Sermons on Galatians, Sermon 29
The .xxix. Sermon, which is the ſixth vponupon the fourth Chapter.
21 Tell mee you that vvould be vnderunder the Lavv, heere yee not the Lavv?
22 For it is vvritten that Abraham had tvvo ſonnes, the one by a bonde vvoman, and the other by a free vvoman.
23 And he that vvas by the bond vvomā vvas borne after the fleſh: but he that vvas of the free vvoman vvas borne by promiſe.
24 VVhichWhich things are ſpoken by an Allegorie: for they bee tvvo Couenaunts. The one from mount Sina vvhiche ingendreth vntounto bondage, vvhichwhich is Agar.
25 For Agar is mount Sina in Arabie, and repreſenteth that vvhichwhich is novve called Ieruſalem, and is in bondage vvith hir children.
EVery man can ſay that freedome is a thing ſo greatly to be deſired, that mās life is as it were halfe dead, or a continuall pininig away without it. And in very deede wee ſhunne bondage and ſubiection as muche as is poſsible, and ſeeke freedome and libertie, according alſo as it is named an ineſtimable benefite in the common Prouerbe. Nowe if it bee ſo in reſpect of this earthly lyfe: Muche more is it ſo when it ſtandeth vponupon the euerlaſting ſaluation of our ſoules. But wee ſee that many runne into bondage, and tye the rope about their owne neckes wilfully. They can well inoughe ſay that they deſire freedome: but in the meane whyle they ſhewe them ſelues too hauehave as it were vowed them ſelues vntounto ſlauerie. And this is ſpecially ſeene and tryed to much when wee come too the enioying of the freedome whiche is purchaſed vsus by our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt, too the ende that our ſoules ſhould hauehave reſt. For although God ſet vsus free from the bondes of Satan, and from tyrannie of ſinne, by the Goſpell, in telling vsus that he adopteth vsus too bee his children: yet doo wee ſcarſly ſee any that accepte that benefite when it is offered them, but all doo plunge them ſelues into the curſed captiuitie of ſinne, and had leuer to bee ſubiect to their owne luſts, than too walke at libertie by yeelding them ſelues to the obeying of God. Not without cauſe therefore doth S. Paule reproue heere the vnthankfulneſſe of ſuche as long to be vnderunder the law, telling them that they forſake the thing which they ought moſt chiefly to wiſh for, that is, to be franke and free as the children of God. And heere of he giueth vsus as it were a looking glaſſe or liuely picture, ſaying that euen in the Law it ſelfe a man may perceyue how wretched and miſerable mans ſtate is, ſo long as he abideth vnderunder the Law. For Abrahams houſe was as a liuely image of Gods Churche. There therefore wee maye ſee what the ſtate of the Church is. Now it is ſaid that Abraham had two ſonnes: the one named Iſmaell;Gen. 16. a. 1. & the other named Iſaac. Iſmael was borne of Agar which was Abrahams handmayd, and had bin giuen him to wife. Howbeit there was a foule fault in that he could not diſcharge the promiſe and bonde that he had made to his lawfull wife Sara. Agayne, wee ſee that the cauſe of this mariage betweene Abraham and Agar, happened through the ouermuch haſtineſſe of Sara, bicauſe ſhe thought that God forſlowed the performance of his promiſe ſo long, and ſhe was deſirous to hauehave iſſue. But ſhee thought that that could not come to paſſe by hir owne meanes, & therfore ſhe made a very euil conſtruction vponupon Gods word, and it apereth that ſhe was not ſo pacient & well ſtayed in hir fayth as was requiſite. To be ſhort the mariage was to be condemned, and no better than whordome, howbeeit that Abrahams intent was not ſo. For he was not led with wicked luſt. He might very well hauehave deſired to hauehave had the ſeede wherof the ſaluation of the worlde ſhould ſpring: but ſee what our fooliſh intents doo. VVhen wee attempt one thing or other without hauing Gods word for our warrāt, we ſhal be caried and led into many faults through our own raſhneſſe. After this maner is Iſmaell borne of Agar the bondwoman, and yet is that no Lawfull mariage nor allowed of God. Iſaac is borne of Sara long tyme after Iſmaell: for Iſmaell myght well hauehave bin ſixteene yeere olde ere Iſaac was borne. But Sainct Paule followyng the recorde of Moyſes, ſaythe that Iſaac was borne by promyſe, and Iſmaell after the fleſhe. Not that Abraham begat not his ſonne Iſaac: but that he did it by power from heauen, bycauſe his body was already withered and as good as half dead, and he had not any more luſtineſſe in him. He was a man of a hundred yeeres old, & his wife alſo pricked much about the ſame age, who had bin barrein all the foretime of hir life, & was full fourſcore & ten yeres old or thereabouts ere ſhe might conceiue & be with child, in ſomuch that euē ſhe hir ſelfe alſo thought it to be but a tale and a laughing matter, when the meſſage was brought him by the Angels.Ge. 18. b. 12. Yee ſee then that Iſaac was borne by promiſe. For in that cace God wroughte by miracle, too the ende it might bee knowen that our Lord Ieſus ſhould bee ſent into the worlde, not after the common order of nature, but as proceeding of Gods goodneſſe and woonderfull forepurpoſe. But howſoeuer the cace ſtande, yee ſee heere in the houſe of Abraham (who is as it were a figure and image of the Churche) two women with their two children borne of eyther of them one. Now as t…ching Agar, S. Paule ſayth that ſhee repreſenteth mount Sinay where the Lawe is giuen: and he calleth it a mountayne of Arabie, to ſhewe that it was not in the holy land which God had appoynted to be the inheritāce of his people. Alſo Sara repreſenteth Ieruſalem: not the Ieruſalem (ſayth he, which is now ſtanding, for that was corrupted and gone away from the lawe and pure doctrine of God: I ſay from the lawe, not after the maner that S. Paule taketh it heere to engender vntounto bondage: but according to the couenant that God had made with his people in the name of our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt. For as muche then as the Ieruſalem which was in S. Paules time, had forſaken Ieſus Chriſt, and by that meanes diſanulled Gods couenaunt: S. Paule ſayth that it muſt be coupled with Agar or mount Sinay. It is to no purpoſe (ſayth he) that the Iewes make their brags vnderunder colour of their Temple, Sacrifices and ſuch other things, that they bee Gods choſen and peculiar people: for notwithſtanding all that geere, yet are they as good as baniſhed and rooted out of the holy land, and hauehave no more but a vayne title of the law. For let a man looke vpō the ſtate of Ieruſalem as it is now to be ſeene, and it differeth nothing at all from Sinay. But there is a Ieruſalem from aboue (ſaith he▪) that is to wit, the Church, which breedeth vsus before God, and ſhee hauing the incorruptible ſeede of the Goſpel, beareth children that are free and vnbounde, and ſhe is the mother of all the faythfull, according as it is written, Eſa. 54. a. 1.Reioyce thou poore barein woman. And Eſay ſpeaketh not to any one woman: but termeth Gods Churche ſo by a ſimilitude, which Church ſhould for a time be greatly ſcattered. His ſaying then is, very well, thou ſhalt be an ofcaſt, and there ſhal be as it were a kinde of diuorce betweene God and thee: but in the ende he will multiplie thee agayne, and thou ſhalt hauehave mo childrē than if thou haddeſt flouriſhed of all the while in proſperitie: and that came to paſſe when the Goſpell was preached openly too the world. For then the Church had not only the childrē of Abraham, or ſome one certayne people: but through the heauenly ſeede of the Goſpell, ſhee brought foorth infinite children vntounto God, of all Nations and Countreys, farre and wide, according to the power which God vttered through the whole world. Lo heere in effecte the ſubſtance of the texte which I … rehearſed. But firſt of all wee hauehave to marke, that whereas S. Paule ſayth, that theſe things are ſpoken by an Allegorie: he ment not too impeache the naturall ſenſe of the holy Scripture, as wee ſee howe ſome hauehave doone, who through their fooliſh curioſitie of ſeeking fonde ſpeculations in the holy Scripture, hauehave turmoyled and diſordered all things, eſteeming the literall ſenſe to be nothing worth. This was the cauſe that all things were falſified and peruerted, and there hath not bin a more diueliſhe deuice than theſe allegories, whiche hauehave borne ſuch ſway in the world, and as yet ſtill delight many men ſo much, that they bee as it were bewitched with them, bicauſe they be very fauourable and plauſible. O noble expoſition, ſaye they. And why ſo? Bicauſe that when as it toucheth neyther heauen nor earth, the ſillie people are rauiſhed at it, and it is an eaſie matter too hang in ſuſpence and mamering at it. But Sainct Paule mente not that the things whiche Moyſes reporteth of Iſaac and Iſmaell, ſhoulde onelyonly ſerue for ſuche curious ſpeculations: but he ſheweth that in that ſtorie wee ſee in effecte the ſtate of the Churche, bicauſe that at that time there was no Churche in the worlde gouerned by God, but onelyonly the houſe of Abraham. There was as yet Salem where Melchiſedeck was kyng: Howe be it for as much as the ſame wente ſtill too decaye, God gathered a people in the perſon of Abraham, whereby he gaue an incling, that he woulde bee called vponupon by thoſe whome he had ſholed out from the reſt of the worlde. Therefore wee muſte not reade this ſtorie of Moyſes coldly without looking any further, that is too ſay, without conſideration of the things that happened in that houſe, wherin the ſtate of the Church is ſhewed vsus. Marke that for one poynt. But nowe too come too the principall, let vsus marke that whereas Sainct Paule likeneth Agar Abrahams bonde woman vntoo mounte Sinay, and vntoo the Lawe that was publiſhed there: he meeneth not the Lawe with the whole contentes and ſubſtance of it. For in the Law there are promiſes of ſaluation, which wee muſt hope for by our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt, as Sainct Paule declareth in dyuers places, and as wee our ſelues hauehave ſeene. Then if we could take the Lawe in hys ryghte and lawfull vſe, it is certayne that wee ſhoulde hauehave there the… corruptible ſeede of lyfe, and God would bee our father, and we ſhould be ſet free by him. The lawe in deede hath ingendred vntoo bondage as in outward reſpect, as hath bin declared heretofore. Although the fathers of olde time were Gods children and heyres of the kingdome of heauen as well as we: yet were they vnderunder tutors and gouerners. For they were as yet like little children, and the perfection of things was reſerued to the cō ming of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt: and the Ceremonies were as brydles and thongs, ſo that they which kept them had not the full freedome that God graunteth vsus to inioy now adayes as it is purchaced for vsus by our Lord Ieſus Chriſte. Yet notwithſtanding S. Paule ſpeaking heere of the Lawe that ingendereth vntounto bondage, taketh it for the falſe opinion which they had againſt whom he diſputeth. For he will adde anon, that all ſuch as are ſo ingendred, ſhall in the end be baniſhed and driuen out of Gods houſe and heritage. Now although the fathers were ingendred in outward bōdage, as is ſayd of them in the viij. to the Romanes: yet were they free by the ſpirit of faith, which ouer ruled the bondage, or elſe they had bin cut of from all hope of ſaluation. To be ſhort, S. Paule ſpeaketh heere of the lawe, after the interpretation wherewith it had bin corrupted by the hypocrites that buzied their heades aboute pelting trifles, and woulde needes make meritorious deedes of them, and in the meane whyle did caſt mennes conſciences into ſo ſtreyt bondes, as was ynough too choke them. But hereof ynough hath bin ſayd heeretofore. Neuertheleſſe wee muſt call to minde howe the lawe hath bin compared with the Goſpell, bicauſe that ſuch as will needes purchace themſelues rightuouſneſſe by it, do beare thēſelues in hand that God is bound vntounto thē, for their doing of their dutie, and they think they do it throughly in deede.Leuit. 18. a. 5. VVhen they heere this promis, he that doth theſe things ſhall liue: by and by they ſtreyn thēſelues, and they beleue that they ſhall bring the matter about to performe al that euer God requireth and cōmaundeth. And when they hauehave once gottē the promis by the end, ſtreytwayes they looke for the wages too: & they neuer thinke any more that their ſaluation is a free gift, but that they hauehave deſerued and earned Gods promis, ſo that the eternall life is with thē but a recōpence of their deſerts. Thus yee ſee what is ment by the Lawe when S. Paule compareth it with the Goſpell. And as touching the Goſpell he doth vsus to wit, that it is a doctrine wherby God ſheweth himſelf to be our father, with couenant that we ſhould be ſet free frō the condemnation of Satan and ſinne, yea and from the curſe of the law. For (as wee hauehave ſeene afore) it is ſayd that all ſuch as fulfill not the lawe in all poynts ſhall be accurſed. Nowe the cace is ſo, that all of vsus are indaūgered. And by that meanes all the world is ſwallowed vp in deſpayre, and there is no remedie, vnleſſe God drawe wretched ſinners out of that condemnation, and acquit them of the ſentence that was pronounced againſt them. Nowe then wee ſee after what maner S. Paule tooke the name of the Lawe: namely that he ment not, that the doctrine which is conteyned in Moyſes, doth not make vsus rightly the children of God, or that it contayneth not the promiſes which were for the euerlaſting ſaluation of mankinde: but onelyonly that before Ieſus Chriſt came into the worlde, there was not yet any ful libertie or freedome as there is now adayes, & moreouer that the hipocrites abuſed the law by their falſe interpretations. For they ſurmyzed that they could make God amends, and thereby purchace fauour at his hand. And therefore S. Paule ſayeth that we ſhall alwayes be in bondage till wee be begotten againe by another kinde of ſeede, that is to wit, by the Goſpell. But let vsus marke well theſe wordes, where it is ſayd that Agar or Sinay repreſenteth the Ieruſalem which was at that time, that is too wit, the ſame Citie which had erſt bin Gods ſanctuarie, & ſhould hauehave bin the welſpring of all heauenly doctrine,Eſai. 2. a 3. according too Eſay and Micheas, which ſay, The law ſhall come from Sion,Mic. 4. a. 2. and the woord of God from Ieruſalem. Howbeit for aſmuch as the Iewes were corrupt, and had mingled their own inuentiōs & glozes with the pureneſſe of the true doctrine, yea and had forſaken Ieſus Chriſt the fountaine of life: S. Paule ſayeth that that Ieruſalem of theirs is like Agar the bondmayd, & like the mountayne Sinay which cannot ingender but to condemnatiō: and that is a thing well woorthie to be marked: for it ſerueth too ſhewe that God did neuer ſo tie his grace to any one place, but that he puniſhed the thankleſneſſe of the inhabiters,Pſal. 48. a. 3. &. 132. c. 13. whē they would not hauehave the wit to make their benefit of the good things that he had put into their hands. Behold, Ieruſalem is called Gods holy citie, his royal palace, his houſe, and the plac… of his abode: all theſe titles are giuē it in the holy Scripture.Math. 4. a. 5. &. 27. f. 53. And yet notwithſtanding S. Paule ſayeth that ſhe is become like Sinay a barrein hill in a deſerte and elendge place, and out of the bounds of the holy land which God calleth his reſting place and the heritage of his faithful and chozen. Seing there was ſuch a chaunge in the Citie of Ieruſalem, which had bin chozen of God and honored with ſo many goodly and excellent titles: what ſhall become of al ſuch people as do now adayes refuze the doctrine of the Goſpell? Although they were exalted to the like honour, yet could God wel ynough make them to tumble into all reproch. VVe ſee what is ſayd of all thoſe Cities where our Lord Ieſus Chriſt had preached the Goſpel:Math. 11. c. 21. as of Capernaum and the reſt. For they might hauehave boaſted of their hauing of the meſſage of ſaluation firſt afore all others, and of Chriſtes being conuerſant among them rahter than at Ieruſalē. But he ſayeth, thou ſhalt be caſt down to the bottom of hel: and that was bicauſe they were ſtubborne & maliciouſly wilfull, in diſdeyning to receyue the grace that was preached vntounto them. Yea & we ſee what Ieremie ſayeth of Silo.Iere. 7. b. 12 Bycauſe the Iewes boaſted ſo much of their towne of Ieruſalē, vnderunder the colour of the Tēple and the altar: Go your wayes to Silo (ſayeth he): was not the Ark placed there a lōg time? did not mē reſort thither frō all coaſtes to worſhip God? did they not offer ſacrifizes there? And what ſee ye now? a terrible tokē of Gods vengeāce, bicauſe they had not profited thēſelues by the benefite that was offered to thē firſt of all. Now therfore let vsus apply this to our own inſtructiō, that whenſoeuer God ſhall hauehave bin ſo gracious to vsus, as to make his abode among vsus, & as it were to plant his royall ſeege with vsus too reigne ouer vsus, wee may walke in feare & wareneſſe, indeuering on our ſide to obey him, & to ſhrowd our ſelues ſoberly & aduiſedly vnderunder his wings. For if wee thinke to hold him boūd vntounto vsus, & thervpō preſume to be wilfull in our own cōceyt, & vnhalow the gratious gifts which he had dedicated to our ſaluatiō: ſurely ſuch lewdneſſe ſhal not abide vnpuniſhed. So thē we be warned by the exāple of Ieruſalē, to yeeld our ſelues peaſably to the obeying of our God, & to ſuffer him to gouerne vsus, applying our ſelues to him in al reſpects, without puffing vp into vayne preſūptiō, whē he ſhal hauehave beſtowed any of his ſpiritual gifts vpō vsus, but rather cōfeſsing that we be ſo much the … beholdē vntounto him, & thervpō taking occaſion to humble our ſelues. And heere by the way we ſee what a fondneſſe it is of the Papiſtes, too tie God vntounto Rome vnderunder colour (as they ſay) that it is the Apoſtolike ſea. Let vsus put the cace it were ſo, although we know not why, for all that they alledge of S. Peter is but tales and ſtarke lies. It is very certaine that S. Paule was hild priſoner at Rome, and it may be gathered that he was euen put too death there. Beholde, all the holineſſe of Rome is this, that the Goſpell was perſecuted there, and that that Diueliſh dungeon hath bin defiled with the bloud of the martirs, as it were to prouoke gods wrath, and too confederate it ſelf too fight againſt the truthe, and as much▪ as may be to aboliſh the name and remembrance of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt. Behold heere all the woorthineſſe of Rome. But now admit that they had the recordes which the Citie of Ieruſalem had, whereof not withſtanding they finde not one ſillable in the holy Scripture. It is not ſayd that God will reygne or hauehave any dwelling in the Citie of Rome, nor that it ſhoulde bee named the moother church, nor hauehave any other dignitie or preheminence at all. In deede Sainct Paule ſayeth that the faith of the Romanes,Rom. 1. b. 8. (& yet they were then but a handfull of people,) was at that time knowen euerywhere, euen to their great renowme. For yee muſt not thinke that thoſe whiche bare the ſwoorde there were the Chriſtians: but they were a fewe folke gatherd togither in couert. Thoſe dooth S. Paule prayſe and cōmend: but yet doth it not follow that the Church was ouer all the whole towne of Rome, notwithſtanding, whatſoeuer it were, wee ſee what happened too Ieruſalem. Sainct Paule telleth vsus that it differed not from Agar or Sinay, which is an vnholy and defiled place, ſo that the holyneſſe thereof was vtterly done away, bycauſe it continued not in the pure doctrine of the Goſpell. Therefore wee may conclude that ſuche as hauehave bin neereſt vntoo God, and too whome he hath communicated himſelfe moſte familiarly, ſhall bee ſhaken off as ſtraungers, if they abyde not in the pureneſſe [of the truth] which is the vnſeparable bande whereby wee bee made one with our God. But ſurely wee ſee that now adayes, the pure doctrine of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt is not onelyonly ſhaken off, troden vnderunder foote, deſpyzed, & skorned at Rome: but alſo cruelly perſecuted with fire & …ord, & finally that there is no religion at all there. For that place is ſo full of filth and lewdeneſſe, that if a man go thither, it is a wonder that euer he ſhould returne with any feare of God or with any good ſeede in him. VVee ſee then that it is as a dungeon of hell: and would God that they which hauehave bin there had rather brokē their neckes, than lifted vp a foote to go thither. For we ſee preſently, that the countrie of Fraunce hath bin infected with all vngodlineſſe by it, ſo that the moſte part of them are become no better than hogges and dogges, hauing leſſe religion in them than brute beaſts. But yet (as I hauehave touched heretofore) wee bee warned hereby too walke in feare and warineſſe, and too take good heede that we be not bereft & depriued of the benefite which wee hauehave receyued, if we abuſe it, leaſt God poure out his horrible wrath vppon vsus, and wee become as a mirrour and patterne of reproche after the maner of Ieruſalem, whiche S. Paule doth heere ſet vponupon the ſcaffold, not withſtanding that it had bin ſo highly honored before. Furthermore let vsus marke, that vnderunder the figure of Abraham, God doth heere ſhewe himſelfe a father too all his: and ſo ye ſee we bee begotten of God, ſo as wee hauehave roume in his Church. But yet is it not ynough for vsus too call vponupon God as our father, except we be rightly begotten againe by the incorruptible ſeede, which is vntounto vsus as a pledge of euerlaſting lyfe and ſaluation. If it be asked, how then is it poſsible that wee ſhould bee begotten of God, and yet notwithſtanding be as it were a baſtardſeede? The anſwere is, that wee by our owne vice and naughtineſſe doo marre Gods ſeede whiche is his woorde: for ſo is it named by S. Peter.1. Pet. 1. d. 23. But it is certaine that in reſpect that the woorde proceedeth from God it contayneth in it ſelf nothing but all goodneſſe. And againe we ſee what pureneſſe ſhyneth there, howe that all the treaſures of Gods rightuouſneſſe, merciemercy & goodneſſe are vttered there. Thus then you ſee what maner of thing Gods woord is, and what is the nature thereof. Neuertheleſſe when we corrupt it and falſifie it by our own fancies, and make a minglemangle of it: we may ſtill be takē for Gods children, howbeit we ſhall be but as baſtard children, as ſhal be declared more at large (by Gods leaue) after dinner. For then will S. Paule declare, that although Iſmaell were the eldeſt Sonne, yet was he in the ende driuen out of the houſe wherein he had taken the chiefe roome vponupon him, howbeit that he was but a baſtard, and alſo borne of a bondwoman. Then let vsus marke that we muſt not onelyonly be begotten by Gods woord into a pure fayth, and God by his holy ſpirit inlighten vsus that we may know his will according as he witneſſeth it vntounto vsus. For if we chaunge his woord after our owne fancie, and diſguyze it: truly it may be called Gods ſeede ſtill, but yet is it not ſo in deede, what ſoeuer wee make of it, bicauſe it abideth not in his own ſoundneſſe. And heere ye ſee the cauſe why ſo many do now adayes falſly name themſelues Chriſtians: according as the Papiſtes will well ynough confeſſe that they beleeue in God, and that they bee contented too hold themſelues too the holy Scripture. But yet for all that, it is apparant that they bee vtterly peruerted, and that as touching the Scripture, whereas they ought too receyue it with all reuerence, they turne it too their owne lyking, yea and make a mockage and ſcoffe of it, and (as I ſayd erewhyles) they ſpewe out this blaſphemie agaynſt it, that it is a noze of waxe, and that menne may turne it which way they liſt: and moreouer it is apparant that they hauehave turmoyled all things by their owne forgeries. For what elſe doo men call Gods ſeruis in poperie, but the things that men hauehave ſette downe of their owne brayne. There is no mention of ruling themſelues by Gods cōmaundement and ordinance. God muſt be thruſt out of his place, and men take vpō them that which belongeth vntounto him, chalendging authoritie too bring folkes conſciences into bondage, and to make what lawes they thinke good. But that is to villanous and outrageous a corruption. On the other ſide, whēce doo the Papiſtes draw the Articles of their fayth? euen out of their owne decrees, for they recke not too drawe any reſolution out of the holy Scripture. So then they paſſe not a whit what is in the holy Scripture: but if any thing be agreed vpō and receyued by common opinion, that is as an Oracle from heauen with them. And wee ſee alſo that when they intend to proue any of their toyes, the firſt reaſon that they make, is that it is receyued, and that antiquitie ought to preuayle, as who woulde ſay that there were any preſcription in the matter: and therevpon they pull out certaine textes of the Scripture by the heares of the head, and theſe muſt alſo help forward the matter. But [when all comes to all] it is but flat mockerie, & it is apparāt that they wilfully corrupt Gods woord. For there is ſuch groſſe and beaſtly ignorance in them, that very children might iuſtly ſpitte in their faces for it. So then the Papiſts are a fayre looking glaſſe too vsus at this day, for the things that are conteyned heere in S. Paule: that is to wit, that many of them vaunt themſelues to be Gods children, and houſeholdmeynie of his Churche, and yet notwithſtanding are but baſtard ſlippes, and of a corrupted ſeede, bicauſe that in ſtead of cleauing throughly to the pure doctrine which were able too beget them againe into the hope of the heauenly life, they be ſo giuen to their owne minglings, that there is not any more ſoundneſſe in them. But we neede not to go any further too ſhewe that the matter which S. Paule treateth of heere, is verified too much of the Popedome. For where aboutes is our greateſt ſtrife now adayes, but for freewill, for merites, for ſatisfactions, and for ſuch other things? The Papiſts ſay that we are able by our owne freewill, to purchace grace at Gods hand, not that we neede not too be ayded and ſuccored by his holy ſpirit, but bicauſe there is a certaine matching togither (ſay they) betweene God and vsus, ſo as God worketh one peece and wee another. Thus doo they make vsus Gods marrowes, and like as our ſtrength would be to weake if it were not ſuccored on Gods behalf: ſo ſhould Gods grace (ſay they) be vnauaylable, if we made it not of force by our owne mouing therevnto. And herevpon agayne they forge & build their merites: there is none other talk among thē, but of purchacing the realme of paradice, by making God beholden too them: & then ſtep forth their merites and ſatisfactions to raunſome all the faults that they hauehave cōmitted. Thus ye ſee in effect what the Papiſtes prate and iangle. Therevpon they conclude, that it is blaſphemie too ſay that Gods Lawe is impoſsible, and that wee bee not able too performe it: ſaying that there is no man but he may fully diſcharge himſelfe of it when he liſteth. It is an eaſie matter for them too prate after that faſhyon in the ſhadowe: but they that ſay ſo, are naughtie ruffians, drunkardes, ſwearers, and folke giuen too all villanie and outrage. For menne knowe well ynough what the holyneſſe of the Moonkes, of the ſhauelings, and of all the whole rable of their rifraffe and Cankerwoormes is. But wee on our ſide ſay that wee bee b…ne the bondſlaues of ſinne, and are h…ld in ſo ſtreyt bandes vnderunder the tyrannie of Satan, that we cannot ſo much as thinke one good thought of well doing, but go forward ſtill vntounto al euil, like as if an Aſſe ſhould alwayes beare his yoke or burthen with him, and yet wee ſinne not but willingly: But how ſoeuer we fare, we be ſo ſaped in ſinne, that naturally wee cannot do any thing but offend God, and therfore that he muſt be fayne to inlarge vsus and ſet vsus at libertie by his holy ſpirite. Moreouer wee ſay, that the law of God is vnpoſsible to be fulfilled, and that it ſheweth vsus our duetie to the end to condemne vsus & to ſtop our mouthes, & too make vsus come before God as wretched offenders, too obtayne grace at his hand for the ſinnes which we hauehave cōmitted, and to confound vsus with ſhame, to the end we ſhould graunt our ſelues to bee dāned, and ſeeke to be ſaued at Gods hand, through the grace of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt. Finally wee ſay, that too iuſtifie our ſelues before him, is a thing that paſſeth all our abilitie, and that he ſupplieth our wants bicauſe he ſifteth vsus not with rigour, nor entereth into accoūt with vsus: & that when we hauehave offended him, there is none other ſatisfactiō for it, than the ſacrifize that was offered by our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, nor any other clenzing, than to plundge our ſelues ouer head and eares in his bloud. Thus ye ſee how the doctrine which is cōtayned in S. Paule, is to be put in practize in reſpect of the diſputatiōs of the Papiſts againſt vsus. For it is certain, that for all their bragging and falſe pretēding of the name of God, and for all their ſaying that they be his children bicauſe they be begotten by the holy ſcripture: they ſhew that their mother is Agar or Sinay, and conſequently that they be bondmen borne, and do tie the rope about their owne necke, bycauſe they hauehave no will to go vntounto God, too receyue the freedome that he offereth them, but wil rather vſurpe to themſelues the thing that belōgeth to God only, and wil needes iuſtifie thēſelues by their own merites; and fulfill the lawe of themſelues. Therefore they bee bondchildren, and continue ſlaues ſtil, and in the end muſt be driuen quite out of the houſe. As for vsus, wee ſhall ſee hereafter what proofe the doctrine hath which we holde, & what it bringeth with it: which is, that we hauehave none other freedome than is giuē vsus by the doctrine of the goſpell, according alſo as our Lord Ieſus Chriſt ſheweth in the viij. of S. Iohn, that it is his pecul… office to make vsus free, & that the drawing of vsus out of damnation, is a ſpeciall priuiledge giuen vntounto him by God his father. Therefore when wee come too our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt, and in him ſeeke, for all things that wee want, knowing that by his meanes we be deliuered from the yoke of the law, which we are not able to beare, and which not onelyonly made vsus too ſtoupe, but alſo weyed vsus downe to the bottome of hell: if is the true ſeede that begetteth vsus againe into full freedome too bee Gods children, not onelyonly to be bruted ſo in this worlde, but alſo to bee auowed ſo at his hande before his Angels, that in … wee may come too the heritage that is bought ſo dearely for vsus, and which wee cannot attaine to by our owne power, but by the meanes of him to whome it belongeth who communicateth it vntounto vsus according as he offreth it vsus dayly by his Goſpell.
But nowe let vsus fall downe before the Maieſtie of our good God with acknowledgement of our faults, praying him to make vsus feele them better than we hauehave done, ſo as it may make vsus to growe and increaſe more and more in true repentance, that our comming vntounto him may bee in all lowlyneſſe without hypocriſie, beeing aſhamed of our wretchedneſſe, and not ſeeking any other remedie than in our Lorde Ieſus Chriſt: and that foraſmuche as our good God hath adopted vsus and ſealed the grace of his adoption in our heartes by his holy ſpirit, we may ſtand ſtedfaſt in the pureneſſe of his Goſpell, without adding any thing of our owne, and without marring it by our owne interpretations, and that hee ſo holde vsus in the obedience of fayth by his holy ſpirite, that lyke as he hath begonne too ſhewe himſelfe bountifull towardes vsus, ſo we alſo may go continually forward to the ſayd perfection; without ſwaruing aſyde at any time. And ſo let vsus all ſay, Almightie God our heauenly father. &c.