wylleth her to beléeue all that the holye Catholicke Romaine and Apostolicke Church dooth beléeue c. And whereas you name the Romaine Churche Apostolicke you doo great wrong to that