THE TRIAL OF TRUTH: Containing A PLAIN AND SHORT DISCOVEry of the chiefest points of the Doctrine of the great Antichrist, and of his adherentes the false Teachers and Heretics of these last times.  Math. 16. 
O ye Hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, and can ye not discern the signs of the times?  2. Thess. 2. 
Let no man deceive you by any means: for (the Lord shall not come) except there come an Apostasy first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who is an adversary, and is exalted above all that is called God, or worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,  
AT OXFORD, Printed by JOSEPH BARNES, and are to be sold in Paul's Churchyard at the sign of the Bible Ann. Dom. 1600.   

TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD HIS VERY GOOD Lord, HENRY Bishop of Sarum.  
RIGHT Reverend Father, and my very good L. I am bold in your lordships name to present to Christ his Church these my travails undertaken in defence of the same against her capital enemy the great Antichrist, especially seeing your Lordship is our Colonel under whose conduct we, that are leaders of small bands under your regiment, are marshaled along unto these our military services, and are encouraged to fight the Lords battles. Wherhfore I am most humbly to crave not only your lordships approbation herein, but also your special protection, that so the better success may ensue.  
And I am most earnestly to exhort all those which are Leaders with me of smaller companies, that they would submit themselves dutifully to the government of their Lieutenant general, and Colonels appointed over them for their spiritual services, that they take them for their governors and not for their enemies, and that they be priest and ready to put in execution their lawful designmentes, (howsoever some of them perhaps may conceive, that there might be devised some better course for the managing of these affairs.) For doubtless wheresoever the General & Colonels be not readily obeyed by their under Officers, but deemed & judged for deadly enemies, there must needs arise sedition and mutinies, and so in the end, unless it be prevented, the utter overthrow of the whole army. As therefore, my brethren, we would be loath to be the means to weaken & dissolve the Lords bands, and to strengthen and increase the force of the enemy, let us so stand upon our several watches, that we keep ourselves to our own colours, and discern our chiefest patrons & Protectors from our most dangerous and deadly foes, and distinguish our Fathers, that have begotten us through the gospel, from such as would bastardise us, if they could, and rob us of our celestial and heavenly inheritance. Yea whereas the enemy by strong leagues and confederacies, and by all means that policy can devise, or industry bring to pass, hath long time sought to strengthen himself that he might bring us to utter destruction: how ought we with one heart and one soul join together for our own preservation, & especially for the furthering of the glorious gospel of Christ our Lord, & for the establishing of his kingdom? We know all very well that by peace and unity small things become great, as by discord and dissension great things are brought to nothing. And therefore I cannot but greatly reverence that godly affection of that religious & reverend father in God THOMAS COOPER late Bishop of Winchester, who lying in his death bed, when sense, reason, & judgement began to fail him, yet this desire did not wax weak, but his importunate will (if I may so term his holy and godly zeal there in) was, that set prayers should be appointed for the peace of this our Church, & for the establishing of Christian love and unity among ourselves The which thing, as I take it, would the more easily come to pass, if we would duly weigh with ourselves, that government and ceremonies (about the which we contend) are only in general 
Calvin. in J. ep. ad Cor. c. 11.  commanded in the word of God: but what special kind of government is fittest for every time and country, & what ceremonies in particular belong to order, comeliness, and edification, these things are not left in the power of private persons (for that would tend to confusion and all disorder, and cause Controversies to be endless) but to the power of such as be in authority, and the determination of their wholesome laws.  
The articles of faith saith Tertullian be the law of faith: 
Tertul. d● virg. vt●ad.  this law remaining, other matters of discipline and conversation do admit the novelty of correction, the grace of God working, & profiting the Church to the end. Wherhfore as I would exhort our Leaders of smaller companies to acknowledge and reverence their greater Commanders, and to submit themselves to their government; so I would also most humbly beseech those which are in higher place & authority to embrace with love their inferior Officers, which are desirous to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. And 
Hosts judicandi suns qui contrae remp. arma ferunt. non qui suo iudicio tueri velint remp.  that they will not over hastily adjudge all those to be factious & mutinous, who differ a little in judgement from them in the ordering of the battle, & in the manner of performing of this or that piece of service; if they fly not, nor turn their backs in the skirmish, but advance their ensigns courageously, & employ their forces manfully against the enemy. The time hath been 
Euseb. lib. 5. Cap. 23.  when that the diversity in fasting (& so no doubt in other matters of the like kind) hath been thought to have been a commendation to the unity in faith. The time hath been when heady 
Idem. lib. 5. Cap. 26.  Victor seeking a victory to himself and so hindering the conquest and triumph of the truth, hath been overruled by a discrete Irene persuading peace, that so the gospel might get the greater victory. The time hath been when rash josuah provoking meek Moses to put to silence Eldad 
Numb. 11. & 28.  and Medad for prophesying in the host, and not being present as it were before his Consistory, received the cheek for his labour: Enviest thou for my sake? I would to God all the lords people could prophecy, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them. For if Christ 
Ph. 1. 18.  be preached any manner of way it ought to be the matter of great joy to every true & sincere Christian: And if to us this dispensation be committed, woe, woe unto us if we preach not the 
1. Cor 9 16.  Gospel: but if we be instant herein in season, & out of season, and feed Christ's sheep again & again, for that they are redeemed with his own blood, happy are we even by the testimony of the Lord himself, seeing we are possessed with his love. And happy also is the estate of those sheep which have 
Ioh 21. 15.  a faithful shepherd to go in and out before them, and to lead them along into the pastures of righteousness: as lamentable is the case of those Congregations which are as sheep scattered abroad without a shepherd; as wretched is the estate 
Math 9 36.  of that ground, which hath no skilful husbandman to manure the same. Surely the harvest is great & the labourers are but few & therefore we must make earnest suit to the Lord of the harvest that he would thrust forth labourers into his harvest. And may we not as truly say, that these battles are hot, & that the leaders thereof on the adverse part are many, expert, & cruel & therefore that there is great need that all the Leaders of the Lords armies should be stirred up & encouraged each by other to stand up in the breach and courageously to withstand the force of the enemy? The which thing if any of them shall either be unwilling or unable to perform, order had need to be taken presently for such, lest the army thereby should be brought in great danger.  
And verily (right Reverend in the Lord) it is lamentable to behold what great massacres, blindness, and ignorance, superstition and Idolatry do make as yet in the midst of many Congregations, who are laid as it were waste and desolate, for want, as it may be supposed, either of ability, or else of industry in their Leaders which should withstand the force of these enemies. How many are there even among those which outwardly notwithstanding conform themselves to law & order, who feed still upon poison, for want of wholesome food to be so divided, that they may be able to receive the same: & like silly sheep are still ready to stray hither & thither & to become a prey to the greedy wolf, for want of such a shepherd as should still go in & out before them, and direct them along in a right course? For is it not with us (who are in this our Church as it were the feet of the Ministry) as it was with that image represented to Nabuchadnezzar in a dream, whose feet were part of iron & part of clay? For there are in many (the Lord be blessed for than, & increase the number of them) the strength of iron, whereby they are enabled to stay the people upright, & to keep them in obedience to God & to their Sovereign: and there are others like moultring clay having little power to strengthen themselves, & less ability to stay others.  
Thus am I bold to intimate the estate of Christ's sheep unto your Lordship being our great shepherd, who not only by your antority do require our watchfulness & diligence over our several flocks, but also by your own example do persuade us thereunto verifiing by your practice the truth of that saying of one of your L. most famous Predecessors; that, as an Emperor should die standing in the field, so should a B. in the pulpit. The high and chief Bishop of all our souls visit your Lordship daily with his mercies, increase his graces & blessings upon you, & preserve you both in body & soul to his own honour, & to the benefit of his Church. Amen.  
Your LORDSHIPS, as duty bindeth me, to command JOHN TERRY.   

To the Christian Reader.  
AS it is a necessary duty (good Christian Reader) for every member in man's body, even for the meanest and basest as well as for the most principal to perform their common service for the common benefit & preservation of the whole: even so it is as needful for every member of the Church & common weal, be he higher or lower, greater or less, to walk painfully in his several calling, & in obedience to God, who hath thus or thus placed him & carefully to discharge that duty which the Lord requireth at his hands. For there are none of God's blessings, be they in comparison of the greater of never so low a rate & estimation, but that they are worthy that we should employ our cares & cogitations about the lawful obtaining, increasing, & preserving of the same: & there is no talon so small committed to any, that is carelessly or contemptuously to be flung aside, tied up in a napkin, or buried 
Math. 25.  in the ground. Should a little light be clean put out, whereas it may fit some little candlestick, & serve to lighten some little house? Or should a man of mean stature, when he is assaulted by his enemy, stand nothing at all upon his own defence, but cast away all manner of weapon, because he is not able to use Hercules' club? Our Saviour Christ (which 
Isa 42 3. Mat. 21. 16.  breaketh not the bruised reed, nor quencheth the smoking flax) rejected not the testimony of very children crying in the temple & saying, Hosanna, the son of David, but gave strength unto it with Have ye never read; out of the mouths of babes 
Psal. 8. 2.  and sucklings thou hast made perfit thy praise. Little David unable to bear the weapon of a man of war, being 
1. Sam. 17.  strengthened by the Lord's aid, prevailed against great Goliath. And experience doth teach that in martial services, a mean soldiers bullet may strike some chief man of the adverse part, and so further the winning of the field, and help to the getting of the full victory. The Lord's hand is not shortened, nor his spirit tied: the planting and watering of such as have the greatest gifts is nothing, unless God 
1. Cor. 3. 7.  give the increase: and the labours of the meanest Minister of Christ may be profitable to his Church, when it pleaseth the Lord to give a blessing thereunto. Yea the meaner the instrument, the greater is the glory of him that worketh by the same, when all men that see it shall say, this hath 
2. Cor. 47.  the Lord done: and shall perceive that it is his work. Upon these grounds have I been emboldened (good Christian Reader) albeit but a mean soldier to come into the field with the residue of the lords army, to the succouring, if it be but of one soul, or to the rescuing of one captive out of the enemies hands.  
Many things do plainly convince the B. of Rome & his adherents as the most capital enemies of Christ's Church in these last times & ends of the world. For howsoever they pretend themselves to be the only preservers, yet in truth they are most greavous destroyers of the Catholic faith: & albeit they make a show as if they were the chiefest pillars, yet they are the greatest pullers down of the Church of Christ: and although they glory of their perfect consent and agreement with the doctrine of Christ, yet in truth they maintain many flat & direct contradictions against the very grounds & foundations of the doctrine of Christ. The shortest sum & abridgement of the doctrine of Christ is, Repent, & believe the gospel. Repentance & Faith. Whereof the 
Marc. 1. 15.  one is occasioned by the due consideration of our own most manifold and greavous corruptions, the other by the apprehension of the Lords most singular and endless goodness. And therefore the scope of the whole Scripture tending to teach repentance & faith, tendeth likewise to these two ends, on the one side to display & lay open the incomparable excellencies & perfections that be in God, that by the beauty thereof we may be most earnestly stirred up to desire reconciliation & fellowship with him, to place our whole hope & confidence in him & to ascribe unto him all honour & glory: & on the other side to discover the infirmities & corruptions of man, that thereby he may be induced, all self love set aside, to distrust, deny, & renounce himself, to hung down the head being confounded in himself & cast down to the bottomless pit of hell. So the Prophet I say setting down the mighty working of the gospel at the coming of the Messias testifieth that thereby the high looks shall be humbled, and the 
Isa. 2. 17. & 24. 23.  loftiness of man shall be abated, and the Lord only shall be exalted in that day: yea that the Moon shall be abashed, and the Sun ashamed, when the Lord shall appear: that is, that such things, as in ourselves seem beautiful as the sun, shallbe covered with darkness, & dashed over as with a coa●e, in respect of the brightness of Gods most admirable goodness shining in the face of the glorious Messias. And wha● else also meaneth the Prophet ●zechiell in saying, that when 
Ezech. 16.  the Lord hath confirmed his everlasting Covenant with us, & is pacified towards us, them we shall remember our ways & be ashamed, & never open our mouths any more in respect of our shame? Wherefore if we will be partakers of the fruit of the gospel, we must be moved thereby to look thoroughly into our own corruptions, & to cast down our eyes as it were upon our own fowl feet, that so we may have our part in that shane which is the path way to worship & honour. We 
Eccl. 4. 21.  must not be gazing upon our peacocks tails, nor beholding the sun when he shineth, nor the Moon walking in her 
job. 31. 26.  brightness: that is, we must not admire ourselves no not in respect of our temporal or spiritual gifts, lest our own hearts do flatter us in secret, & so induce us to kiss our own hands. Surely this is an iniquity to be condemned, seeing it is a denial 
Hab. 2. 4.  of the Lord above. For he that lifteth up himself, his heart is not upright: for the just shall live by faith: which teacheth us not to admire ourselves, or to trust in ourselves, but to go out of ourselves and to trust in God, and to place our whole hope in the riches of his grace, & in the fullness of his goodness. And in truth we can hardly detract to much from man (in whose flesh dwelleth no good thing, & all the imaginations 
Rom. 7 18. Gen. 6. 5.  of whose heart are only evil continually) that so he may be brought to cast away all self love, pride, & confidence in himself, & take to himself his due deserved confu●ion and shame, & be unfeignedly humbled as he ought to be: As on the contrary side we can as hardly ascribe to much to God's goodness, or be overlavish in extolling the high length, breadth, & depth of the love of Christ that passeth knowledge, that so the pledges of his endless favour may raise us up to a true & lively faith, & to give him that glory that is due to him. And why should mire that lieth in the street be so greedy to be seasoned with sugar & spice, & a vile piece of a rotten post to be gilded over with fine gold? why should wretched & sinful man be desirous to enlarg his own estimation & by advauncing & lifting up himself prepare a way to a most dangerous downfall? So God be glorified, we ought not greatly regard what becometh of us, seeing all is due to him, & nothing to us. And verily the most blessed servants & saints of God being purged and cleansed from all corruptions, & being admitted to the vision of God, and to bebold not his hinder parts, but even to see him face to face, and so to behold his unspeakable glory, as far forth as the creature is capable of the same, albeit they are so highly advanced, yet they take their crowns from their own heads, and cast them down before the throne, saying: 
Apoc. 4 10. & 11.  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive honour, & glory, & power: for thou hast created all things, & for thy wills sake they were & are created; never ceasing day nor night to sing holy, holy, holy, Lord God 
Apoc. 15. 4.  almighty: who shall not fear thee & glorify thy name, for thou only art holy? Yea our most glorious Lord & Saviour Christ jesus himself, who was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, and endued with the spirit with out measure, who is advanced to the right hand of GOD, and hath all power in heaven and earth given unto him, & is appointed judge of quick & dead, when he shall have finished the work of his Mediatorshippe, and shall have placed all the elect of God in the peaceable possession of that most glorious kingdom which he hath purchased for them with his own blood, then, as he is man, he shall deliver up his kingdom to God, & be subject to him, & that to this end, that God may be all in all, all glory & honour, power & 
1. Co. 15. 28  praise being worthily ascribed only to him. Whereby it is evident that God can never be sufficiently magnified in respect of his incomprehensible goodness & glory; as on the contrary side man can never be sufficiently humbled & abased, especially in comparison had unto God.  
And yet the members of the Church of Rome, fearing belike that Gods great grace should be to highly magnified & that to much should be yielded thereunto, & being loath (as it seemeth) that man should take to himself that due deserved shane that belongeth unto him, will have neither 
Conc. Trid. sess 6. cap. 1. Can. 7.  all our works before our conversation being done without faith to be condemned for sin, nor all our good works after our 
Cap. ●…. con. 25. Cap. 2. can. 4.  conversion to be stained so much as with any ●ental sin, neither all our very sins to be damnable and mortal nor yet our conversion itself to be wrought only by the spirit of regeneration, but also by the power of our own free will: neither our salvation to be ascribed to the only death of our all sufficient Saviour, but also to our own merits and deserts. The Prophet 
Cap. 11. can. 32. Psal. 115. 1.  David was of another spi●…e: Not unto us, O Lord (saith he) not unto us, but unto thy n●…e give the praise, for thy loving mercy & for thy truths sa●e, Oh, (saith Aust.) God doth prevent thee in all things, prevent thou also his wrath: How? Confess that all good thou receivest of him, and all evil 
Serm. 10. de ver. Apost.  from thyself. But the Church of ●ome regardeth not this wholesome counsel of this learned Father, she will not have her children to disgrace themselves so much, as to confess themselves void of all goodness and replenished with all evil: neither will she have the free mercy of God in Christ so far fo●th magnified and extolled, as i● all the due deserved glory of all celestial graces were to be ascribed thereunto: and therefore God in his just wrath hath given her over to her own blindness, that making her boast that her faith 
No manerreth more than he that thinketh he never erreth.  cannot fail, yet she teacheth diverse and manifold errors contrary to all the grounds of the Catholic faith. For many grievous and damnable are the heresies, wherewithal the Bishop and Church of ●ome are most truly and justly charged by us, which profess the Gospel of ●esus Christ: for the removing whereof the words indeed of the scripture are alleged by them; but the question being of the right sense thereof, albeit the children of that Church pretend for the justifying of their interpretations the consent of fathers 
Stap. doct. princ. li. 7. ca ●…●… 8 10. ● l. 10. cap. 11.  the common testimony of the faithful, & the decrees of counsels, yet at the last only, or at the least principally, they rest upon the definitive sentence and censure of the Pope. So that the question being whether the Pope be Antichrist, the full and final decision thereof must in the end as they teach) be devolved to the Pope himself, and he must be the judge in his own cause Now what is this, but ask my fellow, nay ask myself, whether I am a thief? Whereby they make manifest unto the whole world the great weakness and wretchedness of their own cause, which cannot otherwise be justified & approved, unless the guilty parties themselves be suffered to pronounce the definitive sentence. Whereas our Saviour Christ testifieth of himself, saying: If I should bear witness of myself, my witness were not 
Ioh 5. 31. joh. 8. 54.  true. And again: If I should honour myself, my honour is nothing worth. If then our Saviour himself would not be believed upon his own bare word, b●t had his doctrine confirmed by his Father's voice from heaven, by the testimonies of the Prophets, and by his own miracles: what pride possesseth the Pope's heart, that he will not submit himself as Christ did, and be tried as he was tried? Now herein the Antichristian presumption of the Bishop of Rome in exalting himself above our Saviour Christ being manifestly detected, with the great nakedness and wretchedness of his cause, his friends to shadow & darken ●he same, have raised 
Camp. rat. 2 Poss. Bibl. select no. 7. cap. 18.  up a mist of a most notorious slander against us, as if we were those parties, that would be tried by none but by ourselves, and would allow in no manner of controversy the judgement of any Interprete●, but Luther's, Melancthons', Caluins, Bezaes' or the like. The which thing if it were true, we see no reason why we may not justify the same far better, than they can their depending upon the Pope's chair. For these men were painfully exercised in praiere, reading, and meditation, and were furnished with the knowledge of Arts and tongues which are great helps to the attaining unto the right interpretation of holy scriptures. Whereas it is averred by men of their own profession as a thing notorious, that many of their Popes have not understood the 
Alphonsus li. 1. c. 4.  grounds and principles of the very Grammar itself: and of those that have been learned, the greater sort have been expert in points of policy, rather than in sound and profound Divinity. Now right interpretation of holy scriptures being obtained from God not extraordinarily by revelation in these days, but ordinarily by means, let all indifferent persons judge whether the unlearned or politic Popes, or the other so well studied & learned men were like to be the better Interpreters of holy scriptures. But indeed we stand not upon this exception, but constantly avouch that this their accusation is a most impudent and shameless slander raised up in all likelihood even against their own consciences, as it may appear by the appeal of that reverend Father John Juell in divers controversies between them and us made unto all approved antiquity cited & censured even by themselves. For we like of the testimonies of Fathers, 
Camp. Rat 5.  Church and Counsels, and have just cause in many points to allow of their decisions: but we tie not the truth necessarily unto them, but unto the spirit of truth, who being the Author, is also the best interpreter of holy Scripture, having therefore plainly set down in them all necessary points of faith, that the plain & easy places thereof, might be as lights to the dark and obscure, for the better opening and explaining of the same.  
Yea as in all Arts & Sciences there are some principles and grounds undeniable and unavoideable, having open & manifest truth in themselves evident to the light of nature shining in us, and winning credit to themselves by their own perspicuous verity, by the which the certainty of all other precepts of less perspicuity & authority is to be tried: even so in Theology also there are certain principles & grounds, having open, confessed, & undeniable truth in themselves, such as are the Articles of the Apostles creed, unto which the interpretations of darker places are to be referred, & by which the doubts & controversies in matters of faith are to be decided. For these are even as great torch-lightes, lightning both themselves & others also. And as any having but mean skill in that craft, if he set but the level to the work, shall soon see whether it be right: or if he rub the metal upon the touchstone, he shall quickly perceive what it is: even so to any that is but meanly experienced in the doctrine of Christ, if he compare his faith to these grounds of faith, he may soon perceive whether he hold a sound faith. For as in Law, & Physic, & in all other liberal Arts & Sciences the painful student may attain to a sufficient knowledge of the same by the help especially of their main grounds and principles, albeit there be no unerring Interpreter able to decide all doubts and controversies therein: even so in Theology, albeit there be none unerring Interpreter among men, yet the studious & devout Christian may attain to a sufficient knowledge of all such points of faith as are necessary to salvation by the help of the main grounds & principles of faith. Or may we suppose that the God of all, but especially of such as believe, hath been more careful for the naturalman by leaving those principles which stand upon their own ground, that so he may attain to the knowledge of all such Arts & sciences which are profitable for the maintenance of this temporal life: that he hath not left the like principles and grounds for the regenerate man, whereby he may attain to the knowledge of all such things as do concern eternal life? And if Aristotle be judge in Philosophy, Galene in Physic, justinian in the law, albeit many of their rules & precepts he diversely expounded by their Interpreters: even so albeit there be divers expositions of holy scripture, yet God forbid but the holy scripture of God the most clear & pure fountain of truth should be the judge of faith, & that especially by the main grounds of faith therein contained. The which are therefore named by the ancient Fathers the key 
A b● serm 38. Aug. de doct. Christ. l. 3. cap 2. & 3. De Temp. Serm 119. So r. hist. Eccles. lib. 5. Cap. 10.  and rule of faith, for that the perspicuity & plainness of them doth open as it were a door into all the mysteries of faith. And hereof it was, that not only Theodosius the Emperor used them as a means to end all controversies in his time: but S. Austin also, being to expound the first book of Moses, called Gen. setteth them down in the forefront of his work, as a rule whereby he meaneth to frame all his interpretations: that if they miss in the meaning of any particular place, yet they may not err in the substance of faith because he avoucheth nothing but that which is agreeable to the grounds of faith. So likewise Tertullian & Iraene that lived near the Apostles 
See Kemnis. Exa Trid. Conc. de traditionibus.  time, when certain heretics charged the scriptures (as the members of the Church of Rome do now) that they were in sufficient, dark, & ambiguous, & that the truth could not be found out by them without traditions, they joined issue with them, & referred themselves to the judgement of that doctrine, which the Apostles delivered by tradition to the Churches: the sum whereof they relate, altogether as it were, even as it is set down in the Apostles Creed, being the very pith & substance of that faith, which was delivered first by mouth by the Apostles themselves, & afterward set down in their writings, that it might be the pillar & foundation of faith: & all interpretations of scripture they require to be agreeable to this entire & perfect body of truth, as they had learned of the Apostle S. Paul, that all prophecy should be 
Rom. 12. 6.  suitable & proportionable to the faith. Unto the which Testimonies of these learned Fathers, I add the judgement of Beza & Kennitius quoted before, that all indifferent people may perceive, that we walk in the sane ways, that these learned Fathers have trod out unto us, & used the same means to attain to the right interpretation of holy scripture, and to a sound & catholic judgement in matters of faith. No humble 
Serm. in c 3. Cant.  christian (saith Beza) if he desire to be taught, can be deceived in the interpretation of holy scripture, if he diligently confer place with place according unto the example of our S. Christ, & the 
Math. 4. 7.  practice of the ancient Counsels: & if with all he refer the whole unto the correspondency of the articles of our faith, which we call our Creed, being the summary abridgement of every fundamental point of our Christian religion. Most notable also to 
Serm 4 de Incarnate. Dumini.  this purpose is that of Leo: If any (saith he) shall preach unto you any other thing besides that which ye have learned, let him be accursed prefer not wicked fables before evident truth: & whatsoever it shall hap that ye read or hear contrary to the rule of the Catholic & Apostolic Creed, accounted it altogether damnable & devilish. By which testimony of this learned Father we may gather, that the doctrine of faith set down in the Creed is that evident truth which was delivered by the Apostles, & whatsoever is contrary to the same is a wicked fable & to be accursed, as being no better then flat damnable & devilish. Wherefore (good Christian reader) if thou wouldst not willingly hold that faith which is fabulous, accursed, damnable, & devilish, examine thy faith according to those grounds, which are both easy, short, & perfect, lest thou shouldst plead ignorance in thyself, or length & tediousness in the work itself. Be not over credulous in this matter of so great moment, nor so simple as to receive any points of faith, which are not agreeable to this rule of faith, No although that they be ta●ght by that Church which maketh her boast that she cannot err, and that the faith of her chief governor can never fail Nay rather if thou wilt be a sound scholar in the school of Christ, learn to yield that reverence & honour only to the books of 
Aug ep 91. add ●litron.  the divine scripture, that thou firmly believe that none of the authors of them erred any whit in the penning of the same: give this prerogative only to the word of God, that it hath his sufficient warrant & credit in itself, because it is inspired of God & proceedeth from him which cannot err, deceive, or be deceived: & as for the writings of all other, albeit they excel in wisdom & holiness, receive them not because they have thus judged, but for that they are confirmed by the authority of the Canonical scripture, or by some reason agreeable unto 
Hom. 13. in 2. ep ad Cor  truth. And verily it is an absurd thing (as Chrysost saith) in a money matter not to trust an other, but to tell that even after a man's own father, & in matters of far greater moment, which concern God's glory, & the salvation of our own souls, in a simple & sottish credulity to follow the judgements of other men, whereas also we have a most exact balance & rule, even the censure & determination of the divine laws. Yea whereas we are precisely commanded to prove all, & to approve the best: & 
●. Th. 5. 21. 1. Ioh 4. 1. 1. Cor. 14. & 32.  not to believe every spirit, but to try the spirits, whether they be of God or no: for that the spirits of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets & therefore by trial to be found true before they be believed. Neither is it any disgrace to the judgement of man, to be subject to the censure of God's spirit, already set down in the canonical scriptures: for even the spirit of God speaking in S. Paul was content to be tried by the sacred scriptures, that is in truth by himself; & the Bereans at commended 
Act 17. 11. Apoc. 2. 2.  for doing the same: as the Angel of the church of ●phesus is also commended for examining them which said they were Apostles & finding them liars. So likewise our Saviour Christ the wisdom of God, in whom were hid all the treasures of knowledge, willeth his auditors to search the scriptures, & 
joh. 5. 39  so to try by them, whether he taught any other doctrine than was contained in these sacred books: for in them (saith he) ye think to have life, & they are my deponents & witnesses: Neither doth he desire any better lurers to give evidence concerning the truth of his doctrine. And S. Hierome foretelleth of the faithful of these last days, that they shall not suffer 
In Nah. c. 3.  themselves any longer to be kept in ignorance by their blind guides, but shall ascend up to the mountains of the Apostles & Prophets, that by the clear light of their infallible doctrine they may be directed in the right way to their eternal salvation. Wherefore as many of us as desire to be saved by coming 
1. Tim. 2. 4.  to the knowledge of the truth, let us follow the commandment of Christ and his Apostles, & the example of the noble Bereans, & of the faithful of these last time; let us ascend up to the mountain of the Apostles & Prophets, & take them to be our guides in all our ghostly & spiritual affairs, & let us by their Canonical writings, especially by the foundations of faith in them contained, as by a most certain & sure rule, try the doctrine of all men & angels, & of all particular Churches whatsoever, be they French, Dutch, Spanish, or Italian. I hat law that will not be tried, is worthily suspected, & that doctrine which flieth the light, is the doctrine of darkness. For truth seeketh not corners, it would not be covered under a bushel, but set on a candlestick, she would not have her face masked, lest she should pass unknown, she would appear with open countenance, that so she might be justified of all her children. For thy furtherance herein (good Christiā●eader) in this short treatise (the which if it give but occasion to some other to handle the same matter in manner more sufficient, I need not accounted my labour to be lost) I have laid purple to purple, that it might the better be discerned, as also the cloth of the contrary colour: that is, I have joined to the Articles of our Christian Creed, the points of our Christian faith agreeable thereunto, as also such erroneous and heretical positions, which are repugnant & contrary to the same. The which thing being so behoveful and necessary, it had been convenient that some one of great gifts had been employed therein, neither could his learning & eloquence have been more advanced, then in being handmaids in so profitable a service. But now it pleaseth the Lord to send this present unto thee by the hands of a simple servitor, and in a rude and unpolished speech as in an earthen platter or wooden dish, that so the meat may relish for the meats sake itself, & not for the fairness or goodliness of the dish. But first thou must purge and free thy taste from the corrupt humours of partiality, and of all obstinate & wilful resolutions: neither must thou presume to appoint of thyself what shall be sweet, & what sour, but suffer the Lord himself only to be thy taster therein: and so thou mayest also in thy course both taste and see how gracious the Lord is, and at the length attain to the blessedness of all such, as place their whole hope and confidence in him. The Lord for his mercy's sake disperse more & more the gross misles of all spiritual blindness and darkness, and open thine heart, as he did the heart of Lydia, & give thee understanding in all things, 
Act. 16. 14.  granting unto thee the spirit of truth to lead thee into all truth, for his own glory, and thine unspeakable comfort and joy.  
Thine in the Lord, JOHN TERRY.   

The principal uses of this Treatise.  
FIrst here the Reader may behold the points of faith, with the errors repugnant thereunto, referred to the Articles of our Christian faith, and to the residue of the main grounds and principles of our Catholic profession.  
Secondly in this collation he may perceive both the particular points of faith to be a light for the better understanding of these grounds of faith, & also the grounds of faith, to give greater strength for the confirmation of the particular points of faith, and for the confutation of the errors that are contrary thereto.  
Thirdly, whereas the people for the most part cannot read the holy scriptures, nor so well understand and keep in memory the sentences taken out of the Apostles & Prophets, as they can these grounds of our Christian profession, by reason of the more familiar use of the same, therefore the particular points of faith being made open and known unto them the more easily by this collation, they may the sooner hereby be brought to the knowledge of the truth, and also confirmed and established in the same.  
Fourthly whereas the most venomous Doctrine of Antichrist is the more 
A preservative for the simple against the polloned doctrine of the Romish Antichrist being offered unto them in a cup of gold, that is, under the name the of Catholic, faith.  readily received, for that it is delivered in a cup of gold, that is under the name of the Catholic faith, even the simple & unlearned may receive by this collation a most sovereign preservative against the same. For it is an undoubted truth agreed upon of both sides, that these grounds of faith are Catholic and Apostolic, & therefore that all such doctrines as are not agreeable thereto, but are contrary to the same, are neither Catholic, nor yet Apostolic. How then, (may even a simple man say to such as would seduce him to the Popish religion, under the pretence of reconciliation to the Catholic faith) can that doctrine be Catholic, which teacheth it to be sufficient to believe in gross, & as the Church believeth, whereas the scope & end of my Catholic Creed is, that I not only know & understand, but also be able to make a distinct confession of the very hardest points of the Christian faith? Secondly he may say, how can that doctrine be Catholic, which teacheth me to doubt of particular faith, whereas the Catholic Creed teacheth every faithful Christian constantly to profess without wavering, I BELIEVE. Thirdly be may aa●e, how can your Romish doctrine be Catholic, which teacheth me to believe in the Church & in the Saints, whereas my catholic Creed teacheth me to believe the Church, and not in the Church, but only in God: Lastly to omit the rest, whereas my Catholic Creed teacheth me, that Christ only suffered & died for my sins, & that he is my only Redeemer & Saviour, how can your Romish doctrine be Catholic, which teacheth that the Saints also suffered and died for me, and that their sufferings being applied unto me by the Pope's Pardons, are both SATISFACTORY for my sins, and also MERITORIOUS of eternal glory? wherefore pretend no longer your Romish doctrine to be the Catholic faith, seeing that it is directly contrary to the main grounds and Articles of the Catholic faith.  
Lastly by this treatise it may be perceived, how the Bishop of Rome and his aaherentes have brought in that great Apostasy from the faith foretold by the Apostle, and have also fulfilled all the other prophecies which d● concern the great Antichrist, and therefore that he is most truly and justly charged by the professors of the Gospel, to be that very grer● Antichrist.   

THE TRIAL OF TRUTH.  

CHAP. 1.  
1 That all fundamental points of faith are contained within the articles of the creed, by the judgement of divers catholic men that lived in former ages: and that all such are to be taken for false prophets, which teach any other faith than is contained in these grounds of faith.  
2 That the people ought to examine the doctrine of their pastors & teachers by the rule & level of the canonical scriptures, and the grounds of faith therein contained.  
3 That all points of faith necessary to salvation are plain and easy to every faithful and humble christian, who is sufficiently exercised in the word of God.  
4 That the people ought to understand the several points of their faith, and not believe in gross and blindefully as the church believeth.  
THIS word Symbolum, signifying a sum 
The Symbol or creed of the Apostles.  & an heap congested together, or a sign, or badge to discern one from another, teacheth us that in these articles of our faith is contained the whole sum of such things as are to be believed of every true & faithful christian, whereby both the teacher of the true faith may be discerned from the false, and a right believer from a wrong. The creed (as testifieth an ancient writer) is a perfect 
August. ser. 115. de tempore.  collection and sum, plain, short, & full: that the plainness might help the weakness of the hearers, the shortness their memory, the fullness their instruction. Unto whom consenteth Cassianus: the creed (saith 
Lib. 6. de In● car. domini.  he) is called a collection or sum, because whatsoever is plentifully dispersed throughout the body of the divine scripture, is here all collected & knit up together in a perfect brevity: the Lord herein as a most loving father providing both for the slowenes, and also for the dullness of some of his children, that the simple and weak mind should not be troubled to understand, that which also it might easily keep in memory. Russious saith that 
In exposit. Symboli.  this creed is called a sign or badge because in the apostles (as it may appear by the Acts of the Apostles) many of the circumcised jews did fayne themselves to be the apostles of Christ, and either for their bellies sake, or for gain, went forth to preach, setting out the gospel of Christ not with that sincerity and integrity, as it was delivered by the apostles. Therefore (saith he) the Apostles made this creed to be a mark, whereby it might be known, who did preach Christ truly according unto the rules of the apostles. Now by these interpretations of the name Symbol made by these ancient and learned fathers we may observe these four things. 1 First that seeing in their judgements this creed containeth a perfect sum of our christian faith, therefore the doctrines of the church of Rome concerning pilgrimages, pardons, purgatory, the papal supremacy, and the like, being neither expressly set down therein, nor necessarily to be drawn out of the same, are no fundamental points of our christian religion. Nay, may they not admit this as a sufficient exception against them all? they are none of my creed, therefore I need not believe them. Nay, further: doth no● this vehemently urge and press our Romanistes with the badge and mark of false prophets, in that they teach other fundamental points of faith, then are delivered in this sum of faith? 2 Secondly we learn that seeing the people, that were converted to the faith of Christ in the primitive church, were by this rule to examine & to discern the doctrine of the true teachers from the false, that even so the faithful people are now also by the same rule to examine & to discern the doctrine of their pastors & teachers, and not in a sottish and brutish simplicity to pin their faith upon their sleeves, and without all examination and trial blindfully to follow whithersoever they lead them, and to believe as they believe. Nay they are to be thankful to their most gracious God, who hath provided for them so good a means, whereby they themselves, albeit weak and simple, yet may discern truth from falsehood, and rest on their own most assured knowledge, embracing the substance of christian religion, not for company, but for conscience: yea the devil raging, and the limbs of Antichrist threatening, and our great and manifold sins deserving, that God should take again from us the use of his word how aught especially the simple so to lay up in their hearts the true sense and meaning of these articles of our creed that it may never be taken from them: but that even thereby they may be enabled against all their adversaries to justify their sound & christian faith, & be made ready to confirm and seal it with their blood? 3 Thirdly we learn that seeing the articles of our christian faith were set down with that shortness and plainness, that all the faithful, be they never so simple, might understand them, and keep them also in memory (all points of faith necessary to salvation or at the least the hardest points being in them contained) therefore all things necessary to salvation are plain and easy even to the simplest amongst the lords people, if so be 
Prov 8. 9 & 9 4. Hebr. 5. 14.  they be desirous in all holy humility to understand the truth, & are sufficiently exercised in the word of truth. 4 Fourthly we learn that seeing these articles were set down plainly for the capacity of the simple, therefore they ought nor to be debarred from the right understanding of them, & detained in the darkness of ignorance, as it shall be further declared in the next chapter. Now on the contrary side the church of Rome teacheth that all points of faith necessary to salvation are not set down no not in the large volumes of the canonical scriptures, much less within the straighter bounds of this short sum of faith: that the people should not presume to examine & discern the doctrine of their pastors & teachers: that the doctrine of faith is full of hardness and difficulty, & above the capacity of the Lords people, and therefore that they must content themselves to be without this knowledge, persuading themselves that ignorance is the mother of devotion; as may well be of their blind & superstitious devotion.   

CHAP. 2.  
That it is not enough for the lay people to believe in gross and blindefully as the church believeth, but that they ought to understand the several points of their faith.  
IN the Lord's prayer we are taught to call 
〈◊〉 in 〈…〉 al●…tie ●…er of heaven & earth etc.  God not my father but our father to teach us in charity to presume such to be God's children, which call upon one common father together with us, in the name of our Lord jesus Christ our sole and only mediator. But in our creed we are taught to say not we believe but I believe, to teach us that it is not the faith of any other, but every ones own particular faith, which joineth him unto the household of faith, and causeth him to be admitted among the members of the faithful. For as by believing that such a one, or such a one taketh a very good course to make cloth, or to manure the ground, maketh not an other man a good cloth maker or husbandman unless he know the like courses himself, and be able also to practise the same: even so it maketh not a faithful christian to believe as such or such a faithful man believeth, except he himself hold a right faith. For an others faith can make me no more faithful, than an other man's charity can make me charitable, or an other man's patience can make me patiented. The just shall live by his own faith: and 
Hab 2. 4.  not by the faith of any other. And so we are taught by the general confession of all the articles of our christian faith which is to be made of every faithful christian, that the true christian catholic faith is, not to believe in gross and blindfully as the church believeth, but distinctly and particularly, both concerning God, that he is one in substance and essence, distinguished into three persons the father, the son, and the holy ghost, and also concerning his works, that he made us, and not we ourselves; that he redeemed us and not we ourselves, and that he sanctified us, and not we ourselves. Where unto agreeth the creed of Atha●asius: Wherein it is most peremptorely avouched, that not not only the learned but the unlearned also, even whosoever will be saved, not as in the last place but before all things neither as a matter only convenient, but as a thing most necessary, must hold the catholic faith, and that he must believe and confess the mystery of the unity in trinity and of the trinity in unity, with that other great missery of godliness also, God manifested in the flesh. For as with the heart man 
Rom 10 10  believeth unto righteousness so with the mouth he confesseth to salvation. So that the true faith both instructeth the heart with knowledge and directeth also the tongue in the confession of the same. For as Jerome faith of the scripture that it consisteth not in the reading but 
Advers. Lucif.  in the understanding: so we may say that the catholic faith consisteth not in the words wherein it is express, but in the catholic sense and meaning: and therefore not the bare reciting of the words of the creed, but the right understanding of the of the sense and meaning thereof maketh a sonnde and a catholic christian. This is everlasting life (saith our Saviour Christ) to 
joh. 17. 3.  know the true God, and whom thou hast sent jesus Christ. The which knowledge when the Apostles were to preach to other, they are said to have received the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and the same knowledge when they were endued withal themselves it was a token and sign unto them that they were then received among the number of the faithful. Unto you (saith our Saviour Christ unto his disciples) it is given 
Mark. 4. 11.  to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them which are without, all things are done in parables: that seeing they may see and not discern, and hearing they may hear and not understand; least at any time they should be converted and their sins should be forgiven them. A manifest distinction between the children of light and the children of darkness: unto the one is given the key of knowledge which openeth the door into the kingdom of 
Luke 11. 52.  heaven: the other are left in their blindness and darkness, to fall thereby into the pit of eternal destruction. For the father of light bringeth his children of light, by the light of his word, to the kingdom of light: and the prince of darkness, bringeth his children of darkness, through the darkness of ignorance, to his kingdom of darkness. Wherefore well may it agree to the Idolatrous Athenians to have an altar dedicated to an unknown God and 
Act. 17. 23.  to profess a blind kind of service of God. And well may it beseem the schismatical Samaritans to worship as their fathers worshipped, 
joh. 4. 20.  and to believe as their progenitors believed, and in truth to believe and worship they wo●e not what: Surely the faithful servants of the true God know what they worship having for the warrant thereof the infallible word of the everliving Lord, and therefore salvation is from them. For the true christian saving faith is a wise, intelligent and an understanding persuasion, it is not a blind, blockish and a brutish fancy: a blind faith is no faith, and a blind confession is no confession. Be not (saith the prophet David) like the horse and mule, in whom there is no understanding. 
Psal. 32. 9 1. Cor. 14. 20.  Beloved (saith the Apostle) be not children in understanding, but in malice be ye children, in understanding be ye of perfect age. And again, be not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. If thou 
Eph. 5. 15. 1. Cor. 14. 16.  prayest (saith the same Apostle) in an unknown tongue how can the unlearned say Amen, and ratify it with his consent? even so if any professing themselves members of the visible church know not the particular points of the christian faith held and taught in the same church, how can they faithfully believe the same, or how can they rightly consent thereunto? Surely as the seed that falleth on the high way & is devoured up of the fowls of the air, can never give hope of 
Math. 13 4.  any good harvest: so the word of God the seed of faith not understood, can never make us fruitful unto the Lord. Wherefore it was a most godly wish of Moses the man of God: O that all the 
Num. 11. 29  lords people could prophesy and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them. And good cause had the children of the captivity after their return to their own country greatly to rejoice before the Lord, not only for that the law of God was distinctly read, & sound and sincerely expounded unto them, but especially for that the Lord had opened their eyes and had caused them to understand the same. For all such as the Lord will have to be saved, he will have them come 
Neh. 8. 12. 2. Tim. 2. 4.  thereto by the knowledge of the truth. And therefore this is also set down as a mark of all such as the Lord will receive into the covenant of mercy by Christ: Behold this is the covenant that I will 
jer. 3●. 34. ●…b. S. 11.  make with the house of Israel after these days saith the Lord, I will set my laws in their minds, and in their hearts will I write them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people: & they shall not teach each one his neighbour saying, know the Lord, for they shall know me even from the least unto the greatest of them. The which promise how it was accomplished by the preaching of the gospel in the primitive church, Theodoret may witness one for all. We do manifestly show you (saith 
Theod. de ●…rat. gr●c. affect. ●. 5.  he) the great power of the doctrine of the Apostles and prophets, for the whole face of the earth, under the sun is full of such words: and the Hebrew books be not only translated into the Greek, but also into th● Roman, Egyptian, Parthian Indian, Arabian, Scythian, Slavon, and in a word into all tongues which the nations use to this day. You may everywhere see our doctrine understood not only of such as be teachers in the church, and instructors of the people, but also of tailors, weaver's smiths & all artificers: yea also of women, and not only of them which be learned, but of victuallers, pudding makers, handmaids, and servants. Neither those men only that dwell in cities but husbandmen also understand the same: one may find ditchers and herdsmen and planters of vineyards disputing of the trinity and of the creation of all things, and having better knowledge of the nature of man, than Plato and Aristotle had. Now if in the primitive church this were an evident testimony of the great power of the glorious gospel of Christ, that it was able to settle the knowledge of the greatest mysteries of christian religion in the hearts of such as were but of the meanest & basest callings; and if it were a commendation then for such as were the meanest and simplest among the professors of the gospel of Christ, that they were able to discourse & dispute even of the deepest points of their christian faith: how is the case altered now in these our dates? as if the same word had lost his former power, and were not able through the anto●s blessing to bring to pass the same effect: or as if that which was then so commendable in the professors of christian religion, were now to be condemned for curiosity, pride, and presumption, a● our Rhemists would bear the world in hand in their preface to their translation of th● new Testament.   

CHAP. 3. division 1. & 2.  

1 Whether every faithful christian may assuredly know whether he believeth aright, and hath a true justifying faith or no?  
2 Whether every faithful christian knowing that he is in the faith, may know also assuredly whether he himself hath remission of sins and eternal life by faith in Christ?  
THese questions because they lay open unto us the 
I believe.  ma●ke whereunto all true christians do aim, even our association with Christ and the fruits thereof, being the most sure and strong foundation of all christian comfort and consolation, I will therefore by Gods most gracious assistance handle them somewhat more at large, and use the more words in the opening of the same. And first concerning the first. No man ought to make profession of that before God and his congregation, which he knoweth not assuredly whether it be so or no: (for that were but mere dissimulation and hypocrisy, and as it were a deluding and mocking of God) but every true christian ought to make profession of his faith even before God and his congregation after this particular manner, I believe: and therefore he ought assuredly to know that he doth believe. And so (saith S. Austin) the 
Epist. 112.  faithful man doth see his own faith, whereby he doth answer without doubting, I believe. Secondly, it were bootless for a christian man to examine himself whether he hath a true justifying faith or no, unless upon due examination and trial, he might be able sufficiently to discern the same: but the faithful christians are commanded to examine themselves: Prove yourselves (saith the Apostle) 
Noses teipsum. 2. Cor. ●3. 5.  whether ye are in the faith or no, examine yourselves: know ye not your own selves, that jesus Christ dwelleth in you unless ye be reprobates? The Apostle in this place speaketh of that faith, whereby Christ dwelleth in the hearts of the faithful, which can be no other than the true justifying faith: or if he did speak of the doctrine of faith, yet his reason were as forcible as otherwise. For if it be needful for us to examine ourselves, whether we hold a right opinion & judgement in the doctrine of faith, them much more it lieth upon us to prove ourselves whether we faithfully rejoice in the same doctrine, & place our chiefest comfort & happiness therein 
1 Pet. 1. ●.  which is an evident mark of a true justifying faith: otherwise our right opinion in matters of faith will be to us, as it is to the devils themselves, only to our greater condemnation. Furthermore as one may understand by the true notes of justice, patience, & such like whether he be a just & a patiented man, even so by the notes & marks of faith, he may assuredly know whether he hath a sound faith. The which notes & marks of a right faith, & of a true faithful christian 
Rom. 15. 4.  should not have been set down in the Lord's book (wherein whatsoever things are written, they are written for our learning) but that the faithful by examining themselves thereby, mightht assuredly perceive & understand, that they held a right faith. The marks are these  
1. First the hearty & unfeigned love of the word of God. For a faithful man, knowing the great benefit that cometh to himself by his true faith, not only maketh great account thereof, but also entirely loveth and embraceth the means whereby it was begotten at the first, & whereby it is daily strengthened & increased: Now faith cometh by hearing & hearing by the word of god. The word therefore is dearer unto the faithful 
Ro. 10. 17.  them gold, yea then much fine gold sweeter also than the honey, & the honey comb, 
Psalm. 19 A. 10. & 1. 2.  all the day long doth he study in it, & meditate thereon day & night: & thereby he doth become as a tree planted by the water side, which bringeth foth his fruit in due season, whose leaf doth never whither. In deed originally we are defiled with sin, & are by nature the children of wrath, until 
Ephes 2 3. james 1. 18.  the Lord of his own good will beget us again by the word of truth, & so make us his beloved children Our hearts are as barren ground bearing 
Matth. 1 ●.  nothing but weeds & trash until we be manured by the Lords husbandmen, & have received the pure seed of the word: yea 
1. Pet. 2. 25  we are all as sheep going astray, & wandering in the ways of death & destruction, until we are reclaimed by our great shepherds voice, and so brought home to Christ's fold. Now if we gladly receive the seed of the word, and fructify thereby accordingly, hereby we may be assured that we are that good ground, which doth receive blessing of God. And if we hearken to this our great shepherds voice, and not to the voice of a stranger, hereby also we may assure ourselves, that we are Christ's heap, and that we belong to his stock. Good cause therefore have the faithful servants of Christ to love and embrace the word of God, not only for that it is an immortal seed whereby they are begotten to an immortal life, & of barren ground are made fruitful, & of wandering sheep are reclaimed home to the fold of Christ, but also for that it containeth the bands of the covenant of our peace with God, and the evidences for the assurance of the remission of our sins, and of our inheritance in the kingdom of glory. There is no wise man that is to enjoy any temporal lands or possessions either by copy, or by Indenture, or by deeds of gift, but that he will make good account of all such evidences as concern the same, and learn also the contents thereof, that so he may know the justness of his title to such possessions. And if at any time he be unjustly molested, and kept from the enjoying of any of those lands, he putteth the ma●ter in suit and speaketh for justice: and making proof of his title by the view of his evidences, sentence passeth on his side, and so he obtaineth his right and lawful possessions. It hath been thought in the time of darkness that if a man had been buried in a cloister, and in a Monks cowl, having a cross, and a pardon put into his grave with him, that those things had been a sufficient safe conduct to fence him from the fen, and that they had been as good an assurance for the silly soul to pass from hence to heaven, as a passport subscribed with a justices hand, and ratified and confirmed with his ●…ne and allowed, is a sure protection with us, for a poor trav●…ling man to preserve him from all manner of molestation. But 〈…〉 the light of the gospel hath appeared, it is manifest & known, that these are but forged evidences and of no validity: for that no creature is able to bestow so great gifts as are the remission of s●nnes, deliverance from hell, and the inheritance of eternal glory, or give any assurance for the obtaining of the same: it is God o●…ly that can make a grant of these graces, and the assurance thereof, that he hath made unto the faithful in his holy and sacred word, are the only evidences that can fully warrant our just title & right to the same. The which thing as it is well known unto the whole company of the Lords people, so it was thoroughly settled in the heart of a faithful brother not long since departed from us in the Lord, a 
George Wrisly bachelor of law & fellow of new College in Oxford.  fellow while he lived of an honourable foundation, but now a fellow citizen of the saints, & enjoying the privileges of a far more honourable society: who by order of his house was a student of those laws which are pleadable in the consistory before an earthly judge, & can give us some protection here in this world; but by his godly choice he was also a student of those laws, which are only pleadable at the bar of the highest judge, & can warrant us the assurance of greater blessings. And therefore he lying in his death bed, & feeling himself sick unto death, and knowing that his time was now come of his present appearing in that place, where he was to lay in his claim to his heavenly inheritance, called for his evidences which did concern the same, that is, he called for his bible, which he had before daily used in his health, & read the fifteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, & therein beholding how sin was fully satisfied for by the death of Christ, and so abolished; and sin being abolished, death must needs be vanquished; (for that it hath all his strength from sin) and so being assured of his deliverance from death, and of his right to the possession of eternal life: laying these his evidences open upon his breast, & clas-●ping them close to his heart with both his arms, yielded up immediately his faithful soul into the hands of his most loving Saviour, and now resteth undoubtedly under the altar praising & lauding God continually. For no doubt to him belongeth the heavenly inheritance, which unfeignedly loveth and embraceth all such evidences, as do concern that heavenly inheritance: and he hath most assuredly right and interest in everlasting life, who highly esteemeth & religiously embraceth that eternal will and testament of our great & gracious God, wherein is beq●…athed unto all the faithful the gift and legacy of eternal life: and he shall most certainly enjoy the incomparable benefit of the covenant of grace, who hath fulfilled the condition thereof, by having the law of God planted in his heart and firmly settled in his inward man.  
The second note is a full resting upon God, and a placing of our whole trust and confidence only ●n him, according to the direction of this our christian creed, I believe in God. For he is not to be accounted faithful that believeth in any other, but he that believeth only in God. And it is onething to believe: here is a God, and another thing to believe God, and another also to believe in God. He that believeth in God shall never be confounded: seeing he is made 
Rom. 10. 11 Ioh 1. 42. Mat. 16. 18.  thereby a living stone, as Peter was, built upon a most sure foundation and strong rock, hell gates shall never prevail against him, they shall never bring him to eternal confusion. They that travail (saith 
job 6. 18, 19 20.  job) in the quarters of Tema and Seba in the time of a drought, and seek for some refreshing for themselves and their beasts to the rivers that overflowed and made a great flowed in the winter time, return confounded without succour, for that the waters of those rivers are dried up. So it is with all such as trust in creatures, they dig to themselves pits even 
jer. 2. 13.  broken pits, that can hold no water, & have recourse to dried brooks: & therefore in the end are utterly confounded for this their vain and fond choice. For they that follow lying vanities, forsake and 
jon. 2. 8.  abandon their own mercy. Now all such (as Samuel avoucheth) 
1 Sam. 12. 21.  as turn back from God to any whatsoever, turn but to lying vanities which cannot profit, nor deliver, for they are but v●nity. But they that trust in God come to a full fountain, the streams whereof never fail, but keep on still their constant course, and therefore such are never confounded.  
3 The third is, to make the incomparable dignity of the death of Christ, the only means whereby we come unto God, and the only sure ●…ker of our hope and faith. And verily so heinous and grievous is every transgression and sin, committed against the infinite majesty of the most glorious Deity, that nothing was able to make amends for the same, but that which was also of infinite price: and therefore it was necessary that the son of God should give himself a ransom for our souls, that so we might be assured of a sufficient sum for the full purchase of our redemption. He that will seek to make payment to the justice of GOD with any thing else, then with the death of Christ for our most odious and heinous sins, doth bring but base money and counterfeit coin: and he that seeketh to appease his wrath with any other propitiatory sacrifice, is so far of from finding favour, that he may be sure to drink the deeper of the cup of the lords wrath, and to sup up the very dregs of his heavy displeasure. I am the way (saith our 
joh. 14. 6.  Saviour) the truth and the life no man can come to the father but by me. Christ is that only Immanuell whereby God is made at one with us: and he is that one mediator by whom we obtain peace and reconciliation. All the sacrifices of the la were but shadows and representations of him, his death is the only true and sovereign sacrifice. The slaying of beasts did manifest our guiltiness, and declare by our sins how we were guilty of death: the son of God the author of life suffered a most bitter and shameful death, that he might bring us unto a most joyful and glorious life. Lay hold of him, lay hold of life: trust firmly on the favour of GOD through him, and that faith shall never make thee ashamed: treasure up in thy heart the most comfortable tidings of his gracious gospel, and desire therein more and more to know him, and the power of his resurrection, and thou dost treasure up for thyself eternal life. We know (saith Saint john) that we 
1. Ioh 5. 19 20.  are of GOD, and that the whole world lieth in wickedness. And why? we know that the son of God is come and that he hath given us a mind to know him which is true, and we are in him which is true, that is in his son jesus Christ: this is very God, and eternal life. If thou knewest (saith our Saviour Christ) to the woman of Samaria) the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto 
joh. 4. 10.  thee, give me drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given to thee the water of life. For if we do but once truly taste of this water of life, we shall so vehemently whust after the same, that we shall never be fully satisfied until we have drunk our full draft. Wherefore where the incomparable virtue of Christ's most 
Aug. de doct Christ. li. 3. cap. 16. Tertull. de resurrect. cap  precious death is sweetly and profitably l●ide wpe in memory, there is a communicating with his passion and a partaking of his flesh: yea where there is a true desire to devour the same with hearing, to chew it with understanding, and to digest it by believing, there is the root of a true faith, and they that clean and stick thereto, they are living and fruitful branches that are engrossed into the true vine. For (as our Saviour himself avoucheth) where the dead body is, 
Luk. 13. 37.  thither do the Aegle resort. The dead body is CHRIST crucified, the mounting Eagles are the faithful Christians: and therefore wheresoever Christ crucified is rightly known & reverently embraced, there undoubtedly is the true christian: to whomsoever God doth reveal his ●onne and giveth them ability to make a sincere confession of him, blessed are they with Simon the son of jonas: for flesh and ●loud● hath not revealed 
Math. 16. 18.  this unto them, but their father which is in heaven: yea blessed 
Math. 13. 16.  are their eyes which so see, and blessed are their ears which so hear: & blessed are their hearts whom the Lord hath thus opened, and lightened them with the glorious beams of the Sun of righteousness. Assuredly where this Sun of righteousness thus shineth, there are the children of light: and where so precious a foundation is laid, there is the church firmly built: and they that faithfully clear to this head corner stone, declare themselves to be the elect and choice stones of the Lords own temple.  
4. The fourth is 
joh. 8. 56.  with Abraham the father of the fai●…full to rejoice when we behold the day of the Lord, yea so to rejoice that we esteem our calling to the estate of salvation in Christ to be our greatest happiness and blessedness, and all other things, which seem most precious to flesh and blood, to be most vile, vain, and as it were nothing in respect of the same. This is evident in the woman representing the church, who being clothed with the Sun, is said 
Apo. 12. 1.  to tread the moon under her feet; for that in respect of Christ the sun of righteousness she despiseth all earthly and transitory treasures, which are as mutable and changeable as the moon. One of whose children (such a mother such a son) protested of himself that he esteemed to know nothing but jesus Christ & him crucified: and 
1. Cor. ●. 2.  that he made no other reckoning of all other things but as of damages & losses in respect of the inestimable gain he obtained by him. 
Phil. 3 7.  And of an other of them it is recorded that he chose rather to suffer adversity with the people of God, them to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, 
Heb. 1. 24.  esteeming the rebuke of Christ jesus, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for that he had respect unto the recompense of the rewa●d: which was, to be made the son of God by faith in Christ, being without comparison a far greater prerogative, then to be called the son of Pharaos' daughter, and to be heir apparent to that great & glorious kingdom of Egypt. The riches of this world are glorious 
Math. 13. 45.  in our eyes, until we have had a fight of the riches of the kingdom of god: but when we have found that pearl of price, them we are contented to sell all, to buy it, that is, when we have once tasted how sweet the Lord is, and have drunk but a little draft of that water of life, all the pleasures and preferments of this world will grow out of tail with us and become unsavoury in respect of the same. And therefore as it is a note of a man of earth to have his heart glued to the things of this ea●…n, and to be greedy to devour the draff thereof: so to have our hearts set upon heavenly things, is a token and mark of an heavenly mind, and of a 
Aug. de Charitate.  person that belongeth to the kingdom of heaven, Let every one (saith Austin) examine himself what he loveth, and thereby he shall perceive to what city he belongeth: if he love the world and worldly things as fl●…lenes, riches, and honour, he is a citizen of Babylon: but if he love God, he is a citizen of jerusalem.  
5. The last is in respect of that infinite and endless love of God which is confirmed unto us in Christ jesus to desire by all means possible to show a dutiful thankfulness unto him, both by loving the things which he loveth, and by honouring the persons which he honoureth. If ye know (saith S. john) that God is righteous, know ye also, that he which 
1. joh. 2. 29.  doth righteously is torn of him. For if we resemble God's image in holiness, wisdom, and righteousness, then assuredly we are Gods children: if our fruit be good, we are good trees: & if the streams of our actions run clear and pure, than it is certain and sure, that the fountain of our hearts is purified by faith, and that so we belong to the number of the faithful. So likewise that a loving affection towards our brethren in Christ is an infallible mark of a true christian, our Saviour Christ himself teacheth; by this (saith he) shall all men know, that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another. 
joh. 13. 36. 1. joh. 3. 14. Aug in ep. Ioh Tract 5  So S. john: by this we know that we are translated from death to life, because we love the brethren. Let every one (saith S. Austin) return home into his own heart, and if he find there brotherly love, let him be secure: for he is already passed from death to life, he is already upon the right hand. To love a man, for that he is a man, is a point of humanity: to pity a man, because he is in misery, is the duty of mercy: but to embrace a man, for that he is a christian man, is a point of christianity. 
Math. 11. 41.  He that receiveth a prophet, in the name of a prophet, shall have a prophets reward: and he that receiveth a righteous man, in the name of a righteous man, shall have a righteous man's reward: and whosoever shall give to one of these little ones to drink a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. For he that honoureth God's graces, which he bestoweth upon his children; declareth thereby that he himself hath his part & portion in those graces: and he that loveth God's servants, for that they are beloved of God, showeth himself also to be beloved of God. So then these being the sure and certain signs of a true, saving, and justifying faith, if we may assuredly know that they be in us (albeit they be in us but in some measure) that is to say, If we assuredly know, whether we unfeignedly love the most precious word of God, and place our whole trust and faith only in God, taking the incomparable dignity of the death of CHRIST duly pondered & weighed to be the mother & ●urce of this our steadfast faith, if we rejoice in our gracious calling to the estate of salvation in Christ as in our greatest and chiefest blessedness, and in respect thereof are ready & willing to love the things which he loveth, & to honour the persons which ●e honoureth, them we may also assuredly know, that we have obtained a true, saving, & justifying faith, & that we belong to the number of the faithful. But these things we may assuredly know whether they be in us or otherwise, especially upon due examination & trial. 
1. Cor. 2. 21 Rom. 2. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Conscientia. I know what I know.  For howsoever we may counterfeit & deceive others, who cannot look into the secret corners of our hearts, yet we cannot deceive our own sp●rites & consciences, whereby we are w●…ting to our own ways (as the very names thereof do sufficiently declare) unless we will wilfully clasp them and close them up.  
And yet the council of Trent hath peremptorily defined, 
Con. Trid. c. 9 de fide justified.  that none can know by the certainty of ●aith, but that he may be deceived, that he hath obtained grace: that is (as I take it) that he hath attained to the estate of grace. Yea our Rhemists are so shameless, 
Rhe. in. 4 c. 1. ep. ad. Cor.  that they are bold to avouch, that the very Apostle S. Paul dared not, assure himself that he was justified, neither could take upon him to be judge of his own heart and cogitations, whether they were pure 
2. Tim. 4 7. 2. Cor. 1. 12 & 11. 23. Rom 7. 25.  or no: contrary to the most evident & plain asseverations of the Apostle himself in divers places of his own epistles: yea contrary to the plain words of that very verse, whereon they ground this their observation: where the Apostle testifieth that he had found his conscience clear, and his cogitations pure, I am not (saith he) guilty in conscience of any thing. And with as great untruth is that just and holy man job charged with the ignorance of the estate of his own soul, and with a doubtful fear even of all his works. For albeit he might fear both in respect of the imperfections of his best works, and also in respect of his unknown and secret sins (for who knoweth how of●e he● offendeth?) and especially at that time, when the lords hand was so heavy upon him: yet what an assured testimony he had in himself of a good conscience, and what an undoubted assurance of his own righteousness, justice, fortitude, chastity, purity, equity, uprightness, compassion, mercy, liberality, bountifulness, magnanimity and humility he himself testifieth most excellentely and at large: and if such as know the same would not give testimony thereto, yet 
job. 29. & 31.  he assureth himself, that God will witness the same, and thereupon resteth as fully contented. And verily it hath been an ordinary practice of the dearest saints and servants of God, b●ing best witting to themselves of their own innocency, sincerity, and uprightness in performing their duties both to God and to man, not only when they have been falsely accused and slandered, but otherwise also to make protestation thereof even before the Lord to move him to take their cause being the cause of his faithful servants into his own hands, to clear them, and to secure them, and to increase 
Psal. 7. 8. 26. 1.  his graces and mercies upon them. judge me O Lord (saith David) according unto my righteousness and according unto the innocency that is in me and again: judge me O Lord for I have walked innocently &c. and verse the eight of the same Psalm, O Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth: O shut not up my soul with sinners, nor my life with the bloodthirsty, in whose hands is wickedness, & their right hand is full of gifts, and concerning the assurance that he had of his own faith, the spring & fountain of all good works he likewise testifieth saying, Have mercy upon me O God, have mercy upon me, for my soul trusteth in thee, & under the shadow of thy wings shallbe my refuge, until this tyranny be over 
Isa 38. 3.  past. So Ezechias: Remember now O Lord, how I have walked before thee with an upright heart, and have done that which is acceptable in thy sight. Remember me (saith Nehemiah) O my God, in goodness, according 
Ne●. 5. 9 & 13 22.  to all that I have done for this people. And again, Remember me O God concerning this, and pardon me according unto thy great mercy. Pray for us (saith the Apostle) for we are assured that we have a good 
Heb. 13. 18.  conscience, desiring to live honestly in all things. And in truth how could the actions of the faithful have been pure and good, except they had been done in faith, and in obedience to God, and upon an assured knowledge that they were well pleasing unto him? How otherwise could they have been so bold, and that in lieu of that service which then they performed unto him, to have required at the Lords hands that reward, which he hath promised to his faithful servants? Or if they themselves were not fully persuaded of their most comfortable faith & godly life, & of the sincerity of an upright conscience, how came it to pass that the light thereof was so great that their most deadly & malicious enemies were forced to give testimony thereto with these or the like words? These be they, which speak as they live, and live as they speak: this is assuredly an holy profession, which bringeth forth so holy a conversation: this is a joyful and comfortable faith, which yieldeth such joy and comfort amidst so great and grievous torments, and in the very terrors of death itself: O truly great is the God of these christians. Their light did so shine before men, that they did see their goods works, and glorify their father which was in heaven: and therefore they did much more assuredly see them themselves. Wherefore to conclude this first question: A true & a faithful christian man is not ignorant of the estate of his own soul, nor standeth in fear of all his actions: he ●s not in doubt of the purity of his cogitations, nor yet uncertain of his obtained grace: he clearly beholdeth the light of his own holy life and conversation, and both by the marks & fruits of his christian faith groweth into a steadfast assurance thereof, being thereby enabled to make an undoubted profession of the same, according unto the direction of this our christian creed, I believe.  
Now the first question being thus determined, the second followeth: whether a faithful christian knowing assuredly, that he hath obtained a true, saving, and justifying faith, may know also assuredly that ●e is in the favour of God, hath remission of sins, and a just title to the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. Andradius the maintainer of the Tr●dentine faith, seemeth to yield thus much, that if we could assuredly know, that we had faith, repentance, & love, we might also assuredly know, that we were in the favour of God, & had all our sins remitted unto us. But of the former he greatly doubteth, nay he boldly avoucheth with 
* Duraeus li. 8. de paradoxi●.  other of his fellows, that we cannot attain to any steadfast and certain assurance of the same. Now then seeing that the members of the church of Rome know not assuredly whether they believe or no, or belong to the number of the faithful servants of Christ, it is no marvel that they know not, that they are in the favour of God, neither acknowledge the great mercy of Christ towards themselves in remitting unto them their iniquities and sins. Whereas no doubt the faithful servants and children of GOD feeling his la written in their 
Heb. 8. 10. 1 joh. 5. 20.  hearts and knowing that he hath given them a mind to know him aright, and to perform in some measure the well deserved duty of obedient servants and loving children, and that according unto his own prescription in his most sure and undoubted word, do know also assuredly thereby, that they themselves are under the covenant of mercy, and in the estate of grace, & that God is become their loving father in Christ, & hath cast all their sins into the bottom of the sea.  
This question than concerneth not the unfaithful and unbelievers, whether such may know whether they are in God's favour (for doubtless they may persuade themselves the clean contrary) but the faithful believers only: unto whom for the better strengthening of their steadfast assurance divers helps are ministered by the Lord in his word. For as in the conveyance of earthly lands & possessions, when any thing is to pass from man to man, the grant is set down in writing, and signed and sealed with the hand and seal of the party that maketh the grant, and subscribed with the hands or marks of the witnesses present for the same purpose, that so the party to whom the grant is made, may have good security for those lands, which are after this manner passed over unto him: and as in those evidences the cause of the grant is sometime signified, for the better confirmation of the conveyance: even so our most gracious and merciful GOD purposing of his infinite and endless mercy in Christ to give assurance to the faithful of remission of sins and everlasting life, hath caused not only the grant thereof to be set down in the holy scriptures under the hands of divers as it were public Notaries, but also the cause of the said grant: as, So GOD loved the world (not so and so had we deserved, and such or such a sum had we given) but So 
joh. 3. 16.  God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son (who is the only purchaser and price of the purchase also) that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish but have life everlasting. And that we might be most thoroughly persuaded of the unchangeable will of the LORD concerning this his grant, he commanded it to be proclaimed not in jury alone, nor any one corner of the world, nor to one people only, but gave in charge to his ambassadors to publish the same throughout the whole world, and to entreat thereof with every creature: Go ye (saith our Saviour) into the whole world, and preach 
Mar. 16. 15.  the gospel to every creature: he that shall believe and be baptised shall be saved: he that shall not believe, shall be condemned. And this grant being thus proclaimed he signed it as it were with his own hand, by giving testimony thereto by divers strange signs and wonders, which could not be wrought but by his own singer: and further ratified the same by his holy Sacraments, as it were, with his own sacred seal: adding therenuto the blood of all his holy Martyrs and witnesses which they most willingly shed for the full confirmation of the truth of the same. Neither wanteth it also the testimony of the son of God given after a sort upon his solemn oath: Verily verily I say unto you, he that heareth my 
joh. 5. 24.  word and believeth in him that sent me, hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but hath passed from death to life, unto all which testimonies we may add also the witness that hath been given thereto even by all the prophets: For to Christ give all the prophet's witness, that through his name all that believe 
Act. 10. 43.  in him shall receive remission of sins.  
Now then seeing this doctrine of the gospel of Christ is ratified unto us by so many witnesses, we ought not only to be fully persuaded of the truth thereof in general, that whosoever believeth shall be saved but also in particular that I, and thou, and he, which believe, shall assuredly also be partakers of eternal salvation. For the general is no otherwise true, than it may be verified in all the particulars: And if I, and thou, and he, which believe cannot be assured of our salvation, than it cannot be true that whosoever believeth shall be saved: seeing the drift and purpose of the general was to contain under it all the particulars. If a Prince in the time of a mutiny or rebellion should cause a general pardon to be proclaimed to all that would submit themselves, and accept of mercy, who is so simple that doth nor understand that the scope of the general pardon is to assure every one of the rebels in particular, that he may enjoy the benefit thereof, if that he will submit himself and accept of mercy. The most mighty Lord of heaven and earth hath caused to be proclaimed a great jubilee, the acceptable year, an year of release and pardon even to all disloyal and rebellious sinners whosoever they be, and whatsoever their offences have been, if that they will accept and faithfully embrace his mercy offered unto them in Christ jesus: ought not then every particular christian, to whom the Lord hath given grace faithfully to embrace mercy in CHRIST, assuredly persuade himself of the remission of his own sins, and of life everlasting? It is written (saith Cyprian) the just shall live by faith: (there is the general) Now (saith he) if thou be just and livest by faith, and if thou rightly believest in GOD, why dost thou not willingly embrace death, whereas thou art to be with CHRIST, and oughtest to be SURE of the promise therein: (there is the use and benefit, which every faithful christian ought to embrace, and to apply particularly to his own conscience. (Doth God (saith he) 
Cyp, serm. 4. de mortalitate.  promise unto THEE at thy departure out of this life, eternal life, and dost thou waver and doubt of the same? in which words we may perceive that the general promise doth belong to every faithful man in particular, as well as if his own name had been set down in the same, & that he ought in no case to doubt, but assuredly to persuade himself of the benefit thereof) for to be doubtful & not fully assured were to be utterly (saith he) ignorant of God, & to offend Christ the teacher of faith with the sin of infidelity, & for one which hath a place in the church, not to have faith in the house of faith. Wherefore it is not a falling a way by presumption, but a● standing by faith, for every faithful christian, to strive to assure himself particularly of the remission of his own sins and of life everlasting. Otherwise why did the Apostle assure the jailor in particular of his eternal salvation if he did faithfully embrace the glad ●idings of the gospel? Believe than in the Lord jesus, and thou shalt be saved & thy house hold. 
Act. 16. 31.  And why else did our Saviour himself th● teach, & giver of faith, seeing their faith which brought unto him the man sick of the paulsy, (with the faith no doubt of the sick party himself) assure the sick party in particular of the remission of his own sins, man thy sins are forgiven thee? So likewise to the penitent 
Luc. 5. 20. Luc. 7. 48.  woman thy sins are forgiven thee, thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace. As also to the faithful and penitent thief: to day shal● 
Luc. 23. 43.  thou be with me in Paradise. And why e●se ●…cheth the church of Rome herself, that her priests in hearing auricular confession can, 
Conc. tried. de. part. & fructu poenit. c. 3.  and do by the authority of the keys committed unto them in their sacrament of penance (upon the view● belike of that faith and repentance of such as open their sins unto them) give unto them the remission of their sins in particular assuring them thereof to the great consolation of their spirits, and to the peace and quietness of their consciences? For if other men which cannot look into my heart and conscience so well as myself, can upon the view of my repentance and faith remit unto me my sins, or at the least but assure me thereof unto the peace o● my conscience and consolation of my spirit: then no doubt but myself which can far better look into mine own conscience, and behold mine own faith and repentance then any other, (especially when Ih●u●receaued instruction of such a● know how to minister a word● in due season) may thereby assure myself of the remission, of mine own sins, and of my deliverance from eternal 
Hebr. 2. 4. Mark. 16. 20.  condemnation. And why did the Lord himself with signs and wonders, and with ●…vers miracles and gifts of the holy ghost give testimony unto the gospel when it was first preached, and confirm this joyful ●idings of salvation in Christ sent to all that believe, but that every faithful man thereby might undoubtedly be assured of the remission of his own sins and of his just title to the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven? What shall we think that the divine power of God would, as it were, subscribe to that doctrine which was not heavenly and divine? or that the truth itself would warrant a lie, and that with such strange signs and wonders? Neither hath the Lord only confirmed this doctrine of the gospel of his son with strange wonders wrought by his own hand: but also he hath ratified the same with holy sacraments as with his own seal annexed thereunto. And verily if circumcision, much more 
Rom 4. 11.  baptism and the Lords supper may worthily be called seals of the righteousness that cometh by faith. The cup (saith our Saviour Christ) 
Luk. 22. 20  is the new testament in my blood: that is to say, a seal and an assurance of the grant of the remission of sins and eternal life given unto you through my blood, which is the sum of the new testament. And to what end tendeth both these sacraments of the new testament, but to assure all the faithful that they having put on Christ have their sins washed away through his blood: and that their souls are fed with very Christ the heavenly Mannah & 
Galat. 3. 2●  bread of life, whereby they are sustained to everlasting life? The cup of blessing (saith the Apostle) which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break is it not the communion 
1. Corinth. 10. 16.  of the body of Christ? that is to say, there all participation of these outward elements and visible signs, are they not most certain pledges and assurances to all the faithful of their spiritual union and communion with Christ and all his blessings? And was not this the judgement of those godly & learned fathers of the council of Nice in that they will, that this holy sacrament of the Lords supper should be sent unto penitent persons lying in their death beds which stood as yet excommunicate for apostasy, or for some other notorious crime, that by the participation of that celestial food they might be assured of their communion with Christ and his church, and of the remission of their sins and eternal life, and so enabled to pass over in peace, the end of their laborious and painful life. The which most comfortable doctrine is most conveniently set down in our English liturgy at the celebration of these holy mysteries in these words: The body of our Lord, that was given for THEE, preserve thy body and soul to everlasting life: The blood of our Lord, that was shed for THEE etc. For hereby every faithful christian that reverently receiveth this holy sacrament may assure himself, that the spiritual life, that is now begun in him, and shall be made perfit in the world to come, 〈◊〉 wrought by the special love of Christ now dwelling in him by a true faith: so that he may boldly say with the Apostle both ●n his life, In that I now live, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved 
Gal. 2. 20.  Me, and gave himself for Me: and also at his death, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; hence forth 
2. Tim. 4. 7.  there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness etc. And from whence also proceedeth that joy in the holy ghost, and that peace of God that 
Ro. 14. 17. & 5. 1.  passeth all understanding, which is felt in the hearts of the faithful servants of Christ in their greatest crosses and most grievous afflictions, but of a faithful persuasion of the remission of their sins and reconciliation which God procured for them by the death of Christ? Otherwise also how could they serve the Lord 
Luc. 1. 74. Eph 3.. Heb 10 22. jaco. 1. 6.  without fear, and come unto him in their prayers with boldness, yea in assurance of faith, without wavering & without doubting? Yea how could they come unto him not as unto an offended and an angry judge, but as to a loving and a merciful father saying, O our Father which art in heaven? And from whence else proceeded their solemn protestations, that they did assuredly know that they were in the estate of grace, and in the favour of God, and that God was their God in particular, and after so stable and steadfast a manner, that nothing was able to sever them from his love? We know that we are of God. I know that my redeemer liveth. My spirit 
1. joh. 5. 19 job. 19 25. Luc 1. 77. Psal. 18 1. & 116, 16.  rejoiceth in God my Saviour. The Lord is my strength, my castle, my deliverer, my God: and on the other side: Behold Lord I am thy servant, I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid. Yea so great a stay and comfort had the prophet David in this assurance of his own ●aith, that he protesteth, his adversities being so many and so 
Psal. 27. 13.  grievous as they were, he should utterly have fainted, but that he did believe verily to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the li●ing. The which most comfortable assurance of faith was such a stay also to the blessed Apostle S. Paul, that howsoever an whole army of 
Rom 8. 37.  tribulations did press sore upon him, yet he protesteth that he was a conqueror, yea & more than a conqueror through him that loved 
Rom, 8 37.  him: being most assuredly also persuaded for the time to come, that neither death nor life, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come should be able to separate him from the love of God, which was in Christ jesus our Lord. Neither was this comfortable assurance of faith a special and an extraordinary prerogative granted only to some principal persons among the faithful; but a gift in some measure common to the whole church. For all the children of the church being the children of God are led by the spirit 
Rom 8. 14. 2. Cor. 2. 12●  of God: whereby they know such things as are given unto them of God. And they are all indifferently commanded in the lords prayer to call God their father: the which name they cannot sincerely use, unless they be persuaded in some measure of faith that he beareth a loving and a fatherly affection towards them, having received them into favour for his Christ's sake, and given them a place among the number of his children. And why 
1 ●oh. 5. 13.  else saith S. john writing to the whole church in general, these things I write unto you that believe in the name of the son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe in the name of the son of God? So S. Paul writing to the church of the Corinthians in general: Prove yourselves: know ye not your own selves, how that JESUS CHRIST dwelleth in you, unless ye be reprobates? and in his former epistle: Know ye not that your 
1. Cor. 6. 15 19  bodies are the members of Christ? Know ye not that ye are the temples of the holy Ghost which is in you, whom ye have of GOD, & that ye are not your own? By the which testimonies of Christ & his Apostles it is evident, that not a few only, but also every member of the universal church, in their times, and according unto the measure of their faith, may assuredly know that they are Christ's, that they are the true members of his mystical body, & the temples of his h●ly spirit, and that God is become their gracious father, & hath made them inheritors of his heavenly kingdom.  
Now the faithful being the adopted sons of God in Christ, & having God to be their merciful father, have no just cause to doubt of their continuance in the favour of God, & in the estate of grace and salvation in Christ jesus. For the fountain of this grace in them, is as a fountain of living water, the streams whereof 
joh. 4. 10. 14. Psal. 1 3. Ie●. ●7. 8. 1. Pet. 1. 23.  never wax d●ie: and they become as good trees planted by the water side, whose leaves never whither who never cease from yielding fruit: they are borne again not of mortal seeae, but of the immortal seed of the word of God which liveth and lasteth for ever: and they are 
joh. 6 35.  fed also with the incorruptible food of the bread of life, the virtue whereof is never consumed: he that eateth thereof doth never hunger, and he that drinketh there of doth never thirst. Many & great enemies indeed they have: but he that is in them is greater 
1. joh. 4. 4.  than he that is in the world, and therefore they can never be fully vanquished. Our Saviour himself doth continually appear to make intercession for them before the throne of his heavenly father. 
Heb. 7. 25.  whose petitions the father will never deny. Yea he himself is alway present with them even to the end of the world, walking in the midst 
Mat●. 28. 20. Ap, 1. 20.  of them, and holding them in his right hand, neither is there any able to take them out of his hand. Yea where this sun of righteousness beginneth to shine, there the light thereof is never utterly darkened: 
Esa 60 20.  for this sun never goeth down. To the first man (saith Austin) 
Aug. de bono qerseu●c. 12  was given an ability to persevere only, if he himself would have used the same: But to the elect now is given perseverance itself. Christ hath appointed them that they go and bring forth fruit, and that their fruit abide: & therefore who dareth be so bold as to say, peradventure it shall not abide. The Lord hath settled his fatherly 
Rom. 11. 29 Ioh 13. 1. Math. 16. 18 1. joh. 2 19  love and affection upon them, he will not repent of it, nor revoke it but continue it even to the end: he hath built them upon a most sure rock, hell gates shall never prevail against them: he hath incorporated them into the heavenly jerusalem the city of GOD, they shall always continue members of that society. Who then dareth be so bold as to say, peradventure GOD will not love his faithful servants to the end: peradventure hell gates shall prevail against them: peradventure howsoever they are now for the present, yet they shall not continue in that celestial society. Verily, ●f the faithful were left in their own hands to stand by the right and power of their own strength, there might be great doubt of their constancy and perseverance. But they are committed to a more faithful keeper, their life is hid with Christ in God, and they are 
Col. 3 3. 1. Pet. 1. 5.  preserved by his power unto eternal salvation. Or if the continuance of the Lords favour and love did depend upon the merits and deserts of the faithful, and not upon the Lords own most constant and unchangeable goodness, there might be just cause of fear lest the LORD would withdraw his mercy from them. But he that knowing the great frailty and weakness, yea the foul falls and faults of his elect and chosen children before the foundation of the earth was laid, & therefore before he had made any promise of good things unto them, did yet in his unspeakable mercy & goodness step as it were over them all, and bound himself, being before most free, by his gracious promises made unto them; no doubt but the same unspeakable mercy & goodness will cause him being now bound, and so a debtor, in respect of his truth and righteousness also, to step over all those stumbling blocks, when they are cast in his way, for the steadfast and stable performance of all such things, as were in great grace and mercy before promised. For (as the Apostle teacheth) the promises made unto the faithful are founded upon grace, that so they might be sure: they are not founded 
Rom. 4 16.  upon the ●ottering stay of man's frailty, but upon the immovable and unchangeable rock of the LORDS own love, and therefore they are unmovable and unchangeable.  
Neither is this doctrine (as it is unjustly charged by the enemies of faith) the mother of pride, or of carnal security and dissoluteness of life, but the most sound doctrine of the christian faith, and the most direct way to sincere piety & godliness For is not this a necessary due●y of every true and faithful christian, which is engrafted and incorporated into CHRIST, to believe & confess that by the virtue of his death he hath full reconciliation with God, remission of sins, and an inheritance in the kingdom of glory: yielding most hearty thanks unto GOD for this his most gracious calling unto the estate of salvation in CHRIST ●esus, and magnifying ●is unspeakable goodness for the same continually? Nay, not to acknowledge this willingly were plain infidelity, and gladly not to make profession th●… of were great unthankfulness: so far is it of, that this doctrine can be justly charged to be the nurse of pride, or the mother of haughty and devilish presumption, being in deed the true nurse of all sound comfort and ●oy, and the natural mother of all holy and faithful presumption. Presume (saith Saint Austin) 
Aug. s●rm. 28. de v●. b. ●omini.  not of thine own doing, but of the grace of CHRIST; for by grace ye are saved, as saith the Apostle: this is then not pride, but faith; to make open profession of that which thou haste received, i● not presumption, but devotion. I wi●… not glory (saith Ambrose) 
Am●. d● laceby & vi●a b●ata cap. 6.  that I am just, but, that I am redeemed, for that will I glory▪ neither will I glory for that I am void of sin, but for that my sinne● are remitted to myself: I will not glory for that I have profited an●e, or for that a●…e hath profited m●e, but for that CHRIST is an advocate with the father for ME and that his blood w●… shadde for ME. Wherhfore Bernarde speaking to the faithful▪ If thou (saith he) believest that thy sins cannot be done awa●e 
B●rn. s●r. 1. de annu●iat.  but by hi●…, against whom alone thou hal● offended, and who himself cannot offend, thou dost well: but thou must proceed further, and believe also, that thy sins are forgiven even to thyself. For to doubt of the most singular virtue of CHRIST'S blood to wash and cleanse the stains of all the sins of the faithful, were infidelity: or not to doubt thereof, but to doubt whether it be available to purge and cleanse THINE iniquities & sins, is to bewray thine infidelity in another degree, even in that thou believest not thyself to belong to that number, nor yet to be partaker with them of their mercy. Wherhfore to teach the faithful that they should be persuaded of the remission of their own sins through the death of Christ, is to pluck up the roots of infidelity; it is not to teach pride, but faith; nor to open a gap to all ●inne and wickedness, but contrariwise most effectually to provoke to repentance, love, and thankfulness, and to the practice of all other christian duties.  
A●d in truth we cannot be rightly offended with ourselves for offending so merciful and gracious a God, until he hath given us some sense & feeling of his unspeakable mercy towards us in assuring us of the pardon of our offences and sins, Neither can we unfeignedly love the Lord, and desire to be thankful unto him as we ought to be, until we be persuaded that he loveth us, and beareth a kind affection towards us. Neither yet can we wholly resign ourselves to God, until we perceive that we are not our own, but that we are bought with a price, that so we should 
1. Cor. 6. 20  sanctify the Lord, both in our bodies and in our spirits, which are the Lords. My beloved (s●ith the spouse) is mine, and I am his: he hath 
Cant. 2. 16.  given himself to me, and hath assured me of his love: and therefore I give myself to him, and assure him of mine obedience. We love him (saith Saint john) because he loved us first. For as 
1. joh. 4 19  one fire kindleth another, and one heat raiseth up another: so the ●i●…y heat of the Lords kindness and love, felt in the hearts of the faithful, doth kindle again the fi●e of their love and thankfulness towards God, causing them to busy all their thoughts and cogitations, how they may after the best manner perform this there bou●den duty and service to God▪ When the Lord by the prophet had mentioned his great mercies bestowed upon his people of Israel, the prophet straightways in the person of the people breaketh out into these words: Wherewithal shall I come before 
Mich 6. 6.  the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Likewise David upon the like consideration: What shall I render unto the 
Psa 116. 12. & 103. 1.  Lord for all his benefits bestowed on me? and again: Praise the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me praise his holy name: praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thy sins, and healeth all thine infirmities: wh● saveth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and loving kindness. In which words we may perceive, that the sense and feeling of the Lords mercies, in re●…tting to the prophet David his manifold sins, was in him as a great & vehement flame kindling in his very heart & soul a most fervent & zealous desire of magnifying and extolling the Lords mercies. So Mary loved 
Luc. 7 47.  much, because many sins were forgiven her: ●eeling first the great abundance of God's love towards herself in pardoning her manifold and grievous sins, which caused in her as it w●re a reflection and reciprocation of her love towards God for those his great and endless mercies. And surely if the small kindness of a man and that towards his enemy doth oftentimes ●eape coals of fire on his head, turning malice into meekness; 
Rom. 12. 20  and currishness into kindness, and so overcoming evil with goodness: how much more the infinite love of God in pardoning our manifold and grievous sins being once felt within us, will it not possess our souls with his love, and win all our affections to his obedience? Surely it will cause us to rejoice if we may suffer any tribulation for his name's sake, or perform any other duty whatsoever, that may be grateful and acceptable unto him. We rejoice (saith the Apostle) in tribulations, knowing that tribulation 
Rom. 5. 4.  bringeth forth patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, & hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost. And to say the truth who ever were greater enemies to carnal security and dissoluteness of life, more zealous followers of Christ, & more religious embracers of true piety and godliness; then such as above all other have felt the love of God most abundantly towards themselves, in assuring them most undoubtedly of the forgiveness of all th●ir sins, & of their inheritance in the kingdom of glory? Wherefore this doctrine which teacheth the faithful to raise up themselves to a steadfast assurance of God's mercies tendeth neither to pride, no● to dissoluteness of life: but that doctrine which teacheth to doubt of God's favour, is no better than a flat stepmother to faith, and a natural nurse to infidelity. For he that will rightly come v●to God, must come unto him without doubting: whereby we see that faith 
jac. 1. 6.  and doubtfulness cannot well agree together. So when God promised Abraham a son in his old age, adding further that 
Rom 4. 2●.  in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed: 
M●t ●4. 31. Rom. 14 23 In Gen 4●. The popish faith ●…ke to the Infidel Poets.  he doubted not (saith the Apostle) through unbelief: showing thereby that doubtfulness ariseth of infidelity. Wherefore, for any that professeth himself to belong to the number of the faithful to doubt of the performance of any of the lords promises in general, or in particular of the promise of forgiveness of sins, and eternal life made to all that believe, doth argue a very small faith at the least, if it do not convince the party of ●latte infidelity. 
Non si mihi jupiter ipse s●…n ●…at, ●…am s●crem hoc contingere pon●….  Wherefore as Martin Luther truly avouched, if there were no other errors and heresies in the doctrine of the church of Rome, but even this that they teach that the faithful, which are justified before God, ought not yet assure themselves of 〈◊〉 own justification, and of their own undoubted calling unto the estate of grace, but remain still pensive and doubtful of the remission of their sins, and of their interest in the kingdom of glory; yet this alone were a sufficient motive to make a separation from her, as being the mother of infidelity, and not of faith.   

Diu. 3.  
That we ought to believe only in God, and not in the church or in any creature.  
THose things which the Gentiles offer up in sacrifice, they 
I believe in God. I believe the church.  offer to devils, & not to God: the jews, & all heretics believe not in the true God, but upon an Idol of their own imagination: the superstitious believeth in creatures, the Epicure hath his belly and pleasure for his God, the Machiavellion his policy, the covetous worldling his Mammon: only the faithful christian believeth in God, and reposeth in him all the hope of his felicity, he seeketh to him only in all his necessities, and giveth him the thanks for all benefits whatsoever. If there were any other that could do so great works for us, as are those of the creation, redemption, and sanctification; or if there were any that were partners with God in the same; then were there some cause why we might believe in them, and devote ourselves to their service. For the articles of our creed do teach us therefore to believe in God, for that it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, nor any other; for that it is he that hath redeemed us, and not we ourselves, nor any other, and for that it is he that sanctifieth us, and not we ourselves, nor any other; and therefore that we have ●ust cause to believe in him and in none other, and to serve him and none other: especially whereas he is a jealous God, and will give his glory to none other: and as he hath no partner with him in his work, so will he have no partner with him in that honour which is due unto him in respect of the same. Wherefore blessed is the man that trusteth in God, and whose hope the 
I●r. 7. 5.  Lord is: and cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arms, and so turneth away from the true God. It is not then without cause that our creed teacheth us to believe in God, and not in any creature, to believe the church & not in the church nor in any members of the church, We believe (saith Pas●h●sius) the church as the 
Pasch. l. 1. despiritu sancto. Aug. tract. 29. in joh. Euseb. Emiss. hom. 2. ●nsymb. Rhem. in ep. ad Rom. c. 10 & in ep ad Philem. 2. Cor. 12. 7.  mother of regeneration, we believe not in the church as the a●tor of regeneration: far be from us this blasphemous opinion, for it is not lawful to believe no ●ot in an Angel. We believe Peter, (saith S. Austin) we believe not in Peter, For to believe in Peter or Paul were to bestow upon the servant the honour due unto the Lord. And yet our Rhemis●es are so bold as to avouch, that it is lawful to believe in the saints & so in the church, albeit it be but a congregation of such, as are or have been subject to manifold infirmities. The which infirmities the Lord suffered to remain in his chiefest servants and saints whilst they lived, that they should not be lis●ed up above measure but be humble and lowly as they ought to be. And without all doubt for the very like cause were some of the same infirmities registered also by the very direction of GOD'S most holy spirit, and published to all posterity lest we also should conceive too great an opinion of them, by making them our patrons and LORDS, by seeking unto them for their protection, by devoting ourselves unto their service, and by placing our hope and trust in them▪ Neither did the spirit of GOD for this cause lay open only the infirmities of the saints, but also concealed many of those high revelations that 
●. Cor. 12. 6  were showed unto them, and many also in all ●y●elihoode of the strange works that were wrought by them, l●…st they should have been exalted above measure and extolled above the degree of servants in the opinion of men. For it is the LORD of these worthy servants that must increase: 
joh. 3. 30. Ps. ●6. 4● & ●8 3. Eccl. 43. 30 1. Pet. 1. 13  who indeed is so great, that he cannot worthily be praised; yea whose greatness cannot sufficiently be comprehended, much less magnified on that manner as it ought to be, and on whose grace we ought perfectly to trust▪ whereas the greatest amongst the children of women must decrease especially in themselves (fight against pride which ove● 
Superbi● in virtute timenda.  threw Adam, & the Angels & still assaulteth even the best) never so much as imagining with themselves, that they can be so humble and lowly as they ought to be. For God's grace is sufficient for them, which assureth them of the release of their sins, but taketh not clean away all their infirmities, but suffereth them to feel the prick & sting thereof, that thereby they may be most earnestly stirred up to put of swelling pride, & to put on holy humility. God (saith Austin) 
Aug. count Pel. l 3. c. 13.  doth 〈◊〉 his just ones for the fulfilling of perfect righteousness, for that as yet they are in danger to be pu●…ed up with pride: that while none living is justified in his sight, we may own thanks unto his mercy, and by holy humility may be cured of pride the principal cause of many mischiefs. Truth it is that our Saviour affirmeth 
joh. 14. 12.  that such as believe in him shall do greater works than those that he himself did, whilst he conversed here in the flesh. Whereby our Rhemists do endeavour to justify all those strange wonders that are reported to be done by their canonised saints. But be it that many more signs were done by the ministry of the Apostles among the Gentiles for the confirmation of the doctrine that was strange unto them, and therefore required stranger signs for the moving of the unbelievers to the embracing thereof, then were done by CHRIST himself among the jew, because they received the books of the Prophets wherein his doctrine was sufficiently confirmed: yet it hath pleased the spirit of God to have recorded in holy scripture more miracles done by Christ himself, than were done by the ministry of the Apostles. Yea it hath pleased the spirit of God (as was said before) to have testified the concealing of strange revelations showed to the Apostle S. Paul himself, least that any should conceive of him more than were meet. With what spirit then was the author of the Legend led, that hath blazed abroad so many strange wonders reported to be done by their doubtful & demy-saints, to draw the people no doubt into such an admiration of them, as that thereby they might be moved to believe in them? What? shall we imagine that the same spirit (which would have the strange revelations of the 
Chrys. Hom. 5 in Math. Aug. de. mirabil. sacra scripturae l. 1. c. 35.  Apostle concealed to that end for the which the sepulchre of Moset was kept secret by God, lest the people should have worshipped him) would have as strange or stranger wonders to be published as done by the petty Saints of the Romish church for the farther advauncing of their estimation: Nay, may we not justly think that as the Devil did strive with Michael about the body of Moses, that his 
●yr. in deut. 34.  sepulchet might be known, that so he might be worshipped: even so that it 〈◊〉 the self-same spirit that hath striven so earnestly to bl●ze abroad the incredible wonders of the Romish Saints, that so the people might be moved to worship them, and to place their hope and trust in them? For the spirit of CHRIST as it proceedeth from him, so it teacheth that doctrine which he taught, and seeketh to glorify him, by setting 
joh. 16. 14.  forth his greatness, that so the faithful might trust perfectly in his grace, and rest themselves only upon his sufficiency: and it teacheth the chiefest among the saints to account it their greatest honour to honour their Lord Christ, and to give testimony 
Apoc 19 10.  unto him: (for to give testimony to Christ is a sure note of the spirit of a true prophet) that so they may be honoured of him with a room among the residue of his servants. And verily if we will rightly worship the saints, we must learn by 
Aug in psa. ●….  their appointment not to worship them, but to worship him that ma●e heaven and earth, the sea and all that is therein. Yea we m●st endeavour to worship God as they have given us an example, by following 
Apoc. 19 10. & ●2. 9 Act. 10. 26. & 14. 15.  them in the steps of their sound and christian faith, & of their ho▪ lie and godly life: and this is the greatest honour that we can do unto them, which is most grateful and acceptable to them, and most beneficial unto ourselves. And as for those strange legendary wonders, let us leave them to him and his adherents who was to come with great signs and lying wonders, and to be discerned 
Mat. ●… 24. Chrys●…. in Mat hom. 49. Aug. de vni●…●…l. ca 16.  in part by this means. Neither need we being thus forewarned by Christ himself greatly be astonished and amazed thereat, or esteem better of many of them, than Austin did of the Donatists miracles: the which he esteemed to be either flat forgeries of seducing men, or else delusions of lying spirits.   

Diu. 4.  
That we may not pray to the saints departed, nor seek to them, that by their mediation we may come unto God, and by their means obtain our petitions.  
Upon the question of faith in the saints dependeth the question 
I believe in God. I believe the church  of their invocation. For if we must only believe in God, than we must also pray only only unto him: and if we cannot trust in the Saints, not hope to be helped by their means, to what end should we make our prayers unto them, and seek unto them in our necessities? How shall they call upon him (saith the Apostle) in 
Rom. 10. 14.  whom they have not believed? Surely that were to beg at a wrong do●…, and as it were to seek to suck water out of a s●…nt. Wherefore if we will have our prayers to take effect, we must make them to him that is able to hear, & also to fulfil & accomplish the same. But God only is omnipotent filling all places with his majesty & power, searching the very secrets of our hearts and reins, and beholding even with what affection we conceive our supplications: & he also is only omnipotent & able to accomplish our desires: the which properties are so peculiar to God as he is God, that no way they can agree to any creature. The saints are neither present in many places to hear all the prayers that are made unto them, neither are they able to look into the heart, to see whether such prayers are made in hypocrisy, or else with an holy & godly sincerity. If the souls of the departed could be here present in this world, my godly 
Aug. de cura ●ro mort. ca 13.  mother (saith S. Austin) would never leave me: but true it is that the Psalmist saith when my father & my mother for sook me, etc. But if our parents be not present with us, what are other that they should know our estate▪ Thou art our father (saith Esay) for Abraham knoweth us not, and I shaell h●th forgotten us. Now if ●o great patriarchs did not know the estate of their own posterity, How should others know and be helpers unto theirs? Wherefore we do no wrong to the 
Aug. li. de pastore c. 8.  holy mountains, that is, to the saints, when we say our help is not from the mountains but from the Lord that made heaven & earth: the mountains themselves do teach the same: & will not only not be offended with thee for it, but will love thee for the same & favour thee the more: but if th●… pu● thy hope in them, they will be sorry. The truth is, that the Lord commandeth us in all our wants and necessities to seek unto him, who is our only saviour and deliverer, the only fountain and wellspring of all good things. Call upon me in the day of thy trouble, and I will deliver 
Psa. 50. 15.  thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Come unto me (saith our Saviour) all 
Mat 11. 28.  ye that are laden and grievously oppressed, and I will ease you. The name of the Lord (saith Solomon) is an impregnable tower, the righteous shall ●…e 
Pro. 18. 10.  unto it, and shall be delivered. He than that speaketh unto God for succour getteth himself as it were into an invincible fort, where he is sure to be free from all danger: and he that maketh his suit unto the Lord, cometh not to a beggarly benefactor, but unto a rich and a bountiful Founder, who is rich, not to some, but to all that call upon him.  
Neither needest thou doubt of his tender affection towards thee; his goodness is infinite and so is his compassion, far greater than the kindness of any father or mother, or then is the compassion of any of the saints: the more thou feelest thyself burdened with the weight of thy sins, the readier is he to ease and refresh thee: and the more unworthy thou art in thine own e●es, the worthier thou art in his sight: & the more humbled thou art in thyself, the nearer thou art to be exalted by him. Come thyself unto him, take no associate but only a faithful & a penitent heart, and thou shalt always have free access. Our Saviour Christ when he would not hear his own disciples on the behoose of the woman of Canaan, gave audience unto her at her own suit, & granted her her petition and request. Tell me (saith Chrysostome 
Chr●s. hom. 12. de Cana●…a.  entreating of this woman) how durst thou come unto Christ, where as thou art a wicked & sinful wretch? I know (saith she) what to do. Behold (saith he) the wisdom of this woman. She prayeth not james, Ioh, or Peter, or any of the company of the rest of the Apostles: she seeketh no mediator for herself, but for all these taketh repentance for her associate in steed of a mediator, and goeth directly to the very fountain itself. For therefore (saith she) he descended, and took our flesh upon him and became man, that I might be bold to speak unto him himself. For (as Ambrose also teacheth) we need not make friends to come unto God, as a 
Amb. in ep. ad rom. ca 1.  man must do that will come unto a Prince; we need not a spokesman to procure God's favour, who knoweth right well every one's good deeds; but we must bring unto him a devout mind. Where his meaning is, that the faithful, who are reconciled unto God by Christ, have no need of any other mediator to procure than Gods favour; & not, that they do not still stand in need of Christ to be their mediator, be they never so righteous, or never so holy. For (as he himself else where testifieth) 
Amb. lib. de Isaac & anim●….  Christ is our mouth (still) whereby we speak to the father: our eye by the which we see the father: cur right hand which presenteth us unto the father: without whose intercession neither we nor any of the saints have any communion with God. So saith Cyrill also, none cometh to the father 
Cyrill. in joh. ca 16.  but by the son, by who● we are brought to the father by the spirit: & therefore he calleth himself a door, and a way, and saith none cometh to the father but by me. For as there is but one God, so there is but one 
1. Tim. 2. 5.  mediator between God and man, even the man jesus Christ: & therefore if any man sin we have not Peter or Paul or the glorious virgin, but we have jesus Christ our advocate, and he is the propitiation for our 
1 joh. 2 1. Heb. 7. 27.  sins. For it is he that hath an eternal priesthood always living to make intercession for us: and it is he that is ascended into heaven there to appear on our behoof before God, to be as it were our Lawyer in that celestial court, to prefer our petitions, & to solicit our suits continually. Yea it is he that is that Angel of the covenant th●… 
Apoc. 8. 3.  doth put the sweet odours of his obedience unto our prayers, whereby they are accepted before God, and made a sacrifice of a sweet savour unto his divine majesty. And verily in whom should we be accepted before God, but in his dearly beloved son in whom he is well 
Mat. 3. 17.  pleased? And for whom should our Saviour make intercession but for them, whose redemption he hath wrought by his own blood? who surely will not now post them of to any other advocate, not commend their suits to any other solicitor: & therefore thrice wretched were they if they would seek to any other then only to him, who hath taken their causes into his own hands. Wherefore if we look for a good effect in all our prayers, and an happy success in all our affairs, we must commend us and ours only to God, and that in the name of our only mediator, and not in the mediation of any other.   

Diu. 5.  
That it would be an impeachment to the lords omnipotency, if sin●… should be done, himself in no respect willing, but altogether nilling the sam●e.  
THe almighty creator and governor of heaven and earth 
Almighty. job 9 12. Ma h. 8. 8. Eccl. 3. 14. Esa. 14 24. Gen. 50 20. Rom. 8. 28.  whose will hath his forth in all things whatsoever, whose decrees cannot be reversed, no● his power resisted, who is even in that self same thing most singularly good, wherein man is most notoriously evil, who can drawlight out of darkness, and turn evil into good, hath made sin itself that proceedeth not from himself but from the devil, not only an occasion to destroy 
Aug. co●…. Pet. l. 3. c. 13  pride and to plant humility in the hearts of his saints, but also a way for the manifestation of his most severe justice in the punishment thereof, and of his endless mercy in pardoning the same, and of his infinite wisdom in appointing such a means for man's delivery from sin, whereby he showeth himself both perfectly merciful, and perfectly just. And in these respects it may be said that God willeth, albeit he never iust●fieth sin, but disalloweth, hateth, and interdicteth the same, and that upon the 
Aug. Ench. ad Laur. c. 100  pain of eternal damnation. Great are th● works of the LORD (saith S. Austin) and most exquisite in regard of the 
* in omnes voluntates ●ius.  manifold respects of his will: so that by a strange and unspeakable manner that is not done BESIDES, which is done AGAINST his will: because it should not be done, if he did not suffer it; neither doth he suffer it nilling, but willing. And yet the church of Rome teacheth that God in no respect willeth sin, but that the sinner performeth the same wholly and altogether against his will. Contrary to the judgement of the wiseman: How might any thing endure if it were not thy will? 
Wisd. 11. 22. Rom. 9 19 Aug. Ench. ad La●…. c. 96.  Contrary to the Apostle: who hath resisted his will? and greatly prejudicing thereby the lords omnipotency according unto the plain and direct censure of S. Austin in this very case. It is not to be doubted (saith he) but that God doth well, in suffering whatsoever is done evil, in that he doth not suffer it, but in his justice: & now verily that which is just, is good. Wherefore albeit these things which are evil, in that they are evil are not good, yet notwithstanding it is a good thing, that not only good, but that evil should BE also. For unless it were good that e● should BE, it should not be permitted to BE of the omnipotent good: to whom without all doubt as it is an easy matter to do whatsoever he will, so it is as easy a matter to stay whatsoever he will not. The which thing unless we firmly believe, the very first foundation of our christian faith will be greatly shaken wherein we make profession that we believe in GOD the father almighty. Neither is he for any other cause truly called omnipotent or almighty, but for that he is able to to do whatsoever he will, and the effect of his will is not hindered by the will of any other creature whatsoever. So then God willeth the actions of the wicked: for he could stay them if he willed them not, and had not appointed to draw good out of them, by making them a means to manifest his justice in the author's destruction. And so the Apostle teacheth in plain words that the wicked and reprobate which are hardened in their sins by the malice of Satan and by the corruption of their own nature, are not hardened by the bare permission only but also by the will and appointment of God. He hath mercy (saith the Apostle) 
Rom. 9 18. Nihil si● fr●s●ra. Frustra fi● quod fine car●t.  on whom he WILL and whom he WILL he hardeneth. The Philosopher could say that nothing in this world is made by God rashly or vainly, not having an end whereunto it is created, and means to bring it to the same end. For there is no wise worke-master here among men that will go about anything, but that he will first determine with himself concerning the end of his work, and the means whereby it may be brought thereunto. Which of you (saith our Saviour 
Luc. 4. 28.  Christ minding to build a tower, sitteth not down before & counteth the cost whether he be sufficient to perform it etc. Wherefore it cannot be but mere madness, yea open blasphemy to avouch that the most wise & mighty creator should appoint to make many that should m●r●e themselves, and not to appoint the end whereunto they should come, and the means whereby they should be brought to the same. For to say that God ordained them to life, but altered his purpose upon their alteration, i● to rob God of his unchangeable goodness, and of his wisdom and foreknowledge also: to say that God disposed not of them neither this way nor that way, but left them only at their own disposition, is to say that the ordering of the clay is in itself, and not in the potter that fashioneth the same: or to say, that God merely permitteth their eternal destruction, and their sins whereby they are brought thereunto, neither willing nor nilling the same, neither in●…ning to the one nor yet to the other, is to make the Lord a neuter in the ordering and governing of this present world, and to open a gap to flat Epicurism.   

Diu. 6.  
That God hath not committed the protection of his church to the Saints departed out of this life.  
THe same power that made all things, is only able to sustain 
Maker of heaven & earth. Col. 1, 17. Psal. 36. 6. & 104. 1.  all things, and so it doth. And therefore God is not only called the maker, but also the preserver both of man and beast. The eyes of all wait upon him, and he giveth them their meat in due season: he watereth the hills from above, the earth is full of the fruit of his works. For God is not as many unnatural parents which send their children abroad into the wide world, leaving them to themselves either to sink or to swim: nor as the Ostrich, who after she hath laid her eggs in the dust, clean forsaketh them, caring nothing at all what becometh of them: but he keepeth as it were continual watch and ward over all his creatures (clothing the Lilies, feeding the Fowls, and not suffering so much as a 
Mat 6 ●0. & 10. 29.  Sparrow to fall to the ground without his will) and therefore much more over his elect and chosen children, guarding them with his fatherly protection, and environing them with his assisting power 
1. Pet. 5. 7. job. 1. 10.  as with a most strong and ●…incible wall, & not suffling so much as an hair of their heads to fall to the ground without his providence. He rideth upon the heavens for their help, and upon the 
Deu. 33. 26.  clouds in his glory: his eyes are bend upon them continually, so that they never go out of his sight, Yea behold he that keepeth Israel 
Psal. 121. 4.  doth neither slumber nor sleep: the Lord himself is their keeper, he is their defence upon their right hand, and their preserver from all evil. 
job. 34. 13.  He hath not passed over this his authority to the saints, nor joined any of them with himself in commission: he hath not made them our patrons & defenders (let our Rh●mistes say wh●t 
Rhem. in. c. 2 ●p. 1 ad Tim & Apoc c 2.  they list to the contrary) as Saint George for England, S. Denis for Fr●…nce, S. Andrewe for Scotland. The saints whilst they lived were God's instruments here in this world for the good of his church, and they served their times as it is said of David: Now they 
Act. 13 36. 2. Sa. 12 23.  are departed hence they are not sent back again to be regentes over countries, or to be disburlets of these the Lords earthly and temporal blessings: For they rest from all such labours, being always before the throne of God, serving and praising him there 
Apoc 7. 5. & 13. 14.  for ever, and therefore well may they content themselves to leave the affairs of this world to such as still live in this world, and not to have any more portion for ever in all that is done under the 
Eccls 9 6.  sun, seeing that they have so liberal & plentiful a portion in the things that are above the sun. Surely king David while he lived 
Psa. 73 25.  here in this world knew no patron besides the Lord himself: 
Est. 14. 3. Is. 6. 16.  Whone have I in heaven but the●: Nor yet did Queen Ester know any other. Lord help thou me, which have no helper besides thee. For Abraham knew the●… not, and Israel had forgotten them.    

Chap. 4. Diu. 1.  

That our Saviour Christ according unto his divine nature is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one and the same God with the Father.  
THe godhead, deity, or the divine nature is of none but of itself, being the original cause and fountain of all being and subsisting unto all, as these names jah and 
In Iesu● Ch●ist his only son●.  jehovah do also insinuate. And the divine nature of our glorious God & Lord jesus Christ is the same divine nature which is in the father, and he himself is one and the same God with the father, and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and of himself; howsoever the wicked brood of the great Antichrist the grand enemy of Christ doth charge this doctrine with wicked blasphemy. Christ, as God, is of himself: as God the sone, is of 
Rhemist. in. joh. cap. 1. Campian. Rat. 8.  the father, begotten after an unspeakable manner of his divine nature & substance before all worlds. And so speaketh an ancient father: Christ to himself is God, but in the re●…tion to his father is the sone & so begotten of the father.   

Diu. 2.  
That our Saviour Christ was incarnate by the holy Ghost, and took his human nature only of the seed of man, and not of the seed of any grain by having it transubstantiated into his body.  
IF the doctrine of transubstantiation be true (as it is determined 
Incarnate by the holy Ghost, borne of the virgin Mary. Se●…. 3. sub julio 3. can. 4 cap. 2.  and concluded by the council of Trent) that by the consecration of bread and wine, the whole substance of bread and wine is turned into the very substance of the body and blood of Christ: And if the words of the institution of this holy sacrament (this is my body) be to be understood literally, really, substantially, than our Saviour CHRIST took not flesh only of the blessed Virgin Marie, but also of material bread, that becoming really and substantially his very body. And therefore is Christ's body called bread (if that wve will believe our masters of Rheims) for that it is made of bread. So they 
Rhem. in ca 6. Joh.  have their Christ not only of the seed of Abraham and David, but also of the seed of such corn and gra●…e as grows and springeth out of the earth. Neither do we envy them this their breaden CHRIST, whose body is daily made by 
Sacerdo● est creator suicreatoris. Qui creavi: ●e sine me ●am creature mediant me  a sinful priest through the pronunciation of a few words; let them ch●w him and champ him even as they list: for we content ourselves with that Christ to be our Saviour, who was incarnate by the hol● Ghost (and not by the words of consecration) and took his flesh only of the blessed Virgin Mar●, and not of the seed of any grain.   

Diu. 3.  
That our Saviour Christ according unto his humanity is of a nature finite and circumscriptible, and not present in all or in many places at one time.  
THe church of Rome by her doctrine of the real presence 
Bo●ne of the virgin Mary.  doth take away from Christ the nature of a true human body, and so overthroweth the truth of his manhood, in that she avoucheth that his body there really present is uncircumscribed, and not contained in space or place. For 
Aug. ep 57 Q●…●…bi est, non est.  take away a place from bodies, and they shall be no where: and if they be no where, they be not at all. Yea whereas it is an undoubted and confessed truth, that both the divine & human nature's of Christ with their several properties remain still in him distinct and unconfounded, and seeing that it is a property of the human nature of CHRIST being a mere creature together with all other creatures earthly and heavenly to be finite and contained either within the compass of one place, or within the limits and bounds of their finite nature; as on the otherside it is a property of the divine nature not to be contained within the compass of any one place, but being infinite and incomprehensible to fill all places with majesty and glory; (and to fill many or all places belongeth to the self▪ same nature which is in itself infinite and incomprehensible, and no way to a finite and limited nature) therefore the church of Rome by her doctrine of the real presence avouching CHRIST'S body to be in ten thousand places at one time (which is a property belonging unto his deity) is justly condemned for renewing the heresy of Eutiches in confounding the properties of Christ's nature, and in taking away the truth of his humanity.   

Diu. 4.  
That as it is heretical to worship judas or the jews; so the instruments which they used, as the nails, spear, and cross in renting and tormenting Christ's most precious body.  
OUR Saviour Christ was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God himself, he being 
Suffered under Ponti●s Pilate.  most just in punishing him who had taken upon himself all our iniquities and sins; Pilate, judas, and the jews yet being most unjust in working the death and condemnation of our most innocent and guiltless Saviour. And therefore wicked was the opinion of certain heret●kes called Cain●, which worshipped judas and the Devil for the procuring of the death of Christ: seeing they endeavoured to hinder and not to further the salvation of man: even as Ph●raeus jasons enemy thought to have slain him, when by opening with the thrust of his weapon the place of his most dangerous and deadly impostume, he was the means to cure him of that his malady. And wicked also is the doctrine of the church of Rome, which teacheth to worship the nails, spear, and cross which were the instruments of their outrageous cruelty in renting and tormenting his most precious body: and to reverence the Greek and the Latin tongues, because in them was written his accusation which was most false and untrue, that he did usurp the temporal kingdom of jury, whereas he kept himself 
joh. 6. 15. & 18. 36.  close from the multitude when they would have made him king; and made open protestation even to Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. For that, which is applied to a wicked and ungodly use, is not thereby sanctified but wickedly profaned.   

Diu. 5.  
That Christ suffered both in body and soul the pains that were proportionable to our sins.  
Two things were requisite in our ●…aviors sufferings that they 
Suff●…d.  might be a sufficient satisfaction for our sins. First a proportion of the sufferings to the greatness of the sins: secondly a right to translate them upon the parties, for whom they were sustained. 1 The great & high proportion of the sufferings of Christ proceedeth from the excellency of his divine nature, which gave virtue and dignity to the same: 2 & the right to translate them upon man, proceedeth from the human nature, in which they were sustained, that so they might be available for man's sins. For in that man, which had sinned, was according to the purpose & counsel of God to be redeemed, & not the angels, therefore nor the seed of Angels, but of man, was to be taken, that so in the very nature of man that had sinned, the pains for man's sins might be endured, & so satisfaction made for man's transg●…ssions. And therefore, as Christ was to take our whole nature upon him, that so he might be a mee● person 
Aug. cone. F●l. ca 13.  to redeem the whole: so the m●anes of our redemption being his sufferings, as he was to take both body & soul, so he was to suffer both in body & soul, that so he might redeem both body and soul, especially man's soul being the p●…ncipall in committing the offence, & the body being but as it were an accessary thereunto, the soul was principally to be punished in respect thereof, neither had it been agreeable unto justice, that the principal should have wholly escaped, & that the accessary should have been extremely punished. And certainly our Saviour Christ, being ready presently to enter into those his greatest pains & punishments which he was to endure for man's transgressions, testifieth of the extreme anguish of his soul, saying. My soul● is heavy unto death: and before he 
Mat. 26. 3●.  came into his enemies hand●, that buffered him, crowned him with thorns, scourged him, nailed him upon the cross, and so tormented his precious body, he suffered his bitter and dreadful agony in the garden, the which was so grievous and burdensome unto him, that it caused him to sweat both water & blood, and to cry out again and again in that his extremity, Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me; even this cup of thy wrath that I am so deeply to drink of, that so it might pass from all the elect: the which he calleth his hour that is hi● judgement 
Mat. 27. 46. 〈◊〉. 12. 27.  and condemnation, the which he came into the world to sustain, that so he might procure our absolution. The which agony continued with him no doubt also on the cross, where he sustaining the punishment of our sins, which had deserved to be forsaken, cried out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So great is the weight and burden of sin (howsoever to a fool it seemeth to be but a pastime) that it being laid upon our Saviour himself pressed and bruised him so sore, that it caused him in the griping grief of his heavy heart, and in the bitter anguish of his sorrowful soul, thus and thus to complain unto his God. So infinite & unspeakable was the kindness and love of our most gracious & merciful redeemer towards us such unthankful and wretched sinners, that he took from us this so weighty a burden, and laid it upon his own shoulders. O what great comfort doth come unto every faithful christian out of these discomforts of our blessed Saviour? What a glorious life doth arise out of his most shameful death? and what an endless bliss out of his most execrable curse? O what strong assurance have we hereby, that all our debts are discharged to the uttermost mite, and all our sins so punished even to the full, that we need not stand in fear now to be punished ourselves for the same, or to be forced again to make satisfaction either in the Popish rigorous consistory, or the fire of painful purgatory? So great a price do we justly set upon our Saviour's most doleful sufferings, and so highly do we esteem of his most precious and invaluable pains: and yet our masters of Rheims are not ashamed to lay to our charge, that we do not so much 
Rhem. in Math. c. 27.  disgrace as blaspheme the same, for that we teach that not only in body but also in soul, he sustained the pains that were proportionable to our sins.   

Diu. 6.  
That Christ's obedience and suffe●…nges 〈…〉 excellency of his person, but also 〈…〉 selves were meritorious of eternal ●…ory.  
THe value of Christ's actions, albeit 〈…〉 ●…cy of his person, yet it resteth not 〈…〉 derived from thence into the very actions, and subsisteth as it were habitually in the works themselves. For the more excellent and perfect the worke-master is, the more excellent and perfect is the work in itself that proceedeth from him. And therefore that obedience and righteousness which our Saviour Christ performed for us, being done in and by his human nature, which was endued with the spirit of holiness above measure, and also by the will, power, & efficacy of his divine nature, which is in●…t holiness, purity, & perfection itself, how can it be, but that in itself, it should be of inestimable holiness, purity, and perfection, and truly meritorious of eternal glory? For albeit a man might weigh all the drops of his most precious blood, and count the ●ust and full number of all his anguishes and pains, yet his most fervent zeal towards the glory of GOD, and his infinite love to manes salvation, which moved him thereto, hath a breadth, length, depth, height, which passeth knowledge and cannot 
Eph. 3. 18.  be measured, it is endless, infinite, and unsearchable, and therefore being laid in the balance with the crown of eternal glory, it is able to counterpoise yea to weigh down the same. The works of God's saints here in this life come short of this perfection, albeit they proceed from GOD'S most holy spirit: for they are wrought also by man, that hath many imperfections 
2. Cor. 12. 7 1. Cor. 13 9  and wants, and are never performed either with that fervency of zeal to the glory of God, or with such abundance of love 
See mysteries of moū● Calv●… the Preface.  to our neighbours good, as they ought to be: & therefore they are neither satisfactory for sin, nor yet meritorious of eternal glory, as are the most worthy works of our only redeemer. In thee and in me (saith Augustine) are of greater or less value and weight the perfume of our works, because a● some time we do them with greater devotion then at other times, but in the son of God it is not so: For his love and charity was so great to redeem us, that neither time did increase it, nor trouble made it col●e. Likewise the works of one holy man, and the torment of one holy Martyr may be measured and weighed with the works and torments of an other, because there is no man so holy in this world, but by God's grace there may be an other as holy, yea holier to. The heir of eternity doth not enter into this account neither doth he come under this scantling: he is not weighed as we are weighed, nor measured as we are measured: because it would be a far easier matter to poise the mountains, then to bound out the limits of his merits. How is it possible to measure his merits, whose holiness, purity, and perfection doth exceed all measure? Above in the resting place of the Trinity and in the depth of the Divinity the son of GOD hath his measure and weight: for that his merits are so great and the dolors which he suffered so grievous, that there are no dolors of martyrs to compare with him, nor holiness of angels to measure him by. And how can it otherwise be, seeing that ●…r blessed Saviour did merit more by feasting in the wedding and with Zachoeus, than the great Saint john the Baptist did by fasting in the wilderness? Moreover it being granted, that the works, which the son of God did as man, had their limits and end, yet the charity by which he did them, had no end, and if to that which he did suffer there was found a measure, yet to the love, wherewith he did suffer, there was found no measure. Thou mightest O my JESUS measure and weigh the blood, which in the moun● of Calvary thou diddest shed, but who can be able to measure and weigh the love, with which thou diddest shed it? And although the blood should be weighed with pounds and ounces, yet who is able to find out weights to weigh thy bowels? In the balance of the sanctuary nothing was weighed, but that which was of the sanctuary: so in the balance and weight of CHRIST, nothing is weighed but the works of CHRIST: for if thou wouldst weigh any other thing with him, all the holiness of the Angels and all the torments of the Martyrs would not weigh so much as one drop of his blood. Seeing then that we cannot weigh ourselves in the balance of CHRIST, he c●…e to weigh himself in ours: where in one balance we did put our F●…ites, in the other he did put his pains, which before his Father was of so great weight, that it was sufficient to satisfy for our offence. Who could satisfy for our fault, if he should not lend us his pain and punishment to pay our debt? And yet the members of the great A●…rist, who have sold themselves to deface the incomparable dignity, and the most ample sufficiency of the mos● precious ●…ath of our almighty and sufficient Saviour, have not only weighed in the same balance the works of the saints, and ma●ched them in meriting with the works of Christ, (albeit they have gruen them as it were for manners sake the upper hand) but also they have denied such excellency to rest in his obedience and sufferings, 
Rh●m. in. c. 8. ep. ad●rom.  that in themselves they should be meritorious of eternal glory, or any whit comparable thereunto.   

Diu. 7.  
That CHRIST'S obedience and sufferings are the only meritorious cause of eternal glory  
THe Apostle to show that we have perfect reconciliation with God, forgiveness of sin, and full redemption by 
Suffered. Col. 1. 15.  by the blood of Christ, setteth down the excellency of this our most glorious Saviour, who spared not to shed his blood for us: as that he is the image of the invisible GOD, the fi●st begotten of all creatures: that by him all things were created in heaven & earth, whether they be thrones, domi●…ōs, or powers; yea that it pleased the father, that in him all fullness should dwell. So the 
Heb. 1. 1.  apostle to the Hebrew, to show that Christ is the perfect purgation of our sins, setteth down the excellency of his person, that he who is he●re of all things, by whom also the world was made, being the brightness of his father's glory, & the engraven form of his person sustaining all things by the might of his power, hath by himself purged our sins. In respect of the greatness of the which price that was given for the ransom of our souls, Saint Peter saith, 
1. Pet. 1. 18.  that we are not redeemed with corruptible things as with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of CHRIST as of a lamb undefiled and without spot. So then our redemption was not valued at gold and silver, it was not set at follow a rate, neither was it purchased with so small a price: but he that was 
The greatness of the sacrifice that was offered for sin.  the only begotten SON OF GOD, the second person in the glorious TRINITY, of the same substance, might, & majesty with the father, having taken upon him our human nature, and joined it in one person with his divine, and having sanctified ●t above measure by the infinite purity and perfection thereof, and in it having fulfilled all righteousness, not only by doing, but also by suffering whatsoever was answerable to the most exact and severe justice of GOD for all our sins; this even this so singular a person thus and thus qualified hath by himself purged our sins, and given himself a ransom for our souls. Behold then here the greatness of that satisfaction that was made for our sins, the sum of that ransom that was paid for our souls, the quantity of the price that was given for the purchase of the kingdom of glory. In respect of the inestimable 
2. Cor. 6. 20  value whereof the Apostle saith: Ye are bought with a price: with a price with a witness, with such and so great a price, that all the holiness of all saints and angels is no way matchable or comparable thereto. How is it then that sinful and wretched man should conceive so high an opinion of the worth of his own works, that he should so much as but imagine, that he himself could make satisfaction for those sins, & purchase that kingdom, that was valued at so high a rate, and purchased with so great a price? Surely if it be mere madness to imagine that here in this world we may purchase for an halfpenny, that which is justly valued at ten thousand pounds: than it is as great madness to imagine, that we are able by our own works to purchase heaven, for the which was given the Son of GOD himself: seeing all our best works are not as an halfpenny to ten thousand pound in respect of Christ and his righteousness. Therefore no marvel though the Apostle S. Paul who had laboured more painfully in the Lord's vinyeard, and endured more crosses for the Gospel of Christ than any of the rest of his fellow Apostles, yet dareth not thrust himself in as a party in this work, but utterly disclaimeth and renounceth it, saying: Was Paul crucified for you? Surely no; but a 
1. Cor. 1. 13  person of far greater estate, excellency worthiness, dignity, and perfection. For albeit precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his 
Leo epist 8●. ad Palastinos.  saints, yet the slaying of no innocent person is the propitiation of the world: the just have themselves received & not given crowns, & the manhood of the faithful hath been patterns of patience, and not endowmentes of righteousness: their deaths indeed have been rare and singular, but yet none of them therewithal hath discharged another's debt, whereas there is one LORD CHRIST, in whom all are dead, crucified, and raised up again. And Augustine saith: CHRIST is for me a 
Aug. in joh. Tract. 47.  door unto you, for ye are his sheep purchased by his blood: behold your price which is not given by me, but is declared and preached by me. And in truth no man can deliver his brother, (no not so much as from 
Psal. 49. 7.  bodily death) nor make atonement unto God for him: For it cost more to redeem SOULS. For what recompense can a man give for his 
Mat. 16. 26.  own soul, much less for the soul of any other? Wherhfore far be it from the humility of all true and faithful christians that they should so highly esteem of their own holiness, as if thereby they could make satisfaction for SIN, or merit the crown of eternal GLORY; whereas the chiefest amongst the SAINTS duly and truly weighing their own worth, have judged themselves unworthy of the very lest of the lords mercies. O GOD (saith jacob) of my 
Gen. 32. ●.  father Abraham, and God of my father I saak, which saidst unto me, return unto thy country, and unto thy kin●ed, and I will do thee good, I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies. Likewise john the Baptist 
joh. 1 27.  confesseth of himself, that he is nosworthy to lose so much as the very ●atche● of Christ's shoe: and the Centurion, that he is not worthy so much as to receive CHRIST under his roof●. Now if these 
Luc. 7. 6.  men so holy and high in favou● with GOD, who have wrestled & prevailed with the Lord himself, being as great as any borne of women, & of so rare & singular a faith as hath not been found no not in Israel; if these, I say, did truly acknowledge themselves not worthy of the Lords meanest blessings, no doubt them, but they did also acknowledge with the prodiga●…on themselves not worthy to be called Gods sons, nor worthy of remission of sins & eternal glory. And verily as all the Lords blessings, so especially these of the greatest value descend unto the faithful only by gift (and what is so free as gift?) and flow merely from the full fountain of the Lords most free and undeserved mercy in Christ, and not from themselves and their own merits. All have sinned (saith the Apostle) and are deprived of the glory of God, 
Rom. 3. 23.  but are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ jesus. And again, the wages of sin i● death: but everlasting life 
Rom. 6. 23.  is the gift of God through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. ●astly, by grace ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the 
Eph. 2. 8.  gift of GOD, not of works, lest any ●an should b●ast himself.  
The which with the like testimonies being so evident for our justification & salvation bestowed upon us freely in Christ, have, as it may be thought, forced the children of the church of Rome to devise a double justification: the first proceeding from God's free mercy in Christ, the second from our own merit: and deserts. But this distinction they learned not of the Apostle, who affirmeth that not only at the first we are brought into favour with God by Christ, and freely justified by his blood, but also that much more we are brought to the end of our salvation and to our full and final glorification by the same free & undeserved mercy of God in Christ. For so is the Apostles illation. God (saith he) setteth out his lo●e rewards 
Rom 5. 8.  us, seeing whose we were yet sinners Christ died for us: Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath by him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled unto God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. By which words it is evident, not that the faithful, which are at the first justified by Christ's blood, are made able to justify themselves afterwards by their own works, and to procure their own salvation by their own merits, but much more (saith he) shall they be preserved in the same grace, and brought to their salvation by CHRIST and by his life. And verily if our first justification by Christ be sufficient, what need we seek for a second justification by our own works? And if our title which we have to the kingdom of heaven by our Saviour's death be good enough, what need have we to speak for any other title? Can that which is once justly mine, be made 
Quod semel 〈…〉 potest mihi ●…quiri pluribus causia.  by any other title mor● mine? Either can a man have many ●ust titles to one thing? Surely there be two heavens and two salvations, as well as there be two iust●fications. For howsoever it be avouched in the word of truth, that God will reward our works with the inheritance of his heavenly kingdom, yet we must not think that so great a reward being bestowed upon so sorry a service doth proceed from the merit and worthiness of our own works, but from the mere mercy of him that doth so accept of us and of our works in Christ, as that he doth crown them with eternal glory. The which being bestowed upon our works of charity is yet still called an inheritance (Came ye blessed 
Mat. 25. 34.  of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world) that we may still know and acknowledge that it is not a purchase made by our own works, but an inheritance freely bestowed upon such as are adopted into the number of the sons of God by faith in Christ. For as for the straightest of our works if they were squared by the level of the law, they would be found in some respect crooked: and those things which seem in us to carry most weight, if they were weighed in the balance of God's justice, they would appear too light: our best righteousness being in some force unrighteous, and our greatest perfection stained with imperfection. Our knowledge (saith the Apostle) is un 
1 Cor. 13. 9  perfect, and our charity is unperfect, and therefore to be done away in the place of perfection: not that the inward graces themselves are then utterly abolished (for they follow us in death, and 
Apo. 14. 13.  never fail us, when all earthly treasures b●dde us adieu) but that the imperfections, which remain in the greatest graces of the most perfect here in this world, are to be done away in the world to come, and the foundation of the kingdom of GOD, which is begun to be laid here in this life, to be made perfect in the life to come. The perfection (sayeth saint Hierome) of all the just in 
Hie. l. 1. c●… Pelag.  this life is imperfect perfection: yea all our righteousness (as faith the prophet) is as a menstruous cloth: and therefore the most 
Esa. 64 6.  holy that live here, should wash themselves with snow water and make 
job. 9 30. August. de tempore ●erm 49.  themselves most clean, yet their own clothes would make them filthy. In the resurrection (as saith an ancient father) we believe that we shall fulfil all righteousness, in respect whereof all that we do in this life is but very dung. Our humble righteousness (saith Bernard) of we have 
Bern. serm. 5 de verb. Es. They of the Council of Trent have thought themselves better than these fathers: cursing all such as be of their judgement. Ses. 6. c. 16. c. 25.  any at all, is perhaps sincere▪ but not pure: except perchance we imagine ourselves to be better than our fathers, who affirmed no less: truly then humbly, that alour righteousness was a● a stained cloth: for how (saith he) can that righteousness be pure, which cannot be without fault? Where first we may observe, that he termeth our righteousness, which we attain unto here in this life, humble: secondly he thinketh it to be so small, that he seemeth to doubt, whether there be any such thing at all: thirdly he calleth it sincere perhaps: four no● pur● without all doubt: fifthly he affirmeth this even of the best: lastly he avoucheth it to be a mere impossibility to be otherwise; how can that be pure? Wherhfore it may not seem strange that which Gregory teacheth, that the holy man doth see his very virtuous work to be vicious, if it come to be scanned of a just judge. And that Austin threateneth vengeance and woe against the same: Woe worth the commendable life of man, if God should judge it without mercy. Now if 
Greg. in job. l. 9 c 1. Aug. l. 9 Confess. c. 13.  our very perfection be imperfect, and our purity impure, & our righteousness as a menstruous cloth, and as very dung; if our virtue be vicious, and our commendable life deserve a Woe, them when the Lord doth reward his faithful servants, he doth not the same for the worthiness of their works, but of his mere mercy, grace, and favour. And so our Saviour himself teacheth us in the parable of the husbandman that went and sent labourers into 
Math. 20. 1.  his vineyard, whereof some were hired at the beginning, some at the middle, and some at the end of the day, and yet each of them received the same wages & the same hire. Upon occasion of which parable Saint Ambrose saith, that such as were hired at the latter end 
Amb de vocat. Gen●. l 1. c. 5  of the day do represent unto us those which are called to the Lords service at the end and upshotte of their lives, whom he hath chosen without works, and upon whom he doth rather power forth the riches of his grace, then yield a reward unto their labours: that they also who have laboured & sweat the whole day, and continued their whole life in the service of God, and yet receive but their penny with the other, may thereby understand that they also rather receive a gift of grace, than wages o● h●r● due to their works. For there is but one wa● to li●e for all th●… are saved: and therefore if any of the faithful be saved by mere mer●y 〈…〉 without the merit of their own works, than no doubt but all are saved after the same manner. And verily it would go very hard even with the best, if they should be put to w●…e the garland of glory by the●… own worthiness before they should wea●e i●: Lose it in deed we could easily, and that in the s●…te of our greatest innocency and perfection, but recover it again we never could, but only by the means of our powerful Redeemer.  
When Fabitu Maximus had won the city Tarentum which 
Cicero d● senec●…te.  Salinator before had lost, being forced by the enemy to hide his head in the castle; Salinator met him, and said unto him: By my help● Fabi●… thou hast won Tarentum: True, (quoth Fabius smiling) For if thou hadst not lost it I could not have recovered it: and even so may it be replied to the proud and vain glorious Papists, that are not ashamed to boast, that by the means and merit of their own works Christ hath restored to them again the kingdom of heaven; that in very deed, unless we by our own works had lost the same, he should have had no need to have recovered it, A certain noble man's son (as it is reported) coming to his father for maintenance, was sent by him to demise certain lands to such whose estates were now expired: who coming to the place appointed and sitting in court, demised to each one his estate for a penny: Now might these men justly boast of the fruit of their penny; or of the kindness of that noble gentleman, who let them renew their copies for so small a sine? Surely he h●d been a very ungrateful tenant that would have done so, and altogether unworthy of so great a favour. We had all in Adam forfeited our estates in the kingdom of heaven: whatsoever the best of us can give towards the renewing of the same, it is but as a penny to a good copyhold. Seeing then our most gracious God hath so tenderly loved us, that he hath given us his only begotten son, who hath purchased it again for us by his own death, and so hath renewed again our estates therein, wilwilling us that we should earnestly endeavour to show ourselves dutiful and thankful unto him that hath been so merciful and gracious to us, telling us also again and again that this our labour shall not be in vain in the LORD, and that it shall not be lost which we employ in his service, but that he will crown it with eternal glory: shall we now ascribe this crown of glory to our simple endeavours which we employ in his service, or to his infinite and endless goodness, who hath purchased it for us with his own blood? Verily he were too too unthankful a wretch, who would ascribe it to the merit of his own works, and not to the mere mercy of his gracious redeemer. The Apostle Saint Paul who, if any, had to glory in the merit of his own works, yet disclaimeth them all in the matter of salvation saying: GOD forbidden that I should glory in any thing save in the cross of ●ESUS CHRIST. For he 
Gal. 6. 14.  knew that GOD had made him unto us wisdom, righteousness, 
1. Cor. 1. 30  sanctification, and redemption, that he which glorieth should glory in the LORD. He knew that there was no other fo●dation of his salvation to be laid, than jesus CHRIST and him 
1 Cor. 3. 11.  crucified: and that there was no other name given under heaven whereby we might be saved but only the name of our blessed 
Act. 4. 12.  Saviour: Not the name of our own or other men's works, o● Masses, Dirigesses. Pardons or the like: seeing if it might have been wrought by any such means, CHRIST had died in vain, he might then have spared all his pains, and avoided 
Gal. 2. 21.  all those most grievous torments which he endured for man's redemption. Especially if it be true, which they teach, that the good works of the regenerate, if not in themselves, yet in respect of the spirit whose fruits they are, are of infinite price, satisfactory for sin which is infinitely heinous, and aunswereable to the joys of the kingdom of heaven; than it had been sufficient for our Saviour CHRIST to have bestowed his spirit upon the faithful, by whose infinite purity their works being sanctified, they might have been thus enabled to save themselves, and so his own death had been but superfluous for the working out of man's salvation. But if it be a most heinous impiety to avouch Christ's death to be superfluous, and that he died in vain, then let us all which look for any benefit by his death, ascribe the glory of eternal life only to him who is therefore called, 
joh. 6 35. Apoc. 22. 2 1 joh. 5. 20. Col. 33.  the bread of life, the tree of life, author of life, yea life itself: for that our life resteth only in him that is our only just title to eternal life. Take hold then of CHRIST, take hold of life, reach forth thine hand to any other thing, and thou reachest it to vanity, and takest hold as it were of thorns and of fire. Look not for life but where it dwelleth. Our life is hid in CHRIST with GOD: death reigneth in the whole world beside, and leadeth every creature to the bondage of corruption. If thou look up into heaven without this reconciler, there will appear nothing but displeasure and wrath: if thou cast down thine eyes upon the earth, there thou shalt see nothing but fearful confusion: If thou call to Abraham he knoweth thee not: if to the wise virgins, their oil is not sufficient for themselves, and for thee also: if to Saint Paul, he was not crucified for thee: if to the most blessed Virgin, she was not anointed nor yet appointed to be thy Saviour: The universal company of all those that are made partakers of the kingdom of heaven do take their crowns of glory from their own heads, and cast them down at the lambs feet, acknowledging thereby of whom they hold them, giving the glory of their salvation only to GOD and the Lamb, saying: Salvation is of GOD that sitteth upon the throne and from the lamb. With the which catholic consent of all the holy 
Apoc. 4. 10  saints we may content ourselves, and satisfy our consciences sufficiently, how many and how mighty soever they be here in this world, that will not subscribe to this holy and heavenly confession. And verily we being built upon CHRIST our immovable rock, we need not seek for the stay and strength of any other foundation: being possessed with the maintenance of this most bountiful Founder, we need not beg for an exhibition of any other benefactor: being furthered in all our suits by his mediation, we need no other letters of commendation: having re●aued from him our satisfecit and quiet●… est, we need not greatly care for the Pope's indulgence and pardon: being cleansed from all our sins by his blood, we need not make any reckoning of our purging in purgatory: being clothed with the most odoriferous garments of his obedience, we need not add thereto the patches and rags of our own righteousness: being enriched with his treasures, we need not make much account of our own trash: and having his sufferings and death for the warrant of our right to the kingdom of heaven, we need not seek for any further assurance, or for any other title to that happy and heavenly inheritance. Neither indeed doth the true church the spouse of CHRIST seek for the same to any other then to her kind and loving bridegroom, she contenteth herself with his love, and satisfieth herself with his sufficiency: it is enough to her that she is flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone, even the body and fullness of him that filleth all in all. Wherhfore if jesus Christ be our whole, entire, only, and sufficient Saviour; if there be no other name & power where by we may be saved, as the greatness of that ransom which he only gave for our redemption doth sufficiently declare; if the death of God's dearest saints come short of that price, the which being endured for the confession of the faith of CHRIST is the very crown of all their works; if they were not worthy of the least of the lords mercies, but were made partakers of them all most frankly and freely in CHRIST JESUS; if through him they were not only at the first reconciled unto GOD and received into favour, but also preserved in the same, and brought to their full and final glorification; lastly if their works were rewarded with eternal glory, not for the merit and worthiness of the same (in that the best of them examined in justice deserved a curse rather than a blessing) but for the mere mercy of him who so well accepteth of them and of their doings in his well-beloved son: then we may conclude that not the best works of the lords dearest saints, but the obedience and death of his dearly beloved son is the only meritorious cause of eternal salvation. And therefore that the church of Rome by joining the saints to CHRIST in the work of our salvation, and by making them by their own merits their own Saviour's in part and others also, and so by robbing of him, unto whom all is due, of the whole and entire glory thereof, is justly by all the faithful members of CHRIST dispossessed of the name of the true church, and rightly charged to be the very throne of that enemy of Christ the great Antichrist.   

Diu. 8.  
That Christ's soul descended not into Limbus Patrum to deliver the Fathers.  
THere was one place for all the faithful after their death, which departed before the coming of Christ in the flesh: 
He descended into hell. 2. Reg. 2. 11. Luc. 16. 22.  But Elias at his departure was carried up into heaven, and not down into Limbus: and Lazarus was carried into Abraham's bosom, which can be no part nor region of hell, as it may appear by these circumstances. First these two places where Lazarus & the rich man were, are said to be far off one from the other, & to have an huge distance set between them, which is not so likely to be between two places which both (as they say) are situated under the earth. Secondly it is said that there is no passage from the one place to the other, whereas the devils themselves pass higher, even to those that live here upon earth. Thirdly it is called a place of comfort where Lazarus was refreshed and comforted: whereas in all likelihood there is very cold comfort in any coast or region of hell. Moreover CHRIST was in the ●ore knowledge of GOD alambe slain from the beginning of the world, & 
Apoc. 13. 18  his death was then as effectual to the Fathers to open to them the kingdom of heaven, as it is now to us; seeing he is yesterday and today, and the self same for ever, and therefore 
Heb. 13. 8.  the self same Saviour and opener of heaven to them, as to us, they receiving the same end of their faith, as we 
1. Pet. 19  do, even the salvation of their souls. For the Fathers were the children of God by faith in Christ, as well as the faithful since the ascension of Christ, and therefore heaven, as their inheritance, was due unto them at their departure out of this life, and therefore they were not debarred from the same. And what shall we say, that they walked in the broad way that leadeth to hell, or in the narrow way that leadeth to heaven? And therefore at the end of their life being the end of their walk, were they not placed in rest, in that their long longed for and desired country, which was prepared for them of God? And was not this present life to them, 
Heb. 11. 16.  as it is to us, a time of sowing, and a place of warfare and fight: and the next life a time of reaping and harvest, and a place of crowning and triumphing? Now there is no reaping nor triumphing out of heaven: and therefore the fathers, after their seed time and wa●fare ended here in this life, were doubtless brought to heaven being the place appointed for their joyful harvest and glorious triumph. And certainly as all those whom Christ hath now reconciled are either in heaven or in earth, as the Apostle testifieth; even so they were also in the first ages of the church 
Col. 1. 20.  under the fathers: and therefore as there are none now in purgatory fire, so there were none then in Limbus Patrum. So Saint 
Aust. hypog. lib. 5.  Austin: the first place the catholic faith by the warrant of divine scripture believeth to be the kingdom of heaven, the second hell, where every apostata and infidel is tormented: And as for any third place we are utterly ignorant thereof, neither do we find any such in holy scripture.   

Diu. 9  
That our Saviour's resurrection is as strong an argument against his bodily presence in many places, as in all.  
BEllarmine useth this argument of Christ's rising and leaving 
He arose again from ●he dead.  the sepulchre against the Ubiquitaries who affirm Christ's body to be present in all places; whereas it may as well be urged against him and his fellows, who teach that his body is in ten thousand places at one time, even wheresoever there is any 〈…〉: seeing that nature which may be in so many places at once, may as well be truly in all places. And if it cannot stand with the verity of CHRIST'S body being a creature finite and limited to be every where, neither can it stand with the truth thereof to be in many places at one time.   

Diu. 10.  
That Christ needeth not to descend bodily to us, seeing we must ascend by faith unto him, that so we may be partakers of him and of his passion.  
AS our Saviour Christ used this argument of his ascension to 
He ascended into heaven. joh. 6. 62.  teach his disciples which murmured at his doctrine, that it was not a gross, carnal, and bodily eating of his flesh that he urged as necessary to eternal life, but a spiritual partaking thereof by faith: that at his ascension they should see, that he would take away his flesh from them, & place it in heaven at the right hand of God, and not leave it here to be grossly devoured with their mouths, and swallowed down into their stomachs even so may we now use the self same argument against the church of Rome, which teacheth the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist: Christ hath by his ascension taken up his flesh into heaven, & hath placed it at the right hand of God, and therefore it is not to be sought for here on earth, as if it might be either carnally touched with our hands, or really received into our stomachs. For so doth Austin and Athanasius use this argument of Christ's ascension. When ye shall see the son of man (saith Austin) ascending thither, where he was 
Aug. in joh. tract. 27.  also before, then surely ye shall see, that he giveth not forth his body after that manner as ye take it, yea then shall ye perceive, that the grace of Christ is not consumed with morsels. So Athanasius: Therefore doth 
Athan. in illud Evangelii, Quicunque dixeri● verbum in filium hominis.  our Saviour Christ mention his ascension into heaven, to draw from them their carnal cogitations: and that they might learn, that the flesh whereof he spoke was a celestial food from heaven, a spiritual nourishment which he himself giveth. The which argument these learned fathers would never have used, if they had known or believed the doctrine of the church of Rome, which teacheth that our Saviour having by his ascension taken away his bodily presence from us, yet continually causeth his body to be made of bread in the sacrament of his supper, that so it may be carnally, albeit invisibly received. But this invisible presence they did not see nor believe, and therefore they condemned all carnal eating with the mouth, and allowed of the spiritual receiving thereof only by faith. By faith (saith S. Ambrose) Christ 
Amb. in Luc li. 6. ca 8. de filia princ. Synag, resuscitata. & li. 10. cap. 24. de hora dominicae resurrectionis.  is touched, by faith he is seen: he is not touched with our body, nor seen with our eyes. And again: We touch not Christ by corporal handling, but by faith: therefore neither on the earth, nor in the earth, nor after the flesh ought we to seek Christ, if we will find him. I am the bread of life (saith our Saviour Christ) 
Ioh 6. 35.  that came down from heaven. He that cometh to me, shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me (not he that seeketh to eat my flesh and drink my blood with his mouth) shall never thirst. So then to come to Christ by faith, and to believe in him. is so effectual a manner of eating of his flesh, that thereby it becometh to the faithful receiver an incorruptible food, the virtue whereof is never consumed. How (saith Austin) shall I possess 
Aug. in joh. tract. 50. & 25.  Christ being now absent? how shall I send up my hand to heaven to take hold of him sitting there? Send up thy faith, and thou haste possessed him. And again: Why preparest thou thy teeth, and thy belly? Believe and thou hast eaten. He must fly on high (saith Chrysostome) that will come 
Chrysost in 1. Cor. hom. 24.  to this body, yea to heaven itself, or rather above the heavens: for where the body is, there the Eagles be. And this was the judgement of the whole church in purer ages, when at the receiving of these holy mysteries, the people were warned to lift up their hearts, and they 
Sursum corda.  were to answer, we lift them up unto the Lord. Whereby they were admonished even at the receiving of this holy sacrament not to seek Christ's body here below on earth, upon the lords table under the shows of bread and wine, but to lift up their hearts to heaven to the Lord of life, that so they might possess him which is life itself.   

Diu. 11.  
That Christ being placed at the right hand of God is made Lord of heaven and earth and protector of his church, and not any saint or saints departed.  
Christes' sitting at the right hand of God is the dignity and 
He sitteth at the right hand of God. Ma●. 28. 18. Phil. 2. 11. Act. 2. 36. Apo. 19 16.  authority whereunto he is advanced, to be as it were Lord governor of heaven and earth: as himself testifieth, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. In respect whereof every knee must bow to him, and every tongue confess, that jesus is the Lord, yea the Lord of Lords, and king of kings. Whereby it is evident that he is patron and protector of his church, to rule it by his spirit, to direct it by his word, to instruct it by his ministers, to enrich it by his graces, and in the end to give it a full and final conquest over all her enemies. For it is he that ascending up on high led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men, and declared himself Lord of heaven itself, by pouring down the heavenly treasures of his holy spirit in the shape of fiery tongues upon his Apostles, whereby they were not only endued with all celestial 
Act. 2. 1.  wisdom, and with the knowledge of all tongues, but also furnished with all other gifts meet for the discharge of so weighty an office. Neither hath this great state of states dispossessed himself of the seat of his kingdom, and given over the regency of heaven and earth: he hath not resigned his office to any of his servants, nor surrendered his right to any of the saints, nor so much as granted to any of them the advousen or gift of any of his blessings: but he holdeth the sceptre still in his own hand, reserving all his graces in his own gift, and keeping them all at his own disposition. For it is he that still hath the keys of David, that openeth, & 
Apoc. 1. 13.  no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth: He walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, and holdeth the seven stars in his own right hand, ordering all things as it liketh him best, and as it seemeth good to his heavenly wise doom. Against the which royal and sovereign authority of this our one & only Lord, the church of Rome offendeth, in that she joineth the blessed Virgin with the rest of the Saints partners with him in these regalities, by making them protectors of his church, disposers of his graces, and defenders of the faithful against their mighty enemies. For unto the blessed virgin thus they pray: Thou art the sure hope of the miserable, the 
In prosa missae de conceptione.  mother of the orphans, the relief of the oppressed, the helper of the diseased, yea all in all unto all. Neither do they most injuriously make her CHRIST'S mate and fellow only, as, her their Lady, as well as him their LORD, and her Queen of heaven, as well as him King: but also in other of their prayers they place her most blasphemously a commander above him in this his regal and princely authority: O happy 
In prosa quae incipit, Mariae praeconie. Roga patrem. jube natum.  childe-wife purging our sins, by thy motherly authority command the Redeemer. And again, beseech the Father: command the son.   

Diu. 12.  
That Christ's second coming in the flesh is not secret n●… privy, but shall be open and manifest to all mankind.  
THere are two comings of CHRIST in the flesh mentioned in holy scripture: the first whereof was in humility, 
From thence he shall come to judge both the quick & the dead Zach 9 9 Heb 9 28.  that by his offerings and death he might work out our redemption, foretold by the prophet: Behold the king cometh unto the meek etc. The second shall be in glory to judge all flesh. This second coming of CHRIST in the flesh is put out of his place by the doctrine of the church of Rome, in that she teacheth that in his bodily presence he cometh to them continually in the daily sacrifice of their Mass, and that to be eaten and devoured of the very wicked and ungodly, that I may say no more. And this coming of CHRIST they will have to be close, secret and invisible, that the prophesy of our saviour might be fulfilled in them: There shall be 
Math. 23 24.  (saith he) false Christ's and false prophets which shall show signs and wonders, so that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect: behold I have told you before; wherefore if they say unto you behold he is in the desert go not forth: behold he is in the secret places, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the East, and s●…neth into the West, so shall the coming of the son of man be. In which words of our Saviour we may observe these two things: First that the heretics of these last times shall avouch a close and secret coming of Christ, saying, Lee he is here: Lo he is there. Lo he is really present under the shows of bread and wine, secretly and covertly here in this corner, where this Mass is said, and there in that: whereas Christ cometh not secretly and covertly now in his flesh, but his second coming shall be, as the lightning which shineth from one end of heaven to the other. Secondly they shall come with strange signs and lying wonders to confirm thereby as it is likely, their strange and false doctrine. Now what heretics of those last times have maintained a secret and an impossible coming of Christ in the flesh, and have sought also to confirm the same 
See Acts and Monuments. Vol. 2. Fol. 1●48.  with such strange signs and lying wonders, but only the dear children of the church of Rome? Wherhfore howsoever these men condemn for Heretics all such as do any way withstand their corrupt doctrine, yet we may justly charge them to be the heretics of these last times, and that by the judgement 
Aug. de unitate ecclesia c. 11.  of that learned Father Austin. After Christ had spoken these words (saith he) he presently ascended into heaven, thereby forearming us against the heretics, which in succeeding ages should arise & say, Lo he is there, whom he hath thus warned us not to believe. Neither is there any excuse remaining for us, if we believe them against the forewarning of Christ so clear, plain, and manifest, that there is none so slow and dull of heart, that can justly say, I understood it not.    

CHAP. 5.  
That our free will worketh not together with God's spirit in our c●…version, unless it be to hinder and cross the same.  
WE are all of us originally shapen in wickedness 
I believe in t●e holy Ghost. Psa. 51. 5. Eph 2. 3. joh. 3 5.  and conceived in sin by nature the children of wrath & inheritors of eternal destruction: in so much that unless we be borne again of water and of the spirit, we cannot see the kingdom of God. And this our first estate and condition, wherein we are all naturally borne, being termed 
Gen. 6 5. Ron. 7. 18.  the flesh and the old man, is so wholly evil, & void of all good, that it is not so much in some part to be amended, as to be clean cast of, mortified, and killed: and our second estate, being called a second birth and a new creature, signifieth not 
Col. 3. 5. Eph 4 22.  some altering of the corrupt qualities of the soul, but after a sort a full changing & renewing of the same. In which work of our deliverance we are so far of by our free will to have any inclination or readiness thereto, that we hate the light whereby we should be 
Ioh 3. 20. & 6. 44.  directed, and will not come to our deliverer, except we be drawn; the flesh, that is, our corrupt nature no way furthering but hindering this work. For it lusteth against the spirit; and the law of the 
Gal 5. 17. Rom. 7 23.  members, even after it is in part subdued in the regenerate, still shiveth against the law of the mind: the very wisdom of the flesh being enmity with God, and condemning his heavenly doctrine 
Rom. 8 7. 1. Cor 1. 23 Liberta●sine gratia non est libertas, seac●tum●cia. Aug. ●p. 89. job 21 14. P●al. 8 4. Aug. ad ●…nifac. li. 1. ca 19  of extreme folly. Moreover we are also by nature so wilfully wedded to our corrupt will (for liberty without grace is not liberty but cō●…macie) that we will none of the knowledge of the Lords ways: but as the deaf adder we stop our ears at the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. And so great is the obstinacy of the wicked, that they will do wickedly & will not understand, until the spirit of God of unwilling maketh willing, of obstinate obedient, & of rebellious pliable and tractable. The Philosophers make reason a queen, & teach that if we would follow her, we should not err: and in truth the Lord made her a queen at the first, but by yielding unto the suggestion of the subtle serpent, & by casting of the Lords commandment, of a queen she became a captive, & of a free woman she was made a slave. The means to be recovered out of the which misery, is not to have an high conceit of our reason and wisdom, and to place them in the throne to rule & to govern, but to place that word which is inspired of God in the seat of government, and to give up all rule and authority thereto: and to make our reason and understanding with all the faculties and powers of our minds, handmaids and servants to this honourable Lady, who so will make us again kings & priests unto God, and place us as Lords over all our corrupt affections, & tread Satan himself under our feet. For he that made man at the first, is only able to new make him again, being now marred by his own madness. I know (saith the wise man) that God made man 
Eccl. 7. 31.  righteous, but they have sought many inventions: yea God made man according to his own image in all holiness, wisdom, and righteousness, and lighted such a lamp of divine reason and understanding in his mind, that he was not only enabled thereby to rule himself and his own affections, but also to order in great wisdom the whole host & army of all the creatures. But he being not contented with this so great measure of light, would further become as God knowing good and evil: and therefore thinking that his light did burn too dim, he would needs deliver it to the Devil himself to be topped, who topped it clean out, leaving nothing but the smoking snuff thereof, and so made him, who was before a child of light, a limb & member of the kingdom of darkness. And now the case of all the children of Adam is such, & so full of blindness and ignorance of God, that if any of 
Sap 13. 1. 1. Cor. 8. 2.  them thinketh that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know: and if any of them seem to be wise, they must become fools that they may be wise: that is, they must acknowledge & bewail their 
1 Cor 3. 18  own folly and blindness, and seek again to the father of light, that he would by his spirit of illumination lighten the eyes of their spiritual understanding; they must have continual access to that glorious word, which is a lantern to their feet, and a light to their 
Ps. 119. 105 Isa. 6. 20.  paths, and kindle their candle again thereat: to the la and to the testimony they must continually resort, if they speak not according to this word, it is for that there is no light in them. Their heart is altogether out of frame until it be fashioned again, and as it were new wrought by the spirit of God: their silver is nothing but gros●e droste, until it be purged by this fire: their coin is no better than clean counterfeit, until it receive this stamp: they are grown out of the Lords mark, he cannot acknowledge them for his own, until they be marked again by the spirit of the living God, who is therefore called his seal, wherewith his saints are 
Eph 4. ●0. Apoc. 7. 3  signed against the day of redemption, for that it doth imprint in them the image of God. And certainly in this article of our creed the spirit of God, the third person in the glorious Trinity, is called holy, not so much for that holiness doth infinitely rest in himself, as it doth also in the Father & the son, but rather for that he is the a●…or of all holiness in the children of God, & the means whereby they are borne again, the Father & the son working the same by the holy spirit. For the whole sanctification of our mind, will, and affections and of our whole body & soul, is wrought entirely 
1. Cor. 12. 11.  (& altogether by the operation of this holy spirit: who before regeneration worketh in us alone, and of unwilling maketh willing, subduing our affections to the obedience of his will, who before stood out as traitors and rebels: and after regeneration worketh 
Gr●tia opera●…, coopera●…. 2 Cor. 3 17 Ioh 8. 34. R●m 6. 16. 〈…〉 & 5.  together with us, giving strength to our will, that it may thereby work also. So that if the question be of free-will in the regenerate, we grant that their will is free, for that it is made free by the spirit of liberty but in the unregenerate we truly teach, that their will is a bondslave to sin & Satan, withstanding the work of God's spirit, until their conversion be wrought thereby. For it is this Lord that doth prevent us, of unwilling making us willing; and then assisteth us when we are willing, lest we will in vain. Now contrary to this most evident truth, the church of Rome curseth all those, who affirm free-will to be altogether lost, or that it doth not concur with God● grace in our conversion.   

CHAP. 6. Diu. 1.  

That the true church the spouse of Christ hath a steadfast assurance of the ●…ue of her bridegroom towards her, making it the foundation of her most comfortable faith: being also thereby induced to hearken to his undoubted and known will, and to esteem highly of of his holy word, and in no case to disgrace or disannul the same.  
THE description of the true catholic and 
I bele●ue t●… holy catholic church.  apostolic faith set down in these articles of our christian creed doth evidently declare, that they are only to be accounted faithful that hold this faith: and the company of the faithful being the true church, that they are also to be esteemed the true Church. Now this true catholic and apostolic faith (as hath been before declared) is, that we believe in God the Father the Creator, the Son the Redeemer, & the holy Ghost the Sactifier: & that we believe also that by this faith we being engr●…ed in to Christ & so reconciled unto God, 〈◊〉 incorporated into the heavenly jerusalem, & made members of the holy catholic church, & a communion of sain●s, and so obtain remission of sins, & shall attain to the resurrection of the body, and ●o li●e everlasting, as the very order & coherence of these articles doth also insinuate. The Devils themselves & many also of the reprobate believe the mystery of the Trinity, & the truth of the doctrine concerning the works of the creation, redemption, and s●…ctification, but they look for ●o benefit to redound to themselves by the fame, therefore they believe and tremble being excluded from all hope. But this true catholic faith teacheth the faithful so to believe the doctrine concerning God and his works, that they believe also in particular that the benefit thereof belongeth to themselves being already received into the household of faith, and made members of the holy catholic church. For otherwise then by this faithful persuasion how could they be induced to believe in God, and to place their assured hope and confidence in him? For to believe that God is a father, redeemer, and sanctifier to other, and to doubt whether he be such a one to me also, were but a cold comfort, and a very faint and feeble motive to induce me to believe in God, to devote myself to his service, and to associate myself to his church. Wherhfore it is not to be doubted but that the lively members of the holy catholic church having an holy assurance of the grace and favour of God towards themselves, and being resolved that he is now become their loving father in Christ, and hath cast all their sins into the bottom of the sea, do thereby believe and rejoice in God's mercies, and so grow daily by little and little into a steadfast & a● assured persuasion of their full and final glorification.  
But the church of Rome teacheth her children not to seek for any assurance in particular of the favour of God, and of the remission of their sins by the death of Christ, but still to doubt and to be in suspense thereof, & so by keeping them from the true faith, excludeth them out of the number of the faithful, and so by consequent out of the true church. Whereas the true church the spouse of Christ, having a steadfast assurance of the love of her bridegroom, is thereby induced not only to trust confidently in him, and to love him again, but also to testify the same by hearkening most reverently unto his undoubted will, and resting herself only upon his most sure word, and yielding all 
● Pet. 1. 19  obedience to the same. And hereof it is that this true church is sometime called God's field, wherein the most pure seed of his 
Math. 13. 3.  holy word is sown, and not the darnel and cockle of men's inventions: sometime his sold wherein are his sheep which hearken only 
Ioh 10 5.  to the voice of their shepherd, & not to the voice of a stranger: sometimes God's family and household, wherein he ruleth alone, all authority 
Eph 2. 19  of commanding being yielded to him: sometime the mother of the faithful having her children begotten by the immortal seed of the word of God, and nurced also by the sincere milk thereof drawn out of her two breasts, which are the old and the new testament. Lastly 
Aug in ep. joh. tract. 3. Apoc. 8. 20.  she is called a golden candlestick, for that she resteth not on her own light, but holdeth out the candle of the word of God to all such as are of his family & household, to direct them thereby in the ways of the Lord, and to detect unto them all stumbling blocks & by paths, which might cause them either to stumble or fall, or else to wander out of the right way. And the very name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is, a convocation or congregation, doth signify a company wakened by the shrill call of the voice of a crier out of the drowsy sleep of ignorance and sin, & employed in the works and the ways of piety and godliness. By all which appellations is signified that the true church hath her children begotten only of the immortal seed of the word of God, and nourished with the sincere milk of the same; directed by the light thereof, and always ruled by that authority, wakened thereby when they fall a sleep, and reclaimed when they begin to wander, & made fruitful also to all good works.  
Now the church of Rome hath her children begotten also of the corruptible seed of men's traditions, and ruled by her own decrees and decretals: for she will not have them hearken only to the voice of the true shepherd uttered in the sacred scriptures, nor to be obedient to the commandment of the master of the family only therein contained, nor to be guided by the candle only of that undoubted will of God: she deemeth that food to be to hard meat for them, and therefore she setteth before them the festivities of her golden legend, so causing the prophecy of the Apostle to be fulfilled, who said that the time should come, that men should turn away their ears from the truth and 
2. Tim 44.  should be turned unto fables. Moreover she addeth to the Canonical scriptures the books Apocrypha, and her unwritten verities to the written word: and whereas the holy scripture is profitable after so sufficient a manner to teach that the faithful christian the man of 
2. Tim. 3. 17  God may thereby be made absolute and perfect, she denieth this sufficiency and perfection thereof: and whereas the spirit of tru●h calleth this word a light, she calleth it dark: and whereas he avoucheth it to be easy to him that will understand, she chargeth it to be an obscure and hidden doctrine even to the Lords own chosen and peculiar people: yea whereas our blessed Saviour the very wisdom of God speaking to the multitude commandeth them to search the scriptures, yet she very flatly forbiddeth the same. 
joh. 5 39  Where by it is evident that seeing she thus disgraceth the holy scriptures inspired of God that undoubted word of the bridegroom, and his last will and testament sealed with his own blood (calling light darkness, and darkness light) & hearkeneth not wholly 
●sa. 5. 20.  to his decrees therein contained, neither suffereth him to strike the stroke & only to rule therewith in his own family, repealing & disannulling his direct commandments; that therefore she is not to be esteemed, the chaste & faithful spouse of Christ, but a cursed harlot & a faithless adulteress. The which thing that it may more evidently appear, I will here set down sixteen distinct & direct oppositions between the true church and the false, between the faithful servants of Christ, and the Synagogue of Satan the limbs of Antichrist.  

Opposite. 1.  
The faithful especially under the reign of Antichrist fly only to the scriptures as to the only sufficient judge for the deciding of all controversies, and that according unto the precise commandment of Christ and the ensample of his faithful servants: whereas seducing and seduced heretics take away this key of knowledge, and shut the gates against the truth, not only defaming the faithful for the study of holy scripture, but also disgracing those most holy books themselves for that their errors are in them reproved, and adding also unto them their unwritten verities, and their wilworshippes of their own devising.  
IN doubts & controversies of Christian religion the spirit of God sendeth us neither to the Bishop of Rome, neither to any other Bishop or Bishops, nor yet to Counsels, nor to any inter pretou●s to rest our faith upon their resolutions, but rather willeth us to try the spirits whether they be of God or no, and no further 
1. joh. 4. 1. Aug count ●rescon. l 2. cap 31.  to believe them, than they bring warrant for their doctrine out of the holy Canonical scripture. For not without cause (as Austin saith) was the ecclesiasticali Canon ordained with most wholesome vigilancy, unto the which certain books of the prophets and Apostles do appertain, whom in no case we dare to judge, and by whom we may freely judge of the other writings of believers and infidels. For should not a people inquire of their GOD? To the law 
Isa. 8 19 o● Opta. l. 5. ad Par●….  (saith Esay) and to the testimony? In earth (saith Optatus) there can be no judgement of this matter, we must seek● for a judge from heaven: but why knock we at heaven, when we have his will here in the Gospel. Then the Pope by the judgement of Optatus is no competent judge, nor any other Bishop or Bishops here on earth; for that either they be ignorant in the cause, or else partial or given to sides; but only GOD himself in his Canonical scriptures. And verily for such as will not admit of GOD to be their judge, where shall we find a competent judge? Surely our Saviour Christ, when controversy was between him and the Pharisees concerning the truth of his doctrine, appealeth not to any interpreter, but to the judgement and sentence of God in the scriptures: Search 
joh. 5. 39  the scriptures (saith he) for in them ye think to have life, and they are they which testify of me. Let the divine scripture (saith Basile) be asked 
Bas. in ep. ●a Eust.  concerning these things, and let the decision of truth proceed altogether from it. I beseech you (saith Chrysostome) let us set aside what seemeth 
Chrys. hom. 13. in 1. Ep. ad Cor.  to him, or to him, and let us seek for all these things out of the scriptures. The writings (saith Constantine) of the Evangelistes and Apostles, and the oracles of the ancient prophets do instruct us plainly what 
Trip. hist. l. 2. Cap. 5.  we ought to understand and believe of God's pleasure. And therefore all contention set apart, let us seek the solution of these things that be propounded out of the scripiures of God. When ye shall see (saith the author 
Op. imper● in Math. hom. 49.  of the imperfect work upon Matthew) wicked heresy, which is the army of Antichrist, standing in the holy places of the church, than they that are in jury let them fly to the mountains, that is, they which are in christianity let them betake themselves to the scriptures. And a little after. Why doth he command all christians to betake themselves then to the scriptures? Because since the time that heresies have possessed the churches there can be no proof of sound christianity, nor any other refuge of Christians that would know the true faith, but the divine scriptures. And again, The LORD knowing that in the last days there would be such a confusion of things did therefore command that the christians then living being desirous to hold the sincerity of the true faith should retire to nothing but to the scriptures. For otherwise (saith he) if they rest on any thing else, they shall stumble and perish, and not come to know the true church, but shall fall into the abomination of desolation which standeth in the holy places of the church.  
And so verily hath this prophesy been fulfilled in all the members of the church of Rome, who are now fallen into the abomination of desolation standing in the holy places of the church, embracing Antichrist in steed of Christ, for that they refused to to be directed only by the divine scriptures which are only able to stay us upright, and to preserve us from all errors & heresies 
2. Tim. 3. 15.  and from all the power of the kingdom of darkness. As on the other side the sincere embracers of the Gospel of Christ have hereby been preserved from the snares of Antichrist, in that according to the prophesy of S. Jerome they have fled to the mountains of the scriptures, & have made them their place of refuge. 
Hi●…onymus in Nahum Cap. 3.  Before (saith he) the coming of the Messias etc. the people shallbe ra●sed up and shall prophesy, who before under their masters were lulled asleep: and they shall go to the mountains of the scriptures, and shall find there Moses and josuah the son of Nun, the mountains the prophets, the mountains the Apostles and Evangelistes; and when any slieth to these mountains, and is occupied in the reading of the same, albeit he find none to teach him, yet his care shall be approved, ●hr that he did fly unto the mountains. Contrarily (as Chrysostome 
Op. imp. in Matt. hom. 44. Luc. 11. 52.  saith) heretical Priests shut up the gates of truth (taking away with the Pharisees the key of knowledge) for they are assured if truth be once known, their church will soon be forsaken, and themselves thrown down from their priestly dignity 
In evangelio regni. ca 23. & 33. Scriptura rij.  to be esteemed no better of then other men. Henry Nicholas master of the family of Love glorieth in the name of Unlearned, & in a scoff termeth the learned in the scriptures scripture-wise or scripture-men warning his scholars to be ware of such: whereas he and his like should soon have been descried in former ages, 
Lucifugae scripturarum. Tert. de resur.  and noted in their faces with a black coal, if it had once appeared, that they shunned the light of the sacred scripture. For it is not the conference of the scriptures that is the pathwaie to heresy, but the ignorance of those holy writings. Ye ere (●aith our Saviour the teacher of truth to the seduced Sadduces) not knowing the scriptures: out of whom there most sufficiently 
Mat. 22. 29. Chry. hom 3 de Lazaro.  he confuteth their heresy. So Chrysostome: the ignorance of the scripture hath bred heresies, and hath brought in a corrupt life, and hath turned all upside down. And therefore they are impudent and shameless heretics who when they are reproved out of the scriptures, set themselves (as Irenaeus saith) to 
Iren. l. 3. cap. 2.  reprove the scriptures, as if they were not right, and that they are uttered ambiguously, and that the truth cannot be learned out of them by such as know not tradition. For if GOD be faithful 
Bas. in asce●. serm. de fi●e.  in all his works (as Basill saith) than it is a manifest falling away from the faith, and a note of pride, either to reject any of those things which are written in the lords books, or to bring in any things which are not written, but are either received by tradition from other, or else are sucked out of our own brains: yea that is the vilest (as Austin saith) and the basest kind of 
Aug. de ve● rarel. ca 38.  Idolatry when men worship GOD after their own fancies, observing that for a religion, which their deceiving and swelling minds imagine. Nay, it is no less an offence to frame God after our own 
Hil. in. Ps. 1.  fancy, then to deny him. And therefore it is not without cause that Saint Austin is so bold to say, that if any one concerning any 
Aug. cont lit. Petil. l. 3●. 6.  thing whatsoever which doth belong to our faith, and our life, albeit he be an Angel from heaven, shall ●each you any thing besides that which ye have learned out of the scriptures of the law and Gospel, let him be accursed. Wherhfore the church of Rome in that she restraineth the people from the reading of the scriptures, disgracing those holy and heavenly books, and reproaching such as are studious of the same, denying also the sufficiency of the doctrine therein contained, and adding thereto her unwritten verities, and her wil-worshippes of her own devising, is most justly charged to have fallen from the faith, and to have sorted herself both with old ●nd new heretics, to have spotted herself with the vilest and b●…st kind of idolatry, and with the denial of the true GOD, and therefore to be held for a cursed company, and for the Congregation of the malignant.   

Opposite. 2.  
Dumb and dead images are blind and wrong guides, which turn us out of the way of truth and verity: but the writings of the Apostles and prophets are sure guides, and un erring teachers, appointed by God to be our instructors, and to set before our eyes, and after a sort to paint out unto us in most lively colours all those things which concern the true worship of God, and the salvation of our own souls.  
IMages are teachers of lies, especially such as are made to represent 
Hab 2. 18. jer. 10 8. Aug. de ●iv. Dei l 4. c. 31 Idem de consens. Ev●ng. lib. 1. ca 10. Lactantio instit. lib. 2. ca 19  the sacred Trinity which cannot be represented, for that it is invisible and incomprensible. And therefore all such images do both diminish the fear of the divine majesty, and also teach errors concerning the same. Wherhfore they have deserved to err who have sought CHRIST not in the sacred hooks, but on painted walls: and may worthily be judged to have no religion at all, or at the lest no sound and sincere religion. For all sound and sincere religion is to be learned, not of dumb and mute images, but out of the canonical and sacred scriptures, which 
Rom. 15. 4.  were not only written by the appointment of god that they might be our instructors and teachers, but also were so penned by the direction of his Spirit, that they are very profitable and available thereunto: yea they are so profitable to this purpose that they are able to fence us against all corruptions both in doctrine and 
2. Tim 3 15 & 16.  manners, and to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ. For in them are most lively drawn out the true images of a sound faith, and of an holy and a godly life, unto the which if we will compare the counterfeits of the same drawn out by men, we shall easily be able to give a true judgement thereof. O foolish Galathians (saith the Apostle) who hath bewitched 
Gal. 3. 1.  you, that ye should not obey the truth, to whom jesus Christ was before your eyes painted, and even crucified among you? And in deed Christ is best painted out before the eyes of the people by the doctrine of his painful pastors and teachers, and not by the pencil of the artificial painters. Such a faithful teacher was john Hus, of whom it is recorded that having painfully taught in his church called Bethlehem the gospel of Christ, dreamt a little before his death, that he had drawn out there diverse goodly images, the which being defaced by the limbs of Antichrist, he further dreamt that he saw the same more lively drawn out again by better painters, whereby was foresignified the preaching of the learned and godly preachers of these last times. And verily where the dignity and power of Christ's death is sufficiently set out by painful preaching, there is no need of painting it in pictures and images made and framed by artificial painters. It was the Devil's work to cause that kind of teaching to cease, which was made the means ordained by God both to convert the infidels, and also to confirm the faithful in the truth of the gospel, & to bring them out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light; that he might bring in his kingdom of darkness by the corrupt teaching of blind and dumb Images. Wherhfore seeing that the church of Rome alloweth still of these her lay men's books which the prophets call teachers of lies, and will not have all truth to be learned only out of the book of books the book of truth, no marvel that she hath so shamefully embraced lies, and so foully fallen away from the truth.   

Opposite. 3.  
The doctrine taught and penned by the prophets and Apostles hath no need of any new miracles, seeing it is sufficiently confirmed already by old: but the Turks Alcharon and the Pope's Decretals have need to be confirmed with new miracles, for they contain new doctrine.  
Our faith is never so honourable, nor GOD so well pleased with us, as when we seek no signs for the confirmation thereof: when the word of God hath such a persuasion in our hearts, & we have so deeply tasted of the sweetness thereof, that we are ready to say to all miracles, Get you hence. Blessed were they when miracles were in use, that by miracles were brought to embrace the true faith: but more blessed are they that embrace faith for itself, and not for that it is testified by miracles. Blessed no doubt was Thomas, for that he saw, and believed: 
●…h. 20. 29. ● Cor. 1. 22 ● Cor. 14. ●….  but blessed are they (rather) which see not, and yet believe. The unbelieving jews sought for a sign, and had also in admiration strange tongues, which were appointed for unbelievers to convert them to the faith: they that are already converted have no need of the same. When they were offered of God he showed his compassion on man's infirmity: now he hath taken them away, he showeth greater mercy in that he strongtheneth our faith without them. And verily if the word itself being now acknowledged to be the word of God, be not able to win credit to the doctrine therein contained, neither will we believe though one rose from the dead. Signs 
●uk. 16 31. ●ar. 16. 20. ●eb. 2. 4.  wrought by divine power were divine witnesses to give testimony to the doctrine that it was divine: now the doctrine is received as a divine doctrine, what need is there of witnesses still to testify the same? He is a monster (saith Austin) that as 
Aug. de civ. Dei l. 22. c. 8  yet seeketh for a miracle. The doctrine in truth of Antichrist and of all false prophets hath need of new miracles, because their doctrine is strange and new: and the Devil (as the spirit of 
Mat 24 24. ●. Thess 2. 9 ●hrys. in Mat. hom. ●9.  Christ hath foretold) shall be ready to furnish them with great variety thereof, that so he may prevail the more by them and lead the greater number thereby into error. Wherhfore in that the church of Rome boasteth greatly of her miracles, and taketh exception against our doctrine for want thereof, thereby she betrayeth her infidelity, and bewrayeth herself not to be the church of Christ, but the very seat of the great Antichrist.   

Opposite. 4.  
The faithful servants of Christ by the preaching of the word of God having their secret sins displayed and their consciences touched to the quick, and feeling in their hearts the divine power and majesty, purity and perfection thereof lightning their minds, sanctifying their affections, and converting their souls do fall down (as the Apostle saith) and worship God, and say, that God is in you of a truth, acknowledging the preachers of that word to be God's ministers, and 
1. Cor 14. 25.  the word itself to be God's word, whereof they have so good proof and so sufficient warrant in their own hearts: whereas faithless hypocrites having felt within them no such divine power of God's heavenly word, do not believe it to be the word of God, for the words sake itself, but for the outward testimony and witness of the church.  
THE mighty and powerful word of Christ is the sceptre of 
Heb. 1. 8. & 4. 12. Isa. 11. 4. Apo 19 15.  his kingdom whereby he ruleth and reigneth in the hearts of his loyal and obedient subjects: & the most sharp sword whereby he subdueth and utterly destroyeth all his enemies. By it he beateth down, in the hearts of his chosen, infidelity, Idolatry, pride, and unthankfulness, and whatsoever lifteth up itself against God: and planteth faith, piety, humility, and an hearty desire of sincere obedience and thankfulness unto God. In this word being laid open the infinite and inestimable dignity of the sufferings and death of Christ, whereby full reconciliation is obtained with God, & satisfaction made for sin to the uttermost, and a perfect purchase made of the kingdom of heaven, how are the faithful encouraged with full assurance of faith to come unto God, and to place their whole trust and confidence in him? As by the dreadful denunciations of God's wrath against all iniquity and sin set down in this word, especially by that severe execution of the justice of God in the death of Christ, in whom the sins of all the elect were so severely punished, that in unspeakable mercy they might be most freely pardoned unto themselves, how are the faithful touched to the quick, pricked at the very hearts, humbled and after a sort cast down into hell, that they might be lifted up again by the lords mercy, & taste & see how gracious the Lord is? So like wise when the infinite wisdom, equity, justice, righteousness, integrity, purity, sanctity, uprightness which is in every one of the commandments of God is made known in some measure to every of the faithful, how doth it win all his affections to the love of this law, and cause him to lay it up fast in his heart as a most precious and invaluable treasure? O the● (saith he with the prophet David) the law of the Lord is an undefiled law, 
〈◊〉. 19  converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, and giveth wisdom unto the simple: the statutes of the Lord are right, & rejoice the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, & giveth light unto the eyes: the fear of the Lord is clean, & endureth for ever, the judgements of the Lord are true, & righteous altogether: And more to be desired then gold, yea then much fine gold, sweeter also than the honey and the honey comb. The Samaritans who at the first were induced to believe in Christ (upon the testimony of the woman which said unto them, come & see a man, which hath told me all whatsoever I did: is not he th● very Christ?) when they had heard themselves, the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth, & had felt in their hearts the power of his doctrine, them they said to the woman that first brought them to Christ: Now we do not believe for thy words, for we have heard him ourselves, & 
●…h. 4. ●…om 13. ●ug. Conses. ●ib 8. ●ap. 12.  do believe that he is the very Christ. So Austin when he was a contentious & carnal Manichee would not believe the gospel but for the testimony of the church: but when by the divine oracle being admonished to take the book of God into his hands, & to read therein, he had read: Let us walk honestly as in the daytime, not in gluttony and drunkenness, nor in chambering and wantonness, nor in strife and envying: but put ye on the Lord jesus, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts of it: this did seem so holy, heavenly, and divine a doctrine unto him, and such an admiration and alteration it wrought in his heart, that then no doubt he did not believe for the bare outward testimony of the church, but for the divine fruit, virtue, power, & purity of the divine word of God, that he himself had felt in his own heart. Wherhfore in that the children of the church of Rome do teach and avouch that they do not, nay cannot believe the divine scripture to be the word of GOD, but for the testimony of the church, it is manifest that they have not felt the divine power thereof in their hearts, nor have been translated thereby out of the slavery of Satan into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.   

Opposite. 5.  
The mighty and speedy prevailing of the Gospel of Christ, both at the first publication thereof by the Apostles of Christ, and also at the renovation of the same in these last days, and that without any earthly helps or furtherances, yea maugre the malice and spite of the Devil, who set all the power and policy of the world with might and main to suppress and to root out the same, declareth the great efficacy of this most mighty truth, which thus hath hitherto, and will still prevail.  
IT is a thing worthy to be observed, that the mystery of iniquity 
2. Thes. 2. 7  began even in the Apostles times, creeping in by little and little, being long in working before it came to the full. So that albeit the spouse of Christ remained a pure virgin whiles the Apostles 
Euseb. l. 3. Cap 32. Niceph. l. 3. Cap 16.  lived, yet assoon as they were dead, she began to be corrupted, and wicked errors began then not only to be sown, but also to take root in the lords field. The which errors albeit they were sometimes withstood, and for a time repressed by the learned and religious fathers that lived in those days, yet being countenanced out by the blind zeal and superstitious devotion of the multitude, and by the cunning plots and policies of their authors and abettors, at the length began to be received for catholic: as it may in particular more evidently appear by the historical observation of the rising, increasing and growing to the full of that one presumptuous heresy of their Papal supremacy, Whereas the strange and wonderful prevailing of the gospel of Christ as at the first publishing thereof by the Apostles themselves, even so at the renewing of the same in these last times (albeit it was withstood with all the learning of the great rabbis and Doctors through out all nations, and persecuted by the sword of such as were in authority, and defamed also with all manner of shameful and ignominious reports) doth manifestly declare that it is the most powerful doctrine of the almighty 
●…b 4. ●4 ● Esd. 4. 4●.  GOD, and that strong and puissant truth that must prevail: according as it was most lively set forth in the prophesy of Daniel by the little stone cut out without hands, which 
●…n. 2. 34.  broke that goodly and glorious image in pieces, and became itself a great mountain, so that it filled the whole earth, wherefore if quick and speedy prevailing be an argument of the miraculous power of God giving thereby testimony unto the truth, according unto Augustine's opinion, and Bellarmine's also, then is the doctrine 
〈◊〉. 22. de 〈◊〉 dei c. 5.  of such as embrace the gospel the very truth, and the doctrine of Popery a farthel of lies, for that the one prevailed with speed, and the other crept in by little and little.   

Opposite. 6.  
The powerful truth of the gospel breaketh of all familiar use with the Devil, and stoppeth the course of his Satanical illusions, which have great forth in his kingdom of darkness, he being very familiar with his familiars.  
IN the night, Lions, Bears, and other savage beasts with the venomous serpents do bestir themselves seeking their prey, but when the day appeareth they hide themselves in their dens and holes, and so man hath the safer passage to betake himself to his labour: even so in the night of ignorance and error the roaring Lion, red Dragon, and subtle Serpent beareth the sway, and the spirits of darkness mightily bestir themselves to establish and strengthen their kingdom of darkness; but when the light of the gospel beginneth to break forth, and the day-star of righteousness once ariseth, than the powers of the kingdom of darkness are shaken, and the captains thereof put to flight. For Satan is no way able to withstand Christ, Dagon cannot stand before the ark, nor superstition endure the strength and power of true religion. So that where the truth openeth her mouth and teacheth, there the Devil is driven out of the chair and put to silence. When CHRIST sent forth his seventy disciples to preach the gospel unto the jews he testifieth of the effect thereof saying: Lo I saw Satan like 
Luk 10. 18.  lightning fall down from heaven: So when the Apostles went forth to preach the gospel to every creature, the oracles of the Devil were strooken dumb, and his common apparitions restrained, and he was bound for a thousand years. Likewise 
Apoc 2. 1.  when Paul had preached two years at Ephesus, the word of 
Act. 19 19  GOD so mightily grew and prevailed, that many that used curious arts, brought their books and burned them before all men. After the same manner when the gospel began to be preached again in these last days, the apparition of spirits hath ceased, and the art of conjuring hath decayed, which was so common in former ages under the popish kingdom, that the books of that black science lay open in some libraries publicly to be read, and the mysteries thereof were almost known, and practised also of every priest that was but meanly learned. And what ordinary apparitions of spirits than were, what familiarity with Robin-good-fellowe, the Fairs, and the like, all old men's and women's tongues can yet testify sufficiently. Whereby it is evident that it was the truth of God, that was first taught by the Apostles amongst the Gentiles, and now renewed again in these last days: and that both Gentilism and Papism are the very props and pillars of the Devil's kingdom, and the professors thereof his great familiars and friends.   

Opposite. 7.  
The faithful have their fierce and furious affections cooled and softened by the Lords most meek spirit and mild word, and of tigers, bears, & wolves are turned into doves, lambs, and sheep: but the unfaithful delight in cruelty and blood.  
When the Samaritans refused to entertain Christ; james, & john said unto him, Lord, wilt thou that we command 
Luk. 9 54.  fire to come down from heaven to consume them, as did Elias? but jesus rebuked them saying, ye know not of what spirit ye are: for the son of man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And the wisdom that is from above (even from the spirit of wisdom) is first pure, 
●ac. 3. 17.  then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, etc. yea so full of mercy, that it moveth the righteous to show mercy to his very 
Pro. 12. 10.  beast, whereas the very bowels of the wicked are cruel. And therefore as Solomon discerned the true mother from the false, for that she chose rather to lose her dear child, then that her child should 
● King. 3. ●3.  lose his life: so may we discern the church the true mother of the faithful, from the false church their cruel & hard hearted stepmother. For in that the church of Rome, when she ruled the sword among us, spared neither age, sex, nor calling, but brought all to the fire that defied her impieties, yea many also that relented from the truth, & consented with her in her Idolatries, as it is to be seen in divers places of the Acts and Monuments of the church of England: & in that her associates yet for all this, yea for all their deep & dangerous conspiracies & treasons so often attempted against our Prince & country, enjoy both life & liberty also among us, all that have eyes may easily discern, who resemble the savage and blood thirsty wolves, & who the mild & meek sheep: who the tigerlike & hardhearted stepmother, & who the natural & kind mother of the faithful: who the cruel and merciless whore of Babylon imbrued with the blood of the Lords saints, & who the 
●po. 18 24.  merciful spouse of Christ, that crieth to God for the pardon of her most grievous and cruel persecutors. 
●ct. 7. 60.    

Opposite. 8.  
The sting of conscience, which some have felt, which were either persecutors or revolters from the gospel of Christ, is a manifest demonstration of the impregnable power of the gospel of Christ which cannot be vanquished, and of the light thereof, which cannot be put out.  
THe extraordinary judgements of God, and especially the 
See Acts and Monuments vol. 2. fol. 1902.  gnawing worm that hath been felt▪ not only in the guilty consciences of some of the great persecutors of the gospel of Christ, but also of some that have been revolters from the same, for some worldly, carnal, and earthly respects, both in the Primitive church and in these later ages also, doth manifestly convince, that this doctrine of the gospel proceedeth from the 
Rom. 2. 16. 2 King. 10. 10 Math 5 18.  judge of all flesh, and shall condemn all the condemners thereof; yea that in the end it shall force themselves to pronounce the sentence of just condemnation against their own souls. Whereas no such examples may truly be found among those, which either by their authority have restrained, or by the ●ight of the truth have been reclaimed from their popish heresies.   

Opposite. 9  
True religion teacheth the faithful to devote themselves to the worship of one true, & all sufficient God, and not to give religious worship to any creature.  
THe worship of God is called Religion, for that it doth relige 
Aug. de vera rel ca 54. Idem de cozen. Evang. li. 1. cap. 18.  and bind us to one God. And therefore the Romans, who received into their Panthcon the Gods of all the nations whom they subdued to their Empire, having subdued the jew refused their GOD, being the true and only God, for that they understood that he would be worshipped alone, or not at all. What religion then is that which doth not teach to worship God alone, but to worship with religious worship saints and angels also, ye their dead and senseless images? Verily S. Austin avoucheth, 
●…g. Ep. 44.  that no dead person is worshipped of Catholic christians. Wherefore the Romish religion is not catholic, nay it is not to be counted religion at all, for that it doth not bind us to one God only, but willeth us to give religious worship to dead creatures also.   

Opposite. 10.  
The true worship and service of God is not clogged with a number of outward ceremonies and bodily observations, but consisteth in a pure and sincere spirit: Neither is it bettered more by one place, then by another.  
THe hour cometh (saith our Saviour Christ) and now is, when 
〈◊〉. 4. 23.  ye shall neither in this mountain, nor at Jerusalem worship the father, but the true worshippers shall worship him in spirit and truth, for the father requireth such to worship him. God is a spirit, & they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and truth. And therefore when the church began to decline from the spiritual worship and service of God, and to corrupt the same with a multitude of ceremonies, it was no small grief to the godly that then lived, as it it may appear by the complaint that Saint Austin made to januarius. For bodily exercise (even when it is 
● Tim. 4. 8.  best used) profiteth little, it is godliness that is profitable to all things, & hath the promises both of this life and of the life to come. And (as the same Apostle testifieth) the kingdom of God consisteth not in meat & 
●om. 14. 17  drink (nor in any outward or bodily observation) but in righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Ghost: and he that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Now 
●…on vox 〈◊〉 votum. ●…acra aurū●…n requi●…nt. ●…gnei sacer●…tes & au●…i calices.  this principal kind of serving of Christ in spirit and truth, which is most acceptable to God and most approved of all good men, is willed to stand aside by the church of Rome: for she will have her most goodly and solemn service of God, and that upon her greatest feasts to consist in all manner of melodious music, in singing, quavering, and orgaine playing, in glistering copes, and sumptuous vestiments, in creeping to the cross, and kissing the pax, and in bowing and bending to dumb images, in long prayers mumbled up without understanding in a strange tongue & numbered upon beads, in wearing this attire and that attire, in going barefoot, in sackcloth, and woll-ward, in abstaining from these and these kind of meats, and in an infinite number of the like bodily exercises. Wherein she playeth like some wanton children and lustful women, which feed so long upon earth, or ashes, or some other like trash, until their stomachs loathe all manner of good and wholesome nourishmentes. But these are nought also but false appetites and unnatural lusts, tending in the one to the corruption of their bodies, and in the other to the destruction of their souls. Moreover whereas our Saviour Christ hath in plain words avouched that the true worshippers of God shall not worship at jerusalem; the church of Rome that she may either show herself to be contrary to Christ, or else her children not to be the true worshippers of God, sendeth them on pilgrimage to jerusalem there to worship, esteeming that to be a chief point of high devotion: yea she hath caused not only great treasures, but also much christian blood to have been wasted for the recovery of that country out of the infidels hands, calling it still the holy land, albeit the Lord long since hath rejected and defied it, and hath as it were spit in the very face of it, and hath polluted it with his extraordinary plagues, because of that cursed people's extraordinary sins. And seeing that the name of a jew hath long since been a name of reproach and detestation, even an abhorred and an accursed name, why is not the name of jury also to be had in the like curse & execration? Surely the Lord himself (as the Evangelists do testify) hath had it 
Math. 24. 15 Luc. 21. 20.  in extreme detestation, and set therein the abomination of desolation, that is (as S. Luke expoundeth the same) a fierce army making utter desolation, which testified that the Lord had utterly abhorred it, and had made the most dreadful destruction thereof to be a witness of the same. And therefore it is the duty of Monks (as Bernard saith) to go on pilgrimage not towards the earthly but the heavenly jerusalem, and that not with their feet, but with 
Bern. Ep. 319.  their affections. For with pure & sanctified affections we draw ●igh to God, and to the holy and heavenly jerusalem.   

Opposite. 11.  
The faithful are in heaviness through manifold tribulations if need require: which is, when either God himself afflicteth them to try 
● Pet. 1. 6.  their obedience and patience, and to humble them for their manifold infirmities and sins; or when Tyrants persecute them for their most holy faith. But as for all voluntary tortures and torments they leave the same to infidels and heretics who thereby seek after a greater opinion of godliness and devotion before men.  
THe Gentiles did offer up their sons in fire unto Idols, and did 
● Reg. ●…. 28. ●…v. 21. 5.  cut and lance themselves until the blood followed: the which voluntary tortures the Lord precisely interdicteth his own people. Contrary to the which interdiction the dearest darlings of the church of Rome, as likewise such among the Turks as would seem most devout, use to scourge and to whip themselves, divers ways tormenting their own bodies, and not sparing their own flesh. Whereby it is evident that they have 
●…ol. 2. 23.  not only sorted themselves with the Gentiles, and some of the old heretics, but also with these of the last times, who through hypocrisy hunt after a show of most rare holiness in these outward 
●. Tim. 4. 1.  things, preferring these their wil-worshippes' and voluntary devotions before faith, repentance, and the fruits of the spirit, imagining thereby to ascend to the highest degree of the greatest perfection, and to be esteemed the only religious of all other.   

Opposite. 12.  
The faithful soldiers of Christ furnish themselves against their ghostly enemies with such weapons, as are taken out of the lords armoury: whereas the counterfeit christian furnisheth himself with such as are framed in the devil's forge, and in the shop of man's invention.  
THe faithful which fight under the banner of Christ even all the members of the militant church, knowing the great force of their fendish foes, seek according unto the exhortation of the Apostle to be strong in the Lord and in the power of 
Eph. 6. 10.  his might, putting on to that purpose all the armour of God, that so they may be able to stand against all the assaults of the Devil: they stand and their loins girded about with verity, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: above all they take the shield of faith, whereby they may quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, praying alway with all manner of prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto withal perseverance. Whereas the soldiers of Satan's companies are forbidden for the most part to enter into the lords armoury wherein are the weapons of all the lords worthies wherewith they prevailed against all their enemies, and to fence their souls with that armour of proof whereby they may be preserved from 
Chrys. in Math. hom. 43. Hier. in Mat. ca 23. Num. 9 11. Tert. de Idola. Lact. instit. l. 6. ca 2.  all deadly wounds: it is enough for them to arm themselves with holy books tied at their girdle, but, not laid up in their hearts: with holy relics, such as defiled those that touched them under the law: with holy candle lighted at noonday to drive away belike spiritual darkness: with holy breaede to put away the famine of the soul: with holy water to wash away the spots of the spirit: with holy bell to fray the hellhound with that sacred sound: with crossing and crossing again this and that member, and with anoyling the instruments of the five wits: with holy cream, holy salt, holy spitile, & with as holy exorcisms and conjurations as were used by the seven sons of Sceva the priest: with holy grains, Agnus Deis, crucifixes, with burial in an holy cloister, in a Monks cowl, or a friars frock, with 
Act. 19 13.  a pardon cast into the grave with the body for the safer passage of the silly soul (albeit it had passed and received judgement before) & with other such furniture of their own framing, as if those things which are without could sanctify a man, and fence him from the wounds of sin: as if the subtle serpent were some silly fool that could be driven away with such scarecrows, or some weak and feeble foe that could be overturned with such bulrushes.   

Opposite. 13.  
The faithful are not puffed up with pride in respect of God's graces, but rather hang down their heads in respect of their own infirmities, ascribing to God the glory of all good things.  
IF when we have done all that is commanded us, we must say that 
●uc. 9 54  we are unprofitable servants, than when we fail more or less in all, what just occasion have we with the humble Publican to stand aloof, and to hang down the head, and to beat the breast, being 
●zr 9 6. czech. ●6. 33. ●an ●. 7.  full of confusion in regard of our own iniquities. Now as the faithful thus cry out shame and confusion against themselves, so they ascribe righteousness to God in all his corrections, and endless mercy in all his blessings, magnifying and extoling his glory in both. And verily he that seeketh the glory of him 
●oh. 7. 18.  that sent him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. But in 
Aug in ●oh. Tract. ●9.  Antichrist (saith Austin) there is unrighteousness, and he is not true, because he will not seeke●… he glory of him that sent him. Let us all then which pertain to the body of Christ, beware lest we fall into the snares of Antichrist, and let us not seek our own glory. 
Chrys. in Math. Hom. 19  If one cover (saith Chrysostome) a wolf with a sheeps skin, how may another know him, but by his voice, or by his action? The sheep bleateth looking down▪ ward, the wolf looketh upward and howleth against heaven. He than that uttereth the voice of humility and confession according unto God, is a sheep: but he that howleth out blasphemies against God, and against the truth is a wolf. Now how the doctrine of the church of Rome teacheth to lay aside the humility of a sheep, and to take to ourselves the pride of the wolf, to advance ourselves, and not to give the glory of all things only to GOD, see before in the preface to the Christian roader.   

Opposite. 14.  
The faithful Christian as in general he giveth the glory of all good things only to God's mercy and goodness, so especially of his eternal salvation, resting only upon the mediation and merit of Christ's passion for the obtaining thereof, and not upon his own or other men's works.  
WHat worthy thing do we, that thereby we may be 
Wal●ensis contra Wicle●um.  made partakers of heavenly glory, whereas the Apostle saith, I think that the passions of this time are not worthy of the glory that shallbe revealed? Therefore I reckon him to be the more sounder divine, the more saithful catholic, and more agreeable to holy scriptures, who doth flatly deny any such merit. And verily our Saviour Christ was only able to give a sufficient price for that heavenly purchase as all the faithful from the beginning of the world have undoubtedly believed: 
Apoc. 19 10  so that it is a sure token of the spirit of a true prophet to give testimony thereunto. We have (saith Austin) jesus Christ our 
Aug. in Epi. joh. tract. 1.  advocate, and he is the propitiation for our sins: he that holdeth this holdeth no heresy: he that holdeth this, maketh no schism. And if the very Apostle Saint john had said (saith the same Father) If any man sin, 
Aug count Epist●l. Pa●… l 2. Cap. ●.  ye have me for your advocate, and I obtain pardon for your si●…es; What faithful person would have endured him? Who would have taken him for an Apostle of Christ, and not for a very Antichrist? And yet the church of Rome (the less catholic, and the more heretical, schismatical, and Antichristian is she) teacheth us not to rest upon the mediation and merit of Christ's passion as the only propitiation and satisfaction for sin, and the only meritorious cause of our salvation, but also to trusten our own merits, & in the works of supererogation performed by the saints, and in their prayers, and intercessions.   

Opposite. 15.  
The sincere professors of the catholic faith acknowledge Christ to be now only in heaven according to the flesh, whither he is ascended, and from whence they look for him to come to judgement: whereas seduced and seducing heretics 
* See fol.  will needs have him to be here also now in earth, albeit he be seated above the highest heavens.  
THe flesh of CHRIST, when it was on earth, surely it was not in heaven, and now because it is in heaven, certainly 
Vigil. contr. Eut l. 4 Cap. 4.  it is not in the earth. Yea so far is it from being in earth, that we look for Christ after the flesh to come from heaven, whom as he is GOD the Word, we believe to be with us on earth. Then by your opinion either the word is comprised in a place, as well as the flesh, or else the flesh is every where together with the word, seeing one nature doth not receive in itself any different or contrary estate. Now, to be contained in a place, and, to be present every where, be things divers and very dislike: and for so much as the Word is every where, and the flesh of CHRIST is not every where, it is clear that one and the same CHRIST is of both natures: that is, every where according unto the nature of his Deity, and contained in a place according unto the nature of the humanity. This is the catholic faith & confession which the Apostles delivered, the martyrs confirmed, and the faithful persist in to this day. And therefore whereas the church of Rome teacheth that the flesh of Christ is in heaven and in earth together at one time, & confoundeth the distinction of the properties of the two natures of CHRIST by teaching him according to the property of his human nature so to be contained in a place, that he is also in ten thousand thousand places at one time, What doth she thereby but condemn the catholic faith and confession delivered by the Apostles, confirmed by the martyrs, and continued among the faithful unto the time of Vigilius?   

Opposite. 16.  
The catholic faith by the warrant of the word of God acknowledgeth but two places after this life: and the contrary opinion proceedeth from 
See Aug. ●uch ad L●… Cap. 6. & 7.  a blind, albeit it seemeth a kind affection.  
LAstly to omit other things which might be alleged to this purpose (for there are so many oppositions between the doctrine of Christ and Antichrist, as there are main grounds of our christian profession, as it may appear throughout all the parts and parcels of this treatise, the catholic faith teacheth, that there are but two places after this life. So Austin: 
Aug. H●…pog Lib. 5.  The first place the catholic faith builded upon, ●iuin authority believeth to be the kingdom of heaven, the second to be hell, where every apostata and infidel is tormented: And as for any third place, we are utterly ignorant thereof, neither do we find any such in the scriptures. And what shall the church of Rome be still esteemed to be catholic which will not allow of this point of the faith neither, which yet S. Austin● allowed to be catholic?    

Diu. 2.  
That the church of Christ is not always visible  
Our creed teacheth us to say, I believe, and not I see the 
I believe the holy catholic church.  catholic church: that is, howsoever the members of the true church are not always visible, nor their companies conspicuous, yet I believe that GOD hath his church and congregation in some place or other which rightly and sincerely worshippeth him in spirit & truth. And therefore this church as it is sometimes likened to the Moon in her full brightness, so it is sometimes compared to the same greatly obscured, and after a sort losing her whole light: And as it is sometimes resembled to a city built upon a hill, which is admirable for her exceeding beauty and glory: so it is sometimes also compared to a cottage in a vinyeard, and to a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and to a besieged c●…ty defaced and wasted with extreme misery, and to a country over●… and after a sort dispeopled by the sword of the enemy. As it came to pass not only among the Israelites in the time of Elias, but also in the kingdom of judah in the time of Isayas; who complaineth that all manner of corruptions in all estates of men were so grievous, & had made so great havoc, that had not the Lord reserved unto himself a small re●nant, they had been made as So●oma and like unto Gomortha, And 
〈…〉 29.  how stood the case with the church in the beginning of the Apostles times? was it not such that it gave just occasion to Saint Paul to renew again the same complaint? Yea this remnant was so small at our Saviour's death, that it hath been deemed by some, that the church was only then in the blessed Virgin: and in david's and jeremies' time this company also was so inconspicuous, that one of them crieth out, 
〈…〉 1.  Help Lord, for there is not one godly man left: and the other is willed by the Lord himself to run to and fro through the streets of jerusalem, and to inquire, if there were one that executed judgement and embraced truth, and he would spare all for ones sake.   

Diu. 3.  
That hypocrites and ungodly persons are not the true members of the holy catholic church of Christ, which is the congregation of the predestinate.  
THe true church is holy, and so are all the true members thereof, for that they are united and joined together by the bands of one holy and pure spirit. 
〈…〉 1.  For if the ungodly were members of this church she were to be called unholy in respect of them, for that their number is always the greater ●as she is called 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  holy in respect of the godly, for that they are the better part. Wherefore all ungodly and faithless dissembling hypocrites, as they seem only to be holy, and are not; so they seem also, but are not in deed the true members of the holy catholic church. For how can they have the church to be their mother, which are not begotten again of the immortal seed of the word of God which liveth and lasteth for ever? How can, I say, those be members of the holy catholic church, and have her for their mother, who have not God for their father, who as they honour not God as a father, neither endeavour to resemble his image, so he doth not acknowledge them for his sons, nor accept them as inheritors of his heavenly kingdom? And doth not our creed reach us also, that this holy catholic church of Christ is a communion of saints, who have in this life remission of sins, and shall attain in the life to come, to a glorious resurrection, and to l●e everlasting? But the wicked & ungodly dissembling hypocrites the sons of the bond woman, which are base-born and bastard brethren, they have no part nor portion in these blessings of God with the sons 
Gal. 4. 30.  of the free woman, which are the elect & chosen children of God, and the true members of the holy catholic church of Christ. Wherefore the church of Rome greatly disgraceth this holy catholic church of Christ, in that she would allow an interest in her to impu●e and ungodly dissembling hypocrites: as on other respects she advanceth her to high, in assigning her that privilege that she cannot err, and granting that ability unto her children, whereby they may perfectly fulfil the law of God.   

Diu. 4.  
That the church may err in matters of faith.  
THe Apostles & prophets had their doctrine from God not only mediately by instruction, but also immediately by revelation: 
Holy.  but revelations are now ceased, and the church hath her doctrine now mediately only by instruction out of the divine and sacred scriptures: and therefore the church may err, albeit the Apostles and Prophets were free from error. For in learning out of the scriptures, the dullness and blindness of our capacity oftentimes misseth of the true sense and meaning thereof, which is no impediment, when as the spirit of God by revelation useth not the blockishness of our understanding to bring us to the knowledge of God, but doth immediately by his power shadde it in our hearts, or else teacheth us by such as are instructed immediately. 
〈…〉 2.    

Diu. 3.  
That every member of the church breaketh the law, and doth not perfectly fulfil the same.  
NO man loveth the Lord with all his heart, power, and strength, so that all his affection's, cogitations, & thoughts are only employed in the Lord's service, and in obedience to his commandements, and therefore no man perfectly fulfilleth the whole law. For our love doth so follow ou● knowledge, that no man can perfectly love God, that perfectly knoweth not his love and goodness towards us: but in this life we know but in 
〈◊〉. 13. 9  part, we understand but in part, we see as through a glass and in a dark speaking, and so our love also is but in part, it is no wise so perfect as it ought to be. Wherhfore that perfect love being not in any which the law requireth, that which wanteth thereof is sin 
●…p. 29.  and a breach of the law and commandments of God. For to love the Lord withal our heart, soul, and strength is not a point of perfection counseled only in the gospel above the law, but a necessary duty commanded in the law: and therefore our Saviour calleth it in sl●tte terms not only a commandment, 
〈◊〉 ●…2. 38.  but also the first of the commandments. Wherhfore all being guilty of the breach of this commandment, there is none that is able to fulfil the whole law, much less to do any work of supererogation, more than is commanded in the law of God.  
Many proud debtors, having not as yet wasted their whole stocks, but being only declining and ready to fall, conceive so well of themselves and of their own ability, that, when they look but upon the particular bills of their debt, they conceive some hope to recover, and to be able in time to discharge all: but when they cast them all together, and so take a view of the total sum, that appeareth by and by to be so great, that thereby they are clean dismayed and discouraged, and utterly excluded from all hope. But the pride of our Romish bankeruptes is in a far higher degree, in that the sum of all the commandments containing the sum of our whole debt, be it never so great and never so huge, yet it doth not move them to acknowledge their inability, but they still imagine themselves to be able to fulfil the whole law, and so to discharge their whole debt, yea and more also, with the surplusage whereof being due unto them 
The meanest in the church of Rome are taught that they may fulfil all the commandements, whereas the very best in the church of Christ more or less fail in all.  upon a reckoning and an accounts, they think themselves able to help towards the discharged of the debts of others also. Whereas in truth if we would duly look into the greatness of the duty, that is required at our hands in any one of the commandments, we should perceive the very debt of every one of these particular bills to amount and grow to so great a sum, that as long as we live here in this life, (such is our spiritual penury and beggary) we are never able to discharge the same. 1. Command. For who is there even among the most perfect and just, that never preferreth profit, or pleasure, or the satisfying of one affection or other before justice and righteousness, and before his love and obedience to God, thereby placing them after a sort in God's throne? 2 who always so highly conceiveth of the incomprehensible majesty of the almighty jehovah as he ought to do, and of his incomparable and unmatchable glory that cannot be resembled by any similitude without great impeachment and derogation to the same? 3 Who conceiveth so reverently of the infinite power of the most mighty creator of heaven & earth, that he never taketh his glorious and dreadful name in vain, but ever useth it with such reverence and fear, as is due unto it? 4 Who sanctifieth on that manner the Sabaoth day, that ceasing altogether from satisfying his own will, he suffereth the Lord by his holy spirit and sacred word wholly to wo●ke in himself, and so employeth himself only in his service? Yea who is it, that keepeth a perpetual Sabaoth unto the LORD? 5 Who is it, that so honoureth his parents and the rest of his superiors in the Lord, that he never so much as murmureth and ●…dgeth at their lawful authority? 6 7 8 9 Who is so far of from murder, adultery, thef●●nd from bearing false witness, that he never transgresseth in any of these not so much as by hatred, carnal lusts, covetous desires, or lie●? 10 Lastly who hath his whole heart so possessed with the love of God and his neighbour, that he never delighteth no not for a moment of time in any thought or desire contrary the eunto? David a man after Gods own heart, who is said after a manner to have fulfilled all his will, and whose posterity is commended for walking in his steps, after that he had most highly magnified the law of God as holy and righteous altogether, and had testified th●t in keeping thereof there was great reward, addeth immediately: but who can tell how of te he offendeth. O cleanse 
●…l. 19 12.  thou me from my secret sins. As if he had said: I know that I, even I myself not seldom but often offend against this righteous and perfect ●aw: yea further I acknowledge my frailty to be so great, that I am persuaded how that some times I commit also faults some or other, which escape my knowledge, and are secret from me. Wherefore if we say we have no sin, (we cannot but be charged 
●oh. 1 8.  as transgressors of this law) we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. For not only Saint Ambrose hath confessed of himself 
●…b. de sa●…mentis li ●…●ap. 6.  that he did sin continually, but the Apostle Saint james hath testified of all; that in many things we offend all: not some of us (saith he) but all of us offend, and that not in a few, but in many 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 3. 2.  things: from the number of which offenders he excepted not himself (albeit he was had in great admiration even of the enemies of the christian faith for his most just and upright life) nor any of the rest of his fellow Apostles. Yea Adam himself before his fall, being entrenched as it were within the fortification & castle of his own complete and perfect innocency, the walls whereof being as walls of iron, and the gates thereof as of pure brass, a may den-hold that was never taken, never shaken by any shot, never weakened by any battery, having never sustained any manner of breach in any part or parcel thereof; our great grandfather, Adam himself. I say, being here set upon, withstood the assault a very short time, but straiteways yielded, suffering the same to be soon surprised, and himself to be taken prisoner by the enemy's force. Now this hold of innocency which is restored unto us again by our most powerful redeemer, and wherein we the posterity of Adam are seated and placed, is nothing so strong and sure in itself, as it was at the first, when it was delivered unto Adam. The gates thereof are very weak, and the walls thereof of small strength to keep out the force and fury of the enemy. For now he entereth in at the gate of the eyes by pride and covetousness, of the tongue by lying and slandering, of the hands by bribing and stealing, of the taste by gluttony, drunkenness and excess: now he attempteth to take the same by carnal security, and at another time by murmuring grudging and impatiency: he putteth it still in danger by idle words, vain imaginations, carnal lusts and earthly affections. Many breaches are quickly made, and the whole hold soon battered, unless it be continually succoured by the lords power, and still rescued by his aid. For how can the weak Lamb stand against the bloody wolf, or the silly sheep against the roaring Lion? No marvel then that we be sometimes wounded, and sometimes forced to give ground, and be driven from our place and standing in these our ghostly and spiritual skirmishes! No marvel though oftentimes we transgress the most holy and righteous law of God, and turn out of the direct way of his commandments! Well may it agree with the church triumphant in heaven, resting in the place where righteousness dwelleth, and enjoying the security of the full conquest & victory, to be free from the danger of all wounds, to attain to the fullness of all righteousness, and to be most glorious without spot & without wrinkle: how beit surely the church militant remaining in this wicked and sinful world, where she is still so fiercely assaulted, is sure never long to escape without blows, never to be pure from all stains, never to be free from all sins. Now sin being a transgression of the law and a breach 
1 joh. 3. 4.  of the commandment, therefore there is none to be found that perfectly keepeth the whole law, and exactly fulfilleth all the commandements.   

Diu. 6.  
That the spirit of God the spirit of truth is not always annexed to the outward face of the visible church, and to such as have the chief rooms therein, much less to any particular church, as to the church of Rome, or to any other ..  
BEFORE the ascension of our Saviour Christ it was true 
●…olike.  that the Psalmist saith: In jury GOD was known, his name was great in Israel: he had not dealt so with any 
〈◊〉. 75. 47. 20  other nation, neither had the Heathen knowledge of his laws. And therefore the Apostles were willed for a time not to 
〈◊〉. 10. 5.  go into the way of the Gentiles, nor to enter into the cities of the Samaritans, but to go only to the lost sheep of the house 
〈◊〉. 15. 26.  of Israel. Yea it was told the woman of Canaan by our Saviour himself, that it was not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto dogs: Whereby he signified that the Israelites only were received by GOD into the number of his elect and chosen children; and that all other nations were as hogs and swine, wallowing in the mire of ignorance and sin, and therefore most odious and abominable before God. But now by the death of CHRIST 
〈◊〉 2 14. 〈◊〉 28. 19 〈◊〉 10 34. 〈◊〉 3. 28. 〈◊〉 ●…. 10. 12  the partition wall is broken down, and the Apostles commission is enlarged to go and teach all nations, and to preach the gospel to every creature. For there is now no more respect of jew then of Grecian, but all are one in Christ jesus: and God's favour is so procured to all, that as he is Lord of all, so he is rich unto all 
〈…〉 23.  that call upon him. And now is the hour come that the true worshippers worship not God in the mount of Samaria, nor yet at jerusalem, but worship him (every where) in spirit and truth. For now the true service of God and the sincere faith of Christ is not tied to any one place or country, but lieth open to all nations: and the church of Christ is now catholic, not annexed any more to any one people, but dispersed abroad through the whole world: neither are the large kingdoms of 
* ●…er non ●…frica, ●…undus.  Africa the lords only field wherein the pure seed of his word is sown, much less the small territories of the city of 
* Jllud esse● includere orb●m in urbe.  Rome, but the universal globe of the whole earth. And yet when of all the families & kindreds of the earth the Lord had called out and chosen only the posterity of Abraham, and when the church of Christ was annexed to that one people alone, the service of God was not then so tied to them which had the rooms of the chief professors thereof, but that the law did sometimes perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancient, and the Sun went down upon their prophets, in 
jer. 7. 4. & 18. 18. Mich. 3. 6.  so much that night was unto them for a vision, and darkness for a divination. As for example in our Saviour's time, those that should have been the principal pillars of the church, were the chief subverters thereof: and they which had the rooms of the master builders, rejected the chief corner stone, and sought the 
Mat. 21. 42.  utter ruin and down fall of the lords house. And as it thus happened to the Synagogue of the jew, even so also it befell the church of CHRIST, when Arrianisme overflowed the outward face thereof, in so much that. Liberius himself 
Higher de eccles scriptoribus in Fortunatiano.  being then Bishop of Rome yielded thereto, and confirmed it with his subscription. At what time nothing was esteemed a matter of greater piety, and more befitting the servant of CHRIST, then to follow unity, and not to be divided from the communion of the world: when the christian world 
Hier. adversus Lucife●ianos.  sighed and wondered, that of a Christian it was become an Arrian. Wherhfore no marvel that divers particular churches planted by the Apostles themselves have not been so firmly seized of the truth, but that they have been long ago cast out of the possession thereof: no marvel though they having rejected the faith of CHRIST, have themselves also been rejected from being the people and Church of Christ.  
Now that which happeneth to many, may also happen to any, yea to Rome itself, and the church thereof, seeing they have no 
Cypr. ad Pomp. cont. epist. S●eph. Hier. ad Princip. Marcel. ep. Tim. 1.  greater charter or privilege of not erring, than any other partilar church. Certainly Cyprian knew none: for he avoucheth of the bishop of Rome, that he maintaineth heresy against the church. Hierome knew none: for he saith that the fountain of the Roman faith was defiled with mud, and that the faith commended by the Apostle was violated in most things, (albeit our Romanists greatly boast that no good author hath ever testified of the failing of faith in the church of Rome.) Nay the Apostle himself knew none: for writing to the church of Rome by name, he telleth her plainly that she should not be proud of her standing, nor insult against the church of the jews for her fall: for of 
〈◊〉. 11. 21  God (saith he) spared not the natural branches, take thou heed also that he spare not thee. For if they which were jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, being borne under covenant of mercy, and descending from most holy progenitors had no such perpetuity in the favour of God, nor assurance for the continuance of the true worship and service of God amongst them, but that they might utterly fall from both: then surely such as descended from impious and idolatrous parents, and were strangers and aliens from the covenantes of grace, being of the Lords endless goodness received into favour, can have no such assurance of the lords mercy, but that in success of time the posterity may fall away from that grace, whereof their progenitors were made partakers And if the true worship & service of God was not unseparably tied unto Siloh, Zion, or jerusalem, wh● presumption is it in the church of Rome to make such boast th● her faith cannot fail; as if the truth were necessarily annexed to that city, and the spirit of God as it were entailed to Peter's ch●ire: or as if God were in bonds still to keep that See upright, whatsoever else became of all other christian churches. Verily of them it may be verified that which Terasius Archbishop of Constantinople testified of their like: that the heresy of Macedonius was more tolerable than theirs, in that he avoucheth the spirit of God to be servant to the father and the son: whereas they after a ●ort make him their servant to convey over continually the certainty of faith, from the predecessor to the successor. What? may a man in his death bed dispose of the inward qualities of his soul, as he may of his temporal goods and possessions? May any one make over by deed of gift unto an other his faithful heart and sincere mind? or bequeath by will and testament his piety and godliness? These things are personal and appropriated to the person on whom they are bestowed, they pas●e not from hand to hand, they remove not from subject to subject: these gifts are not parted by death but accompany us continually, when all other things bid us adieu, when all all other things fail they fail not, when all other things are left behind, they cannot be left, there is no conveyance to be made from one to an other of these goods. For 
Non na●ci●ur Christiani, se● fimus.  virtue is no inheritance, it descendeth not from the father to the child: the child taketh his bodily substance from his parents at his first birth, but as for the substance of virtue, if he receive it, he receiveth it by a second birth. Now if these gifts come not by descent from the father to the son that succeed him an nature & in substance, & in the very covenat of grace also: much less do they come by descent unto him that succeed only in place and office. It is true indeed that Elias promised Elizaeus th●t was to succeed him in his prophetical office, that if he saw him when he wa● t●ken out of his sight, he should have his spirit doubled upon him: But Elias knew that God having appointed Eliz●…s to succeed him in his prophetical office would have him endued with such a measure of his spirit, that so he might be meet ●or the execution of the same: moreover his promise was made to the person of Elizaeus alone, and not to any of his successors But the church of Rome will have the stability of Peter's faith to be conveyed over to all his successors, and that to the world's end: yea she will have it annexed to Peter's chai●e, & to his very consistory and judgement seat. For when it is proved, that many of the Popes in person were Apostates from the faith, 
Lyra in Math c. 16. Conc. Basil. Op. synod. Non locus virum honestat. Qu● mal●s est ubique mal●… est.  yet (say they) whensoever they sat in judgement upon the decision of any doubt, and upon the determination of any question, they were so directed and guided therein, that they did never pronounce any definitive sentence against the truth. As if the very place did sanctify the person, and suddenly change his former resolution; or else did force him to pronounce sentence against his own settled conscience & judgement.  
But what an assurance the Bishop and church of Rome have that their faith cannot fail, it may appear by this, that the truth 
Verum vero consonat.  always being like to itself, and one truth evermore agreeing with another, divers of the very main grounds of their faith are directly contrary each to other. As first, the church cannot err: and yet the faithful themselves, (by whom the truth is preserved in the church, when it is preserved, unless we imagine that it, may be better preserved by such as are but mere dissembling hypocrites) may altogether and that finally fall from God, and so by consequent from the truth.  
2 Secondly, the faithful being in danger to fall away wholly from God, yet are still in possibility to be renewed by repentance (for that repentance is only denied to such as sin against the holy Ghost) and yet they are not to be rebaptized: whereas if they did wholly fall away, at their reconciliation and regeneration, they should be admitted again to the sacrament of regeneration. Or thus: The faithful, that are borne again of the incorruptible seed of the word, and are made the sons of God by faith in Christ, may wholly fall away from this grace: but yet so that they may be renewed again by repentance, and recover again a true faith, and so be borne the second time the sons of God: And yet (as they themselves also teach) as we can be but once borne the sons of Adam, so we can be but once regenerate and borne the sons of God.  
3 Thirdly, the children of the faithful in baptism are devoted to the service of God only, as being only baptized in his name: and yet they may (as they teach) be devoted also to the service of the saints.  
4 Fourthly, all the infants of the faithful have their sins in baptism fully washed and cleansed, & are made members of the holy catholic church, and so are effectually called to the estate of grace: And yet I hope they will also teach that these be 
〈◊〉 20. 1.  not all called at the first hour.  
5 Fiftly, they call their sacrifice of the Mass an unbloody sacrifice: and yet they teach that Christ's blood is there really present. And if they ●ay that it is called an unbloody sacrifice, for that the blood is there present after an unbloody manner, they might then as well call it an unbodily sacrifice also, for that, as they teach the body of Christ is there also, but not after a bodily manner: whereas in truth a true body, and true blood, have always the manner and condition of a true body, and of true blood.  
6 Sixtly, they teach that by the words of consecration, transubstantiation is made: and yet the nature of the bread is abolished and gone, before the first word thereof (THIS) is uttered by the Priest: For in the words of consecration whatsoever this word (THIS) doth signify, in any case it must not signify true and real bread.  
7 Seventhly, Matrimony (as they teach) is an holy sacrament and conferreth grace: and yet it is with them a profanation of holy orders: (as if one grace did disgrace another, and as if one holy thing were a profanation to another) and that single life, which undoubtedly giveth no grace, is an holier estate than the estate of Matrimony: whereas it may be well known of every young scholar, that single life is no virtue, but continency and chastity either in single life, or else in matrimony.  
8 Eightly, they teach that grace sometime worketh alone in us, which 
Gratia operans, ●ooperans.  needs must be, if it be at all, in our conversion: and yet they teach, that our free will worketh together also with God's grace, even in our very first conversion.  
9 Ninthly, they vaunt most confidently themselves to be the only catholics, & their faith to be undoubtedly the sound faith, and they determine most peremptonly that the true catholic justifying faith, consisteth only in believing the truth of the articles of our christian creed: and yet they teach that neither they are, nor yet aught to be assured, that they have obtained a true faith.  
10 Tenthly, they teach that we ought most assuredly to believe the truth of God's general promises: as, whosoever believeth in him shall never be confounded: & yet they say that it is presumption for this or that particular man which believeth, to persuade himself assuredly that he shall never be confounded.  
11 Eleventhly in their pardons, shriftes, & exhortations to religious actions they take upon them to forgive to particular persons their sins: and yet they also to whom particularly they forgive must s●il doubt whether their sins be forgiven For all their catholics must still stand in doubt thereof, unless it be otherwise opened unto them by revelation.  
12 Twelfthly they teach that they can fulfil the law, & more also, (the which thing cannot be performed without grace, yea without great grace) yet they thus assuredly knowing that they fulfil the law, cannot yet for all that assuredly know that they themselves are in the estate of 
Rom. 14 23  grace: whereas not only the Apostle, but a very heathen man canteach them, that unto every good action (& therefore much more to so many, as whereby the whole law is fulfilled, and more also) it is a necessary circumstance that is required, that it be done upon an 
* ●er. cō●…nstā.  assured knowledge.  
13. Thirtenethly they teach that the fulfilling of the law is an ordinary duty that is to be performed of the common and vulgar sort of people, and therefore that their religious men must strive to ascend to a fa●re higher degree of greater perfection: and yet they teach also that the common people cannot attain unto the understanding of the sacred scriptures. which contain for a good part but an exposition of the law: and yet, as I take it, it is a far harder matter to do, then to understand that which is right.  
14. Fourtenethly they teach that all points of faith necessary to salvation are not contained in ●he holy scripture; and yet they allege scripture for all points which are necessary to salvation. And therefore all such points may be proved out of the scriptures, or else they greatly abuse the scriptures even by the testimony of their own consciences in alleging them against their me●ning only for show and not for truth.  
15. Fiftenethly some of them teach that Election, which is the precedent cause of the first justification, dependeth upon foreseen works: and yet that the first justification itself is free, and dependeth not at all on works.  
16. Sixtenethly they teach that the Saints are not Mediators of Redemption; and yet that the works of supererogation done by the saints are both satisfactory for the sins of other, and also meritorious of eternal glory, which are the proper works of the Mediator of Redemption.  
17. Seventenethly they say, that it is blasphemous against the dignity of Christ's blood, which he shed for our sins, to avouch that he suffered also in soul, for the whole ransoming of our souls, and for the full satisfying of the most absolute and perfect justice of GOD: as if one of CHRIST'S sufferings did derogate from the other But it is no blasphemy against the dignity of CHRIST'S sufferings with them to teach that our own souls must either suffer for our sins the most extreme pains of purgatory or endure here the sharp rigour of their popish penance, or else procure trentals of Masses together with the sufferings of the saints to be bestowed upon us by the Pope's indulgences and pardons.  
18. Eightenethly they teach that imputative righteousness is a vain and a frivolous fancy: and yet the imputation of the surplusage of the merits of the saints is not vain, but a great gain unto them: yea it is a very sound and profitable doctrine, if not to the cooling of men's souls, yet to the warming of the Pope's kitchine.  
19 Ninetenethly the fire of purgatory is sometimes so greavous with our Romanistes (belike when they would have their Masses and pardons well paid for, to deliver poor souls out of the same) that our fire is but a painted fire unto it, and that the torments thereof differ nothing from hellish torments but only in continuance: and yet sometimes with them again it is as it were a place 
Rhem. in Apoc c. 14.  of rest.  
20. Lastly our Rhemists teach that sin, (be the pleasure thereof 
Rhem. in c 8. ep. ad Rom.  never so short,) deserveth damnation, because it is an aversion from God, and proceedeth from the Devil: the which thing is true in every sin, and therefore every sin damnable & mortal: And yet these men themselves maintain their old distincttion of sins venial, and of sins mortal.  
Wherhfore seeing that the doctrine of the church of Rome 
Rhem. in Mat. cap. 5.  containeth such contradiction, and contradictions cannot be both true, it is evident that the spirit of truth is not so annexed to Peter's chair, but that the church of Rome may err, as well as other churches planted by the same Apostles: yea hereby came in that great apostasy and falling away from the faith foretold by the Apostle, when the greater number of those that professed themselves Christians, especially in these western parts of the world, did so highly conceive of the Bishop of Rome, as that they took him to be that invincible rock, upon the which the church was built, and against the which hell gates should never prevail: Whereas he being to weak to stay himself upright, and to withstand so mighty and powerful enemies, was less able to hold up the huge building of the universal church, and to guard and defend it from so dangerous foes: But failing himself, and falling under his own burden, he was the occasion of ruin to all such as did 
●…g. ep. lib. ●…ist. 32.  stay themselves and rest upon him. And so had Gregory a Bishop of Rome signified before to Mauritius the Emperor (at what time he endeavoured to make the patriarch of Constantinople universal Bishop and head of the whole church) that if there were but one head only, the ruin of that head would be the ruin of the church: and that if any should arrogate to himself that name in the church, the universal church must needs come to ruin, when he which is named Universal, did fall.   

Diu. 7  
That by our spiritual union with CHRIST, he and his righteousness is made ours, and so surely imputed unto us, that we become thereby righteous before GOD, and not by the righteousness of any of the saints.  
GReat is the prerogative and dignity of all such, as are admitted unto the society of Christ's church, and are received 
〈◊〉 com●…ion of ●…tes. 〈◊〉. 1. 3. 〈◊〉. 3. 28. 〈◊〉. 5. 30. 〈◊〉. 2. 16. ●…or. 1. 30  into the fellowship of his faithful Congregation. For the church hath fellowship with God, and is espoused to Christ, & made one with him, even flesh of his flesh, & bone of his bone: in so much that she justly layeth claim unto him saying, my beloved is mine, & I am his, as being spiritually married unto him, and having interest in him, and all his blessings. By which union and communion it came to pass that Christ being one with his church became a debtor in her place, & paid that which he never took: & being innocent in himself, was made guilty for her, and being most pure in himself was made sin for her, and bore her iniquities on his 
●or. 5 2● 〈◊〉. 2 22 〈◊〉. 3. 18 〈◊〉. 3. 9  own body upon the tree: that she likewise being poor of herself might in him be made rich, and being naked of herself might be clothed with his innocency, and being destitute in herself of perfect righteousness, might be made the righteousness of God in him, and so become perfectly righteous. For as CHRIST by imputation was made sin for us, and suffered death not for his own, but for our iniquities: even so by imputation are we made righteous in him, and so become partakers of eternal glory. Now the faithful are not after such a manner linked together, they are not espoused each to other, as Christ and his church: the Apostle Saint Peter could not unite the church so nearly to himself by his spirit, that his death and sufferings might be accepted as done for her redemption. And yet see the blindness of the shameless whore of Babylon: It is a strange paradox with her that we should be made righteous by the righteousness of CHRIST, imputed unto us by the mercy of GOD, and applied unto us by a true faith: but it standeth with good reason that we may be made righteous by the righteousness of the saints, imputed unto us by the Pope's savour, and applied unto us by his Indulgences and Pardons.   

Diu. 8.  
That GOD only hath authority to forgive sin, as it is sin, and a transgression of his own law.  
THE hurt, that cometh to a private man by sin, a private man may release; a●, the prince may pardon that damage 
The forgiveness of sins.  that cometh thereby to the common weal But sin, as it is properly sin, and a breach of the law of God, and so a great dishonour to him, and a most greavous injury unto his d●…ine Majesty; so it is only an offence against god (against thee only have ●sinned) & therefore may only be for●…en by him: as he himself also 
Psal 51. 4.  testifieth: It is I, it is I, that doth 〈…〉, and that for mine ow●e take. And therefore Ber●… ●…aking to the faithful 
Isa 43 25.  saith: if thou believest that 〈…〉 but by 〈…〉 
Bern. serm. ● De Annuntiatione.  whone alone thou hast ●…ed, 〈…〉 well. For as no man can forgive an other man's 〈◊〉, 〈…〉 offence committed against another: so none can forgive sin as it is sin, for that so it is an offence only against God, making us debtors unto him, and offenders against his sacred majesty. Yea as it is high treason for any subject to take upon him to remit the offences which are committed against the common weal, for that it is an intrusion upon the princes right, and after a sort an usurpation of the dignity royal: so no doubt but that it is high treason against the king of heaven and earth, for any creature to take upon him to forgive sin, as it is sin, for that it is an intrusion upon the Lords right, and an usurpation of his dignity royal, Who can 
〈◊〉. 2. 7.  forgive sin but God only? So said the pharisees, when our Saviour took upon him not only to cure the sicknesses of the body, but also to pardon the sins of the soul. But what replied our Saviour to this demand? Whether is it easier to say, thy sins are forgiven thee, or to say, arise, take up thy b●doe, and walk? In which words he doth not confute their opinion (as Chrysostome & H●la●y reach) 
〈◊〉. in ●… hom.  but reproveth them for charging him with blasphemy, in that by healing all diseases by his word, he declared himself to be true God, and therefore that he had authority also to forgive sin albeit 
〈…〉 Mat.  such authority belongeth only unto God. His reason is this. It belongeth to the self-same authority as well by his own power to forgive sin, as to cure the diseases and sicknesses of the body: but (saith our Saviour) ye might perceive, that by mine own power I cure the sicknesses of the body (the which ●hing being done by the ministry of the Apostles, was not done by their own power, but by the power of 
〈…〉 12.  Christ: for so God only worketh the same, as all other miraculous things also, because he only is omnipotent) therefore ye might also 
〈◊〉 136. 4.  acknowledge in me, unless ye were wilfully blinded, the divine power of God, and that I do not blaspheme in taking upon me to forgive sin. For as for that authority of forgiving sins given to the ministers of the 
〈◊〉 in Mat ●…6.  gospel, it is after the same manner as the priests under the law had authority given them to make clean or unclean: now they were not enabled to make clean or unclean, lepers or no lepers, but they had knowledge given them to discern, and authority to pronounce, who were such and such, and upon their sentence, so the parties were to be taken of all the residue of the Lords people. Even so the Ministers of the gospel are to discern whose sins are remitted, and whose retained: & to assure the penitent soul, the broken and contrite spirit, that his sins are forgiven him even of the Lords as on the other side to denounce against the careless and impenitent sinner the Lords most heavy but just vengeance.   

Diu. 9  
That the faithful obtain the release of their sins by free forgiveness through the death of Christ, and not through their own satisfactions.  
THe Lord of the manor is not said to forgive the trespass, 
The forgiveness of sins.  that taketh the amercement set upon the head of the trespasser: neither may the creditor be said to forgive the debtor, that exacteth the debt, or casteth the debtor in prison until he make satisfaction. No more could God be said to forgive us our sins, and to remit on ●…sses and debts, if he did either here in this life require satisfaction for them at our hands by the works of penance; or after 〈…〉 us into the prison of purgatory there to make satisfaction. But we believe the remission of our sins, and the free ●…giuenesse of our debts and trespasses: and so the whose gospel teacheth, that they are freely forgiven in respect of ourselves, but not freely to our Saviour Christ, who paid full dear for the release of them, even that inestimable price of his own blood. It is he that bore our sinne● in his own body on the tree: the chasttiement of our peace was 〈◊〉 upon him: 
1. Pet 2 24. Isa 53 5. H●… 9 12. 10. 14. 7 25 Heb. 1. 3. 1. joh. 1. 7.  he gave his soul ●n offering for sin: he gave himself 〈◊〉 some for many: by one oblation of himself once made he hath found eternal redemption, and made perfect for ever them that ●ee ●…fied: he hath purged our sins by himself (and not by v●) by his own blood (and not by our satisfactions.) And verily it is this blood of the 〈◊〉 wherewithal our garments are thoroughly cleansed from all spots) and are made perfectly pure & white: it is this blood that is the sovereign 
Apoc. 7. 14.  salve for all our sores, and the only effectual medicine which is able to cure all our spiritual and ghostly maladies. And if we take any thing else, we take quid proquo, we take that which will not ease, but will in the end increase our grief. And therefore i● we will find ease indeed, we must provide to have always this physic in a readiness, that whensoever we are wounded by our ghostly enemy, we may apply to ourselves a speedy remedy. If as of● (saith Saint Ambrose) as this blood is shed, it is shed for remission 
〈◊〉 sa●… ca 6.  of sins, I ought always to receive it, that my sins always may be remitted unto me: yea I which always sin, ought always to have this me●…icine. His meaning is that Christ's blood is the only remedy against sin, and the sacrament thereof a means to strengthen our faith, and so to unite us more and more unto Christ, and to apply this physic to our souls, and therefore that we ought to have continual recourse thereto; that so not by the outward sign, but by the invisible grace, that is, by the blood of Christ itself, we may be continually cured, and made perfectly hol●. And if 
〈◊〉 ●…ri●… p●…●… c. 2.  after our baptism we be after a sort driven from this ship board by the storms & tempests of our own corruptions, we must not catch after a second table of penance to take hold thereof that so we may be preserved by the power thereof from sinking down in the sea of our sins, but we must recover ourselves to our former stay, or else we shall be drowned in the bottomless gulf of our iniquities. The Angel of the church of Sardis, after that he had been called to the estate of salvation in Christ, and confirmed therein by the sacrament of baptism, had fallen into the sea of most dangerous sins: now how was he to be recovered out of the same? The spirit of God sendeth him not to a second table of penance to t●ke hold thereof, that by the power thereof he might be delivered: but remember (saith he) how tho● hast received, and heard, and hold fast and 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3 3.  repent. Now no doubt but he had received and heard, a●d therefore was to hold fast, that to the penitent & humble sinner Christ's blood is the purgation of all his sins, & that by the mediation of his death he doth obtain remission of them not only when he is received into favour at the first, but even to his lives end, being thereby still p●e●erued in the same grace, & obtaining the forgiveness of hi● daily offences For so S. john setting down the means, whereby the faithful themselves are continually cured of their daily infirmities: If any man sin (saith he) we have jesus Christ 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 5. ●0.  our Advocate, and he is the propitiation for our sins. So the Apostle Saint Paul showeth, that not only when we were enemies, we were reconciled at the first by the death of Christ, and obtained the release of our grosser offences, but much more being once reconciled and made the children of God by CHRIST, we are still preserved in the same grace, and obtain the forgiveness of ou●…maller offences by the same means. The truth is, that none are cured of their sins by Christ, which continue still in the same, and do not daily fight against them with daily repentance: but yet the physic is one thing whereby the soul is cured, and the disposition of the soul another thing, whereby the soul is prepared, that so the physic may effectually work. The preparative is one thing, and the physic is another thing: the physic is only the physic, and nothing else. Our Saviour CHRIST is our only physic and physician also: Repentance after a sort may be called the preparative: and the Minister of the word may be to us in steed of the Apothecary, or as ●he physicians man that is sent to us with the purgation. The purgation itself is made of none other ingredientes but of the most bitter pangs of our Saviour's own passion: not of the roots of our hearty repentance, neither yet of the fruits of our christian faith: that is, whatsoever our sins be, and whensoever they be committed, we obtain not the forgiveness of them by our own merits, nor by the satisfactions of any other, but only by the free and undeserved mercy of GOD, and by the most precious satisfaction of the death of CHRIST. All have sinned (saith the Apostle) and are deprived of the glory of GOD: but are justified (from their sins) freely 
Rom 3. 23.  by his grace, through the redemption that is in CHRIST JESUS. And in truth otherwise our case were most miserable. For in the parable of the debtor the sum of one thousand 
Mat. 18 24.  talents, declaring the infiniteness of our debt, doth openly proclaim our insufficiency and inability to discharge the same: as also the words annexed: when he had nothing to pay: and I forgave 
Psal. 130. 3. job. 93. Psa. 143. 2.  thee all thy debt. For verily if God should mark what were done amiss, who were able to abide it? And if he should call us to an account, who were able to answer one for a thousand? And therefore our best plea is: Enter not into judgement with thy servants O Lord, call us not to reckoning, put not our bills in suit, for we are no way able to make payment, we are no way able to make satisfaction.   

Diu. 10.  
That Purgatory is no article of the Christian faith  

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 resur●…on of ●…sh.  IF the deliverance of the souls out of Purgatory had been an article of the christian faith, as it is judged to be by the church of Rome, than it had been convenient that after mention made of the resurrection of the body out of the custody of the grave, there should have been adjoined the deliverance of the soul out of the prison of Purgatory: the torments there being so great, as they say they be, the deliverance from thence being as great a blessing at the jest, as the raising of the bodies out of their graves, should not have been altogether unremembered, especially sin very much abounding before the day of the general resurrection, and the Pope's pardons nothing so much regarded, and his charity without a fee being not usual and ordinary; Purgatory then must needs be well filled, and so the deliverance from thence a great benefit to many.   

Diu. 11.  
That everlasting life is the free gift of God through CHRIST and noway purchased by the merit of our own works.  

〈◊〉 ever ●…ng.  IF any thing be bestowed upon us by free gift from God, them surely everlasting life is so bestowed, as the greatest gift proceeding from the most bountiful giver, & the most excellent effect from the most excellent cause. And why is God else accounted a most liberal, bountiful, free, frank, and gracious benefactor, but that most liberally, bountifully, frankly, and freely he bestoweth upon his faithful servants the most precious crown of eternal glory? When that bountifulness (saith the Apostle) and that love of GOD our Saviour towards man appeared, not by the works of righteousness which we had wrought, but of his own mercy he 
Tit. 3. 4.  saved us. And verily the glory of this great bountifulness must needs have been much dimmed, if we had attained to salvation by our own merits, and not by the LORDS only mercy. The wages, in deed of sin is death: but everlasting life is the gift of GOD through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. 
Rom. 6. 23.  For our evil works are perfectly evil and therefore deserve eternal death: but our good works are not perfectly good and therefore eternal life is the free gift of GOD through CHRIST. and not a wages due to the merit of our works. Otherwise why did the Wiseman say? Behold the righteous are here recompensed upon earth: how much more the wicked and the sinner? What doth not the LORD as well love righteousness 
Pro 11. 31.  to recompense it, as he hateth unrighteousness to punish the same? Yes verily: but this is here spoken to this end by the Wiseman, that we should understand, that the sinner most justly deserveth this punishment, whereas the righteous deserveth not the reward. And therefore it is not without cause that just job thus speaketh of himself: If I have done evil, woe unto me: if I have done righteously yet will I not 
job. 10▪ 15.  lift up my head, being full of confusion because I see mine affliction. And why? The evil works of the best are in an higher degree evil, than their good works are in themselves good: and therefore in respect of the one, they may be justly cast down with the fear of eternal confusion and woe: but in respect of the other, they ought not to be lifted up to glory in themselves and in their own righteousness. Let us end with Bernard: My merit is the lords mercy. And so, O LORD, grant unto us, appealling upon this ti●…e to the 
Bern. in can. Serm. 61.  throne of grace, to enjoy the benefit of grace and mercy: and let the members of the church of Rome, if they list, plead the merit of their own works, and try the title of their own deservings at the bar of justice, and so prove whether they shall stand in judgement or fall.  
And so to conclude this treatise concerning the articles of our Christian creed, seeing that the members of the church of Rome teach so many contradictions against these grounds of 
●…a●…re ●…ely ●…ikes, ●…th●…e ●…tho ●…d a●…ike  of the catholic faith, let all the world judge what just cause they have to boast, that they themselves only are the true catholics, and inheritors as it were of the apostolic faith; and that their Pope's faith cannot fail, not be overcome by the gates of hell. The which thing if it were so, what need were there with so great travail and study to seek for the decision of all doubts, and the determination of all controversies in matters of faith from GOD himself opening the same in the sacred books of the canonical scriptures? what need were there so greatly to seek after the knowledge of the arts and tongues, as being the keys that open the doors into the secret chambers of these holy mysteries? Yea what need were there to crave the help of all the god●…●earned of all ages, and their directions set down in their private writings, or else at their public meetings and assemblies in their provincial or general counsels? Certainly this were then to go the nearest wa●e about, and as when one knoweth aslu edly where the game is lodged, not to go directly to the same place, but to traise it out by a troublesome track. For if the Pope's faith cannot fail, if he cannot pronounce sentence against the truth, the nearest way to hold a right faith and to side with the truth is in all matters of faith to look to his determinations, and to rest ourselves upon his oracles. And therefore also needles are the great 
●…ue ●…pe ●…s in●…e cen ●…ay 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for ●…ole ●…e of ●…stes  abours and travails of many of the children of the church of Rome about the opening and justifying of divers points of their superstition and idolatry: Whereas if they could with all their endevoures prove sufficiently the integrity and infallibili●ye of their Pope's faith, they had won the field and gotten the full conquest, they needed not to strike one stroke more for the further clearing of any other point of their doctrine. Neither should they only by this means provide very well for their own security in matters of faith; but also greatly strengthen themselves in their temporalities, and mightily establish their earthly kingdom: as they may easily gather by that great succesle they had therein, when this main point of theirs was generally held by the most part in former times for sound and catholic. For than whosoever would be taken for a member of the catholic church, were he king or Keazer, or whatsoever 
This new article of faith concerning the Pope's authority & necessary subjection to be given thereto, is s●b. nefici. all t the church of Rome, that her fiends would condemn her of great folly, i● that she would leave it far all the articles of the Apostles creed.  he were, he was upon the necessity of his salvation to be built upon that Romish rock, and to settle his safety upon his triple crown, who was the great commander in earth, purgatory, and heaven, he was wholly to be ruled by him who had both sword temporal and spiritual, and to commit all into his hands. And albeit by this means CHRIST himself was almost forgotten (for what need was there to seek to him, when his Viceroy could do all) yet this his Vicar general with all his under officers were very well remembered. And albeit few sought for entrance into heaven at the right door, yet many came far and near, and brought all kind of keys of gold and silver, lands and luelyhodes to open that door, whereof Peter and his successors were thought to be the only, or at the least the chief porters. For they ver●ly thought that if their passport had been signed by the Pope, and subscribed with SEEN AND ALLOWED, CHRIST would in no case have disallowed thereof, but that they had been thereby most safe and sure, and out of all manner of peril and danger. Hereby grew that high and royal state to the kingdom of Antichrist: hereby were gathered into his storehouses the riches and treasures of Kings and Princes: and Saint Peter's patrimony was in most ample manner increased, nothing being thought to much that was bestowed upon his holiness, albeit it were with the robbing, spoiling, and utter undoing of the party himself, and of all his posterity. In so much that although the spiritual kingdom of CHRIST was not hereby erected in all holiness, wisdom, and righteousness yet an earthly kingdom was obtained for themselves in worldly wealth, pomp and glory. But now behold the hand of the Lord: what is become of this great Babylon which was a terror to all the kings of the earth? her walls already are well battered, and down she must to the very ground, yea to the bottomless pit of hell: when the sound faith of all sincere Christians contained in these articles of our Christian creed, as an immovable rock in deed shall remain unshaken, and shall give testimony of their engraffing into him, by whose grace they continuested fast and immovable, and by whose power they are preserved unto that eternal and everlasting kingdom which he himself hath purchased for them with his own blood. Now to this our almighty and all sufficient king and Saviour, be all honour and glory, praise and thanks both now and ever. Amen.    

CHAP. 7. Diu. 1.  

That the right sense of the word of God is always agreeable to his most holy law, being the most exact rule of all true piety and godliness.  
AS the true sense & interpretation of Gods 
〈◊〉 holi●… of the of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God ●…eanes ●…scerne ●…ight ●…e of di●… scrip●… from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wrong.  most holy word, and the points of faith drawn out of the same are always agreeable to the articles of the creed which are the main grounds of our christian faith, and no way thwart and contradict the same; for that God himself the author thereof it true, and always true, and evermore like unto himself: so they are holy, pure, just, and righteous altogether, even as God himself, and his sacred law is holy and righteous altogether. And therefore it is an overruled case, that when the literal sense of any sentence of the word of God favoureth or savoureth of any impiety, and so is contrary to the law of God the rule of all true piety and godliness, than that literal sense is not the true sense, but the figurative, mystical, or spiritual. Except ye eat the flesh of the son of 
joh. 6 53. A●g oe doct Christ ab. 3 cap. 16.  man and drink his blood, ye shall have no life in you. Hear (saith S. Austin) our Saviour seemeth to command an impiety: It is therefore (saith he) a figurative speech, willing us to communicate with the possion of Christ, and sweetly and profitably to lay up in memory, that his flesh was wounded and pierced for us.   

Diu. 2.  
That neither faith, nor prayer, nor any other part of the honour which is due to God, aught to be communicated to any creature.  
THe law was written in two tables, to teach us, that the duty 
The division of the law into two tables.  which we own to God, and the duty which we own to our neighbour, is distinct and divers, and that we should give unto God that which is Gods, and unto man that which is man's. And yet faith, prayers, and vows, being the principal parts of that service and honour which is due only to God, as Beda witnesseth, the church of Rome communicateth with the 
Beda in Lu●. cap. 4.  Saints, and so bestoweth upon the creature the honour due to the Creator, and confoundeth the duties which the Lawmaker himself hath distinguished and divided; contrary to the judgement of the church of Christ in former ages. The saints which 
synod. Mogunt. ca 46.  have shut up the course of their lives with a blessed end, ought worthily to be honoured of us as the most worthy members of Christ's body, but not with that honour which is due to God, but with that reverend regard of society and love, wherewith holy men may be honoured of us even here in this life. So Saint Austin: we worship the saints with charity 
Aug. count Faust. man.. li. 23. ca 21. ●…em●… verarel ca 55.  and not with service, neither do we build temples unto them. And again. Let not the worship of the dead be to us a matter of religion: for they are to be honoured for imitation, and not to be adored for religion. And therefore when information was given by the jews unto the heathen magistrates against the christians a little before the execution of that blessed Martyr Policarpe, that they meant ●o steal 
Euseb. hist. ecel. ●. 4. c. 19  away his dead body after his death, and to worship him instead of Christ, their answer was, that they could never leave Christ, who had suffered for all that were saved in the world, nor worship any other. For him say they we adore as being the son of God; but the Martyrs as the disciples and followers of the Lord we worthily love for their exceeding great good will unto their king and master, to whom God grant that we may he companions and scholars.   

Diu. 3.  
That the first table containeth four, and the second only six commandments.  
THe church of Rome offendeth in dividing the last commandment 
〈◊〉 subdi●…n of 〈◊〉 cōmā●…ents. ●…um be●… Martre 〈◊〉. a P●o ●…to. 〈◊〉 cate●…e of 〈◊〉 in ●…lish. ●…sima in ●…ian.  into two, and in joining of the second to the first, and in some of their prayer books and catechisms leaving it clean out, for the better shadowing (as it seemeth) of their open and manifest transgression of the same commandment: and for the more setting of that out of sight, which might gall and bite their guilty consciences, and break the necks of their dumble Idols. But the distinction of the commandments dependeth upon the distinction of the several duties therein contained; and therefore the first and the second containing several duties, are to be set down as distinct several commandments: but the last containing only divers several members of one general duty, if it had been to be divided, it should not have been into two alone, but into divers and sundry commandments.    

CHAP. 8. Diu. 1.  

That we ought to devote ourselves only to the religious service of one: true and all-sufficient God.  
Comman. 1. THE ground of this commandment is: the Lord thy God is an all-sufficient God, therefore thou shalt have none other gods before him, but shalt devote thyself only to his service: as it may appear by the introduction to this commandment: I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage: that is, I have done for thee this great and wonderful benefit, as in like manner I have done for thee all other things also, therefore as I only have stood by thee, so thou shalt only cleave to me, and as I only have showed myself to be thy most gracious God, so thou shalt show thyself to be my faithful servant, by devoting thyself only to my service. Hear O my people (saith the Lord by the prophet David) and I will testify unto thee, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken 
Psal. ●1. 10.  unto me: there shall no strange Gods be with thee, neither shalt thou worship any other God. And why? I am the Lord thy God that brought thee out of the land of Egypt, open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. That is: I have not only performed for thee that great deliverance, but also I give unto thee all other things whatsoever thine heart desireth, and therefore thou shalt cleave to me alone, and devote thyself only to me. So to Abraham: I am thy GOD all-sufficient: walk before me, 
Gen. 17. 1.  and be thou perfect: that is, cleave perfectly to me, and to me alone. I am he that bestoweth all good things upon thee, and that after a most plentiful and liberal manner, & therefore thou shalt seek to none but only to me. The which commandment when it was broken by the posterity of Abraham, the Prophet jeremy being amazed at the madness of that people, that had ●ought to other then to that one, true, and all-sufficient God, and had changed their glory for that which did not profit, breaketh out into a very strange & extraordinary exclamation saying: O ye heavens be ye astonished at this, be afraid and utterly confounded saith the Lord: for my people have committed two 
〈◊〉. 12.  evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters; to dig to themselves pits, even broken pits that can hold no water. And for this offence especially came so many and greavous destructions upon this people, according as it was threatened also by Moses, even for that they forsook the GOD of 
〈◊〉. 29. 26.  their Fathers which had done so much for them, and did worship strange GOD'S which had done for them flat nothing. Albeit they did not altogether reject the service of the GOD of their fathers; yet for that they did either worship other together with him, or did worship him after another manner than he himself had appointed, therefore they are accused as if they had utterly forsaken the GOD of their father's, and had altogether rejected his worship and service. By whose example let us take heed that we forsake not the one, true, and all-sufficient God, (who is a full fountain of all good things, yea all in all unto all,) by speaking unto any other then only to him, and devoting ourselves to their service. Especially whereas we have been baptised in the name of one God the father, the son, and the holy ghost, 
●…r. 1. 13  & have most solemnly vowed ourselves therein unto his sole & only service; what madness is it willingly and wittingly to break this holy vow by devoting ourselves to the service of the saints, as if the ●ords service were not honourable enough for us, or at the least not sufficient for us of itself alone? Or if we esteem God's service to be honourable enough & sufficient for us, what need have we to betake ourselves also to a meaner service by becoming servants to our fellow servants? for who here in this world being admitted to the Prince's service, doth afterward betake 
●…ipere ●…um Si●…s for●…en by 〈◊〉 in the ●…vers●ty 〈◊〉 Oxford.  himself to the service of a subject? Or what scholar having taken the highest degree in the schools, doth afterward sue to obtain a lower? And yet the children of the church of Rome having in Baptism vowed themselves to the only service of one GOD, do afterwards devote themselves to the service of the saints, do give them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and become their servants by making them their patrons and Protectors, and by ascribing to their favourable help the good success of their affairs. 
Camp ●p. ad Everg. Merc. Prepos. Gener. societati● jesus  As Camp●an before he was apprehended here among us glorieth of himself, that he, from his youth being devoted to Saint john the Baptist, was thus and thus protected by his aid.   

Diu. 2.  
That we ought not to resemble or worship God in any image or similitude.  
2. THe ground of this commandment is; the true GOD is in comprehensible and incomparable in majesty and glory, and therefore not to be likened or resembled to any creature whatsoever without great disparagement, and most heinous derogation unto his glory. The which thing we may learn of the Lord himself, who having set down in divers of his works his own incomprehensible and unmatchable majesty with the vanity and as it were a plain nullity of all his creatures in respect thereof, thereupon inferreth: To whom will ye liken God or what similitude will ye set up unto him? for whereas all the 
Isa. 40. 18.  creatures are nothing in respect of him, therefore he cannot rightly be resembled by any of them. And for this cause it was that the LORD, when he delivered his law unto his people, as he himself testifieth, would not appear unto them in any likeness or similitude, lest they should corrupt themselves by making 
Deut. 4. 15.  any similitude or image of God, the Lord in that place condemning it for a greavous corruption to make any resemblance or representation of himself. The which enormity yet for all this, when it was committed by the children of Israel in the wilderness, When they turned even their glory into the similitude of a cal●e 
Psa. 106. 20  that eateth ●ay; the LORD was so highly offended therewith, that, had not Moses his servant rose up in the gap, his fierce wrath would have broken forth against them to their utter destruction. As also when the same enormity was committed by the Gentiles, when they in like manner turned the glor●e of the incorruptible God, into the similitude of an image 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 1. 23.  of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of four footed beasts, and of creeping things, albeit they did it ignorantly through unbelief, yet the LORD was so highly offended therewith that he delivered up the offenders into a reprobate sense, punishing that their enormous sin with a most great and greavous punishment. And yet the church of Rome teacheth not only to make images to resemble God, but also to worship & adore the same.   

Diu. 3.  
That we ought not to swear by the saints or other creatures, but only by the true God.  
3. THE ground of this commandment is: GOD is infinite in might, puissance, and power, and therefore we must not in any case take his glorious and dreadful name in vain, but use it always with all reverence and fear. The parts of this commandment are two. 1. First because GOD is infinite in power the searcher of the heart, the maintainer of truth and justice, and the avenger of all falsehood and wrong, therefore in such cases as justice and truth cannot couveniently be found out but by oaths, we must as it were appeal unto GOD, and call him to witness and judge what is truth and right by taking an oath only in his name. 2. Secondly our taking of an oath in GOD'S name must not at any time be done lightly or vainly, but seriously and religiously, and that in matters of moment and weight. 
〈◊〉 in ●…h. c. 23.  Now contrary to the first point of this commandment the church of Rome offendeth, in that she alloweth & liketh of s●vearing by saints, thereby after a sort placing them in GOD'S throne as searchers of the heart, judges of right, maintainers of truth and justice, and avengers of falsehood and wrong. For (as Chrysostome saith) 
●…ys. in 〈◊〉. imperf. Math. ●…. 12.  he maketh himself an Idolater whosoever sweareth by any thing besides GOD, and sinneth double: First, because he sweareth, and then because he maketh him God by whom he sweareth.   

Diu. 4.  
That all the lords people ought especially upon the lords day religiously to frequent the public assemblies, and ●oyne together in their common prayers, and in preaching and hearing Gods most sacred word, that thereby they may be stirred to the exercise of all christian duties, and so therein not serve their own ●ustes, but keep that day holy unto the Lord.  
THE ground of this commandment is: God is infinite in wisdom, and only knoweth himself & all such things as belong to his own worship & service: Neither is he rightly known of us, but so far forth as it pleaseth him to open himself 
1. Cor. 2. 11 2. Tim. 3. 16 2. Pet. 1. 20  by his spirit speaking unto us in his word, & so revealing himself unto us. And therefore are we commanded on the Lord's day to rest from all our bodily labours, and much more from such exercises as tend to the stirring up of our corrupt lusts, and to the satisfying of our fond fancies, and to come with the residue of the lords people to the public assemblies in the lords house, that his holy spirit may sanctify our spirits, and by his holy word stir and excite us unto all holy exercises, and so cause us to keep the lords day holy unto the Lord. Contrarily the church of Rome depriveth the people of the benefit of public pra●er, and of the word of GOD, by locking them up from them in a strange tongue, and so taketh away the means whereby that day should be sanctified, and in steed thereof hath brought in such abuses, as whereby it cannot be but greatly prophamed. For the practice of her great Masters in former times hath been to solemnize the great feast of the lords Nativity with a LORD of misrule: as if our Saviour had come in the flesh to deliver us from obedience to all good laws, and to procure a dispensation for all disorder: as also to celebrate that other great feast of Whitsuntide (at what time our LORD and Saviour CHRIST jesus to make manifest his great power that he had in heaven and earth sent down in form of cloven tongues his holy sp●rite upon his Apostles) with a freer use of all such exercises, as kindle the coals of unclean lusts, and blow the bellows to all filthy communication, which are things wellpleasing to the unclean spirit, but most offensive to the holy Ghost, and no way tending to the sanctification but rather to the profanation of the Lords day. Whereas the purpose of the church of Christ, in forbidding Marriages about the times of the three great solemnities of Christians was, lest by the more free use of these earthly pleasures and delights which abound most commonly at marriage feasts, the people's minds should be somewhat hindered from the careful preparation to receive the holy sacrament, which was most usually celebrated at those times, and from the thankful commemoration of those great benefits which are then also especially to be most religiously remembered. Moreover whereas the Lord in this commandment giveth a special charge to all his people that in no wise they forget, but carefully remember to observe and keep holy the Sabbath day by frequenting the public assemblies, and by joining with the congregation in prayer and in hearing the word of God, and in causing those of their families to do the like: as also on the other six da●es to walk paine●ullie in their several callings to his honour, and the good of his people, what shall we think of the Monks, Eremites, and An●chorists of the church of Rome, which are had in so high reputation for their extraordinary, and, as it is thought, Angelical holiness, which live in the open and manifest breach of both the parts of this commandment? For they both forsake the public assemblies, contrary to the Apostles 
〈◊〉. 10. 15.  commandment, on the Lords day and do not perform on the other six days the painful work of any profitable calling to the Lords church: and yet they are put in great hope by their holy mother the church of Rome, that by omitting these so necessary duties so straightly enjoined by the Lord himself, for the better performing of their own will-worshippes, they are in the readiest way to the greatest perfection.    

CHAP. 9  
5 That the Pope cannot exempt the clergy from secular jurisdiction, nor licence any Prince's subjects to withdraw their loyalty & obedience, and to take arms against their sovereigns.  
6 That the Pope cannot make it lawful, much less meritorious to lay violent hands on the Lords Anointed.  
7 That the Pope cannot authorize stews, and incestuous marriages disallowed by God.  
8 That the Pope cannot make good the sale of Masses and Pardons, but that it shall be condemned for the●t before God.  
9 That the Pope cannot licence any to conceal the truth, or to avouch any thing contrary thereto, especially when they are commanded by the Magistrate and that upon their oath to open the same: nor yet to break faith and promise made, no not to heretics.  
10 That concupiscence entertained and liked for a while, albeit it get not our full and settled consent, is sin.  
COncerning the commandments of the second table, which lay down our duty towards our neighbour, and belong to the preservation of human society, the church of Rome is an o●…ender also against the same, neither can she being charged therewith justly and truly plead not guilty. 5 For against the fift commandment she offendeth by exempting ecclesiastical persons from secular jurisdiction, and by discharging (as she thinketh it expedient) all manner of subjects, from their oath of obedience made unto their natural Princes, and in exciting them also to take up arms against them, and so to stand out in open rebellion. For this is not to honour the parents of our countries, 
Rom. 13. 1.  and to yield subjection to higher powers, albeit they be heathenish and persecuting Idolaters.  
6 
See Cardinal de Como his letter to Will. Parry  Against the sixth commandment she offendeth in teaching it to be not only commendable but also meritorious to murder even the Lords Anointed: the which outrageous villainy many other murders also are like to follow, all true subjects (especially such as by special oath, hand, and promise of association are bound more precisely thereto) being ready to adventure their lives and livings for the avenging of the death of their liege and loving Sovereigns. But this heard hearted steppedame little regardeth the lives of many, being ready at all assays to imbrue herself over with blood, so that she may bring to pass her plots and purposes.  
7 
〈◊〉 lu●…d tur●… est ●…dor ex ●…alibet.  Against the seventh she offendeth in allowing, or at the least in tolerating of open stews, for her great revennew she receiveth by them: and in dispensing with incestuous and unlawful marriages, belike upon the former respect.  
8 And albeit she hath no colour nor show to allow of theft done by violence, yet she herself waxeth wonderful rich by that which is done by fraud and deceit, in that she persuadeth the Laity to pay well for her Masses and Pardons, thereby robbing them of their lands and goods: for certainly this is no better than cunning cozenage, yea then statte theft before God. If any Priest (saith Saint Augustine) 
●…e verb ●…ecun●… Math. 19 ●0. 47.  not contented with the wages which he hath by the commandment of Go● for his service at the altar, doth play the merchant, and set to sale his prayers, and to ready to receive the very widows rewards, such an one is to be accounted rather a merchandizer then a Clerk. Neither may we allege; No man can charge us with invasion, no man can accuse us of violence: as if oftentimes flattery did not get a greater boo●y from widows then force. And it skilleth not before God, whether by force or subtlety thou gettest the goods of others, so thou enjoy them by either.  
9 Now how this painted Babylonish harlot, which boasteth 
〈◊〉. tract 〈◊〉 con. 1. ●…6. ●…se po●…s this? ●…ee 〈◊〉 heart 〈◊〉 suffi●…  so much of fidelity and truth, liketh in deed of true and faithful dealing between man and man, how far she is of from all treachery, perjury, and lies, it may appear in that she alloweth her base children being brought even before the Magistrate to pretend ignorance, when they know the matter right well, but as they say, not to open it to SUCH: in that also she alloweth well of breach of faith and promise made to such as she accounteth and condemneth for heretics. Whereby we may perceive how well she leadeth her followers to the lords hill, and to the holy tabernacle of his heavenly kingdom, whereunto none are admitted but such as swear to their neighbour and disappoint him not, though it be to their own hindrance. 
Psal 15. 4.   
10 Lastly, albeit the law being spiritual setteth down a rule to our souls and spirits, and to all the very motions and affections of our hearts, forbidding all such as tend either to the dishonour of God, or to our neighbour's hurt, yet the church of Rome teacheth that concupiscence if it get not the full consent of our will, and a settled resolution to accomplish the same, is not a transgression 
Rom. 7. 7. In ipsa deliberatione ●acinus est, tametsi ad actum non perveneris. Cic. off. l. 3. Nam scel●…●nira se tacitum qui concipit ullum, Facti crimen habet. Horat.  of the law of GOD, neither can be justly condemned of sin. Whereas the Apostle testifying of himself, that he had not known conc●pis●…nce to be sin, except the law had said thou shalt not lust, meaneth not in all likely hood that kind of lust, which is joined with a full consent of the will: for so he being brought up at the feet of a learned Doctor in the law, should have had less knowledge than the very heathen themselves, of whom some could say, that the very consultation to sin was sin, albeit it came not to execution: and that a bare purpose to do evil maketh guilty of the deed done.   

CHAP. 10.  
That by the law there is no entrance to life, but only by faith in Christ jesus, that the law detecteth the deadly wound of sin, but ministereth not the sovereign salve, causeth not favour but wrath, not a blessing but a curse, directing us to Christ to trust in his death, and not suffering us to rest in ourselves, nor yet to trust in our own righteousness.  
COncerning the uses of the law it is manifest 
The uses of ●…e law.  that the law was given to teach us how far we are indebted to God, being an obligation wherein we are bound & that under a great forfeiture, to love God withal our heart, soul, and strength, & our neighbours as ourselves. Whereby we may easily collect how unable we are to discharge this debt. For in the regenerate themselves the flesh albeit it be subdued in part, yet it still rebelleth against the spirit: 
Rom. 7. 23.  neither is it utterly vanquished and overcome, but is one of those enemies that we must still fight against, until the final end of our spiritual warfare, which is not until the last gasp of this transitory life. So that all the time of our continuance here in this world the law of God is impossible in respect of the flesh: and such an 
Rom. 8. 3. Act. 15. 10.  heavy and weighty burden, that none of the faithful were ever able to bear: and therefore this way to life is clean shut up (do this and thou shall live) because of the impossibility of the condition. And yet the church of Rome teacheth that we may in this life fulfil the whole law, and discharge our huge debt, yea and make payment in part also for the debt of other. Furthermore the law thus opening that perfect righteousness which the Lord requireth at our hands, and our inability to perform the same, is therefore said to bring us to the knowledge of our sins: and sin provoking wrath, 
Rom. 3. 20. Rom 4. 15. Gal. 3. 10.  it is said also to work wrath: and the wrath of God being not unarmed, it is also said to make us subject to the curse: and for that the faithful, thus beholding their great danger, are thereby stirred up to seek for deliverance, it is called our school m●…ster that bringeth 
Rom. 10 4. Gal. 3. 24.  us to Christ, which is our only deliverer and redeemer. Contrary to all which most evident uses of the la set down by the Apostle, the church of Rome teacheth, that the law bringeth us not so much to the knowledge of our sins in the transgression thereof, as to the knowledge of our perfect righteousness, which is obtained by the full keeping and observing of the same: and so consequently not to wrath but to favour, not to the curse but to the blessing, not to death but to life, to trust in ourselves and in our own righteousness, and not to glory alone in the death of Christ, as in the only meritorious cause of our great deliverance.  
Thus hath the Bishop and church of Rome not only undermined the foundations of faith, but also hath subverted the law of God, the rule and level of a godly life. Now if he, that breaketh 
Math. 5. 19  the least of the commandments, and teacheth other to do the like, shall be called least in the kingdom God: what shall then become of that man of sin and of his sinful generation? which 
2. Th. 2. 3.  allow not only of the transgression of one of the least of these commandments, but of every one of them little and great? yea what strange either impudency or hypocrisy may we justly think to possess their souls; for that they yet so greatly extol their own sincerity and rightness, as if truth, justice, and godliness did after a sort live and die with them, and as if they were the 
job. 12. 2.  only men that flowed and abounded with all good works, whereas they thus violate and disannul the sacred and inviolable law of God, the rule and level of all good works. Surely if sanctity in doctrine be a sure note of an holy church, and impurity of an impure, as Bellarmine saith, how impure then is the church of Rome, whose impure doctrine thus offendeth against all the rules of sanctity and godliness?   

CHAP. 11.  
1 That we ought to make our prayers only to God.  
2 That we ought to sanctify the name of God by giving to him that glory which is due unto him.  
3 That we ought to promote the gospel of Christ, being the only means for the erecting of his kingdom.  
4 That all the faithful without exception, and not such as are of the Religious sort only, aught to endeavour to fulfil the will of God, even after that manner, as it is performed of the Angels in heaven.  
5 That the faithful enjoy their daily bread ●y the most frank and free gift of God, and not by their own merits and deservings: and therefore much more the release and remission of all their trespasses and sins.  
6 That we ought neither to cast ourselves, nor yet to cause other to full into temptation, by refusing the means ordained by GOD for the better withstanding and subduing of the same.  

Our father which art in heaven.  THE lords prayer being a most perfect and absolute form of prayer teacheth us in general two things: first to whom, and secondly for what we ought to pray. The party, to whom we ought to pray, is God, who is now become our loving father in Christ, and so most ready to grant our requests: he is also said to be in heaven as holding the kingdom and dominion over all, and so most able to fulfil our desires: and therefore good cause have we in all our necessities to come, and to seek only to him and to no other. And so did the faithful in the Primitive church as it may appear by Tertullian in his Apology and defence of the Christians, that he made on their behoof against the Heathen. You (saith he speaking to the Infidels) seek your safety where it is not, and ask it of them, by whom it cannot be given, neglecting him in whose power it is: Moreover ye seek to destroy those Christians, who know both to ask and obtain it also. For we Christians (saith he) looking up to heaven without hands spreadde abroad, as being innocent; and with our h●…de uncovered, as being not ashamed; and without a prompter, as praying from the heart; do all of us alwates pray for all Emperors, that GOD would grant unto them a long life, a safe Reign, a trusty Court, a faithful Council, valiant armies, dutiful subjects; a peaceable government, with whatsoever else that may be wished for either of Prince or people. These things I cannot ask of any but of him, of whom I know I shall obtain them: For it that is he alone that doth perform the same, and I am he which should obtain them, which am his servant, and do honour him alone etc. In which words of Tertullian, we may observe a manifest distinction made between the true and faithful christian, and between the blind and superstitious Idolaters: the one of them seeking to the one, true, and all-sufficient GOD who is only able to help and secure them, and the other going and running to such which are not able to perform the same. And verily if ye read over the whole volume of the sacred scriptures, ye shall find no example of any of the faithful that made their prayers to any strange God, or to any saint, or Angel, or to any other creature whatsoever, but only to the one, true, and all-sufficient ●ehovah: ye may find indeed the example of the damned spirit of the rich glutton in hell, who being utterly excluded from 
Luc. 16. 24.  the favour of GOD, and from all hope of grace and mercy, appealed after a sort from GOD to Abraham saying, O Father Abraham send thou I beseech thee Lazarus, if it be but with one drop of water to coo●e my tongue, and so somewhat to flock mine intolerable torments.  
And yet so gross and palpable darkness had over spread the whole face of the Romish church in these latter ages, that their profound Doctors and great Masters did not only teach the people to pray unto saints, but also to say unto them the lords prayer, which was made to this end to lead us only to God. For the testification of which blindness to all posterities, these ●imes were made in Scotland concerning the same. 
Doctors of Theology of fowrescore of years,  
And old jolly lup●… the bald grey Friars,  
They would be called Rabbi, and Magister noster,  
And wot not to whom to say their Pater noster.  
●…res no●… colle●… Con●…nt i●…um ●…ero, 〈◊〉 sancti ●…miles ●…mo. See ●…s and ●…ments. ●…2. Fol. ●….  Now concerning the matter of this prayer the petitions themselves, and first concerning the sanctification of the Lords name set down in the first petition, the first table of the law doth teach us 1. first to acknowledge God to be all sufficient, and therefore to cleave only to him: 2. secondly to acknowledge him to be of incomprehensible glory, and therefore not to presume to resemble him by any similitude: 3. thirdly to ascribe to him infinite power, and therefore to swear only, albeit never vainly, by his name: 4. four to acknowledge him to be of infinite wisdom, and his word the conduit of the same to derive it to us, and therefore to yield ourselves wholly to it, to be ruled thereby: And this is to give to God that which is Gods, to yield unto him that honour which is due unto him, and so to sanctify his holy name; according unto the exhortation of the prophet: Ascribe unto the Lord O ye k●nredes of the people, ascribe unto the Lord worship and power: ascribe to the Lord the honour due 
〈…〉 96.  unto his name, worship the Lord with holy worship. The articles of our Creed do teach us also to ascribe unto God only the creation and government of this world, and redemption and sanctification of the church, and so to sanctify his holy name. And the whole company of heavenly spirits wondering at the admirable power, holiness, justice, & truth which most gloriously shi●e in all the works of God, do conspire together as it were with one voice to sanctify and magnify the most holy name of the Lord saying: Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God almighty, 
●…c. 16. 3  just and true are thy ways O King of saints: who will not fear thee and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy. Whereby we may perceive that the whole body of the doctrine of Christ, and the whole study of his holy saints tend to thi● end, even to sanctify the glorious name of God by magnifying his infinite greatness and goodness, which in truth can never be sufficiently expressed, nor magnified in that manner as it ought to be. Now how the church of Rome the church of the malignant doth hinder the sanctification of the lords name, and darken and obscure his great glory, it hath been before touched in the setting down of those principal points and chief grounds of our christian religion.  
2. The second petition doth teach us to pray for the planting & establishing of the kingdom of God. Now this kingdom is twofold: the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of glory. Among the ancient Romans there was no passage to the temple of Honour but through the temple of Virtue: and we that are Christians are taught, that we must have our parts in the first resurrection from sin, if we look to be partakers of the second resurrection, 
Apoc. 20. 6  and to be delivered from the second death. For we cannot ascend to Glorification but by the steps or stairs of justification, and Vocation: 
Rom. 8. 30.  that is, we cannot come to the kingdom of glory, but first we must be partakers of the kingdom of grace. Now the word of grace, the word of life, being the power of God to salvation to all that believe, is the only means not only to erect, but also to establish this kingdom of grace. And therefore Saint Paul taking his farewell of the pastors of Ephesus saith: Now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build further, and to give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified. The which word of grace when it was committed to the Apostles, they were said to have received the keys of the kingdom of heaven: the which also when it was rejected of the jews, they rejected together with it the kingdom of heaven. The which word of grace, seeing that it is kept by the church of Rome under the lock and key of a strange tongue from the common sort of christians, what is it but a ready way to exclude them also out of the kingdom of God?  
3. In the third petition all the faithful are taught to desire that Gods will may be done of them all after that manner in earth, as it is done in heaven of the holy angels, all of them according unto their measure of grace tending and striving to this perfection. The which contending to the estate of perfection the church of Rome reserveth only for her holy Votaries, and for such as be of her Religious orders, who that they may obtain a greater opinion of holiness than any other, are said to be only in the way to this Angelical perfection, all other estates and degrees of men belike being out of that way.  
4 Now concerning the fourth and fift petitions: if we have our very bread by free gift from God● (give us this day our daily bread) and not by the merit of our own works, how then can we deserve remission of sins and eternal glory? 5 yea if by our daily sins we add continually to the sum of our debts, & must continually sue for the forgiveness of all our daily and smaller offences: how can we then make satisfaction for our grosser sins, and merit also more of our creditors goods?  
6 Lastly in the sixth petition the faithful acknowledging their great frailty and weakness to withstand the temptations of sin and Satan, are taught to fly continually to the Lords protection, & to fence themselves under the shield of his power, that he may either keep them from the force of the combat, or else deliver them by giving them strength to overcome. But the church of Rome feareth no such frailty in her religious Votaries, and therefore 
● Cor. 7. 2.  leaveth them in the hands of their own lusts, by taking from them the means ordained by God for the avoiding of the same: thereby causing them to tempt God, by refusing the wholesome water ordained by him for the cooling of these their fiery flames.   

CHAP. 12.  
That the grant of eternal life is given to the faithful only in Christ, and not partly through him, and partly through their own works.  
THe holy and sacred word of God doth lay open 
The new Testament ●r Gospel: ●…at is, the joyful tidings of ●…lvation 〈◊〉 Christ ●esus. Gen. 3. 24.  unto us two covenauntes of life made between God & man, the one legal, the other evangelical. The first whereof was made with man presently after his creation, and had for the further confirmation thereof the fruit of the tree of life for an holy sacrament, and a sacred assurance of the same; from the most comfortable use whereof he was utterly excluded after the breach of that covenant. The articles of this covenant were at the first written in the heart of man, and after set down in the law of God, which declareth that it depended upon our own deeds. And therefore when the Pharisie which looked to be saved by the works of the la, demanded of our blessed Saviour, what he should do to be saved: it was answered him, that seeing by the works of the law he looked to be saved, he should perfectly fulfil the commandments of the la: do this, and thou shalt l●…. But 
Luk. 10. 28.  when man by his fall had broken this covenant, and so had stepped out of this way that leadeth to life, and had gotten into the most dangerous ways of sin and death, the LORD who is rich in mercy and of endless goodness suffered him not long to wander therein, but soon reclaimed him, and made with him a second covenant of life in the seed of the woman that should 
Act. 3. 25.  bruise the serpent's head, and in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed. And he appointed unto him certain sacrifices at the first for the further strengthening and confirming of his faith, as afterwards he gave to Abraham the father of the faithful the sign of 
Rom 4 11.  circumcision as a seal of the righteousness before obtained by faith. The articles of this covenant are more at large set down in the Apostles Creed; but most briefly comprised in the Apostles answer to the ●aylors demand; what shall I do to be saved believe thou 
Act. 16. 31.  (say they) in the Lord jesus, and thou shalt be saved and thy household. The opposition of these covenants is set down by the Apostle: Moses (saith he) writeth of the righteousness of the law, that he which doth the same shall live therein: but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh 
Rom. 10. 5.  on this wise: Say not thou in thine ●eart who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to fetch Christ from above:) either who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to fetch up Christ again from the dead.) For if thou acknowledge with thy mouth that jesus is the Lord, and believe in thine heart that God raised up him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth in him shall not be confounded. So then the first covenant was founded on our own obedience, the second on the obedience of Christ: the first dependeth on works, the second on faith, & not on works. And therefore it is certain that our delivery from death, & our recovery to life by the second covenantis only by Christ apprehended by faith: unless we will add some third covenant of life partly in Christ, and partly in ourselves; partly by faith, & partly by works; & so overthrow that covenant of life which was made unto us only in CHRIST jesus. For as the making of the second 
Heb. 8. 7.  covenant was a disannulling of the first, so an establishing of a third must needs be a disannulling of the second. Wherhfore let all true Christians way well with themselves this blasphemous doctrine of the church of Rome, who hath coined another new gospel, which bringeth to us the joyful tidings of remission of sins and eternal life partly through Christ, and partly through ourselves, and so hath disannulled that covenant of mercy which was made unto us only in Christ jesus.  
Neither only doth this their doctrine of satisfaction and merits great wrong unto our Saviour Christ by disannulling the covenant of life made in him, and by defacing of the sufficiency of his death: but otherwise also it is most injurious unto God, and tendeth highly to the dishonour of his sacred majesty.  
1. First it maketh him like to a very unjust and hard Landlord, who having granted an estate in a bargain unto a younger brother upon a sufficient fine tendered by the elder, yet will not let the younger enjoy it, unless he fine for it again himself.  
2. Secondly it maketh him like to a cruel Creditor, who having the debt discharged to the uttermost by a friend, yet casteth the poor debtor himself into prison, until he there also in part make some satisfaction.  
3. Thirdly it maketh him like to a merciless judge, who having punished an offence with condign punishment, yet will have the offender punished again, as if he delighted in the torments of the miserable.  
4. Fourthly it maketh him less merciful than man, who doth remit to his penitent brother all manner of offence, and all manner of revenge also.  
5. Lastly it ministereth matter to the malicious to the satisfying of his malicious humour to the full, seeing as GOD doth pardon us, so we are to deal one with an other: and therefore if GOD doth so forgive us our sins in CHRIST, as that we must yet still either afflict ourselves with the rigorous works of Penance, or else be cast into the extreme torments of Purgatory, than we may also so forgive our brother, as that we may yet procure his most greavous punishment.  
Wherefore let all true and faithful Christians abhor those abominations of the whore of Babylon, yea let all such, as look for forgiveness of sin and eternal life by the covenant of mercy in CHRIST jesus, give the glory thereof not to themselves or their own works, but only to the death of our all-sufficient Redeemer. And yet let them have a most earnest care to show forth their most holy faith by their godly works, (not as if they were part of the satisfaction made for sin, or any parcel of the price given for the purchase of eternal glory) but thereby to testify their thankfulness to him, who hath paid the whole price for that purchase himself, and hath made for them a perfect and full satisfaction. For true faith is not idle nor dead, but a living faith working by love: albeit this mother justifieth without the 
Fides justificat ante partum. Roffensis.  help of her daughters, yea before their very birth as the truth hath forced an enemy to confess. For works do follow the justified man, they go not before our justification: even as good fruits proceed from a tree which is already good, declaring and not making the tree good. Wherefore if we which by nature are wild olives, being engraffed in Christ are made good olives; and if we which of ourselves bring forth sour grapes being planted into the true vine yield a sweet liquor; if we be made good trees and pleasant plants such as are settled in the celestial paradise; we own that wholly to our engra●…ing into Christ by a true faith, and not in any wise to the fruits of our faith, the which are only requisite and necessary duties, which are carefully to be performed of all such, as are called to be partakers of so great mercies. For as in those lands and livings which are holden of temporal Lords, there are beside the fines paid for the purchase of the first estates, certain rents, services, and other duties, which are also to be performed for the quiet and peaceable possessing of the same livings: and yet he were but a simple tenant that would imagine those rents and services to be his whole fine, or any part or parcel thereof: even so the faithful which have their estates purchased for them by the death of Christ in the kingdom of heaven, must as it were pay their rents & perform their services, & submit themselves to the custom of that heavenly manor, and yet they must neither be so proud nor so simple, as to think that these rents, services, and duties are any part or parcel of that fine, that was paid for the first purchase of that heavenly inheritance.   

Chap. 13.  
That the very end and scope of the sacraments also is to teach the faithful that remission of sin and eternal life is obtained only by faith in Christ.  
UNTO the preaching of the gospel and 
Baptism Eucharist.  doctrine of the new testament, were adjoined by our Saviour Christ the sacraments of the new Testament. For it pleased our loving and gracious father not only to give us eternal life in his only begotten son; but also by certain external rites and ceremonies to take us as it were by the hand, and to put us into possession thereof. If we had been (saith Chrysostome) spiritual GOD 
Chrys. in Math. hom. 83.  would have given us these thing nakedly and spiritually: but now for that our souls devil in bodies, he giveth spiritual things under visible creatures. Visible sacraments (saith another) were 
In quaest ve teris testamenti.  ordained for such as are environed with flesh, that by the steps thereof we might ascend from such things as are seen, to things that are understood. Saint Austin calleth the sacraments 
Aug. ●ont. Faustum Lib. 19 Cap. 16.  in general a visible word, as our Saviour calleth the cup in particular the new Testament in his blood: because as the word and testament doth teach our ears that the blood of Christ is the purgation of all our sins, and his body the bread of eternal life; even so do the sacraments represent the same doctrine visibly to our eyes. For certain it is that in the right use of th●se holy mysteries, by the reverend receavinug of the bodily creatures God doth ratify to the faithful his grant and donation of spiritual things, that is of remission of sins, and of eternal life in CHRIST JESUS: and the faithful in the religious use thereof do again for their part after a sort vow unto GOD, that they will seek for the same blessings only by Christ, and not by any other means whatsoever Wherhfore the members of the church of Rome seeking for remission of sins and eternal life not only by CHRIST, but also by their own merits and satisfactions may worthily be charged not only as transgressors of the new Testament, but also as violaters of the holy sacraments, and breakers of that solemn and sacred vow made at thereceaving of these holy mysteries. Yea whereas in the religious use of the sacraments GOD giveth us CHRIST with all his blessings according unto the plain words of the institution of the lords supper (take ye, eat ye, this is my body) the church of Rome hath turned this tipsy turvy, and will not so much, receive CHRIST therein as a sacrifice already offered to GOD for them, but will offer up him again unto GOD, and that as a propitiatory sacrifice both for the quick and dead. In so much that this holy sacrament, being ordained of GOD to testify the sufficiency of that sacrifice, which our Saviour himself once offered upon the altar of the cross, is clean perverted by the church of Rome, and as it were forced to witness the contrary: and being appointed to continued the memory of CHRIST'S death, and of the singular virtue thereof in procuring the full and perfect redemption of man, by this means it is abused to evacuate the cross of CHRIST, and to annihilate the virtue of that perfect redemption. Thus have they turned this holy and blessed sacrament into a sacrilegious and Idolatrous sacrifice: the which because it is grounded upon their doctrine of Transubstantiation and the Real presence, I will therefore add one word also for the confutation thereof.  
The worshippers and adorers of their bredden CHRIST do charge us (for that we deny Transubstantiation and their Real presence) to make CHRIST a liar, and to deny his plain words, or at the least greatly to darken and obscure them with tropes and figures. But that all indifferent persons may understand, who they be that make Christ a liar, & darken and obscure his plain words, I would demand of them but this one question: which is, In what outward elements Christ ordained this holy sacrament of his body and blood? and what therein be the visible signs of the invisible grace? whether bread and wine in their nature and substance, or the bare and naked shows thereof? Verily the Evangeliste● with the Apostle do 
Mat. 26. 26. Luk. 22. 19 1. Cor. 11. 24.  testify, that our Saviour Christ at the institution of this holy sacrament took bread in his nature and substance, and not the bare and naked shows of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it, & gave it to them saying, this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me. And in truth sacraments if they have not a certain similitude (as Austin saith) with the things whereof they are sacraments, 
Aug. ad B●nif. ●p. 23.  they are no sacraments at all, but lose the name and nature of sacraments. Now true and substantial bread and wine have a certain similitude with Christ the heavenly Mannah and true bread of life, & the bodily nourishment, that proceedeth from the very substance of these earthly creatures, doth fitly represent our spiritual nourishment that we have by Christ: but whiteness, rednos roundness, with the outward shows of bread and wine, what resemblance have they either of Christ himself, or of the benefits that we receive by him? wherefore it is not a giving of the lie to the Lord of truth, nor so much as an obscure and hid kind of speech, but that which is most familiar and agreeable to the nature of a sacrament, thus to interpret Christ's words (this is my body) this bread is the sacrament or sacred 
Occam in 4. sent dist. 13. Gardiner in Marco Ant● Const. De consecratione dist. 2. c. timorem. Glossa ibidem.  sign of my body. Whereas in truth it is not only a great obscuring, but a plain perverting of our Saviour's words to interpret them with some of the members of the Romish church: as this is my body, that is, this bread goeth away, & my body succeed in the place thereof: or with other of them, this my body is my body: or with a third sort, this Individuum vagum, this I cannot tell what is my body: or this nothing is my body. Surely these doubtful and strange interpretations of Christ's words, do not only obscure, but pervert the same, deluding the hearts of the Lords people, and undermining the soundness of their faith. For how can they eat these outward shows? or what benefit could they obtain by them if they could eat them? was not this sacrament of the lords supper ordained to the same end, as all other sacraments are, even to assure us of our spiritual union with Christ, & the interest that we have thereby to all his blessings? & how is this herein ratified and confirmed unto us? verily not by the bodily receiving of Christ's body, nor by receiving of the outward shows of bread & wine, but by the reverend receiving of the holy sacraments and signs of the body of Christ, and of his blood. And seeing there is no bodily commixtion between Christ and the faithful, to what purpose serveth a bodily participation? seeing also (as they themselves teach) Christ being bodily received of the wicked departeth again from them: and being bodily received of the faithful, yet is not thereby united unto them nor received to life, but only when he is received of them by faith. Lastly, why should the literal sense of these words (this is my body) be so much urged, which is impossible, barbarous, & blasphemous, 
See Thom. Bi●son. Epis. Winton. part 4. fol. 733.  but that all the world might most evidently discern thereby, who is that blasphemous whore of Babylon?  
Thus hath the Bishop and church of Rome set up many & manifest contradictions against the gospel and the law, the creed & the commandments, the grounds of faith and of a godly life, and so hath brought in that great Apostasy foretold by the Apostle, 
2. The. 2. 3.  the which our Rhemists themselves upon the same place do in the end resolve to signify a revolt from most of the points of our christian religion, which was to be brought in by the great Antichrist. For whereas all other heretics, being in comparison but petty adversaries to Christ, have oppugned but one, or two, or some few points of our christian profession, this adversary hath assaulted the whole body thereof, that so he might openly proclaim himself to be that grand adversary of Christ, even that very great Antichrist. And therefore we need not now look for the coming of such an Antichrist, which shall seat himself in the temple of jerusalem, seeing we may behold him already come & placed in Peter's chair, & in the stately palaces of the church of Rome. The which thing as it hath been sufficiently declared already in the former parts of this treatise, so it remaineth further to be made manifest by divers other particular prophecies, (wherein the great Antichrist is as it were drawn out in his proper colours, that so he might be the better known & avoided) which are to be delivered in the chapter following.   

CHAP. 14.  
1 That the great Antichrist & his adherents shall not be open enemies to all professed Christians, but rather pretenced favourites and friends.  
2 That the principal point of the Christian faith, oppugned by Antichrist and his adherentes, shall not be the dignity and authority of the church, but the virtue and perfection of the work of the redemption wrought by the head of the church, with his priestly and kingly offices whereby he accomplished the same, as being the chiefest foundation of our Christian faith.  
3 That the principal point of his Antichristian doctrine, whereunto he and his adherentes shall ascribe greatest perfection, shall be the vow of single life, and abstinence from divers kinds of meats, and other such will-worshippes' of their own devising.  
4 That it is a manifest mark of the Antichristian pride of the B. of Rome against God, in that he ascribeth greater perfection to the rules of his religious orders, then to the law of God himself: yea in that he taketh upon him to dispense with the law of Goa as if he were superior to God.  
5 That it is a manifest mark of the lucifer-like and Antichristian pride of the Bishop of Rome against all that is called God, and counted worthy of honour here in his church, in that as a presumptuous usurper he exalteth himself not only against the Ecclesiastical, but also against the civil governors, yea against general counsels themselves, which after a sort represent unto us the whole church.  
6 That the Bishop of Rome in his Antichristian pride mainetaining his own faith to be an immovable rock which cannot be shaken, his decisions to be infallible oracles, which cannot err, his church to be eternal which cannot perish, declareth himself most manifestly to be that vain glorious whore of Babylon which vaunteth herself, and saith, I sit as a Queen, & am no widow, & shall see no mourning.  
7 That the seat designed by the spirit of God for the great Antichrist of these last times is that city, which in S. john's time reigned over the kings of the earth, & that was Rome: as it may be also conjectured by the number of antichrist's name shadowed in the figures 666, & expressed by Latein●s, that is a Roman: or by Romijth, or Italica Ecclesia in the account of the Hebrew and Greek letters, and that is the church of Rome.  
8 That a Papist, as a Papist, is a limb of Antichrist, and so no member of Christ, and therefore hath no interest in the work of our Redemption wrought by Christ: of the which if he will be partaker, he must flatly renounce all society with Antichrist, and fight the lords battles against him under the banner of Christ.  
1 BEllarmine that great pillar of the heresies 
In praf●…. lib de cont● rel. tom. 1. Act. 24. 14. Cyp l. 2. ●p. 3  and Idolatries of of the church of Rome endeavoureth by this means to fasten on us (who believe all things that are written in the Law and in the Prophets, and which our Lord Christ, who was before all, hath delivered unto us) the heresies that were to arise in these latter times, for that we withstand boldly and constantly the most grievous corruptions of the church of Rome. For (saith he) the Devil the founder of all falsehood and lies, the enemy of God and of all truth, the oppugner and underminer of all the articles of our Christian faith, as in former ages he hath assaulted the first points thereof which concern the mystery of the blessed Trinity, so to show his hatred against all the points of the same, hath now by us (as he would have the world persuaded) in these last times endeavoured the overthroweof those other articles, which concern the holy Catholic Church. But his collection herein is sophistical: for that it is one thing to reprove the errors of the Church of Rome that now is, and an other thing to deface the holy Catholic Church: for that the church of Rome that now is, is fallen from that faith, which was there first planted by the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, as it may appear to any indifferent person, that without partialiality will compare the most part of that doctrine which she now mainetaineth, but with that only which is delivered by the Apostle Saint Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. The truth is that the Devil in the Primitive Church made his chief battery against the doctrine of the most glorious Trinity; but that his repulse therein was not such, as caused him altogether to give over that enterprise. For ●ee hath in some countries renewed the same assault again in these days, & hath laboured a fresh to shake that very ●elfe same foundation. And albeit he be an enemy to all the members of Christ's mystical body, yet his chiefest malice is against the head: And 
Gen. 3. 15. 1. Cor 3 11 Mat. 16. 18.  for that the doctrine of our Redemption wrought by CHRIST it that invincible rock whereon the church is built, his chiefest assaults have been set against the same by his Ministers the false Prophets and Antichristes of these latter times; who are therefore in holy scripture not so much called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, as if they should utterly deny GOD, or oppugn the doctrine of the blessed Trinity, as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, for that they shall (albeit not in outward shows but in effect and deed) evacuate the cross of CHRIST and the works of our redemption wrought thereby. The great Antichrist (as saith Saint john) shall have two horns like a lamb; that is, shall pretend the two fold authority of Christ the immaculate and undefiled lamb of God: and (as the Apostle testifieth) he shall sit in the temple of God as God, that is, as God's Lieutenant general & Christ's Vicar universal representing his person & executing his authority: and shall pretend himself to be the church of Christ, or at the least shall arrogate to himself the chief ●eate 
Aug. de civ. dei lib. 20. Cap. 19  in the same, as S. Austin testifieth, and Theodorete and P●…masia● upon the same place of the Apostle. And verily if Antichrist when he came, had openly rev●…ed the old condemned heresies of the Arrians, Marcionites, Manichees and the like, and had in flat terms denied either the natures or the offices of Christ our Saviour, what Christian would not soon have espied his wickedness? and what faithful person would not strait ways have abhorred his blasphemy? Therefore that the great Antichrist might the more easily bring in a great Apostasy from the faith, and the sooner make drunk all the kingdoms of the earth with the cup of his spiritual fornication and adultery, he was to come like an whore with 
Apoc. 17 4 2. Th. 2. 10.  flattery and deceit, with strong delusion and all deceaveablenes of unrighteousness, and to offer forth his poison in a cup of gold: that is, he was in outward appearance to make g●…ate show of the Gospel and faith of CHRIST, and most gloriously to pretend, that he and his adherentes are the only Catholics, and the only pillars of CHRIST'S church.  
The ass, perceiving that all the beasts of the forest stooped and bowed low before the Lion, wrapped himself in a lions skin, and in confidence thereof came among them, and began to make an harrish noise, that so he might receive honour of them: the lesser beasts beholding this bug, fell down before him and did him homage: but the greater and wiser beasts discerning him by his voice, set him at nought, and laughed him to scorn. The Bishop of Rome knowing what honour is due unto Christ and his church, hath put on as it were the lions skin by pretending himself to be Christ's Vicar, and his church to be the church of Christ. Now many men judging only by the outward appearance, have so taken him to be, & have honoured him accordingly: but other who have more thoroughly looked into the truth, have by the sound of his voice & doctrine found him not to be the vicar nor yet the friend of Christ, but even his grand enemy the very great Antichrist. For they will not suffer themselves to be deluded with colours and shows, seeing they will understand & that by the caution given by their master Christ, that the heretics of these last times shall come in sheeps clothing, when inwardly they be ravening wolves: and that, Antichrist, the head of 
Math. 7. 15. Greg. in ●ob. l. 25. cap. 20 Hil. con●. Auxentium Chrys●in Math. H●m. 49.  all hypocrites by the judgement of Gregory, shall feign piety, to draw to iniquity: & that, under the cloak of the gospel (as Hilary saith) he shall be contrary to Christ, in so much that Christ shall be denied, when he is thought to be preached. They know, by the admonition of Chrysostome, that they must come to the divine scriptures only, that so they may rightly discern the doctrine of Antichrist: seeing that if respect be had to names titles, and profession, he and his adherentes shall profess themselves good Christians, yea they shall pretend greater chastity and mortification of the flesh, then shall be found amongst the true Christians. And so Sa●…t Paul by the spirit of prophecy had most evidently foretold that the heretics of these latter times, that is Antichrist 
1. Tim 4. 2.  and his adherentes should speak lies through hypocrisy, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, that so by their hypocritical show of continency and abstinence they might procure the greater credit both to themselves, and to their doctrine. Wherhfore ●t is but a cunning and crafty collusion of Satan, to persuade the world that Antichrist his Lieutenant general should be an open enemy of CHRIST and his church, and make open war against all professed Christians, that while they prepared themselves against such an open Antichrist, they might suffer themselves unawares to be overtaken by the subtlety and fraud of the true, but privy Antichrist. And so certainly it came to pass: For as he caused the jews, who professed themselves to be the Lords only heritage, to refuse their true Messias and Christ, while he persuaded them to look for such an one, as should come with outward pomp, earthly glory, and establish his kingdom by an high arm of flesh: so he hath prevailed with those that accounted themselves only to be the members of the true church in these latter days, and hath made them yield to the spiritual bondage of Antichrist, whiles he warned them to beware of such an Antichrist, as should proclaim open war, and be at utter defiance with all professed Christians. But what said our Saviour to 
Math. 16. 3.  the deceived ●ewes? ye hypocrites ye can discern the face of the sky, and can ye not discern the signs of the times? They that thus expected a worldly Messias should have diligently looked into the books of the Prophets, and so duly examined the signs of the true Messias, that finding them thoroughly performed in CHRIST (as the drifts and discourses of the Evangelistes do testify, and our Saviour himself witnesseth in these words, all things are finished) should thereby have been induced to have received him for the true Messias. After the like manner 
joh. 19 30.  all that profess themselves to be true Christians, and would not be deluded by the subtleties of Satan, should be careful to discern the signs of these times, and to observe the right notes and marks of the true Antichrist, that so they might be able both to descry and also to avoid his most dangerous snares. When the pharisees, that looked that their Messias should be a temporal Monarch, demanded of our Saviour 
Luc. 17. 20.  CHRIST, when the kingdom of GOD (the kingdom of the Messias) should come, he answered: The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall men say, Lo here, Lo there; for the kingdom of GOD is within you. Whereby he signifieth, that the kingdom of the Messias should not be with outward pomp and earthly glory, but that by the preaching of the gospel he should lay the foundation of a true faith and a godly life in the hearts of all his people, and so establish within them his spiritual kingdom, consisting in righteousness, peace, and ●oy in the holy Ghost. After the like manner may we be bold to avouch, 
Rom. 14. 1●  that the kingdom of Antichrist cometh neither with observation, for that he shall not be an outward and professed enemy to Christianity, but shall with great subtlety undermine the foundations of a true faith and godly life, and so erect his spiritual & Antichristian kingdom. And hereof it is that Chrysostome calleth 
Chrys. in Math. Hom. 49.  (not bands and companies of armed soldiers) but heresies the armies of Antichrist: & certain it is that all heretics that did arise from the Apostles times, and did oppugn any point of faith, 
2. Th. 2. 7.  are said to prepare away to the kingdom of Antichrist: for this Mystery of iniquity did work even in the Apostles time: And is called a Mystery, for that it did work secretly, their poisoned doctrine being outwardly shadowed with the profession of the true ●aith. And verily how came Arrianisme itself to overflowe the outward face of the whole 
Hieron adver●. Luciferianos. Leo. Epist. 81  visible church? Infidelity (saith Jerome) was planted under the name of faith. So in the time of Leo, how were heresies set abroach? you think (saith he speaking to the authors of them) that ye deal for faith, whereas ye contend against faith: ●ee are armed with the name of the Church, and yet ye fight against the Church. But especially in these last times, since Antichrist began more and more to be disclosed, the old Serpent hath searched out the very depth and profundity of all his crafty devices, and hath bestowed all his art, cunning, and skill, to beautify his corrupt doctrine with many fair glozes, and to paint it with many glorious colours. An example whereof we have in that proud champion of this great Antichrist, who marched forth not many years since like Golia●… the Gittite 
1. Sam. 17.  (who had an helmet of brass upon his head, and a brigandine weighing 5000 shekels of brass upon his legs, and a sh●…lde of brass upon his shoulders, the s●…fte of whose spear was like a weaver's beam, who defiled the host of the living GOD saying give me a man that we may fight together.) After the like manner marched forth this other proud champion with his most stately furniture (as he himself thought) and armour of proof, even with a most goodly and glorious show of all Antiquity and Novelty, Law and Custom, Fathers and Counsels, Histories and all Monuments, Reasons natural and moral, together with the whole armies and hosts of heaven and earth, and the bands and companies of all the creatures great and small, & in confidence hereof he was bold to blaspheme the truth of the gospel, and to revile the professors thereof even all the lords armies, and to provoke them all to an open combat. Now there was sent forth against this Giant little David with a staff as it were, a s●ing and a few 
Guilielmus Whitakerus.  small stones taken out of the clear streams of the sacred scriptures, and so with this armour of the Lords he overthrew this vain glorious Go●ah the son of pride, and child of Antichrist, and with his own sword of Fathers, Counsels etc. he cut of his head and gave his carcase to be meat for the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and made it manifest to all indifferent persons, that this proud vaunt was nothing else but a glorious show of vain words, and a puffing blast of a swelling spirit.  
The Apostle S. Peter by the spirit of prophesy foreseeing the great corruptions of these last and most dangerous days, setteth down these notes and marks of the false prophets and Antichristes, which shall seduce the most part of the Christian world: 1 as first in general terms, 
2. Pet. 2. 1.  that they shall prively and under the vizard of truth bring in damnable heresies, Satan in them turning himself into an Angel of light, and not showing himself openly as he is, but shadowing his falsehood under the cloak of truth: For with ●ei●edwordes (saith he) shall they make merchandise of the people, that is, under the pretence, as it were, of the Catholic faith, the Holy Church, the consent of Fathers, Christ's Vicar, Peter's successor. Antiquity, Unity, Universality, they shall sell many ●oules to the Devil, when they, which be deceived by such means, shall persuade themselves that they ga●e God.  
2 Secondly, the Apostle setteth down in particular what shallbe the principal of these damnable and privy heresies, even this that they shall deny the Lora●ha● bought them: that is, they shall deny the great virtue & sufficiency of our redemption wrought by Christ, 
Quicquid eiu● negaris, ipsum negavit. Aug. in Joh. tract. 66.  which is in effect a ●…at denial of Christ himself. For (as Austin teacheth) whosoever denieth any thing belonging to Christ, denieth Christ.  
3 Th●…dly, they shall come with so strong delusion, that they shall make drunk with the cup of their spiritual fornication many of the countries and kingdoms of the earth, whereby there shall fall out a great Apostasy from the faith, the multitude following their damnable ways.  
4 Fourthly, they shall speak evil of the way of truth, charging both the profession thereof with error and heresy, and the professors of the same with many most heinous and grievous crimes.  
5 Lastly, 
Apo. 18. 13.  through covetousness they shall make merchandise of people, and set out to sale even their souls for gain. Now do not all these cognisances and badges of these heretics and Antichrists of the last times agree most apparently to the Pope and his Ministers? of whom we may say, that they seem to be friends, but indeed 
Omnes a● ici, & omnes inimici: servi Christi servant Antichrist●. Bern. in catserm. 33.  are enemies: In show they serve Christ, but in truth Antichrist. For howsoever in outward show they seem to esteem of the Lord that bought them, and of the redemption wrought by his death, yet in effect they clean overthrew the virtue and validity thereof, in that they teach that we must seek for a second justification by our own deeds, and not content ourselves with our first justification by Christ: & that we must make satisfaction by the works of Penance, or else in Purgatory for our own sins, as if Christ's satisfaction were not sufficient: and that we must deserve heaven by our own merits, as if Christ had not fully bought it with his blood. Now what other thing (saith S. Austin) do we 
Aug. de verb ●om. secund. ●oh. ser. 45.  fearein Antichrist, but that he shall honour his ow●e name, and contene Christ's? And what else doth he when he ●aith. I justify? For to seek to establish our own righteousness, is to derogate from the virtue of Christ's righteousness; and to seek justification by our own works, is to disallow the fullness of our justification by Christ: and is not this to honour ourselves with the dishonour of Christ, which is a mark of a very Antichrist? For as our Messias & Saviour was an all-sufficient God, that so he might be an all-sufficient Saviour, so he will be acknowledged an all-sufficient Saviour, or no Saviour; an entire, perfect, and only Redeemer, or no Redeemer. And therefore in that the Bishop of Rome and his adherents do deny our Saviour Christ to be an entire, perfect, only, and all-sufficient Saviour, they do in effect deny him to be their Saviour at all, according unto the prophecy of the Apostle S. Peter. And yet have they set such a gloze upon this their most wicked doctrine, and delivered forth their poison in such a golden cup, that a great number have been deceived and led into error by them, and many have followed their damnable ways: in so much that whosoever never so little opposed himself against them, he was straightway an Horetike and a Lollarde for his labour, a fire and a faggot was to good for him, and whatsoever mischief they could do him either in word or deed, all was thought to little. And did they not with feigned words deceive the world, whiles they taught that this doctrine of meriting of salvation by our own works, was both a magnifying of the virtue of Gods most holy spirit, by whose power and efficacy they are wrought, and a great provocation to piety & godliness, in that thereby we should deserve our own salvation? yea did they not through covetousness make merchandise of the people, whiles they taught that they had power to remit sins, & that they had the keys of the kingdom of heaven, & that they could by their masles and pardons deliver any soul whatsoever out of Purgatory, if that they were well hired and pa●de for their pains? And did they not by their thus merchandiz●ng of men's souls so well profit & gain, that they had gotten into their own hands many of the goodliest possessions in Christendom, with great abundance of riches & treasures, and had still at command, as they thought good, the purses & lively hoods of all Christians? Wherefore seeing that all these marks of the he●et●kes and Antichrists of these last times do so apparently fit the Pope and his Ministers, we doubt not but that we may take them for those very parties: and that so much the more if we duly consider, how in particular also they derogate from the priestly & kingly office of our Saviour Christ, whereby he accomplished the work of our redemption.  
There are two points wherein his Priesthood consisteth, his sacrifice, and his mediation. Concerning his sacrifice the Apostle teacheth that as it was appointed for all men once to die, and after death 
Heb. 9 21.  judgement; so Christ was once offered to purge the sins of many: and that if he should have often offered himself, he should have often suffered. As also that this is a difference between the sacrifices of the Aaronical Priesthood & the sacrifice of Christ, that they were often reiterated & repeated, for that it was impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins: whereas the sacrifice of Christ was but once made, neither needed indeed to be made any more, seeing thereby he hath brought in eternal redemption, and made 
Heb 9 10. 12 14.  perfect for ever them that be sanctified. Now, as if our Saviour Christ had not by his oblation of himself once made brought in eternal redemption, and made perfect for ever them that are sanctified; the Pope and his Priests will needs offer him again in their Mass, the which they avouch to be apropitiatory sacrifice both for 
Heb. 10. 18.  the quick and the dead, albeit as the Apostle hath plainly testified, where there is remission of sin, there is no more sacrifice for sin: but our Saviour Christ by his one oblation of himself once offered hath procured a plenary and full pardon for all our iniquities and sins, & therefore now there cannot remain any more sacrifice to be offered for sin; especially whereas our Saviour Christ is our only Priest according to the order of Melchizedech, who, for that he endureth for ever, 
Heb 7. 24.  hath an eternal Priesthood which cannot pass from him to any other: and therefore all our Popish Priests, which will needs intrude themselves to be partners with Christ in this office of his Priesthood & will offer him again up unto God, are worthily to be condemned for usurpers of that honour, which no way belongeth unto them.  
Now as they thus by their Priesthood and by their sacrifice of the Mass do deface the Priesthood & sacrifice of Christ, so do they also derogate from the same by their doctrine of the Intercession & mediation of saints. For whereas our Saviour Christ hath now long since ascended into heaven, & there sitteth at the right hand of God, ever living to make intercession for us, & whereas the virtue of his death & passion is always present before God, procuring for us the favour of God, & a ready grant to all our requests, as far forth as it is behoveful & convenient for us: if this mediation & intercession of Christ which is continually before God be sufficient, what need have we to seek for the mediation of the Saints? But this mediation of CHRIST in the judgement of saint Augustine is so sufficient, and the resting only thereon so sure a mark of a faithful Christian, that he is bold to make this resolution therein: We have JESUS CHRIST our advocate, and he is 
Aug. in ep. joh. tract. 1.  the propitiation for our sins: he that holdeth this, holdeth no heresy, he that holdeth this, maketh no schism. As likewise on the contrary side he is bold to affirm, that if the very Apostle Saint john 
Aug. count Epist. Par●…. Lib. 2. cap. 8  himself had said: If any man sin you have me for your advocate, and I obtain pardon for your sins, that no faithful person would have acknowledged him for an Apostle of Christ, but rather have defied him as a very Antichrist.  
3 Likewise concerning our Saviour's kingly office and authority of making of laws to guide us in such a course, as that we may walk, as it becometh those, which are called to be partakers of so great mercies, we know that we are not our own but his, that hath ransomed us with so great a price, that we should be subject to his only laws, and yield our obedience only to his commandements. For we have no other Lord besides him who hath authority to impose laws upon us, we have but one Lord and lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Contrary to this royal and sovereign authority of Christ, the Pope and his adherentes 
Eph. 4. 5. jac. 4. 12.  have taken upon them to impose laws, rules, & orders upon the people of God, yea & have given them praise & commendation that by observing the same, they may do works of supererogation available for the salvation of other men, & may win such credit as to be accounted the only religious of all other, & may attain to greater holiness & perfection than may be gotten by the law of God. So that albeit Moses himself, after that he had delivered 
Deut. 4. 8.  the law of God to the people, testified of the dignity & excellency thereof, that there was no people that had laws so righteous, as was all that la which he had set before them: yet the Pope would bear the world in hand, that the rules of Friar Francis Dominicke & the rest do lead unto greater holiness & perfection, than may be obtained by the law of God. Wherefore it is not without 
1 Tim 3. 16 & 4. 1.  cause that the Apostle did foresignify, that as our redmption wrought by God manifested in the flesh is the greatest mystery of Christian godliness: even so the prohibition of meats & marriage (according to the rules of Friar Francis & the rest) should be the doctrine in outward show of greatest excellency & perfection among false prophets of the last times, the limbs & members of the great Antichrist, wherein the Pope & his adherents most injuriously derogating from the law of Christ our only spiritual Lord & king, doth show himself that man of sin, that son of pride, that very Antichrist, who was to sit in the temple of God, & to advance himself above God.  
4 For what doth he else, when he advaunceth his orders & rules above God's law? & not only so, but presumethto dispense against the law of God, & to set greater penalties upon the breach of his own orders then upon the transgression of God's commandments, yea & flatly to repeal the precise commandments of Christ? An example whereof we have in the Lord's supper, the which was ordained by him in both kinds, to assure the faithful of their full & perfect spiritual nourishment they have by him, as S. Austin & some of the 
Aug. in. tr. in Joh. 26.  School. men also have taught. The which glory of Christ to be our spiritual nourishment unto eternal life, that it might be abolished, or at the least obscured, the Devil by the Pope hath maimed this institution of the Lords, & hath repealed his commandment (drink ye all 
Mat. 26. 27. Luc. 22. 20.  of this) in restraining the people from the use of the cup, albeit it be the new testament in his blood: (whereof the people ought to be partakers, as well as the Priest:) & the Apostle hath added, that 
Gal. 3. 15.  unto the testament of a mere man none will presume to a●de or abrogate, much less to the testament of Christ our Lord (the Pope & his popelings only excepted.) Whereas also this commandment being delivered in general terms, & at the same time, & to the same persons (as that other commandment was, take ye, eat ye, this is my body) must needs be of the same force, & bind also to the same obedience. The which thing to be most true we need not seek for any 
Gerard. Lorich. de Missa publica proreganda.  further witness, seeing we have the testimony of one of their own friends, who is bold to term all such false Catholics, and most wicked blasphemers who hinder the reformation of this notorious abuse. And in very deed the case is so clear & evident, that by the Bishops of Rome themselves who lived in purer ages, the 
Leo. serm. 4. de quadragesima.  abstaining from the cup hath been condemned as an open error in the Manichees: & strait injunction hath been given, that such as abstain from the one be driven f●rm the other, for that the 
Gelasius de consecratione dist. 2. c. comp●rimus.  dividing of one and the self same mystery could not be done without most greaavous sacrilege. Wherefore sacrilegious is the pride of all these late Bishops of Rome by the testimony of one of their own predecessors, in that they presume to divide those things which Christ hath joined together, & to maim and ●angle his new Testament, and to repeal his flat commandment: as also for that in their greatest pomp this very sacrament, which they pretend to honour as Christ taking it in truth to be very Christ, is carried before them on an hackney, when they themselves are carried on men's shoulders, their own throne is set above the altar, the cross which is carried upon the right hand of king's swords & sceptres (for that as they say divine honour is due unto it) is notwithstanding laid under their feet: & in the lubile they beat upon the gates of Paradise with a golden hā●er, as it is expressed in their Pontificals, & exercised in their soleni●ies. Now what are all these things but the plain steps of the intolerable & lucifer-like pride of the great Antichrist? For as he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him is true, & there is none unrighteousness in him: so in Antichrist there is unrighteousness, & he is not true, because (as 
Aug. in joh. tract. 29.  Austin teacheth) he will not seek the glory of him that sent him.  
5 Wherefore the B. of Rome must needs be very near kin at the least to the great Antichrist, in that he so highly advaunceth himself, & so eagerly pursueth his own glory, exalting himself not only against god & his Christ, but much more against Christ's Le●fetenāts the Ecclesiastical & Civil governors (of whom it is written. I have said ye are Gods) & against the most venerable assemblies 
Above all that is called God. Chrys. in Math. Hom. 35. Greg. ep. l. 4. ep. 32. & 34  of general counsels, For ●e will needs have prima●… in earth, albeit he find confusion in heaven. He will needs take to himself the name of universal Bishop, that name of blasphemy whereby the dignity of all priests is diminished, in that so much is arrogated to one after a frantic madness: yea he will needs take it to himself, albeit it be against the meaning of the Gospel, against all Churches, & against the ordinance of the Canons: albeit in this pride is betokened that the time of Antichrist is at hand, he being hereby followed, who despising the equality of ●oy among the angels, laboured to mount up to the top of singularity, saying, I will advance my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit in the mount of the Testament even in the North, I will get me up above the clouds, and wi●… be like unto the highest. Neither doth his pride stay here, but in all things he laboureth to express his image, who not contenting himself with his Ecclesiastical jurisdiction, were it never so great, in the declining of the Roman Empire was to thrust himself into the seat thereof, and to challenge to himself both sword, Ecclesiastical and Civil, and to take upon himself both the Empire of God & men. For so Chry●ostome hath foresignified that toward the declining of the Roman Empire Antichrist shall come: for this Empire 
Chr. hom. 2. in 2. c. ep. 2. ad Thes.  (saith he) being so renowned, none will easily be subject unto him: but this being void he will invade the power thereof, and take it to himself, in so much that he will take upon him both the Empire of God and men. The which authority hath been now long since usurped even to the uttermost by the Bish. of Rome, who as if he had been Lord of Lords, & King of Kings hath taken upon him not only to depose & to set up Kings at his own pleasure, but also hath practised the like in the Empire itself. Neither yet hath his pride stayed here, but hath advanced it sel●e one step higher even above the most venerable assemblies of general Counsels, who have the authority, & represent the face of the whole church. For it hath passed 
Bellar. de Con●. lib. 2 cap. 14.  on his side that his authority is greater than theirs, and that ●e is not subject to their jurisdiction, to be cited, arraigned, or condemned by them. His decisions must come forth with a Non obstante: whereas their decrees must always be with a Salva semper: his faith cannot fa●le, he cannot 
●dem. l. 4. de pontiff. c. 13. Rhem. in Luc. Cap 22.  err, at the least in the Consistory, and: herefore no man may say to him, Sir why do you so? The which presumption is so intolerable, & so only bee●itting the great Antichrist, that a man otherwise, as it is likely, of his own faith & profession, hath for this 
Avent. annalium l. 6. ●ol. 683.  cause so proclaimed him to be, at the meeting of the Nobles and Prelates in Germany; for that he spoke proud things, as if he were some God; for that he laid new plots to establish himself a king doom; made & changed what laws he listed, sacked, spoiled, deceived, killed, being that son of perdition which they call Antichrist, in whose for head is written a name of blasphemy, I am a God, I cannot err: In the temple of God he sitteth and reigneth far and wide.  
6 And verily whereas it is the prerogative royal of the supreme & vn●…dgeable judge of all flesh, that he cannot err, lie or do unjustly, & therefoe that he is not to be judged of any, neither may 
job. 9 12.  any man say to him what dost thou? therefore in that the bishop of Rome taketh upon him not to err in judgement, nor to be judged of any, he may justly be charged for this cause to take upon him ●o be as God. And if in Ieromes and Prospers judgement the name 
Hier. ad Algas. quae. 11. Prosp. de proved. & praedest c. 7.  of blasphemy written in the forehead of the whore of Babylon be (Romae aeternae) eternal Rome, (for so the heathen call Rome, thinking that the Empire thereof shall continue for ever) then much more this blasphemy is the proud & presumptuous entailing of God's spiritual & heavenly graces to that city for ever, in that they vaunt that their church is eternal and shall never fail, & that their Bishop's faith is an immortal and immovable ro●ke, against the which hell gates shall never prevail. For what is this vaunt of the whore of Babylon, I sit as a Queen, and am no widow, & shall see no 
Apo. 1●. 7.  mourning (spiritual things in this revelation being signified under the names of earthly) but as the Bish. of Rome vaunteth of himself, The light of true doctrine shall never be removed out of the cadlesticke of my church, & the lamp of my faith shall never go out: but my church shall be the mother of the faithful for ever and I their supreme governor & king, as being Christ's great V●ca● general here in earth, purgatory, & heaven, as it is sufficiently to be seen by my glorious triple crown? And so as Adam fell by pride, when he wloud needs be as God, knowing good & evil: & Lucifer when 
Gen. 3. 5.  he was not content with the dignity of an Angel, but would needs aspire to the top of singularity: even so the Bish. of Rome fell, when he would needs advance himself into Christ's seat, to be his Vicar 
Apo. 13. 11  general & Universal Bishop of the whole church: when he would needs take two horns to himself like the lambs, & lay claim to both swords: when he was not content with the dignity of a star, but would be as the sun of righteousness himself, from whom not only all the chief stars in all Pastoral dignities, but in kings thrones also, yea in the very Empire itself, should take their light, & receive their authority from his supremacy. We read in Moses 
Gen. 1. 16.  that God made two great lights, the sun to rule the day, and the moon to govern the night: & that is (if we will believe a Bish. of Rome) the Pope & the Emperor: whose difference in degree & dignity (as some of their Parasites have taught) is so much, as is the difference between the sun & the moon. Now when the Bish. 
Apoc. 9 1.  of Rome thus advanced himself in his pride, than fell there from heaven a great star: that is, one who had the place of a great Bishop in the church of Christ, & whose predecessors had been indeed most notable stars, & singular lights to God's people, and had had the keys of the kingdom heaven; And he became Vicar general to the prince of darkness, & had the key of the bottomless pit, who with the gross mists of his corrupt doctrine obscured the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, & brought in most palpable blindness & ignorance: for the which cause also he is worthily noted by 
Apo. 16. 3.  the name of a false Prophet, even for that he forgeth falsehood and lies.  
7 Wherefore to conclude, seeing all the marks of the great Antichrist of these last times do so apparently agree to the B●. of Rome, we may be bold to avouch in these days that which Bernard did 
Ber. ep. 125.  in his time, that the beast to whom a mouth was given to speak blasphemies, doth now possess Peter's chair: & especially seeing it was so foretold by the spirit of truth, that the seat of the great Antichrist of the last times should be that city which in S. john's time reigned over the whole world, & that was the city of Rome: the which is therefore 
Apo. 17. 18.  called by the ancient Fathers the western Babylon, for that the whore of Babylon should sit there: the which thing is so evident and undeniable, that our Rhemists themselves subscribe thereunto upon the same place of the Apocalypse: & therefore Rome & not jerusalem is the certain 7 determined seat of the great Antithri●t. As it may also not unfitly be co●…ectured by the number of antichrist's name shadowed in the figures & expressed by Lateinos, which is a 
Apo. 13. 18. Ir. count ●i. 5.  Roman: or by Romijth, or Italica Ecclesia in the account of the Greek & Hebrew letters, & that is the church of Rome. For Antichrist shall not only invade the terrene state of the Empire of Rome as our Rhemists pretend, but the church of Rome itself, seating himself in the temple of God, as God; that is, as God's Lieutenant, and pretending his authority: he shall be a star fallen from that dignity wherein his predecessors were placed, and that worthily, as being notable stars & lights in Christ's Church● whereby it is evident, that Antichrist shall in Rome possess both jurisdictions as well the Ecclesiastical as the Civil, the which being now long since performed by the Bish. of Rome it is manifest that he is the very Antichrist.  
8 Wherefore by all these things which have been before delivered it is evident that a Papist, as a Papist, is a limb of Antichrist● now a limb of Antichrist cannot be a member of Christ, and he that is not a member of Christ cannot be partaker of that salvation 
1. Cor. 10. 21. 2. Coa. 6. 14  that cometh by Christ, & therefore a Papist, as a Papist, cannot be saved. Come you out therefore all from the kingdom of Antichrist, who appertain to the kingdom of Christ, lest if ye be partakers in their Idolatries and sins, ye b●e partakers also in their plagues. O seek not any longer to shadow him, whom out Saviour hath revealed by the brightness of his gospel, nor to preserve him whom he hath already in part destroyed with the spirit of his mouth: fight no more against Christ, be not enemies any longer to your own salvation: refuse henceforth to be leaguers and confederates with the whore of Babylon, and return withal speed to the spouse of Christ. O pray for the peace of jerusalem, that ye may suck comfort out of her breasts, and be refreshed with her consolations. And ye that are the Captains and soldiers of the lords armies sighed ye courageously the lords battles, and hate ye that purple-coloured harlot, which hath her garments died with the blood of the saints: Hearken to that holy blood, that crieth even to heaven for vengeance, and do ye also execution accordingly, never making stay of your fervent zeal, until ye have brought her to her utter desolation. And so if ye fight this good fight, and fulfil your course, & keep the faith, be ye most assured that there is laid up for you a crown of righteousness, 
2. Tim. 4. 7.  which the righteous judge shall give unto you, and to all those that love his appearing. Now to the immortal, invisible, and only wise God be all honour and glory, dominion and power, praise and thanks both now and ever. Amen.   Psal. 40. & 74. 
Let all those that seek thee be joyful and glad in thee, and let all such as love thy salvation say always: The Lord be praised.  
FINIS.   

THE SECOND PART OF THE TRIAL OF TRUTH: WHEREIN IS SET DOWN THE proper fountain or foundation of all good works, & the four principal motives which the spirit of God so often useth in the sacred scriptures to persuade thereunto: together with the contrariety of the doctrine of the Church of Rome to the same: wherein also are opened not only the causes of all true piety and godliness, but also of all heresy and Idolatry, which is and hath been among Gentiles and jews, and us likewise that are called Christians.  
By JOHN TERRY.  
He that commendeth himself is not allowed, but whom the Lord commendeth.  2. Cor. 10. 18. 
Whether we be out of our wit, we are it to God: or whether we be in our right mind, we are it unto you: The love of Christ constraineth us.  2. Cor. 5. 13. & 14. 
AT OXFORD, Printed by Joseph Barnes, and are to be sold in Fleetstreet at the sign of the Turks head by JOHN BARNES, 1602.   

TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL Master Doctor RIVES warden of S. Mary College of Winchester in Oxford commonly called New College, and to the residue of the members that are, or have been of that society.  
IT is a truth generally confessed, (Right Worshipful & ye the residue beloved in the Lord) that of all feasts, that is the most sumptuous and dainty, which wisdom hath provided for 
Pro●. 9  her guests: the which consisteth of three courses, that is, of the instructions of faith, of the precepts of life, and of the rules of discipline and government. The two first courses of this worthy feast, especially the first consisting of the instructions of faith, as they have been seasoned & served in by the Lords most skilful Cooks and sworn servants, and also as they have been attempted to be distempered & even poisoned by the black guard of antichrist's kitchen & the devil's scullery, I have already set before the Christian Reader, which vouchsafeth to be a guest at wisdoms table, & that under the taste of the Right Reverend Father in God my very good Lord the Bishop of Sarun. And now that which was then wanting of the second service, without the supply whereof this feast might seem to be somewhat sparing, as far forth as I have been credited therewith, I present unto the church under the approbation of the Right worshipful M. Doctor Rives la●e chief over●eer of our common mother the University of Oxford, and remaining still a careful Guardian of one of my special nurses the College of S. Mary of Winchester in Oxford commonly called New College. Sir your kind affection towards me of long time, and your friendly persuasion in moving me to publish to the benefit of the church of Christ the first part of my private labours, and your advancement by God to the government of that College, (unto the which ●owe more than unto any other place or person whatsoever, seeing there I had my being well, whereas elsewhere I had but my bare being, or rather with my being, my being evil:) have induced me so far forth to presume of your favour and good will, as that I am bold to request your protection for the second part of these my travails and pains. For my hope is, the more that God hath advanced you to worship, that the greater will be your care to further all such means as do concern his worship: & that you do esteem this to be your chiefest worship, that you have received of the ●ord not only a mind to will, but also by reason of your place, ability to perform many things that belong to the glory of God, and to the good of his church Cicero said of Caesar that his high estate had nothing greater, and his nature nothing better than that he was both able & ready to preserve many. And Pliny said● of Vespasian that the greatness of his honour had changed nothing in him but this that now by his advancement he was made able, as before he was willing to do good to many And Aristotle hath set down this as a difference between a king & a tyrant, that the one seeketh the public, the other his own private good. Lastly the Poet could say, that this was the great 
Hoc reges habent magnificum & ingens, nullus quod ra piat dies, prodesse miseris.  and magnificent prerogative of princes, which no day could take from them, to profit the miserable, and to protect the suppliant etc. Now Christian magistrates know more than these heathenish person's did, which lived without the knowledge of the true God, even that they are the Lords Leifetenantes not only to preserve the commodities of their earthly kingdomms for the good of their subjects, but much more to maintain & establish among them the means whereby they may be made partakers of the kingdom of heaven. And verily this is a great dignity unto you, that God the full fountain of all good things hath made you a river to water the plants of a goodly nursery, and to minister unto them all such things as might further their growth: and a careful Guardian to fence and keep them from all such things as might work their annoyance: that so many good trees might grow up therein, fit to be transplanted into many places of this land, & to replenish the same with much fruit. We also, which have been heretofore plants in your nursery, hope that your river will flow forth far further, and extend itself even unto us, to water us with some of your drops, and to be our fence and fortification, that the fruits of faith & godliness that grow upon our branches may be the better preserved and kept, until they come to maturity and ripeness.  
And now to come to you my foster brethren, as I together with you expect protection and direction from our common head, so as a fellow member I am bold to put you in mind, that while ye may come to the full breast, ye desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby, if ye have tasted how sweet the Lord is, and what an honour it is to be borne of God, and how great is the gain of faith and godliness; And that while the years of plenty continued, ye follow the ensample of provident joseph, and lay up in the storehouses of your hearts all manner of spiritual grain, that when ye be called abroad to be the ●ords husbandmen, ye may be able to sow the lords field with plentiful store of all good seed. Verily the harvest is great, and the 
Matth. 9 37  labourers are ●ewe: and ye may well perceive by experience in yourselves, what a labour it is to bring into tillage the untidy soil of one soul, & to cause it to yield but a mean harvest: for undoubtedly in this kind of husbandry especially is the proverb best verified: A great harvest, and a little corn. And therefore also my brethren while ye are so near the Lords a●mo●…, & ●ay fit yourselves with weapons of all sorts offensive and defensive, furnish yourselves now with all manner of munition against the time that ye are to be sent to any special kind of service by any of the lords chiefest captains & commanders. Ye have in place of your Honourable Founder the right reverend Father in God the Bishop of Winchester, one that hath been of your own society, a famous and renowned Colonel, who hath most courageously fought the lords battles and hath fitted for you many notable weapons, whereby ye may be able not only to encounter, but also to subdue and vanquish the enemy: who hath already called some of you, and is ready to call other of you also, and to place you over no mean bands O most reverend and renowned Bilson, thou hast best deserved among all our company to have the pre-eminence, for that thy sword hath hewn clean a sunder many of the strongest & greatest Pillars of the Western Babylon O lift it up still against the common enemy: and let it be as the bow of jonathan & as the sword of Saul, which never returned empty 
2. Sam. l. 22.  from the blood of the slain, and from the fat of the mighty. And so as all the sheves of josephes' brethren did stand about josephes' sheife, 
Gen. 37. 7.  and did obeisance unto it: so shall all our sword stoop low to thy sword, and shall be marshaled at thine appointment.  
But to turn to you my brethren which are now as it were the Lords trained soldiers, and out of whose company many captains are to be chosen for the guiding and leading of many several bands: ye may behold and look upon the ensamples of your own predecessors, even of such as have been of your own society: And withal ye may somewhat respect your pay, which no doubt may be good here, if that you endeavour faithfully to perform your service, but especially you may assure yourselves that you shall receive a large allowance when ye come to appear before the great Lord of all hosts, and the high general of all armies. Then if ye have fought the good fight, and kept the faith, and finished your course, there remaineth for you a crown of righteousness: and if this be given to every good soldier, what a large portion may every captain expect?  
But here by the way I would willingly put you in mind of this one thing, which is, that many famous captains and courageous soldiers both in the bodily and ghostly fights, have been brought to utter ruin and decay, by leaving the pursuit of the vanquished enemy, and by turning too hastily & greedily after the pray. Wa● not Hannibal and his army made weak and effeminate by the spoils of Capua, which could not be daunted by all those hard labours that they patiently endured in passing over the unpassable Alps? And how else was the large and ample Empire of the city of Rome, and of many other great kingdoms and countries overthrown? But to omit these great commanders in bodily 
Religio peper●t divitias & filia devoravit matrem  wars, have not the most famous captains in spiritual services come to ruin by the same means? What made the high Priests & Elders among the jews to destroy Christ, and to tread under their feet his heavenly doctrine, but that they might retain the favour of the Roman Emperor, & so might preserve their earthly estate? And did not the latter Bishops of Rome neglect the true gift of gifts given unto their predecessors by Constantine's Lord, while they laid all their plots, how they might most firmly ●ease themselves and their successors of the pre●ended donation of the Emperor Constantine? And what made them give over the careful seeking of that glorious inheritance that St. Peter enjoyeth in the highest heavens, but their deep devising how they might make the counterfeit and forged evidences of St. Peter's patrimony to go for currant and good? And whereof also did it proceed that they clouted and patched together, but with all manner of worldly policy and cunning, such an earthly religion as they now profess, but that they saw it to be most fit for the better maintenance of their earthly kingdom? And was not all this most significantly shadowed & drawn out unto us Apocal. 9 by a star falling from heaven to earth, who giving over the care of heavenly matters, and fastening his heart wholly upon earthly, became the head of the black and dark kingdom of Antichrist, which can agree to none so fitly as to the Papacy, whereof a Bishop is the chief prince, who is still accounted as a most principal star above all other by many that think themselves to be the only Christians? And not only this star is fallen by this means, but also Apocal. 12. the dragon is said with this his tail of ambition & covetousness to throw down even the third part of the stars of heaven, & to cast them to the earth. Which he bringeth to pass when he persuadeth them to use all unlawful means to bring them to their earthly preferments & commodities, & also when he causeth them to give over all their former labours in setting forth and promoting the kingdom of God that so they may have more leisure to seek their own, by neglecting the things that are jesus Christ's. Wherefore worthy of most 
Mr. Fox in his third consideration given to the professors of the Gospel  honourable commendation & commemoration is that sincerity that was in Wickeleife & others of those times, who went about barefoot, and very meanly clad, preaching the joyful and glad tidings of the Gospel, thinking it to be a sufficient reward to have liberty freely to publish the same, albeit it were without all earthly reward. But here I pray you mistake me not: for I think it no way to be unlawful for the ministers of the Gospel to enjoy temporal possessions & honours: (seeing they are best worthy of them, that know how to use them best, and are thereby made more careful to amend their work, as they perceive their wages to be amended:) but these things are spoken to this end, that all such as seek after earthly vanities by all sinister means, & are moved thereby to give over their labours in preaching and publishing the Gospel of Christ, may be convicted in their own consciences, & brought to acknowledge and to bewail their wretched estate: and that other also seeing their fall may thereby be made more watchful and wary, lest they be taken in the same trap: the which thing is so much the more carefully to be observed by us all, seeing we be fallen into those times, wherein Christ and his Apostles have plainly foretold us, that the danger, whereunto 
Math. 24 38 Luk. 17. 28. 2. Tim. 3. 4. 2. Pet. 2. 3. Apoc. 12. 4.  all shall generally be subject, and particularly such as be of the Ministry, is this, even the love of the earth that shall draw away the most part of men from the love of heaven, and shall make many of Demas his place and gifts to forsake Paul and to embrace this present world, and with judas to sell Christ and that for a matter of no great gai●e. The faithful indeed are the right heirs even of all the blessings of their heavenly father, but yet so, that they must not be their own carvers, but seek for them by such means as he hath ordained, being resolved to be wholly at his disposition, and to content themselves with such a portion as he best knoweth to be most meet for them. And what need have they too greedily to seek after the temporal and transitory goods of this world, seeing their portion is fallen unto them in a very good ground, and they have a very goodly heritage: seeing God is their Father, and Christ their brother, and the holy Ghost their comforter, and faith their freehold, and truth their treasure, and godliness their gain, and goodness their goods, and righteousness their riches, & piet● their portion, and the kingdom of God their ●…heritance, & heaven the haven of their eternal rest & blessedness, and the gracious promises of the gospel written in their hearts the authentical evidences for their title and right unto these and all other blessings of God. But these things are sufficiently known unto you, & therefore I cease any farther to trouble you, most heartily beseeching the most blessed God so to water you all with the plentiful streams of his heavenly graces, that when ye have been as good trees bearing much fruit in the dry wilderness of this barren world, ye may be transplanted by his gracious hand, and set in his celestial and heavenly paradise.  
Your Worship's most assured in the Lord, JOHN TERRY.   

To the Christian Reader.  
OF many stumbling blocks (good Christian Reader) that are cast in the way by the servants of Antichrist to keep the people that they do not so much as turn their eyes to behold, much less, settle their affections to embrace the glorious light of the gospel of Christ: this is not the least that they are not ashamed to charge, not only some principal and eminent persons, but generally all the professors thereof with an huge sea of outrageous sins, and a great drought of godliness and virtue: yea many points of the most holy doctrine itself they avouch to tend directly to the corruption of good manners in all states. But to omit their particular slanders raised up against particular persons, which have been fully answered by others, our severe censors of Rheims, 
Rhem. in e. 7. Math. The professers of the gospel most unjustly charged by the adversary to be sacrilegious profane, incestuous & men of in●…tiable si●  beside many grievous crimes which they avouch to be common with us and all other heretics, charge us particularly with sacrilege against God and the profanation of all holy things, and incestuous marriages: and these with the other abominations they would have the world believe to be in so high a degree among us, as they are likely to be among all such, as are men of insatiable sin. Now if the pulling down of Idols, and the destroying of Idolatry, & the removing of the superstitious worship of creatures, & the restoring of the pure worship of one almighty and all-sufficient God in spirit and truth, according unto the prescription of his own most holy word, be sacrilege, & the profanation of all holy things: and if the abolishing of the common stews, and the disannulling of the vow of single life, which was indeed the cause of abominable pollutions and of unnatural and monstrous murders, and the restitution 
1. Cor. 7. 3.  of holy matrimony according unto the direct commandment of God by the pen of the Apostle be incestuous pollutions; and if these and the like make us men of insatiable sin, than we must be content to undergo this slander; seeing herein we are made but conformable to our Master 
joh. 6. 48.  Christ, who was charged to have been in league with the Devil, whereas his coming was to destroy the works of 
Mat. 11. 19  the devil: and to have been a friend to Publicans & sinners, being in truth the greatest enemy to sin that ever was borne of flesh & blood. But what manner of men are these themselves, which lay to our charge so grievous crimes? yea what are their most holy and most godly Fathers the 
Sanctissimi, pijssimi. Lyr. in Mat. c. 16 Platina in Rom. c. 1. adrian. Papa. In nomine domini incipit omne malum. Bern. in Cant. serm. 33. The most corrupt & abominable lives of the chiefest enemies of the Gospel of Christ.  Popes, unto whose very beck they own all obedience? Is it not recorded by principal men among them, that many of them have been apostates from the faith and very monsters and misshapen creatures: such as succeeded not Peter in feeding, but Romulus in manquelling: that they pretended the name of God and the service of Christ, but under that name wrought all manner of mischief, and did service unto Antichrist. Neither did this spiritual contagion stay in their greatest personages, but spread itself abroad in all states and callings. And no marvel seeing the whole world doth frame itself to the likeness and liking of such as be in greatest power & authority: especially where the vow of obedience without gainsaying, yea without enquiring whether it be lawful or no, is esteemed as one of the highest steps to the greatest perfection. Whereby it came to pass that Rome itself the chief city of this Empire became the mother of all abominations, and grew to ●uch ripeness and perfection in sin, that she deserved the name of the western Babylon, where the whore of whores even the great Antichrist of these last times should sit, who was to make drunk all the kings of the earth with the cup of his spiritual fornications & adulteries. Unto the which place whosoever should have his recourse, first he should see, and then he should be acquainted with, and the third time he himself should become a wicked person. For there is liberty of all other things, save only of true piety 
Romae omnia cum liceant non licet esse pium. Mant.  and godliness. So outrageous and abominable have been the enormities of prince & people in this church of Rome that they have poisoned after a sort the very air where they lived, and have caused those, who in some respects, were their favourites & friends, thus to have cast their own dung in their own faces, and to have dashed over their misshapen features with the black coal of everlasting infamy. ●herefore small cause hath the viperous brood of this venomous generation thus to hiss against us, and to spit out their poison against our persons: for albeit we be not angels without spot, yet we be not Englishmen J●alianate, that is, Devils incarnate: much less against our most 
The holy doctrine of the gospel unjustly charged to be the seed of all wickedness and sin. Luk 10. 20. The certainty of faith & the assurance of election no hinderer but a furtherer of p●ety & godliness.  holy and pure doctrine, as if that were the seed of all wickedness and sin.  
The certainty of our election to eternal life, and the assurance that we are the children of God, & have our na●nes written in heaven, which is the most forcible inducement of all other to cause us to rejoice in the Lord, and to walk as the children of God, and to have our conversation in heaven, they accuse to be the mother of pride & pr●tumptiō, and of carnal socurity and dissoluteness of life. What is it credible that when I continually call to my remembrance and set before mine eyes, that God to assure me, that he is my gracious God and loving father hath created me, and sustained me from my mother's womb, & hath preserved me from these and these dangers, and hath bestowed upon me these & these blessings, & hath made these & these his creatures to serve to my use that I might the better serve him, yea and hath caused these & mine affections to have been good and profitable unto me, is it credible I say that the assurance of this so great kindness & love should breed in mine heart unkindness to God, and the neglect of his honour, & of mine own good? Either is it credible that when I continually call to my remembrance & set before mine eyes, that God, to assure me of my reconciliation unto himself and of my receiving into his favour, hath revealed unto me his son jesus Christ the pledge of his love and the means of my reconciliation, & hath opened unto me his perfect obedience to the whole law not for himself but for my righteousness, and his invincible patience even then when he drank so deeply of that so bitter cup of his painful passion, that it caused him to sweat water & blood not for his own but for my sins, when I say this is revealed by 
Culpamea: culpa mea: culpa mea maxima.  God to be done for me by so worthy a person, who according to his manhood received the spirit without measure, and according unto his godhead was infinite holiness, purity, and perfection itself, that so I might be assured of so absolute a righteousness, and so full a satisfaction for all my sins, as might stand before the most exact justice of God, is it credible I say that the assurance of so great kindness & love should breed unkindness in mine heart, and a carelessness of embracing and holding fast so great mercy, and of continuing in such love? Either is it credible that when I continually call to my remembrance and set before mineeys, that God to assure me of mine adoption into the place & number of his children hath sealed me with the spirit of adoption, and hath by him sanctified mine understanding with the knowledge of his most exact justice in punishing my sins with such severity upon my surety, that I might be assured of mine acquitting from the same, and of his endless and unspeakable mercy in sparing not his own son to spare me, and of his wisdom in making his justice, and mercy so to conspire together for my fuller assurance of my salvation wrought thereby; when hereby also my judgement and affections are so rectified and sanctified, that I esteem to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified: and account all other things as losses and dung that I might win Christ, and be found in him, and be made partaker of the fruit of his death, and of the benefire of his resu●…ection: is it credible, I say, that so great kindness should breed unkindness in mine heart, and cause me to profane and to tread under foot this holy blood, and to be grievousome to this so comfortable spirit? Lastly is it credible that when I call to my remembrance and set before mine eyes that God to certify me of his favour and love hath opened unto me in his word that great charter and grant of remission of sins and of eternal life in Christ jesus, and for my further assurance thereof, hath written his gracious promises as undoubted evidences thereof in mine heart, that I might no more doubt of my most assured obtaining of these so great gifts, than I need of the admitting and allowing of these evidences, that he hath given me to show for the ●ame, when I come to appear before the throne of grace: is it, I say, credible that this so great security for mine everlasting blessedness should with ●raw mine heart from the love of my blessedness and cause me to wa●ke in cursed and damnable ways which tend to eternal misery and woe? Sure I am that the goodlier our temporal possessions are, & the better evidences we have to show for the same, and the kinder our parents were that bestowed them upon us with charge not to pass them away in any case, the more careful we shall be to keep the same, both for the love of our most kind parents, and also for our own welfare and good: and shall the assurance of the most glorious inheritance of the kingdom of heaven given unto me by mine heavenly father, whose kindness so much surpasseth the kindness of any earthly parents, as God himself surpasseth man, make me careless to keep so goodly and glorious an inheritance, & to perform the will and commandment of mine heavenly father? Where 
Matth 6. 22.  your treasure is (saith our Saviour Christ) there will your heart be also. And therefore if this will not move me thoroughly to set mine heart and affections on heavenly things, that I have so good evidence for them, that they are assuredly mine, and that I shall undoubtedly reap by them such an huge harvest of unspeakable bliss, what will then move & persuade me thereto? yea if hereby I am alured & drawn unto sin, what is able to induce me to piety and godliness? But this argument hath been touched in the former & is more fully handled in the latter part of this treatise: & therefore omitting now to wade further therein, let us come to examine whether that other main point of the Gospel, I mean, justification by faith without works, be any cause or provocation to sin, as it is unjustly charged by the enemies of grace, and by the favourites and patrons of their own merits.  
In this question of justification there are these three points to be considered: First, before our effectual calling unto the state of grace, the great sufficiency of our natural corruptions to procure wrath, and the great insufficiency of our best works to prepare us and to make us meet to be partakers of the lords love. Secondly after our effectual calling the great inability of our faith, repentance, love, and of the residue of our works of grace to merit remission of sins and eternal glory. Lastly the only sufficiency of the obedience of Christ for the perfect accomplishing of this great and weighty work of man's redemption. When the scripture teacheth that man by original sin is wholly corrupt, and that in us, that is, in our flesh 
Rom. 3. 1●. Rom. 7. 18.  dwelleth no good thing, the purpose thereof is not to detract from man all manner of good: (for the substance and the natural powers & works both of body & soul are good, in that they are the lords creatures and the workmanship of his own hands: and the light of reason whereby we are taught that there is a God, and that justice & equity is to be observed in the ordering of our public & private affairs is also good, and was preserved by God in the soul of man when he fell from God, that thereby he might be directed and guided for the better managing of all such things as belong to the preservation of this present life:) and therefore there are yet remaining in man since his fall some things that are naturally and civilly good. But there 
There is nothing in man by nature, that is religiously good.  is nothing remaining in him by nature that is religiously good: that can prepare & fit us to the readier receiving of faith & repentance, & further us to the performing of any such thing as belongeth to the true worship & service of God. For the very wisdom of the flesh is enmity to God, 
Rom. 8. 7.  (and therefore is no friend or furtherer of his service) yea it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So that until we condemn our own wisdom of folly, we cannot yield over ourselves to be guided and ruled by the wisdom of God: and until we wholly renounce ourselves, we cannot be admitted into the lords family and household. Neither is it to be feared lest the regenerate man being lightened by the word of God to behold & to condemn his own universal corruption, and embrace salvation only by faith, should thereby be induced (as Campian 
Camp. rat. 8. The doctrine of justification is no provocation or spur, but a strong bridle to all iniquity & sin.  avoucheth) to wallow still in the stinking and loathsome sink of all iniquity and sin, to accuse nature, to despair of virtue, & to withdraw himself from the obedience of God. Nay the more great & grievous his sins have been before his conversion, & the more clearly he seethe and beholdeth the same, the more they will stink in his own nostrils, & the sooner he will loathe & leave them also. And howsoever he be tempted to return with the dog to his vomit, & with the hog to the wallowing again in the mire, either by the remnants of his own corrupt nature, or by the instigations and ensamples of others, yet he doth not yield himself captive to these temptations: but casting his eyes back upon his former corruptions both original & actual, he doth with David most severely condemn them and himself also for the same, & doth thereby sharpen and increase his unfeigned & hearty repentance, and his settled purpose of amendment of life, as it is to be seen in the one and fiftieth psalm. He taketh not liberty hereby to offend again, and to add unto the multitude of his former corruptions, but rather protesteth with St. Peter to the contrary: Oh it is sufficient that we have spent 
1. Pet. 4. 3.  the time passed of our life according unto the lusts of the Gentiles: Now seeing that the Lord hath made us to behold & to abhor our former rebellions, we must resign the time of our life to come wholly to God: Yea the greater hath been the number of our former sins, and the more the Lords mercy in pardoning the same, the greater must be our care that we offend not any more so gracious a God and merciful a father, by adding unto the huge heap of our former iniquities. Indeed there have been some carnal libertines in all ages, who hearing that the greater our sins are, the greater is the mercy of God in pardoning the same, have turned the grace of God into wantonness, and have said; let us continue in sin that grace may abound. But as to the unclean all things are unclean, yea the most holy and pure grace of God is an occasion to increase their unclean & impure lusts: so to the pure all things are pure, yea the multitude & greatness of their unclean sins causeth them to loath and abhor them the more, & to love him the more also, that hath most frankly and freely pardoned them all. There was (saith our Saviour to Simon the Pharisee) a certain lender that had two debtors, & the one owed him 500 
Luk. 7. 41.  pence, and the other 50. When they had nothing to pay he forgave them both: which of them therefore tell me (saith he) will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose, that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, thou hast truly judged. Whereby it is evident that the faithful, the more they perceive the greatness of their sins, and how much they are indebted and endangered unto God for the same, together with the great mercy of God in pardoning them all, will not take occasion thereby to contemn God, & to cast themselves again into the like dangerous sins, but will love God the more, and take the greater care to testify the same by their dutiful obedience to his commandments.  
Now concerning the second and third points that are to be considered in this question, it is most true that the Psalmist testifieth, that no man may deliver his brother, no 
Psal. 49. 7.  not so much as from temporal death, nor make atonement unto God for him: for it cost more to redeem souls: in so much that the Son of God himself was to become man, that he might give himself a ransom for many. And therefore 
The all insufficiency of any thing that is in man, and the all sufficiency of the death of Christ to perform the work of man's redemption.  the scripture displaying the insufficiency of any thing whatsoever that can be given by man himself for the satisfaction of his sins and for the redemption of his soul, giveth present testimony unto the most ample sufficiency of the most precious blood of Christ for the full accomplishment of that work. For what if man could give his house full of treasure? yet we are not redeemed with corruptible things as with silver and gold, but with the most precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb undefiled and without spot. Or what if he would offer up in sacrifice a 1000 rams, or a 1000 bullocks and goats? It is impossible that the 
Heb. 10  blood of bullocks and goats should take away sins. And therefore when the Apostle had avouched by the warrant of the Prophet, that the Lord would not have burnt offering and sacrifice, nor the bodies of slain beasts, than he giveth testimony to the offering of the body of Christ as to the only true expiatory sacrifice. Lastly what if one would offer up to God the spiritual sacrifices of faith and repentance, and of all such works as are commanded in the morallawe? Surely of these also the Apostle hath testified, that it was impossible to the la in as much as it was 
Rom. 8. 3.  weak by reason of our flesh, to work out the work of man's redemption, and therefore that God sent his own son in the simtlitude of sinsul flesh, and fo● sin condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, and so we made righteous before God. For our faith, repentance, justice, temperance & the rest, are but as broken and clipped money, they are to light to weigh in the balance with our most heavy and burdensome sins: and they are also but as one to a thousand toward the discharge of our most huge debt. Moreover in the performing even of our best works, the flesh rebelleth against the spirit, & so staineth their purity and blemisheth their glory: and our spiritual and inward man is but renewed in part, so that we can do no good work with all our heart, soul, and strength in that degree and measure as the law requireth: now that which wanteth of that which the law requireth, is a transgression of the law, and therefore sin: and sin defiling the work, wherein it is, causeth our very righteousness to be as a stained cloth, and therefore in that respect odious to God, procuring his wrath, and making us subject to the curse of the law, and therefore not meriting everlasting glory. Thus are even our best sacrifices but as the offering up of the lame and maimed, and therefore of themselves cannot be, much less make us, acceptable unto God. And thus are these garments of our own righteousness both stained, & too short also to cover our nakedness: they may be likened to the curtailed garments of David's servants 
2. Sam. 10. 5  which made them ashamed to come into the king's court, and to present themselves in his presence. And verily if but one of our acquaintance being of some good place happen to see us, when we have on a sluttish apron, or a fowl ruff, or some base and regardless attire, how squeamish are we, and how do we imagine, that we have done ourselves some great discredit? How much more than may we worthily blush and be ashamed to come into the presence of the most pure and glorious God, who so extremely loatheth and abhorreth all impurity & uncleanness, being covered with the slubbered and curtailed garments of our own righteousness? And how ought we to labour by all means possible to put of and to lay aside these rotten rags in the case of our justification, & to embrace and lay hold on Christ that we may be found in him, not having 
Phil. 3. 9  our own righteousness which is by the law, but that which is by faith in him? For they are the precious & costly garments of his righteousness, that arelarge enough to cover our nakedness, be it never so great: they are also so clear, pure, & holy, that they are able to endure the presence of the holy of holies, & to present us pure & holy in his sight.  
So then the works of our faith, repentance, and righteousness cannot present us pure and holy before God, nor make satisfaction to his justice for our sins, nor medite the crown of eternal glory: but these so great blessings are procured for us by the blood of Christ, and are given us most frankly and freely by his mediation. Now if a master shall give unto his faithful servant an estate in a living either by copy or lease freely without any fine or income, will this kindness make him malapert and saucy, to set at nought his master's commandment, & careless to pay his rent and to perform that suit and service that is required at his hands? Neither is it credible that the faithful servants of God having an estate in the glorious inheritance of the kingdom of heaven most frankly and freely granted unto them in Christ without, nay, contrary to their own deservings, should thereby take occasion to sin against God, and become careless to perform their obedience to his law, being the rent, suit, and service that is double due unto him. So neither is it likely that they well understanding the guiltiness of sin to be so great, that it could not be done away but by the blood of Christ, and the wrath of God against sin to be so ●etled, & his justice so implacable, that rather than the sins of his own elect should escape unpunished, he punished them with so great severity even upon his own dear son, should hereby be encouraged to commit sin, & to receive into their boso●…s such a venomous serpent whose sting is so dangerous, yea almost incurable. Whereas on the contrary side if sin we● so small a matter that it might be done away by holy water, holy bread, pardons, masses, pligrimages, alms, prayers, fastings, & by other works of 
Popish doctrines provocations to sin.  popish penance: & if there were so rich & precious a gift of charity infused into the heart of every faithful Christian, as that thereby he were able to make God indebted not only to himself but to others also: then indeed we needed not altogether to make so great a matter of committing sin and offending God, seeing we could so many ways make satisfaction for the same, and make God amends, and further also make him indebted unto us; as hereupon many men are bold to trespass their neighbour, for that either already they are as much or more in their debt and danger, or for that they can else in time to come easily make them amends for their former trespass. But God can no way be pleasured by us, neither is worshipped with men's hands, as if thereby any thing were added unto him, and he made indebted 
Act. 17. 25.  unto us for the same. For as for the works of our faith, repentance and love, we are thereby more & more indebted unto him: for that he worketh them in us by his spirit: and he is no otherwise indebted unto us for the same, but only for that of his own most free and undeserved goodness in Christ he hath bound himself by promise to give them a reward. And as for the least sin that is, be it but a desire to 
The most heavy burden even of the lightest sin, and the great deformity of the least iniquity.  steal a stick out of thy neighbour's hedge, or to eat an apple of the forbidden tree, seeing in doing the same either we set God so at nought, that we utterly forget him & his holy commandments (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house etc. & Cursed is he that continueth not in every point of the law to do it) whereas we ought most religiously to keep a constant and continual remembrance thereof: Or if we remembering the commandment of God, & the heavy curse annexed to the transgression of the same, yet bless ourselves, and promise ourselves peace, when God menaceth war, and so give more credit to the suggestions of Satan, then to the sacred testimonies and oracles of God, hearkening to the devil rather than to God, and preferring the devil before God, seeing herein as much as in us lieth, we rob God of his truth and justice, & of his sovereign authority over us, by refusing him to reign over us, and making choice of the devil to be ruled by him, taking after a sort the sceptre out of the lords hand and the crown from his head, & giving them unto the Devil: if the Lord for this so intolerable an indignity should deprive us utterly of his favour and love, and of all his gracious gifts & blessings, and deliver us clean over unto the devil to be partakers with him of all manner of curses & plagues, what should he do herein, but that in all justice & right is most due unto us? And how should he herein serve us also, but even according unto our own choice? For the lesser the commodity or pleasure is, for the which we are so soon persuaded to cast away God, and to set his commandments at nought, the more manifestly is our vile corruption convicted, in that we are so quickly hired to so wicked a work● upon so base and mean wages. And hereof it is that Samuel is bold to call the transgression of Saul (in sparing the 
Gigantum more bellare cum deo  best of the sheep & oxen, at the earnest motion, as it seemeth, of the people, & that to this end, to offer sacrifice unto God) rebellion; for that therein he did rebel against God, & join himself to that notorious rebel Satan: & not only so, but he further likeneth it to the most odious and abominable sin of Idolatry and witchcraft. And verily as the witch renounceth God, & giveth herself unto the devil: and the Idolater forsaketh the worship and service of God, and betaketh himself to the service of the Devil: even so every sinner even in the smallest and least sin, as much as in himself lieth, casteth away God, and maketh choice of the devil: and therefore if the Lord should utterly cast him of for the same, & deliver him over to that cursed serpent to have his part with him in his torments & plagues, he should do no other thing therein, than that which is most justly deserved. And verily had not our all-sufficient Saviour made full satisfaction by his most precious blood for the least as well as for the greatest of the sins of the elect themselves, & had not he procured a pardon for the same, they would have been so heavy and burdensome unto them, that they would have pressed them down to the bottomless pit of hell: Neither would their holy life either past or to come have been able to have discharged them of the burden thereof. For if one, otherwise a very good subject, and of most civil and upright conversation, falling into the company of lose and lewd persons, by their counsel and persuasion do but join with them in one robbery, and so commit a trespass, if it be but against one of the Prince's subjects, and but against one of the laws of the common weal; it is not his honest life passed, and the keeping of all the rest of the laws, and the doing good to many of the prince's 
It is a thing worthy to be condemned justly to be grievous to men: what an offence then is it to be grievous unto God?  subjects, and his duty never so well performed before to prince and country, nor yet his hearty repentance, & his sincere promise of amendment, that can discharge him from the same, but that law must proceed against him, and execution must be done accordingly, unless a pardon be procured from the prince: how much more if one sin against the incomprehensible majesty of the most glorious deity by treading under foot the least of his commandments shall the sentence of eternal condemnation proceed against him, unless he obtain the forgiveness thereof by the blood of Christ? For if one man sin against another, the 
1. Sam. 2. 25 Rom. ●. 23. Eze● 10. 20  judge may judge it: but if one sin against God, who shall plead for him? The wages of sin (saith the Apostle) ●… death. That soul (saith the prophet) that sinneth, that soul shall die. 
Bas. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Hier. ep. 14  What sin is it (saith Basill) that any da●… call light? I know not (saith Hierome) whether we may call any sin light or small, the which is done with the contempt of God. This then is our doctrine of justification, that our best works are stained and stand in need of mercy: and therefore can neither merit eternal glory, nor make satisfaction to God for the least of our sins: and that the lightest of our transgressions would have been too heavy for us to bear, yea they would have pressed us down to the bottomless pit of hell, had not our most merciful Saviour succoured us herein, by removing them also graciously from us, and by laying them upon his own shoulders. And if this doctrine provoke to sin, I know not what can revoke from the same.  
But now let us proceed to that other part of the slander wherewith all the enemies of the gospel do charge the profession thereof, even with the great penury and want of all good works. For not only the Rhemists do take from us for the most part the sheeps clothing; that is, the very outward show of good works: but also the composer of the Ward word, upon occasion of some civil behaviour acknowledged to be in some of our Recusants, taketh upon him with the proud Pharisie not only to advance himself and his, far above us base and vile Publicans, but also he would have the world believe, that if question were between them and us of good works, our chiefest captains would strait ways relinquish the field, & not be so bold as to strike one stroke. But this is but one of their Thrasonical brags. For I doubt not but a mean soldier fight under the ensign of the gospel of Christ may encounter herein even their stoutest champions. For if either we respect the sound doctrine, or the sincere practice of good works (for good words bring forth good manners not only at their birth but also in their growth) it shallbe declared in the treatise following that the wholesome doctrine of good works is most sound delivered by us and not by them: and as for the practice let us now briefly take a true view thereof even in the four cardinal virtues, wisdom, fortitude, temperance, and justice, and let us in a word see whether we have just cause to give ground unto them and to yield back one foot.  
Concerning wisdom (which is the Lady and Mis 
The professors of the gospel are no whit behind the papists, but a great way before them in the holy exercise of all virtues.  to all the residue of the virtues) not only our doctrine but our practice also is, that both priest and people have their daily resort to the word of God the full fountain & wellspring of true wisdom, and meditate thereon day and night, that their hearts being continually moistened with the sweet drops thereof, they may be made partakers of her fruits. And is it not a point of true wisdom, for one that cannot of himself wisely judge of all things, to make choice of a wise instructor & teacher? But the doctrine & the practice of the church of Rome is to cause the people for the most part to reject the daily reading of the word of God, and therefore what wisdom can there be in them? 
jer. 8. 9  yea it hath not been required, much less practised by their priests and great Bishops to be much busied in the Lord's booke● it hath been thought to have been enough for them to have bi● skilful in their porteous and in their pontifical. It may shame (indeed) the priests of Italy, who truly, 
Aenaeas Silvius comment. de dict. & fact. Alphon. regis 1. 2. 17 Eras. 1. 9 ep ad Natal. Bed.  as it is well known, have no not so much as once read over the new testament: whereas among the Thaborites (that is the Gospelers) ye can hardly find any woman which cannot answer both out of the old testament and the new. And a prove●be went currant in Scotland not many years since testifying the blindness and brutishness of some of their great Bishops: ye are like the Bishops of Dunkelden who knew neither new nor old law. Now concerning true Christian courage and manhood, it hath been so great in many thousands of the professors of the Gospel of Christ, & that even among such as were of the meanest trades and occupations, that they have willingly lost both their liberties and lives to give testimony unto the truth of their most holy faith: and the paucity of the seedsmen of rebellion that have been executed for treason against their prince and country, and for the defence of the usurped jurisdiction of the Romish Antichrist, may no way be compared and matched with them. And as for the exercise of temperance and chastity it is well known to the whole world, how we reverence the divine institution of holy matrimony and keep ourselves within the bounds of this ordinance of the Lord: Whereas among our Romish votaries simple fornication hath been accounted no sin; and it hath been thought to go well with them, if they lived 
Si non castè ●ameé cautè  charily, though not chastened. And how chastened some of their religious persons lived among themselves, some of their fishpondes have testified sufficiently: and concerning their secular priests, the tongues of such as lived with them have witnessed, that very few wives in their parishes were left at the least unattempted by these their ghostly Fathers: that I may omit the vowed trotting on pilgrimage by many, that the barren womb might so be made fruitful. Lastly concerning justice, equity, conscience, and an unspotted and unblamable life, as it hath been reported by Reinerius an inquisitor, and that no doubt upon sufficient inquiry, of our brethren the poor men of Lions, that they had a great show of godliness, & lived justly with men, and believed all things well concerning God, and all the articles of the creed, save only (saith he) that they hated & blasphemed the church of Rome: so I doubt not but that the like testimony may be given of all the sincere professors of the Gospel, and that by the mouth of the very enemy, if that he will lay aside blind malice, as Reinerius did, and simply and plainly declare the truth. At least suppose, his conscience will not make us worse then, those of his religious orders; of whom it hath been testified long since, that they have fallen from conscience to science, and from 
Petr. Rodulph. Tossian▪ histor. Seraph▪ religion. 1. ●  science to be bareences. And what conscience I pray you, and what regard to God's commandments was in those that apprehended Thomas Sanpaulinus at Paris upon suspicion of heresy, for that he reproved one for swearing in vain, and never left him until they had brought him from the tortures of the rack to end his life in fiery torments?  
And yet these things are not spoken to this end, as if we meant to detract all civil carriage from all the members of the church of Rome: nay, that the Devil himself may have his right, we ingenuously confess and acknowledge the outward exercise of many civil & politic virtues in many of them, especially the most profitable works of piety liberality and mercy in founding Colleges, Hospitals and the like. But yet so, that if they would take from their falcons eyes the hood of self love and partiality, & look into one little corner of the glass of that painful labourer in the Lord's vineyard Master Doctor Willet, they might 
Andrew-Willet controv. gener. 19 error. 104.  see that the professors of the gospel are nothing behind them in those so goodly and glorious works. How beit although we were not altogether matchable with them in the outward work of these virtues, for that we are no way matchable with them in those great dignities, privileges, offices, and honours, and in those large and ample possessions which they enjoyed to the full: yet they may know that the poor widows mite is as much and more also with Christ, than all the large sums which were cast into the treasury by the Scribes & pharisees: especially if they were given as part of that pray which under pretence of long prayer they got from poor widows. And from whence I pray you, did most of those great Donatives proceed, that were cast into the treasury by our popish pharisees? Is it not likely that they were either part of that booty that they gained by thesale of their Masses and pardons: or at the least some portion of the fleeces which they took from the sheep for their little and course, yea no feeding at all of the flock of Christ? And what then was this, but to rob Peter and to pay Paul? or it may be, it was the bringing in of the price of an whore, yea perhaps of many whores into 
Hagg. 2. 15. Deut. 23. 18  the temple of God, and the offering up of the unclean in sacrifice unto him. And here by the way I would demand also of them, whether it be not as good and as profitable a work both to church and commonweal to bring up our own natural children begotten in holy matrimony at our own cost and charges in some honest calling, according to our ability, and carefully to provide for them convenient portions: as to leave large sums to our base children, kinsfolk, servants, or any other whosoever, of whose good education as we have not the like care, so of their good conversation we cannot conceive the like hope? But yet here, lest we be mistaken, protestation is to be made, that as we think not that we are borne only for ourselves and for our children, so we teach not any to employ their goods to the benefit of themselves and their children only, but also to the service of God, Prince, & country, and of all other also, who are our neighbours, if they may be succoured and relieved by our means. Yea we constantly avouch that the more in wisdom & discretion we employ that way, the greater treasure we lay up in the safest place not only to our own best gain, but also to the greatest commodity of our children. And as for those which have no children at all, there is no doubt but that the more is required at their hands to be employed to the benefit of other, if they will show their fidelity to him, whose bailiffs they are in all that they possess, and be esteemed of him as his faithful servants. And yet here it is to be remembered, that liberality is but one duty among many, that are required in the commandments of God. it is but one branch among many other also, that are to spring out of us, if we will be good and fruitful trees: it is but part of that service that we must perform unto God, if we willbe acknowledged of him for his faithful servants. Neither must we esteem him to be a good christian, albeit the world like never so well of him, who is a swearer, drunkard, or whoremaster, if so be he be a good alms man, and careth not who eateth of his 
Liberality no fit cloak to cover sin  meat: as if this were a cloak to cover all faults, and a sufficient amends for all sins: for this is but a counterfeit & a shadow of liberality, it is not true liberality indeed. For she is not an whore, but a chaste matron: she useth not to sort herself with such base companions: she sorteth herself only with her princely peers, and keepeth company with all the residue of divine and heavenly virtues. Neither doth her beauty so much consist in the great glory of the outward work that is wrought, as in the readiness and willingness of the mind of the giver: seeing not many rich, noble, & mighty are effectually called, but the poor base & weak of this world which are more glorious within with spiritual graces, then beautified with the show and pomp of outward works. And yet whereas God hath denied mercy to no state or condition, those which are called being rich and noble must know, that the more that is given unto them, the more shall be required at their hands: and that they that sow sparingly shall reap sparingly: and seeing that God is so liberal and bountiful in all respects towards them, they ought to be liberal and bountiful for his sake, especially towards his sincere & faithful servants. that so their Lord & Master may say unto them, go too ye good and faithful servants, ye have been faithful in a little, I will make you Lords over much, enter ye into the joy of the Lord. And again Come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world: for I was hungry and ye fed me. Wherefore to conclude, it is evident in part by those things which have been hitherto delivered, that our doctrine of the Gospel is no provocation to sin, and that our life is not utterly void of the exercise of all good works: for than we should have greatly provoked the Lord to have pulled down the hedge of this our vineyard, and to have removed his candlestick out of the midst of us. But blessed be the Lord, the wall of this our vineyard standeth as yet, the bright candle of the sound doctrine of faith and good works burneth in the candlestick of this our Church of England, the which is long since put out in the Church of Rome: and therefore howsoever they greatly boast of the works of light, there can indeed abound among them nothing but the unfruitful works of the kingdom of darkness. The which I beseech those duly to consider of, who among them belong to the number of Gods elect, that so unto them in all holy humility and godly sincerity taking a due view of the doctrine of light, god may show so much mercy, as to lighten the eyes of their spiritual understanding, and so translate them out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. The which thing (I beseech thee Christian Reader) to help forward with thy devout and daily prayers unto God; especially that the candlestick of this our Church may stand steadfast and unremoved unto the worlds end, that God's glory may more and more be manifested in all the quarters and corners of this little Island, and many children in all succeeding ages may here be continually begotten & borne unto God. Amen. Amen.  
Thine in the Lord JOHN TERRY.   

The sum of two of the most principal points of this second part contained in this short prayer.  
Conform us, O Lord, to thy will: and then will thou whatsoever thou wilt; give us a true taste of the sweetness of thy love in Christ: and then let all other things be either sweet or sour unto us, as thou seest it to be best for us in thine heavenly wisdom.   

THE SECOND PART of the trial of truth.  
THe pearl of truth is so precious, and the treasure thereof so inestimable, that God himself not only maketh challenged thereto to be the author thereof, but also taketh it unto himself as one of his titles of highest honour. For as it is branded as a note of infamy in the forehead of the Devil, that he is a lying spirit and a spirit of error, yea that he is a liar and 
joh. 8. 44.  the father of lies: so it is an honourable title wherewith God's name is sanctified: God is true, and every man a liar: and that as nothing 
Rom. 3. 4. Heb. 6. 18. joh. 14. 6. & 17.  is more possible to man then to lie, so nothing is more impossible to God. Neither is it a small dignity unto our Saviour Christ that he is called by the name of truth and his spirit is said to be the spirit of truth: and that it is testified of him, that one of the principal causes why he came down from the father was, that he might bear witness to the truth: and why he ascended again up to the 
joh. 18. 13.  father, even that he might send down his spirit upon his Apostles to lead them into all truth: and by the voice of truth to gather 
joh. 16. 13.  to himself a church and congregation, which should be a lover, embracer, maintainer, and pillar of truth. For all such as Christ 
1. Tim. 3 15  would have to be saved, he would have them come thereto by the knowledge of the truth. And therefore he sendeth unto them the 
1. Tim. 2. 4.  light of his word, & causeth them with all constancy to embrace the same, whereby they are enabled to know the truth, and the truth 
joh. 8. 32.  doth make them free: Free from the slavery of sin and Satan, & from all the powers of the kingdom of darkness: and the same truth doth sanctify them, being before polluted with blind infidelity 
joh. 17. 17.  and ignorance of God, and so maketh them fellow citizens of the Saints, and enroleth them into the Lord's family. So then the faithful embracing & professing of the truth, being the bands of our communion & fellowship with God, and an assured note of the Lords people: no marvel though all nations of the earth, of what profession soever they be, be they Pagans, Turks, jews, or Heretics, make so bold a claim to the possession of truth, and be at open defiance with all other, which will not yield unto their pretended title. And yet there is but one truth & one faith, which 
The greatest challengers are not the rightest owners of truth. The testimony of God is the best evidence for truth.  is the sure anchor of our hope in God, & the direct way unto his heavenly kingdom. Neither are they seized of the possession thereof, who make the stoutest claim and challenge thereto, and seem to be most earnest in the defence of the same, but rather such as can show for it the best evidence.  
Now the best evidence for truth is the testimony of God, who is only true, and cannot lie, who cannot err & be deceived himself, or in any wise deceive others. And this is acknowledged by all: as it may appear by the pretence made by the authors and inventors of every devotion; who have feigned either conference with some God or goddess, or some revelation from some divine power to get the greater credit to their profession. So dealt Numa among the Romans, Lycurgus among the Lacedæmonians, and Solon among the Athenians. The truth is that God who dwelleth in a light that no man can approach unto, whom no man hath 
1. Tim 6. 16.  seen nor can see, whose voice is so terrible and glorious that no man can hear it and live, who is only known unto himself, and who only knoweth what is truth & what belongeth to his own worship and service, hath revealed his will unto his faithful servants, and hath made them his penmen and scribes, and as it were the public notaries of his heavenly wisdom And these public notaries we that be Christians believe not to be Solon, Lygurgus, Numa, Mahomet, or the like: but the Prophet's Apostles, and Evangelistes, even the penmen and scribes of the word 
The penmen of the books of the old & new testament are the only sure and infallible witnesses of truth.  of God contained in the books of the old and new testament. For as for those lawgivers among the heathen, it is acknowledged that they were great learned and politic men, as being trained up in those arts and sciences, which did flourish in those ages wherein they lived, whereby they were enabled to set down many witty and skilful rules for the better managing of human affairs. But as for the most of our Prophets & Apostles they were simple and ignorant men, brought up not in famous places and schools of learning, but in mean, poor, and base occupations: and therefore the divine knowledge of all heavenly wisdom, wherewithal they were endued most plentifully, must needs be extraordinarily derived upon them from God himself the fountain and wellspring of all wisdom (seeing they obtained not the same by any ordinary means:) and the miraculous gift of tongues bestowed upon them, whereby they were enabled in all languages to open to all nations the wonderful works of God, could not proceed but from him: who is the author of all languages and tongues: as likewise the quick and speedy prevailing of this heavenly doctrine, & the strong & effectual working thereof in the hearts of the faithful, which made them young & old most desirous to testify their exceeding great love to the same with the shedding of their decrest blood, doth manifestly convince it to be the most mighty & powerful word of the most mighty & powerful God. Now as the persons, from whom the books of the old & new testament proceeded, & by whom the doctrine thereof was so lovingly embraced, declare them to be divine, so doth the matter also in them contained. For where are the deformities of all iniquities and sins so lively drawn forth & set out in their colours, to move to a through dislike and hatred of them, and to unfeigned repentance and amendment of life, as they are described in these divine books? And where else may we find such a gracious mediator to reconcile us to God, so great a price given for the purchase of the kingdom of heaven, so ample and full a satisfaction for the discharge of all our sins, such a sovereign salve for the curing of all our maladies, such an effectual means to relieve our distresled consciences, and to secure us of the love and favour of God, as are offered unto us in the holy scriptures? And whereas the penmen of these holy books lived in divers ages & countries, doth not the perfect consent & agreement of their precepts and instructions manifestly declare by whom they were directed, even by him who is always one, and the same, never differing or disagreeing from himself? So doth the perfect accomplishment of so many strange predictions foretold so many ages before they came to pass, evidently convince, that these books proceeded from him, unto whom only were known all his own decrees & works before the foundation of the world was 
Veritas docendo suadet. Tertul. cont. Valent.  laid. Lastly the perfect purity & holiness of all points of faith set down in these books, & that absolute equity & righteousness of all the precepts of piety and godliness therein contained doth plainly declare also, that they proceeded from the holy of holies, even from him whose will is the rule of all equity and righteousness. So that Moses the first penman of this holy write might worthily make this challenged before all the world; What nation is so great that hath laws so righteous, as is all this law, that I have set 
Deut. 4. 8.  before thee this day.  
Neither yet doth the holiness only of the doctrine contained 
Holy doctrine sincerely embraced cannot bring forth but an holy conversation: or that which is all one: a true faith cannot be separated from true love. 2. Cor. 13. 3  in these holy books declare that they proceeded from the holy of holies, but also that holiness that is wrought in the hearts & consciences of all the sincere embracers thereof, albeit they were before most impure and unholy. And therefore the Apostle Saint Paul, when among the Corinthians some called his doctrine in question whether it was of God, and his Apostleship whether it were of Christ, appealeth unto the fruit & effect thereof wrought in the hearts and consciences of such as were effectually called among them, and converted unto the faith of Christ; who being before defiled with sin, odious before God, and the children of wrath, were by his ministry regenerated, and sanctified, and so made the children of God. What (saith the Apostle) seek ye as yet experience of Christ speaking in me, and whether my doctrine be of him or no, seeing Christ thereby was not weak but mighty in you, working most powerfully your conversion and salvation, etc. 3. he leaveth to the false Apostles letters of commendations from others, for that they had little or nothing in themselves worthy of just and due commendation: but as for myself (saith he) you are mine epistle and letters commendatory, in that by my ministry ye have received the gospel written in your hearts, which is the power of God to salvation to all that believe. For albeit the doctrine of the cross of Christ be a stumbling block to the jew and foolishness 
1. Cor. 1. 24  to the Grecian, yet to them that are called, it is the power of God and the wisdom of God: yea it is mighty through God casting down holds, & bringing under every high thing, and subduing it unto the obedience of the faith of Christ: it subverteth all the power of the kingdom of darkness, and enableth us to tread Satan under our feet. And what may the dancing of trees at the sweet melody of the harp of Orpheus more fitly resemble, than the relenting of men's hearts as hard as oak at the divine and heavenly instructions of wisdom? And what may better be signified by his bringing of his wife from hell with his harmony, than the drawing of men out of the slavery of sin, death, and hell by the power and efficacy of the word of God? And verily as C●rce and Calypse, that is, the world playeth the witch, and by the enchantments and sorceries of her impure and corrupt doctrine turneth men into hogs and dogs: so on the contrary side, the holy doctrine of Christ being sincerely embraced unlooseth all the enchantments of this bewitching world, and turneth hogs, dogs, bears and wolves into men, by causing them to lay aside their unclean and brutish natures, and put on the condition of men, yea of men of God, that is, of sanctified & holy men. The which strange and wonderful metamorphosis, and turning of men in shape and nature, but beasts in quality & condition, into the quality and condition of sanctified men, by the most mighty operation of the word of Christ, was most plainly foretold by the prophet Isay. The wolf (saith he) shall dwell with the Lamb, and the 
Isa. 11. 6.  leopard shall lie with the Kid, and the Calf and the Lion, and the fare beast shall feed together, and a little child shall lead them: and the Cow and the Bear shall feed, and their young ones shall lie together, and the Lion shall eat straw like the bullock: & the sucking cholde shall play upon the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand into the cockatrice hole: there shall none hurt or destroy in all the mount of mine holiness: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lords, as the waters cover the sea. Behold then the great power of the most holy doctrine of God, which altereth such as are savage and hurtful, as the most fierce and venomous beasts, and maketh them meek, mild, and gentle, devoted to the maintenance ' of the common society, and of the public benefit and good of mankind. And hereof it is, that Lactantius is bold to make this challenged: Give 
Lact. li 3. c. 26. divin. Institur.  me (saith he) a wrathful man, and a slanderer, and one that is of unbridled affections, and with a few words of God I will make him as meek as a lamb: give me a greedy and covetous pinchpenny, and I will make him liberal, giving out his money by whole handfuls: give me one that is afraid of grief and death, and he shall presently contemn the gallows, the fire, and the bull of Phalaris also: give me a libidinous and an adulterous companion, & thou shalt set him straightways s●ber, chaste, and continent● give me a cruel bloodthirsty person, and presently his fury shall be turned into mercy: give me an unjust person, an unwise and a sinner, and by and by Bee shallbe made just, prudent, and innocent: with one washing all his malice shallbe cleansed. Such is the force of the divine wisdom, that it being once admitted into the heart of man, it will at once dispossess f●lly the mother of all transgressions.  
To the effecting whereof there is no need of a fee, books, or watchings, they are wrought freely, easily, and speedily, so 
Mercede libris, lucubrationib 9  that our ●ares be open, and our heart's thirst after wisdom. Let no man stand in doubt: for we set not out to sale the drops of rain or the Sunshine: the full and plentiful fountain of God lieth open to all, and this heavenly light doth rise to every one that hath his eyes open to behold the same. And indeed the word of weak and mortal men is weak and of small force and virtue: but the doctrine of the mighty, powerful, and immortal God is mighty in operation and sharper than any two edged sword, it 
Heb 4. 12. 1. Pet. 123. Psal. 19 7.  pierceth even into our inward man, and begetteth in it an immortal life. The Law of the Lord is perfect and converteth the soul: and therefore the divine virtue and power thereof may be discerned by the divine effect that is wrought thereby. For as evil words breed evil manners, and corrupt doctrine a corrupt conversation, so good words bring forth good manners, and holy doctrine an holy conversation. Beware (saith our Saviour Christ) of false Prophets which come unto you in sheeps clothing, but 
Math. 7. 25.  inwardly are ravening wolves, ye shall know them by their fruits. In the which words albeit in the judgement both of old and new writers, by the fruits, whereby false Prophets are to be discerned, are meant their corrupt opinions and doctrines (for that opinions & sayings aswell as doings, be they good or bad, are the effects & fruits of good and bad men:) yet for that also that doctrine not delivered to others, but first conceived by ourselves, is not the fruit, but the cause of faith; and faith engendered by sound doctrine engraffeth us into Christ, and so maketh us good trees bringing forth good works as good fruit: and faith proceeding from evil doctrine, bringeth forth evil works, as evil fruit, we will be contented at this time to understand also by fruits, whereby false prophets are to be discerned, their evil and ungodly works: Especially if it be added that works are no otherwise known to be good or bad, then as they agree or disagree from the precepts and rules of good works which are delivered in the canonical scripture. For that is the most exact canon and rule whereby we must try both ou● faith and our works, and that faith and works are only to be approved, which are agreeable and consonant thereto. And unless we keep ourselves most carefully to the trial of this judge, we may easily be deceived with probabilities and shows. For according unto the admonition of our Saviour set down in the former rule, false prophets which inwardly are ravening wolves may be attired in sheeps clothing, that is, may have an outward show both of a sound faith, and also of an holy and godly life. For the Devil is a most cunning counterfeit, and the skilfullest Ape that ever was. He can alle●ge scripture and the holy word of God to draw us from that pure doctrine of that holy word: and he can turn himself into an angel of light, and make his ministers to appear to be the children of light, and furnish them with the outward show of the works of light: yea he can imitate the miraculous works and wonders of God, to persuade the world that God himself by h●s omnipotent & almighty power doth give testimony unto his lies. The which thing is so much the more carefully to be considered of us, for that we are fallen into these latter days wherein experience hath taught us that to be true, which was foretold by Isidore & Gregory: that is, that the true Church of 
See M●. Fox vol. 1. fol. 418.  Christ should want the glorious power of working of miracles before the coming of Antichrist, that he might the more freely and without controlment persecute her as a base object: & that Antichrist should come himself not only with strange signs and wonders to get the greater credit and admiration, but also with a certain show of holiness, that both the lighenes of the reprobate might be detected, that are soon carried away with every show, and also that the patience and staidness of the faithful might be made manifest, who will embrace the truth, albe● it be not garnished with outward shows, and set themselves against falsehood and lies, although they be never so much beautified & adorned with the same  
Herein the● is commended unto us one special point of Christian wisdom: that as Christ, who was endued with the spirit of wisdom above measure, judgeth not according to the sight of 
Isa. 11. 3. 1. Sam. 16. 7.  the eyes, nor reproveth according to the hearing of the ears, but judgeth righteously: & as God himself looketh not on the outward 
Good works in show are not always good works in deed, but sometimes evil and what is the cause thereof? not the work itself, but the manner of doing of doing of it maketh it faulty. Aug. de doct. Christ l. 3. c. 12. 2. Tim. 3. 5. The show of good works may be greater among Hypocrites, Heretics and the ve very Infidels, then among sound and sincere Christians.  appearance, but beholdeth the heart, so doth the wise and prudent Christian also. He judgeth of the works of man not according unto the glorious show of the outward action, but according unto the pure sincerity of the inward intention, neither doth he so much respect the work done, as the manner whereby it is done. For as the Philosopher can teach us, he is not a just man that doth just actions, but he that doth them after a just manner: & as the schoolmen have taught, God is not a rewarder of nouns, but of adverbes, that is, God rewardeth not the deeds that are barely just, but such as are done justly. For a just deed performed, but not justly, is a just deed in show, but not in substace. Now just deeds only in show and not in substance may be found in false Prophets and seducing Heretics: yea they shall be found in the Heretics of these last times, who shall have a show of godliness, but shall deny the power thereof. And verily such as ●… open offenders & notorious malefactors can hardly persuade others to like of that doctrine which themselves profess, whatsoever it be: but such as are in outward appearance of an holy life and conversation may greatly prevail and do much mischief, if that they be teachers of falsehood and lies, and of erroneous and heretical doctrines. And this the Devil knoweth right well, and therefore oftentimes maketh his ministers to seem to be of an heavenly and Angelical conversation, that so he may by this means more easily bring in his devilish errors. And hath not our Saviour told us, 
Luke 16 8.  that the children of this world are wiser in their generation then the children of light? 
Mat. 23. 15.  And doth not experience itself teach us, that they are not only more painful & industrious compassing sea and land to make one of their profession, but also more beneficial and bountiful, 
Exod. 32. 24  giving away their good●… and treasures, and robbing themselves and theirs of their most p●etions and costly jewels to make a golden calf, or some other the like Idol? The Apostle Saint Paul hath testified that the Heretics of these last times shall forbid marriage and command 
1. Tim. 4. 2.  to abstain from meat in hypocrisy, that so they might seem very abstemious and chaste, and of a most severe and strait life. And Chrysostome hath witnessed likewise of them, that they 
Chrysost. in matth. hom. 49.  sh●ll have a greater show of abstinence and continency, then shall be found among the true Christians. And is it not recorded of The very Turks, that such as are of their religious orders use wonderful austerity and rigour in punishing their own bodies, that so they might seem great mortified me? And did not Baal's Priests use to lance themselves with knives, until they were gored in their own blood? But what do I speak of rigorous 
1. Reg. 18. 28  discipline found among Turks, Heretics &, idolaters? Were there not among the heathen themselves as notable examples for the exercise of all manner of civil duties, as ever were found among any Christians? Was not Aristides most famous for justice, Socrates for sobriety, Appius Claudius for fidelity, Fabritius for abstinence,, Scaevola for courage, Cato for severity, Cimon the 
Plut. in vita Cimonis.  Athenian for liberality? Of whom it is recorded that he took away the moundes and fences from his grounds, that the stranger and poor might take what fruit they would to refresh and satisfy themselves there withal: beside he prepared a large supper ordinarily, to the which any poor man might come and receive sustenance: and if he met any ancient citizen in ragged and torn attire, he commanded one or other of his followers to change his apparel with him: and of his retinue that accompanied him, some carried large sums of money, that if they met with any honest poor man they might give unto him all that he needed. And yet what were all these so glorious and goodly works, but bare shadows & counterfeits of virtuous actions, rather than virtuous actions indeed? Yea what were they but 
Splendid a peccata. The best works of the unfaithful a●e no better than sins. Rom. 11. 20.  beautiful sins? And as for the parties themselves, shall we therefore esteem them to have been good trees, for that they had such an outward show of good fruit? Surely the spirit of truth doth testify of us, that we are all by nature brambles, briars, & wild ●…ues, until we be grasled into the true olive. Now it is faith that doth graft us into the true olive, as infidelity doth break us of. Without saith than we are no better than brambles, briers, and wild olives. And wh●… Dee men gather grape● of thorns, & figs 
Math. 7. 16.  of br●ar●? Or doth the wild olive bring forth a kind and natural olive? Wherefore all these before named so famous and worthy personages in the eyes of flesh & blood, for all their glorious show of goodly fruit living without faith, without Christ, without God, being 
Ephes. 2. 12.  albans from the ●omm●n wealth of Israel and from the covenants of grace, must needs undergo that heavy but i●st sentence of the Lord of the vineyard: Cut down the unprofitable trees: for why 
Luke 13 7. Math. 3 10.  cumber they the ground? And again: Now is the a●e laid unto the root of the trees therefore every tree that bringoth not forth good fruit is bow●n down and cast into the fire. For if I give all my goods to the poor, 
1. Cor. 13. 3  and have not love, it profi●…th me nothing: that is, if this liberal fact of mine proceed not from a sincere & hearty affection to the good of my neighbour, as likewise if this hearty affection toward my neighbour come not from a sincere love towards God, who is loved for himself, and in whom also I love my neighbour, yea if this my love towards God flow not from his love in Christ towards me, embraced and apprehended by a true and lively faith, all this my relieving of the poor cannot relieve myself, and all this my mercy toward the needy cannot be a means to convey over unto me the lords mercy. For unless all my goodness be after this manner derived from God the only fountain of all goodness, well it may unto men seem to be goodness, yet it shall not have his allowance from God.  
But now let us return again unto our Saviour's rule: Beware of false Prophots which come unto you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves: ye shall know them by their fruits. True teachers, which with their hearts sincerely embrace that wholesome doctrine which they profess with their mouths, together with their faith full disciples and scholars, are as trees planted in the paradise of God, and watered with the pure streams of the river of the water of life that floweth throughout the paradise of God, and so receiving the blessing of God do there by bring forth fruit good in truth and substance, and not in show only or outward appearance: whereas false teachers as bastard plants settled in the wilderness of this barren and unfruitful world, and wet with the venomous drops of the infected and deadly puddles of human devices and dreams, do thereby bring forth fruit sometimes wholesome and good in show, but never in substance. For an infected fountain cannot yield forth wholesome water: neither can a corrupt faith bring forth an uncorrupt life. For the mind and understanding are the leaders and guides unto the will and the affectious: and therefore if they be misled with falsehood & error, and wander and go astray in the buy paths of impiety & ungodliness, how can they direct the will and affections in the right way of piety and godliness? Verily unto whomsoever God in his justice hath denied the knowledge of the grounds and principles of a sound faith, to them also he doth deny the gift and blessing of an holy life: seeing that self-same holy doctrine that is the cause of an holy faith is also the cause of an holy life, as it is made manifest in the fourth motive. As on the contrary side unto whom God in his mercy hath given the faithful acknowledging & embracing of the grounds and principles of a sound faith undoubtedly to them he doth likewise grant the practical knowledge of an holy life. For true faith and sincere love, which are the mother and nurse of all good works, are as Hypocrates twins borne together and living without separation: so that if one of them be strengthened, the other receiveth strength also, and if one of them be weakened the other is weakened: they go always hand in hand and be inseparable companions, and never break company: give entertainment to the one, & thou must give entertainment to the other; s●ut the one of them out of thy doors, and the other will in no wise be thy guest, nor abide with thee the least moment of time. For albeit a bare & naked knowledge of the grounds of faith may be severed from the practice of a godly life, yet a faithful embracing and a sincere re●oiceing in them can never be idle and unfruitful, but always is accompanied with good works, which give witness unto the sincerity & 
Qui non fac it bonum non credit bonum.  soundness of faith, and do sufficiently declare the holiness of the doctrine from whence ●hey proceed. Holy doctrine embraced but in show and in hypocrisy may be unfruitful, but being sin●…ly received, it maketh good trees which cannot be without g●…d fruit. Now than this being evident that good works are the infalhble notes of a good faith, it remaineth that as in the former part of this treatise we declared that faith to be only sound and catholic, which was agreeable to the grounds of faith more briefly abridged in the Apostles Creed, and set down more at large in the canonical scripture: so now we set down those divine rules of an holy life which are delivered in the same books, whereunto we must frame all our works, if that we desire to be assured that they shall be allowed and approved of God.  
The proper cause of all good works delivered unto us by the 
Not our own will nor the will of any creature, but the will of God is the fountain and foundation of all good works. Peccatum est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. To do our works in humble obedience to the will of God, to serve and please him therein is a sure sign of a good work, and of the true service and servant of God. joh. 5. 30.  spirit of God in the canonical scripture, is a religious respect unto the will of God in doing the same. For as rebellious disobedience against the will and commandment of God maketh an evil work, so sincere obedience maketh a good. Even when the will of God is the motive to induce us to the performance of all our works, when they are done in obedience unto h●m as the duty and service which he requireth at our hands, yea when they are done also to this end and purpose, that therein we way serve him according unto his own will: then they are, without controversy, his right & acceptable service, and further declare them, that so do the same, to be his loyal and obedient servants. For how shall we know a loyal subject to his prince, and a true and trusty servant to his master, but by their care and labour to serve and please them in their ready obedience to their wills and commandments? even so we may soon know & discern the loyal subjects and the faithful servants to the great Lord & master of us all, if that all our works are done to serve & please him & to show our comformity to his wil Upon this ground did our Saviour Christ himself justify & make good all his own proceed. I can do nothing (saith he) of myself, as I hear I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not mine own well, but the will of the father that sent me. So we that are Christians, if we desire to have our works holy and good, we must learn by the ensample of our master Christ in none of them to seek our own will, and to walk in our own ways, but always to have our ●ies bend upon him, who hath set out unto us our limits & bounds. The which thing if we sincerely perform, we shall be as dear unto our blessed saviour, as if we were his brother or mother: For who (saith he) is 
Mat. 12. 50.  my brother and mother? Behold he that doth the will of my father which is in heanven, the same is my sister, brother and mother. And whom will he admit unto the kingdom of heaven? Not every one (saith he) 
Mat. 7. 21.  that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven. And verily if Gods will be dear to us, we ourselves shall be dear unto him: if we be careful to fulfil his will, he will be careful to fulfil our will: if we endeavour to please him, he will endeavour to please us: if we be ready to perform all that is in his heart, he will be ready to perform all that is in our heart, yea he will give us more than we can wish or desire. The cause of our blessedness is our communion 
The cause of our blessedness is our communion with God. True blessedness is our conformity to Gods will.  with God, and our reconciliation unto him by the blood of Christ, whereby he is become our loving father, & hath adopted us into the number of his children. And true blessedness itself, which is here in this life begun in the children of God, and shall be made perfect in the life to come, is nothing else but their sanctification by his holy spirit, & illumination by his holy word, and their conformity to God both in their minds and understandings, and also in their affections and wills. For when God's wisdom is our wisdom, and Gods will our will, & God's pleasure our pleasure, pleasure, when the faith that God commendeth is our faith, and the works that he commandeth re our works, when we have unfeignedly sought to conform ourselves wholly to the most exact rule of the Lords will, & to be holy as he is holy, then do we see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord with open face, and are changed into the same Image from glory to glory as by the spirit 
2. Cor. 3. 18.  of God. For as sin is our greatest wretchedness because it 
Sin maketh a people miserable.  maketh us most unlike unto God the holy of holies, & most like unto the devil that unclean and impure spirit: even so true sanctity is our greatest glory, because it maketh us most like unto the Lord of glory. Seeing then our works are right which are squared out by the squire of God's will, seeing our serving of God according unto his own pleasure is his well-pleasing and acceptable service, yea seeing our conformity to the will of God is our greatest blessedness, it is no marvel that the spirit of God, who is of his most privy and secret counsel, doth often urge in direct terms this will of God as a most strong and effectual motive and inducement, to persuade us thereby unto the careful & diligent performance of all good works. This is the will of God (saith the Apostle) even your sanctification: that every one know how to possess 
1. Thes. 4. 3.  his vessel in holiness and honour, and not in the lusts of concupiscence as do the Gentiles which know not God. As if he had said: your sanctification and your possessing of your vessels in holiness and honour, is the thing that God willeth and commandeth, and therefore ye ought most religiously to embrace the same to testify your obedience to his will. And again: Rejoice evermore pray continually, 
1. Thes. 5. 16  in all things give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ I●sus towards you. So the Apostle St. Peter exhorting them, to whom he wrote, to repentance and amendment of life, telleth them that 
1. Pet. 4. 2.  it is sufficient, that before they were called to the knowledge of the will of God, they had spent the time passed of their life after the lusts of the Gentiles: now (saith he) as much time as remaineth for us to live in the flesh, we must live not after the lusts of men, but after the will of God.  
And if we would further be instructed in what works especially it is the will and pleasure of God to have us employed, they are the works of the moral and not of the ceremonial law, Sacrifice and offering (saith the Prophet) thou wouldst not have, bu● 
Psal. 40. 7.  mine ears hast thou opened: Burnt offerings and sacrifice for sin hast thou not required, then said I, Lo I come: In the volume of thy book it is written of me, that I should do thy will o my God, I am content to do it, yea thy law is in mine heart. The which performing of the Lords will, rather than the offering of many sacrifices, being the principal part of the service of God, as it was in some measure done by David ● principal man among the Lords servants, and a type and figure of our Saviour Christ, so it was most perfectly performed by our Saviour himself the accomplishment of all types and figures, as the Apostle testifieth Heb. 10. For albeit the curse and condemnation that was laid upon him in respect of our sins was most heavy and grievous unto his flesh, & caused him to pray again & again, Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: yet for that he knew full well, that he therefore came into the world to drink most deeply of this bitter cup, & that by his father's appointment and will, therefore he did most willingly submit himself thereto saying, not as I will, but as thou wilt: not my will, but thin● b●… 
Math. 26. 39  fulfilled therein. And so have all the lively members of Christ from the beginning of the world patiently endured the heavy burden of the cross being moved thereunto upon the same reason. When the Lord had revealed to Samuel his most grievous judgements that he would execute upon the house of Ely for the most outrageous sins of his lewd so●nes, how doth old Elie prepare himself to patience? It is the Lord (saith he) that hath thus spoken: let him do what seemeth good in his own eyes, even what he 
1. Sam. 3. 18  himself willeth, and what pleaseth him best, So when wicked Abs●lon had conspired against his own father David, and had forced him to fly out of jerusalem the chief seat and city of his kingdom, how is David furnished for the patiented enduring of this cross▪ If (saith he) I shall find favour in the sight of the Lord, he 
2. San. 15. 26  will b●ing me again: But if he say I have no delight in thee, let him do what seemeth good in his own eyes. Likewise job the pattern of patience when all manner of losses and crosses came upon him on an heap, what was it that moved him so patiently to endure them all? Naked (saith he) came I out of my mother's womb, and naked must 
job. 1. 21.  I return thither again: the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. By the which onsamples we have to learn to frame our wills to the Lords will, & to conform our aff●ctions to his executions, and so to square out our works by his law, if we will have our works good, and our service approved, and ourselves accepted as the Lords faithful servants.  
All men by nature in the ordering of their lives and works would willingly serve themselves, by following their own good intentes and meanings, and by walking after their own eyes: & the traditions of our elders and fathers, and the custo●e of the multitude, and the commandments of great and mighty men, & of such as are seated in high dignity and authority do mightily sway and prevail with us. And therefore if we will not suffer ourselves to be misled in this matter of the greatest moment of all other, it behoveth us to hearken most carefully to the counsel of the wise man: Let thine eyes (saith he) behold the right, and let thine eye lids direct the way before Thee: ponder the path of thy feet, and let 
Prov. 4. 25.  all thy ways be ordered aright. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left, but refrain thy feet from evil: That is, in these so weighty matters that concern the glory of God, and the salvation of thine own soul, trust not other men's eyes, nor follow thou other men's ensamples, but look thou thyself to thine own steps: and be thou assured that thou walk in all those ways which the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to walk in, and see that thou turn 
Deut. 5. 29.  not either to the right hand or to the left, or walk one step out of these ways. All of us with our great grandfather Adam, since he turned out of the right way of God's commandments, have wandered and gone astray in crooked paths and dangerous ways, and do still run on hastily and speedily therein, until the Lord of his great mercy doth open our eyes, and giveth us wise and understanding hearts to behold and to forsake our own errors, and to return into the ways of his commandments. The path of the just is strait, for that the Lord doth direct his steps? by taking from his eyes the veil of folly and by giving him wisdom to walk warily and to forsake his own blind and perverse ways, and to walk in the ways of understanding & wisdom. According unto the most wholesome counsel of the Apostle Saint Paul given to the Ephesians: Take heed (saith he) that 
Eph. 5. 15.  ye walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. We are altogether so corrupt and evil, & so is the whole world beside, and we are yet so puffed up with self-love, and so blinded with our proud follies, that we mistake the broad way that leadeth to death, to be the strait way that leadeth to life, and we are grown so stiff also in our own most foolish conceits, that we will not willingly take any advice and counsel to the contrary, or suffer ourselves to be broken of our own wills. Therefore we have great need to be still remembered by the Apostle to take heed that we walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the da●es are evil. And again, be not unwise (to follow still your own foolish brains; but be ye careful) to understand what the will of the Lord is. And verily 
Verse. 17.  the Lords ways must be our ways, and his will must be our set prick to aim at in all our works, if that we have a desire to hit the mark, and obtain the best game. And therefore that this will of God might only be respected of us, and might most effectually work in us, it hath pleased the spirit of God in the holy scripture given by divine inspiration to have set down four principal motives for the better effecting thereof: whereof two concern the matter itself, and two the author of this will. For Gods will is only to direct us in all our works, 1 first because it is holy, just, and perfect: 2 secondly for that it is only acceptable unto God: 3 thirdly because it is the will of him, that only hath sovereign authority and power to rule over our consciences and souls: 4 four and last for that it is his will unto whom we own ourselves, and all that we enjoy, as having received all from him, and unto whom our whole service is double due in respect of his infinite and unspeakable blessings, most frankly and freely, and yet most largely and bountifully bestowed upon us.  
1 
The will of God is to be respected of us in doing good works, for that it is holy good & perfect. Rom. 12. 1.  If then we will be assured to have our works good, we must have our eyes bend upon the will of God, & that must most carefully be respected of us: yea the holy, good, and perfect will of God must be the motive and inducement unto us for the most willing and ready performing of the same. The Apostle St. Paul having set down in the former part of his Epistle to the Romans the principles and grounds of our Christian faith, being in the latter part thereof to deliver the doctrine of good works, beginneth that matter after this manner. I beseech you (saith he) by the mercifulness of God, that you give up your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, & acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable serving of God. And fashion not yourselves like unto this world, but be ye changed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good will of God, acceptable and perfect. In which words we may observe these two points: first, in what things the service of God consisteth, not in the sacrificeing up of unreasonable beasts but in offering up of ourselves: (for that is our reasonable serving of God:) secondly, who ought to be our directors and guides in performing our service due unto God, not the customs or fashions of this world, nor the intents and divices of our own hearts, but the good will of God, acceptable, and perfect. Whereby we are to learn, that if we will be the approved servants of God, and have our service allowed of him, we must have an intentive eye to the Lords will, & make it the rule of all our works: yea if we will be citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and fellow servants with the Angels themselves, then as they stand priest & ready always before God to attend his pleasure, and to perform his will, so must we also walk continually before God as in his eyes & in his presence, presenting ourselves unto him in our daily prayers, and still labouring by all means possible that his will may be done here by us on earth, as it is in heaven 
Mat. 6. 10.  by his holy Angels. When that kind of serving of God by the sacrificing of beasts was most in force, Samuel said unto Saul who had transgressed the flat commandment and will of God to offer, as he pretended, sacrifice to God: Is God so well pleased with sacrifice as when the voice of the Lord is obeyed? Behold to obey is better 
1. Sam. 15. 22.  than sacrifice, and to hearken is better than the fat of Rams. It is the highest degree of wisdom and goodness, of himself to be able to conceive that which is good: and the second degree is of such as knowing their own wants betake themselves to be wholly guided and ruled by those in whom dwelleth wisdom in all abundance. Now perfect wisdom and goodness dwelleth only in God, his will is most holy, just, and perfect, yea it is the most perfect rule of all holiness and of all justice. Neither doth God will and command things so much, for that they are just, lawful, and good: but rather those things are therefore just, lawful, & good, for that they are willed and commanded of God. When upon occasion of this holy and comfortable doctrine of the gospel (that the sins of the faithful do the more evidently set forth the mercy of God in Christ, in that he is of himself so good and so good unto such, which 
Rom. 3. 5.  are so and so unworthy in themselves) objection was made: If our unrighteousness setteth forth the glory of God's goodness, than the Lord may seem to be unjust in punishing sin, for that his glory is thereby the more furthered: the Apostle answereth by an exclamation or rather by a detestation saying, God forbidden: else how should God judge the world? Seeing he is not a judge after the manner of mortal men, who being advanced to high estate do many times corruptly abuse their high authority; but it is not so with God. For his being judge of the world is not by birth, or election, or suit, or purchase, but by nature. For in that he is God & creator of all, he is judge of all: and his most upright and uncorrupt will is the sovereign rule of all righteousness: and it his is the extraordinary prerogative of this his most righteous will, that he cannot possibly will or command any thing that is unjust. So that if he command the Israelites to borrow of the Egyptians jewels of silver 
Exod. 3. 23.  & jewels of gold, & so to rob the Egyptians, they may boldly do the same, and keep those jewels to their own uses as his lawful gifts, & as the pledges of his fatherly love. If God command Levy to 
Exod. 32. 27  consecrate his hands in blood, if he know not father, nor mother, brother, nor friend, but execute the Lords vengeance without respect of persons, he shall receive a blessing for the same. So likewise if Abraham be commanded of God to kill holy & innocent Isaak 
Gen. 22. 16  his dear and only son, from whom was to proceed that holy seed in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed: if he but intend in all humble obedience to the will and commandment of GOD to perform the same, GOD will so approve and like of him for it, that he will in recompense thereof even vow and swear his everlasting blessedness. Nay if the most holy but secret counsel of God, wherein he hath chosen some to eternal life before they were borne, yea before the foundation of the world was laid, and refused other, be called in question and condemned also by the corrupt reason of man, yet this is a sufficient justification thereof uttered by the Lords own mouth: I 
Exod. 33. 19 Voluntas beneplacit● Mat. 11. 26.  will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion, on whom I will have compassion. Whereunto our Saviour also subscribeth saying; even so O father; for so was it thy good pleasure. And the same plea is made likewise by the Apostle in the same case: he will have 
Rom. 9 18.  mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.  
But this secret will of God is mainly improved by the Church 
Not only the secret but also the revealed will of God is blasphemously defaced by the church of Rome. voluntas signi.  of Rome, yea and flatly condemned of cruelty and tyranny. Neither hath she any better regard of the revealed will of God set down in the sacred books of the canonical scripture. For she hath presumed to pluck down out of the seat of highest judgement the book of God, in that tongue wherein it was penned by the special direction of God's un-erring spirit, & hath set up in the place thereof a translation made without any special or extraordinary revelation, under the pretence of more & greater corruptions crept into the one, than into the other. As if the Lord had not had ●he same care to preserve the truth in the books penned by his own public registers and notaries, as in the translation of such an one, whose greatest praise cannot be but this, to be their faithful disciple and scholar. And as if the Lord had not had the same regard to keep vnpoll●…ted his own divine and heavenly doctrine in the most pure fountains and springs, as in the impure streams and rivers. And yet how doth she also esteem of the will of God set down by the pen of her translator? Do not some of her dear children compare it to a nose of wax and to a shipman's hose, which may be turned and wrested every way, and sit falsehood as well as truth? And doth she not charge it to be shadowed with such obscu●ities, & ambiguities, that the truth thereby cannot be cleared without the light of an Interpreter, and the right faith cannot be found out without the help of the Pope & his counsels? Now is this to honour the Lords will, and to reverence it as holy, pure, and perfect? Were that to be esteemed an holy, pure, and perfect will and testament of an earthly father, which is involved with such obscurities and ambiguities, that the children cannot understand the legacy that is therein bequeathed unto them, nor yet the duty that is required at their hands, but that they must still fall at variance and odds among themselves, & be ready still to go to law one with another, or at the least be driven continually to seek to the lawyers for the opening and explaining of their manifold doubts? May not such a will be said to be at the least very unadvisedly penned, and if it were done of set purpose, very wickedly also? Now the will and testament of our heavenly father was of set purpose penned by the spirit of god after that very manner as it is set down in the books of the old and new testament: and therefore in that the Church of Rome doth charge these books with such obscurities and ambiguities, that the children of God cannot understand that heavenly legacy that is bequeathed unto them therein, nor yet that duty that is required at their hands, but that they must needs be at variance and fall out about ●he ●…ne continually, unless they resort continually unto the decision of the Pope, and to the determination of his approved coun●els for the dissolving of all their doubts and for the clearing of all their controversies: what else doth she herein but most impiously charge the most holy, pure, and perfect will and testament of our heavenly father not only to have been very unadvisedly, but also to have been most wickedly? penned? But let God be true, and all men liars, as it is written: that thou mightest be justified in thy words, & overcome when thou art judged. And 
Rom. 3. 4.  let all the most glorious works of the children of pride be utterly condemned, for that they do them not in most humble obedience to the most holy, pure, and perfect will of God: or that which is far more heinous and impious, for that they are not ashamed in their books published in the eyes of all men thus to defame and slander that most holy, pure, and perfect will of the most holy, pure, and perfect God.  
2 
The will of God is to be respected in doing our works for that it is acceptable & well-pleasing to god. Coll. 3. 20. 1. Tim. 2. 3. Eph. 5. 10. Heb. 13. 16.  The second reason, why we should have such a respective regard to the will of God in doing our works, is for that what is conformable to his will, cannot be but wellpleasing and acceptable to himself. Children (saith the Apostle) obey your parents in all things: for that is wellpleasing unto the Lord. So to Timothy: I exhort therefore that first of all prayers, supplications, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for such as be in authority, that we may lead a quiet life in all godliness and honesty: for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour. So likewise to the Ephesians: Ye were once darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord, walk as children of the light, approving that which is well-pleasing unto the Lord. So also the Apostle to the Hebrews: To do good, & to distribute forget not, for with such sacrifices God is wellpleased. Now that which God willeth, that no doubt he liketh, and that which he himself commandeth is assuredly well-pleasing and acceptable in his own eyes. For if it be a pleasure to a wise man when his counsel is obeyed, and a grief and corrosive when it is despised, & esteemed vain, and nothing worth: so it cannot be but well-pleasing unto him, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge, when his counsels are obeyed, and he cannot be but highly offended, when they are trodden under foot and lightly regarded. When blind, blockish and sottish men shall so lightly esteem of the wisdom of God which he hath made manifest in his own ordinances, that they shall imagine that they themselves can invent a better, or at the least as good a manner of serving of God as he himself hath ordained in his own word, what can be more odious and abominable before God? As on the contrary side when men ascribe that perfection of wisdom to the will and commandments of God, as that they fully persuade themselves that in them are contained his whole and entire worship and service, & therefore do busy themselves most carefully about the fulfilling of the same, this their respect and obedience to the law of God cannot be but a most acceptable sacrifice unto God. For as we can no better please the prince, than by being careful to obey the 
Placita principum.  prince's pleasure: so we cannot better please God, nor testify our love better unto him, then by our careful keeping of his commandments. If ye love me (saith our Saviour Christ) keep my commandments. 
Ioh 14 15. and 21. Our love to God is best showed in our obedience to his will expressed in his own commandements.  And again: he that hath my commandments & keepeth them, ●he same is he that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him, and show myself unto him. And again if any man love me, he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come unto him and dwell with him: he that loveth me not, keepeth not my word. By the which so often repetition of one & the self-same thing, so easily to be conceived and to be born away at the first, our Saviour Christ would have it thoroughly settled in our hearts, that we cannot possibly do any thing that can please him better, than when we yield him that service which he himself hath commanded. Now every true and faithful servant of God would most willingly do unto God that service which is most acceptable unto him: and therefore he ought most readily to address himself to the careful performance of all duties as are prescribed in the commandments of God. Subjects & servants ought to perform their civil duties to their magistrates and masters by yielding obedience to their lawful commandments: but yet being so done, they are to be esteemed but civil duties. But if they will have them to be religious duties also, them they must perform them in obedience not so much unto men as unto God, for that he hath most straightly enjoined them to be subject to those whom he hath placed over them. Servants (saith the Apostle) be 
Coll. 3. 22.  obedient unto them which are your masters according to the flesh in all things, not with eye service, as men pleasers, but with singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, & not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. By which words we may learn, that servants yielding their obedience to their bodily masters at the commandment of Christ, do therein serve Christ: and therefore howsoever they are here oftentimes very slenderly rewarded by their bodily masters, they shall be sure to be well rewarded elsewhere by their master Christ. Verily it ought to be a sufficient motive unto us to be exercised in the commandements of God, for that it is the holy and acceptable will of God that we should so do: and yet behold his great and endless goodness, who apply himself to our frailty and weakness, not only by promising unto us all manner of blessings both spiritual and temporal thereby to allure us also to the ready performance of that duty, which shall be so liberally rewarded both in this life and in the 
The faithful in some sort may respect both promises & threatenings, rewards and punishments the better to stir them up to do their duties: and all many times little enough; but yet to do the will of their heavenly father and to please him, is the most principal motive to stir them up to the ready performance of all good works.  life to come: but also by threatening us with all plagues & punishments, that so he might force and compel us to that, the omission and neglect whereof shall in the end be revenged with so great severity. Wherein the Lord dealeth with us as a wise and careful father dealeth with his dear child: who while he is young and wanterh discretion, sometimes useth the terror yea the sharp blow of the rod, and sometimes a fig and an apple and the promise of a gay coat, the better thereby to nurture him and to train him up: but when he beginneth to be of years & discretion, than he seeketh to make manifest unto him his fatherly care and kindness towards him, thereby to possess him with the love of his duty: the which thing when it is once well perceived of the kind and natural child, than he thinketh that he can never be careful enough by all means to please so careful & kind a father, he is greatly grieved with himself if any way he offend him, he is very much ashamed of his former child shnes, in that he was readier to he nurtured with a rod and an apple, then with the due consideration of his father's love: So dealeth with us the father of our spirits, sometimes assaying to win us with his promises, and sometimes to terrify us with his threats: but when we are come to that discretion that we are able somewhat to discern that dignity of our high calling in Christ, & the great honour of our heavenly and celestial adoption, then nothing doth prevail so much with us, as the due consideration and admiration of the Lords great & endless mercies, which he hath already made manifest untous. Then we begin to be ashamed of our too▪ much childishness, that we should still stand in need either to be as it were still flattered or chid, and would most willingly persuade ourselves; that only to please so loving and gracious a father ought to be a sufficient motive of itself to induce us to the careful performance of all duties.  
And verily the kind and loving child of God, in doing those works which are required at his hands, seeketh not so much to please men, or to profit himself, as he intendeth to serve and please God by being obedient to his will: and he respecteth all other things no otherwise, than it standeth with the good liking and will of God, that he should respect and regard the same: He loveth God principally for God's sake, & not for his own or any others, to gain any thing thereby to himself or to any other. The cause (saith an ancient father) of loving God is God, & the measure 
Bern. lib. de diligendo deo.  of loving him is without measure: God verily (saith he) is not loved without reward, albeit he be to be loved without respect to the reward. For he loveth God less than he should, that loveth any thing besides God. Wherefore if in doing good works we principally respect praise & commendation among men, and to be honoured & magnified of the multitude for the same, or if we principally regard either the procuring of the Lords temporal blessings here in this life, or the purchasing of eternal glory in the life to come, than we serve ourselves and not the Lord, and love ourselves and not the Lord. And is he not to be accounted a slave that is forced to his duty for fear of the whip, & an hireling that is drawn thereto in respect of his hire? Verily the sincere servant of Christ embraceth godliness for itself, and honoureth God for his own sake. If thou be a slave (saith Nazianzene) fear the whip, and if thou be an 
Nazianz. de sanct. baptism.  hireling expect thine hire: but if also above these thou art a son, reverence God as thy Father: do well for that it is an excellent thing to be obedient to thy father: and albeit there were no other thing to be attained hereafter, yet this very thing will be a sufficient reward, to have done that which is well pleasing to thy father. I have applied my mind (saith David) to keep thy commandments even to the end. Some think (saith Isidore Clarius) the word that signifieth [to the end], to signify, for the reward: 
Psal. 119.  But (saith he) it is to servile a thing and not worthy such a prophet to give diligence to God's commandments for the reward and for the hope of retribution, seeing for this one thing that we ●e created by him we, can never satisfy this debt: yea (saith he) we are bound to serve him with our whole mind, though he had decreed to cast us dow●e into hell fire, both for that we own him, & for that our whole life is still sustained by him. What? must we not forsake father and mother & all other earthly comforts whatsoever, if that they hinder us from following Christ? Must we not sacrifice up to God our dear & only child, if he command us: and not only so, but also wish ourselves rather to be accursed, than God any ways should be dishonoured? Surely we ought to love▪ God above all, and therefore above ourselves: and we ought to prefer our peace with God before our peace with the world, and the smallest measure of grace & godliness, before the greatest store of all earthly treasures. For otherwise when these things begin to be taken from us, our zeal to God's service will soon be cooled, as it is set forth unto us in the parable of the sour. For by the stony and thorny grounds such being represented unto us that have but a temporary faith, who albeit they rejoice truly and unfeignedly in the Lord, & go on cheerfully in his service for a while, yet for that they do not in sincerity embrace the word of God, nor love the Lord for the Lords sake, but are moved especially upon carnal respects to make profession of the faith of Christ: therefore they continue not steadfast in their profession, but being a little assaulted, are soon vanquished. Whereas the sound and sincere servants of Chr●st being represented unto us by the good ground, for that in all sincerity they embrace the word of God, and love the Lord for the Lords sake, they still finding that in the Lord & in his word, wh●ch doth move them more and more to cleave thereunto, therefore are constant in their holy profession, and can never be clean removed from the service of God. For these persons, for that with full purpose of heart they cleave to the Lord, and in all sincerity serve him, therefore his favou● doth cleave fast unto them, and his constant love and goodness doth always assist them & preserve them in his fear. Whereas on the contrary side, all such as in their works pretending the Lords service, do indeed seek their own and not the Lords, in the end lose all their own and themselves also, and are most justly deprived at the last of their pretended show of the Lords service. And so our Saviour Christ told the hypocritical 
Matth. 6. 1.  pharisees, who seemed to be very rich in all good works, that because their prayers and alms deeds were done to please men, and to wine fame and glory to themselves, and not to the Lord, therefore they were to look for no reward at the Lords hands. As St. Paul doth testify also to the whole nation of the jews, that because they did perform the works of the whole law, rather to 
Rom 10. 3.  justify themselves thereby, then to testify their obedience to the good will and pleasure of God, therefore both themselves and also their works were rejected of God. Wherefore the Apostle to the Hebrews in the conclusion of his Epistle could not wish a greater blessing unto them then this, that the God of peace, which brought again from 
Heb. 13. 21.  the de●d our Lord jesus Christ the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the everlasting testament, should make them perfect in all good works to do his will, working in them that which was pleasant in his sight through jesus Christ. whereby we may learn, that the perfection of all good works is the respect had to the will and pleasure of God in doing the same. Wherefore if we will be fully assured that our works are good and allowed of God, we must not therein serve ourselves, and seek our own, by intending either our estimation before men, or our justification before God: but in them we must seek those things which are Christ's, intending, if not only yet principally at the least, to serve & please him, & to testify our obedience to his wil What then may we judge of all the most glorious works of the children of the Romish synagogue, which are 
The children of the church of Rome do their works principally to serve themselves and to procure their own good, and therefore they are no part of God's ●…r●ice.  done principally to justify themselves before God, to make satisfaction for their own sins, to merit for themselves the Kingdom of heaven, and to relieve the souls of their dear friends being most miserably tormented in purgatory fire? The which merit of their works is in so great an account with them, & such a principal motive to all holy actions, that because we deny the same, & ascribe our whole justification first and last only to the merit of Christ's death, and to the dignity of his passion: therefore they charge us to deny good works, or at the least greatly to diminish the care and study of doing good works. Yea some of them have not been ashamed to avouch, that if we be not justified by our good works, it were as good to play for nought as to work for nought. As if to do good works, to testify our obedience to the good will of GOD, and to serve and please him were a thing of nought. Wherhfore it cannot otherwise be, but that all their good works, how glorious in show soever they be, should be disallowed of God and utterly rejected as things of nought.  
3 
The will of God is to be respected of us in all our works, for that he is our only spiritual Lord who hath authority to rule over our souls. Exod. 20. 2. Eze. 20. 19  The third reason why in the performing of all good works we ought to have a special respect to the will of God is, for that he is our only Lord that hath authority to rule over our consciences, and unto whose supreme and sovereign will we own all humble and dutiful obedience. This is one of the reasons that is alleged by God himself at the promulgation of his own law to procure obedience to his commandments. I am the Lord thy God, etc. thou shalt have none other Gods before me. So likewise when he would have reclaimed his people from those superstitions & Idolatries wherinto they were fallen by following the customs and orders of their forefathers, he proposeth unto them the self same argument. Ye shall not walk in the ordinances of your fathers, nor observe their manners, nor defile yourselves with their Idols: I am the Lord your God, walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them, and sanctify my Sabbethes, and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. The cause of their falling away from God was the falling away from his laws, and the embracing of the decrees and customs of their forefathers: and the means of their recovery is the acknowledging of the Lords supreme and sovereign authority over them, and their humble submission unto his statutes and laws. And therefore in the prophecy of jeremy the Lord himself doth most v●hemently cry out unto this backsliding generation: O ye disobedient children turn again (saith the Lord) for I am your 
jerem. 3. 14  Lord. And verily if it seem unto every man just and reasonable that the eyes of servants should look to the hands of their masters, 
Psal. 123. 2.  and the eyes of maidens to the hands of their mistrestes, then much more reason is it, that our eyes should wait and attend upon the LORD our GOD, if that we will be accepted of him as his faithful servants. The Centurions go 
Mat. 8. 9  in the Gospel was enough to his soldiers, and his do this was sufficient unto his servants: and shall not the orders and injunctions of the Lord of Lords and commander of all commanders make us priest and willing to yield to him all humble & ready obedience? Especially whereas he is our only Lord and lawmaker, who hath authority not only to impose laws upon our consciences, but also to revenge all contempt and disobedience even with everlasting perdition both of body and soul. There is 
jac. 4. 12. Eph. 4. 5.  one lawgiver (saith S. james) who is able to save and to destroy. There is one God (saith the Apostle) and one Lord. All other Lord, here among men have no lawful authority but from him: for they are but his Lieutenants and deputies, and therefore must not go beyond their commission in making statuces and imposing laws no not upon their own subjects. Concerning the safety & prosperous estate of themselves and of their earthly kingdoms, and concerning the welfare of their own subjects that are committed to their fidelity and trust, they have sufficient authority in wisdom, equity, and justice to make wholesome laws: but as concerning the worship and service of God, they have none authority to make any new laws of their own, but to provide that the Lords laws alone be duly put in execution. The which thing if they religiously perform, than they are to be obeyed in the Lord, and that not only for fear, but also for conscience: otherwise if they go beyond their commission, their subjects own them patience, but not obedience. For as they themselves will not tolerate or endure any such presumption in any of their own subjects, if they take upon them to make laws to overrule them & their kingdoms (for that were to suffer the sceptre to be wrested out of their own hands, and the crown to be taken from their own heads): so they themselves must not presume to make laws for the ordering of the church of God, & for the administering of his spiritual kingdom, but religiously to provide that the lords laws only be carefully observed and kept. And therefore at the day of the king's coronation the book of the law was delivered into his hand, to put him in mind that thereby he ought to rule both himself and all his subjects in all matters concerning the service of God. So likewise the ecclesiastical officers & governors even they that are the chief builders of the Lords spiritual temple, must lay no other stones in that building, but such as are digged out of the Lords own quarries: That is, they must teach no other points of faith, and precepts of life, than such as they have received from him, who only hath authority to appoint and ordain what we ought to believe, and how to live: otherwise if they teach any thing▪ of their own, we ought to give no ear nor credit unto them. The Scribes and pharisees (saith our 
Mat. 23. 2.  Saviour Christ) sit in Moses chair: whatsoever therefore they say unto you, that do ye. For in sitting in Moses chair they teach the law delivered by Moses, and so God himself teacheth by them, unto whom we own all ready obedience. But if they do mingle therewith their own leaven, that is, their own doctrines and inventions, 
Mat. 16. 6.  we must avoid and shun the same as a most dangerous & deadly poison.  
The truth is that in matters of ceremony the church governors have authority to ordain such things, as belong to edification, comeliness, and order: and yet therein also they are to take heed, that they do not clog the lords people with such burdens as the Lord would not have to be laid upon them, and also that matters of ceremony and circumstance be not so vehemently pressed and urged, as if they were matters of substance. When king David not without the approbation of Nathan the prophet had purposed to build a sumptuous temple for the ark of the Lords covenant, for the fit assembling of the people, and for the more convenient performing of all such things as did belong to the service of God, (albeit also it was a matter of circumstance and not of substance, & therefore left in the hands of such as were in authority) yet for that it was new and strange, and not precisely and particularly commanded by the Lords own mouth, behold how the Lord seemeth at the first to take exception against this so religious and godly a purpose of his own most choice and beloved servant: In all the places (saith the Lord) wherein I walked with the children of Israel, spoke I one word to any of the tribes of Israel, when I commanded the judges to feed my people Israel, or said 
2. Sam. 7. 7.  I, why build ye me not an house of Cedar trees? Yea when those very sacrifices, & offerings, sabbaths, new moons, & solemn feasts, with other the like exercises belonging to the service of God, which were also precisely commanded by the Lords own express word, were performed by priest and people but not after that manner as they were ordained by God, how doth he reject them all & cast them of, saying, what have I to do with the multitude of your sacrifices? when ye come to appear before meo, who bath required 
Isa 1. 11.  these things at your hands? No marvel then that the Lord doth with so great detestation reject all those kind of services, which the people had sucked either out of their own brainsick heads, or had received by tradition from their forefathers, saying: They have done that which I commanded them not, neither ever entered into 
jer. 7. 31.  my heart. So Isay. 29. Because this people cometh near unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear towards me was taught by the precepts of men: therefore behold again I will do a marvelous work in this people, even am trvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall be hid. Behold how dangerous a matter it is in those things which concern the service of God to maim or to mingle any thing with the pure & perfect word of God, to hearken but in part to the precepts of men, and not to resign ourselves wholly to the Lord to be guided & ruled only by his laws? For this people being in outward show and profession the only people of God in performing the service of God did observe those things which God himself had commanded, yet because they did ascribe somewhat to their own wisdom, and did think that they could add something taken out of their own brains, or delivered to them by tradition from their fathers, as matters profitable to the service of God, their wisdom was condemned for folly, and their honouring of God for the dishonouring of his holy name, and for the corrupting of his service. And verily is it not extreme folly and madness to take upon us to be wiser than God, & under any pretence whatsoever to presume against so special and peremptory a decree of the supreme judge of the whole earth set down in direct terms with his own pen? That which I command thee, thou shalt do that only: thou shalt not add aught thereto, nor take aught therefrom. And again. 
Deut. 4. 5. 6  Take heed that you do that which the Lord your Goa hath commanded you: ye shall not turn to the right hand nor to: he left: you shall do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord, & not that which is good in your own eyes. For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Verily St. Paul had many and great revelations, 
Rom. 11. 54  and was rapt up into Paradise even into the third heaven, and heard such words as cannot be uttered, yet he acknowledged that it did not belong unto him to bear rule over the faith of the people of God: Nay he denounceth a double curse against himself, 
2. Cor. 1. 24. Gal. 1. 8.  and against any Angel whomsoever, if that he presume to deliver any other Gospel or point of faith, then was received from God himself. For we are all whatsoever we be but fellow scholars in the school of Christ, he is our only teacher & schoolmaster, and his doctrine only is sound and catholic. We are but fellow servants under one Lord, he only hath authority to rule and reign over our souls, and his commandments must bear the whole sway. In the earthly kingdom there is jew & Gentile, 
In the kingdoms of this world there is a difference between prince and people, master & servant: but in the kingdom of Christ all are servants alike under one master. 1 Cor 2. 24. Heb 1. 14.  bond and free, Lord and servant, prince & subject: but in the spiritual kingdom of Christ all are one, of the same estate, condition, and calling: they are all alike the lords freemen, and they are all the servants and subjects of Christ. For what is Paul? or what is Apollo's? but Ministers by whom ye have believed. And what are the most glorious Angels themselves? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for their sakes that shall be heirs of salvation? And what honourable title have the highest in the church of Christ taken unto themselves to set forth their own dignity & honour? james a servant of God & of the Lord jesus Christ. Simon Peter a servant and an Apostle of jesus Christ. Paul a servant of God & an Apostle of jesus Christ. And what honourable title have the highest in the earthly kingdom, as they did belong to the spiritual kingdom of Christ, taken unto themselves to the setting forth of their dignity and honour? Behold (saith David a great king) I am thy servant I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid. And what honourable title have the Angels in heaven taken unto themselves to the setting forth of their dignity and honour? I am thy fellow servant (saith the Angel to St. john) and one of thy brethren, which have the testimony of jesus: worship God. Yea the most blessed virgin Mary the mother of the Lord, who is called by the children of the church of Rome, their Lady, and Queen of hoaven, as if she were a mee●e, mate and peer to our Lord, acknowledgeth this to be her greatest honour, that God had respect unto the low estate of his handmaid.  
Al then in the spiritual kingdom of Christ are fellow servants, which are not to make laws in matters concerning the service of God, but to proclaim the laws of their only Lord, and to propose them unto their fellow servants to be religiously observed by them al. The which if we could so thoroughly dispatch, that we should stand as it were idle for lack of work, than we might hearken for a new master, and go as it were about the country to seek more work. Or if we could perform so much of his work, as were answerable to that allowance and wages we receive from him, then we might seek for some other work also for the mending of our wages, and for the bettering of our maintenance. Or if we could have better wages, allowance and and maintenance at another's hand, than we might cast of the lords livery, & betake ourselves to a more profitable service. But we can never so perfectly perform our duty to God, but that in many things we shall fail all: neither will our labour, be it never so great, be ever answerable unto our wages: neither is it possible for any of v● to find so good a master as the Lord is: and therefore it is good keeping of us in his service and continuing in his fear, that his favour may be our countenance & credit, and his livery our protection and safety: it is good for us in all our works to have his commandments before our eyes, & to set before us his sovereign authority, that so in all things we serving him, may be acknowledged of him as his faithful servants. But unto the children of the church of Rome the authority of this our only Lord is no● so great that he should rule over their consciences by his own laws alone: unless there be joined thereto the decrees of their church, the constitutions of their pope's, the Canon of their counsels, and the rules of the founders of their religious orders. Yea their pope's power is so great with them, that he can dispense with the law of our only Lord, and free from obedience to his commandments. He can alter the substantial points of the Lords service & maim and mangle the institution of Christ: whereas none of his own 
Concil. Trident. Scss. 7. c. 13.  patches and rags must in any case be neglected and omitted without the danger of their black curse. Yea the perfect fulfilling of the whole law of God is so light and easy to these men, that they should stand as it were idle and unemployed, if no greater matter were requi●ed at their hands: & therefore the founders of their religious orders have found out many works of greater holiness and perfection, which were not commanded, but only counseled by God, and left to be ordained by their special care. For that belike they were to be more careful and zealous than God himself, for those things that did most principally concern his own honour.  
For the better clearing of the which matter, let us briefly examine these two points. First wh●ther it be likely that God would barely advi●e, and not peremptorely command all such duties as did most principally concern his own honour. Secondly whether thos● works, which are enjoined by the founders of the religious orders of the church of Rome, be of greater dignity & perfection, than those which are required in the law of God. Now concerning the first of these points let us consider, ●hat if in any 
There is nothing essentially belonging to the service of god which is barely counseled, and not precisely commanded by god himself.  army nothing be done without special charge and commission from the general, without whose appointment to attempt any thing, how needful soever it be, and what prosperous success soever it hath, yet it is punishable by martial discipline: and if in the government of the family of a wise master among men, who is able and at leisure to manage his own affairs, there is nothing done without the commandment of the master of the family, who only hath authority to command in his own house: or if any thing be done without his commandment, yet all matters of the greatest moment and importance are straightly & precisely commanded by him, and not lest to the voluntary choice and good liking of the servants themselves: how then may it be credible and to be believed, that the Lord of hosts the most sufficient and provident general of the greatest army, and the wisest master of the most noble family, would more straightly command the careful performance of mean matters, then of such as are of greater moment and weight: yea that he would no● cōm●nde them at all to any of his soldiers and servants but only give advise and counsel therein, otherwise leaving them to their own choice? Verily our Saviour Christ telleth the hypocritical pharisees, that were so strict in tithing of mint cummin and anise 
Mat. 23. 23.  seed, and were so lose in the greater points of the law, mercy, judgement, and truth, that howsoever they ought not to neglect the due performance of the least duty that God had commanded, yet they ought to have employed their greatest care about the fulfilling of the greatest duty, for that that was more exactly required by God. Now if the Lord hath most principally required the more careful performance of the more principal duties, that are commanded in his own law, and hath appointed a greater punishment for the neglect and contempt of the same: shall we imagine that he hath left altogether unexacted greater duties, then are enacted in his own law? Either is it credible that God himself by the ministry of Moses his greatest servant would enact laws and statutes of meaner importance, yea that he himself would come as it were in his own person to proclaim themby the voice of an Angel with thunderings and lightnings, terrors, & 
Exod. 20 18  fear, majesty and glory to procure the more reverence and obedience to the same, and to leave those of the greatest moment to be ordained by Francis, Dominike, and Layola without any such or the like solemnity? Or was it true only at the first delivery of the law, that there was no nation so great that had laws so righteous as was 
Deut. 4. 8.  all that law that was then delivered to the people of Israel, and written into two tables by the Lords own finger? & must there needs now be exception taken against the same in the rules of all the religious orders of the church of Rome, which command works of greater holiness and dignity, and such as tend to a step of 
Mat. 23. 37.  higher perfection? What hath not God commanded us in his law to love him with all our heart, soul, and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves, and to use all means ordained by him to the stirring up of ourselves to the performance of his love? And was not it a flat commandment of God, before the name of any Friar was heard of, given to all the servants of God without exception? That they should 
Psal. 1. 2. Coll. 3 16. 1. Thes. 5. 16  so meditate on the law of God day and night, that it might dwell in them most plentifully: that they should rejoice evermore, pray continually and in all things give thanks: that they should deny themselves, and mortify all manner of corrupt affections which were any way prejudicial to the love of God and their neighbour: that they should offer up to cod in sacrifice their bodily members as servants to righteousness, & their souls replenished with faith, love, fear, obedience, thankfulness & the like, devoting themselves & all that they possess to the most honourable service of the all-sufficient God.  
Wherefore to come to the second question, what greater duties 
The works enjoined to the popish votaries are not of greater perfection than those that are commanded in the law of God to be observed of all Christians. 1. Tim. 4. 4.  do the rules of our Romish Friars exact, them these that are enacted by the law of God? What? is it a thing of greater perfection to abstain from marriage, then from whoredom? from meat, then from surfeiting? from riches, then from pride, covetousness and oppression? What is it a more acceptable duty to abstain from God's creatures, and from the lawful use of such things as are the blessings of God made & created for the use of his servants, then to abstain from the works of the devil, which are damnable & cursed with the author of them? Is it a worthier work to abstain from marriage, then to bring up children in the information of the Lord, which may be zealous maintainers of his worship & service, when we ourselves cannot continue any longer in this world to praise the Lord? Is it a matter of greater value to abstain from meat and riches, then with thy food to feed the hungry, and with thy riches to relieve the needy? yea them to build churches to the maintenance of God's service, to erect colleges for the increase of learning, to found hospitals for the relief of the poor, and to build schools for the education of youth? Verily the wise man thought poverty to be a step rather to wretchedness than to blessedness, and therefore prayed particularly against the same saying: Give me not 
Prov. 30. ●.  poverty. And our Saviour himself hath taught us that it is an happier thing to give then to receive, & to help others by our gifts, them 
Act. 20. 35.  to become begging Friars & to seek to be relieved by the help of others. And he shall not say at the last day. Come ye blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
Mat. 25. 34.  world: for ye have vowed virginity & voluntary poverty and the like: but I was hungry & ye fed me. Moreover it hath been thought by the godly that lived in the purer ages, not to be a work of any commendation at all, to abstain from the sober and lawful use of such things, as God himself hath created for our use, and to refuse to drink of those pure streams of GOD'S love that he hath caused to flow forth unto us for our comfort, and for our good: as it may appear by the history of Alcibiades a godly and faithful martyr of Christ jesus, who being reproved for living with bread and water in the time of his liberty, and for the refusing of the use of other of the Lords blessings, because he did thereby minister an occasion of a pernicious ensample, after that he was cast into prison for the testimony of Christ, when it might seem that he should have increased, than he altered his former rigorous & strait diett: and this fact of his Eusebius termeth 
Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 3. Milar. in Psal. 64.  a good instruction for scrupulous consciences. Hilary likewise reproveth in certain heretics of his time, the living with dry bread, and condemneth it of miserable superstition. And is not the Apostle also most plain in this case, affirming precisely that this kind of rigorous and strait abstinence shall be o●… of the heresye● 
1. Tim. 4. 3.  of these last times? And doth he not as evidently teach that meat and drink doth not commend us to God, and that the spiritual 
1. Cor. 8. 8.  kingdom of Christ doth not at all consist therein, and therefore that it can in no case be one of the chiefest works of this spiritual 
Rom. 14. 16.  kingdom? Neither is marriage itself so pernicious a thing, that the refraining thereof should be a most precious work. Nay 
Heb 13. 4.  marriage is honourable among all men as saith the Apostle; and so precious in the judgement of Chrysostome, that in it one may ascend to the throne of a Bishop: yea if he use it moderately he may be chiefest in the kingdom of God: at the least of itself it is no hindrance no not to a Bishop in the execution of that weighty and worthy work that is required at his hands. For it was no hindrance to Spiridion, nor yet to Gregory Nissene, who was also the son of a Bishop: (the laws then allowed the same) & who was not 
Zoz. l. 1. c. 11 Praesule patre satus, nam t●c id iura sinebant Mantuan.  inferior to his brother Basil the great, as Nicephorus witnesseth, albeit he lived in the estate of matrimony. The like may be said of living solitarily in a cloister, or in a cello or in the wilderness; seeing it is contrary to the doctrine of the Apostle, who reproveth such as did forsake the society and fellowship one with another: yea seeing the spirit of God hath denounced an woe against the 
Heb. 10, 25. Eccles. 4. 10  same: Woe be to him that is alone, or liveth in solitariness, for that he depriveth himself of the means of his recovery when he slippeth & falleth, in that he separateth himself from the society of the faithful. And if woe be to him that liveth solitarily, then blessed is not he that liveth so, at the least he is not in the readiest way to the greatest blessedness. The Apostles no doubt of all other men were the best followers of their master Christ, and walked in the readiest way to the greatest perefection. Who albeit they had forsaken all to follow Christ, yet they had not forsaken their wives, nor their houses 
Mat. 19 27.  nor the common society of men. Peter, if we will believe their own legend, had by his wife a daughter called Petronilla & therefore after himself was called Peter. Neither could they forsake their wives by the law of God, seeing as the woman is bound to the man as long as he liveth, so is the man bound to the woman: & therefore it is not 
1. Cor. 7. 39 vers. 11. Math. 19 6.  Paul's but the Lord's commandment in the same place: Let not the husband put away his wife. For those whom God hath joined together, no man ought to put asuder. Neither did the Apostles put away their wives, no not in their laborious journeying throughout the whole world: Have we no power to lead about a sister a wife (saith St. Paul) as well 
1. Cor. 9 5.  as the residue of the Apostles the Lords brethren & Cephas? Neither did they forsake their houses & possessions, or the common society to live solitarily in a cloister, or in a cell, or in the wilderness. For Christ came to Peter's house, & there cured his wives ●other of a 
Math. 8. 14. Math. 9 10.  fever: & he was feasted at Matthew●s house, & there vouchsafed to eat with Publicans & sinners: & after the death of Christ john took the blessed Virgin to his own house, & received & reverenced her as his own mother. And yet all these (as I said before) had forsaken all things that were to be forsaken to follow Christ: & therefore neither wines, nor houses, nor the common society of men are to be 
joh. 19 27.  forsaken of such as will most exactly follow Christ. Wherefore to conclude this point, neither hath God permitted to our own voluntary choice the chiefest duties that belong to his own service, nor left them to be enjoined by the founders of the religious orders of the Church of Rome, but hath precisely himself commanded them all: Neither are those works of supererogation performed by our Romish votaries, any way matchable with the works of the law of God, much less to be extolled and advanced above them: and therefore seeing that the children of the church of Rome will not admit God to be their only Lord, & to have authority alone to rule over their souls by his only laws, but have given the like power to their Pope, Church, and Friars: yea seeing they have allowed the Pope power to dispense with the law of God & nature, & have preferred the ordinances of their church before the institution of Christ himself, & have advanced the works of their votaries above the works of the law of God, it is to be feared that God will cast them down with all their glorious works into the deep●pit & dungeon of hell: from the which place of dreadful condemnation if we desire to be delivered withal the approved servants of God, we must not hale between two opinions: we must not seek to serve God & Baal: (for we cannot serve two masters) we must not, after we have vowed ourselves in our baptism to the only service of one God, make another vow of obedience to the rules of Prior Francis. For seeing we are his servants to whom we ●bey, we must vow our obedience only to God, if that we willbe accepted of him as his most faithful & loyal servants. The which thing because the children of the church of Rome list not to perform, therefore the Lord will not be their Lord, not accept of them as of his servants, nor yet allow of any of their works as good, and as a part of his worship and service.  
4 
All obedience is to be yielded by us to the will of god, for that we have received all from him, and therefore are most straightly bound to yield to him our whole service.  Neither ought we only to be respective to the Lords good will & pleasure in all our works, for that he of right aught to reign over us ●s being our only spiritual Lord & king, & for that he will protect & defend us, & impart unto us the commodities of his kingdom: but much rather for that he hath bestowed upon us already so many favours, & hath showed unto us so great kindness, & hath bound us unto himself with such a multitude of his inestimable & invaluable blessings. For gifts & benefits testifying kindness & love, do oftentimes much prevail even with the natural & unregenerate man, yea with the very beasts themselves that want the light of understanding & reason. The ox● knoweth his owner, & the ass his master's crib: & as the law doth allow a ground bird to the owner of the ground, where the swan is permitted quietly to make her nest, & without disturbance to hatch and breed up her young: so doth mere kindness cause the thankful stork to perform the same without law & without constraint. But among all other beasts void of reason strange and wonderful things are reported of the kindnesses of dogs towards their masters for their simple breeding, and for the sorry maintenance they have received at their hands. yea the settled malice of a most cankered enemy & of a most spiteful sycophant (who of all savage and fierce beasts is thought by the Philosopher to be the worst) hath been conquered by kindness and love: and the most violent pertu●bations of rage and fury have been turned into the most tender affections of pity and mercy. And therefore it is not without cause that the Apostle exhorteth saying: If thine enemy 
Rom 12. 2●  hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink●: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but evercome evil with good. For oftentimes the streams of kindness & love do quench the flames of malice and hatred, and kindle the coals of kindness and love. And therefore we ought not to suffer ourselves to be taken prisoners of malice, or to yield ourselves captives to her, to execute herrage, but courageously to encounter her, and to beat back all her assaults, and to suffer her not to enter one foot, much less to surprise the castle of our hearts: and not only so but also to pursue her manfully being entered into the hearts of our enemies, and by the powerful assistance of kindness and love to beat her out of the plain field, and to dispossess her of her own castles and forte●, wherein she hath been before most strongly seated. For so did Elizeus and 
2. King 6. 23.  David and the residue of the lords worthies, who have most courageously fought these spiritual battles, and have most manfully vanquished both their own of and the lords enemies. When the bands of the Aramites, that were sent out to apprehend the Prophet Elizeus and to bring him to their king, being brought into danger not only to be taken prisoners themselves, but also to have had their own lives taken from them, were not only rescued out of danger by means of Elizeus but also kindly & friendly entertained: this kindness so far prevailed with them, that albe it there was open war between their nation & Israel, yet after their return into their own land they never returned to vex Israel. But who was ever a more malicious enemy to any man, than was wicked Saul to innocent David▪ yet astone as he perceived that himself being shut up by the providence of God into David's hands, he was spared by him & his life preserved, he was so thoroughly moved therewith, that he did not only presently withdraw● his forces from his pursuit, but also most earnestly prayed unto 
1. Sam. 24. 20.  God, and that he would give him a reward for the same. Yea when before having given a special charge to all his household to kill David, lonathan had dehorted him from the same, saying: Let not the king sin against his servant against David, for he hath not sinned against thee, but his works towards thee have been very good: for he did put his life in danger and slow the Phil●stine, & the Lord wrought a grea● salvation for all Israel: thou s●west it, and thou rejoicest: Wherefore wil● thou then sin against innocent blood, and slay David without a cause? The only mention and recital of the which matter did so alter Saules malicious heart, that he did not only recall his former edict, but also confirmed the revocation thereof with a solemn oath saying, as the Lord loveth he shall not die. Now if kindness received 
1. Sam. 19 6  from our underlings and from such as we have hated, and sought their destruction, doth even upon a sudden alter our affections and compel us to vow their good & to swear their safety: how much more any pleasure being done unto us by our superiors will glad and cheer us at the very heart, and cause us to busy all our thoughts how we may in some measure recompense and requite the same? What a credit do we think it to be unto us, if the prince shall but take notice of us, and call us by our name, & show us but some countenance and favour? Or if a noble man or a man of state shall steed us in a matter of some moment, how are we ready to cast ourselves after a sort down at his feet, and to make most solemn protestation saying: your honours to command: yours according to bounden duty for ever: your most obedient beadsman and servant as long as life lasteth? Now the king of kings, and state of states hath not only vouchsafed to have takne notice of us, & to have provided for our use, service, and comfort, this so glorious and bountiful world furnished with such variety of all manner of earthly blessings, but also hath prepared for us treasures of far greater price and value in the life to come: how ought we then to be astonished & amazed at such kindness that proceedeth from so high and worthy a state? how ought our hearts to be even rapt and ravished beside themselves at the least apprehension of such invaluable favours? Why even Publicans and sinners love their lovers, and show kindness to them of whom they receive kindness: yea the Devil himself will in some sort serve them, that serve him, and will be at the commandment of the meanest witch, that hath before bound herself unto him. And he doth extenuate all that service that job himself had done unto God, for that he was so sufficiently hired thereto, & paid so well for it, and that before hand? Doth job (saith he) fear 
job. 1. 9  God for nought? Haste thou not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the works of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land: and therefore what great thing is it that he doth so regard thee? hath he not very good cause so to do? Verily if he did not seek to serve thee after the best manner, he were the wickedest wretch that ever lived. Now if the most envious and malicious wretch of all other, who by his intolerable ingratitude and unthankfulness had deprived himself most justly of all the Lords blessings, could yet notwithstanding reason after this manner, how much more ought the true and faithful servants of God themselves, which do and for ever shall enjoy the inestimable favour of his unchangeable love, set the loving kindness of the Lord always before their eyes, making it a sharp spur to stir them up to walk on forward in the Lord's truth, and even to run the way of his commandments? And that 
Psal. 16. 3.  so much the rather for that the Lord himself hath been so careful to remember them thereof in sundry places of divine scripture, and that after a most vehement and pathetical manner? 
jer. 2. 31.  O ye generation take ye heed unto the word of the Lord: Have I been unto you a wilderness, or a land of darkness? Wherefore say my people, we are Lords we will come no more unto thee? Surely I have not been as a wilderness but as a most fruitful land ministering unto you all blessings in all abundance: And therefore ye ought to have been most fertile in my fear, and most plentiful in my service.  
This most ample beneficence of God towards his people is so apparent, that he appealeth therein even to themselves: O ye inhabitants of jerusalem and men of judah, judge ye I pray you, between 
Isa. 5. 3.  me & my vineyard: What could I have done any more unto my vineyard, that I have not done unto it? So likewise in the Prophet Micah: O my 
Mich. 6. 3.  people what have I done unto thee, or wherein have I grieved thee, testify against me? Sur●… I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, & redeemed thee out of the house of servants, and I sent before thee Moses, Aron, and Myriam. O my people remember now what Balaak king of Moab had devised, and what Bal●am the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgall, that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord. The recital of the which so great kindness and love did so inwardly touch the very heart of the Prophet, & of the residue of the faithful to whom it was uttered, that immediately in their person he calleth as it were all the powers of his soul to a consultation, how all dutiful thankfulness may after the best manner be rendered unto God for these his so large and ample mercies. Wherewithal (saith he) shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the most high God? Shall I come before him with  offerings, and with cal●es of an year old? will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with te● thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my first borne for my transgression, the finite of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee o man what is good, and what the Lord requireth at thy hands: Surely to do justly and to love mercy, to humble thyself, & to walk with thy God. Whereby we may learn what be those sacrifice● that are best acceptable to God: first to do justly in giving to God that which is due to God, and to man that which is due to man: Secondly to she●e mercy to them that are in misery: and lastly to have God's goodness always before our eyes & our own unworthiness, that so we may learn to humble ourselves, & to renounce our own worth, and to cleave unfeignedly unto God: yea to deny & to die unto ourselves, that so we may devote out selves and our whole lives only to God. And verily when the Lord hath once revealed & showed unto us how he hath loved us, and given himself unto us, and hath abounded towards us in his gracious, blessings, and hath caused all his creatures to serve to our use, them shall we desire in all sincerity to love and please him, and to resign ourselves wholly to his service. When God shall say unto us, ye are my people: then shall we answer, thou art our God. When Christ shall have 
Hos. 2. 23.  made manifest his tender affection to his spouse, & have taught her to say, my beloved is mine, and hath assured me of his fidelity: 
Cant. 2. 16.  then shall she reply, I am his, and am fully resolved to keep true touch and faith with him: His love is mine, and shall be always before mine eyes, and my service is his, and shall be continually in his sight. If a master among men should give unto his servant an annuity of 20. nobles by the year, or some little farm, or other living, if he serve him not therefore at his beck, he crieth out strait ways against his ingratitude: but if he happen to join against him in any cause or suit, and that with his professed and deadly enemy, how intolerable an indignity doth this seem in his sight? Now we ourselves have received from our grand master and Lord not only some small part & portion of our living & maintenance, but ourselves also, & whatsoever we enjoy: & out lot t● is fallen out unto us in a good ground, we have a very goodly hevitage: 
Psal. 16. 6.  for the Lord himself is our portion, & he doth maintain our lot. What unkind & unthankful wretches are we then, if we surrender not back again unto him both ourselves, & all that we enjoy, to be priest & ready at his commandment? If we keep not a continual remembrance of these inestimable mercies, & set them not always before our eyes, we be worthy to be clean cast out of his sight, & utterly to be put out of his remembrance. If so full streams flowing from so pure a fountain do not moisten the dry & barren soil of our souls, & make us fruitful to all good works, them are we verily but bad ground, ●…re to the curse, whose end is to be bur●…d. Undoubtedly as all the rivers flowing out of the sea, return thither again, & so empty themselves after a sort into their mother's lap: even so the Lords innumerable blessings issuing from the main sea of his love unto the use of his faithful & sincere servants, are thankfully returned by them back again, and faithfully employed in his service.  
The bondslaves of Satan seem sometimes to draw nigh unto God, & to seek the advauncement of his honour & glory: but it is either affliction that forceth them to cry, that they might be delivered 
Psal. 78. 34. Hos. 7. 14. joh. 6. 26.  out of the hand of the oppressor: or they howl upon their beds for corn & wine, and follow Christ for more bread: the gracious gifts of God already received do not allure them to come in sincerity to God. For they say not in their hearts, O let us fear the Lord, which giveth us rain ●arely & late in due season, and reserveth 
jerem. 5. 24.  for us the appointed weeks of harvest. Neither do they say, where 
job. 35. 10.  is the God that made us, that giveth us songs in the night: which teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and giveth us more wisdom than the fowls of the heavens? But the sincere servants of 
Thankfulness for benefits already received bringeth the faithful to God: whereas hope of profit to come, and their own necessities force hypocrites sometimes to fly unto him. 2 Reg. 5. 17 Is. 38. 20. The contemplation of God's mercies & our own defects & unworthiness is the proper cause of all sincere devotion▪ especially the manifestation of the endless love of God in Christ is the peculiar cause of faith, & by faith of all other parts of piety & godliness.  Christ knowing that God hath advanced them with honour above all the residue of his creatures, seek to advance his honour above all other: yea they most duly weighing with themselves, how deeply they are indebted unto his divine majesty for his gracious gifts already received, desire rather to discharge some of the bills of their former debts, then more & more still to grow in arearages. Naaman the Syrian being all his life long brought up in most gross blindness & Idolatry, when he was cured of his leprosy by the goodness of the God of Israel, that is, by the goodness of the only true God, Now (saith he) I know that there is no God but only in Israel: & therefore will I not henceforth offer any  offering or sacrifice to any other God, save to the Lord. So when Ezechias had obtained of God a great deliverance from his most dangerous disease, how doth he sing unto the Lord, & rejoice in his goodness, & vow unto God perpetual homage & service? The grave (saith he) cannot confess thee, death cannot praise thee, but the living shall confess thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall declare thy truth. The Lord was ready to save me: therefore will I sing my songs in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. The like may be said of all the residue that have unfeignedly given themselves unto God. For how were they drawn thereunto, but by the links of his love, & by the chain of his blessings? Devotion (saith Aquinas) is a special act of religion importing nothing else but the devoting of a man's heart to the prompt service of the almighty God▪ the cause whereof is the contemplation & meditation of the Lords benefits, & of our own defects. For if we would duly weigh & consider with ourselves the Lords most bountiful largesse towards us, which are unworthy of the leasts of his mercies, & deserve nothing but vengeance and wrath: especially if we would religiously record that one invaluable gift of God, who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish but have life everlasting, it would not otherwise be but that we should be wounded and pricked at the very heart for our former contempts, disloyalties, and rebellions against so good and gracious a GOD, and should also be made more careful for the time to come to look better unto our steps, and to be more respective & serviceable unto our God. For so wrought this heavenly physic in Peter & Paul, & with all the residue of the servants of Christ, it purged a way the putrefied humours of corrupted affections, & recovered them to spiritual health & life. It is sufficient (saith St. Peter) that we have spent the time passed of our life after the lusts of the Gentiles, walking in 
1. Pet. 4 2. Our defects. God's love. Our duty or devotion.  wantonness, lusts, drunkenness, and in abominable Idolatries: But now seeing we know that Christ hath suffered for sin, we ought also to suffer in the flesh and to cease from sin, and henceforward to live as much time as remaineth in the flesh not after the lusts of men, but after the will of God. So likewise the Apostle St. Paul. We also ourselves were in 
Tit. 3. 3. Our defects. God's love.  times past unwise, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and v●l●ptuousnes, living in maliciousness and envy, hateful and hating o●… another: but when the bo●…t●fulnes and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, he not only saved us from the guilt of our sins by giving himself a ransom for our souls, but also he destroyed the power 
Our duty or devotion.  of sin in us, and so raised us up to newness of life. For albeit the wicked turn the grace of God into wantonness: saying let us sin, that grace may abound: yet the saying grace of God teacheth the godly another lesson, even to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live 
Tit. 2. 11.  justly, soberly, and godly in this present world, looking for the blessed hope & appearing of the mighty God, and of our Saviour jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all ●…iquiti●, and purge us to be a peculiar people to himself zealous of good works. So likewise albeit the LORDS temporal blessings are to the wicked as thorns choking up the good seeds of piety and godliness, and as baits to snare them and to draw their hearts from God, and as chains to bind them fast unto the varities of this wicked world, yet to the godly they are as sweet sauce to make them ●eede more eagerly upon the food of their souls, and as spurs to make them run more readily in the way of God's commandments, and as ladders to lift them up unto GOD, that so they may come to the fruition of his greater blessings. For to the pure all things are pure: in so much that their very sins make them to hate sin the more, and the little taste of the lords mercies causeth them more vehemently to thirst after a full cup of the same mercies: yea the more they see their own wants and the lords fullness, the more they are stirred up to renounce themselves, & to cleave 
Eph. 5. 8. Our defeccts. God's love. Our duty or devotion.  unfeignedly unto the lord Ye were darkness: (saith the Apostle) but now ye are light in the Lord: Walk as children of the light: as if he should have said unto them: Remember your wretched estate when ye sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, and forget not God's mercy that hath translated you out of darkness into the kingdom of light, and so see that ye walk worthy of God, and of your high calling in Christ jesus.  
This due consideration of the Lords endless mercy in Christ, and their own unworthiness hath been the only effectual motive from the beginning of the world to draw the faithful out of the slavery of Satan unto God, and to confirm and establish them in his fear. The seed of the woman shall break the serpent's head, made Adam who before hid himself from God, afterward with boldness to come into his presence. In thy seed shall all the nation's of the earth be blessed, made Abraham, who before was bred up in Idolatry, to forsake kindred and country, and to endure many annoyances in a strange land, that so he might show his humble obedience unto God. Yea by the eyes of this faith all the holy men of God before the coming of Christ in the flesh, beholding the great goodness and love of God, (as the Apostle testifieth Hebr. 11.) have offered up their sacrifices acceptable to God, performed all duties, and endured all crosses for the constant confession of this their holy faith. And now since the coming of Christ in the flesh, whereby was the whole world converted from dumb Idols to serve the living God? Was it by the promulgation of the law of Moses, or by the preaching of the gospel of Christ? Surely the preaching and publishing of the glad tidings of the gospel, of the year of jubilee, of the acceptable day, wherein the Lord for his Christ's sake had granted a free, full, and general pardon and release of all debts, trespasses, and sins to all such as would willingly accept and faithfully embrace this unspeakable love, and make it the matter of their daily meditation and consolation, and the rock and foundation of their faith and hope, was that warlike chariot wherein the faith of Christ got the full victory over falsehood and lies, and trod under foot all infidelity and Idolatry, and triumphed most gloriously against all the power and puissance of hell itself. By the sound of this doctrine did the servants of the great shepherd and Bishop of our souls call home all his straying and wandering sheep, and gathered them into the fold of Christ: by this net did the fishers of men draw into the ark of Christ's Church all such as were before ready to be drowned in the sea of their sins, and to be overwhelmed with the most terrible tempest of the lords wrath: by this key did the Lords potters open the door of the kingdom of heaven to them that were before most worthily driven out and dispossessed of that celestial paradise: With this ensign did the lords standard bearers gather together all his companies and bands which before had revolted & became fugitives fight under the Devil's colours: by this box of ointment powered forth, did the lords Apothecaries revive and quicken the spirits of all the Lords patients, who were before not only in a sound but also stark dead by the most noisome stink of their abominable sins: Lastly by this seed of faith sown in the most dry and barren wilderness of the people's hearts by the hand of the Lords painful and skilful husbandmen, was there raised up a most plentiful and fruitful harvest unto the Lord. For faith cometh by hearing the word of faith.  
Neither doth this word of faith, revealing the unspeakable love of God shining in the face of Christ, beget faith only, but by faith love, prayer, confession, patience, repentance, fear, obedience, thankfulness, even all sound and sincere devotion with all the parts and parcels thereof. By faith we have access to God and are admitted into his Church which is therefore called the family of Faith. And Baptism the sacrament of our 
Baptism cleanseth; as it doth f●…her make manifest unto va and causeth us to embrace the word of faith.  initiation and the seal of faith is added to the word of faith for the further manifestation of the cause of this our admission into so honourable an estate and calling, by setting after a sort before our eyes the love of God, who hath given us his son with his own most precious blood to wash and cleanse our sins, whereby there was before a separation between v● & God. Now from whence (saith Austin) hath the water of Baptism this virtue, that it doth touch the body & cleanse the soul, but by means of the word whereunto it is added, that it might together with the same not only represent the washing away of our sins, by the blood of Christ, but also ●atifie and confirm the same for the further strengthening of our frail faith? Not (saith he) for that the word is uttered, but for that it is believed: not for that there is such virtue in the letters and syllables, or in the pronunciation of the very words, but for that they are the powerful instrument ordained of God so to open the Lords good and gracious meaning towards us, and to assure us of his unchangeable love in Christ, that thereby we might attain to a sure faith. For as long as we remain in our natural blindness and ignorance, either we fly from God as Adam did, being touched with the prick of a guilty conscience: or else we embrace an Idol in steed of the true God, being misled by the wrongful guiding of a blind conscience, as now naturally do all the posterity of Adam. But when the Lord hath once revealed unto us the glory of his endless goodness in Christ, and hath made us to behold the dignity of his death that he endured for our sins, and the worthiness of his obedience that he performed for our righteousness, thereby we are made bold to enter 
Heb. 10. 19  into the holy place by the new and living way which he hath prepared for us by his flesh, and are encouraged to draw nigh with a true heart in assurance of faith, being fully persuaded of the perfect purgation of all our sins, and of our entire and absolute righteousness. I am (saith our Saviour Christ) the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the father but by me. He than that is set in this way and walketh therein, he undoubtedly walketh in the right way, and he cannot miss, but come directly unto God. He that buildeth on this rock buildeth on a sure foundation: his faith cannot fail, he cannot be vanquished: his hope is sure, he cannot be confounded. He may be bold to triumph with the Apostle saying: If God be on our side, who can be against us? who spared not his own son, but 
Rom. 8. 31.  gave him for us all, how shall he not with him give us all things also? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen? It is God that justifieth. Who shall condemn? It is Christ that is dead, or rather that is risen again who is also at the right hand● of God, and maketh request to God for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish or persecution or ●…kednes or peril, or sword? As it is written: for thy sake are we killed all the day long, and are as sheep appointed for the slaughter. Nevertheless in all these things we are more than conquerors in him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come are able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ jesus our Lord. In which words it is manifest that the apprehension of the love of God in Christ doth breed such a strong faith and confidence in God, that the faithful are thereby fully persuaded, that they shall be never finally forsaken of God, not vanquished & clean overthrown by the force and fury of all their enemies.  
Now as this love of God breedeth faith in God, so also it engendereth 
1. joh. 4. 19  love towards God. We love God (saith S. john) because he loved us first, and hath revealed this his love unto us, & hath made us to apprehend it with the eyes of our faith, and to be assured & 
Ignoti nulla cupido. Tantfi diligimus, quantum credimus. Gre. in Ez. ho. 22.  persuaded of the same. For if God love us and we be ignorant of it, how can we love him again for the same? For our charity doth so depend upon our faith, that so much we love God, as we know and believe his love and goodness towards us. A strong faith a strong love, a weak faith a weak love. For God worketh not in us as he doth in those creatures which are utterly void of all understanding and reason, and so have no sense and feeling of the Lords working in them: but in the work of our regeneration first he informeth the understanding with knowledge, and thereby moveth the affections and will. Now faith being the eye of our spiritual understanding, whereby with Abraham the father of 
joh. 8. 56.  the faithful we behold the day of Christ and rejoice therein, first in him apprehendeth the love of God towards us, & then kindleth in our hearts our love towards him. For true faith is not idle 
1. Tim. 1. 5. Gal. 5. 6.  and unfruitful, but first worketh love, and then worketh by love: she is the mother of love in that she first breedeth it: and then 
Aug de fide & operibus c 22. Greg. in Ezek. ho. 9 Faith is the life of love, & not love the soul of faith.  by love bringing forth all good works she is the grandmother of all good works. And hereof it is that Austin saith, that it may rightly be said that all the commandments of God pertain to faith, if not a dead but a living faith that worketh by love, be understood. For as Gregory teacheth, Faith is the door and entrance unto good works, & not good works unto faith. Neither is love the soul of faith, that quickeneth it, and giveth it life: but faith is the very life of love, and maketh it lively and industrious in her work: And therefore the Lord useth to set before the eyes of his faithful servants his own love testified by his sundry and manifold blessings, and so causeth them to manifest their love towards him by their ready obedience to all his commandments. And hereof it is that they are called the friends of God. Abraham the friend of God: Mose● 
jac. 2. 23.  the friend of God. So our loving Saviour unto his dear disciples: Henceforth call I you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what the master 
joh. 15. 15. The faithful are accepted of God as his friends, & therefore are put in assurance of his love  doth: but I have called you friends, for what soever I have heard of the father I have made manifest unto you. And what is true and sincere friendship, but a mutual and interchangeable been evolence and good will not lying hid or kept secret within the closette of the heart, but breaking forth and manifesting itself by the effects? And therefore in that the faithful are called the friends of God, it is evident both that they feel the love of God towards themselves confined unto them by his gracious blessings, & that they likewise are stirred up to love him, & to testify the same by their ready obedience to his will, yea this is one sure sign of the special love of Christ towards his, that he doth show himself not unto 
joh. 14. 21.  the world, but unto them, and so raiseth up in them faith and love, and strengtheneth them in his fear. If a prince favour his subject, and he knoweth it not, he must needs lose a great part of the benefit and comfort that he might receive thereby, if that he did perfectly vndestand so much. And verily that favour cā● not be great, that can be altogether concealed and kept close. A little fire may be covered under ashes, & so preserved for some time, but if it be kept so long, it will be extinguished & clean put out: but a great fire will not be covered, but will show itself by heat, smoke, flame: even so the great fire of the Lords love towards his elect cannot long be hid, but it will make itself manifest unto them sooner or later by the effects thereof. Earthly parents conceal in part their love from their children being in their tender years, lest they should wax wanton and be made the worse for the same: but when they are once come to ripeness of age and to years of discretion, than they commonly seek to make it manifest unto them by all the means that possibly they can, and they desire nothing more than that they should be through. lie persuaded thereof: and he is a bastard & a very unnatural child worthy to lose both his name and inheritance, which either will not be persuaded of the kind & tender affection of his parents towards him, or else is made thereby more careless & negligent to do his duty: Even so our heavenly father, whose tender love & affection towards his elect so far exceedeth the kindness of all earthly parents as God exceedeth man, testifieth his love, kindness, and care towards his continually either by his gifts, or by his corrections, or by both: & albeit he doth not at all times make them feel so much, it is for this end that when he doth so, they should be more thoroughly moved to mislike themselves the more for their formet unkindness, & also to love the Lord the more for his constant and continual love towards such as themselves were, who before had so little regard so much as to take notice of such love. And therefore a● such as either will not be persuaded of the fatherly affection of God towards themselves condemneth the same of pride & presumption, or else abuse it to the hardening of their hearts by heartening themselves thereby in their sins, declare themselves to be bastards & not sons, being so far of both from the affection & also from the duty of natural sons. Why? If but a friend, having testified his love towards us ●y some few favours, should understand that we still stood in doubt either of his sincerity, or constancy towards us, & did imagm that either he did but dissemble with us, orelfe that he were usriable & quickly changed, would he not think himself much wronged, seeing he had so well deserved before, & had given us good cause to conceive better of him? And doth God bestow any gift upon any of his faithful servants but in all sincerity & settled constancy, & with a steadfast purpose to do them good? And shall they still doubt, either whether he ever loved them at all, or else whether he will ever continued to love them still? Surely they cannot do him a greaten dishonour: seeing thereby, as much as in them lieth, they rob him of ●is sincerity & endlea goodness, & of his eternal mercy & love. Wherefore the most sincere servants of God, as they acknowledge themselves to be most highly honoured of God, in that he hath vouchsafed to cast upon them so unworthy wretches the eyes of his love, and to have testified the same by the manifold gifts of his mercy: even so they are most● desirous to magnify GOD by ascribing every good gift unto his most free and undeserved goodness, and by receiving them all from him as pledges of his great love, and confirmations of his gracious favour: yea the more they feel the heat of God's love cherishing and comforting them with his gracious blessings, the more is the fire of their love kindled towards God, and the greater is the flame of their obedience and thankfulness. That debte● loved most, which received 
Luk. 7. 43.  the greatest friendship, having his whole debt most freely forgiven him, albeit it was never so great: And Mary loved much for that her many sins were remitted unto her, albeit they had been before never so grievous: So Peter loved Christ more than his f●llowes, for that he had greater favour to be received the sooner to grace, & to be strengthened in the faith before his fellows, albeit he had sinned above his fellows. And verily Gods grace revealed 
God's grace revealed is no cause of sin, but Gods grace concealed and so contemned. 1. ●or. 2, 8. Luk. 19 42.  doth not cause sin, but Gods grace concealed, & so contemned. God's grace revealed giveth grace & soon winneth allowance & approbation, & so causeth all obedience & thankfulness: but Gods grace unknown is easily contemned & causeth stubbornness & rebellion, that cried out so eagerly, crucify him, crucify him, if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory: if they had known those things that did belong to their peace, they would hever have so long stood out, & have showed themselves such wilful & obstinate recufants against their God & against their own good. If that superstitious & carnal woman of Samaria had known the gift of God; & who it was that then communed with her 
joh. 4. 10.  she would not have stood pelting with him for a draft of her water, but she would without delay have asked of him the water of life.  
Wherefore the most loving Lord of Abraham Izaak & jacob, & of all the faithful of what kindred & country soever, albeit he doth not vouch safe to show this mercy to the world of the reprobate, as to show himself to them, yet he cannot long keep close his love from his chosen, but doth manifest the same more and more unto them, as h●e knoweth it best for them in his divine and heavenly wisdom. For if joseph could not long keep in the tender bowels of his brotherly love towards his unkind and unnatural brethren, but that it broke out with streams of tears, and disclosed itself to their great astonishment: and if David could not conceal his fatherly affection towards his most undutiful and rebellious son Absolom, no not at that time when he had behaved himself so lewdly, and had so attempted his utter overthrow, but that it broke out in his strait charge to joab his general, and to the residue of the captains of the army: O ●e good to the young man for my sake: the which petition whom it did not prevail with joab, but that he stretched forth his own hand to take away his life, how doth that tender hearted father take on upon the ●elation thereof, O my so●ne Absolom, my son, my so●ne Absolom, would God I had died for thee o Absolom my son, my son? And yet the kindness of earthly brethren and parents, and that towards their most kind & loving brethren & children is but as a spark of the great fire, & as a drop to the huge sea of the love of Christ our elder brother, & of God our heavenly & celestial father. Can he then altogether conceal his love from us, & keep us from that joy unspeakable & glorious which we are to receive by the revelation thereof? The four lepers that came into the Syrians tents, whom God had caused to fly in all haste, & to leave their tents full of all treasure & store, when they had well eaten & drunken and hid also good store of treasure for themselves, considering & weighing the great necessity of their prince & people by reason of the extreme famine that was among them, could reason between themselves and say: We ●… not well, this day is a day of good tidings, & we hold our peace: come therefore let us go tell the king's household. They thought 
2. King 7. 9  it an offence to conceal from their country being in extreme misery the remedy that God had appointed for their delivery: And shall we think that whereas the Lords own dear and chosen children without some sense and assurance of his favour & love testified by his manifold and gracious blessings are ready still to be overwhelined with the horrors of despair, the Lord will not cause the light of his countenance to shine unto them, that so the clouds of distrust, that keep from them the bright beams of his favour, may be dispersed, and the tempest of despair assuaged & allayed? In deed when they begin to wa●e wanton with peace and plenty, and to neglect their duty unto their good GOD, and being at rest here in this world slack their passage towards their passage to words their heavenly country, and being filled with earthly delights become slow to seek after the true treasure, God seemeth for a time to withdraw his favour from them, & after a sort to hide himself, & to suffer them to be beaten with many rod's ryea he doth seem to be grievously offended & displeased with them himself, & ●o correct & chasten them with his own hands. And this wrathful countenance of God of all other calamities & crosses is most grievous & burdensome unto them; and doth above all other miseries vex and torment their tender hearts, & casteth them down to the gates of hell. Then in anguish of soul and bitterness of spirit they power forth whole streams of complaine● crying out and saying: Will the Lord absent himself forever, and will he be no more entreated? Is his mercy clean gone for ever, 
Psal. 77. 7.  and is his goodness come utterly to an end far evermore ● hath God forgotten to be gracious, & hath he shut up his loving kindness in displeasure? Then, said I, this is my death again. O Lord how long wilt thou be angry 
Psal. 80. 4.  with thy people that prayeth? Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and hast given them plent●…snes of tears to drink: thou haste made us to be a very strife unto our neighbours, & our enemies laugh us to scorn. Turn us again O God of hosts, show us the light of thy countenance and we shall be safe.  
And yet in truth when the Lord most sharply chasteneth his 
God is nearest to his servants in their asstictions, albeit he seemeth to be then farthest of: & he showeth then most of all the effect of his love, although they for the present feel it not. Psa. 119. 71. 75 ver.  own dear children, he is not in wrath offended with them, but in great love most of all than tendereth their good: his grace and favour is not absent, but then especially is present with them, albeit they for the very instant feel not the same. For what is it that in and by their afflictions worketh in them humility, repentance, patience, obedience, & an earnest desire to feel the Lord gracious and favourable unto them, & above all things to behold the light of his countenance? Are not all these the most evident effects of the favourable presence of God with them, & of the most near assistance of his grace? Doth he not herein show them the light of his countenance, & make manifest unto them his love to their great benefit & good? Surely David did most thankfully acknowledge so much saying: It is good for me that I have been in trouble, that I might learn thy statutes. And again, I know O Lord that thy judgements are righteous, and that thou (not of wrath) but of very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled. And therefore jeremy prayed for the 
jer. 10 24.  same as for a thing beneficial and good: Correct us O Lord, & ye● in thy judgement, not in thy fury. For God chastiseth his children in love, albeit he punisheth the wicked in wrath. And therefore both 
job. 5. 17.  job & David judge not, that the godly, when they are afflicted, are in a bad, but in a right good and blessed estate. Blessed is the man (say they) whom thou chastenest O Lord and teachest in thy law: that thou mayest give him patience in time of adversity until the ●it be digged up for the ungodly. And therefore the Apostles did rejoice in 
Rom. 5. 3.  tribulations, knowing that tribulations bring forth patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost. The love of God then apprehended by faith not only engendereth 
Hope. Patience. Confession.  in us love towards God, but also hope, that maketh not ashamed, and patience that maketh us to rejoice in tribulations, and to be courageous and constant in the confession of his truth, albeit all manner of crosses accompany the same. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh: and therefore if with the heart we believe to righteousness, we will be ready with the mouth to confess unto salvation. I believed (saith David) 
Rom. 10. 10 Psal. 116. 10 2. Cor. 4. 13  and therefore have I spoken: so we also (saith the Apostle) believe, and therefore speak. And verily if we do believe that GOD from everlasting hath acknowledged us, and hath written our names in the book of life, how can it be but that we should thankfully acknowledge him before the great congregation, and willingly confess him before the whole world? Yea how can it be but that we should continually make our resort to 
Prayer.  him by prayer in all our necessities, and crave his gracious aid to assist and strengthen us in all those afflictions and crosses which we endure for his most holy name sake? The unfaithful, who will not be persuaded of the fatherly love and favour of God towards them cannot come with any cheerfulness to make their prayers unto God: (for how can they call upon him 
Rom▪ 10. 14  on whom they have not believed?) but the faithful, that believe that God is become their loving father in Christ, & that by him they have such interest in God & in all his blessings, must needs come to him with great confidence & hope, & power out their whole hearts continually before him, and present unto him all their petitions and requests. And verily they need not to be ashamed to come into his presence, seeing they are clothed with the most precious garments of Christ their elder brother, and have him to be their continual advocate & solliciter to plead their cause. In deed the more they behold their own nakedness and shame, & take a true view of the rotten rags & feigned garments of their own righteousness, and the more deeply therewithal they meditate upon that strange and admirable goodness of God, that would cast the eyes of his love upon such loathsome wretches, they have great cause as to be ashamed of their abominable corruption, so to be wail and lament their intolerable unthankfulness. And so the prophet Ezechiel hath testified that the faithful shall. 
Eze. 16. 63.  be confounded in themselves, and hang down their heads, & never open their mouths for shame, when they shall behold the love of God towards them in Christ, which hath freely pardoned all their iniquities and sins, when I say they shall see on the one side how gracious God is to them, & on the otherside how grievous they themselves have been unto God. An ensample whereof 
In the prayer of Manasse affixed at the end of the books of the Chronicles.  we have in Manasse king of judah, unto whom when the Lord had given a little taste of his promise of mercy, and had given him some assurance of the remission of his sins, and of his receiving into favour, how doth he debase and cast himself down, as if he were the only offender among all the servants of God, and all other were as it were no sinners in comparison of him? And how doth he exaggerate and amplify his own transgressions, as if they were more than the sand of the sea, and together withal so odious and abominable, that he was not worthy to behold the heavens for the same? I have provoked thy wrath (saith he) and have done evil before thee; I did not thy will, neither kept I thy commandments: I have set up abominations and multiplied offences: I have sinned O Lord, I have sinned, I acknowledge my transgressions, O Lord forgive, O Lord forgive me, and destroy me not with mine iniquities. And verily until we have some sight and sense, & assurance of the mercy of God in Christ pardoning our sins, the ugly sight of our own deformities will drive us more and more from God, and wrap us faster and faster in the bands of sin, and be ready to drown us in the gulf of despair: as it may be seen in Cain, judas, & the like. But when Christ shall once look upon us with the eyes of his mercy, & shall give us some assurance of the remission of our sins, as he did unto Peter whom he mercifully forewarned not only of his fall, but also of his pardon, & of his recovery, and of his duty in regard of the same (I have prayed for thee Peter 
Luk. 22. 31.  that thy faith fail not▪ and thou being converted strengthen thy brethren) this favourable aspect of Christ the Sun of righteousness will cause us with Peter to love him the more, and not only to single out some solitary place, that we may bewail our unthankfulness with bitter tears, but also to be more fearful and careful for the time to come, lest we be overtaken again with the like offence. For a reverend regard and fear lest we offend so good a God, 
Fear.  whom we can never endeavour sufficiently to please, is caused also by the due apprehension of the lords mercies. There is mercy 
Psal. 130. 4.  with thee O God (saith David) therefore shalt thou be feared. For as the natural and kind child reverenceth his father and feareth to offend him, not so much for dread of the rod or for hope of the inheritance, as for that he hath had already manifold experience of his father's kindness and care for him: even so the dear children of God having had in former times very good experience of the Lords love, do reverence & fear him from the very bottom of their hearts, and are thereby made watchful and wary not to offend. Behold (saith S. john) what love the father hath showed us, that 
1 Ioh 3. 1.  we should be called the sons of God: Now we are the sons of God, but it doth not appear what we shall be: but this we know that when he doth appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And he that hath this hope purgeth himself even as he is pure. In which words it is manifest that hope rising out of faith, and the expectation of future blessedness out of the apprehension of former love, doth cause the faithful to purge & cleanse their hearts, lest they offend their holy and pure God with their impurities. Though we sin (say all 
Sap. 15. 2.  the godly as it were with one voice) that is, though we sin through infirmity, which cannot be avoided in these days of infirmity, yet we are thine, for we know thy power: but we sin not, that is, presumptuously, or we give not over ourselves to sin, knowing that we are thine: for to know thee is perfect righteousness, and to know thy 
Ioh 3. 14.  power is the root of immortality. For as the children of Is●ael were healed of the sting of fiery serpents by looking up to the brazen serpent: even so the faithful looking up unto CHRIST crucified are cured of all their spiritual maladies, and have their sin slain in them, and are raised up to newness of life. Zache desiring but to see CHRIST was immediately converted and made a Christian: Old father Simeon beholding Christ desired presently to depart out of this life, thinking that he had lived long enough, seeing he had lived to see his Saviour with his bodily eyes: All the faithful that have had some true view of our 
Our whole conversion to God is wrought by his love in Christ apprehended by faith. joh. 17.  Saviour Christ, do more & more desire to behold him still, and that not without very great cause. For the more they see him, the more they love him, and the more they feel themselves to live in him and by him. This is everlasting life (saith the auctor thereof) to know the only true God, and whom thou hast sent jesus Christ. For rightly to know & faithfully to embrace the endless & unspeakable lo●e of God in Christ, who hath consecrated himself both in his life and death to the working of our deliverance out of the hands of sin death & damnation, doth work in the faithful the death of sin and life of righteousness, and so layeth the foundation of that life here which shall be made perfect in the world to come. Now (saith the Apostle) I live not, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I now live, I live by the faith of the son of 
Eph. 6. 15. The love of God revealed in the Gospel is as shoes whereby we are enabled to walk on readily in the lords ways be they never so full of sharp stones and pricking thorns.  God, who hath loved me, & given himself for me. The Apostle lived not, he was dead in himself, but Christ by hi● spirit & word lived and reigned in him: and that because he beheld with the eyes of faith that great & endless love of Christ who both had lived, and died for him. And hereof it is that the Gospel of Christ, the powerful instrument ordained by God both to beget & strengthen faith, is compared to shoes, & is part of that furniture wherewithal the soldiers of Christ have need to be armed in their most hard & dangerous fight against all the powers of the kingdom of darkness. And verily there are so many thorns & pricks of worldly cares, and so many sharp stones of crosses and persecutions lying so thick in that strait and narrow way that leadeth to life, that the passage of the faithful would be greatly stayed, if not altogether stopped therein, were they not all well shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, and had not that gladsome & joyful tidings of their reconciliation with God made them most resolute to pass on along for all those sharp stones, & to endure all withal patience. Now then by these things that have been delivered it is evident and clear, that not only faith ariseth out of the true apprehension of the inestimable love of God in Christ, but also love, hope, patience, confession, prayer, repentance, fear, & a religious care both to live & to die unto God, & to devote ourselves wholly to his service.  
And yet we must not so conceive hereof, as if this one blessing 
All the Lords gracious gifts and blessings are furtherers of faith & obedience in the godly jer. 14. 20.  of our redemption wrought by CHRIST did not only begin but also finish our regeneration and new birth, seeing all the residue of the gracious gifts of GOD testifying and witnessing his fatherly love are aiders also and assisters herein, being all of them fit fuel for this heavenly fire, and do cause it to burn more fervently, & to break out into a greater flame. We acknowledge, O Lord, (say the penitent Israelites) our wickedness and the wickedness of our forefathers, for we have sinned against thee: do not abhor us for thy name's sake, cast not down the throne of thy glory, remember and break not thy covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can give rain●…r can the heavens give showers? It is not thou O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait upon thee, for thou hast made all these things. In which words we may perceive that it was the due consideration of the covenant of God made unto them in Christ whereby GOD after a sort had bound himself to be merciful unto them whensoever they did repent, that caused this people to return unto their GOD, and to acknowledge and bewail their own corruptions and sins: the which also was well forwarded by the remembrance of the LORDS smaller blessings, even by the due consideration of this, that rain and truitfull seasons came only from him, and all other gifts and blessings whatsoever. So Hos. 14. where the Prophet exhorteth the people to return to the LORD and say: Take away all iniquity and remove is graciously, so will we render to thee the calves of our lips. Ashur shall not 
Ho. 14. 3.  s●… us, neither will we ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the works of our hands, ye are our Gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. Now they could not truly hope for pardon for their sins and iniquities but only in the promise of the the Messias: it was that then that first led them unto God, the which was seconded by the due consideration of this, that all aid and help is also found at his hands, who is the helper of the helpless.  
And verily we have no right at all unto any of the Lords blessings, as long as we be at war & at enmity with God: we must be first reconciled unto God, & made heirs by Christ, before we can lay just claim to a child's part, & to have our portion in that inheritance, that doth descend unto us from our heavenly father. And therefore when the Lord would give unto Ahaz king of judah assurance but of this one temporal blessing, even of his bodily deliverance from his bodily enemies: behold (saith he) this shall be your 
The love of God in Christ is the fountain and foundation of all other blessings.  sign that I will bring to pass this thing for you: A virgin shall conclave & bear a son, & she shall call his name Immanuel. As if the Lord should have said: I have bound myself by promise even from the beginning of the world to give you my son to be a pledge of my love, & to be the conduit of my mercies: how shall I not then with him & by him convey them unto you? & particularly how shall I not now perform this my promise made in him for your deliverance from these your bodily enemies? For the cause that moved God to make this glorious world at the first, and to store it with such variety of all manner of blessings, was his own most free and undeserved love towards his elect in Christ, and therefore when they are actually bestowed upon them, the same proceedeth from the very self-same spring. The which when they 
The Lords gracious gifts are blessings to the faith full only: for to the unfaithful they are turned into curses.  are bestowed upon the unfaithful they are not blessings but curses, for that they make them more earthly, covetous, licentious, riotous, proud, cruel, unthankful, & the like, and so increase their most grievous condemnation: whereas to the faithful, who are the right heirs unto them, they are not curses but blessings; for they make them the more to rejoice in the Lord, & to be more obedient & thankful unto him, & more beneficial & helpful unto their neighbours, and so further their faith, repentance and love, and increase in them all sincere devotion. When David was remembered by the Prophet Nathan of his foul fault committed with Bethshebah the wife of Urias, and of the great dishonour that redounded to God by that his most odious and grievous crime, how that the Lord had not so deserved at his hands, who had advanced him from the shepherds crook to the sceptre of the king, and had given into his bosom his master's wives, and could & would have done him more honour, if that had not been enough: how did even these smaller blessings work most effectually in the heart of David, piercing & wounding his most tender soul, & causing him with many most bitter tears to bewail his former most grievous unthankfulness? And how did the remembrance of the same mercy's cause him also at another time to rejoice in the Lord and to triumph, and most vehemently and earnestly to 
2. Sam. 7. 18 1. Chro. 17. 16.  pray unto God for an obedient & thankful heart? What am I o Lord (saith he) & what is my father's house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And what is this thy people Israel that thou didst after a sort muster together all thy armies for their deliverance out of Egypt? What sawest thou in us or in our progenitors, that thou hast thus laden us with thy love, and filled us with such abundance of thy mercies? O let our hearts therefore be filled with thy love, and let our hands still be employed in thy service: keep this in the purpose & thoughts of our hearts for ever, and so prepare our souls to fear thee. Neither was he himself only thus stirred up to employ himself & all his authority & wealth to the promoting & furthering of the lords service, but also with the self same argument doth he endeavour to persuade his principal subjects & servants to be helpers to his son Solamon in the same work. Is not (saith he) the Lord your God with you & hath given you rest on every side? For 
1. Chro. 22. 18.  he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people: Now then set your hearts and your souls to seek the Lord your God, & arise & build the Lords sanctuary. So likewise when the Lord had brought the children of Israel into the promised land, and had placed them in the quiette and peaceable possession thereof, how doth godly josuah having a great care that after his death they should be true and faithful to their GOD, who had been so true and faithful to them, make a large recital of their manifold mercies so lately received, and then proposeth this option and choice unto them, saying: if it seem evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, then choose ye this day 
Ios. 24. 15.  whom ye will serve, etc. I and mine house will serve the Lord. Where unto they answer as it were with one voice: God ●orbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other Gods: for the Lord our God hath brought us and our Fathers out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage: and he did those great miracles in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the people through whom we came. And the LORD did cast out before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land, therefore will we also serve the Lord, for he is our God. In which words it is evident how these faithful servants of GOD well weighing with themselves that the Lord was their good and gracious God, who had ratified his love towards them by his manifold blessings, do take themselves thereby to be most straightly bound to his service, and thereupon do make a most solemn promise and vow to continue his loyal and obedient people. The which promise and vow, being made by them upon so just and sufficient cause, they as faithfully and truly kept and performed. For it is recorded of them not only in the same Chapter, but also judges the second, to their eternal glory and renown, that they served the Lord all the days of josuah and all the days of the elders that everlived 
jud. 2. 7.  josuah, which had seen all the great works that the LORD had 
As the religious remembrance of the lords mer●ies is the cause of all sincere obedience: so the reckless forgetfulness thereof is the cause of all rebellious ungodliness. ver. 10.  done for Israel. The cause then that kept this people sound and upright in the service of GOD was, for that they religiously kept an holy remembrance of the Lords manifold and great mercies.  
Now on the contrary side if we will behold and see, why the bad children of so good parents revolted and fell away so quickly from the GOD of their fathers, and continued not in his service and fear, see what followeth in the same Chapter. When josuah was dead, and all that generation was gathered to their fathers, than there arose another generation after them, which neither knew the Lord, nor yet the works that he had done for Israel: then they did wickedly and served Baalim, and forsook the God of their Fathers, which had brought them out of the land of Egypt. So in the days of the Prophet jeremy, the cause also why the bad posterity of this backeslyding people departed likewise from the Lord and walked after vanity, and became vain is this, for that none said in their hearts, where is the Lord that brought us out of the land of Egypt, that said us through the 
jer. 2. 6.  wilderness, through a des●rte and waste land, and through the shadow of death, and brought us into a good and plentiful land, and made us eat of the fruit thereof? So likewise Psalm 78. and the, hundred and sixth, a like revolt of the same nation and namely of the Ephraemites who descended from holy joseph being mentioned, the same cause is added of their revolt: They forgot God 
Psal 78. & 106. 21.  their Saviour who had done so great things for them, wonderful things in the land of Ham, and fearful things by the red sea. For as it fared with the children of joseph and the residue of the Israelites, when there arose a new king in Egypt which 
Exod. 1. 8.  knew not joseph, nor did remember those great commodities which all Egypt enjoyed by his means, than they dealt most unkindly with them, and used them with all extremity: even so dealt the ungracious and unthankful posterity of joseph with the GOD of joseph, who had advanced him to be a father to Pharaoh, and the greatest state in all his kingdom, when th●y forgot the great mercies of GOD both towards him and towards themselves also, than they started aside from his service, and fell away from his fear. Yea 
Hos. 2. 5.  when they ascribed their Corn and Wine and Wool to B●alim, and the fruits of the earth to the host of heaven, and their deliverance from their bodily enemies to Ashur and Egypt, and their great plenty to their own policy, than they forsook God and followed Baalim, and worshipped the host of heaven, and sent gifts to Ashur and Egypt, and burnt incense to their own yarn, highly magnifying and extolling themselves, and leaving of to magnify God, of whom they had not only received all these things but themselves also. The which thing also when it was forgotten by the wicked, Sap. 2. Cap. When they did not believe that GOD was their creator, & that all manner of commodities which they enjoyed were his gifts, but imagined that they were borne at all adventure and left to their own hands to shift for themselves, then like filthy swine they trod under foot all fear of God, & gave themselves over to wallow in the mire of their own sensual and unclean lusts. Come (said they) l●t us enjoy the pleasures that are present, 
Sap. 2. 6.  let us cheerfully use the creatures as in youth: let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointment, and let not the flower of our life pass from us: let us crown ourselves with rose buds before they be withered, and let us leave some token of our wantonness in every place: for this is our portion, and this is our lot. So dangerous a thing it is either to forget the Lords mercies, or not to believe him to be the only fountain of all! good things, but to ascribe ' then either to ourselves, or to chance & fortune, or to the disposition of any creature: for it causeth God to withdraw his favour wholly from us, and to give us clean over to a reprobate sense, and to suffer us utterly to fall away from his fear.  
Yea it not only maketh the Lord to be most grievously offended with such an abominable sin, but after a sort to be utterly astonished and amazed, for that there could come to pass any such impiety. O ye heavens be astonished at this, be afraid and utterly confounded saith the Lord: For my people have committed two evils: 
jer. 2. 12.  they have forsaken me the founetaine of living waters, to dig to themselves pits even broken pits that can hold no water. And in the very beginning of Isay: Hear O heavens, and hearken O earth, for the Lord 
Isa. 1. 1.  hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, & the ass his master's crib: but my people hath not known, Israel hath not understood. The ox & the ass, albeit they be void of all reason, yet have so much sense as to be serviceable to them by whom they are fed: yea the very dead and senseless earth yieldeth forth her increase to them by whom it is manured and husbanded: and therefore all such are more brutish than the very ox and ass, and more vile and base than the very dead and senseless earth, who having received all from God will not acknowledge their gracious benefactor, & be thankful unto him for his great mercies. Verily they which are careless to taste of the Lords love, are worthy to drink the dregs of his displeasure: they that refuse to love God for his goodness, and to rejoice in him for his mercy, are worthy to shake & quake at his justice, and to tremble at his fury: they that neglect to take at his hands the cup of salvation, are worthy to hear from his mouth the dreadful sentence of just condemnation: they that will not above all things esteem of his invaluable favour and always meditate upon that unspeakable love whereby they are delivered from everlasting fire, are worthy still to be remembered of their unthankfulness by their continual suffering of those intolerable torments of hell fire: they which are careless to bless God day and night most cheerfully for their eternal and everlasting happiness, are worthy to curse themselves day & night most ruefully for their eternal and everlasting wretchedness. And verily if David purposed to destroy all that belonged to Naball, for that, when he had preserved his flocks in the wilderness, and had been as a wall unto his servants, this his kindness was requited with currishness, and his messengers sent back unto him with reproaches instead of rewards: What cause then hath God, who causeth all his creatures to attend upon his servants, & maketh his glorious angels to be their guard & to encamp! round about them, yea who is himself a brazen wall unto them to defend them and theirs from all their enemies, most highly to be offended with his unthankful servants for the contempt of so many and great favours, and to be revenged of the same withal condign punishment? what? to forget the kindness of our bodily parents, and to be stubborn against them, was by the law of Moses adjudged to be worthy of no less punishment than stoning to death: and but to enter consultation of conspiring against prince & country deserveth by our laws to have the bodies of all such offenders dismembered, and to be set up upon the tops of our gates as rueful spectacles to warn all to beware of the like treacherous unthankfulness: (and yet our parents, prince, and country are for the most part but the means of some temporal blessings to be conveyed unto us: for it is God that is the author both of the one and the other, and the ordainer both of all means and of all blessings also) what an heavy judgement than doth it deserve so far to forget the Lords mercies, as that we should be stubborn and disloyal to him, & join ourselves in conspiracy with that archtraitour Satan?  
Verily when the Lord hath been so mindful of us, & we have been so forgetful of him, when he hath been so kind to us, & we have been so unkind to him, it cannot but highly incense him against us, and wrest out of his hands most grievous plagues, as we may perceive by that dreadful destruction that came upon the ten tribes, & that direful desolatlon upon the nation of the jews the whole remnant of Israel especially for their unkind forgetfulness & contempt of the Lords so sundry and manifold mercies. The first of the which judgements with the causes thereof is set down unto us by the Prophet Amos: Thus saith the Lord for three transgressious 
Amo, 52. 6.  of Israel & for four I will not turn to it: because of their oppressions, adulteries, superstitions, & their wicked rejoicing before their Idols, as if by their means they had been so enriched & advanced. Yet (saith the Lord) it was I that destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the Cedar trees, & he was strong as the oaks: Notwithstanding I destroyed his fruit from above, & his root from beneath. Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, & led you forty years through the wildornes to possess the land of the Amorite: and I raised up of your sons for Prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites, is it not even thus o ye children of Israel saith the Lord? But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink, & commanded the Prophets saying prophesy not: behold 
unthankfulness is the principal circumstance, that most of all aggravateth the greivousnes of sin. Amos. 3. 1.  I am pressed under you as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. Behold then what it was that added such a weight unto their sins, & made them so grievous and offensive unto God. and so again in the next chapter: Hear this word that the Lord pronounceth against you o ye children of Israel, even against the whole family that I brought out of Egypt, saying: you only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore I will visit you for all your iniquities. In both which places it is manifest that the Lord himself testifieth against this unthankful nation, that seeing he had so laboured to win them with his blessings, and yet they would not give place to his kindness, therefore he himself would make place unto his plagues, & to his most heavy but just vengeance.  
And now concerning that other judgement executed upon jerusalem & the nation of the jews the whole rennant of Israel, the which was the most strange and the most dreadful that ever was executed upon any people from the beginning of the world, was it not for this cause, that as God had at the first in kindness exceeded towards them above all other nations of the whole earth, & they again had exceeded towards him in their unthankfulness, therefore at the last his plagues against them did exceed the plagues of all other nations of the whole earth? As we may gather by that woeful complaint that our Saviour took up over jerusalem saying: O jerusalem, jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets, and 
Mat. 23. 37.  stonest them, that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children as the hen gathereth her chickens unto her wings and ye would not? Therefore is your house left unto you desolate: How often (saith our Saviour) have I called you unto me by my manifold blessings corporal and spiritual? and with what kindness have I succoured you in all your necessities and wants? and how long have I had patience with you in waiting for your amendment? Therefore patience so often offended, and kindness so much contemned must needs at the last be turned into fury. Sin verily is exceeding sinful because it is a transgression of the most holy, pure, and righteous law of God, and is a contempt of his majesty unto whom we own all obedience, if it were but in respect of his supreme authority over us: and yet herein it doth exceed all this, and is made most sinful even in the highest degree, for that it is committed against him, whose mercies have so far exceeded towards us, and have made us so deeply indebted unto him, that if we should most frankly and freely give ourselves and all that we have to be priest and ready continually to do him service, if I say we should do this again and again, yea ten thousand times more than we are any way able, yet we can no way match his unspeakable kindness, or be answerable unto his endless love. To forget him then that hath so remembered us, & hath given us such cause to remember him continually casteth us down below all manner of senseless & liveles creatures, yea it maketh us in some sort worse than the very devils themselves. For they in sinning forgot God their Creator & sanctifier, but we add also thereunto the forgetting of God our Saviour & redeemer. When we defile ourselves with the pollutions of the world, we forget that we were ever cleansed from our old sins and former uncleanness, we tredde under foot the son of God, & count the blood of the covenant 
2 Pet. 1. 9 Heb. 10. 29.  as a vile thing & of no price, and after a sort crucify again the Lord of glory. We contemn and despise this blessing of blessings, and clean set at nought this mercy of mercies, or else we would not so wretchlesly forget the same. We forget it, for if we did carefully embrace & remember it, it would not be without fruit. But we contemn and forget it and neglect the means whereby we should be put in continual remembrance of it: yea by little & little we are drawn on even to hate & to persecute these means, and so draw nearer & nearer unto that sin of sins which maketh us uncapable of all mercy.  
From the which sin & from all other that we might be preserved, 
The manifold means that God hath ordaned to preserve the remembrance of his endless love in Christ, and the residue of his manifold mercies: as 1. the word  the Lord hath given us his holy word to be always before our eyes, and so to keep in us a faithful remembrance of all his mercies: wherein we may record his gracious & merciful covenant in Christ, by the which he hath given himself to us to be our God, and hath taken us to himself to be his people: wherein we may read his will and testament, in the which he hath adopted us for his sons in Christ, & made us heirs to all his treasures, & hath bequeathed unto us besides all other gifts, that grand legacy of eternal glory: wherein we may peruse that authentical charter of all these privileges & immunities which we presently do, & are hereafter more fully to enjoy, being already made fellow citizens with the saints & of the household of God, and incorporated into the heavenly & celestial jerusalem: wherein we may take a true view of the large & plenary pardon of all our trespasles and debts, & of that great grant of the free remission of all our sins, signed after a sort with the Lords own hand, & ratified & confirmed with 
2. The Sacraments. Do this in remembrance of me.  the seal of his sacraments. For they were also ordained for the same principal end & use: that by the outward resemblance of the visible signs with the invisible grace they might together with the word not only represent and set before our eyes the Lords spiritual gifts and graces, (for Sacraments if they had no resemblance they should be no Sacraments) but also to assure us by the bodily receiving of the outward signs, of the inward participation of the invisible gifts. The Church hath also appointed unto us certain principal feasts, as the feast of the nativity of the LORD, and of his resurrection, and ascension, and the like, that they might likewise be a means unto us to 
3. Festival days  continue an holy remembrance of his principal mercies: And therefore on those days there are appointed also to be opened unto the lords people such special parcels of holy Scripture, as do more clearly set forth the same. And for that these feasts come but once in the year, there is one special day appointed in 
4 The Saboth or the Lord's day.  every week, that we should not only call to mind that God made the world in six days and rested the seventh, & blessed it, and consecrated it to the holy remembrance of the glorious work of the creation: but much more that we which are Christians, & have the jews Saboth translated into the day of the Lords resurrection, should most carefully record especially on that day, that he both died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. And therefore as upon the jews Sabbath there were certain Psalms appointed to be red publicly to the people for 
Read these Psalms & hymns not cursorely & for fashion, but with religious and devout attention, & thou shalt soon find the fruit thereof.  the calling to their remembrance of the blessings of the Lord: so in the churches of the Christians the same have been continued even to this day, & other holy hymns added thereto for the further manifestation of the same mercies. And for as much as this public meeting of the whole congregation to record the Lords mercies is appointed by the Lord himself to be but one day in the week, therefore there is a most straight charge given also by the Lord himself, that every one of the lords people should privately every day have their resort to the word of God, and meditate therein day & night, that so they might keep a continual remembrance of all those things, which never can be too much remembered. And lest any of the more simple & ignorant should plead either simplicity in understanding or weakness in remembering, the Lord in his great goodness hath provided a remedy also for the same, by causing divers short & plain sentences to be set down in his holy word, which are both easy to be understood, & to be remembered also, 
These and the like sentences may easily be learned without book, and aught to be remembered when we are by ourselves continually. 5. The office of the Lords Ministers. Psal. 105 1.  that so even they might have no pretence at all to fail in so behouful & necessary a duty, As job 35. 10. jer. 2. 6. & 5. 24. & 14. 20. Ho. 14. 2. And yet lest any of the Lords servants should discontinue in this the Lords work, he hath appointed also the ministers of his word to be his faithful remembrancers therein, & to call continually unto their remembrance both the Lords manifold mercies, and their manifold duties, that they own unto him for the same. For if all the Lords people ought not only themselves to be employed diligently about the Lords works, but also to further each one the other therein: then how much more ought they to do it, which are appointed to be public officers for the same purpose? How aught they especially most carefully to put in practise the exhortation of the prophet by calling continually unto the people and saying? Praise the Lord, and call upon his name, and declare his works among the people: Sing unto him, sing praises unto him, and let your talking be of all his wondrous works. Rejoice in his holy name, let the hearts of them rejoice that se●ke the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, se●ke his face continually. Remember the marvellous works that he hath done, the wonders and the judgements of his mouth ●h ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of jacob his chosen: he is the Lord our God. 
●. The 〈…〉 ●…ssistance accord●… to his own covenant.  And yet if all men fail in their duty, the Lord himself will not fail in that covenant which he h●th made with all his chosen: wherein he hath promised that he himself will write his laws in their hearts, and plant them in their minds, and that he will do the same so sufficiently, that it shall not be a matter of absolute necessity for every one to exhort and to admonish his neighbour saying, know the Lord: for they shall all know me (saith the Lord) even 
jer. 31 34.  from the greatest unto the least. So and so beneficial it is unto all the Lords people to know the Lord and his gracious blessings, & to keep a continual remembrance of the same: and therefore so and so many means hath the Lord appointed in his unspeakable wisdom and goodness for the stirring up of every one of his faithful servants to the ready and careful performance of this so beneficial and necessary a work; So and so careful hath the Lord been that the people devoted unto his service should want no means to strengthen & further them in the holy exercise of sincere devotion. Now let us see how the church of Rome (which boasteth so highly of her own great devotions, land of the huge multitude of all manner of good works which so and so abound among her children) religiously extolleth the Lords mercies & what a careful remembrance she keepeth of his goodness, seeing (as it hath been showed) that is the mother and the nurse of all sound and sincere devotion, and the fountain & wellspring of all good works.  
The word of God in setting down the great & gracious blessings of God doth declare unto us these three points. First the cause of them, even his own goodness and love: secondly the end, which is the manifestation of his goodness and love: thirdly the effect, which is the working thereby in the hearts of his chosen of all inward graces & outward duties also both to God & to our neighbour. The grace, goodness, love, and mercy of God is the full fountain from whence all his blessings do issue & flow. The great & blessed work of man's redemption issueth from thence as our Saviour testifieth: So God loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have 
joh. 3. 16.  life everlasting. The great & blessed work of the creation and all the residue of his gracious blessings, many of the particulars whereof are set down by the prophet Ps. 136. come also from thence, even because his mercy endureth for ever. This mercy & love of God is not o●ly most ample & large, but also most free & undeserved. For every good gift and every perfect giving cometh down from 
jac. 1. 17.  above from the father of light: & we hold all that we enjoy from this grand & universal landlord, & therefore we must pay our whole rent to him, & perform only to his court our suit & service: we are indebted unto him alone for the loan of all that we possess, & therefore to him alone we must discharge all our debt. His love also is most free & undeserved; he seeketh therein not to gain any thing to himself, but only to do good, & to benefit other: & this doth farther set forth the greatness of his love, & so doth enlarge the bill of our debt. Secondly the end why God bestoweth his blessings is that they might be unto us most plain demonstrations of his love & most certain testimonies of his goodness. Show me (saith St. Iams) thy faith by thy works: & I will show thee my faith by my works. 
jac 2. 18. 1. joh. 3. 18.  My children (saith St. john) let us not love in word & in tongue, but in work & in truth. That love them is in truth, that is effectual in works: and that faith is sound & right, that showeth itself in the fruits. Wherefore god who would have his choose know & be fully persuaded that he loveth them in truth. showeth it forth to them by his most gracious and manifold blessings as by the effects & fruits thereof: and this is also a great addition unto his love. Thirdly the Lord maketh his love manifested by his blessings the means to beget and to increase faith, love, repentance and the like in the hearts of his elect and chosen children: he putteth them not out to use, nor taketh any increase for them: (for his estate cannot be bettered, nor his blessedness increased) the profit and increase accrueth to us: and therefore by them we merit nothing at the hands of God, nor make him thereby any way indebted to us, but we ourselves are more and more still in his debt for the free loan & frank gift of all his blessings. Now then to return again to the first point.  
The love of God is the full fountain of all manner of his blessings both bodily and ghostly, and he himself is not only the author, but also the disposer and bestower of them all: the blessings themselves, and the means are of him, and the working also of the one and the other. Temporal, means are in themselves nothing without the special power of God working in them & by them. Man liveth not by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And life consiseth not in the great abundance of all such things a● do belong to the maintenance of life: The horse is counted but a vain thing to save a man, neither can he deliver any one by his much strength: the watchman also waketh but in vain, unless the Lord keep the city. So spiritual means also are nothing without the effectual power of the almighty working by them: for that is the very soul and life of all. He that planteth is nothing, and he that watereth is nothing, but God that giveth the increase. john the Baptist can baptize but with water: Austin can but speak to our bodily ears: Christ baptizeth only with the holy Ghost: and he that hath his chair in heaven is he only that, can teach the heart. The water in baptism can but wash the body, and the very word of the promise of itself without faith is but an ineffectual and dead letter; yea the bodily presence of Christ's own flesh profiteth nothing: it is his spirit that quickeneth, & that worketh faith and bringeth life. And therefore when Rachel said unto jacob, give me children or else I d●e: jacob was angry with her and said: 
Gen. 30. 1.  Am I ●… God's steed, who hath with holden from thee the fruit of thy womb? So when Naaman the Sirian was sent by his Master to the king of Israel to be cured of his leprosy: Am I a God (saith he) to kill and 
2. King 5. 7.  give life, that he hath sent unto me to cure a man of his lo profie? So likewise in that lamentable siege and famme of Samaria, when a woman cried to the king as he passed by: Help my Lord O king: the 
2. Kin. 6. 26. To ascribe any blessing unto the meanc, is to place the meane● in the maker's room Rom. 11. 36.  king answered: how can I help seeing the Lord doth not secure us either with the barn or with the winepress? If then our bodily blessings depend not upon the means, but are in the hands, & at the disposition of the author alone, then much more our ghostly & spiritual: and if both bodily and ghostly, then all: and then is he to be sought unto only for all: and then is he to be served and honoured only for all. For seeing that of him and for him and by him are all things: therefore the conclusion followeth necessarily, to him be glory for ever and ever, Amen. And it is a duty belonging to us all to fall down before him that sitteth upon the throne and to cast our crowns at his feet and to say: Thou art worthy O Lord to receive 
Apoc. 4. 11.  glory, and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, & for thy wills sake they were and are created. For are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can give rain? Or can the heavens give 
jer. 14. 20.  showers: Art not thou the Lord our God? Therefore will we wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.  
The cause then that moveth the faithful to cleave sincerely to 
The ascribing of all good things entirely to God is the cause of true piety and godliness: as on the c●rt●ary side the ascribing of God's gifts unto creatures is the cause of Idolatry and falling away from God.  God, and to continue stead fast in his fear is, for that they believe that they do receive all good things wholly and solely from him: they seeing that of him they receive their whole wages & maintenance, therefore do give themselves wholly to his service. As on the contrary side the cause of Idolatry and falling away from God, and maining, mangling, and corrupting his worship & service, is the ascribing to ourselves or to other, either wholly or in part the glory of many or of any of the Lords blessings. This was the cause of Idolatry among the Gentiles, of their honouring of themselves, and of their Idols, and of their unthankfulness unto the true God. For as concerning the wise, learned, and politic among the heathen, if they yielded unto God the glory of any blessings at all, it was of such only as were temporal and transitory: they were beholding unto themselves only in their own opinions for their temperance, fortitude, wisdom and all other virtues, & therefore they honoured themselves for these things and not the true and living God. Hath any one (saith Cicero) ●… any 
Cic. l. 3. de nat. deorum.  time given thanks unto God for that he was a good man? No: but for that he was rich, honoured & preserved: & therefore (saith 
Det vitam det opes: aequum mî animum ip se parabo. Hora. ep. 1. ad Lollium.  he) they call jupiter the best and the greatest, not for that he maketh men just, sober, and wise: but for that he sendeth riches and safety. So Horace: Let jupiter give me life & wealth, and I will provide for myself a good mind. Yea many of the greatest states among them did ascribe also to themselves their riches and honour, & to their own wisdom policy & power: as it may appear by the insolent hearts & proud proceedings of the king of 
Isa. 10. 13. Dan. 4. 27. job. 31. 27.  Ashur & Babylon, & by the like practice of many meaner men in the time of job. And as for the multitude they did generally ascribe all to chance & fortune, to destiny & to the stars, many also of the wisest & greatest amongst them being not free from this error: in that they commonly called their wealth & honour the goods of fortune, & had their temples erected both to fortune & fate. And as for those whom they worshipped for Gods both privately & publicly, they were either the first founders or the enlargers of their families, cities & kingdoms, or the inventors or furtherers of some beneficial science & art: as Ceres was worshipped for inventing or bettering the art of manuring the ground, Bacchus of the vine, Pan of cattle, Neptune of navigation, Mars of war, Apollo of wisdom, Esculapius of physic, jupiter of governing of countries & kingdoms. All these and many other were worshipped by the Gentiles as Gods, for that they were thought to be the inventors or furtherers of many beneficial arts, and the authors or disposers of many blessings: and so the worship of the true God the only auctor & disposer of all good things was generally banished out of the great & large countries & kingdoms of the whole world, & shut up within the coasts & borders of one small & mean people: and namely he was excluded out of the Pantheon of Rome, whereunto were admitted the gods & goddesses of all other kingdoms & countries which the Romans subdued & made their tributaries, for that he would be worshipped alone as the one only true God almighty & all-sufficient, the only author & doer of all good things.  
Neither was the true worship and service of God for any long continuance kept pure and unpolluted among this one nation which he had chosen unto himself to be his own proper and peculiar people. For they ascribed their wealth and abundance to Baalim, to the host of heaven, & to themselves, & so fell from God & worshipped Baalim, and burnt incense to the Queen 
Isa. 48. 5. jer. 44. 13. Hos. 2. 8. & 12. Hab. 1. 16.  of heaven, and did offer sacrifice unto their own nets: And they ascribed their preservation to Ashur & Egypt, & therefore sent their gifts to those places: And they imputed their virtuous works in part to their own free will & the benesit of eternal life unto the merit of their own works: & therefore did they boast of their own holiness not only before men, but also before God: they 
Luk. 18. 11. Rom. 9 32.  trusted in themselves & in their own righteousness, & rejected the righteousness of God in Christ, & so caused themselves to be utterly rejected of God. Whereby it came to pass that the kingdom of God was taken from them, & was translated unto the Gentiles, and the true worship and service of the only true God was made common to all the nations of the whole earth.  
But it did not with them neither continue pure and uncorrupt any long time. For the Church that was a chaste virgin while the Apostles lived, began shortly in many countries to play the adulteress, and to defile herself with spiritual whoredoms and I dolatries. The Apostle Saint Paul testified unto the Elders of Ephesus, that he knew full well that after his departure there should enter in among them grievous woluet not sparing the 
Act 20. 29. 1. joh. 4. 1.  flock●. And Saint john that lived longest of all the Apostles testifieth that even in his time many false Prophets were gone out into the world: and that the spirit of the great Antichrist, that was to come in the latter times, was already working and laying of the foundation of the great apostasy from GOD and his truth, and brewing the cup of that deadly poison wherewithal was to be made drunken all the kingdoms of the world, and practising those spiritual fornications and adulteries wherewithal the whole earth was to be defiled. And what were those spiritual fornications and adulteries but an Idolatrous worshipping of the creature in steed of the Creator, a superstitious serving of the Saints in place of the Saviour, & an unchaste & unshamefast embracing of the friends of the bridegroom in steed of the faithful cleaving unto the only bridegroom himself? And how was this brought to pass but whiles the world was taught that CHRIST the bridegroom of the Church was not the only mediator and patron of his people, but the saints also the friends of the bridegroom? that God had after a sort passed away from himself his interest and right in the bestowing of his own gracious gifts and blessings, and had delivered them over unto his servants to be in their hands and at their disposition, & had made some of them patrons over one country & some over an other, some over men of this calling and some over men over of that, some over this kind of cattle, and some over that, some deliverers from this disease and some from that, and some disposers of this blessing & some of that. And hereof it came to pass that so many devotions were done unto the saints, and so few unto Christ: so many churches and religious houses founded to the honour of the saints, and so few unto Christ: so much praying to the saints and so little to God, the very ave-maries much exceeding the Paternosters, and yet great contention also to bestow them too upon the saints: such gadding on pilgrimage to offer to the image of this saint and that saint, and so little regard of the sincere serving of God in spirit and truth, which is no ways bettered by altering of places but by changing of our corrupt and sleshly affections: such publishing of the fabulous legend of the saints miracles, and such debarring of the people from Gods own book, where the glory of Christ is most set forth: such buying of pardons wherein the merits of the saints were set out to s●le, and such evacuating & annihilating of the death of CHRIST whereby our salvation was only wrought: such magnifying of the rules of their own religious orders, and such a mean reckoning made of the Laws of CHRIST. These honours which were given by the whore of Babylon to her lovers were part of those spiritual fornications and adulteries wherewithal she did infect all the nations of the earth: and the great gifts that were pretended to be given by the saints to such as did most devoutely honour them, were the means to persuade them to this Idolatry: even as the Gentiles and jews had in former ages been drawn a long into the like actions upon the like motives and persuasions.  
Wherefore if we desire to be delivered from such a fall, even from departing from God to follow after vanity, yea from falling from his service into open and impious I dolatry, let us beware of this stumbling block which Satan casteth in our way to make us fall, while he parswadeth us to beg for that blessing at the hand of any creature, which only is in the gift and disposition of the Creator: and let us acknowledge that GOD'S most large & ample love is the only full fountain of all good things, whatsoever be the conduit to convey them unto us: and that all this water, that thus or thus serveth our use, springeth only out of this fountain, and not out of the conduit: and that the conduit itself is made by this founder, and doth convery unto us such & so much water as he himself doth dispose of to our benefit and good. Neither must we only acknowledge that God is the only auctor & disposer of his own gifts, but also that he bestoweth them all upon us most frankly and freely even of his own mere mercy favour & love. He did not predestinate us to everlasting life, nor bestow upon us any other of his blessings, for that he foresaw that we would deserve the same: For he did not foresee any thing that should proceed from ourselves but a flat conspiracy with sin and Satan and an apostasy and a revolt from God all goodness. Whatsoever good thing he foresaw in us, he foreappointed both to begin the same by his own grace, and to continue it and to bring it to a good issue and end, of his own undeserved favour and love.  
And now to come to the second po●nt: All the gracious blessings 
The end of all God's blessings is the manifestation of his love.  of God are bestowed upon the faithful to this end, even that by them he might make declaration & proof of his love, & give them assurance of his fatherly affection towards them. And verily as none among men bestoweth any gift upon another, but that he will at one time or other give him notice thereof: neither will he bestow it upon such an one as knoweth not the use thereof, nor understandeth it to be a gift, lest it be taken as a mockery, or returned back without acceptance: much less doth God bestow any of his gracious gifts upon his servants, but that sooner o● later he giveth them no●ice thereof, and showeth them the ules of the same, that so they may receive benefit thereby: sering otherwise they will do them 
●…is taken 〈◊〉 an vn●…ubted ●…ritie in ●…finite ●…aces of ●oly scrip●…re, that ●ods love 〈◊〉 assuredly ●…owen to ●is own people, & ●…lt of thē●…specially 〈◊〉 those ●…essinges ●hich ●re most ●roper and ●eculiar ●nto them: ●nd thereupon are ●hey so of●en and earnestly ●rged to ●hew themselves thankful and dutiful to God for those his so well known and manifest mercies. Exod. 20. 2.  no good, but needs must be without all fruit. And especially he will not enter into covenant and league with any to become their gracious God in Christ, and to accept them for his peculiar people, to give them remission of sins & eternal life, and the first fruits of the spirit as the pledge of their celestial & heavenly inheritance, but that he will make known unto them this his gracious league and covenant with the articles and conditions belonging to the same: for otherwise how can they perform the conditions? And if they know not that they have such and such gifts from God, how can they be thankful to God for them, and employ them to their own good? If they believe not that God is their God, how can they honour him as their God? If they be not persuaded that they are beloved of God, how can they be stirred up to love God? If they be not assured that God hath accepted of them as of his trusty & faithful servants, what encouragement can they have to demean● themselves as his trusty and faithful servants?  
Surely the spirit of God which knoweth the deepest mysteries of the Lords own most privy & secret counsels, & therefore much more searcheth the hearts & rains of all men, and understandeth all their thoughts, taketh it as a thing well known & acknowledged of all the faithsul servants of God, that God loveth them, and hath manifested the same unto them by his manifold gifts, and that he hath declared himself to be their God, and hath taken them to be his people, and thereupon inferreth that they should honour him a● their God, and walk worthy of their high and heavenly calling, & that they should love him, & be thankful unto him, and be ready continually to testify the same by their dutiful regard unto his service, and by their humble obedience to all his commandments. I am the Lord thy God (saith God himself unto his true and faithful servants among the whole nation of Israel) That brought you out of the land of Aegyp●… & out of the house of bo●dage: and thereupon requireth to be accepted of them as their only GOD and to have humble obedience yielded to all his commandments: And so the holy posterity of these faithful servants of God do in most plain words acknowledge los. 24. Even that God is their God, and hath done thus & thus for them, & therefore that they are bound to se●ue him alone, & to honour him as their only God. The same motive God urgeth to Abraham the father of the faithful: I am 
Gen. 17. 1.  thy God all-sufficient: walk before me, and be thou perfect: that is, I am ●ntred into covenant with th●e to be thy God, I have and will supply all thy wants, and have & wilsticke unto thee in all thy necessities: therefore see that thou thoroughly stick unto me and cleave perfectly unto my service. The Apostle St. Paul writing to the saints at Ephesus, that is, to the faithful in Christ jesus, 
Eph. 3 1.  beginneth with, Blessed be God the Father of our Lord jesus Christ: and presently annexeth the cause thereof, which was, The blessing of them with all spiritual blessings in CHRIST jesus, their election, predestination, redemption, the revelation of the mysteries of the will of God unto them, their hope, faith, and their sealing with the spirit of promise & these blessings he remembreth not as things doubtful and uncertain, but as things most manifest & well known unto them. Likewise he exhorteth the Theslalonians to keep their vessels in holiness & honour, & not to defraud 
1. Thess. 4. 2  or oppresle one another; because they knew what commandments were given unto them in Christ, and that they were not called to uncleanness but to holiness. So to the Co●…nthians, having remembered 
1. Cor. 6. 11.  them what they were before their calling even such as were defiled with most filthy and abominable sins, than he addeth as a thing well known and acknowledged by them all, but ye are washed, but ye are senct●fied, but ye are justified, in the name of our LORD jesus, and by the spirit of our GOD: and thereupon farther urgeth as things also fully known and confessed, both the fruit and the benefit of this form's grace, and the duty also that is to be performed ●or the same. Know ye not (saith he) that your bodies are the members of Christ; Shall I then 
Ver. 15.  take the members of Christ, & make them the members of an harlette? GOD forbid. Yea, 
Ver. 19  Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the holy Ghost, which is in you, whom ye have of God, and that ye are not your own, but are bought with a price? Therefore glorify God in your body & your spirit, which are Gods. So likewise to the Romans: chief considering the season (saith the Apostle) and knowing that the night is passed, and the day is nigh, therefore let us cast away the works of 
〈◊〉. 13. 11.  darkness, and let us put on the armour of light: let us walk honestly as in the day time. And again to the faithful among the Thessalonians: Ye are all the children of the light and of the day: we are not of the night, 
Thes. 5. 5.  neither of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as other ●o, but let us watch, & be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that are drunken are drunken in the night: but let us which are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation as an helmet. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation in Christ jesus: who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another even as ye do. And in deed what greater comfort can there come to the faithful, then to be assured that they are not the children of the night neither of darkness, but the children of the light and of the day? And what more available for edification in godliness, then to know that they are not appointed to wrath, but to salvation, and therefore that they ought to be employed wholly in all such duties as do concern all such as are to be saved.  
Neither is this argument proper to S. Paul alone, but common with him to all the Prophets & Apostles, who tasted with him of the sweet blessings of the same Saviour, and were made partakers of the same comfortable spirit. Behold (saith Moses) the heaven, 
〈◊〉. 10. 14.  and the heaven of heavens is the Lords, the earth also and all that is therein. Notwithstanding he hath set his delight on us and hath loved us, and hath chosen us to be his people, and hath preferred us before many other nations, that are far greater and mightier than we: that we also might learn to make choice of him before all other, & to prefer him to be our only God. So the Prophet David foreseeing by the spirit that God would gather unto him his elect and chosen out of all nations of the whole earth crieth out unto them and saith: O be joyful in the Lord all ye lands, serve the 
〈◊〉. 100 1.  Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God, it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves, we are his people and the sheep of his pasture, etc. Be ye sure (saith David) & build upon this, that God is the true God & that he hath made us, and taken us also to be his people: and therefore he exhorteth again and again to rejoice in the Lord, & to be thankful unto him for his great goodness. So S. Peter: ye are (saith he to all the faithful to whom he wrote) a chosen generation, a royal nation, 
1. Pet. 2. 9  and an holy people, that ye should show forth the virtues of him that hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Likewise Saint john: Behold (saith he) what love the father hath showed us, that we 
1 joh. 3. 1.  should be called the sons of God, etc. Why? He that is but in a play to bear the person only of the son of an earthly king, and that but for the space of two or three hours, will in no wise then demean himself like to a cullian. A son (saith Malachy) honoureth his father, and a servant his master. If I then (saith God himself 
Mala. 1. 6.  unto his people) be your father, where is my love? and if I be your master, where is my fear? Now every mean Logician knoweth that a 
Inepta est probatio obscuri per aequè obscurum, multo magis per magis obscurum.  thing not known or but meanly apprehended is to receive light and confirmation not from an argument which is as obscure and doubtful, much less from that which is more doubtful and obscure. For how can that which is dark itself drive away darkness? or how can that which is doubtful itself remove doubtfulness? Wherefore in that the spirit of God doth exhort the faithful not to serve themselves but the Lord for that ●hey are bought with a price, and therefore are not their own but the Lords: and to walk soberly because they are the children of the day: and to do such things as accompany salvation for that they are ordained to salvation: and to employ themselves not to base uses but to the most honourable service of the Lord, because they are vessels of gold prepared to glory, and so forth: it followeth necessarily that it ought to be unto them as evident and as certain at the least that they are not their own but are bought with a price, that they are the children of the day, that they are ordained to salvation, & that they are vessels of gold prepared to glory, as that they should serve not themselves but the Lord, that they should walk warily as in the day, that they should do such things as accompany salvation & that they should employ themselves not to base uses, but to the honourable service of God.  
And verily no other argument of itself alone is able to assuage the flames of self love which are so great, and to cause us to deny ourselves, our friends, pleasures and commodities, be they they never so sweet, and to make us willingly to bear the disfavours of prince and people, aliens and allies, and to undergo all manner of crosses and afflictions, be they never so burdensome and bitter, but only that invaluable love of God manifested in that glorious work of man's redemption, and in the residue of his blessings of grace. When the Apostles seemed to worldly wise men to be stark mad, for that they so willingly submitted themselves to so many and great inconveniences that they might give testimony to the Gospel of Christ, the Apostle St. Paul setteth down the cause that moved them there unto saying: The love of Christ constraineth us: because we thus judge that if one be dead 
●. Cor. 5. 14. Christ's ●oue to●…ards his faithful ●ervants ●elt in their hearts, not only allureth but even compelleth them most willingly to undergo all manner of burdens in his service for his glory.  for all, than we we●e all dead: And he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them and rose again. The love of Christ then is the most forcible argument even to compel and constrain us to do our duties to God, be they never so contrary to our corrupt affections, yea it maketh the yoke of Christ light & easy to the spirit wh●ch otherwise is so burdensome unto the flesh. And hence it is that those of the faithful which have had greatest revelation of the grace of Christ, and strongest assurance of his love, have most of all died unto themselves and lived unto Christ, and have above all other denied their own sweet selves, and renounced their Jearest pleasures and commodities, and have with such a burning affection embraced their sweet Saviour and redeemer, and so highly esteemed of his most precious blood, that all other sweet things have after a sort grown out of taste with them and all other precious things have become of no price. I am dead (saith St. Paul), to the law, and am crucified with Christ: I live, and yet 
Gal. 2. 19  not I now, but Christ liveth in me: and in that I live now in the flesh, I live by he faith of the Son of God, who hath loved me, and given himself for me. I see well (saith Austin in an Epistle to Dardanus) that thou dost esteem little of me, although I make great account of thee: and it is for that thou art young and I am old, thou wise and I undiscreet, thou rich and I poor, thou more virtuous than I am: yet I will deny that thou hast a better God th●n I, or a better law, or a better redeemer th●… I: for in the matter of redemption the Lord dealt so equally among all men, that I will not acknowledge any advantage in thee, or any superiority in me. O good jesus (saith he) O the redeemer of my soul, wherewithal shall I requite thy clemency or satisfy thy goodness for not shedding better blood for all thine elect, than thou didst for my sins alone? Now what caused this man of GOD thus to humble and debase himself in respect of himself, and thus to advance himself in respect of GOD, and to cry out that he knew not how to be sufficiently thankful unto his gracious redeemer, but a greater revelation of the grace of CHRIST, and a stronger assurance of his love then ordinarily is granted to the common sort of the faithful? The which things also stirred up the like passions in Cyrill and Bernard, and east them into an holy ecstasy, and carried them after a sort out of themselves, and made them to have little regard 
Cyrill. in haec verb● sanguis ●ius sit super noset filios nostros.  of this present world and of the pomp and glory thereof, which yet are so glorious in earthly men's eyes. To what end (saith Cyrill) should I have wealth and hope for the inheritance of the goods of this world's, seeing already I am made heir of thy most precious blood, and redeemed with thy most glorious death? Why should I not very much esteem of myself, seeing thou hast shed as much blood for me alone, as thou hast done for all the world? So Bernard: O good jesus, O the love of my soul, who 
Bern. in haec verbai desiderio desideravi etc.  amongst mortal men doth so desire to make his life perpetual, as thou didst desire to lose thine for mine? What pleasure wilt thou take on the world to come with thine elect, seeing here upon earth thou diddest call that day wherein thou diddest suffer Easter that is a great and solemn festival day? And again: O good jesus, O the redeemer of my soul, do I not happily owe thee as much as all the world oweth thee, seeing I have cost thee as much blood as all the world hath done? By the which testimonies of these holy men it is evident and plain, that an holy assurance of the great love of CHRIST, who hath died for our sins in particular, and rose again for our justification, is the strongest purgation to cleanse our souls from dead works, and to quicken them up to an heavenly life, and to strengthen us in the ready preformance of all such duties, as are most grateful and acceptable to God. And verily all manner of good & virtuous works, seem they never so glorious in the eyes of mortal men, are most vile and base in the sight of God, unless the love of Christ be the worker of them all, and unless they are performed as well deserved duties for his sundry and manifold undeserved mercies.  
How then can there be any true devotion at all in any of the children of the Church of Rome, if they follow the doctrine 
●f the assurance of the love of God in Christ be the strongest band to bind us to God, than the doubtting thereof must needs let us lose to run a stray & at random: out of the lords ways, as if we were at our own liberty to live as we list. The base borne bastards of the church of Rome condemn in the legitimate children of God the holy assurance of his favour and love. as Sap. 2. their former brethrren the elder sons of Satan have done before them Eph. 3. 18.  of their mother, who teacheth them to be still in doubt of the love of Christ in particular towards themselves, & of their effectual calling into the state of grace, and of the remission of their sins and eternal glory, seeing the faithful apprehension, sense, & assurance of Christ's love & the fruits thereof, is the only effectual worker of all true devotion? How can either the church of Rome be the faithful spouse of Christ, seeing she still standeth in doubt of the love of her bridegroom: or her children be the children of God our heavenly father, seeing they are, and must be still in doubt, whether he beareth a fatherly affection towards them? Surely a faithful spoufe cannot still stand in doubt of the love of her most kind and careful husband: neither can the natural and kind child always fear whether his natural & kind father beareth a loving and a fatherly affection towards him, seeing he hath testified the same by his manifold blessings. And therefore the church of Rome cannot be the true spouse of Christ, seeing she knoweth not assuredly whether she is his beloved: neither can her children be the true children of God our heavenly father, seeing they are and must be still uncertain and doubtful of his kind and fatherly love, & of the most principal effects thereof. Nay in that they condemn the true children of God of pride & presumption, for that they are not abashed to make a bold confession of their knowledge of God, and of their assurance of his love, and to glory that he is their father and they his sons, hereby they declare themselves to belong to the congregation of them alignant, yea that they are the children of the devil himself, in that after the very self-same manner they condemn the holy faith of the children of God, as their elder brethren have done before them in the second chapter of the book of wisdom.  
Wherefore all ye our dear brethren, which are as yet covered with the black and dark doctrine of the church of Rome, which came out of the bottomless pit from the very prince of darkness himself, even as many of you as belong to the number of Gods elect, defraud not yourselves any longer of the comfort and fruit of Christ's love by continuing still doubtful of the same with the children of unbelief, but rather labour with all saints that ye may comprehend what is the breadth, depth, length, height, & to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge, that so ye many be filled with all fullness of God. Be ye not desirous to continue any longer doubtful of the remission of your sins & of your election to eternal life according unto the doctrine of the teacher of infidelity, which yet boasteth himself to be the successor of St. Peter., but strive ye 
2. Pet. 1. 10  rather to make your election sure by your works, according unto the most holy doctrine of St. Peter himself. And as I doubt not but that ye unfeignedly desire to be fruitful and plentiful in all good works, so labour ye by all means possible to comprehend the love of Christ, and to feel in your hearts the comfortable fruits thereof, which are the strongest motives not only to persuade but after a sort to constrain & force unto the ready persormance of all good works. Be ye not so foolish still to imagine, that your works which are the fruits of the love of Christ, & the effects of your election and justification, be the causes of the love of Christ & of your election & justification: Especially whereas it is God that worketh in you the will and the deed, and that of his own mere mercy and good will in Christ, and thereby maketh you more endebtted unto him by the continuance & increase of his blessings; take ye heed of that grievous and intolerable pride, wherewith the Devil the defacer of the grace and glory of Christ hath hitherto beguiled you, by making you think that God is endebtted unto you by means of your good works, and that by them you merit at his hands remission of sins & eternal glory. For verily if the kissing of our own hands, that is, the ascribing 
The ascribing to our own wit & industry of God's temporal gifts is a denial of God, and therefore much more the ascribing of eternal life to our own merits.  but of our temporal goods and possessions unto our own industry and wit be an iniquity to be condemned, because it is a denial of God: then is it a greater iniquity & more to be condemned, and a more heinous denial of God to rob him of the glory of his greatest gifts by ascribing them unto our own merits. But herein is fulfilled the prophesy of Saint Peter 
* 2. Pet. 2. 1.  who hath plainly foretold, that as there were then false prophets among the people, so there should be false teachers among us, who should prively bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them.  
The truth is, that the children of the Church of Rome confess in word their redemption wrought by Christ, but when they them, selves labour to purchase heaven by their own merits, do they not plainly disallow the sufficiency of the purchase thereof made by Christ? Yea, whereas our Rhemists are so bold as to call the justice of God which is resident in Christ, & apprehended by our faith, and so imputed to us, because it was wrought for us, a new no justice, a fantastical apprehension of that which is not, a fals● faith, and an untrue imputation, and to affirm that there is no righteousness, 
Rhem in c. 3. ep. ad Rom.  whereby we are justified before God, but that which is inherent in us, being given to us of God by Christ, that thereby we might merit for ourselves our justification & salvation: do they not in flat terms deny Christ's own inherent righteousness whereby we are justified & saved, & ascribe the same to our own inherent righteousness? If a friend should procure of a father some portion of a stock for his son, by the which being well employed & increased, the son should in some spate of time purchase a good farm, were the friend, or the father, or the son to be termed the purchaser thereof? It is plain and manifest that none but the son. Why then if Christ's own righteousness inherent in himself and imputed to us be a new no righteousness, & not the price of our redemption, but our own inherent righteousness procured of God our heavenly Father by the death of Christ, as by the mediation of our dearest friend, than we ourselves are the purchasers of everlasting life, and so our own Saviour's and redeemers, and are no further beholding to Christ for the same, then for that he hath procured for us some portion of love, repentance, obedience, and the like, the which being well employed and increased by our own free will is the only price that is given for that heavenly purchase. But far be this blasphemous doctrine from the hearts of all true and faithful Christians: let it be enough for us to enjoy the fruit of our salvation purchased by Christ, let us give to his own most pure and perfect obedience this glory, that we esteem it be the only price that is or could be equivalent unto that so great and worthy a purchase. And whereas the great & endless love of God our Father electing & justifying us freely in Christ are the steps whereby God descendeth to us to finish his work here begun in us, by bringing us here in this l●…e to our sanctification, and to our glorification in the life to come: and whereas also the Lord in his high and admirable wisdom hath appointed that this his great and endless love in electing and iustififying us freely in Christ, should be the only effectual means to work our conversion and sanctification, and the most strong and forcible motive to in duce us to the ready performance of all such holy works as are the steps and stairs to our glorification, let us not presume to perverte this order and course ordained by God in his great wisdom by setting the cart before the horse, by turning all ●opsie turvey, by changing the effects into the causes, and the causes into the effects, by placing the highest steps in the lowest rooms, and the lowest in the highest, by altering the first into the last, and the last into the first: and yet all this is done by us, if we make our sanctification and good works the merit orious causes of the love of God and of our election & justification by CHRIST, which are but the effects and fruits of the same. Nay rather seeing God hath not only loved us but also hath made manifest the same unto us by his manifold blessings, by giving ourselves unto ourselves, and all this glorious world to our use and service, by giving us his own dear son to justify us by his blood, and to sanctify us by his spirit, and to lead us by his word in the right way to our full and final glorification, how ought we to serve him that hath thus served us, and honour him that hath honoured us, and love him that hath loved us, & to be most desirous to testify the same by our careful & continual employment in all those works, which he himself hath ordained for us to walk in, & that in most ready and humble obedience unto his will, not only because it is holy & just, acceptable & well-pleasing unto himself, and the will of him unto whom we own all obedience in respect of his supreme authority over us, but much more for that we are so deeply endebtted unto him in respect of his infinite & endless mercies.  than the will of God must be the rule & squire of all our works, or else they will grow much out of square, therefore it concerneth us most nearly to make most diligent inquiry, by what means we may attain to the assured knowledge thereof, that so we may conform ourselves wholly thereunto.  
The knowledge of the most certain and undoubted will of 
The sure & certain ●…ill of God ●s only to ●e learned ●ut of the Canonical scriptures.  God is now to be found only in the word of God revealed to the Prophets & Apostles by the spirit of God, & set down by them in the Canonical Scriptures. For as words are given to us of God that thereby we might signify each to other the sense & meaning of our minds: even so hath the Lord himself revealed to us by his written word what is the meaning of his will, & hath commanded us to seek for the same only from thence. This commandment 
Deut. 30. 11.  (saith Moses) which I command thee this day is not hid from thee, neither is it far of: It is not in heaven that thou shouldest say, who shall go up into heaven, and bring it unto us, and cause us to hear it that we may do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, who shall go over the sea to bring it to us, to cause us to hear it, that we may do it? But the word is near unto thee even in thy mouth and in thy heart that thou mayest do it. By which words we are to learn, that God in his divine and heavenly wisdom hath not appointed either an Angel from heaven, or a messenger from beyond the seas to be the instruments whereby his will may be related unto us, but only his holy word & sacred commandments. In truth such is the pride, curiosity, superstition, and rebellion of sottish & sinful man, that he setteth light by the means appointed by God for his best instruction, & would needs have one raised from the dead, or an Angel from heaven, to bring him tidings of the Lords will, and to make relation thereof, or else he would receive it by tradition from his ancestors, or by descent from his forefathers. The rich glutton being in hell is said to have made his petition to Abraham being in heaven, that he should cause one to come from the dead to admonish his brethren whom he had left alive behind him, lest they also should come into the same place of torments. Not that the damned spirits in hell are so charitably affected, that they could wish others to be delivered from those miseries which they themselves endure, whereas on the contrary side they are so envious and malicious, that they envy at the happy estate of the blessed, and would have all entangled with them in the same curse. But the purpose of the parable is to show the vanity of such as are alive, who content not themselves with the instruction of the word, but needs would be taught by a messenger from the dead. Now what is Abraham's answer to this petition? They have (saith he) Moses and the Prophets, (that is, the word of 
Luk 16. 29.  God set down in their writings) let them bear them. For howsoever many persuade themselves that they should verily believe and amend their lives, if one should arise from the dead and admonish & warn them of the great danger they are subject unto in respect of their sins: yet it is a contrary resolution from the spirit of God by the mouth of Abraham: If they will not hear Moses & the Prophets, neither will they believe though one rose again from the dead.  
For if they will not be taught and reform by such means as God in his d●vine wisdom hath thought to be best for their instruction & reformation, then surely all such means must needs be of less force and efficacy, which blind & foolish man hath of himself imagined & conceived. And therefore when the vain people in the time of the Prophet Esay would needs be certified 
Esa. 8. 19  of the Lords will by sorcerers & conjurers, & by informations from the dead: What (saith the Lord) from the living to the dead? Do ye appeal from the censure of the eternal and everliving Lord unto the sentence of such as are dead? To the law & to the testimony: for if they which pretend to certify you of the will of the Lord speak not out of this word, it is because they have no light in them. And verily if we mean to consult with God and to have an answer from him concerning his will, we must seek for the same from the divine Oracles of his sacred word: & if we be desirous 
Rom. 3. 2. Psal. 119.  to be partakers of the Lords counsels, our counsellors must be the Lords own books. For they are the Lords testimonies and after a sort his sworn witnesses to testify unto us all the truth & nothing but the truth in all matters that concern the glory of God & the salvation of our own souls. They contain the full and whole will and testament of our heavenly father, & the disposition of all such blessings as he bestoweth upon his dear loving children, & the prescription of all such duties as he requireth at their hands. And yet there have been & still are many who had rather seek for the manifestation of the will of God in the traditions of their ancestors, & in the examples of their forefathers, then in the very will & testament of God himself. Our Fathers 
joh. 4. 10.  (saith the woman of Samari●) worshipped in this mount: but ye say tha● jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. The Samaritane● had forsaked the most certain & infallible rule of the written word, & pretended the example of their progenitors, & an old tradition from their forefathers: Our Father's worshippe● in this mount. But what replieth our blessed Saviour unto this so plausible & glorious an allegation? ye worshippeyee wot not what: we 
Vers. 22.  know what we worship, & therefore salvation is from us. So the Idolatrous jews: The word (say they) that thou hast spoken to us ●n 
jer. 44. 16.  the name of the Lord, we will not hear it of thee, but will do whatsoever goeth out of our own mouth, as to burn incense to the Queen of heaven, and to power out our drinke-offrings to her as we have done both we & our fathers, our kings & our princes in the cities of judah & in the streets of jerusalem: for then bad we plenty of victuals, and were well, and felt none evil.  
So mightily doth crooked custom, & the example of carnal progenitors, & other carnal respects prevail with carnal & sensual men: but the spiritual man is taught by the spirit of truth to follow no such deceaveable guides. We followed not (saith S. Peter) deceivable fables, when we opened unto you the power & coming of our 
2. Pet. 1. 16.  Lord jesus Christ, but with our eyes we saw his glory: for be received of God the father honour & glory, when there came such a voice unto him from the excellent glory; This is my well beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice we heard when it came from heaven being with him in the holy mount. We have also a most sure word of the Prophets, unto the which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. Whereby we learn that the word of God delivered either by revelation from himself, or else set down by the pens of the Apostles and Prophets is a most sure & undeceavable testimony of the Lords will▪ whereas that which is delivered by tradition from hand to hand hath oftentimes a mixture of fables in steed of pure and sincere truth: as the jewish Thalmud, and the popish legend can testify sufficiently. And therefore for the safer custody and preservation of the truth, it 
Luk. 1. 4.  pleased the spirit of GOD that the Gospel first preached by the mouth of the Apostles and Evangelistes should afterward be registered by their own pens, and set down under their own hands. We have not (saith Irene) by any other known those things that belong to our salvation, but by those by whom 
Iren l. 3. c. 1  the Gospel came unto us: the which they at the first published by mouth, and afterwards by the will of God delivered unto us in the holy Scriptures that is might be the foundation and pillar of our saith,  
The doctrine then delivered in the Scriptures is a most sure doctrine, and he that buildeth his faith thereon, buildeth upon a most strong foundation: but he that buildeth upon any thing else buildeth upon the slippery sand. If any thing (saith Chrysostome) be spoken without the Scripture, the knowledge of the 
Chrys●in Psal. 95.  bearer halteth, now staggering, now granting, now detesting the speech as vain, and now receiving the same as probable: but where the Scripture, the testimony of GOD'S voice cometh forth it confirmeth the talk of the speaker and the mind of the hearer. And verily we may be fully assured that to be sound and perfect which is delivered in the holy Scripture, the which whosoever followeth preserveth safely: and all other doctrines may be suspected which the Law and the Prophets with the Gospel do not confirm. For as for our own narrations and declarations they have no credit at all without the divine books: and therefore if we will be accounted the teachers of truth, we must not ●et abroach our own inventions or any manner of doctrine received from man, but only recite & rehearse out of the scriptures the doctrine of Christ our only Doctor and teacher. For human testimonies are not sufficient a●d allowable in divine matters, of what force and validity soever they be in human affairs: to warrant divine matters they are not of sufficient authority, albeit they be the reverend testimonies of Apostolical men. For they were apostolical men on both sides in the first age of the primitive church that contended so eagerly about the observation of Easter, and pretended both apostolical tradition: & yet even so near the Apostles time, on the one side at the least there was in all likelihood but a mere pretence. Wherefore 
jer. in 1. Hagg.  Jerome is bold to avouch that the sword of the spirit which is the word of God doth strike through those things which without the authorities & testimonies of the scripture men do find out, & feign, as if they had them by apostolical tradition. Cyprian also thought it to be a sufficient exception against any apostolical 
Cyp. ep. 74.  tradition, if it were not written in the books of the Prophets & Apostles, For the Lord (saith he) doth testify that those things are to be done which are registered in writing, as to josuah the son of Num. Let not the book of the law depart out of thy mouth, but meditate therein day and night, that thou mayst observe & do all things that are written therein. In all well ordered countries & kingdoms there is a common beam or balance or sealed weights & allowed measures for the preservation of justice & equity, which would not undoubtedly be so well kept, if every one were permitted to follow what measure he listed. This common balance among the lords people 
Aug. count Donatist. ●2. c. 6.  is the Lords own word: & therefore when any go about to measure their faith or their works by their own good intentes and meanings or by the opinions & judgements of men, it is as it were a taking to themselves of new balance, & that is to be esteemed no better then flat forgery: & these their measures are to be broken, & themselves to be punished, for that they presume to refuse the Lords weights & measures, & to get to themselves other of their own devising. Wherefore if we desire to be rightly instructed what is the holy & perfect will of God, & what are the things that belong to his service, we must not now seek for any new revelation, nor for any information to be given us by Angels or by any from the dead, we must not follow the customs of the multitude, nor say a conspiracy to that whereto the people saith a conspiracy, neither must we be over ruled by the examples of our forefathers, nor yet by the pretence of apostolic traditions, seeing all these are but false balances & uncertain & deceaveable guides. The books of the Prophets & Apostles are the only just balances, & the only sure & infallible teachers that will not misled us, nor carry us into errors. Wherefore most wholesome is the counsel of the preacher: When thou goest up (saith he) to the 
Eccl. 4. 17.  house of God take heed to thy foot, & be more ready to hear, then to offer the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil. Our natural light in divine matters is gross darkness, & our fleshly wisdom 
1. Cor. 3. 19  is mere folly: and therefore he that will come to the house of God, & there offer up to God as part of his service any thing either drawn out of his own foolish brains, or taken from others like to himself, he doth offer to God the sacrifice of fools: whereas he that is afraid to thrust upon God his own or other men's follies, & therefore is ready to hearken most diligently to the word of the most wise God the full fountain & wellspring of all true wisdom, he is in the ready way to offer to God that service which is most grateful and acceptable unto him as being most agreeable to his own will. And no doubt but that hereof it was, that in the ancient church of the jews every Saboth day, when the Lords people went up to the Lords house to perform that service which w●s acceptable unto him, the books of Moses were read & expounded, 
Act. 15. 21.  as it may appear by the history of Nehemiah & by the common practice of Christ and his Apostles. For this cause in the primitive church all books that were not Canonical were in 
Concil. Laod. Ca●. ●9.  some Christian churches forbidden to be read in their public assemblies: & in those churches where there was a toleration of some books to be read that were apocrypha, that was done, not as if any point of faith could sufficiently be confirmed by their authority, but for the edification of manners by the ensamples of the servants of GOD therein remembered, whose lives were framed according unto the Law of GOD, and according unto the rules of the Canonical Scriptures. For we ought not to follow the holiest of the Saints, but with this restriction, as they follow CHRIST. Be followers (saith Saint Paul) of me as I am of CHRIST. So that if the Apostle 
1. Cor. 11. 1.  himself in any thing, be it never so little, decline from GOD, and turn out of the direct way of his commandments, we must turn from him; if he leave God, we must leave him: only in what things he most uprightly walketh with God, in those things we are bound ro walk with him step by step, and to follow his holy and godly example. But the precepts of a sincere● faith and of an holy life delivered in the Canonical scriptures do in all points lead us directly to GOD, and in the least jot and title thereof they are unerring and undeceiveable teachers, and therefore they are to be embraced and followed without any limitation or restriction at all. The law of the Lord (saith David) is perfect and converteth the soul, 
Psal. 19 7.  and needeth no supply to ●e made there unto: He that addeth any thing to the same setteth but a rotten patch unto a new and whole garment.  
Yea whereas such is our forget fullness and readiness to let slip out of our hearts holy things, that still we have need to be 
2. Pet. 1. 12.  remembered and to be put in mind of the same: and whereas such is our slackness and lazinesle in walking on forward in the lords ways, that still we have need to have the spur in our sides, (the wholesome and heavenly instructions of the Canonical scriptures being the means appointed by God both to remember us at all times of our duty towards God, and also to stir us up continually to the performance of the same) 
The faithful teaching, hea●ing, and embracing of the word of God is the most principal yea the only necessary duty of a faithful christian. Luk. 10. 40.  therefore the diligent teaching, hearing, and meditating thereof hath been judged to be the most principal, yea the only necessary duty of a faithful Christian, and a most certain token of our unfeigned love toward God, and an evident mark of a true servant of Christ. O Martha Martha (saith our blessed Saviour) thou art troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary: Mary hath chosen the best pars, which shall never be taken from her. Now Martha was troubled about many things which were provided for the better entertainment of Christ himself and his disciples; but Mary was busied about the caroful entertainment and laying up in her heart of the divine instructions of Christ's heavenly doctrine: and therefore it is a far more acceptable work to have care that our souls be fed with GOD'S holy word, then with our bodily sustenance to refresh the bodies of GOD'S dearest Saints: yea it is after a sort the only, or at the least the most necessary duty of all other, from the which we ought in no case to be hindered, no not for the performance of any other duty. When complaint was made to the Apostles for some disorder that was committed about the providing 
Act. 6. 1.  for the poor, and as it seemeth it was required at their hands, that they themselves setting aside the preaching of the wo●de for a ●ime should more thoroughly look into that matter, and redress the abuse, they answer peremptorily, that it was not meet that they should leave the word and serve tables: and therefore they committing that business of less importance to men of meaner gifts, themselves possessing the highest rooms in the Church, and being endued with the greatest gifts, employed themselves in continual pra●er and preaching, as being the greatest and chiefest duties. And verily it is a more glorious work to build the spiritual temple of GOD in the hearts of the faithful by the preaching of the word, then to erect a sumptuous temple of timber and stones for the out ward exercise of the service of God: it is a far more excellent work by the seed of the new birth to be get many children to God and so to enlarge the kingdom of heaven, then by ou● wealth wisdom and prowess to enrich and enlarge any earthly kingdom: it is a far more excellent work to feed the souls that are ready to famish, with the bread of life, then to feed the bodies of such as want, with our temporal sustenance: It is a far more excellent work to bring those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to the vision of GOD by the light of the w●orde, then to deliver them out of bodily bondage and to enrich them with all earthly and temporal commodities. For our f●ll vision of GOD is the cause of our perfect blessedness: so that when 
1. joh. 3. 2.  we shall see him with open face, then shall we be perfectly blessed, and the nearer in this life we come to behold him the nearer we come to this our perfect bleslednes: now here in this life we behold him principally in the glass o● his word, espeo●ally in the mirrout of the glorious gospel of CHRIST, and 
1. Cor. 3. 18  therefore the more often and the more reverently we contemplate the same, and the more serious is ou● study and meditation therein, the nearer we come to our perfect blessedness. Wherefore it was not without cause that our Saviour himself a little before his ascension ●nto heaven did so straightly charge Peter a principal 
joh. 21. 15.  man among his Apostles, that if he did love him more than the rest he should feed his sheep more than the rest, and by his continual holding ou● of the light of the word he should bring the lords people to the vision of God as to the chiefest blessing of God, and to the cause of all other blessing. And hereof it is that on the lords day which is especially dedicated to the service of God, the Lord especially requireth both of Pressed & people that they should principally be employed in the teaching, hearing, & meditating of the holy word of God as being not only in itself a principal work, but also the cause of all good works, and of the whole worship and service of God. And therefore when this so principal and necessary a work began to be neglected among us Englishmen, when the service of God according unto the order of Gregory began to be established in our churches, & the people had their senses satisfied more with sweet sounds & goodly shows, than their souls fed with the heavenly food of the word, Venerable Bede, ablbeit he bore great reverence to the 
Bed l. 4. c. 18. de gest. Anglor.  church of Rome, could not refrain himself, but that he must utter his great dislike thereof in plain terms: Heretofore (saith he) instead of these things, the principal service of God consisted in the preaching of the gospel and in the hearing of the word of God.  
Neither must we imagine that there was more need of the diligent preaching & hearing of the word of God in former ages, then is now, or shall be to the end of the world: not only for that, whether we be baptized or unbaptised, and descend either from faith full or faithless progenitors, we are all without any difference equally 
Rom. 3. 9  by nature blind and ignorant of God, and therefore stand in need to have the lamp of the word always burning in our hands, if we desire to be preserved from continual stumbling & falling; but also for that the most part of all that profess themselves Christians content themselves with an out ward profession of the faith, albeit they feel no inward conversion, and take themselves to be hole when they are sick even to death, and therefore have need of the more spiritual physic, because this their estate is most dangerous of all, and such persons of all other are most hardly to be recovered. For why did Publicans and harlots 
Mat. 11. 21. An infidel is sooner converted then a sergeant christian: and a notorious sinner than a dissembling hypocrite. Pro. 26. 12. Mat 9 12.  sooner enter into the kingdom of God than the Scribes & pharisees? and why would Sodom have repent before Capernaum? but for that all such as content themselves with an outward show of piety and godliness are furthest of indeed from true piety and godliness. Seest thou a man (saith Solomon) that is wise in his own eyes, there is more hope of a fool then of such an one. So seest thou one that is hole in his own conceit? there is far more hope of his recovery who albeit he were more dangerously sick, yet hath not so strong an opinion of his own health. For it is a good step to health to know a man's own sickness: but he that cannot be persuaded that he is sick, will not be persuaded to take physic, & therefore is past all hope of recovery: he that will not be persuaded that he is out of the way, will never be persuaded to seek for a guide, and therefore will never come into the right way. Wherefore never more need then now, that the Lord should even force upon us as faithful guides the doctrine of his holy Apostles and Prophets; and never more need then now that our heavenly physician should even constrain us oftentimes to receive his spiritual physic: and not only in respect of those that are Christians only in show, who are otherwise past all hope of recovery, but also in respect of those that are true Christians indeed, who yet notwithstanding are so distempered and crazy, that without the continual administering of this spiritual physic, they will by one ghostly sickness or other soon fall into great danger: yea unless these men be still feeding on this food, they will soon become so weak and feeble, that they will not be able to do the lords work: unless they be still moistened with these eaeles●…al showers they will become fruitless and yield a small harvest: unless by this net they are still drawn out of the sea of their sins, they will sink deeper & deeper, until they be drowned: unless this light be still in their hands, they will stumble and fall into the pit of destruction: unless this voice of the great shepherd doth still sound in their ears, they will nothing but wander and go astray: vnles●e this spur be still in their sides, they will soon be at a stand, & give over their journey: unless these bellows be still blowing, the fire of their zeal will soon go out. As may appear by the examples of those renowned servants of God Zorobabell & josuah & the residue of that holy remnant of the people of God which returned out of the captivity of Babylon; who were soon moved to give over the building of the temple of God, and to settle themselves to their own commodities & pleasures, until by the word of the Lord out of the mouth of the Prophet Haggey they were 
Hagg. 1. 3.  effectually stirred up unto the finishing of the LORDS work. Wherefore no marvel that all the faithful servants of God knowing the great necessity of having continual in their hands and hearts the most wholesome instructions & admonitions of the word of God, do exhort one another zealously after this manner saying: Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 
Isa. 2. 5. Mich. 4. 1.  house of the God of jacob: and he will teach us his laws, and we will walk in his paths. They will not walk in the ways of the 
Psal. 1. 1.  ungodly, nor stand in the ways of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful, and why? their delight is in the law of the Lord. and in that law they do exercise themselves day and night: and thereby they become like erees planted by the water side, which bring forth their fruit in due season, whose leaves never whither. And no marvel though they prove such fruitful trees, seeing they are so plentifully watered with such wholesome dews: whereas all such as refuse to drink in continual those wholesome drops, being planted in the dry wilderness of this barren world, become withered and dead trees good for nothing, but to be hewn down and cast into the fire.  
Seeing then the religious reading, hearing, and meditating of the word of GOD is not only in itself a very excellent good work and a principal part of the service of God which is to be performed as every day so especially upon the Lord's day, but also the meave to beget and bring forth every good work and to further the whole service of God, & to lead the people to the beholding of God and to their perfect and absolute blessedness: what then may we judge of the works of the Church of Rome, and of her manner of serving of GOD, and of her leading of the people to the beholding of GOD and to their perfect and absolute blessedness, seeing she keepeth this word of GOD fast shut up from the greatest part of them under the lock and key of a strange tongue, and debarreth them from the continual reading thereof, yea from the reading thereof altogether: and not only so, but also chargeth our Church to lay a stumbling block before the people, and to minister occasion unto them of falling into heresy, for that we not only allow but also exhort them to have their continual and daily resort to the same, that so they might be enabled to know the truth, and to discern it from falsehood & lies, not receiving any doctrine upon the bare credit of their teachers, but trying it by this touchstone before they receive it for currant and good.  
But if hereby we set open a door to error & heresy, them did 
The doctrine of all teachers is to be tried before it be received. joh. 5. 39 Act. 17. 11.  Christ and his Apostles do the same before us, and many also Apostolical men. For our Saviour himself willeth the people to search the Scriptures, and no further to give credit to his own Doctrine, than they should find it approved by those witnesses. And the Beraeans are commended for searching the Scriptures, and for putting into those balances the very doctrine of the Apostle Saint Paul, that so they might see whether it would hold weight. For (as Austin teacheth) all other balances are deceitful: and therefore in his controversies with 
Aug. count Donat. l. 2. cap. 6.  the Donatists, he appealeth to them, and will have his cause to be weighed only therein. And is it not the commandment of CHRIST himself given to the people, Beware of false 
Math. 7. 15.  Prephets which come to you in sheeps clothing, & therefore cannot easily be discerned, until their cloaks be taken from them, & a due view be taken of them by their portraitures and resemblances most lively drawn out only by the pencil of the Prophets and Apostles? Doth not S. john also will the Christian congregation not to believe ever ie spirit, but to try the spirits whether they be of 
1. joh. 4. 1.  God or no, seeing even then in his life time many false Prophets were gone out into the world? For he is a fool that believeth every 
Prov. 14. 15  thing: and the joints of true wisdom are these two: first to be ●ober in our own opinions, and secondly not to be to hasty in giving credit to others. Prove all things (saith the Apostle) 
1. The. 5. 21  but approve that which is good, even that which is found to be so by sufficient trial. Yea he was not only contented to have his own doctrine to be tried, but also giveth a strait charge that the same be diligently done: I speak (saith he) as to them that have understanding, judge ye what I say: and his commandment is 
1. Cor 10. 15  that all other teachers be subject also to the same law. Let the Prophets speak two or three and let the other judge. Wherefore Origen 
1. Cor. 14. 29 Orig. in Ios. hom. 2.  speaking unto the people saith unto them: Do ye that which is written, that is, that one speaking all the rest examine: So (saith he) while. I speak that which I think, do ye discern what is right, and what is otherwise. And Saint Ambrose 
Ambr. cp. lib. 5. orat. in Auxens.  doth exasperate his auditory against his adversary Auxentius, for that he refused to have his cause heard and tried by the censure and judgement of the people. Auxentius (saith he speaking to the people) knowing you not to be ignorant of the faith hath shunned your judgement, and hath chosen four or five heathen men. Then in that he hath chosen Infidels he is worthy to be condemned of Christians: because he hath rejected: she Apostles precept, where he saith: Dare any of you having aught against another he judged under the unjust, and not rather under the Saints? Ye see that which he hath offered, is against the Apostles authority. But what speak I of the Apostle when the LORD himself proclaimeth by the Prophet: Hear ye me O my people, that know what belongs to judgement, in whose heart my Law is. GOD saith, Hear ye me O my people that know judgement: Auxentius saith, ye know not how to judge: ye see that he contemneth GOD in you which refuseth this sentence of the heavenly oracle: for the people in whose hearts the law of God is, doth judge. Who then doth you wrong? He that refuseth, or he that referreth himself to your audience. Wherefore to be able to discern the spirits and to distinguish truth from falsehood, and verity from vanity, is not a special gift proper to a few, but a general grace common to all the Lords people. For as the natural man is able to discern wholesome food from unwholesome unless his body be infected with sickness, and his taste distempered with some corrupt humour: so the spiritual man is able to discern the food of the soul, and to distinguish falsehood from truth, unless his mind be blinded with error, and his judgement corrupted with some prejudicate opinion; According as our Saviour himself hath 
joh. 10. vers. 4.  set it down as a property belonging to all his sheep, that they do know his voice from the voice of a stranger, and are able to discern the shepherd from the wolf. And verily how otherwise could they shun the wolf and follow the shepherd? How could they fly falsehood that leadeth to destruction, and embrace the truth to the salvation of their souls?  
Yea but (saith the composer of the Ward-word) if the 
The due trial of the doctrine of our teachers by the touchstone of the scriptures is not the cause of falling into heresy but of sinding ou● the truth.  People may judge of the doctrine of their teachers, and if every one may make choice according to his own private fancy, is not this the high and open way to error and heresy? It is sufficiently declared before, that the people ought to try and to discern by the Scriptures the doctrine of their pastors and teachers, and to approve of that only which is agreeable to that foundation of truth, but not of that which best fitteth their own private fancies, or the fanciful opinions of any other. For we must not draw our pastors and teachers before the consistory of our own hearts, to receive their censure & judgement from ourselves, but before the tribunal seat of the word of God. For as for ourselves we must not presume to pronounce any definitive sentence, but we must give our essent & consent to that sentence which we understand to be pronounced by that judge. And if we be desirous rightly to understand what is the sentence of that judge, we must renounce our own judgement which we have drawn other from the blindness of our corrupt nature, or else from our evil & bad education, & we must become fools, that is, condemn all our 
1. Cor. 3. 18.  own thoughts of extreme folly, if we be desirous to be partakers of that wisdom, which is to be learned out of the word of God the fountain & wellspring of all wisdom. We must most humbly & devoutly resort in our prayers to the father of light, that he would cause us to behold our own blindness & darkness & have our continual recourse to his holy word, which is a lantern to our feet and a light to our paths, that so the eyes of our mind being lightened we may attain to a sound and uncorrupt judgement, and be ●…le to dis●…rne falsehood from truth. For if thou call for knowledge, and cry for understanding, and if thou seek for her as for silver, 
Pro. 2. 3.  and search for her as for treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. A scorner indeed seeketh 
Pro. 14. 6.  knowledge and findeth it not; but wisdom is easy to him that will understand. The word of God (saith Origen) is shut up against 
Orig. in Exod. hom. 9 Heb. 5. 11.  the negligent: but it is open to them that seek and knock. Many things (saith the Apostle) are hard to them that are dull of hearing, and are unexpert in the word of righteousness, and have not their wits exercised through long custom to discern between good and evil. But if we have our continual resort unto GOD by prayer, and be daily exercised in reading and meditating on the word of GOD, and lay it as our sure groundwork and foundation of all truth, we shall not long be neglected, neither shall our labour be in vain in the Lord, but we shallbe lightened with the knowledge of all such things, as shallbe necessary to our own salvation.  
Marcus Aemilius Seaurus when he was accused to have received money to betray the common wealth began in his own defence after this manner: It is, O ye Romans, an hard course, whereas I have lived in one place, to give an account of my life in another, yet I will be bold to make unto you this one demand. VARIUS SUCRONENSIS saith that, MARCUS AEMILIUS SCAURUS being corrupted with bribes hath purposed to betray the people of Rome, MARCUS AEMILIUS SCAURUS denieth himself to be guilty of any such crime: To which of us will ye give credit? The plainetise and the defendant being only named; the people straightways refused to take notice of any such, accusation. So may the word of God contained in the Canonical Scriptures complain of great wtonge offered unto her by the Church of Rome and say: Oh ye Papists ye have expelled me in your schools and assemblies out of the seat of judgement as I was delivered unto you in my originals, and out of the hands of the people in their vulgar and known languages and tongues, and have accused me to be dark and obscure, and full of ambiguities, and hard to be understood: but I say, that I am a lantern to your feet, and a light shining in a dark 
Psal. 119.  place, and plain and easy to him that will understand: And now 
2. p. 1. Pro. 8.  which of us, I pray you, deserve to be credited the more? Surely he is most worthy to be deceived, that will give more credit to the slanderous accusation of the Antichristian Church of Rome then to the most evident and plain testimony of the word of God for the clearing and justifying of itself.  
Now then seeing that our doctrine is plain, that we must renounce ourselves and our own fancies, and condemn all our own imagination, of blindness and folly, and continually resort by our prayer to God, and by our study unto his word as unto the only unerring teacher of all truth, allowing of no one point of faith, that is not most evidently set down in the Canonical Scriptures, therefore we are most unjustly charged to teach the people to make choice of their faith according unto their own private fancies, and so to open a door unto heresies whereas in truth the Church of Rome herself teaching the people in divine matters somewhat to rely upon the natural light of their own understandings, and upon the choice of their own free will, as likewise upon the censures of Popes and canons 
Aug. l. 2. de bapt. cap. 3. The doctrine of the word of God is catholic, albeit it be embraced but by one alone, and the doctrine, of men are private albeit they be received by never so many 1. Kin. 19 10. jer. 15. 10. 1. Kin. 22. 8.  of Counsels (which may deceive and be deceived, whereof the latter may correct the former as experience taught Saint Augustine to judge) and upon traditions and unwritten verities hath given them occasion to make choice of such things, as shall best fit their own fancies, and be most agreeable to the humours of men, and so hath set them in the ready way to embrace error instead of truth, and to fall from verity into damnable heresy. That doctrine we may be sure is sound & catholic which hath his foundation in the Canonical scriptures: the which hath his authority from the first author, and not from the professors there of the which is not to be condemned for private and singular, albeit it be embraced but by one man. For as Panormitan could avouch, one singular man alleging Scripture is to be preferred before a general Council: as it was put in practice in the Council of Nice, where the sentence of Paph●utius was preferred before the general opinion of the whole assembly. Elias, jeremias, and other of the prophets, that were raised up by God in their several times to reform the worship of God that was generally corrupted, had few and sometimes none at all, to assist them in the execution of their charge, but were after a fort left alone to contend and strive with the whole earth: and yet their prophecies and interpretations of Scriptures were not condemned by any of the faithful for private and singular, for that (as S. Peter testifieth) they proceeded not from the 
2. Pet. 1. 20.  will of man, but from the motion of the spirit of God. So in the primitive church albeit Liberius bishop of Rome stood after a fort alone against the Arrians in the defence of the most Catholic doctrine of the divine nature of the coessential and consubstantial son of God, and interpreted the scriptures for the confirmation of that faith, yet his alonenes made not his interpretations private, but that they were most catholic and sound. For whatsoever proceedeth from men, be they few or many, that is to be taken for private and unfound, and certainly in the end it shall come to nought: whereas not one iote or tittle of the law shall 
Act. 5. 38. Mat. 5. 18.  perish, till all things be fulfilled.  
Under the time of the law, for that in the books of Moses all points of faith were not set down with such perspicuity & plainness, that they could be so fully & easily understood then, as they may now under the gospel, therefore the Lord raised up unto them many unerring interpreters for the supplying of that defect. Yet he did not give any such ordinary and perpetual privilege to the successors of Aaron, that they should be always maintainers of truth (albeit they made claim to such a prerogative, as it may appear by their own vaunts, The law shall not perish from the priest, 
jer. 18. 18.  nor counsel from the ancient:) but he raised up Prophets extraordinarily, when and where he thought good, who were privileged in deed from falling into heresy, and from the misinterpreting of the law of God, and by them he reform all such abuses as were crept into his own worship and service. But now all revelations are ceased, and the raising up of unerring interpreters is come to an end, for that in the writings of the Apostles and Evangelists all points of faith necessary to salvation are set down with all perspiculty and plainness, and for that also there is very great abundance of the spirit given to all the faithful servants of Christ, which reverently and religiously employ themselves in the zealous study of those holy books. The Apostle Saint john writing to the 
1. joh. 2. 27.  church concerning deceivers, telleth the faithful, that the means whereby they must be armed against them, is to hold fast that doctrine which they had heard from the beginning, the which being thoroughly settled in their hearts by the effectuell working of the spirit of God, wherewithal they were before anointed and made christians, they needed not that any man should teach them. Not that the continual ministry of pastors and Doctors is not still needful for the people of God: but the meaning is, that the doctrine first taught by the mouth of the Apostles, & afterward set down in their Canonical writings is so plain, evident, and full to the servants of Christ which are endued with his spirit, that they need not now, at under the law, any unerring teacher ordinary or extraordinary for the further opening of any necessary point of faith, which otherwise might be secret and lie hid. And so also the Apostle to the Hebrews teacheth out of the book of the Prophet jeremy. This is the testament that I will make with the 
Heb. 8. 10.  house of Israel after these days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and in their hearts will I write them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall no more teach one another saying, know the Lord: for they shall all know me from the greatest unto the least. Not (as I said before) that the ministry of teaching by ordinary pastors should cease amongst us, which is still most behoveful both to renew the memory of those things which we know, seeing we are still ready to forget, and to teach better those things which we know but in part, and also those things which as yet we know not at all, (for the most skilful may proceed from knowledge to knowledge): but that there shallbe now no need of any unerring interpreter to open any necessary point of faith which otherwise would be altogether unknown. For all necessary things are set down so plainly in the books of the Apostles and Evangelists by him that was best able to write even to the capacity of the most simple, who caused also those books to be penned not to obscure but to lighten the truth, that the lamb may wade in them without danger of drowning, and drink most plentifully of those waters of life: yea the wary of God's service is now so plain, that the very fools cannot err therein. The points of faith contained in these books need neither to beg credit, 
All things necessary to salvation are set down so plainly in the books of the new testament, that all the faithful may understand the same without the help of an unerring Interpreter, yea without the help of any Interpreter at all.  nor to take light from the writings & expositions of men, but have their credit in themselves, & take their light from themselves, & give light & credit both to the people, & also to the books of all other whomsoever, that have any credit or light in them. And the main grounds of faith contained in them stand upon their own ground, & have in themselves most manifest perspicuity, that the mind passing through many forms of opinions being once lightened therewith, may resolve & settle his full assent & consent upon them without the help of any unerring Interpreter, yea without the help of any Interpreter at all. For what contain the books of the new testament, but the uncovering of that which was covered in the old? Now if those things be uncovered already, what need have they of a further uncovering? Unless we think that the Apostles themselves, which had the greatest measure of the spirit, and the largest portion of knowledge in the mysteries of God, had either not so good skill or will to set down plainly in their Canonical writings all points of faith, as their scholars and successors had in their writings which are not Canonical. The truth is that all things necessary unto salvation are now most plainly delivered in the books of the new testament: & the best Interpreters do not by their expositions bring any new light at all unto them, but point as it were with the finger to that light which is in them, that we may turn our eyes upon it, & together with them behold the same: they bring no grounds and principles of their own, that thereby they may lighten the doctrine of the scripture: but they hold out the grounds & principles of the scripture itself, that thereby they may lighten all that is obscure. For albeit in the divine scriptures there are many places dark, & obscure, & hard to be understood, & such wherein the best Interpreters themselves may err & be deceived, yet (as S. Austin 
Aug. de doct. Christ. l. 2. cap. 9  saith) all things that belong to faith & good manners, that is to say, to hope and love are openly delivered & set down in the same: and out of these plain and open places all necessary doctrines are to be taken, and not out of the doubtful and obscure. And therefore when the heretic Petilian did allege mystical & obscure places for the confirmation of his errors, the same father taketh exception against him after this manner saying: these places 
Aug. count Petil. cap. 16.  are mystical, obscure, and figurative: but we require a manifest place that needeth no Interpreter at all. And such places were alleged by the Catholic Bishops for the opening and confirming of all controversies and doubts. Attend (saith justine 
just. Martyr in dialogo cū●rypho. Chrys. in ep. ad Rom. hom 19 2. Pet 3. 16.  Martyr) to these things which I shall rehearse out of the scriptures, which need not at all to be expounded, but only to be heard. So Chrysostome: Do these (saith he) need any exposition? are they not clear and manifest even to those that are very dull? And albeit in Saint Paul there are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable pervert as they do also the other scriptures to their destruction, yet Saint Ambrose is bold 
Ambr in ep 7. in principio epistolae  to avouch of him that in most things he doth so expound himself, that he which doth deliver and teach his doctrine can find nothing that he may add, or if he will needs say something, he must rather perform the duty of a grammarian then of a discourser or disputer.  
And verily albeit the unbelievers and such as are ignorant of the divine and heavenly doctrine of the Canonical Scriptures 
Stap doct. princ. lib. 8. cap. 22. veritas docendo suadet. Tertul. cont. Valent. Aug count ep. Funda. cap 14. The saith of the five members of the church of Christ is not settled upon the authority of the church, or the judgement of the Interpreter but upon the light of the divine doctrine itself.  are at the first moved sometimes to embrace the faith of CHRIST by the authority of the Church, and by the dignity and worthiness of the Bishops and teachers: yet when they are once persuaded and settled therein, being lightened by the spirit of illumination, and by the light of the doctrine itself, than (as Stapleton himself also hath taught) they do not any longer believe for the voice of the church, but for the divine light itself: they do not any longer build their faith upon the voice of the Interpreter but upon the light itself of the divine doctrine, which is now sufficiently manifest unto them, being duly weighed and considered without the authority of the Interpreter. When we believe (saith Austin) being now made more strong in the faith, we understand that which we believe, not now men, but God himself inwardly strengthening & lightning our mind. And thus do we teach the people of God, which are already settled in the faith of Christ, not to ground their faith upon their own private fancies, nor upon the private opinions of any other man, or men, be they few or many, nor yet upon any human interpretations of scripture, but upon the plain sentence of GOD himself deciding and determining what is falsehood, and what is truth, that is, upon the interpretations of holy scriptures which are delivered in the scriptures themselves, even upon those plain & manifest places thereof, which are in themselves so evident & clear, that they stand in need of no interpreter at all: not yet to frame their lives according unto the decrees of the church, & the special rules of such as are founders of any private devotions, but according unto the general laws & commandments of God himself. For then will both our faith & life be acceptable to God, when this is thoroughly fixed and settled in our hearts, & we can truly & sincerely say: Thus do I believe, & thus do I live, because the Lord himself, whose servant I am, hath commanded me thus to believe & thus to live. For this is not a sufficient warrant & security for us to say: My conscience judgeth this or that to be good, & therefore it is good, or my conscience judgeth this or that to be evil, & therefore it is evil & to be avoided: for than should all superstitious & Idolatrous kinds of serving of God be good, & Christian religion evil, because the consciences of all Infidels allow of the one & condemn the other, before the eyes of their minds be lightened & their consciences reform by the holy and heavenly rules of our Christian profession. And verily not ourselves & our own consciences but God only is our Lord & judge, who hath authority to enact laws, & to set them out unto us as limits & bounds, the which if we in any wise transgress, we do commit iniquity & sin. And therefore, albeit the Apostle teacheth, that he that 
Rom. 14. 23.  eateth of things lawful sinneth, if in conscience he doubt whether he may do so or no, yet herein he sinneth not, for that he transgresseth any law of his own conscience, seeing she hath none authority to make any, but for that either doubting in conscience whether God doth allow of his fact or no, or else being persuaded that he doth disallow, it, yet he will needs do the same being carried away with his own headstrong affections, or by the persuasions of oath men. For herein he doth tredde under foot the authority of God, & set GOD himself after a sort at nought, in that he resolveth to do this or that, albeit he doubteth whether God doth allow it, yea albeit he is persuaded that God doth disallow & condemn the same. Our conscience then must not be our canon & rule in matters belonging to the service of God, but God himself in his Canonical scriptures. For they are the only sure and infallible witnesses of the will of God, and our consciences cannot rightly be assured of any thing, that is not delivered in those books. And therefore seeing that in what thing soever we do, belonging to the worship & service of God, we must be assuredly persuaded that it pleaseth God (for whatsoever is done without 
Rom. 14. 23  this faith & certain persuasion is sin) we must not be led therein either by the uncertain guesses of our own consciences, or by the doubtful conjectures of other men, but only by the warrant of the Canonical scriptures. But the church of Rome will have the deciding of all doubts and controversies to be devolved from 
Alabaster.  the scripture to the interpreter, that is, from the text to the gloss, from God to man, from the master to the servant, from the judge to the minister (as if the judge himself could not set down his own definitive sentence, no not in writing, as plainly, fully, and sufficiently, as it can be delivered by the mouth of his messenger;) and she commandeth the people to set their faith upon the decisions of the Pope, and upon the determinations of his counsellors, upon the books Apochryphs, & upon traditions and unwritten verities: and to order their lives not according unto the prescription of the law of God alone, but also according unto her own ordinances and the rules of the founders of her religious orders. Wherefore she, which most unjustly accuseth us to mislead the people into error and heresy, may in truth be most justly charged therewith, seeing the cause of heresy is not the diligent and humble resort to the word of God the very fountain and wellspring of all heavenly truth, that by this touchstone we may try & discern sound and currant doctrine from unsound & counterfeit: but either the utter rejecting & forsaking of this holy word, or the mingling of our own fancies and dreams therewith or the dotages and inventions of other men.  
For by this means hath truth & faith been banished, & heresy & Idolatry brought in even from the beginning of the world unto this day. For how ●ell Adam and Eve into their Apostasy but by forsaking the commandment of God delivered unto them by the Lords own mouth? And what was the cause that all the posterity of Adam, excepting only the family of Abraham, fell by little and little into all error and heresy, until they came into most gross and damnable Idolatry, but (as the Apostle testifieth) for 
Act. 14. 18.  that God suffered them all to walk in their own ways? For he had given his word only to jacob, & his statutes & ordinances to 
Psal. 147. 19  Israel: he had not dealt so with any other nation, neither had the heathen knowledge of his laws. And amongst this people of Israel what was the cause that the ten tribes at once fell away from God? They fell away from the house of David because of the sins of Solomon and by the folly of Rehoboham his son: but they fell from God when they worshipped the calves that were set up by jeroboham, who made Israel to sin, contrary to the la and commandment of God: they forsook the worship of God in jerusalem ordained and established by the Lords own word, and set up in Dan and bethel a new kind of worship of God according unto their own inventions, and so they fell away from the living God. And when those ten tribes for their Idolatries and sins were carried out of their own country into captivity by the king of Ashur, & the Samaritans were placed in their rooms, the cause also of their Idolatries was their following of the corrupt customs of their own countries, and their refusal of the ordinances and 
2. Kin. 17. 34  laws of God. And what was the cause that the jews themselves also, which had the law and the prophets to direct them in all the ways of God, did so often fall away from the service of God, and defile themselves with abominable Idolatries, but that they either utterly forsook the direction of the word of God, and followed their own inventions, or the corrupt customs of their forefathers; or else they mingled their own dreams and the traditions of their elders together with the worship of God delivered in his word, which ought to have been kept pure and sincere without any mixture, & without any such hodge-podge & mingle mangle. The cause of the Idolatries that so much abounded in the time of the judges was, for that there was no king in Israel (who was to command 
jud. 17. 1.  the careful keeping of the law of God) but every man did that which was good in his own eyes. And what was the cause of those outrageous dolatries in the days of the kings, especially in the days of Manasses and Amon his son, but this that the law of 
2. Chro 34. 14.  God was so neglected, that the very authentical copy thereof given by the hand of Moses himself was lost? And if we will know also what was the cause of those damnable Idolatries that so prevailed in the days of the prophets, we may hear the same out of their mouths, who were the principal actors or at the least the chief abetters thereof: The word (say they to the prophet jeremy) which thou h●st spoken unto us in the name of the Lord we will not hear 
Ier 44. 16.  it of thee, but we will do whatsoever goeth out of our own mouth, as to ●…rae incense to the Queen of heaven, and to power out our drink offerings unto her, as we have done both we and our Fathers, our kings & our Princes in the city of judah, and in the streets of jerusalem: for than had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and felt none evil. Their wilful rejecting of the word of God, and their obstinate resolution to follow their own customs and the practice of their forefathers, was the cause of all their abominable Idolatries.  
Neither was the utter rejecting of the word of GOD the cause of so many corruptions in the jewish religion, but also the mingling therewith of their own Inventions and of the traditions of their forefathers. For in the lords field there ought nothing to be sown but the most pure seed of the word of God: whatsoever is beside the same it is not good corn, but cockle and darnel: and they of the lords family are only to be fed with the wholesome food of that word which is provided for their sustenance by their heavenly master, whatsoever meat they take beside it is corrupt leaven, yea deadly poison. And therefore both GOD himself did most sharply reprove the hypocritical jews in the time of the Prophet Isay, and our Saviour CHRIST the Scribes and Pha●isies in his days, not foc that they did utterly reject the service of GOD prescribed in his own word, (for it is clear & manifest that they did not so) but for that they did corrupt the same with the mingling of their own leaven: & they condemn that worship for 
Isa. 20. 14. Mat. 1●. 9  vain, which is prescribed either wholly or in part by the precepts and doctrines of men. And verily as in the bodies of men either want of good & wholesome food, or the receiving of corrupt and bad either wholly or but in part, is the cause of many bodily disease's: even so either the want of the wholesome food of the word of God, or the receiving of the corrupt food of human doctrines either wholly or in part, doth breed many sins & corruptions in our souls, and make them sick even to death. Yea this hath bred all manner of errors, heresies, and Idolatries in all ages, and at all times. This was the cause of error under the law and that among the Lords own people. They erred in their hearts (saith the Lord 
Psa. 95. 10.  himself) because they have not known my ways. And why erred the Sadducees at the time of our Saviour's appearing in the flesh so grossly and that in the chiefest grounds & principles of the faith? 
Mark. 12. 23 Aug. in psa. 131. Cyp. de simple. praelatorum. Chrys. hom 3. de Laza,  Ye err (saith our Saviour unto them) not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. This is the cause of all evil (saith Austin) that the scriptures are not known. Hence (saith Cyprian) proceed errors, for that menreturne not to the head, nor seek to the spring of truth, nor keep the doctrine of our heavenly Master. The reading of the scriptures (saith Chrysostome) is a strong fortress against sin, and the ignorance of them is a great downfall, and a deep hell: to know nothing of ●he divine laws is a great loss of salvation: this thing hath bred heresies and brought in a corrupt life, and hath turned all topsy-turvy. For how can it otherwise be, but that health must needs decay and sickness grow, where either wholesome food is not received at all, or else is not received alone without the mixture of that which is corrupt? And how can it otherwise be but that weeds must needs spring up, where either good seed is not sown at all, or else not without the mixture of cockle and darnel? And how can it otherwise be but that such must needs be misled, which either will not at all follow those are unerring guides, or else will not be guided by them alone, but by such also as may be deceived?  
Wherefore in that the church of Rome doth not only keep the greatest part of the people from the liberty of reading the holy scriptures, but also doth mingle with the pure food thereof the corrupt leaven of human doctrines, it cannot otherwise be, but that spiritual sicknesses must grow in her apace, & ghostly health and strength greatly decay? And seeing that she soweth in the hearts of the people not the sincere seed of the word of God alone, but also the darnel of men's inventions, it cannot be but that weeds must ne●des mount up and overgrow the good corn. And seeing she will have her followers led by books apocrypha, unwritten verities, ordinances of the Church, decrees of Popes, canons of Counsels, rules of Friars, customs of the multitude, traditions of forefathers, and the like, and not by the books alone of the Canonical scriptures, who are the only sure and undeceiveable guides: it is no marvel that she hath been so misled out of the way of truth, & hath wandered in the by-paths of heresies and Idolatries: even as the Idolatrous jews and Gentiles have been before her, for that they followed the same guides. Yea what cause of heresy observed and noted by her own children hath she not embraced, that so she might defile herself with all manner of spiritual abominations? If to make choice of religion according unto the dark light of our own natural reason, and the servile liberty of our own free-will, be to follow such guides as must needs lead into error: she hath taught her children to do the same; If to think basely of the common duties generally belonging to all christians, and to make choice of singular and private devotions be the cause of heresy, she hath persuaded her children thereto; If the overmuch admiring of men, and the addicting of ourselves to our particular masters be not only the beginning of schism, but the cause of heresy: she hath made her sectaries and followers not only schismatics but also heretics. For where may we find more admiring and magnifying of men, of their supreme power & authority, of their great privileges and prerogatives, of the holiness of their rules and orders, canons and constitutions, and of the worthiness, perfection, and merit of their works, then is to be found in the Church of Rome? Lastly if he be an heretic which is an otherwise teacher, or an after reacher, and he a superstitious person, that doth any 
Rhom. in 1. cp. ad Tim. c. 1.  thing supra statutum more than is commanded, how can the church of Rome be free from the note of superstition and heresy, seeing she performeth her devotions otherwise then they were ordained to be done by the Apostles of Christ, and most rigorously exacteth many duties which were not commanded by them at all, and hath coined many after-doctrines which were not heard of in their times. For was not the word & the sacraments otherwise delivered unto the people by the Apostles of Christ, then now 
Otherwise devotions.  they are by the church of Rome? Was the word either publicly read by them unto the people in a strange tongue, or kept from their own private reading in a unknown language, & they sent to learn their devotions from senseless, dumb and dead images? did they not pen it in a most vulgar tongue and after a most plain & familiar manner, & that for them learning & instruction of 
Luk. 1. 4. Rom. 15. 4.  the people? Neither was the Sacrament of the lords supper ordained by them to be ministered to the people in one kind, nor baptism with such a number of ceremonies, as it is by the church of Rome disguised & cast after a sort into a new form: much less was the observation of any outward ceremony & rite more rigorously exacted by them then the precise keeping of Christ's institution, or urged under the pain of a more grievous curse. Did the Apostles ordain the solemn observing of so many festival days 
After. doctrines and works supra statutum  and eves, or the building of churches in the honour of the saints, or the running on pilgrimage to offer before their images, or the set times of fasting and abstinence, or secret confession of all sins in the Priest's ear, or the vow of single life, & voluntary poverty? Francis Dominike and Layola were not borne in their times, not the holy rules made of any of their religious orders: but all willworships were condemned by them, which afterward were not only 
Coll. 2. 23.  allowed, but also preferred before the works required in the law of God. Lastly the supreme authority and jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome was not ordained by the Apostles, neither was he appointed by them to be a universal Bishop and to have dominion over the whole church, and to be the unerring and infallible judge, unto whom appeal should be made in all controversies: much less was he placed by them above all kings and Emperors, to depose them & to set them up at his own pleasure; neither was any such authority practised by S. Peter himself, or by his successors long after him, which yet had most skill and best courage to maintain all doctrine belonging to their most Christian profession: neither did they approve the books Apocriphs' for Canonical scripture, nor their lawful successors long after them alleged the authority of those books to confirm any doctrine or point of faith: much less preferred they any translation before the authentical text of the scripture, as it is now done by the church of Rome, and justified openly by her authority in her last general council of Trent, Whereby she hath made it manifest to the whole world, that she is not in some points only, but wholly and altogether fallen away from the word of GOD, seeing she refuseth to receive it for the foundation of her faith, as it was penned in the originals by the special direction of GOD'S unerring spirit, and admitteth it only as it is expounded by her translator, which was not therein directed by any revelation, nor had any privilege of not falling into error. And verily if it be a good reason against us (as it hath been set forth not long since by one of her Pamphleteers) that the unlearned among us have no faith at all but a mere fancy because they do build it upon our bare translations, being not able to examine the truth of them by the originals: then much more may we avouch, that neither the unlearned, nor yet the learned themselves among them have any faith at all, seeing they all must, will they will they, settle their faith upon the words and meaning of their transslator, albeit he differ never so much from the original. Wherhfore to conclude, seeing the Church of Rome hath embraced all manner of means of falling away from GOD and his truth, we may be bold to affirm that she hath revolted and played the Apostata, and so is become not only heretical but also apostatical, yea that she hath brought in that great apostasy, that was foretold by the Apostle.  
Thus hast thou gentle Reader delivered unto thee the main foundation of all good works, & the four principal motives so often urged in the divine scripture to stir up the faithful to the right and approved manner that is to be kept in the due performing of all holy actions. And herein thou hast on the one side set down the true fountain of sincere devotion, and of all the parts thereof, wherein consisteth the true worship & service of God and his spiritual and heavenly kingdom: and on the other side not only the causes of error and heresy, but also of superstition and of all manner of Idolatry. Now it remaineth that thou carefully put in practise these holy precepts and sanctified rules, when thou art moved to the performance of any good work, and that thou stir up the gift of God in thee by these or the like holy meditations, thus reasoning with thyself and saying: This good work God himself in his holy word commandeth me to perform, unto whose will I own all obedience, for that it is holy, pure, & perfect, & grateful and acceptable to himself, & also for that it is his will unto whom I am ten thousand times bound to yield all dutiful submission & obedience both in respect of his sovereign authority, that he only hath to rule over my conscience & soul, & also in regard of his infinite blessings, which he of his own unspeakable goodness in Christ hath most freely & fully bestowed upon me. And verily our obedience performed to the will of God in these respects is a sweet incense and a most acceptable sacrifice to God, wherewith we after a sort gratify God and grieve the Devil, & are as an heaven to all holy Angels, and a very hell unto all unclean spirits. So like wise when we are tempted to any wicked work, we must thus reason with ourselves and say: this work ought in no wise to be done by me, no not the least desire to accomplish the same ought once to have any entrance into my heart, because it is contrary to the holy, pure, & perfect will of God, & agreeable unto the impure will of the Devil: because it is most offensive & grievous to God, & most grateful & acceptable unto the Devil: because it is a great dishonour to him, to whom all honour is double due, both in respect of his sovereign authority over me, and also in regard of his manifold mercies collated upon me: and it is a great honour unto that most cruel and infamous tyrant the Devil, who presseth upon me thereby to take me captive, to the utter destruction both of my body and soul. We are debtor (as saith the Apostle) yea very great debtor, & as great as great may be, but not to the flesh, nor to ourselves, nor 
Rom. 8. 12.  to the devil (unless it be that we own to these all manner of evils & miseries whatsoever) but we are debtters to God, & that for the love of a thousand talents, & for the gift of ten thousand more: & yet if we have but a sincere desire to discharge this our debt, our most gracious creditor will not only straightway forgive it all, but also will give unto us ten thousand times more. Yea the sincere desire of being obedient to the will of God upon the former respects, and the true care according as God hath enabled us in some measure to discharge this our debt is a very great mercy & a very gracious favour, whereby we are more and more endebtted unto him. And verily this is all the discharge of our debt that he requireth at our hands, that we willingly & gladly acknowledge him of whom we have received all, & that we so highly esteem of his gifts, and presume of his good will, that we are still desirous to been debtted unto him more & more, & by all religious hearing, reading, and meditating upon his holy and sacred word, & by all servant and devout prayer be continually begging and craving for more, and after a sort extorting it out of his hands. For his desire is not to be benifited by us, but that we should still more and more be benefited by him: and he would have us to acknowledge his love, and to grow into a steadfast assurance thereof, that thereby we might be more effectually stirred up to rejoice in his goodness, & to be thankful unto him for his manifold mercies: especially he would have us most midfully to record that unmatchable blessing of our redemption wrought by Christ, & his inestimable love made manifest therein, that thereby our hearts might be renewed & our affections sanctified, dying to ourselves, & living to God, & employing ourselves to every good work. And hereof it is that the spirit of God especially in the books of the new testament doth so often make mention of Christ, and of our redemption wrought by him, and of his great love manifested therein, as being the matter and subject of those books: a ●anst whereof I will give unto thee in some sentences of one of those books penned by Saint john, as they be pointed unto by that learned preacher of the word Mr. Robert Rolloc in his commentaries upon the same book.  
No man hath soon God at any time: the only begotten son of God who is in the bosom of the father, he hath revealed him. Ioh, 1. 18. The Philosophers in all ages have most painfully searched after truth in their Physikes, ethics, Mathematics, and the rest. But the knowledge of the Father in the Son doth only deserve the name of truth. For to what purpose is it to comprehend in mind heaven and earth and all other things, if a sinner doth not know God in Christ the redeemer? That is, unless he feel God favourable unto him, and forgiving him all his sins in Christ, which only doth pacify the troubled conscience, he can have little true comfort in all his knowledge of all other things, be it never so great, and small courage to come unto God, and to rest in him, and so to take hold of everlasting blessedness. Therefore our Saviour himself, after that he had said, no man knoweth the father but the son, and he to whom the son hath revealed him, Math. 11. 28. immediately addeth: Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will refresh you. Whereby he signifieth, that God being revealed in Christ, there doth follow peace of conscience and unspeakable joy in all those that do cast their sins upon him.  
The next day john stood, and two of his disciples, and beholding jesus walking he said: behold that lamb of God. john 1. Chap. verse 36. As john oftentimes gave witness to Christ, so it is no less necessary at this time that the sacrifice and death of Christ be repeated and reiterated again and again. For as the jews were ignorant that Christ the lamb of God should be offered up in sacrifice, so we after a sort have forgotten that he hath been sacrificed, and hath already suffered for our sins. For what mean these sins which so every where abound, adulteries, murders, rapines, sacrileges, even so many sins of all sorts, what, say I, do they mean but that we have forgotten that our Saviour Christ hath suffered for vs● For ifit did come into our minds that we were once bought with so great a price, would we so sell ourselves, and become captives to so many sins? If we did remember that we were washed with the most precious bloodof CHRIST, would we again so defile ourselves with the filthy mire of this unclean world? After that Saint Peter had commended unto the faithful certain necessary virtues, 2. Peter 1. 9 He that hath not these (saith he) is blood and seethe nothing a far of, but hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. For let all be sure of this, that who edomes, murders, and the like, to them that make profession of the faith of Christ are not therefore sins only, for that they are contrary to the law of God, but especially for that they are after a sort committed in a mockage of the blood of Christ, and do proceed from the forgetfulness of his death. The which if it be so, than we must hold this for a sure thing, that we ought not to be grieved so much for that we have broken the commandment of God, as for that we have forgotten that we were redeemed by the blood of Christ, and have contemned the great price of our most glorious redemption. Wherhfore that we may be brought the sooner to repentance, and to acknowledge the greatness of our sin we must all our whole life be busied about this, that we may understand how great is that price of our redemption, and that we may so worthily esteem of the blood of the new testament as we ought to do.  
It followeth in the next verse. And the two disciples heard him so speaking, and they followed jesus, joh. 1. 37. That testimony which john the Baptist gave of Christ, that he was the lamb of God, before two of his disciples, causeth them to come to Christ and to follow him. Whereby we learn how effectual is the preaching of Christ, yea how powerful is one word or two concerning. Christ and his cross, to alter and change the very hearts of men. Verily there is no other speech whereby a stony heart may be made flesh, and an unfaithful man may be made faithful. Speak as much as thou list of the most famous facts of all the Kings and Emperors that ever have been and of their goodly virtues and great glory, these things may delight the minds of men, but they will not renew them. But speak thou of the man crucified, a thing in show base and foolish, this word of the cross, which is foolishness to them that perish, is the wisdom & power of God to them that are saved: Nay that we may let pass these profane persons with their deeds, teach again & again the very law of God, even this law is weak by reason of the flesh. 
Rom. 8. 3.  But that which the law cannot, the word of the cross can. Now what is the cause of this great efficacy? The Lord which is the matter and subject of this word is a spirit, which is able to set our hearts at liberty: in so much that if they be once fixed upon him, the vail of corruption, which before did so cleave unto us, will soon be taken away: and if we do duly look into that glory of his, which doth shine in the gospel as in a glass we shall be changed into the same image from glory to glory as by the spirit of God.  
Before Philip called thee I saw thee, when thou wast under the fig three joh. 1. 48. The more any one doth search into the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the greater revelation he hath of the same, the more is his faith and love also increased, and the more unspeakable and glorious is his joy. 1. p. 1. 8. Wherefore this aught to be our continual labour day and night, by prayer and by reading and meditating upon the scriptures to seek after the mystery of Christ, that so at the length there may be opened unto us the treasures of all knowledge and understanding that are hid in him, and so all other things may be unto us as trash in comparison of that inestimable treasure. It is strange to see how the Apostle that looked most into that excellent mystery, could never satisfy himself in setting forth and amplifying the greatness thereof. God (saith he) which is rich in mercy of his great love wherewith he loved us. Eph. 2. 4. Hath given unto us so worthy a Saviour, in whom are bid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Coll. 2. 3. Have care therefore (saith he) that ye may be able to comprehend what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints. Eph. 1. 18. He saw much, and believed much, and magnified much this great mystery.  
Verily verily I say unto you, from hence forth ye shall see the heavens open, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man. joh. 1. 51. The opening of the mysteries of faith engendereth faith, and the revealing of Christ maketh a Christian. Speak to men of heaven, and of everlasting life, and of all manner of blessings both bodily and ghostly, and yet they cannot believe until they see Christ, by whom and for whom are all these things. For if we be thoroughly touched with the sense of sin, and of the wrath of God most justly provoked to punish us for the same, we must first find him that hath satisfied the justice of God for our sins, before we can hope for eternal life. Yea if I do not behold Christ and have him present before the eyes of my mind, it is so far of that I should see heaven and heavenly glory, that I shall feel nothing but terrors and fears, and extreme anguish and bitterness of soul. But when Christ doth once shine unto me, than is there sure hope of eternal life. They then that desire to be partakers of all manner of blessings, and to be assured of life everlasting, must seek Christ, and set him before their eyes, and behold him true God and true man, who died for their sins, and rose again for their justification: and thence will issue and proceed a full trust and confidence of obtaining all such benefits & blessings, which he hath thereby purchased for them.  
That which is borne of the flesh is flesh, and that which is borne of the spirit is spirit. joh. 3. 6. The only presence of Christ by faith is the means whereby the spirit worketh our regeneration. Now Christ's presence is imperfectly apprehended in this life by faith, but perfectly by sight in the life to come. And hereof it is that our regeneration, which is but imperfect in this life, shallbe most perfect in the life to come. This we know (saith S. john) that when Christ doth appear we shall be like him: for we shall see him as he is. 1. joh. 3. 2. Yea that presence of Christ shallbe so glorious and so effectual in us, that it shall transform even our vile body, and make it like to his glorious body, Phil. 3. 21. For we must know that the presence of Christ is not like the presence of earthly princes, the which if thou beholdest a thousand times, thou shalt be made thereby never a whit the more glorious: but if thou once truly behold the glorious presence of Christ, thou shalt straightway be changed and transformed into the same.  
As Moses left up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have life everlasting. joh. 3. 14. As they which beheld the brazen serpent were healed of the sting of the fiery serpents, which otherwise could not be cured: So then beholding of Christ lifted up upon the cross doth cure us of the most deadly sting of the spiritual serpent the Devil. It may seem strange that the beholding of a dead man should have such virtue & efficacy as to give life to the beholders: & yet so it is, for that this dead body is a quickening spirit, and the word of his cross is the power of God to salvation to all that believe. And indeed you cannot duly think upon this shameful & ignominious cross, but that ye shall be moved thereby to call to mind the most glorious and admirable love of God, who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have life everlasting. Now if God love us, & be on our side, who can be against us? if he hath confirmed his love towards us, in that he spared not his only begotten son, but gave him for us all, how may we be most fully assured that he will with him give us all things also? Hereby (saith S. john) have we perceived love, in that he laid down his life for us. 1. joh. 3. 16. So S. Paul's Herein (saith he) Christ setteth out his love towards us, that while we were sinners, & therefore not worthy of the least mercy, he died for us, and so showed us the greatest mercy. Rom. 3. 8.  
If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee give me drink, thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given unto thee the water of life. joh. 4. 10. In teaching the ignorant we must labour especially to work in them a thirst of the water of life: the sweetness whereof if we had once tasted, all other things would grow out of taste with us, and we would after a sort thirst only after this water. This water of life then above all other things is to be made known to the people of God, & the virtue thereof is continually to be set forth, seeing it is not condemned, but where it is unknown. And hereof it is that Christ himself, his spirit, his spouse and all his faithful members bestow so much labour in pointing, to this full fountain of the water of life, and in commending the virtues thereof. I am the living bread (saith our Saviour Christ) that 
joh. 6. 51.  came down from heaven: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. And again: If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink: he that believeth 
joh. 7. 37.  in me (as saith the Scripture) out of his belly shall flow rivers of water of life. And again: I am the door, if any man enter by me, he 
joh. 10. 9  shall be saved, and go in and out and find pasture, And again: I am the Vine, ye are the branches: every branch that beareth fruit in me my 
joh. 15. 2.  father purgoth, that it may bear more fruit. And again: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the father but by me. By all which figurative speeches one and the self-same thing is set forth unto us: even that Christ is the door, whereby we have entrance to God, in the enjoying of whose favour & presence consisteth life: that he is the way to the celestial jerusalem where true life is to be enjoyed in the greatest perfection: that he is the true propitiatory sacrifice, whereby the wrath of God is thoroughly pacified, all other in respect thereof being either mere shadows or false counterfeits: that he is the bread, water, meat and food of life whereby life is not only bred at the first, but also still maintained and preserved for ever. Likewise our Saviour testifieth of the spirit of God, that he shall testify of him, and shall receive 
joh. 15. 26. joh. 16. 14.  of his, & shall glorify him, by giving testimony unto the holiness of his doctrine, & unto the dignity of his death: & the Angel setteth down the same as a sure note of the spirit of a true Prophet: The 
Apoc. 19 10. joh. 5. 39  testimony of jesus is the spirit of prophesy, that is, is a sure mark of the spirit of prophecy. Yea what is the scope and end of all the scriptures, but to give testimony unto Christ? What is the continual exercise of the spouse of Christ and all her legitimate children but to have their eyes fast bend upon Christ, & their mouth continually open in his praise? The whole book of the Canticles is principally spent in the extolling of the excellencies of the bridegroom by his loving spouse, under divers semblances and similitudes. And wherein especially laboured john the Baptist the friend of the Bridegroom but in preparing the people's hearts to embrace Christ? Behold the Lamb of God (saith he) that taketh 
joh. 1. 29. & 26.  away the sins of the world: I baptize with water unto repentance: but there is one among you, who albeit he came after me, yet he was before me, whose shoe-latchet I am unworthy to unloose; he shall baptize with the holy Ghost and with fire. And again: He must increase but I must 
joh. 3. 30.  decrease. Lastly what did all the Apostles teach? They preached jesus, and in him and by him the resurrection of the dead, and all other benefits and blessings whatsoever: they preached jesus to be the Lord, and themselves the servants of all men for jesus sake. And verily all other waters are but draff & dirt, in respect of the most pure waters of this fountain: all other riches are but 〈…〉 of this inestimable and invaluable treasures 〈…〉 dishes are but as the scraps of a beggars 〈…〉 of the most sweet and comfortable both taste 〈…〉 Manna● and bread of life: the feeding 〈…〉, to ●…ke the best of it, is but the jugglers feast, 〈…〉 by feeding on Christ. The children of 〈…〉 Synagogue howsoever they pretend that they care 〈…〉 they have never indeed fed upon him truly: 〈…〉 should have had by him health, strength, and life to 〈◊〉; that they would never have fed upon masses and 〈◊〉, and upon their own or other men's merits for the fur●…●…ing of everlasting life. But if these men will by no means 〈◊〉 ●…ded to come together with us to feed only upon 〈…〉 bread of life at the Lords table: let them feed still at the 〈…〉 upon that deadly poison which is set before them 〈…〉 ●…mous serpent. But let us feed upon Christ: 
Io●. 〈…〉  for his flesh 〈…〉, and his blood is drink indeed: His patience is the only price whereby our souls are fully ransomed, & his righteousness the only robes whereby our nakedness is wholly covered, & whereby we are presented most perfectly, pure, righteous, & holy 〈◊〉 before the tribunal seat of the Lords justice. His death is only able to kill sin in us, and his resurrection is only of force to raise us up to newness of life. They that being moved by other reason seem to abstain from sin, & to work righteousness, do the same but outwardly in show, and not in truth. Only the spirit of Christ, that so greatly sanctified his death, and so mightily wrought his resurrection, being received by the due consideration, and medi●…tion, and by the religious embracing of his death and resurrection is able to destroy sin indeed, and to raise us up to newness of life▪ 〈◊〉 is only of sufficient might to withstand Satan and all the powers of the kingdom of darkness, and to work in us faith, and love, and all the residue of the fruits of the spirit. And if by this ●…nes 〈…〉 ●…ned to God, then are we indeed truly converted; 
joh. 12. 32.  for Christ is the only loadstone that hath sufficient virtue at 〈◊〉 to draw up to himself our hearts of iron. And if by this 〈…〉 be slain, and the life of righteousness be wrought in us, then have we part in Christ's death and fellowship in his resurrection: but if by any other means sin be put to flight, it is but in show and not in truth: it is but a retire made by Satan, that he may draw us further and further into his snares.  
Thus have I, Gentle Reader, according unto the direction of my skilful guide set down some few places of the first Chapters of the gospel of S. john, wherein this food of our souls is commended unto us. There be many other also observed by the same author upon the same book, but these may suffice to teach those that are the lords stewards what manner of food they ought especially to set before the residue of the Lords family, & what they also ought principally to feed upon, if that they desire to have their spiritual health and strength increased, and to be further and further enabled to do the Lords work. Now it ●…ineth that both in our public & private prayers we most in●…ly beseech the Lord both with the woman of Samaria saying Lord give me of this water that I may not thirst: and with the jews: 
Ioh 4. 15. joh. 6. 34.  Lord give us ever more this bread; Lord make this heavenly food to taste better and better unto us, that we may more and more hunger after the same, and hasten our passage more readily and swiftly unto that great and glorious banqueting house, where we shall feed thereupon even to the full. The which the Lord for his own mercy's sake grant unto us. Now unto this our most gracious and glorious Lord and God the Father, the Son, and the holy Ghost be rendered all honour and glory, praise and power, majesty and might for ever more, Amen.  
FINIS.   


Faults escaped in printing the first part.  
Leave out (&) in the preface f. 1. l. 3. read conversation for conversion, f. 5. v. 32 In the principal uses of the treatise put in (my) v. 31. in the treatise itself read members for number f. 4. l. 13. speaketh for seeketh f. 10. l. 26. right for might, f. 20. l. 36. put in (not) f. 33. l. 6. omnipotent for omniscient, f. 35. l. 11. justifieth for Instilleth, f. 38. l. 14 the revelation for relation, f. 41. l. 14. sufficient for all-sufficient f. 49 l. 11. speak for seek, f. 53 l. 3. impossible for invisible, f 65. l 16. offerings for sufferings, f. 64. l. 19 also for else. f. 87. l. 11. put in (his) f 117. l. 26. speaking for seeking f. 123. l. 23. will for well, f. 147. l. 18. put in 666. f. 159. l. 24.   

Faults escaped in this second part.  
Pag. 36. lin. 27 for then allowed read, then allowing. in the mark for Rom. 14. 26. read 24. 27. item p. 41. in the mark for pf. 26. 3. read. 26. 3.