The Governance of Virtue, Part 2 · Section 9
Against mens traditions and vnwritten verities.
IF Sathan or any of his impes vntounto the derogation of Gods glorye. shall at any time tempt thee with mans tradicions or vnwritten veryties, for to geue no les credite vntounto them, than vntounto the word of God: auoyde him with these scriptures.
☞ Sentences out of the olde Testament.
YE shall not ad vntounto the worde that IDeut. 4 speake, nor take ought from it.
Ye shall not turue vntounto the right hand nor vntounto the left hād: but by the way that the Lord your god hath commaunded you ye shall walke: that ye may liue and hauehave good luck.
Keepe the commaundementes of theDeut. 6 Lord thy god, and the testimonies and ceremonies, whiche hee hathe commaunded thee: and do that whiche is pleasaunt and good in the Lordes sight, that thou maiest hauehave good luck.
That I cōmaūd thee, do y• only neitherDan. 12 put to any thing, nor take ought away.
Put nothing to his wordes, least thouPro. 20. be reproued and found a lier.
Wo bee vntounto them that cal euill good, & good euil: which make darknes lighte, and light darknes: that make sower swete and sweet sower.
Wo be to them that are wise in theirEsay. 5 own sight, and think them selues to hauehave vnderstanding.
Wo be vntounto you that make vnrighteousEsay. 10. lawes, and deuise thinges which be to harde to be kept: through which the poore are oppressed on euerye side: and the innocentes of my people are therewith robbed of iudgement.
Wo be to those shrīkīg childrē saith y• lordEsay. 30. which seke counsel but not at me: whiche take a web in hād, but not after my will y• they may heap one sinne vponupon an other.
Thus saith the Lorde, my thoughtesEsay. 55 are not your thoughtes, and your wayes are not my wayes: but as farre as the heauēs are higher then the earth, so far do my wayes exceade youres, and my thoughtes your thoughtes.
Your lippes speake leasinges: and your tong setteth out wickednes.
No man regardeth righteousnesse, andEsay. 59. no man iudgeth truly.
EueryEvery man hopeth in vaine things: and imagineth disceite, conceiueth wickednes, and bringeth forth euil.
They breede Cockatrices egs, & weaue the spiders web: Whosoeuer e…eth of their egs dieth, but if one tread vponupon them, their commeth vp a serpent. Their webbe maketh no cloth, and they maye not couer them with their laboures. Their deedes are the deedes of wickednesse, and the worke of robbery is in their handes: their feete runne to euill, and they make haste to shed innocent bloude. Theyr councels are wicked councels, hate and destruction is in their wayes: but y• way of peace they know not. In their goings is no equitie, their waies are so crooked y• who so goeth therin, knoweth nothing of peace.
My people hauehave committed two greateIerem. 2 euils. They hauehave forsaken me the fountaine of liuing waters, and digged them pits, pits I say that are broken, and can hold no water.
Take b…de saithe the Lord ye truste inIere. 7 co…sels that begile you & do you no good.
Heare not the wordes of the Prophets,Iere. 23. that preach their owne dreames.
Heare O ye house of Israel, saith theEze. 18 lord. Is not my way right, or ar not your waies rather wicked?
The children of thy people, saye, tusheEze, 33 the way of the Lord is not right, where as their way is rather vnright.
Examples out of the olde Testament.
Ieroboam kynge of Israel, contrary toReg. 12 gods word, made two calues of gold and set them vp to be worshipped of people as their goddes, but both he and his posteritie were greuously punished for it.
How greuously god punished al such as brought in straūge worshippings of god, or any matters concerning Idolatrye or ought els contrary to y• word of God, although y• authors of thē made the simple people to beleeue y• they were verities, although vnwrittē as the Papistes do now adaies, y• holy scriptures in diuers places do euidētly shew, namely in the bokes of the kinges and of the chronicles.
☞ Sentences out of the new Testament.
Except your righteousnesse dooth excedeMath. 5 the righteousnes of the Scribes and Phariseis, ye can not enter into the kingdome of heauen.
Beware of false Prophets which c…meMath. 7 vntounto you in sheepes clothing, and inward ly are rauening wolues.
Why do ye transgresse the commaunden…entMath. 15 of God for your tradicions.
EueryEvery plant y• my heauēly father hathMat. 15 not planted, shal be plucked vp by ye rotes.
This is my welbeloued Sonne, inMath. 17 whom I am wel pleased, heare ye him,
Teache them to kepe all thinges thatMat. 28. I hauehave commaunded you.
Ye leaue the commaundemēt of god,Mar. 7. and maintaine your owne constitutions. Well, ye do caste aside the commaundemēt of god, to kepe your own tradicions.
If ye abide in my worde, ye are my disciplesIohn. 3. in deede, and ye shall knowe the truthe, and the truthe shall make you fre.
He that is of god, heareth the wordes of God.
My sheepe heare my voice & I knoweIohn. 10 them and they followe mee: neither shall they at any time pearishe, nor yet shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
He that hathe my commaundementesIoh. 14. and kepeth them, he it is that loueth mee: If any man loueth me, he will keepe my wordes.
If ye keepe my commaundementes,Iohn. 15. ye shall abide in my law.
Ye are my frends, if ye doe those things that I commaund you.
EueryEvery one that is of the truthe, hearethIohn. 19. my voyce.
I dare not speak of any of these thingsRom. 15. that Christ hath not wrought by me.
I beseeche you brethern, marke them that make deuision and geue occasions of euil, contrarye to the doctrine y• ye hauehave learned, and auoid them. For they that are such, serue not the Lord Iesu Christe, but their own bellies: & with swete preachīgs and flattering words, deceiue the harts of the simple.
Though we our selues or an Angel frō Rom. 15Heauen, preache any other Gospel to you then that whiche we hauehave preached vntounto you, holde him accursed. As I saide before so say I now againe, if any man preach any other thing vntounto you then that ye hauehave receiued, holde him accursed.
Thoughe it be but a mans testamentGal. 3. yet no mā despiseth it or addeth any thing therto, when it is once alowed: How much more ought nothing to be added to the tes tament of the moste highe God, nor yet be taken from it.
Be no more children from hēceforth,Ephe. 3 wandring and caried with euerye winde of doctrine, by the wilines of men & crafts: whereby they lay awaite for vsus to deceiu… vsus, but let vsus follow the truth in louelove, and in all thinges growe in him whiche is thy head: that is to say Christ.
Caste away vngodlye & olde wiues fables,1 Tim. 4. exercise thy self vntounto godlines.
If any man teache otherwise, & is not1. Tim. 6. content with the wholsome words of our Lord Iesus Christe, and with the doctrine of godlines: He is pufte vp & knoweth no thing, but wasteth his brains about questiōs & strife of wordes, wherof spring enuye, strife, rayling, euill surmisinges, and vaine disputations of menne of corrupte mindes and destitute of the truth, whiche thinke that lucre is godlynes: From suche seperate thy self.
If any man speake, let him speake as2. Pet. 4. though it came of gods owne mouth.
Whosoeuer transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not god He that endureth in the doctrine of Christ, hath bothe the Father and the Sonne.
If there come any vntounto you and bring2. Iohn. 1 not this lerning, him receiue not to house neither bid him god spede. For he that bid deth him god spede, is partaker of his euil deedes.
Be not caried about with diuers andHebr. 13 straunge learninges.
If any man addeth to these thinges,Apo. 22 god shall adde vntounto hym the plages that are written in this booke, And if any mā shall minish of the wordes of this boke of this Prophecy, god shal take away hys parte oute of the booke of life, and out of the holye citie, and from those thynges which are written in this booke.
Examples out of the newe Testament.
Christ rebuketh the pharises for bringingMath. 15 their traditions into the churche of God, by that meanes defacyng the glory of Gods most holy worde.
Blessed Sainct Paule reproueth themCol. 2. which be dead with Christ, from the commaundements of the world, and yet suffer themselues still to be led with traditions, as these for an example touch not, tast not, handle not, &c. Which all perish through the verye abuse after the commaundements and doctrins of men which thinges outwardly hauehave the similytude of wisdome by superstition and humblenes of minde. &c.
Thapostles of Christ would not burdenAct. 15. the christen congregations with new and superfluous tradicions, but only charged them with such thinges as were necessary.
Sainct Paule in his Epistle vntounto theGala. 4. Galathians inueieth against them, which after they hauehave known god, turne agayn vntounto nedie and beggerlye ceremonyes, traditions or ordinaunces obseruing dais monethes, times and yeares.