The Castle of Comfort, Title page – Dedication
The Castell of comforte, in the whiche it is euidently proued, yt God alone absolueth, and freli forgeueth the sinnes of so many as vnfaynedly repent, and turne vntounto hym Lately compyled by Thomas Becon.
Prouer. xviii. The name of the Lord is a strōg castell, vntounto that doeth the righteous runne, and he shal be preserued.
Csa. lv.
COme to the waters all ye, that be thyrsty, & ye that hauehave no money come, bye, that ye maye hauehave too eate.
Come, bye wyne & mylke without money, or money worthe. Wherfore do ye laye out youre money for ye thing y• fedeth not, & spend your labour about the thing y• satisfieth you not. But harkē rather vntounto me, & ye shal …at of y• best, & your soule shall hauehave her pleasure in plēteousnes. Encline iour eares, & come vntounto me, take hede, & your soul shal lyue. For I will make an euerlasting couenaunt wt you, euen the sure mercies that were promysed to Dauid.
☞Iohan. vii.
If any man be thyrstye, let hym come vntounto me and drynke.
☞Psal. xxxiiii.
Oh taste and se, howe swete the Lorde is, blessed is that man that putteth hys trust in hym.
To the moste honorable and verteous Lady Marie, duchesse of Rychemōde her grace, Thomas Becō wissheth from God the father thorow our Lord Iesu Christ, a faythfull perseueraunce in gods most holy worde vntounto the ende.
IT is not without a greate cause (moste godly Lady) that y• holy Apostle sainct Paule desired the Thessalonians to holde faste y• doctrine,ii. Thes. ii. that he had taught thē afore, and not sodenli to be moued from their knowlege & vnderstanding, nor to be troubled neyther by spirite, neyther by wordes, nor yet by letter. For he vndoubtedly did afore se by the reuelacion of Gods spirit,Mat. xxiiii. that there should aryse false anoynted and false preachers, whiche shoulde worke great miracles and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, the very elect & chosen people of God shoulde be brought into errour, whiche also shoulde saye, beholde here is Christe, or there is Christe, bringing in damnable sectes, & vtterly denyenge the Lord that bought them,i. Pet. ii. as Peter sayeth. He considered the imbecillitie, weakenes and chyldishe hertes of men, whiche, excepte they be corroborated & fortefied with y• strēgth of Gods spirit,Heb. x…i. are sone caried aboute with diuers and straūge learninges, embrasing no lesse gredely that that is to them selfs noysome and pestiferous, than that whiche is good and profitable, as we at thys present time se dayly before our eyes, both in the Papistes and Anabaptistes, with suche other damnable sectaries. Therfore this moste excellent Apostle desired the Thessalonians, yea, & so many of vsus,Math. x. as professe Christ vnfaynedly, to perseuer & abide in the worde of trueth euē vntounto the ende, that we may be saued, & not lightly to be moued with the subtile and crafty persuasions of them, that teache weake and beggarly tradicions with humayne constitucions,Galat. iiii. which gyue hede to fables and mens commaundementes that turne away the folowers of them frō Tit. i.the trueth, whiche professe that they know God, but with their dedes they deny him, inasmoch as they are abhominable & disobedient, yea,…. Timo. iii. and vnmete to al good workes, which louelove their owne pleasurs more than God, hauinge an vtter apperans of godly liuing, but denyeng the power therof, whiche runne frō house to house and bringe into bondage both men and women lodē with synne, which are ledde with diuers lustes, euer learnynge, and neuer able to come vntounto the knowlege of the truth which are enemies of the crosse of Christe,Phil. iii. whiche call that is euill good, and y• is good,Esa. v. euill & ce.Act. xx. In fewe, whiche are rauenynge wolfes, not sparyng the flocke. Dothe the world wante these enemies of Gods glory? HaueHave not we also nede to take hede vntounto the aforesayde wholsome admonicion of the holye Apostle saincte Paule? Doeth not the worlde at this daye norishe such vngodly monstures? What age hath bene withoute them syns the beginning of the worlde? What nede I to speke of that great whore of Babilō, the mother of fornicacions and abhominacions of the earthe,Apoc. xviii. whiche hath made dronken wt the wyne of the wrathe of her whoredom all the nacions of y• earth, yea, the very kinges and rulers of the earth hauehave playde the aduouterers with her. The fornicaciō of that most filthy & stinking strompet is so openly knowen, & made manifest vntounto vsus, both by godly bokes and learned sermons, that it nedeth not here to be rehersed. And woulde God, that as the name of this Babilonical strompet is exiled out of mennes mouthes and rased out of bokes among vsus, so in lyke maner her whoredome I meane, the popysh and deuelish decrees, which fighte with y• manifest worde of God, mighte ones be vtterly exiled, banyshed, and for euer dryuen away from the bondes of Christendome, that all thinges in the Christen publique weale, both in this and in other foren Realmes mighte be instituted, ordered and appoynted, accordinge to the veritie of Christes moste blessed Gospell. But besides this monstrous beaste, are there rysen, not a few, which are playne Antichristes, & daily labour to obscure the glory of God. No maruel, seyng that in the Apostles time,i. Ioan. ii. iiii. blessed Iohn cōfesseth that there were many Antichristes and false Prophetes.…. Ioan. i What nede I to speake of them, which teache that Christ by his moste precious death deliuered vsus onelyonly from original synne? Which teache that man is iustified by his owne workes and not by the fayth alone,Roma. iii. viiii. that he hath in Christes moste blessed death? which teache, that by obseruinge mens tradicions euerlasting life is got…ē?Ephe. ii. Which teach that external ceremonies iustifie and put awaye synne? Whiche teache that mā is able of his owne strengthe to fulfill the lawe, and to satisfie the iustice of God?i. Timo. ii. which teache that our prayers can not be hearde without the intercession of other?i. Ioan. i. Which teache that all honour pertayneth not too God alone? whiche teache that the bloude of oure sauioure Iesu Christ is not a sufficient Purgatoryei. Ioan. i. for all oure synnes, except we be broyled, boyled and perboyled in y• Popes fornace? Whiche teache that the Lorde Christe gaue not hym selfe soHeb. vii. ix. x. plenteously a swete smelling sacrifice to God the father for vsus,Ephe. v. that with the one oblacion of hys moste blessed body,Ma…h. ix. he hath made thē perfect for euermore,Marc. ii. that are sanctified?Luc. v. Which teache that God alone forgeueth not synne, but synnefull man also? Are not these very Antichristes? enemies of ye crosse of Christ? defacers of Gods glory fals annoynted? fals preachers rauening wolfs? cloudes without water?ii. Pet. ii trees without frute? raging waues of y• sea, foming out their owne shame? wādring starres, to whome is reserued y• myste of darkenes for euer? mē pleasers, hauing men in greate reuerence for auauntage sake? curssed chyldren, whiche hauehave forsaken the right waye, & are gone astray? these are they doubtles, of whome bothe Christ & his apostles bidde vsus take hede in so many places of the holy scripturs. Agaynst these ought all men to fighte, that tender y• glory of God.Luc. xxii. To confounde these Antichristes, ought we to sell walet, scrippe, cote, with all that euer we hauehave, and to bye vsus a swerde, I meane y• swerde of the spirit, which is the worde of God. And to this ende that I maye prouoke other valeauntly, and boldely to fighte agaynste these aforesayde Antichristes. I according to the talent geuen me, hauehave taken vpō me to wrastle with those wicked Papistes, which beleue & teach that God alone doeth not forgeue synne, but man also with y• same power, & like authoritie Whiche thinge I take in hāde the more gladly, because I se y• thys kynde of doctrine is a great defacing of Gods glory, and that it throweth many into great daūger, forasmuche as they looke for that at the hand of man, whiche onelyonly is the gift of God, yea, it encourageth not a fewe to lyue dissolutely, and without the feare of God, seyng they are perswaded, that if the Prieste layeth his hande ones vponupon their head, and saye Ego absoluo te, they are quyte delyuered of their synneful burden, and though they returne streyght waies vntounto their filthy vomyte, what skylleth it? Ego a… soluo te will dispatche all togyther.ii. T…s. ii. If any man sitteth in the temple of God, bosting him self as God, surely they do it, which take vponupon thē the office of God, that is to remitte and forgeue synne.Esa. xi. But they shall be slayne with the breath of the Lordes mouth. The order, which I wil obserue in the treatise folowing is this. Fyrst I wil proue with manifest scriptures, that God alone forgeueth sinne. Secōdli that the Priest is but a minister appoynted of God, to declare fre remission of synnes to the truly penitent, to declare, I say and not to forgeue. Thirdly I will aunswer to the obiections of the aduersaries, and vtterly wype them awaye, restorynge the scriptures to their natiue sense. At the laste, leste I should seme to despyse the true & Christen absolucion of a faythfull Minister, & the vse of y• keyes, whiche consisteth in preaching, I will expresse my mynde, concerninge them also, so that to any indifferent person, I doubt not, but that my iudgemēt shal appeare godly and confirmab…e to the true vayn of the holy scriptures. Thys littel treatyse (mooste vertuous Ladye) I sende vntounto youre grace, as a testimonye of my redye ben… good will, and seruiseable hart towarde youre grace, beynge prouoked herevnto, thorow youre excedynge louelove and feruent z…le, whyche youre mooste honorable Ladyshippe beare, bothe towarde the woorde of God, and the true professours of the same, moste humbly, besechynge your grace, to take in good parte, thys my rude and simple gifte. God, whyche by hys holy spirit, hath wroughte in your hart this ent…er louelove towarde the Gospell of hys sonne Christe Iesu, moughte also bringe forthe in youre grace plenteousnes of good workes, vntounto the glory of hys blessed name, and the profit of hys holy congregaciō.
AMEN.
Your graces mooste humble and faythfull oratoure Thomas Becon.