Twenty-Seven Lectures Upon Hebrews, Lectures · Lecture 7
The seuenth Lecture, vponupon the 1. 2. 3. & 4. verses of the 2. chapter.
1 WHerefore, we ought diligently to giuegive heede to the things which we hauehave heard, least at any time we runne out.
2 For if the word spoken by Angels was stedfast, and euerie trangression and disobedience receiued a iust recompence of rewarde.
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great saluation, which at the first began to bee preached by the Lorde, and afterward was confirmed vntounto vsus by them that heard him.
4 God bearing witnesse thereto, bothe with signes & wonders, and with diuerse miracles, and giftes of the holie Ghost, according to his owne will?
WE hauehave hearde before, howe that the Apostle, after he had sette it downe that Christ was the Prophet of the new Testament, that we might truely giuegive him this glorie, streight hee magnifieth his person by many titles, and by comparison with Angels, proueing vntounto vsus that he is verie GOD. Now to shewe more clearely, for what purpose all those praises of Christ were rehearsed, himselfe maketh his conclusion in the beginning of this second Chapter: that therefore we should most carefully hearken vntounto him alone. And this is the first part of this Chapter, before the Apostle came (as I tolde you) to proue that our Sauiour Christ is also perfect man. In this exhortation, first the Apostle setteth downe his doctrine, then his reason by whiche he will persuade vsus vntounto it: his doctrine is this.
That it behoueth vsus now, more carefully to hearken to the woordes of Christe, then afore time it behoued our forefathers to hearken to the lawe of Moses. For where he sayth, We ought more diligently: he maketh this comparison plainly with the fathers in the olde lawe in the second verse following. And heere we must wisely consider, why he sayth: We ought to be more carefull then they: not that they might remitt any care: for expresly they are charged with all care, to adde nothing, to take away nothing, to chaunge nothing, not to depart neither to the right hand nor yet to the left, but day and night, at home and abroade, to do always this, to studie it continually without intermission, as appeareth in Deut. 4. 6. & 5. 32. & 6. 6. & 11. 18. & 12. 32. & 28. 14. Ios. 1. 8. & 33. 6. & many other places. Nor it is not saide that we be more bound then they, as thoughe the authoritie of God were changed: but this is spoken after our sense, because now Christ hath spoken by himselfe: then by angels: now plainely: then in figures: therefore we ought more carefully to hearken, not that all care ought not to be in them as wel as in vsus: but because our punish ment shall be more then theirs, euen as we shall be despicers of the greater grace.
After this, the Apostle addeth his reason to persuade vsus to this especiall carefulnesse, aboue all other people, to hearken to the voice of Christe: and that is, of the perill that insueth: Least (saith he) we run out. The Apostle vseth a Metaphore taken of olde tubbes, which runne out at the ioyntes, and can holde no liquour. In such a phrase of speache one sayth of him selfe: I am full of creuisses or little holes, and I flowe out on this side and on that: meaning thereby, that euerie vaine thing whiche hee heard, he would blab it out: so wee, if we take into vsus the sweete wine of the word of Christ, as into old bottels and broken vessels, that it runne out againe, we become then altogether vnprofitable, all goodnesse falleth away: and we be as water powred vponupon the ground. This Metaphore the woman of Tekoa vsed to Dauid, when in describing an vtter desolation of the people, she said: We are as water spilt on the ground which cannot be gathered vp againe. And Dauid him self describing the extremitie of all miserie. 2. Sam. 14. 14.which was come vponupon him, he said: I am like water powred out, and all my bones are out of ioynt. Likewise, when he prayeth, yt all the plagues of God may fall vponupon the wicked til they be consumed to nothing, Psal. 22. 24.he sayth thus. Let them mealt like the waters, let them passe away. So the Apostle, noting the extreame Psal. 58. 8.perill, and ine…table death that is in neglecting the worde of Christe, this glorious sonne of God, he sayeth, Take hede lest we be poured out: meaning as water powred on the ground, and is neuer after profitable any more. And if you will see an example, what this flowing away meaneth: beholde the Iewes this day, to whome it is threatened: A despised people, whose verie name is as a cursse: so they hauehave flowed out and are come to ruine: if their example doe make vsus wise, then this exhortation of the Apostle is not to vsus in vaine.
It followeth in the second & thirde verse: For if the word spoken by Angels &c. saluation. In these words the Apostle aggrauateth his reason, & forceth it the more to feare the people. He vseth to this end an argument of the comparison before made betweene Christ and the Angels: that if the lawe giuen by angels, were not broken without seuere punishment, because it was giuen by such glorious spirites: how much more shall we be punished, if we despise this great saluatiō, preached by the sonne of God? That the lawe was giuen by Angels, the scripture heere is plaine. Moses saith of the deliuerie of it: The Lord came with tenne thousand of Saincts. And S. Paule Deu. 33. 3.sayth expressely the same. Gal. 5. 19. And Saint Stephan likewise, Act. 7. 53. And how can it be otherwise? For when there was in the mounteine, thunders, lightenings, tempestes, fearefull sounds of a trumpet, and the voyce of a man heard: I am the Lord Exod. 19. 16thy God that brought thee &c. what could this bee but the ministerie of Angels? For it must needes be true, which our sauiour Christ sayth: No man hath heard the voyce of God at any time: Neither then could the Iohn. 5. 37.maiestie of God speake, but the voyce of his mouth would hauehave shaken vntounto nothing, bothe men and mounteine, and all the elementes that were before him. For howe can corruption stande in his presence?
If we doubt because of the wordes, that the voyce sayth: I am the Lord thy God: And againe, in the third of Exodus, it saith: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaach, the God of Iacob: true it is, that our Sauiour Christ then spake, who is the God of glorie: but he spake not in the voyce of his Godhead, but in the likenesse of an Angel, which he tooke vppon him. For thoughe it be true, that he tooke not the nature of angels, nor was made one of them: yet in his heauenly wisedome, he tooke vppon him the likenesse of an Angel, and according to that nature, so spake wordes: so that still this is true: The lawe was giuen by Angels.
Where it followeth here, that all transgression of that lawe was punished: no doubte he respecteth the people of Israel in the wildernesse, where of so manie hundred thousandes, all died in their sinnes, except Caleb and Iosua, who were of an other spirite: which fearefull example of this people, is likewise alledged by Sainct Paule in the firste to the Corinthians, the tenth Chapter: to admonish the Corinthians, that by their example they should learne.
And where the Apostle addeth, Howe shall wee escape, if we despise so great saluation? howe true this is, we cannot doubt, if we will open our eyes this day, and looke about vsus. What is become of the Churches of Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossos, Thessalonica: all whiche Paule so highly commendeth? What is become of the churches of Pontus, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, to which Peter writeth? What is become of Smyrna, Pergamus, Thiatyra, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodycea, y• churches mentioned in the Apocalypse? In all Asia, Graecia, Macedonia, Syria, Palestina, and many famous countries else, where are nowe their churches? Yea, to come yet nearer home. What is become of the Churches in many Countries and Islands, which our eyes hauehave seene to flourish? The famous kingdome of Hungarie, the great Countrie of Liuonia, howe hauehave barbarous tyrants layde them waste, that scarce one Church of Christ hath peace within them? These are the punishementes which God hath executed, for the contempt of his Gospell: and our eyes and the eyes of our children this day hauehave seene it. If we will not be warned, but doe as we do, despise the Gospell, more then all nations round aboute vsus: suffer mockers and scorners to make their banquets among vsus: giuegive leaue to proude men to hauehave their pleasures at home: and come not once to the church in xiiii. or xv. yere: let the wolues loose, whose rauening teeth are yet red, and their bellies ful with the bloud of Gods saincts: if we will do greater abhominations then these: I wil not appoint times and seasons, for so God hath not sent me hither a Prophet: but as the scourge will surely come, so I dare boldly say: The wiseman seeth the plague comming and hideth him, but the foole goeth on forward & is snared. It foloweth in the Apostle in the 3. and 4. verse: Which at the first began to be preached, &c.
The Apostle continueth yet his reason, added to this exhortation of taking heed to the Gospel which as he did before, of the excellencie of Christ the teacher of it: so repeating that, he addeth also for the more glorie of it, the way and manner in whiche it was taught, respecting heerein the glorious manner how the law was giuen, lest thereby any should lesse regarde the Gospel. And this manner of teaching he magnifieth, first by the authour, who was no Angel, but the Lord himselfe: then by the minissters of it, who were not one, but many: and euerie one in as honourable and assured a calling, as Moses himselfe. Thirdly, that the preaching of it was with signes, wonders, powers, and sundrie special gifts of the holy ghost, euen as it pleased God to distribute them: So that they shalbe without excuse all the despisers of it. Heere some hauehave thought that this epistle can not be Paules, because he sayth: They which heard this Gospel of Christ himselfe they hauehave cōfirmed it to vsus: which thing Paul neuer saith, but always standeth vponupon this, that he receiued it by Reuelation. This reason is not vnlikely, neither yet is it necessarie: for S. Iude being an Apostle, yet saith: Remember the wordes which before this you hauehave heard of the Apostles. And as Paul would not lightly hauehave spoken it in his owne person, so heere his name beeing concealed, and making him selfe one with those to whome hee writeth, he might well speake it. And it is not to be pretermitted, that he saith not, it was taught vsus, but, it was confirmed vntounto vsus, which might be said euen of Paule him selfe being confirmed by Ananias, and conferring with Peter, Iames, Iohn, &c. and manie other wayes. Therefore this is a thing still doubtful, and whether it were Paule, or not Paule, we cannot tell. That he sayth heere of signes, woonders, and powers: he calleth miracles, signes, because they were testimonies & seales to vsus of the doctrine to be from God: hee calleth them woonders, because they were straunge, and shewed an vnwonted woorke, not knowen of men: he calleth them powers, because they had an euident profe of the power of God: the sundrie distributions of the spirite, hee calleth the extraordinarie giftes, which followed those that did heleeue, as our Sauiour Christ promised, & whereof S. Paule speaketh at large, 1. Cor. 12. And thus the Apostle endeth this exhortation; that we would carefully hearken to the Gospell giuen by Christe, Marke. 16preached by the Apostles, confirmed by the gifts of the holie ghost, whose contempt God our heauenly Father will moste assuredly reuenge.
Now let vsus examine againe the words, and applie them to our particular instruction. In the firste verse wher it is said: we ought more diligently to harkē to the things that we hauehave heard: we learne one lesson verie necessarie for our time, and with which we may stopp the mouths of a great many papists, when we reason with them about the studie of the scriptures, howe all men ought to knowe them, if we alledge the moste cleare places, as in the vj. of Deuter. These Deu. 6. 6.words shalbe in thine hart: Thou shalt rehearse them to thy children: thou shalt talke of them at home in thy house, and when thou art in thy way, when thou liest down, & whē thou risest vp: Thou shalt binde them for a signe vponupon thy hands, and they shall be as a frontlet betweene thine eyes. Thou shalt write thē in the entrie of thine house, and graue them vponupon thy gates. These and such like places, they hauehave learned thus to answere: All that was ment in y• olde lawe: now Christ hath giuen the holie ghost to the church, and it can not erre, therefore we must heare her. Whether this be not wilfully to be blind & see nothing, nowe iudge, when you heare the Apostle making comparison, namely betweene our fathers of the olde testament and vsus, he sayth: that wee are more bounde to the doctrine taught by Christe in his gospel, then all our fathers to the law of Moses. But they say, God hath giuen his holie spirit to the church, to guide it in all trueth. First I answere, this helpeth them nothing: for it is a common argument which all sectaries and scismatiques may like wise boast of it. But let them proue first that the church of Rome is the church of Christ. Now touching this gift of Gods spirite, powred vppon vsus, I say it is a promise to the particular comforte of euerie one, that wee shall neuer fall from the grace and louelove of God: it is not a warrant generally to all, that the church shalbe euer in open rule & gouernement & no blemish within her: for how else could it be true that the scripture sayth, there shalbe an Apostasie of men from the faith: Iniquitie shall hauehave 2. Thes. 2. Matth. 24. Apoc. 13.the vpper hand: No man shall hauehave the libertieof his life, but he that taketh on him the marke of the beast. And I would fayne knowe of them, whether the church vnderunder the law had not also this promise: Saith not God by his Prophet Esaie? My spirit which Esa. 59. 20.is vponupon thee, & my words which I wil put in thy mouth shal not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy sede, nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seede after thee frō hence forth for euer more. What a glorious promise is this? Should now the Scribes and Phariseis rise against Christ, as they did, and say they could not erre, they had the holie ghoste, they were the church? Nay, they were not the seed of Esaie, but y• seede of murderers that killed Esaie & the prophets: so these mē, they are not the children of God, but of the man of sinne, which exalteth him selfe against God: and vnderunder pretence of the spirite of God, blasphemeth the Gospell: which onlie the spirit hath taught vsus: and that he blasphemeth the gospel, I may say it boldly, and let them blame me if they can: for doth not the Apostle say heere? All our care must be to obey the gospell. And do not they say, that the Pope can dispense against the gospel, against the Apostle, against the prophet, against the olde and new testament, against the law of God and nature? Only one thing can heere possibly bee said: that they doe graunt all this care of the Gospel ought to be had, but the gospell say they is not onlie the written word, but manie other vnwritten verities taught by Christe and his Apostles, and therefore we are bound to holde them. I beseeche you (dearely beloued) marke these mens sayinges a little with me, and iudge then with the spirite that God hath giuen you. They say the woord written in deed we must keepe, because it is of God: and so likewise Christe and his Apostles preached things neuer written: whiche yet preached by them, ought to hauehave the authoritie of Christ himselfe. It cannot be denyed, but what Christ and his Apostles preached, it was the woord of God, equall with all writings of Apostles and Prophets. But tell me, is it the word of Christe writen, that we should not worship Angels: and is it the word of Christ vnwritten, that we should pray Col. 2.vntounto them? Is it his word written, that we shoulde not be bound to our forefathers traditions: and is it his woorde vnwritten, that our fathers traditions should be to vsus as his Gospel? Is it his worde written that we shoulde not obserue dayes and times, nor make conscience of meate and drinke: and is it his worde vnwritten that we should kepe Lent, Aduent, Imberdayes, make difference of flesh and fishe? 1. Tim. 4. Hebr. 13.Is it his worde written, that to forbidde marriage, which is honourable in all estates, it is the doctrine of diuels: and is it his worde vnwritten, that ministers shalbe forbidden to marrie? Is it his word writtē, that fiue words in a knowne tounge are better in the 1. Cor. 14.cōgregatiō, then v. thousand in a straunge language: and is it his worde vnwritten, that in all congregations, they shall hauehave a straunge language, and speake all in Latine, which the people vnderstand not? Is it his word written, that the dead are blessed which did in the Lord, and they, rest from their labour: and is it his worde vnwritten, that they are tormented in the fire of purgatorie? And yet to come neerer, is it his woorde written, that his ministers shoulde bee subiectes to kings, should be no Lords, should hauehave Rom. 13. 1 Luke. 22 1. Tim. 5. 1. Pet. 5.no ciuil gouernement, should attende vppon their owne flocke: and is it his worde vnwritten, that the Pope should displace kings, that he should hauehave a triple crowne, y• his bishops, so many should be secular princes, y• they should hauehave more churches vnderunder thē then euer they once loked on? Hath God written it, that Christ sacrificed himself once for all, & Hebr. 9.made a perfect redemption: & hath he left it vnwritten, that a shauen priest must sacrifice him eueryevery day and say a masse propitiatorie for the quicke and the dead? What peruersnesse is this of men of a corrupt minde, thus to imagine traditions, contrarie to the worde of God? But I will tell you: Esaie prophesied well of these men, saying: This people draweth nere vntounto me with their mouth, and honour me with their lippes, Matth. 15. 8.but their heart is farre from me, but in vaine they woorship me, teaching doctrines, which are precepts of men.
They say, if we beleeue no traditions of our Fathers, why doe we beleeue this is the Scripture? And heere euerie one obtrudeth S. Augustines sayinge: I would not beleeue the Gospel except the authoritie of the Church moued me. If this had beene Augustines meaning, we would hauehave aunswered him again…, that we will beleeue the Gospel though all the churches in the world would denie it. But Augustine speaketh in y• person of one that yet knoweth not God, as of him self, when he was a Manicheie. To what purpose heere would you alledge Paule or Peter, to one that knoweth not whether Paule or Peter were of Christ or not Therfore how so euer Augustine spake in this, either well or ill, his saying is nothing to our purpose. But touching the scripture, seing these men do cry so lowde, that they can not knowe them but by the church: I say againe Ioh. 10. 27. & 5.to them, that out of their owne mouthes wee may iudge them: for Christ his shepe know his voyce, & do sollowe him, and they do not know the voyce of a straunger, but flee from him. And touching this question, I wil not answere it by S. Augustine, but by a better man. S. Paule answering the like question, saith thus: In deede our eye hath not seene, nor our 1. Cor. 2. 10.eare hearde, nor our heart conceiued, how to iudge this, but the spirite of GOD hath reuealed it vntounto vsus. Marke (dearely beloued) the Papistes say, they know the Scriptures, because their eye doeth see where is the sea of Rome, that hath kept them, and so their eares hauehave heard their fathers say: These are they. But S. Paul saith, their eyes are blind, their eares are deafe, their heart is dull: all these cannot iudge the Scriptures. Will they say now vntounto S. Paule, then they wil neuer beleeue them, if they cannot know them by the church? Let them rather be wise & learne of Paule, that God hath giuen vsus his spirit, by whiche we should know the things that are of God, and of this I dare assure them, they cannot so discerne the light with their eyes, nor any sound with their eares, as they discerne the scriptures by Gods spirit: for if we be regenerate by this spirit, the law of god is not now hid, nor it is not far from vsus, y• we shuld say: Who shal ascend vp, or who shal descēd down? Deu. 30. 10.but the word is nigh vsus, euen in our mouth, that we should speake it: & in our heart, that we should knowe it. With this spirite, the Prophet Dauid sayth: I hauehave knowē long since by thy testimonies, that thou Psal. 119. …52.hast established them for euer. And this spirite maketh vsus see in the scriptures a doctrine without all earthly thoughts, the wisedome of man boldly troaden downe, more force to moue in plaine speache, then in all the eloquence of Tullie & Demosthenes, a doctrine which alone hath stoode euer in honor, whē all other doctrines hauehave bene worne out with time: a doctrine which hath ben assaulted with ten thousand imaginations of men, & yet abideth pure with out all infection of falshood: this the spirite of God makes vsus see in the scriptures, more cleere (as I said) then we see the Sunne light with our eyes: and the word of God hath all his credit in it selfe, it needeth not the church, & it wil not hauehave the Pope to beare witnesse with it. Now (dearely beloued) if any of you feele not this warrant, in reading the worde of God, aske of him that giueth, and vpbraydeth no bodie, and you shall vnderstand all that I hauehave said. Set your heart vponupon it: louelove it with all your soule. Chaunge your selues with reading into those affections, in which you see eueryevery place written, and you shall percelue, Solomon is your good warrant. Seeke after wisedome, as you seeke after siluer, and you shall finde it. Thus muche I thought good to say vntounto you, by occasion of this earnest exhortation of the Apostle to hearken diligently to the Gospel of Christe.
He sayth after: How shall we escape, if wee neglect so great saluation? Let vsus note here, that the Apostle calleth all transgression of the word of Christ, the neglecting of so great saluation. Wee must not looke till men either speake open blasphemie, or doe all things to the open dishonour of God, as men manifestly giuen vp to reprobate senses. All sinners did neuer fulfill one measure of iniquitie: but we see in the Gospel, as wel he is condemned that hideth his talent in the ground, and doth no good with it: as the other that wasted his maisters goods and liued riottously with drunkards and gluttons. Euen so it is with vsus: a great number of vsus will not blaspheme the Gospel as Papists do, and call them which professe nothing but it alone, scismatiques, heretiques, Lutherans. &c. A great number of vsus hate the knowen sinnes of manie adulterers, drunkards, oppressors, dissemblers, flatterers &c. but be not deceiued, surely this is not inough: if we doe but neglect the Gospel, how can wee escape? The lawe giuen by Angels, forbad not only the open breaches of it, but it also required of vsus, that we should louelove it: that we should delight in it that it should be more deare vntounto vsus then all our iewels or other ornaments. How much more the word spoken by the sonne of God, must we not onelyonly, not openly transgresse against it: but also how ought we to louelove it, how to delight in it, how to account all things but doung in comparison of the excellent knowledge of Iesu Christ, that we may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, beeing made like vntounto his death, trying howe wee may Phil. 3. 10.come to the resurrection of the dead? This (dearely beloued) must be our life, and we must bee as men, who hauehave both dwelling and freedome in the heauenlie Ierusalem, to reioyce in the Lord, & alwayes reioyce. For, if other we be of a dull spirite, that we hauehave no ioy of our hope, or when we taste a litle, if it be streight forgotten, so that the Prophets words be true in vsus: That our righteousnes is as a morning cloud, and as the morning dew it goeth away: it is with vsus according to the common prouerb, As good neuer a whit, as neuer the better: and all our Religion is in vaine: for a spirit of slumber hath ouertaken vsus. And though we draw not our sinns after vsus, as with cart ropes: yet we do neglect the great saluation of Christ. This I say that we might stirre vp the grace of God that is in vsus, not once to be negligent in the care of the Gospel: but that it may euer be vntounto vsus, as it is in deede, a promise of gladnesse, the pleasure of our youth, the comforte of our age, that all our dayes may be in peace.
It followeth in the fourth verse: God bearing witnesse vntounto it with signes &c. Heere we learne that all signes wrought by God, serue to the setting out of the Gospel.
The Apostle speaketh plaine, and we must needes heare: in all the signes that are wrought by God, he beareth witnesse with them to the Gospell of his sonne. And our sauiour Christ him selfe is the first scholemaister of this doctrine: for when he sendeth out his Apostles to preache, he giueth them their charge to preache: that The kingdome of heauen is at Matth. 10. 8.hande: and he giueth them this warrant of the doctrine: Heale the sicke, cleanse the lepres, &c. And where Mark. 28. 6.no opportunitie was to teach the doctrine, he giueth them charge there, not to tel of any miracle done: so that assuredly we know, those that are true miracles which strengthen the worde, and all other are illusions of Sathan, whose ende is superstition. A notable testimonie of this trueth, God him selfe giueth in his lawe, where he saith plainely: If a prophet Deut. 13. ….come vntounto you, and worke signes and woonders, though they hauehave neuer suche effect, and be vnfeigned: yet if that Prophet call you out of the waye in whiche God commaunded you to walke, thou shalt not beleeue that Prophet, but thou shalt sley him: for they are no signes and tokens in whiche thou art iustified: but the word of God is the seede of thy newe birth, and the milke with which thou art nourished to be a perfect man of God.
If signes and woonders carrie away thine eyes, that thou shouldest not see the Gospell: cursed are y• signes, & thou too that beleeuest, if thou turne not againe from such snares of Satan. And let vsus here (dearely beloued) carefully beware, for our dangers are exceeding: you knowe how the vaine heart of man is not a little moued with euerie shewe of a wonder: if it be but a iuggler, whole heapes will go after him, and be partakers of his sinne.
If there come to passe any vn…yonted thing, rumour streight inlargeth it, and carrieth it farre and wyde. The diuel seeing this vanitie of our minde, abuseth streight our foolish simplicitie, and with many idle signes and shewes, he carrieth vsus in deede into deadly blindenesse. Of this our Sauiour Christ warneth vsus, and biddes vsus beware: for there shall come deceiuers, Matt. 24. 24.which will shew great signes & wonders, able to seduce, if it were possible, the verie elect. And S. Paule foretelling the cōming of antichrist, he sayth: that through the working of the diuel, he shall shew 2. Thes. 5. 2 9all power, and signes, and lying wonders. Euen as it was euer from the beginning, so it is: with straunge things we hauehave beene delighted, and with straunge things we hauehave ben deceiued. How Iannes & Iambres by many miracles helde the people of Aegypt in continuall idolatries, we may see in the booke of Exodus. How the Assyrians & Persians had their soothsayers and charmers, who wrought them miracles, and helde them in errour, the scripture in many places beareth witnesse. And how all nations of the earth by miracles and wonders were made idolaters, and worshipped before stockes and stones, all stories beare yet record. Augustine saith the Donatistes did glorie of their miracles. Ierome saith that the Aegyptians, when they were stung with serpēts, August in Ioh. tract. 13 Iero. in prefat. in Iere. Ambros. serm. de Agnes.would go sacrifice at Ieremies sepulchre, and they were healed. Ambrose saith y• all mē were healed of all diseases, as many as came to y• tumb of S. Agnes: to be short, the fathers themselues here began to bee blind, & their posteritie far exceded thē: til antichrist at last with lying signes got him greate victories: and by such miracles from the top to the toe all standeth. A miracle made S. Peter to be crucified at Rome: for (as Ambrose reporteth it) when he fled away, Christ mett him at y• gate, at whose sight Peter beeing astonnished, talked with him, and perceiued Amb. Epis. 23. Amb. in Psal. 40.that Christ would hauehave him go back & be crucified, and so he dyed at Rome, then because Ambrose saith: Vbi Petrus ibi Ecclesia, Where Peter is there is the church, euer since the Pope hath ben head of the church. When this was gotten by a miracle, then al things came apace by manie miracles: we learned Transubstantiation, & the sacrifice of the masse, prayer for the dead, going a pilgrimage, holie water, holie bread, oyle, candels: to be shorte, all and for euerie point of Poperie sundrie miracles done: yea the verie dregges of miracles, in milkepannes and greasie dishes, by Robin goodfellowe, and Hags, and Fayries, all wrought somewhat for their idle superstitions, that at this day we should knowe their mysteries by their lying woonders. But we know all the miracles of God are to confirme his woorde, other signes neither wee nor our fathers hauehave knowen none. And now that y• vse of miracles is performed vntounto vsus, and we doe beleeue the Gospell, in token that our saith is accepted of God: now hee hath taken signes from vsus, which serued vsus before when we were vnbeleuing. And surely our fayth is neuer so honourable, nor God so well pleased with vsus, as when we hauehave said bothe to heauen and earth, wee seeke no signes from them, when the worde of God hath suche a persuasion in our heartes, that wee hauehave now taken holde of all the good promises of God, and said vntounto miracles, Get you hence. The Iewes seeke a signe (saith S. Paule:) surely we that be Christians seeke for none: when they were offered of God, he shewed his compassion vponupon our infirmitie, now he hath taken them away, he sheweth greater merciemercy y• he accepteth our faith: and let vsus hearken to y• word of Christ, by it we shall liue: if we beleue it not, we wold not beleue all miracles in the world, no though dead mē should rise to preach vntounto vsus. For great miracles hauehave bene already done, not only by the Apostles, but by Christ him selfe, to confirme his worde: if we beleeue not them, it is to to much childishnesse to think we would beleeue other. Signes were whē doctrine was more obscure: now it is so cleare the signes are gone. The sonne of God once reuenged the transgression of his lawe, with the earth opening, with waters, with fire, with hurlewindes, that the people might feare: he doeth not so now; because his threatnings hauehave ben heard of all flesh: Go ye cursed into eternall fire: a voyce that pearceth betweene the marowe and the bones, with greater feare then the rage of earth or water. And Christe once shewed louing signes to make his people put their trust in him: but now he hath spokē into our hearts: Come ye blessed of my father into euerlasting life: a voyce that goeth deeper into the soule & spirite, then the hearing of all the miracles, by which Israel was lead into the lande of Canaan. And we shal do iniurie to our Sauiour Christ, if now we will aske, that to these wordes he should adde miracles: for if we bring saith to that which is spoken, it will fill our hearts with all fulnesse, and will sell the sight of all the miracles in the world, to buy but one graine of a cōstant sayth in Christ, wherin who soeuer shall stumble, let him accuse him selfe if God giu… ouer to his owne blindnes, that because he had no louelove to beleeue the trueth, therfore he should be ledd with lyes & deceiuable things. Thus much I thought to speak of miracles, that we might be wise to knowe them as they be, and from henceforth for euer put our only trust in the worde of our Sauiour Christ, which only in the world is y• power of God to saue all that do beleeue. Now let vsus pray, &c.