YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE CATECHISM THOMAS BECON, WITH OTHER PIECES. Snatituteii %M. MM€€€$%. jfor tftc publication of the OTorfcs of tf)t jfatfitrsi anti €arlp Writers of tije Eeformeti Cngitefi Cfturcft. o THE CaUclnsm THOMAS BECON, S. T. P CHAPLAIN TO ARCHBISHOP CRANMER, PREBENDARY OF CANTERBURY, &c. WITH OTHER PIECES WRITTEN BY HIM IN THE REIGN OF KING EDWARD THE SIXTH. EDITED FOR BY THE REV. JOHN AYRE, M.A., OF GONVILLE AND CAIOS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, MINISTER OF ST JOHN'S CHAPEL, HAMI'STEAD. Cambri&ge : PRINTED AT THE UNIVEESITY PRESS. M.DCCC.XLIV. CONTENTS. PAGE The Catechism 1 The Jewel of Joy 411 The Principles of Christian Religion 477 A Fruitful Treatise of Fasting 523 The Castle of Comfort 552 The Solace of the Soul , 569 The Fortress of the Faithful 581 The Christian Knight 620 An Homily against Whoredom 641 ERRATA AND ADDENDA. 116 margin, for A go, read A good. 253 note 9 line 3 from end, for Tit. lxi. read Tit. xli. 256 All the references in note 2 may be found Cassandr. Op. Par. 1616. Liturg. cap. xxvi. pp. 55, 6. 273 note 2 line 7, insert Alex. The passage referred to was more probably the following : Sed diligenter hie animadvertendum, quod etsi corporis sui prsesentiam hinc subduxerit, majestate tamen divinitatis semper adest: sicut ipse a discipulis abiturus pollicetur: Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem seculi. — Cyril. Alex. Op. Lat. Par. 1604-5. In Joan. Evang. Lib. VI. cap. xiv. Tom. I. p. 562. 284 note 4 lines 3, 8 — 10, transpose Ibid, and Decret. &c. 288 note 8 line 4, insert Tom. IV. 289 note 9 line 9, for Theophyl. read Theophil. 535 note 3 line 3 from end, read putatur. 578 last line but 1, omit [which]. A NEW CATECHISM, SET FORTH DIALOGUE-WISE IN FAMILIAR TALK BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE SON, MADE BY THOMAS BECON. C 21 neto The principal part of the information we have I biographical memoir of him prefixed to the former of Becon's family is obtained from this preface. The | volume of his works may be consulted, p. xiv.l PREFACE. and heavenly kingdom. Certes the greatest multitude of our parents at this day, although they profess Christ, and glory to be called Christians, are much inferior to the heathen, which knew not God nor any point of godliness .rightly, if we should respect the good and virtuous bringing up of youth. To whom is this unknown, that the very gentiles spared neither cost nor labour The earnest that their children might he brought up learnedly and virtuously, and at the last become gentiles for6 worthy citizens of the commonweal ? Read we not, that when it was objected unto banging up" Lycurgus, that noble prince of the Lacedemonians, that he gave too much a liberal vouth. Lycurgus. stipend to the teacher and bringer up of his children, he answered on this manner: " If any man will take upon him to bring up my children, and to render them unto me better than he received them, I will not only give him large sums of money, but also the half of all my goods"? Read we not, that Philip, king of the Macedonians, Philip, king when his son Alexander was born, wrote letters unto Aristotle, the philosopher, in doniaenS.ace the which he gave thanks unto God, not only because he had given him a son, which should succeed him in his kingdom, but also that it chanced him to be born in the time of so noble a philosopher, which should bring him up in virtue, learning, and knowledge, and make him a prince worthy of such a father and of so flourishing a kingdom2? Read we not, that a certain noble woman of Rome, called Cornelia, when Cornelia. a strange lady, which lodged in her house, shewed unto her her ornaments and jewels, yea, and those so precious and goodly as none could be found more precious nor more goodly, prolonged the talk with her until her children came home from school, and then brast out into these words, Et lime ornamenta mea sunt3? That is in English: "And these,'' saith she, "are my ornaments and jewels;" signifying by this her an swer, that nothing is so precious and goodly a jewel to a discreet, wise, and sober matron, as children virtuously and learnedly brought up. Read we not, that when Alphonsus, king of the Aragones, was demanded how it came to pass that he had Alphonsus, so flourishing a realm, whether it was that he was so excellently learned, or of so Aragones. good success in martial affairs, whereof he also had singular knowledge, he answered on this manner: "Of books I learned both armours and the law of armours4"? — hereby confessing, that learning was the alone occasion of all his good success and of so flourishing a commonweal : so truly is it said of Plato, that blessed, fortunate, and Plato. happy is that commonweal, wherein either philosophers do bear rule, or else kings that be studious of philosophy and of good letters do reign. But wherefore do I tarry so long in rehearsing these profane and heathenish his tories concerning the good and virtuous bringing up of youth, seeing that in the holy bible, which containeth the words of everlasting life, examples do abound ? As I may pass over with silence those holy, grave, and ancient patriarchs, Adam, The earnest Seth. Enos, Henoch, Noha, Thare, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, &c, which lived eods people ' ' ' ' - A ' in times past before Moses, of whose industry and diligence in the godly and virtuous bringing up Snt^g°dly of their younglings to doubt, I think it more than double wickedness ; who is able of rtfek to express what study and care that most excellent and prince-like prophet David, Dawdling the most worthy and most noble grandfather of our Lord and alone Saviour Jesu Christ, took for the godly and honest education of his children, specially of Salomon, that for his godliness, learning, and wisdom he might be counted of all men worthy to enjoy the imperial crown after him? He was so diligent in exhorting his son Salomon unto virtue and true religion, that, lying upon his death-bed, he ceased not continually to put him in remembrance of his duty toward the Lord his God. Among other were not these his words : " I go the way of all the world : be strong therefore, i Kings ii. and shew thyself a man. Keep thou the watch of the Lord thy God, and see that thou walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his precepts, his judgments and his testimonies, even as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and in every thing that thou meddlest withal ; that the Lord also may make good his word, which he spake unto me, saying, If thy children take [* A. Gell. Noctes Attic. Lib. ix. cap. iii.] [3 Valer. Max. Lib. iv. cap. iv. 1.] [4 Alphonso V Anton. Panorm. De Diet, et Fact. Alphons. Reg. Arag. et Neap. Witeb. 1585. Lib. iv. 19. p. 87. It is to this monarch that a say ing, erroneously attributed in the former volume, p. 398, to the king of Castile, really belongs.] THE CATECHISM. Tobias. Tob. i. Hist. Sus. The parents of Susanna. Acts xxi. Philip the evangelist. Timothy. 2 Tim. lii. Deut iv. xi. Ecclus. vii. x. xxx. xlii. Eph. vi. C5l. iii. Tit. ii. heed to their way, that they walk before me in truth with all their hearts, and with all their souls, then shalt thou not be without a man on the seat of Israel, &c." Tobias also, that ancient father and faithful servant of God, taught his young son Tobias, even from his tender age, to fear God, and to refrain from all sin. His ad monitions which he gave to his son are so godly and profitable, so avancing virtue and repressing vice, that they may justly seem worthy to be written in letters of gold; and would God they were so surely graven in the hearts of all men that they might never fall out of remembrance ! The noble parents likewise of that most noble lady Susanna, beautiful in body, but more beautiful in mind, goodly in the lineaments of the body, but more goodly in the virtues of the soul, brought up their aforesaid daughter Susanna, from her very young age, in all godliness and honesty according to the law of God given by Moses : which godly, virtuous, and honest bringing up so greatly prevailed in her, that she rather choosed to suffer any kind of cruel torments, yea, most cruel death, than she would once turn aside from those godly lessons and virtuous instructions which she had learned of her godly and virtuous parents in her young and tender years; so pro fitable a thing is it even from the very cradles, as they use to say, to drink in godli ness and honesty. But what shall I speak of Philip the evangelist, which, having four daughters, brought them up so godly and learnedly that they were able to prophesy, that is to say, to understand the holy scriptures according to the meaning of the Holy Ghost, and to render a perfect accompt of their faith in Christ Jesu our Lord ? I pass over the godly bringing up of bishop Timothy, which from his very infancy and childhood learned and understood, as St Paul writeth, the holy scriptures, which alone are "able sufficiently and even to the uttermost to instruct the man of God unto sal vation through faith in Christ Jesu." Many and divers other histories are contained in the holy scriptures, which abun dantly remember what studious diligence and diligent study, what painful labour and laborous pain, the holy fathers in times past did take to bring up their children godly and honestly according to the doctrine and commandment of the Lord our God, that they might truly be counted fathers not only of the body, but also of the mind, and by this means satisfy the good pleasure of God, which requireth nothing more earnestly of fathers and mothers, than that they should godly and holily bring up their children which he hath given them, that not only in this world, but in the world to come, they may celebrate, praise, and magnify his holy and glorious name. Provoked with these and such like examples, my most dear and sweet children, I have done mine endeavour to the uttermost of my power, from time to time, as your age requireth, to sow in your tender breasts the wholesome seed of God's most holy word, that from your very cradles ye may learn to know your Lord God, which made you and gave you unto me, which also conserveth and nourisheth you by me ; and to believe in him the alone true God; to call on his holy name, from whom alone cometh all goodness; to fear and reverence him as your most beneficial Lord; to love him as your most gentle and kind Father; to be thankful unto him for his benefits as your most bounteous and merciful Saviour; and to reverence and honour the magistrates and all that be in authority ; again, to shew yourselves humble, lowly, and obedient to the faithful ministers of God's holy word: Item, to be gentle, loving, and helping to all men; and in fine, so to train your lives according to the rule of God's holy commandment, that, in this world being good and profitable members of the christian commonweal, in the world to come ye may be made citizens of that glorious and heavenly kingdom. And according to this my doctrine, yea, rather God's doctrine, ye for your little strengths daily do your endeavour to bring forth the fruits of this good seed, which, by the help of God's Spirit, I have sown in your young and tender breasts : which thing delighteth me so greatly, that I can none otherwise than daily offer unto God the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, which by his Holy Spirit hath wrought so good things in you, yea, and that in so young and tender age; most humbly beseeching him to continue his fatherly favour toward you, that he may bring unto a fortunate and blessed end that which he most mercifully hath begun in you, unto the glory and praise of his holy name. PREFACE. 7 And forasmuch as I your father, from my youth up even unto this day, have ever been attempted with the cruel assaults of envious fortune, which for the most part is always an unmerciful stepdame to all such as are truly studious of virtue and learning, and contrariwise a bounteous mistress to such as are dissolute and careless livers, without all fear of God, without all care of godliness, without all honest and godly disposition, &c. ; and by this means have no worldly possessions to leave unto you, whereby ye may be the more able to resist the fierce and cruel darts of fro ward, frowning fortune; I, in this behalf leaving you to the merciful and bounteous providence of God, which never leaveth them succourless that cleave unto him with strong faith, and labour to b. and Dr. " serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life," have thought it good Luke i. to study how I may enrich you, not with the flitting goods of Airing1 fortune, or with the trifling treasures of the wicked world, (after the which all degrees of people The tnsa- in this our age, without exception, run headlong, and so inordinately hunt after them, c'ovetousness as though they should continue in this vale of misery for ever, utterly forgetting that age. 'b °"r they are " strangers and pilgrims,'' and can " have no long abode here,'' but must give i Pet. n. over to nature and depart hence, as their ancestors and elders have done before them, and leave their pelf, for the which they have so swinked2 and sweat, they cannot tell to whom, as we read in the gospel of a certain ungodly rich man ; and as the psalmo- Luke xii. graph saith, the covetous, rich worldling " heapeth treasure upon treasure, and knoweth Psai. xxxix. not for whom he gathereth his treasure" ;) but with such riches, goods, treasures, and possessions, as neither fire can bren, nor water overwhelm, nor wind blow away, nor tempest disquiet, nor old age consume, nor froward ' fortune remove, neither any adver sity put to flight ; I mean the goods and riches of the mind ; as doctrine, learning, knowledge, the right understanding of the holy scriptures, sincerity of judgment, wisdom, discretion, and such other godly and virtuous qualities, wherewith whosoever is endued, he may worthily be counted rich, although he were utterly destitute and void of all those things which the madness of men hath in these our days in so great admiration and price ; yea, where these honourable treasures of the mind are, there the frail goods of most frail fortune offer themselves, and willingly give their service, not suffering the possessor of them extremely to lack, as divers histories do evidently declare. Therefore to the end that you may the more plentifully abound with these immortal, constant, and unmoveable riches, and by this means become richer than king Croesus, even in the midst of your poverty; I thought it not unseemly, nor unworthy either of my vocation or of your young years, to give unto you this little book, which of late I made; wherein is contained whatsoever is necessarily required unto the perfect instruction of a christian man ; that you, exercising yourselves diligently in the reading of it, may become learned in the rules of your profession, and attain unto such know ledge of God's doctrine in this your tender age, that at the last ye may become ancient and perfect in Christ, and so in fine obtain that which is the end of our hope, I mean everlasting felicity. This book I commend unto you, my most sweet and dear children, as a noble and singular treasure, profitable both for the body and for the soul, and necessary for the right institution of your life : according to the doctrine whereof if you frame your life, ye shall not only wax and become learned in your profession (whereof to be ignorant is too much ungodliness), but also not attempt any thing at any time that shall either be displeasant to God, or to godly men, or to yourselves. Take it, therefore, with joyful hearts as a testimony of your father's good will toward you ; yea, receive it as your patrimony, left of your father unto you, which otherwise is not able to enrich you ; and glory no less in this my gift, than other children do in the riches of this world. And I shall most humbly beseech God to be your father and defender, and to give you his Holy Spirit, which may govern you in all your doings, that ye may walk blameless in his sight, and be found in the number of God's elect. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit! Amen. [' Fining i fleering.] [2 Swinked: laboured, toiled.] THE CATECHISM, SET FORTH DIALOGUE-WISE IN FAMILIAR TALK BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE SON. Deut, Eph. vi. Col. iii. Tit. ii. Father. Forasmuch, my dear child, as all parents are commanded of God diligently xxc£isiif"-'x- to bring up their children in the knowledge of his most holy and blessed will, that they, even from their very cradles, may learn to fear God and to walk in his ways, neither declining on the right hand nor on the left; I have, to the uttermost of my power, not only by myself, but also by other godly and virtuous learned men, (as I may speak nothing of my diligence in bringing thee unto the temple to hear the preachings of God's law, and the godly prayers which are there used unto the glory of God and the edifying of such as be present, whereby thy knowledge in the Lord's ordinances may not only be confirmed, but also increased,) travailed to bring thee up even from thy very infancy and tender age in the doctrine of holy letters ; following in this behalf not only the commandment of God, but also the examples both of the ancient patriarchs and of many other godly men, whose names as they be registered in the book of life, so likewise are they honourably remembered in the holy bible. Wherefore my desire is at this present to have some taste, by familiar talk between thee and me, of thy knowledge in the Lord Jesu, and how thou hast profited in matters of everlasting life; that by this means I may know whether thou hast satisfied my expectation, and no less prospered in the study of godliness, than my opinion is that thou hast done. Son. I can none otherwise, most loving father, than acknowledge and confess your fatherly good will toward me, which have neither spared labour nor cost to bring me unto the knowledge of God, and of my salvation in the Lord Jesu. Father. Son, that hath been ever my desire. For he is not worthy the name of a christian man, but rather may justly be resembled to " an horse or mule," that have not this knowledge. "This is everlasting life," saith our Saviour Christ, "that they know thee (that thou only art the true God), and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ." Hereto pertaineth the saying of the wise man : " To know thee, O God, is perfect righteousness ; yea, to know thy righteousness and power is the root of immortality." " Vain are all men, which have not the knowledge of God." " Ye err," said Christ to the Sadducees, "because ye know not the scriptures." Again: "Search the scriptures, for ye think ye have everlasting life in them, and the same are they which testify of me ; and ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life." But come off, let me now have some experience of thy good success in matters of christian religion. Son. I am ready, most gentle father, at your commandment. Only I shall most humbly desire you to consider my young age, and the small continuance which, by the reason of my few and tender years, I have had in the studies both of godliness and letters. Father. This thing is not unknown unto me. Thy age is young, thy years are few, thy continuance in study is small, for as yet art thou not six years old. Therefore my mind is only at this present to talk with thee, not of things which far exceed both thy age and capacity, but of such matters as be meet for children to know, wherein also thou hast heretofore (as thy age hath suffered) been exercised, both by me thy father, and also by the preacher, and by thy schoolmaster. Son. Do you mean such matters, as be contained in my catechism ? Father. The very same. Son. If it shall be your good pleasure to examine me in them, I trust, by the help of God and by the assistance of his Holy Spirit, to make such answers Psal. xxxii. Wisd. xv. Wisd. xiii. Matt, xxii, John v. THE CATECHISM. 9 as^ shall not only not displease you, but also most highly please you, content your mind, and satisfy your expectation; so that you shall think both your labour and cost to have been not unfruitfully employed and bestowed upon me. Father. If thou performest no less in deed than thou promisest in word, thou shalt not only content me, but also deserve at my hand both praise and a continuance of my fatherly favour and liberality toward thee. And forasmuch as our whole com munication at this time shall be altogether of the doctrine contained in the catechism, I first of all demand of thee, what thou meanest by this word Catechism. For many have this word Catechism in their mouth, but few understand what it meaneth. Son. As I remember, I heard our schoolmaster say, that it is a Greek word, and What this signifieth a doctrine taught of the wise and learned to the younglings of Christ's mLhiim religion, in the which, after a brief and goodly order, is comprehended whatsoever is SIgnlfieth' necessarily required unto the right institution of a christian man; so that whosoever hath and understandeth this doctrine, hath and understandeth the whole sum of all things necessary unto salvation contained in the old or new testament. Father. Is not this kind of teaching younglings new, and lately invented ? Son. The custom No, verily. It is rather old, and of long time used in the church of Christ, as the the'SSeilfsm monuments of the ancient writers testify. For in the primitive church there were ancient"1 not only bishops and pastors that preached the gospel of Christ to the people, which were already graffed by baptism and the Holy Ghost in Christ Jesu, but also certain teachers, called catechistce1, which taught not only the young children that were already baptized, but also such as being in age came and were contented to forsake gentility and to take upon them Christianity, and to turn from idolatry unto the worshipping of that one and alone true, living, immortal, and everlasting God, the principles of christian religion, before they received baptism, and were openly admitted into the congregation of the faithful. And as these teachers were called catechistw, that is to say, instructors, or teachers; so likewise were the younglings called catechumeni, that is to say, persons instructed or taught. And the office of the catechist was not only to instruct and teach, but also to examine such as they taught how they profited and increased in the knowledge of God's mysteries ; and if they failed in any point, diligently to instruct and teach them, till they were well exercised in the doctrine of Christ. Father. They then do evil which report, that the teaching of the catechism, that is to say, the elements or principles of Christ's doctrine, to the young lambs of Christ's flock, I mean the children, is a late invention, and newly crept into the church of Christ, through the device of certain backsliders and runaways from the catholic church. Son. The true catholic and apostolic church hath had the catechism taught in it from the beginning. It is no late invention, but before many hundred years used of Christ and of his apostles, and also of the ancient fathers, both in the Greek and Latin church. Of this kind of teaching speaketh St Paul in his epistle unto the Galatians on this manner : " Let him that is taught with the word minister in all good things unto Gal. vi him that teacheth him." Father. Let this suffice concerning this word catechism. Declare now unto me of ihe parts how many parts the doctrine of the catechism consisteth. Son. Of six parts. catechism. Father. Which are they? Son. Repentance, faith, law, prayer, sacraments, and the offices of all degrees. Father. Is the whole sum of Christ's doctrine contained in these six parts ? Son. Yea, verily. [• The office or duty of the catechists, in the j but it does not appear that they were a distinct primitive church, was precise and well-defined; I order. See Bingham, Orig.Eccles. Book in. chap, x.] 10 THE CATECHISM. [1Jabt THE FIRST PART OF THE CATECHISM. OF REPENTANCE. Repentance. Father. And is repentance the first part of that doctrine which is taught in the catechism? Son. So have I learned. For our catechist declared unto us, that, when John Baptist, Christ, and his apostles began to teach, they preached first of all re pentance. Father. Where readest thou that John Baptist began his doctrine of repentance? Son. In the third chapter of St Matthew's gospel, where we read on this manner: Matt. iii. " In those days came John Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Jewry, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Again, in the first chapter of blessed Marki. Mark: "John baptized in the wilderness, preaching the baptism," that is to say, the doctrine, " of repentance unto the remission of sins." The very same thing read we in Luke iii. the gospel of Luke. Father. Began Christ also his preaching of repentance? Son. So write the Matt. iv. evangelists. Matthew hath in his gospel thus: "Jesus began to preach and to say, Mark i. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Mark hath these words : " Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand : repent, and believe the gospel." Hereof learn we, that both John Baptist and Christ began their preaching of repent- Luke xxiv. ance. And in the gospel of Luke we read, that Christ gave in commandment to his disciples, that they should preach repentance and forgiveness of sins unto all nations. And according to the commandment of Christ the apostles taught. For in the Acts of the Apostles we read that, when Peter laid their sins before the Jews, they were greatly dismayed and stricken with an inward sorrow, so that they brast out into Acts ii. these words : " Ye men and brethren, what shall we do ? Peter said unto them, Repent ye of your sins, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Again: Acts iii. "Repent, and turn, that your sins may be put away." In another place of the same Acts xxvi. book we read, that St Paul maketh mention of his doctrine which he taught " to the Jews and to the gentiles, which is, that they should repent, turn unto God, and do works worthy such as do repent." All these testimonies of the holy scripture do abundantly declare, that the doctrine of repentance ought to have the first place in the institution of a christian man, if we will observe that order which John Baptist, Christ with his apostles, and St Paul used. what repent- Father. What is repentance ? Son. Repentance is an inward and true sorrow of the heart, unfeignedly conceived in the mind by earnest consideration of our sins and wickednesses, which heretofore most unkindly we have committed against the Lord our God, of whom we have freely received so many, so great, and so noble benefits, with a perfect detestation and utter abhorring of our former wicked life ; whereunto is also : added a fervent and inward desire from henceforth to live godly and virtuously, and to frame our life in all points according to the holy will of God expressed in the divine scriptures. Of this repentance speaketh St Paul in his second epistle to the 2 cor. vii. Corinthians on this manner : " A godly sorrow causeth repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of; when the worldly sorrow causeth death. For behold this thing, what diligence this godly sorrow that ye took hath wrought in you; yea, it causeth you to clear yourselves : it caused indignation, it caused fear, it caused desire it caused a fervent mind, it caused punishment." Father. Thou confessest then the doctrine of repentance to be necessary for the ( right institution of a christian man ? Son. Yea, so necessary, that without it the| other parts of christian doctrine do not much profit. For the doctrine of repentance bringeth a man unto the knowledge of himself with out the which no man shall ever know God aright, nor his salvation, which he re- Matt, ix. ceiveth of God through Jesus Christ. " I came not," saith Christ, " to call the right- L] OF REPENTANCE. 11 eous, but sinners unto repentance." "For such as are whole need no physician, but they that are sick." What brought the people of Israel, David, Manasses, Mary The fruit of Magdalene, &c. unto the knowledge of themselves and of their sins, and enforced them of repent- to run unto God for mercy, but the doctrine of repentance ? The doctrine of repent ance setteth before the sinner the greatness and weight of his sins, the heavy anger of God against the sinner for his sin, everlasting damnation for committing the sin, and so combereth the conscience of the sinner with the terrors of God's judgment, that in himself he can find no rest, no ease, no consolation, no remedy ; but is com pelled with all humility and submission of mind to confess his sin, to grant himself a most damnable sinner, and to seek comfort not of himself, nor of his own good works, but of God and of his great mercies. Moreover, the doctrine of repentance enarmeth a man against the assaults of Satan, against the enticements of the flesh, against the pleasures of the world, against the sting of sin, against the dart of desperation, and admonisheth him afterward so warily and circumspectly to live, that he fall no more into the same sins, nor be snarled again with the like snares ; but rather from henceforth so frame his life, that he shall not need to be combered with the like shame and sorrow for committing the like wick edness, while he endeavoureth himself to the uttermost of his power to garjaish his conversation with all kind of spiritual virtues and godly works, as St John Baptist saith : " Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance." " For even now is the axe laid at the Matt. iii. root of the tree : every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn up and cast into the fire.' Father. They then that truly and with a faithful heart receive this doctrine of Sul* Js sin . . iiii a after- repentance, whereof thou hast hitherto spoken, are not excluded from the grace, favour, ward repent and mercy of God, but may well persuade themselves to receive remission of sins, excluded and to be made inheritors of everlasting glory. Son. Yea, verily. For thus saith and remission of their sins. God himself by the prophet: "As surely as I live, I desire not the death of a sinner, Ezek.xxxiii. but rather that he should turn and live." And the prophet Esay saith : " Let the isai. iv. ungodly man forsake his own ways, and the unrighteous his own imaginations, and turn again unto the Lord ; so shall he be merciful unto him. For he is such a God as is ready to forgive." " If the ungodly," saith God by the prophet Ezechiel, " will turn away Ezek. xviii. from all his sins that he hath done, and keep all my commandments, and do the thing that is equal and right, doubtless he shall live and not die. As for all his sins that he did before, they shall not be thought upon, but in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. For have I any pleasure in the death of a sinner, saith the Lord God, and not rather that he should convert and live ?" " Be converted, and turn you from all your wickedness ; so shall there no sin do you harm. Cast away from you all your ungodliness that ye have done. Make you new hearts and a new spirit. Wherefore will ye die, 0 ye house of Israel, seeing I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God ? Turn ye then, and ye shall live." Doth not Christ in the gospel call lovingly unto him all such as be diseased and Matt. xi. laden with the burden of sin, and promise that he will ease and comfort them ? Saith he not that he came "to save such as were lost"? What other thing do we learn Luke xix. of the parables of the lost sheep and of the prodigal son, than that sinners repent ing be received unto mercy and favour? And are not these Christ's words? "I say Luke xv. unto you, that there shall be joy in heaven before the angels of God over one sinner, more than over ninety and nine righteous that need no repentance." There is no sin that giveth not place to repentance. Father. And is this repentance the gift of nature or of grace ? Son. It is the Repentance gift of God, and cometh not of ourselves. For what good thing either have we, or Gode gift °f can we do, except we first receive it of God ? This testifieth St Paul, saying : " What 1 c0r. iv. hast thou that thou hast not received? If thou hast received it, why dost thou glory as though thou hadst not received it?" Hereto pertaineth the saying of St James : " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down James i. from the Father of lights." Forasmuch therefore as repentance is a good gift, there fore cometh it from God. Father. Came the repentance of Caim, Esau, Saul, Judas, and such like, from 12 THE CATECHISM. CPabt The repent- God also ? Son. It came from themselves, and from the devil, author of all sin and reprobate is wickedness. For this repentance leadeth unto desperation and finally unto damnation, repenunce. and is that " worldly sorrow," which, as St Paul writeth, " causeth death." But that ™' repentance, which is wrought by the Spirit of God in the hearts of men, doth not only contain in it an hearty sorrow for the sin committed, with an earnest intent and full purpose to live from henceforth according to the will of God, but also an True repent- assured faith and undoubted persuasion that God for our mediator Jesu Christ's sake faith to her will be merciful unto us, forgive us our sins, and make us inheritors of everlasting Tru^rep'mt- glory. And this repentance, I say, cometh not of ourselves, but it is the gift of God. God.6 gift °f Father. Prove that by the word of God. Son. By the prophet Ezechiel God Ezek.xxxvi. speaketh on this manner: "I will pour clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; yea, from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols shall I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put into you. As for that stony heart, I will take it out of your body, and give you a fleshly heart. I will give you my Spirit among you, and cause you to walk in my commandments, to keep my laws, and to fulfil them. And ye shall be my people; and I will be your God." Jcr. xxxi. The prophet Jeremy prayeth on this manner : " Convert thou me, O Lord, and I shall be converted; for thou art my Lord God. As soon as thou turnedst me I repented, and as soon as thou shewedst me my sins, I smote my thigh : yea, I was confounded Lam. ». and right greatly ashamed." Again : " 0 Lord, turn thou us unto thee, and so shall we be turned." St Paul, in his epistle unto Timothy, by most manifest and expressed 2 Tim. ii. words sheweth repentance to be the gift of God. " The servant of God," saith he, " must inform them that resist, if that God at any time will give them repentance, for to know the truth, and that they may come to themselves again out of the snare of the devil, which are holden captive of him at his will." Father. That therefore is the alone true repentance, which, being the gift of God, and wrought in the hearts of men by the Holy Ghost, doth not only contain in it an inward sorrow of the mind for the sins tofore committed against God, with a full determined purpose from henceforth to amend and to lead a new life, but also a per fect faith to be forgiven for Christ's sake. Son. Repentance not accompanied with \ faith driveth rather unto desperation than unto salvation; as we may see in Cahn, Esau, Saul, Judas, and in such like. But repentance combined with faith lifteth up the wearied and cast down soul, comforteth the troubled heart, rejoiceth the sorrow ful mind, and quieteth the restless conscience; as we have for examples in the holy scripture David, Manasses, Mary Magdalene, Peter, &c. And therefore in a most goodly and seemly order followeth the second part of the doctrine of the Catechism, which entreateth of faith. For after the doctrine of repentance, the doctrine of faith necessarily is to be set forth unto such as will be rightly and truly instructed in the rules of Christianity. n-] OF FAITH. 13 THE SECOND PART OF THE CATECHISM. OF FAITH. Father. Observed Christ and his apostles that order of teaching also ? Son. So teach the evangelical history. For Christ began his preaching on this manner : " Re- Mark i. pent, and believe the gospel." First he taught repentance, and afterward faith. And after his resurrection, when he sent forth his apostles to preach, he commanded them to " preach in his name Luke xxiv. repentance and remission of sins to all nations." What other thing is it to preach what it is to DF6f(Cll remission of sins, than to publish and set forth the doctrine of faith, which faith remission alone obtaineth the favour of God and forgiveness of sin? Where faith in the Son of God is, there is everlasting life ; but where this faith is not, there is eternal death and damnation, as the scripture saith : " He that believeth on the Son (of God) hath John i!i- everlasting life; but he that believeth not on the Son (of God) shall not see life, but the wrath of , God abideth upon him." And according to this commandment of their Master Christ, the apostles observed ^apostle? and kept this order of teaching in their sermons. First they taught repentance, and doctnne- afterward faith, as we may see in the chronicle of the apostles' acts, where we read that St Peter answered to this demand of the Jews, "What shall we do, ye men and Actsii. brethren?" on this manner: "Repent ye of your sins, and let every one of you be what it is to baptized in the name of Jesu Christ," &c. What is it to be baptized in the name in *e name of Jesus Christ, but first stedfastly to believe, and undoubtedly to be persuaded that through the might and power of Christ our sins be forgiven, and we received and taken into the number of God's sons ; and afterward in token of this grace and favour, which we through faith have obtained of God, to receive the sacrament of baptism, whereby we do profess that we pertain no more unto the kingdom of Satan, but unto the kingdom of Christ, and will from henceforth serve hiin, and seek his glory all the days of our life? Again, in the same book: "Repent and turn, that your sins may be Actsiii- put away." Is it any other thing to turn, than to forsake incredulity and to believe, than to cast away the service of idols and to serve the living God in such "holiness Lukei. and righteousness," as are accepted before him ? In another place of the same book we read, that St Paul taught " repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Acts xx- Jesus Christ." And in his epistle to the Hebrews, where he maketh mention of the principles of christian religion, he first of all nameth repentance, and afterward faith. His words are these : " Let us leave the doctrine pertaining to the beginning of a Heb- V1, christian man, and let us go unto perfection, and now no more lay the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of baptism, of doctrine, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection from death, and of eternal judgment." Thus see we, that the order which Christ and his apostles observed in their sermons was first to teach the doctrine of repentance, and then of faith. Father. Let this suffice for the order of the doctrine contained in the catechism. Tell me now what faith is. Son. " Faith," as the apostle defineth it, " is a sure Heb- *'• confidence of things which are hoped for, and a certainty of things which are not seen." Father. This definition seemeth to be somewhat hard. What teacheth the apostle here? Son. Verily, that faith is a certain, assured, and an undoubted persuasion ofis. the mind, conceived of the word of God through the operation of the Holy Ghost, concerning the performance and enjoying of such heavenly things as God hath promised in his holy scriptures to the faithful. Which things although reason cannot comprehend them, yet faith embraceth them, and believeth them to be most true and most certain; nothing doubting but that God in his time will most assuredly accomplish, perform, and bring to pass whatsoever he hath promised. Father. But what are those things which, being not seen, are hoped for? Son. The things which are not seen, and yet be hoped and looked for of the faithful 14 THE CATECHISM. [Part 1 Cor. ii. Faith is the gift of God. 2 Cor. iii. Hos. xiii. John vi. Isai. liv. Jer. xxxi. Acts xvi. Phil. i. 1 Cor. xii. Rom. xii. Eph. ii. Mark ix. Luke xvii. John iii. All virtues without faith are very sins before God. Rom. xiv. Luke xvi. The fruits of faith. at God's hand, are deliverance from the tyranny of Satan, from the curse of the law, and from everlasting damnation, remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, hearing and granting of our prayers, regeneration unto a new birth, justification, resur rection of the dead, everlasting life, and whatsoever good, godly, precious, heavenly, comfortable, and glorious things are promised us of God in the holy scriptures. These things " the natural and unregenerate man understandeth not, neither can he compre hend them;" but faith, wrought in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, without any doubting believeth, hopeth, and looketh for the very same things, nothing despairing but that God, which in his holy word hath mercifully promised these things, as he is able, so will most liberally perform the same things in his time, although reason, which is altogether blind in matters of God, seeth not how it may be brought to pass. Father. Cometh not faith then of ourselves, but it is rather the gift of God ? Son. Of ourself ? What cometh of ourselves that good is, which are not able of ourselves once to think a good thought ? Our destruction cometh of ourselves, but our salvation j cometh only of God. "No man can come unto me," saith Christ, "except my Father draweth him." " For it is written in the prophets, All shall be taught of God. Every one therefore, that hath heard of the Father and learned, cometh unto me." Father. Prove by the word of God, that faith is the gift of God, and cometh not of I ourselves. Son. When Christ demanded of his disciples who he was, Peter, in the name of himself and of his fellows, answered : " Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Christ answered and said, Blessed art thou, Simon the son of Jonas ; for flesh and blood hath not shewed this thing unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." In the gospel of St John we read, that when the Jews asked of Christ what they should do, that they might work the works of God, he answered : " This is the work of God, that ye believe in him whom he hath sent." And in the Acts of the Apostles we read, that when Paul and Barnabas preached, " so many as were tofore ordained unto ever lasting life, believed." Again, of a certain woman called Lydia, blessed Luke writeth, " that the Lord opened her heart to give attendance to these things that Paul spake." And blessed St Paul, writing to the Philippians, saith : " It is given to you, not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him." And in another place he confesseth faith to be given unto men of God through the Holy Ghost. These testimonies of the holy scripture declare sufficiently that faith cometh " not of ourselves, but is the gift of God ;" only given to them which are the vessels of mercy, and tofore ordained unto everlasting life. For, as the apostle saith, " All have not faith." To obtain therefore this most precious and noble gift of faith, we have need to pray with the father of the diseased child : " Lord, help mine unbelief." And with the apostles : " Lord, increase our faith." Father. Is faith so necessary a thing unto salvation ? Son. " Without faith it is not possible to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder to them that seek him." " He that believeth not on the Son (of God) shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." The godless and heathenish people wrought in times past many notable and worthy acts, and outwardly glistered with goodly virtues; so that in outward appearance they might seem not unjustly to compare with the Christians : notwithstanding, forasmuch as they wanted this faith, whereof we now speak, all that ever they did was nothing but hypocrisy and" abomination before God. " For whatsoever is not grounded on faith, the same is sin.'' And, " That which is worthy greater commendation before men is abominable before God." Father. Why, what commodities bringeth faith to man? Son. By faith we be made the sons of God. Father. How pro vest thou that? Son. In the gospel of St John it is written : "As many as received him, to them he gave power to be the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were bom not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." And St Paul also writeth : " All ye are the sons 'of God, because ye have believed in Christ Jesu." Father. What more? Son. By faith we, which afore were sinners and unrighteous, are justified and counted righteous before God for Christ's sake. IL] OF FAITH. 15 Father. Where is that proved ? Son. St Paul saith : " We plainly affirm, that a Rom. m. man is justified by faith, without the works of the law." Again : " We, being justified Rom. v. by faith, have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Also in another place he saith : " We know that a man is not justified by the deeds of the law, but Gal. ii. by the faith of Jesu Christ. And we have believed on Jesu Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the deeds of the law ; forasmuch as by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified." Father. Have we any other profit by faith ? Son. Yea, many and divers. Father. What are they ? Son. By faith are we espoused and married unto Christ, as Christ himself testifieth by the prophet Ose : " I will marry thee unto myself in faith," Hos. ii. saith he, "and thou shalt know the Lord." Faith is that wedding-garment also, wherewith we be married unto Christ, according to the parable which we read in Matt. xxii. the gospel. Furthermore, by faith Christ's fulfilling of the law is counted our fulfilling, as St Paul witnesseth, saying: "Christ is the fulfilling of the law, to justify all that believe." Rom. x. Again : " Christ hath delivered us (he speaketh of the faithful) from the curse of the Gal. iii. law, inasmuch as he was made accursed for our sake." And in the Acts of the Apostles we read thus : " Be it known unto you, ye men and brethren, that through this man Acts xiii. (Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and that by him all that believe are justified from all things, from the which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." The wise man also saith : " In all thy works believe faithfully with all thy Eccius.xxxii. soul; for that is the keeping of the commandments. He that believeth on God giveth attendance to the commandments, and he that trusteth in him shall not be confounded." Moreover, by faith our prayers are accepted and heard of God, as Christ himself saith : " All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, if ye believe, ye shall receive them." Matt. xxi. Hereunto pertaineth the saying of St James : " Let him that pray ask in faith, and James i. doubt not. For he that doubteth is like a wave of the sea, which is tossed of the winds, and carried with violence. Neither let that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." Item, by faith our works are allowed before God as righteous for Christ's sake : as we read of Abel, whose sacrifice was approved of God, because it Gen. iv. was done in faith. And so likewise were all the sacrifices which the holy patriarchs and other godly men offered in the old law. " Thine eyes, 0 Lord, look upon faith," Jer. v. saith the preacher Hieremy. Finally, by faith we obtain everlasting life, as Christ witnesseth, saying, "As Moses John iii. lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that every one that believeth on him may not perish, but have everlasting life." Again : " This is John vi. the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, have everlasting life." Also in another place: "I am the resurrection and life. John xi. He that believeth in me, although he be dead, yet shall he live : and every one that liveth and believeth in me, he shall never die." Father. I commend thee, my dear child, that thou rememberest these things so well. But where are those things contained which we must believe, if we will receive the foresaid commodities and profits which thou hast rehearsed ? Son. In the holy m the holy ±i > j scriptures scriptures ; but briefly and in a short sum, they are contained in the Apostles creed, "^"sh as thev call it. For in that is comprehended in few words whatsoever is taught contained -i i t i ij.'l which of throughout the whole bible in many, necessarily to be believed unto everlasting sal- necessity vation. of'tn^A os- Father. Why is it called the Apostles' creed? Son. Either because the apostles, as ties' creea,°s" some say, did make it together with one consent, and delivered it to the congregation cialitil of the faithful both to teach and to believe : or else, because it is agreeable in all points „£ es to the doctrine which the apostles taught by mouth, and left in writing _ unto their posterity; so that whosoever believeth and confesseth this doctrine, which is contained in this creed, may right well be counted in the number of the faithful Christians, and taken for a member of Christ's church. Father. How many articles of the christian faith are there ? Son. Twelve. Father. Which are they? 16 THE CATECHISM. CPabt Son. 1. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and of earth. 2. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3. Which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary. 4. Suffered under Ponce Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried: he descended unto hell. 5. The third day he rose again from death. 6. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty. 7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 8. I believe in the Holy Ghost. 9. The holy universal church, which is the fellowship or company of saints. 10. The forgiveness of sins. 11. The rising again of the body. 12. And everlasting life. Amen. Father. Into how many parts is this symbol or creed of the apostles divided? Jhe weed gon. Into four. divided into t t t • four parts. Father. Which are they ? Son. The first part is of God and of the creation ; and comprehendeth only one article. The second part is of Christ the Son of God, and of our redemption ; and consisteth of six articles. The third part is of the Holy Ghost ; and containeth one article. The fourth part is of our sanctification, and of the fruits and effects of faith; and comprehendeth four articles. And thus is this creed finished. Father. Recite the first article. The first part Son. " I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and of earth." of the chris- n •" tian faith. Heb. xi. Father. Why beginnest thou on this manner, "I believe in God"? Son. For "he that cometh to God must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder to them Rom. xiv. that seek him." And " without faith it is not possible to please God." Yea, " what soever is not grounded on faith, the same is sin." Father. What meanest thou when thou sayest, "I believe in God"? Son. I assuredly, undoubtedly, and most certainly am persuaded in my heart, that there is but one only true, living, immortal, and everlasting God, in whom alone I repose and set all mine affiance, trust, and confidence, and of whom only and of none other I hope and look for all good things, pertaining unto the soul or unto the body. Father. What is God? Son. To define God, which is infinite, and whose majesty is unsearchable, it lieth not in my power. But I will make a certain description of God, as I have learned. What God is. Father. Let me hear. Son. "God is a spirit," everlasting, infinite, almighty, true, most wise, righteous, gentle, merciful, kind, liberal, the fountain of all goodness, an essence of himself, without beginning or ending, unchangeable, abiding alway in one state, Actsxvii. favouring the good, punishing the evil, " in whom we live, move, and have our being :" the Father, which from everlasting begat his Son, like unto himself: the Son, which Heb. i. is the true and lively " image " of the Father, being of the same eternity, might, power, John xv. xvi. and majesty: the Holy Ghost, which proceedeth from the Father and the Son: three uohnv. Persons, and one alone true God. Personam Father. Why, are there three Persons in the Godhead, and yet but one God ? Son. the Godhead. Yea, most certainly. Father. Prove that by the scriptures. Son. When man should be made, God Gen.i. the Father said to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, "Let us make man like unto our own similitude and image." In these two words, us and our, is declared the plurality of Persons; and in these two words, similitude and image, is expressed the unity or singularity of the Godhead in the Trinity of Persons. The holy scripture Gen. xviii. testifieth, that Abraham saw three, and worshipped one: that is to say three in the propriety of persons, and one in the unity of the divine substance. The prophet isai. vs. Esay heard seraphin crying: "Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts." By the thrice repetition of this wor.d "holy," the three Persons in the Trinity are expressed unto us ; but by the one denomination of God, one Deity, or one only divine substance of John iv. Il-1 OF FAITH. 17 those three Persons is declared unto us: likewise as by the one naming of the Lord of hosts, the lordship, kingdom, majesty, power, and authority of this one God is understanded to be all one and the same. The psalmograph also writeth on this manner : " By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made sure, and with the Spirit of his Psai. xxxiii. mouth all the power of them." Here likewise is set forth unto us, that there be three Persons in the Godhead. The Father is called the Lord, the Son the Word, and the Holy Ghost the Spirit. In the evangelical history we read that, when Christ was baptized, the Father from heaven was heard saying, " This is my well-beloved Son, Matt ,„. in whom I have a great delight." We read also, that the Holy Ghost came down from Ki heaven in the likeness of a dove, and rested upon Christ. Here is it most evident, John L that in that most blessed, glorious, and everlasting Godhead there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And when our Saviour Christ sent forth his apostles to preach, he commanded them also to " baptize all nations in the name of the Matt, xxviii. Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The unity of the divine essence is set forth in this, that Christ saith, " in the name," and not in the names ; as likewise by these three names, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is declared, that there are three Persons in the divine substance. To be short, St John in his epistle doth in few words comprehend all this matter, saying : " They are they1, which give 1 John v. witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one." Father. Thou affirmest then, that in the divine essence, although there be three distinct Persons, yet is there but one God. Son. I do not only affirm and confess it with my mouth, but I also most certainly do believe it with my heart. " It is the Lord that made the heavens," which is the true and alone God ; " as for the gods of the heathen, they are devils," as the psalmograph saith. And therefore in the con fession of my faith I say, " I believe in God," and not in gods. For there is but one 1 cor. vm. God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as God himself testifieth, saying : p ' IV' " Behold, I am alone, and there is none other God besides me." Deut. xxxii. Father. Wherefore dost thou call God Father in the confession of thy faith, saying, " I believe in God the Father ?" Son. For two causes. First, to declare that in the why we can Godhead there are three distinct Persons, as we heard before, of the which God the Father is the first, which is the true and natural Father of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, begotten from everlasting, very God of very God, and of the same substance Psai. ex. with the Father. Secondly, to express, that as Jesus Christ is the Son of this first Person in the Deity by natural substance, so likewise through this Christ am I his son also, not by nature, but by adoption ; so that God the Father is now also become my father, and hath made me by grace his son, and inheritor of his heavenly kingdom. And while I am in this world, he conserveth and keepeth me : he nourisheth and comforteth me : yea, and as a most loving and gentle father he blesseth me with all good things necessary both for soul and body. Father. Prove me out of the holy scriptures, that God is the father of the faithful. Son. Moses saith : " Give praise unto our God. Is not he thy father, that hath Deut. xxxii. made and created thee?" The prophet Esay saith: "Thou, O Lord, art our Father i™. lxiii. and Redeemer. Thy name is from everlasting." God himself saith by the prophet Jeremy : " Thou shalt call me, dear Father, and thou shalt turn no more away jer. m. from me." Our Saviour Christ saith: "Call no man your father upon the earth; for Matt, xxiii. one is your Father, which is in heaven." St Paul saith : " As many as are led by K«n>. viu. the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage to fear any more, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, dear Father. , The same Spirit certifieth our spirit, that we are the sons of God. If we be sons, we are also heirs, the heirs, I mean, of God, and fellow- heirs with Christ." St John crieth out on this manner : " O behold, what a won- 1 John iii. , derful love God hath given to us, that we should be called the sons of God !" In fine, God saith: "I will be a father unto you; and ye shall be my sons and daughters." 2cor. vi. Father. But wherefore dost thou call God not only a Father, but also Almighty ? whv^d , __ almighty. , [' A misprint probably for three.} 2 [becon, II.] 18 THE CATECHISM. [Tart Psai. cxv. Luke i. Gen. xvii. Jer. xxxii. Matt. xix. Luke i. Why God the Father is called maker of heaven and earth. Gen. i. Jer. xxxii. Psai. cii. Acts xvii. Eph, iii. Psai. xix. ] Cor. iv. James i. Son. He is caUed Almighty, because He is able to do whatsoever his good pleasure is; and no man is of power to resist his godly will and determination. And this word, Almighty, is a great comfort unto me. For hereof I learn, that as God being my loving father hath a good mind and will graciously to help and succour me, so likewise hath he power and ability to aid and comfort me in all my troubles and necessities; so that in him there is both will and power. Father. Declare unto me by the holy scriptures, that God is almighty. Son. God said unto Abraham : " I am the Almighty God : walk before me, and be thou perfect." By the prophet Jeremy he saith also : " Behold, I am the Lord God of all flesh. Is there any thing too hard for me? Shall any thing be unpossible m my sight, saith the Lord of hosts?" Our Saviour Christ saith also: "With God all things are possible." And the angel Gabriel said to Mary the virgin: "With God shall nothing be unpossible." Father. Thou believest with thy heart, and confessest with thy mouth, not only that God is a Father and Almighty, but also the creator and maker both of heaven and of earth. Son. I both believe and confess. Father. Why callest thou God the Father maker of heaven and of earth? Son. I call God not only a Father, but also almighty. And in that he is almighty, he made both heaven and earth, and all things contained in them, both visible and in visible, yea, and that of nothing. And as he at the beginning made them of nothing, so likewise doth he now still defend, govern, and keep them, even with the same might and power, wherewith he made them at the beginning. Father. Shew unto me by the word of God, that God created all things. Son. Moses saith: "In the beginning God made heaven and earth." Jeremy saith: "It is thou, 0 Lord God, that hast made heaven and earth with thy great power and outstretched arm. For there is nothing too hard for thee." The psalmograph saith: " Thou, 0 Lord, at the beginning madest the earth ; and the heavens are the works of thy hands." St Paul saith : " God made the world, and all things that are in it." Again : " God made all things." Father. What comfort or doctrine dost thou gather of this, that God is the maker of heaven and earth ? Son. Great comfort, and much doctrine. For in believing on this God, which made both heaven and earth, I am right well assured, that I am free from the number of them which do believe, honour, and serve strange and false gods, yea, rather idols and devils ; and that I am the servant, yea, the son by adoption, through Christ Jesu our Lord, of that one and alone true and everlasting God. Again, by the consideration of God's creatures I am taught to know God, his omnipotency, goodness, and providence, whose majesty otherwise I could never com prehend, nor attain unto any part of the knowledge of the same. But in them, as in a certain clear mirror or pleasant glass, I see and behold him, and learn partly to know him, as the apostle saith : " That which may be known of God is manifest among them : for God did shew it unto them : so that his invisible things, that is to say, his eternal power and Godhead, are understand and seen by the works from the creation of the world. So that they are without excuse ; inasmuch as, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but waxed full of vanities in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were blinded." Hereto ap- pertaineth the saying of the psalmograph: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the very firmament sheweth his handy-work." Moreover, hereof I learn that God created me and all his other creatures, both spiritual and corporal, both heavenly and earthly, of nothing, by his mighty power ; and that I have my being, body, soul, wit, reason, discretion, wisdom, knowledge, health, wealth, riches, wife, children, and all that ever I have, of the bounteous liber ality of this creator and maker of heaven and earth ; which, as he by his power hath made me, so likewise by his wisdom and providence doth preserve, keep, govern, and defend me and all that I have. And here am I taught that whatsoever good thing I have, it is the gift of God, the author of all goodness ; and that therefore I ought not to be proud, nor to stand in mine n-] OF FAITH. 19 own conceit, which have nothing of myself that good is, no, not so much as once to2Cor.m. think a good thought, much less to do any good work, but rather to humble myself John xv' before the presence of God's majesty, and to magnify and exalt his glorious name, for the benefits which he most graciously hath bestowed upon me without my deserts, and to labour unto the uttermost of my power to use his gifts unto the glory of his holy name, the profit of my neighbour, and the salvation of my soul. Finally, this comfort have I also, that, forasmuch as I believe in that God the Father, which through his omnipotency and almighty power hath made all things contained in heaven and in earth, I shall lack no good thing necessary either for my body or for my soul; but, while I live in this world, my body shall have sufficient food and raiment for the conservation and maintenance of the same, and after this life my soul, being delivered from the prison of the body, shall enjoy the blessed inheritance of God's glorious and heavenly kingdom. For my wealth and comfort, for my joy and solace, hath God my Father created heaven and earth, and whatsoever is con tained in them. Father. Thou sayest well. But come off, tell me, why dost thou rather say, "I believe in God," than I believe that God is? Son. To believe that God is is com mon not only to the faithful but also to the unfaithful, yea, to the very devils, as St James saith: "Thou dost believe that there is but one God. Thou doest well. But Js™*."-. r What it is the devils believe that also, and tremble.' But to "believe in God' is to put our whole to believe . . . . in God. trust and confidence, not in any creature in heaven or in earth, not in any work or ceremony, but only and alone in this one true and everlasting God, which is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ by nature, and the Father of the faithful by grace, of such omnipotency and almighty power, that at the beginning he made of nothing both heaven and earth, and whatsoever is contained in them ; to look for assuredly all good things at his hands, meat, drink, clothe, wife, children, house, health, &c, remis sion of sins, quietness of conscience, the gift of the Holy Ghost, everlasting life, &c. ; to depend only on him ; in all necessities and troubles to flee unto him, as unto the only and alone haven of health ; to yield ourselves to him both body and soul ; to cleave to him and to his promises both in prosperity and adversity ; and in fine, so wholly to repose, settle, and quiet our minds in him, that we honour, him as our alone God, love him as our most gentle Father, and obey him as our most gracious Lord, which both can and also will help, aid, succour, preserve, and defend us, suffering us to want no good thing either for the body or for the soul, but giving us largely all good things, himself being the highest good, and the fountain or well-spring of all goodness. This faith, this persuasion, this trust, this confidence of God's good ness and mercy, have neither the unfaithful nor the devils ; and therefore they " believe and tremble.'* The faithful have only this faith and confidence ; and therefore James ii. they do believe and rejoice, as St Paul saith : " We, being justified by faith, are at Rom. v peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ : by whom we have a way in through faith unto this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God," &c. Father. Let this suffice at this present for the first part of the christian faith, concerning God the Father. Let us now go in hand with the second part. What followeth ? Son. "And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord." Father. What meanest thou by that? Son. I said unto you before, that there are T^second three distinct and several Persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy christian Ghost, and yet one only God. Of the first Person in the Deity, which is God the Father, you have heard the confession of my faith. Now in most goodly order fol loweth the second part of the christian faith, concerning the second Person in the Godhead, which is here called Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, and our Lord. Father. What believest thou of this second Person in the Deity, Jesus Christ ? Son. As with my heart I do believe, and with my mouth confess the first Person in. the Godhead, that is to say, the Father Almighty, which made heaven and earth, to be very God; so likewise with my heart do I believe, and with my mouth confess, that the second' Person in the Deity, that is to say, Christ Jesus, is very God, begotten 2—2 20 That Christ is God. THE CATECHISM. CPaet after an unoutspeakable manner of God the Father from everlasting, without any diminution of his divine substance, being of the same perfection, omnipotency majesty, wisdom, eternity, glory, &c. And therefore, as I believe and put my whole trust and confidence in God the Father, and most certainly look for all good things ; at ; tas hand, so in like manner do I believe and set all mine affiance and trust in God the fton, hoping to receive all prosperous things also of him, being the Son of God, ana 01 tne same might and power with God his Father. Father. Prove by the holy scriptures that Jesus Christ is God. Son. JNotmng is more easy. And although there be many, and almost innumerable, both sentences and histories in the holy scriptures, which do most evidently prove and declare that Christ Jesus is very God, yet -may it seem for this present sufficient, out of so great a multitude, to select and choose out these few that follow. Father. Agreed. isai. ix. Son. The prophet Esay saith : " Unto us a child is born, and unto ns a son is given : upon his shoulder doth the kingdom lie, and he is called with his own name Wonderful, the Giver of Counsel, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace," &c. isai. xxv. Again he saith: "In that day it shall be said, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he shall save us. This is the Lord, in whom we have hoped. We shall be merry and rejoice in the salvation that cometh of him." Also in another isai. xxxv. place he saith : "They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of onr God, &c. Behold that God cometh to take vengeance; and you shall see the reward that God giveth. God cometh his own self, and will deliver you. Then shall the eyes of the blind be lightened, and the ears of the deaf opened. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the dumb man's tongue shall be loosened." Baruch also saith : Bar. iii. "This is our God, and there shall none other be compared unto him. It is he that hath found out all wisdom, and hath given her unto Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved. Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and dwelt among men." Psai. xiv. The psalmograph also saith : " Thy seat, 0 God, endureth for ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre." Father. Let these testimonies of Christ's divinity suffice concerning the old testa ment. Recite me some out of the new testament. Son. All the books of the new testament do largely bear witness of the Deity of Christ. St Matthew, speaking of Christ, hath these words: "His name shall be called Emanuel, that is to say, God with us," or God and man. St John writeth that, when Thomas the apostle saw John xx. Christ risen from death, he cried out and said, "My Lord, and my God." And in johni. the beginning of his gospel he setteth forth the divinity of Christ plenteously. "In the beginning," saith he, "was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. He was at the beginning with God: all things were made by him; and without him nothing was made that is made," &c. Christ, speaking of himself, John vi«. saith : " Verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am." Again : "lam that living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live johnviii. for ever." Item: "Except ye believe that I am (God), ye shall die in your sins." John xv«. " I and my Father are one." Also in another place : " This is everlasting life, even to know thee the alone true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ." St Paul Rom. ix. saith, that " Christ came of the fathers as concerning the flesh ; which (Christ) is God, coi. h. in all things worthy to be praised for ever. Amen." Again : " In Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead corporally," that is to say, naturally, trnly, and effectually. mt. a. Item : " We look for that blessed hope, and glorious appearing of the great God and coi. i. our Saviour Jesu Christ." In other places St Paul calleth Christ the " image of the Heb. i. invisible God, first-begotten before all creatures," the " brightness of his glory, and Uohnv. the very image of his substance." And St John, speaking of Christ, saith: "The same is very God and everlasting life." Furthermore, the restoring of the blind to their sight, the raising up of the dead unto life, the cleansing of the lepers, the healing of them that were diseased with the palsy, the restoring of men possessed with devils and unclean spirits to their whole mind, the making of the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak, with the other miracles that Christ wrought, do evidently prove that Christ is very God. XIV. JI0 OF FAITH. 21 Father. These things are more open than they may be denied. Now then, seeing it is manifestly declared and proved by the holy scriptures, that Christ Jesus, the second Person in the Godhead, is equal God with God the Father, dost thou also be lieve in him, repose thine affiance, put all thy trust and confidence in him, and look for all good things at his hand? Son. Yea, verily; and therefore, as I said before, "I believe in God the Father," so likewise say I now: "And I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord :" declaring my faith to be all one, both in God the Father, and in God the Son, which although they be two distinct and several Persons in the Deity, yet are they not two Gods, but one God. Our Lord and Saviour Christ saith: " Ye believe in God (the Father) : believe ye also in me." For " I and my Father John are one." "He that seeth me seeth the Father also." "I am in my Father, and hejohnxiv. is in me." And St John saith : " This is the commandment of God, that we believe 1 John iu. in the name of his Son Jesus Christ." For "he that believeth on the Son hath ever- John m. lasting life: but he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.'' Father. And out of this faith mayest thou boldly cry unto this second Person in the Deity, and crave all good things at his hand ? Son. No less than unto the Father. For it is written : "All that believe on him (Christ) shall not be ashamed;" " for there isai. xxviu.. is one Lord of all, rich enough for all that call on him ; so that every one that calleth Joel ii. ' on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And that we may be certain and not doubt, but that salvation cometh also unto us from this second Person in the God head, he is called Jesus. For so soundeth the article: "And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord." Father. What signifieth this name Jesus ? Son. Jesus is an Hebrew word, and what jesui Signifieth a Saviour. signifieth- Father. Who gave the Son of God this name ? Son. God the Father himself, as we read in the gospel. For Matthew writeth thus : " Behold, the angel of the Lord Matt. i. appeared unto Joseph in a dream, saying, Joseph, the son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. She shall bring forth a son ; and thou shalt call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people from their sins." "And the angel said unto Mary, Lo, thou shalt conceive Luke l in thy womb, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus." Father. Why was this name Jesus appropriated and given to Christ of God the why this Father? Son. To declare unto us that he alone is our Saviour, and that we ought to was given seek salvation only at his hand, as St Peter saith : " There is salvation in none other Acts iv. but in the Lord Jesus. Neither is there any other name under heaven given unto men, wherein we must be saved," but only the name of Jesu. And here is another noble and notable testimony of Christ's divinity. For in this that he is a Saviour, and saveth his people from their sins, it is evident that he is true and natural God. For none saveth, delivereth from sin, and giveth everlasting life, but God alone. But all these things doeth Christ. Therefore is Christ very God. Father. Is Christ Jesus alone- a Saviour ? Son. Yea, verily. So teach the holy scriptures. And Christ himself saith by the prophet : " I, I am the Lord, and besides isai- xim. me there is no Saviour." Again: " Thy destruction, 0 Israel, cometh of thyself ; but Hos. xiu. thy salvation cometh only of me." Neither angel in heaven, nor man in earth, nor any ¦ work that we do, seemeth it never so holy, perfect, and righteous, can save us, but this Lord Christ alone, which is called Jesus. Whosoever therefore seeketh salvation at the hand of any other, deceiveth himself, and, as much as in him is, robbeth Christ both of his name and glory. And whosoever presumeth to save other by his own holiness, virtue, or righteousness, he denieth Christ to be Jesus, and is led with the spirit .of antichrist. Christ calleth all them that are grieved and heavy loaden with the Matt. xi. burden of sin unto him, and promiseth to ease them. He sendeth them not to other for to be eased. He " came to seek that was lost," and to give his life a ransom for Matt, xviii. many. "This is a true saying," saith St Paul, "and by all means worthy to beiTim.i: received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." And St John saith: *' To this end hath the Son of God appeared, that he should destroy the works of i John iii. the devil." Again : " In this appeared the love of God toward us, that he sent his 1 John iv. 22 THE CATECHISM. [Tart Jer. xvii. What Christ Why Jesus is called Christ. Psai. xlv. John iii. John i. Christ'skingdom is spiritual. John xviii. Eph. vi. Zech. ix. Luke i. Mic. iv. Dan. vii. The profit of Christ's kingdom. only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. In this is love; not that we loved God, but that he first loved us, and sent his Son to make agreement for our sins." Christ is so alone Jesus, that he only saveth, delivereth from sin, and giveth everlasting life. Whosoever falleth away from this Saviour, and hunteth after other, he doeth nothing else than throw himself headlong into everlasting damnation. Against such backsliders this Son of God, this Jesus, this alone Saviour of the world, crieth out by the prophet on this manner : " Be astonied, 0 ye heavens, be afraid, and be abashed at such a thing, saith the Lord. For my people hath done two evils; they have forsaken me, the well of the water of life, and digged them pits, yea, vile and broken pits, that hold no water." " Cursed is he," saith Jeremy, " that putteth his trust in man, and taketh flesh for his arm; and he whose heart departeth from the Lord. He shall be like the heath that groweth in the wilderness. As for the good thing that is to come, he shall not see it, but dwell in a dry place of the wilderness, in a salt and an unoccupied land. But 0 ! blessed is the man that putteth his trust in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord himself is. For he shall be as a tree that is planted by the water side, which spreadeth out the root unto moistness, whom the heat cannot harm, when it cometh; but his leaves are green," &c. Father. But this second Person in the Godhead is not only called Jesus, but also Christ. Son. So is it. Father. What is Christ to say ? Son. Christ, in the Greek tongue, soundeth in our English speech, Anointed. Father. Why is he called Christ, or Anointed? Son. As God the Father would declare unto us by this name Jesus, that his Son is our alone Saviour, and therefore , true and natural God, so that we should seek our salvation of none, but of him alone ; so likewise by this name Christ he teacheth us, that his Son is our alone king, priest, and prophet. Father. Why was Jesus anointed also with oil, after the manner of kings, priests, and prophets in the old la"W ? Son. The oil wherewith they were anointed was cor ruptible, as they themselves were corruptible and mortal ; but the oil wherewith Christ was anointed was uncorruptible, immortal, heavenly, and spiritual. Father. Of what oil speakest thou? Son. Of that oil which the psalmograph calleth the oil of gladness, saying: "Thou hast loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore hath God, even thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness more than all thy fellows." Father. What is this oil of gladness? Son. The Holy Ghost. With this oil, I mean the Holy Ghost, Christ is most abundantly anointed of God the Father, whereas the other faithful are anointed with this oil according to the measure which God hath given them ; as St John Baptist saith : " God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him," that is to say, Christ. But " of his fulness," and of the overflowing abundance of his Spirit, " have we all received." Father. Hath God anointed Christ to be our king? Son. Yea, verily. But as his anointing is spiritual, so likewise is he a spiritual king; and his kingdom also is spiritual, as he said to Pilate : " My kingdom is not of this world." He ruleth not with the sword of the flesh, but with " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Therefore saith the prophet : " Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, poor, humble, or lowly, sitting upon an ass," &c. He ruleth in the hearts of the faithful with his Spirit and word, defending them from the tyranny of the devil, from the captivity of sin, from the curse of the law, from the sting of death, from the torments of hell, and from everlasting . damnation. For this cause he is called " the Prince of peace." Neither is his kingdom temporal, but perpetual, as the angel saith : " He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the seat of his father David ; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom shall be none end." For he is " the King of kings, and Lord of lords." Father. What profit have we by this kingdom of Christ ? Son. Great and much. You heard before that Christ, being anointed of God his Father to be our king, preserveth and governeth us by his word and Spirit, and leadeth us in the way of holiness and righteousness. Again, he defendeth us from the cruelty of Satan, from the raging II-] OF FAITH. 23 lusts of the flesh, from the vain pleasures of the world, from the thraldom of sin, from the curse of the law, from the sting of death, from the pains of hell, and- from eternal damnation, and hath gotten for us an heavenly and everlasting kingdom. And through this his kingdom he hath also made us kings and conquerors of all our enemies ; so that we may triumphantly and with rejoicing hearts say: "Death, where is thy sting ? 1 Cor. xv. Hell, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law : but thanks be unto God, which hath given us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Hereto pertaineth the saying of St Paul : " Christ through death Heb. u. did put him down, that had lordship over death, that is to say, the devil, that he might deliver them which through fear of death were all their lifetime in danger of Father. Is Christ also our priest ? Son. Yea, the one and alone priest of the new Christ alone testament, whose priesthood as it is most high and most excellent, so is it everlasting Isourpne and perpetual, as the psalmograph saith : " Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Psai. ex. Melchisedech." Father. Why is Christ called a priest? Son. First, because he, being the true Exod. xii. paschal lamb without spot, offered himself on the altar of the cross, a sweet-smelling Eph. v. sacrifice unto God the Father, for the sins of the whole world, and, by the virtue of that one and alone sacrifice once offered for all, he "hath made perfect for ever them Heb.ix. x. that are sanctified ;" so that now we have no need of any other oblations or sacrifices to be offered unto God for our sins. For this our Bishop, with the one and alone sacrifice of his blessed body, hath fully and unto the uttermost finished and brought to pass whatsoever is necessary for our salvation, as the apostle saith : " We are sanctified Heb. x. and made holy by the offering up of the body of Jesu Christ done once for all." Secondly, because he being our alone mediator, advocate, and intercessor, and sitting 1 Tim. 11. on the right hand of God the Father, doth continually pray for us, and appeaseth the Heb.'x. wrath of God daily kindled against us through sin, as St John testifieth : " If any man," i Johnii. saith he, " sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he it is that obtaineth mercy for our sins ; not for our sins only, but for the whole world's." Father. What doth this priesthood of Christ profit us ? Son. Very much. For in The prom this that he is our alone high and everlasting priest, he hath offered sacrifice, as ye have priesthood. heard, to God his Father, which sacrifice is he himself; and by this means hath he pacified the Father's wrath, satisfied for our sins, reconciled us unto God, made us his sons, and fellow-heirs with him of everlasting glory. Again, through this his priest hood, he is made unto God the Father our mediator, advocate, and intercessor, prayeth for us, pleadeth our cause, appeaseth God's wrath, and obtaineth for us all good things necessary either for body or for soul. Moreover, by this his priesthood he hath made us priests to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through him, that is to say, 1 Pet ii. T T 1 T T Tl T 'H L ROttl. XII- ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a lively, holy, and well-pleasing sacrmce unto God ; again, our prayers, praises, thanksgivings, and such other good works, even the fruits of our faith, as St Paul saith : " By Christ offer we the sacrifice of praise alway Heb. xiii. to God, that is to say, the fruit of those lips which confess his name. To do good and to distribute forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." "Ye are an iPetii. holy priesthood," saith St Peter, " for to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." Again : " Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, and a peculiar people, that ye should shew the virtues of him that called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." Father. Is Christ also a prophet? Son. Yea, verily, even the very same prophet, chmttaour of whom it is thus written : " I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren f/eTt. |,' like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will be avenged of him." That Christ is this very prophet, the people also at his coming confessed, saying : "Of a truth this is that prophet that John «. should come into the world." Father. What profit have we by this, that Christ is a prophet? Son. In that he is that prophet, which God so many, years before his coming promised to send, we are XV1U. Acts vii. 24 THE CATECHISM. [Part Isai. Ixi. Luke iv. John iv. Joel ii. Acts ii. Jer. xxxi. Heb. viii. Why Christ is called the only Son of God. Hos. xi. Matt. ii. 2 Sam. vii. Heb. i. Psai. ii. Matt. xvi. John vi. John i. John xi. Mark i. Matt viii. Mark v. Luke viii. John ix. Acts viii. Matt. iii. Matt. xvii. 2 Pet. i. Bom. i. Heb. i. John iii. John i. well assured that he is a schoolmaster sent from God unto us, and hath the words of God in his mouth, and teacheth us the truth, which we ought both diligently to hear, and stedfastlyto believe, according to this saying: "This is my well-beloved Son, for whose sake I am well pleased with man; hear him." Of his prophecy, doctrine, or preaching, Christ himself speaketh on this manner by the prophet : " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me, and sent me to preach good tidings unto the poor, that I might bind up the wounded hearts, that I might preach deliverance to the prisoners, and open the prison to them that are bond, that I might declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of the avengeance of our God, that I might comfort all them that are in heaviness, that I might give unto them that mourn in Sion beauty in the stead of ashes, joyful ointment for sighing, pleasant raiment for an heavy mind ; that they might be called excellent in righteousness, a planting of the Lord for him to rejoice in." Hereunto belongeth the saying of the woman of Samaria : " I know that Messias- shall come, which is called Christ ; and that, when he cometh, he will shew and declare unto us all things." Furthermore, in that Christ is a prophet, he doth also anoint us with the oil of gladness, which is the Holy Ghost, and giveth us also the gift of prophecy, that we both can understand the holy scriptures, and also teach them to other unto the edifying of his church, as he himself saith by the prophet : " I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." Again : " I will put my laws in their minds, and in their hearts I will write them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for they shall know me from the least to the most of them." Father. Let these things suffice concerning the names of Christ and his office. Why dost thou call him the only Son of God ? Son. I am taught by the word of God, which is an infallible verity, so to do. Father. Prove by the word of God, that Christ is the Son of God. Son. God himself saith: "Out of Egypt have I called my Son." Again: "I will be his Father, and he shall be my Son." Item : " Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee." Peter, with his fellow apostles, John Baptist, Nathaniel, Martha, with all the faithful of the new testament (as I may speak nothing of the wicked and damnable spirits), confessed Christ to be the Son of God. Christ said to the blind man, whom he had restored unto his sight : " Dost thou believe in the Son of God ? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him ? Jesus said unto him, Thou hast seen him, and he it is that talketh with thee. And he said, I believe, O Lord; and worshipped him." And the eunuch said unto Philip : " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." God the Father himself with an open voice from heaven twice pronounced Christ to be his Son, saying: "This is my well-beloved Son, in whom I have a singular delight ; hear him." St Paul also saith : " Christ was begotten of the seed of David as pertaining to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with' power," &c. Again : " God in times past diversly and many ways spake unto the fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the world: which Son also is the brightness of his glory, and the very image of his substance," &c. Moreover St John saith: "These things are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, and that ye thus believing might have life through his name." Father. Thou hast proved sufficiently, that Christ Jesus is the Son of God; but thy creed teacheth that he is the only Son of God. Declare that also by the word of God. Son. Christ himself saith: "God hath so dearly loved the world, that he' gave his only-begotten Son, that every one that believeth on him may not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved by him. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is already condemned, because he hath not believed on the name of the only-begotten Son of God." St John Baptist also: saith: "No man hath seen God at any time. The only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." St John the evangelist also writeth H'H OF FAITH. 25 in his epistle: "In this appeareth the love of God toward us; because that God sent uohniv. his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." _ Father. If Christ be the only Son of God, how cometh it then to pass, that the Christ is the faithful are also called the sons of God in so many places of the holy scripture ? Son. &£££ Christ Jesus is the true and natural Son of God, begotten of his Father from ever- f^are'the*" lasting, before aU worlds, of the same substance, majesty, might, and power, with b^adopaon. his Father. The elect and faithful people are also the sons of God, not by nature, but by adoption. Father. What meanest thou by this word adoption? Son. I call adoption when what one doth take a child, which is not his own proper child, begotten of his own body, SS. for his own proper and legitimate child, giving unto him all rights and titles, as though he were truly and naturally his child, not as though he were bound unto it, but doeth it of his own free goodness, and of the very love that he beareth toward him. Even so be we the sons of God by Jesus Christ, in whom and for whose sake God doth love us, adopt, choose, and receive us for his children, and maketh us inheritors of his everlasting and glorious kingdom, as St Paul saith: "Blessed be *ph.i. God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath blessed us with all manner of spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ, according as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world was laid, that we should be holy and with out blame before him through love, and ordained us before through Jesus Christ to be sons and heirs unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherewith he hath made us accepted in his well- beloved Son, by whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace," &c. Again: "Not of the deeds ofM'-""- righteousness which we wrought, but of his mercy hath God saved us, by the fountain of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that we, being justified by his grace, should be heirs of everlasting life through hope." Therefore, when the scripture calleth Christ the Son of God, it is to be understand that he is the Son of God by nature and by the divine substance. But when it nameth the faithful to be the sons or children of God, it is meant by grace and adoption. And so are these sentences to be understand : " So many as received him (Christ), John i. to them he gave power to be the sons of God," &c. " As many as are led by the Rom. vm. Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage to fear any more, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, dear Father. The same Spirit certifieth our spirit that we are the sons of God. If we be sons, we are also heirs, the heirs, I mean, of God, and fellow-heirs with Christ." " Ye are all the sons of God, because ye have believed in Christ Jesu." "Behold, what Gal. m. love the Father hath shewed on us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John a: Father. What learnest thou of this, that Christ is the only-begotten Son of God ? Son. By this I am fully and most certainly persuaded, that Jesus Christ, the second Person in the Deity (in whom I do believe as in the Father), is true, perfect, immortal, and everlasting God, begotten of God the Father before all worlds, of the same majesty, nature, substance, might, and power with the Father. For even as of the substance of a true man there is none born but a true man, so likewise of the sub stance of the true God there is none born but true God. Every thing begetteth ,^$ the thing that is like unto itself in nature and substance. Father. What doth it profit thee, that Christ is the Son of God, yea, God himself? ^^the Son. Very much. For in that he is God, or the Son of God, he is able to forgive of Christ me my sins, to beget me of new by his Holy Spirit, to defend me from mine enemies, to save me, to give me all good things necessary both for body and soul, to make me the son of God and heir of everlasting glory. Father. But wherefore callest thou Christ our Lord? Son. For he is the " Lord i Tim. yi. of lords and King of kings." I with my heart therefore believe, and with my mouth xix.' confess Christ also to be our Lord. Father. Prove by the word of God, that Christ is our Lord. Son. Christ himself saith by the prophet: "I am the Lord; this is my name: my glory will I give toisai.xiii. 26 THE CATECHISM. CPab* John xiii. none other, neither mine honour to graven images." Again : " Ye call me master 1 Cor. i. anfl Lord, and ye say well ; for so am I in deed." St Paul also saith : "God is faithful, by whom ye are called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ, our Bom. i. Lord." Again : " Grace be unto you, and peace from God the Father, and our Lord 1 cor. via. JeSUS Christ." Item : " There is but one Lord, even Jesus Christ ; by whom are all things, and we by him." What profit Father. What profit have we by this, that Christ is our Lord? Son. In that «nvhltta he is our Lord, we are taught, first of all, that we ought to serve, honour, magnify, ourLord. and praise him above all things, and to seek his glory in all our life and conversation, and by no means to commit any thing, whereby the majesty of his name should be Deut. vi. obscured or hindered, according to this commandment : " Thou shalt honour the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve." Secondly, he is called our Lord, that is to say, the Lord of the faithful, because that he through his almighty power doth mightily defend us, and deliver us from the tyranny of all our enemies, sin, death, devil, and hell, and careth and provideth for us, as a bounteous lord and master doth for his true and faithful servants; so that no good thing shall want unto us, profitable either for body or for soul. Father. Hitherto have we heard of the divinity of Christ, that is to say, that Christ is the only-begotten Son of God, and therefore true God: again, that he is our Lord, our buckler, our shield, our strong and mighty tower, yea, our horn of plenty and fountain of all goodness. But come off : is this second Person in the God head, whom thou in thy creed callest Jesus Christ, only God, and not also man? Son. My Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus is not only God, but also man, as the next article of the christian faith doth right well declare. Father. What is that ? Rehearse it. Son. This is it : " Which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary." of the Father. What dost thou believe and confess in this article? Son. That Christ of Christ^ Jesus, the natural Son of God, at the time appointed of his heavenly Father from ever lasting, became man, not after the common order of men, but after a supernatural manner, even by the marvellous working of the Holy Ghost, taking his perfect humanity of the substance of the most pure and undefiled virgin Mary ; and when the time of her deliverance came, he was truly and naturally born of her, and brought forth into this world; so that, as he is true God of the nature and substance of his Father before all worlds, even from everlasting, so likewise is he true man of the nature and substance of his mother Mary. Fatlier. Are there then two natures in the Lord Christ? Son. Yea, verily, the nature of God, and the nature of man. Father. And are both these natures in one person ? Son. Yea, and that without any confusion or separation, so that whole Christ is very God and very man in one and unseparable person. Father. How dost thou prove by the word of God, that Christ was conceived in the virgin Mary's womb without the seed of man, only by the supernatural and won derful operation of the Holy Ghost? Son. The holy scriptures are evident. For Lukei. thus writeth blessed Luke: "The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin spoused to a man, whose name was Joseph, of. the house of David ; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel went in unto her, and said, Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was abashed at his saying, and cast in her mind what, manner of salutation that should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found grace with God. Lo, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the seat of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom shall be none end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing, which shall be. IL1 OF FAITH. 27 born, shall be called the Sen of God." St Matthew also hath these words: "When Matt. i. Mary, Christ's mother, was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and loth to defame her, was minded to put her away secretly. While he thus thought, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, the son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. She shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins. All this was done to fulfil that which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a maid shall be with isai. ™. child, and shall bring forth a son; and they call his name Emmanuel, which is by interpretation, God with us," or God and man. Father. What doth it profit us, that Christ received his perfect humanity and man- head of the virgin Mary without the company of man, only by the marvellous and above-natural working of the Holy Ghost? Son. The commodity and profit hereof is greater than it can be expressed. It is not unknown unto you, that all we sinned, and justly for our sin were condemned unto everlasting damnation in Adam ; so that Rom. v. both we and all our acts are altogether filthy, unpure, and unclean. Our generation, our conception, our birth, our life, our working, our thinking, our breathing, and whatsoever besides we are, have, or do, it is altogether unpure and unclean. For " that John iii. is born of flesh is flesh." " A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruits." " By Matt. nature we all are the children of wrath." And therefore David shamed not thus Eph' " to write of himself and of his being : " Behold, my father begat me in wickedness, Psai. ii. and my mother conceived me in sin." Now to be delivered from this filthy uncleanness and unclean filthiness, it was requisite that one should be born free and utterly estranged from this filthy generation and conception, wherein all we the children of Adam are wrapped, which, by his pure, clean, and holy conception, and blessed nativity and birth, should put away and cleanse the filthiness of our most filthy generation, conception, and birth, which we received of old sinful Adam. And because none among all creatures was found, either 4^@ in heaven or in earth, of such purity and cleanness, that might work and bring this most noble and excellent benefit of everlasting salvation unto mankind, therefore the heavenly Father of his unoutspeakable clemency, goodness, mercy, charity, and love, sent his only-begotten Son into this world, to take upon him the nature of man, but yet not after the common order of nature, but far otherwise, without the help of man, even by the wonderful virtue and power of the Holy Ghost, by this means becoming man, and yet not of the seed of man, (for so should his conception . and nativity have profited us nothing at all ; for of the unclean what can be cleansed ?) and " like unto us in all things, sin alone except." Heb. iv. Father. It was necessary then, that the Son of God should be incarnate by the Holy Ghost, and not by any workman? Son. Yea, verily, for this incarnation of the Son of God wrought by the Holy Ghost is after a certain manner our regeneration; so that through it we, which before were the cursed children of Adam, begotten and conceived of unclean seed, are purified, and made in Christ of carnal spiritual, of filthy clean, of unrighteous righteous, of the fire-brands of hell the sons of God, and heirs of his everlasting glory. Father. As Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost, so was he born of the maid Mary. Son. So saith the article of our faith. Father. But how is that proved by the scriptures? Son. That the Lord Christ should be born of a maid, it was prophesied many years before Christ was born. For thus saith the prophet Esay : " Behold, a maid shall conceive or be with child, and isai. vii. shall bring forth a son ; and they shall call his name Emmanuel." St Matthew saith : " Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, which is called Christ." The angel Gabriel said unto Mary: "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy Luke ii. womb and bear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus." St Paul saith: "When theoai.iv. time was full come, God sent his Son, made of a woman, and made bond unto the law." Father. What is meant when we say, Christ was born of the virgin Mary? Son. VII. 28 THE CATECHISM. [Part Nothing else, than that Christ is true, perfect, and natural man, taking this his humanity Or manhood of the pure and undefiled virgin Mary; so that, as he is true, perfect, and natural God of the substance of God the Father, so likewise is he true, perfect, and natural man of the substance of Mary his mother. And as Christ from everlasting was begotten very God of God his Father, without any mother ; so likewise was he born at the time appointed very man of the virgin Mary his mother, without any father; only by the virtue and power of the Holy Ghost. Father. This is then a certain and undoubted verity, that Christ brought not his body with him from heaven, and so passed through the virgin Mary, as the water goeth through the conduit, but received his perfect humanity of the substance of Mary his mother; so that as of God his Father he is true and natural God, so likewise of Mary his mother he is true and natural man. Son. This is so certain, as nothing is more Heb. ». certain. For St Paul saith, speaking of Christ : " He in no condition taketh on him the angels, but the seed of Abraham taketh he on him." Again : " Forasmuch as the children Rom. i. were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took part with them." Item : "Jesus Christ the Son of God was begotten of the seed of David, as pertaining to the flesh." Rom. ix. Also in another place : " Christ, as concerning the flesh, came of the Israelites." For Gen. iii. this cause in the holy scriptures is Christ called " the seed of the woman," " the Son Luke'iXT' of David," "the fruit of Mary's womb," "the Son of man," &c. Heb.'iv.T1' Father. What profit have we by this, that Christ is true and perfect man, and " like wehaTCby unto us in all things, sin alone except"? Son. Very much. For in that he is not only ofChristam y God, but also man, yea, and that pure and undefiled man, conceived, born, and living without all sin, he is of sufficient dignity, worthiness, and perfection before God the Father, to be our Mediator and peace-maker, to be our high priest and everlasting bishop, to be a sweet-smelling sacrifice for our sins, to be head of the congregation, to be the Lord of the faithful, to subdue Satan, to destroy hell, to deliver us from the bond of sin and from the curse of the law, and to enrich us with all heavenly and spiritual blessings; for whatsoever we have offended in our wicked and sinful flesh, that same hath Christ the Lord recompensed and satisfied. in his most blessed, pure, and holy flesh. And his recompence and satisfaction is accepted of God the Father for isai.ix. our own recompence and satisfaction, as the prophet saith : " A child is born to us, and a son is given to us;" that is to say, to our singular commodity and great profit. Father. How cometh this to pass? Son. By his passion and death, as the article following declareth. Father. Rehearse it. Son. " Suffered under Ponce Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried : He descended unto hell." Father. What doth this article teach thee ? Son. I learn of this article two things. First, my too much misery and wretchedness, into the which I was cast both by mine own sin and Adam's ; which misery and wretchedness was so great and unrecompensable, that from it neither I myself, nor no creature for me, either in heaven or in earth, could deliver me; so that remediless I must perish and everlastingly be damned. Secondly, the exceeding great and immeasurable mercy and love of my heavenly Father toward me, which without, all my deserts, even of his own mere goodness, so greatly tendered my salvation, that he, having but one only-begotten Son, was content to give him unto the death for my sake; so that I, believing on him, and looking for health and everlasting life at my heavenly Father's hand through the passion and death of this his dearly-beloved Son, might be delivered from this my wretchedness, be made free from the tyranny of Satan, and become partaker of everlasting glory, as the Lord Christ John m. himself witnesseth, saying: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lift up, that none that believeth on him perish, but have everlasting life. For God loved the world so dearly, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that none that believe in him should perish, but have everlasting life." Hereto Rom. v. belongeth the saying of St Paul : " God doth wonderfully set forth his love that he hath :) to us, seeing that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then nH OF FAITH. 29 now, seeing we are justified in his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, seeing we are reconciled, we shall be preserved by his life. Not only so, but we also joy in God by the means of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." Father. Whatsoever therefore Christ suffered in his body, did he suffer it for thee and for thy salvation? Son. That is my belief. All that ever Christ did or suffered in his humanity, was altogether done and suffered for my sake. He came down from heaven for my sake. He was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary for my sake. He was circumcised and baptized for my sake. He fasted, prayed, preached, wrought miracles for my sake. He suffered his passion and death for my sake. He rose again for my sake. He is ascended into the kingdom of his Father for my sake. He at the last day shall come again unto the judgment for my sake, and place me with him in the glory of his Father, where I shall most blessedly remain worlds without end. For Christ is mine: how then can it be, but that, whatsoever Christ hath, the same is mine also ? — as St Paul saith : " God spared not his own Son, Rom. v-m. but gave him for us all: how shall he not with him give us all things also?" Father. Declare unto me by the word of God that Christ suffered under Ponce Pilate. Son. In the prayer, which the apostles after Christ's ascension made unto God the Father, these words are contained : " Of a truth, O Lord, against thy holy child Acts iv. Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and also Ponce Pilate, with the gen tiles, and the people of Israel, gathered themselves together in this city, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done." St Paul unto bishop Timothy writeth on this manner : " I give thee charge in the sight of God, 1 Tim. vi. which quickeneth all things, and before Jesu Christ, which under Ponce Pilate witnessed a good witnessing, that thou keep the commandment, and be without spot." David also saith : " The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers took counsel Psai. a. together against the Lord, and against his Anointed." The evangelical history sheweth Mark xv. ' most evidently, that Christ suffered under Ponce Pilate. And the Lord Jesus him- John xix. ' • • * » . Matt xx self divers times before his passion said unto his disciples, that he should "be betrayed Mark x. ' to the heathen, and mocked, and scourged, and spitted on, and slain," &c. Father. What profit hast thou by this, that Christ suffered such and so great torments what profit we have bv and pains? Son. I am not able to express it. The pains, plagues, and punishments, the passion which I both in body and soul ought most worthily to have suffered even in hell-fire, for my great and innumerable sins committed against the majesty of God, those did my Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus most willingly suffer in his most blessed, inno cent, guiltless, and pure body, at the will of his Father, to deliver me from everlasting pains and torments, which most justly were due unto me ; so that it is truly said of the Lord Christ by the psalmograph: "The rebukes of them which rebuked thee fell on me." Again : " I am fain to pay the things which I never took." Father. Prove by the scriptures that the pains which Christ suffered, he suffered them for thy sake, for thy profit and salvation. Son. Christ Jesus is that immaculate and unspotted " Lamb of God," " which never committed any sin, neither was there any Exod. xii. guile found in his mouth." For himself there was no need to suffer. For us therefore 1 Pet. ii. and for our sins he suffered whatsoever he suffered. And that this is true, the holy scriptures declare manifestly. Esay the prophet speaketh on this manner : " We isai. mi. reckoned him so simple and so vile, that we hid our face from him. Howbeit, of a truth, he took away our infirmities, and bare our sorrows and pains. And yet we judged him as though he had been plagued and cast down of God (for his sins): whereas he notwithstanding was wounded for our offences, and smitten for our wick edness. For the pain of our punishment was laid upon him; and with his stripes are we made whole. As for us, we all have gone astray like sheep, every one hath turned his own way. But through him the Lord hath pardoned all our sins." And a little after the prophet, speaking in the person of God, saith : " The punishment came upon him for the sins of my people." St Peter also saith : " Christ hath once i Pet. iii. suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, for to bring us to God." Again : " Christ 1 Pet. iv. hath suffered for us in the flesh." These scriptures with many more do most plainly 30 THE CATECHISM. £Part Isai. liii. Isai. 1. Psai. liv. Psai. xl. Isai. liii. Matt. XX. Mark x. Luke xviii. Matt. xxvi. John* Num. xxi. John xx. [Mattxxviii.] 1 Cor. i. Phil. ii. What profit we have in this, that declare, that those pains which the Lord Christ suffered, he suffered them not for his own (which were utterly none), but for our sins, that we, through the temporal pains of his most innocent and pure body, might be delivered from the eternal and ever lasting pains of hell-fire. Father. Was Christ compelled to suffer these pains, either suffered he them gladly and willingly ? Son. It pleased the heavenly Father of his mere mercy toward mankind, that his only-begotten Son should become man, and suffer those pains which were due unto man for his sin, that by this means the justice of God might be both pacified and satisfied, and man delivered from his most miserable captivity, and made free from the bitter torments of hell. The Son of God, taking upon him the nature of man, and like to man in all things, sin alone except, shewed himself in all things conformable to the will of his heavenly Father, and most willingly " obeyed him unto the death, even the death of the cross," that by this means he, suffering temporal pains in his innocent body, might deliver mankind from the everlasting pains both of body and soul. For thus writeth the prophet of Christ : " He was offered, because it was his good pleasure." And by the same prophet he himself saith : " I offered my back unto the smiters, and my cheeks to the nippers : I turned not my face from shame and spitting." And by the psalmograph he saith : " I will offer sacrifice unto thee willingly." He speaketh of the sacrifice of his body. Again : " Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not have, but a body hast thou ordained me. Burnt offerings and sin-offerings hast thou not allowed. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the beginning of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will, O God." The prophet also saith of him : " When he was pained and troubled, he did not once open his mouth. He was led as a sheep to be slain, yet was he as still as a lamb before the shearer, and did not once open his mouth." His voluntary going up unto Jerusalem, when the time of his passion began to draw nigh, declareth evidently that the passion of Christ was willing and not constrained. When he was apprehended in the garden, and Peter fought for his defence, were not these his words unto thee, Peter ? " Put up thy sword into his place : for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Or thinkest thou, that I cannot pray my Father now to send me more than twelve legions of angels ? But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled ? For thus must it be." Doth not the evangelical history plainly declare, that those which were sent to take Christ could not abide the speech of him, but fell down as dead before him, and could lay no hand on him till he suffered them? Are not these the words of Christ ? " Therefore doth my Father love me, because I give over my life, that I may take it again. No man taketh it from me; but I give it over of myself. I have power to give it over, and I have power to take it again." Father. Where suffered Christ these pains? Son. Upon the cross. For so hath our article : " He suffered under Ponce Pilate, was crucified," that is to say, fastened to the cross. As through the fruit of a tree mankind perished, so through pains suffered on a tree mankind is restored to his former blessed state. The one tree brought death and damnation ; the other, life and salvation. Father. Declare unto me by the word of God, that Christ was crucified and fastened to the cross. Son. It was figured by the brasen serpent, which Moses set up in the wilderness at the commandment of God, that Christ should also be lifted up and nailed on the cross. For so doth Christ himself apply this figure, saying : " Like as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The evangelists write on this manner : " After they came into that place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Jesus and the two thieves ; one on his right hand, the other on his left hand." When " Pilate said unto the Jews, Behold your king ! they cried, Away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify him ! Pilate said unto them, Shall I crucify your king? The bishops answered, We have no king, but an emperor. Then he delivered ; Jesus unto them to be crucified." The angel said to the women: "Ye seek Jesus crucified." St Paul saith: "We preach Christ crucified." Again: " Christ Jesus became obedient to his Father unto the death, even the death of the cross." Father. What profit have we by this, that Christ was crucified or fastened to the cross ? Son. The profit is great and incomparable. II-] OF FAITH. 31 First, in that Christ was crucified and nailed on the cross, and there suffered most Christ was intolerable pains, he by his bitter torments and punishments took away that damnation the cross. which we most righteously in Adam had deserved by eating of the forbidden fruit, and whatsoever besides we of ourselves have committed worthy the pains of hell-fire. " For as by the sin of one (Adam) condemnation came on all men, even so by the Rom. v. justifying of one cometh the righteousness that bringeth life upon all men. For as by one man's disobedience many became sinners, so by the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous." Secondly, Christ, being crucified and fastened to the tree, became accursed for our sake, and by this means delivered us from the curse of the law, as St Paul testifieth, saying : " Christ hath delivered us from the curse of the law, and was made accursed Gal. m. for us. For it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on tree." Deut. xxi. Thirdly, the crucifying or fastening of Christ unto the cross preacheth to us, that as he was lifted up on the cross, so likewise, by the virtue of his passion, shall he lift us up unto the kingdom of his Father, as he himself saith : " Now is the judgment John xii. of this world : now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I were lift up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This said Jesus (writeth the evan gelist), signifying what death he should die." Fourthly, in that Christ was fastened to the cross, we are taught, that as Adam through a tree did sin, and by that means cast both himself and all his posterity under the power of the devil; so likewise Christ Jesus through a tree delivered us from the tyranny and power of the devil, and set us again at liberty to serve the living God "in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life." Lukei. Fifthly and finally, Christ crucified hath not only " put out the hand-writing that Col. ii. was against us contained in the law written, and fastened it to his cross, and hath spoiled rule and power, and hath made a shew of them openly, and hath triumphed over them in his own person," but he hath also "reconciled all things unto God, and through the blood of his cross he hath set at peace both things in heaven, and things in earth ;" so that we, which afore were reputed " aliens from the commonweal of Israel, EPh- »• and utterly without Christ," are now " no more strangers and foreigners, but citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the head corner-stone, in whom every building coupled together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Father. Christ was not only crucified for us, but he also died for us and for our sins. Son. That is most certain. For this is the article of our faith : " He suffered under Ponce Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried." Father. Prove by the word of God, that Christ died. Son. Daniel prophesied of Christ's death on this manner: "After those sixty-two weeks shall Christ be slain; and Dan. ix. thev shall have no pleasure in him." Christ himself, long before he died, many and Matt. xvi. J *- * XVII. XX. divers times told his. disciples that he should be slain and suffer death at Jerusalem. Markx. ¦J' -LrU. K.C IX. Bishop Caiphas also prophesied of Christ's death, when he said: "It is more expe- J™^ xi dient for us, that one die for the people, than that all the people should perish." "This spake he," saith the evangelist, " not of himself, but, forsomuch as he was high priest of the same year, he prophesied. For Jesus must die for the people, and not for the people only, but that he should gather together the children of God, which were scattered abroad." " Jesus," saith St Matthew, " cried with a loud voice, and gave up the Matt, xxvii. ghost." Blessed Luke writeth thus: "Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, 0 Father, Luke xxiii. I commend my spirit into thy hands. And immediately he gave up the ghost." St John writeth thus: "When Jesus knew that all was performed, that the scripture John xb. might be fulfilled, he said, I am athirst. There stood a vessel full of vinegar. They filled a sponge with vinegar, and wound it about with hyssop, and held it to his mouth. Now when Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished; and bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." The apostles of Christ, in their sermon, spake on this manner to the Jews: "Ye Acts u. men of Israel, hear these words : Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved of God among you with miracles, wonders, and tokens, which God did by him in the midst of 32 THE CATECHISM. CPakt you, as ye yourselves know also, him (after that he was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God), have ye taken by the hands of unrighteous per sons, and crucified him, and slain him," &c. Of Christ's death St Paul maketh mention almost in all his epistles. I will re-^ Rom. v. hearse certain sentences out of his writings. " God," saith he, " doth wonderfully set forth his love toward us, in that Christ died for us when we were yet sinners." Again: 1 cor. xv. " I delivered unto you that which I also received, which is, that Christ ^ died for Phil. ii. our sins." Also in another place : " Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesu, which, being in the shape of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the shape of a servant, became like another man, and was found in his apparel as a man : he humbled himself, and became. obedient unto the death, even the death of the cross." Hereto appertaineth the saying 1 Pet. i«. of St Peter : " Christ died once for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous," &c. What profit Father. What profit have we by the death of Christ? Son. Christ by his temporal: the death of death hath for our sake overcome everlasting death, whereunto through sin we were HoTxiii. subject and thrall, as Christ himself saith by the prophet : " 0 death, I will be thy l cor.xv. death." Like unto this is that which St Paul writeth : " Death is swallowed up into . victory. Death, where is thy sting ? Hell, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin : the strength of sin is the law : but thanks be unto God, which hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Again, Christ by his death hath overcome Heb. h. him which had the rule of death, as St Paul testifieth, saying : " Christ through death destroyed him that had the rule of death, that is to say, the devil ; and hath set them at liberty, which through the fear of death all their life-time were subject unto bondage." Furthermore, Christ by his death hath made a full and perfect satisfaction to God the Father for all our sins, and hath offered unto him such a sacrifice for all our wicked nesses and trespasses, that it sufficeth without either any repetition of the same, or without any other sacrifice to be added thereunto, for all the offences that have been Heb. x. or shall be committed unto the world's end, as St Paul saith : " With one only oblation hath he (Christ) made perfect for ever them that are sanctified." Again: " We are made holy by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ done once for all." Moreover, by the death of Christ we are not only delivered from all our sins, but also reconciled unto God, received into his favour, and made his sons and inheritors of Rom. v. everlasting glory, as St Paul saith: "If we were reconciled unto God by the death of his Son, when we were yet enemies, much more shall we be saved by him now 2 mm. i. that we are reconciled." Again : " Our Saviour Jesus Christ (by his death) hath taken away the power of death, and hath brought life and immortality." Father. Great are the benefits, I confess, which we have obtained by the death of Gal. vi. Christ ; so that it is not without a cause said of the holy apostle St Paul : " God forbid that I should rejoice in any thing, but in the cross," that is to say, the passion and death, "of our Lord Jesu Christ." But what was done with the body of Christ, after that it was crucified and dead? Son. It was buried. For so is the article of our faith : "He suffered under Ponce Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried." Father. Declare unto me by the word of God, that Christ was buried. Son. The isai. mi. prophet Esay speaketh of Christ's burial on this manner : " His grave shall be given him with the condemned, and his crucifying with the thieves." The four evangelists Matt. xxrii. write that, when Christ was once dead, "Joseph of Aramathia, a good, just man, LuL xx'm. which was a disciple of Jesus, and one that consented not unto the wicked counsel John xix. an(^ jgg^ 0£ the jeWg5 jjut wa;ted for the kingdom of God, went unto Pilate, and besought him that he might take down the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him licence. Then took he down the body of Jesus." " There came also Nicodemus, (which afore came unto Jesus by night,) and brought of myrrh and aloes mingled together about an hundred pound weight. They took the body of Christ, and wound it in fine linen clothes, and laid it in a new sepulchre, wherein was never man laid afore hewn out of a rock ; and they rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and i cor. xv. went their way." St Paul also saith : " Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and was buried." n-] OF FAITH. 33 Father. What doth it profit us that Christ was buried ? Son. First, in that Christ What profit was buried, it doth evidently declare' unto us, that his passion and death were not Christ's6 by fantastical, but true, certain, and unfeigned. Again, that as his body was covered in the grave, so likewise should the sins of the faithful be covered for his sake, and never be imputed unto them nor laid unto their charge. Thirdly, the burying of Christ hath brought this to pass, that our grave, which before was the dungeon of hell, should be translated and turned into a sweet, quiet, and holy dormitory, or resting- place, in the which the godly rest, abiding the joyful day of their resurrection. Finally, - Christ was buried, that we also, being dead through repentance, and buried with him Rom. vi. by baptism, should through grace from henceforth rise out of sin and walk in a new life. Father. What followeth in the creed ? Son. " He went down unto hell." Father. How pro vest thou that Christ went down unto hell? Son. Christ himself by the prophet David saith: "Thou shalt not leave my soul in hell, neither shalt Psai- xvi. thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption." St Peter also saith : " Christ hath once i Pet. iii. suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, for to bring us unto God, and was slain after the flesh, but quickened after the Spirit ; in the which Spirit he also went and preached unto the spirits that were in prison," &c. Father. What profit have we by Christ's descension and going down unto hell ? what profit . ° ° . we have by Son. By this means are we well assured, that Christ hath overcome the devil, broken Christ's descension the serpent's head, destroyed the gates of hell, vanquished the infernal army, and unto heii. utterly delivered us from everlasting damnation, as Christ himself saith by the prophet: " 0 death, I will be thy death. 0 hell, I will be thy destruction." So that now Hos. xiii. with joyful hearts and triumphant voices we may well say with the apostle : " Death i cor. xv. is swallowed up into victory. Death, where is thy sting ? Hell, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin : the strength of sin is the law : but thanks be unto God, which hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Father. Suffered Christ pains also in hell ? Son. Nothing less. For whatsoever ¦€$ pains were to be suffered for our sins and wickednesses, he suffered them alt in his blessed body on the altar of the cross. He went not down .unto hell as a guilty person to suffer, but as a valiant prince to conquer, and as a most puissant and glorious king to triumph over his enemies, and to make us also lords and conquerors of Satan and of all his infernal army. Father. When Christ by his passion and death had wrought this most noble work of our redemption, paid our ransom, satisfied for our sins, appeased God's wrath, and reconciled us unto his favour, what did he then? Son. "The third day he rose again from death." Father. How provest thou that by the word of God? Son. Long before the of the coming of Christ into the flesh it was prophesied not only that Christ should suffer of Christ. and die (as we afore have heard), but also that he should rise again unto life, yea, and that on the third day. By the prophet speaketh Christ himself on this manner : " He shall make us alive after two days, and on the third day he shall raise us up Hos. vi. again, and we shall live before him." Was not the swallowing up of Jonas into the whale's belly, and the deliverance of him again unto the land the third day, a very figure of Christ's death and of his resurrection ? " Jonas," saith the scripture, " was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." "And the Lord spake unto Jonah ii. the fish; and it cast out Jonas again upon the dry land." Certes Christ applieth it unto himself saving : " As Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights, Matt. xii. so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The prophet David, speaking in the person of Christ, saith : " I laid me down and psai. m. slept, but I rose up again; for the Lord sustained me." Again: "My flesh shall rest Psai. xvi. in hope. For thou shalt not leave my soul in hell, neither shalt thou suffer thy Holy xiii. "' One to see corruption. But thou shalt shew unto me the way of life, and make me full of joy with thy countenance." Christ divers times before his passion declared unto his disciples, that he should rise again on the third day from death unto life. Christ himself, many times before his [becon, ii.] 34 THE CATECHISM. [Tart Matt. xvi. Matt. XX. Mark x. Luke xviii. Matt, xxviii. Mark xvi. Luke xxiv. Matt. xvii. Mark ix. Luke ix. Acts xiiL Rom. iv. Rom. viii. 1 Cor. xv. 2 Tim. il 1 Cor. xv. What profit we have by Christ's resurrection. Rom. viii. 1 Cor. xv. Rom. iv. John xi. 1 Cor. xv. 1 Thess. iv. Phil. iii. passion and death, declared unto his disciples that, after he was slain, he should rise again unto life the third day following. The evangelists rehearse his words on this manner: " From that time," saith blessed Matthew, "began Jesus to declare unto his disciples, that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and of the scribes, and of the head priests, and be slain, and rise again on the third day." Again: "Jesus, going up unto Jerusalem, took his twelve disciples with him secretly, and said unto them, Behold, we go up unto Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him unto the death, and they shall deliver him to the heathen to mock, scourge, and crucify him; and on the third day he shall rise again." The like words read we in Mark and Luke. Moreover (as I may let pass the history of Christ's resurrection, lively and largely described of the four evangelists), the angel of God beareth witness of Christ's re surrection on this manner, speaking to the women which came to Christ's sepulchre for to anoint his body: "I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here, but is risen again, as he told you afore." Again : " Why seek ye the living with the dead ? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he said unto you, when he was yet in Galilee, that the Son of man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Furthermore, the apostles testify of Christ's resurrection on this wise: "God hath raised up again Jesus, whereof all we are witnesses." St Paul also maketh many times mention of Christ's resurrection. In a certain sermon, as blessed Luke writeth, he spake these words : " God raised up Jesus from the dead on the third day, which was seen many days of them which went up with him from Galilee unto Jerusalem," &c. In his epistles he hath these sentences, and many such like : " Jesus Christ died for our sins, and rose again for our justification." " It is Christ which died, yea rather, which is risen again." " I delivered that unto you which I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the scriptures." " Remember that Jesus Christ, which came of the seed of David, rose again from the dead." Father. These testimonies of the holy scripture concerning Christ's resurrection may seem abundantly for this present to suffice. But come off, tell me, what profit have we by Christ's resurrection? Son. Such and so great, that without it all is in vain whatsoever Christ hath done for us. For, first of all, by his glorious resurrection he hath shewed himself a most noble and valiant conqueror of death, devil, and hell, and by this his most victorious conquest hath he delivered us from the cruelty and tyranny of our enemies; I mean, death, devil, and hell; so that now we be no more captives and bond-slaves unto them, hut sons and heirs of God, yea, and fellow-heirs with the Lord Jesu of his Father's king dom ; so that we may triumphantly say with St Paul : " Death, where is thy victory ? Death, where is thy sting ? The sting of death is sin ; and the power of sin is the law : but thanks be unto God, which hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Secondly, by Christ's resurrection we be justified and made righteous before God, as St Paul saith: "Christ Jesus died for our sins, and rose again for our justification," or righteous-making. Thirdly, Christ by his resurrection hath made us certain and sure of the resurrec tion of our bodies and of everlasting life, as Christ himself saith: "I am the resur rection and life. He that believeth in me, although he be dead, yet shall he live; and every one that liveth and believeth in me, he shall not die everlastingly." St Paul also saith : " As by Adam all die, so likewise by Christ all shall be made alive." Again : " If we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, even so shall God also bring with him again those which are fallen asleep by Jesus." Item: "Our conver sation is in heaven, from whence we look for a Saviour, even the Lord Jesus Christ, which shall transfigure and change this our vile body, that he may make it like to his own glorious body, according to the power wherewith he is able to make all things subject unto himself." Fourthly and finally, Christ by his glorious resurrection hath given us power, H-3 OF FAITH. 35 through the Holy Ghost, to shake off the miserable yoke of dead works, and the bondage of wicked and ungodly conversation, and to garnish ourselves with all kind of godly virtues ; so that from henceforth we should walk in a new life, and pass over the time of this our pilgrimage in holiness, righteousness, and truth, doing alway that which is acceptable before the majesty of the Lord our God, as St Paul saith : " We Rom. vi. are buried together with Christ through baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead through the glory of his Father, so likewise we should walk in a new life." Again : " If ye be risen again together with Christ, seek for those things Coi. iii. which are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. Be careful about heavenly, and not earthly things. For ye are dead ; and your life is hid in Christ with God. Whensoever Christ your life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your earthly members," &c. Once again he saith : " If one died for all, then were all dead ; and he died for all, that they which live 2 cor. v. should no more from henceforth live to themselves, but to him which died for them and rose again." Father. What did Christ after his resurrection? Son. After that the Lord Christ of Christ's ...... t . .. ascension. had shewed himself alive certain days to his disciples, declaring by divers most cer tain arguments that he was unfeignedly and truly risen again from death, by this means shewing himself to be an Almighty God, and Lord over sin, devil, death, and [hell, he by the power of his Godhead, leaving this world, ascended into Mark xvi. heaven visibly and corporally, yea, and that in the presence of his disciples, where Acts i. *" he now remaineth, and shall remain unto the day of judgment, sitting on the right hand of God his Father. For so is the article of our faith, as it followeth in order: " He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty." Father. Prove me by the word of God, that Christ after his resurrection ascended and went up into heaven. Son. We have many and divers testimonies in the holy scriptures of Christ's ascension unto the kingdom of his Father. Father. Let me hear. Son. That prince-like prophet David writeth of Christ's ascension, yea, rather pro- phesieth on this manner : " Thou art gone up on high, and hast led captivity captive, Psai. ixvm. and hast received gifts for men." Again : " God is gone up with great rejoicing, yea, Psai. xivii. the Lord is ascended with the sound of a trumpet." Blessed St Mark writeth of Christ's ascension on this manner : " After the Lord had spoken these things, he was Mark xvi. taken up into heaven, and sat down on the right hand of God." St Luke hath these words : " Jesus led out his disciples unto Bethania, and, lifting up his hands, he Luke xxiv. blessed them. And it came to pass that when he had blessed them, he departed from them, and was carried up into heaven." In the chronicle of the apostles' acts we read thus : " And when Jesus had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was Acts i. taken up ; and a cloud received him up out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly up to heaven, as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, even as ye have seen him go into heaven." Christ in his last sermon maketh mention divers times of his ascension. "I go John xvi. my way," saith he, "unto him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said such things to you, your hearts are fuU of sorrow. Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go my way : for if I go not away, that Comforter will not come unto you," &c. Again: "I went out from the Father, and came into the world; and I leave the world again, and go to the Father." _ . The blessed apostle St Paul writeth on this manner: "God hath raised up Christ Eph.i. from death, and set him on his right hand in heavenly things, above all rule, power, might and dominion, and above all names that are named, not m this world only, but also in the world to come; and hath put all things under his feet, and hath made him above all things the head of the congregation, which is his body and fulness of 3 — 2 Matt, xxvi Mark xiv. Horn. viii. Col. iii. Heb. \. Heb, x, 36 THE CATECHISM. CPart Psauxviii. him that filleth all in all." Again: "He is gone up on high, and hath led captivity Eph Iy captive, and hath given gifts unto men. That he ascended, what meaneth it but that he also descended first of all into the lowest parts of the earth? He that descended is even the same also that ascended up above all heavens to fulfil all things. Item : Heb.ix. "Christ is not entered into the holy places that are made with hands, which are but figures of true things; but he is entered into the very heaven, for to appear now m the sight of God for us." , Father. In the article which thou recitedst, there is not only contained, that Christ "ascended into heaven," but also that he "sitteth on the right hand of God" his Father. This latter part of the article would I have proved by the holy scriptures, I mean, that Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Son. Like as the psalmograph prophesied of the ascension of Christ, so likewise Psai. ex. speaketh he of Christ's sitting on the right hand of God on this manner: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Matt xxvi. Christ himself saith : " Ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power." Sm vm St Paul hath these testimonies concerning this matter: "It is Christ that died, yea, rather that rose again, which also is on the right hand of God, and maketh intercession for us." " If ye be risen with Christ, seek after those things that are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God." Christ "in his own person hath cleansed our sins, and is set on the right hand of the Majesty on high." " This man (Christ), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, sat him down for ever on the right hand of God, and from henceforth tarrieth till his foes be made his footstool." St Peter i Pet. in. also saith: "Jesus Christ is on the right hand of God, and is gone into heaven, angels, power, and might subdued unto him." Father. What profit have we by the ascension of Christ ? Son. Great and large. Father. What is it? What profit Son. First of all, in that Christ ascended into heaven, he hath not only subdued the^cemlon our enemies, the devil, the world, the flesh, sin, death, hell, damnation, &c, gloriously of Christ. fjiuujphmg over them for our sake; but he hath also given us many noble and pre cious gifts, as the Holy Ghost, faith, love, hope, joy, quietness of conscience, patience, long-suffering, temperance, goodness, meekness, continence, &c, which thing David Psai. lxviii. expresseth very aptly 'in this verse : " Thou art gone up on high, and hast led captivity captive, and given gifts unto men." Secondly, in that Christ is gone up into heaven, we are well assured that he is gone, being our head, to prepare a place for us, being his members, as he himself saith : John xiv. "Ye believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it were otherwise, I would have told you. I go to prepare you a place. And if I go away to prepare you a place, I will come again, and take you unto my self, that where I am you also may be with me." Thirdly, in that Christ is ascended into heaven, he is become our Mediator, Advocate, and Intercessor, pleadeth our cause before God his Father, and obtaineth all good Rom. viii. things of him abundantly for us. " Christ," saith St Paul, " is on the right hand of 1 John ». God, and maketh intercession for us." " If any man sinneth," saith St John, " we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ that righteous one. And he it is that obtaineth mercy for our sins ; not for our sins only, but also for all the world's." Fourthly, by the ascension of Christ we have a most certain and sure testimony of our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, and that we shall there remain for ever isai.ixiv. both body and soul with our head Christ, having such joys as "eye never saw the like, ear never heard the like, no tongue is able to express the like, nor heart able to conceive and think the like." And this is it, that Christ hath in his prayer unto John xvii. his heavenly Father : " O Father, whom thou hast given me, I will that, where I am, they also be with me, that they may see my glory which thou gavest me." Father. But what meaneth the scripture to remember and affirm, that Christ sitteth on the right hand of God the Father, when God the Father hath neither right nor left hand ? Son. Truth it is, that God the Father, the first Person in the Godhead, hath neither hand nor foot, neither any other corporal member, as we have, (for, as H-] OF FAITH. 37 Christ saith, " God is a spirit," and " a spirit hath neither flesh nor bones ;)" there- ™™ j£,r fore the scriptures in this behalf are to be understand, not as the bare letter sound, but as it may agree with the other scriptures. Father. What is it then to sit on the right hand of God ? Son. To sit on the right Son the* " hand of God is nothing else, than Christ, God and man, to be of the same might and |$otJd*nd power, of the same glory and majesty with God the Father, to be king, Lord, ruler, and governor over all things both in heaven and in earth, as he himself saith : " All Matt, xxvui. power is given unto me in heaven and in earth;" so that the same honour and praise is due to Christ, God and man, which is due to God his Father. Father. What doth it profit us, that Christ sitteth on the right hand of God the what profit ~ we nave bv Father ? Son. Very much. It certifieth us, that we have a king and a Lord in heaven, Christ's • !• t t sitting on the which hath a care for us, loveth and tendereth us, and defendeth us from our ene- right hand ' . ' of God. mies, and giveth us all good things ; so that we need not fear devil, world, flesh, sin, death, hell, curse, law, damnation, and whatsoever is contrary or enemy to our health, commodity, and salvation : moreover it assureth us, that we, after this our exile and banishment from our native country, which is heaven, shall also be citizens of that blessed kingdom, enjoy the glory of heaven, and behold the majesty of God face to face, sitting with our head Christ in the glorious palace of his Father, worlds without end, noble, triumphant, and victorious conquerors over all our enemies, as St Paul saith : " God, which is rich in mercy, through his great love wherewith he hath Eph. u. loved us, even when we were dead by sin, hath quickened us together in Christ (for by grace are ye saved), and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together with him in heavenly things through Christ Jesus," &c. Father. Remaineth there any other thing concerning our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus in the articles of the christian faith? Son. Christ Jesus, as we have heard, for our salvation took flesh, and was born of the undefiled and pure maid Mary through the wonderful operation of the Holy Ghost, suffered death, rose again from death unto life, ascended by the power of his Godhead into heaven, where he sitteth now at the right hand of God his Father. As he hath done all these things afore said for us and for our salvation, so likewise at the end of this wretched and transitory world shall he come again to give judgment over all flesh, and to render unto every one according to his deeds, rewarding the righteous with everlasting glory, and the un righteous with everlasting punishment. For thus soundeth the article which followeth : " From thence shall he come to judge both the quick and the dead." Father. Let me hear it proved by the holy scriptures, that Christ shall come °^^lt0 from heaven to judge the quick and the dead. Son. As I may let pass the testi- *£ju"s- monies of the old testament concerning Christ's coming unto the judgment, which indeed are very many, Christ himself describeth his manner of coming unto the judgment on this wise : " As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth unto the west, so Matt. xxiv. shall the coming of the Son of man be." " Then shall all the kindreds of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with the great voice of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his chosen from the four winds, and from the one end of the whole world to the other." Again : " When the Son of man cometh in his Matt. xxv. glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit on the seat of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations. And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on the right hand, and the goats on the left," &c. Hereto appertaineth the saying of St Paul: "The Lord himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, and the 1 Thess. iv. voice of the archangel, and trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall arise," &c. Again : " The day of the Lord shall come, even as a thief in the night. When i Thess. v. .they shall say, Peace and no danger, then cometh on them sudden destruction, as the travailing of a woman with child ; and they shall not escape." Now have we heard the manner of Christ's coming unto the judgment lively described and set forth. I will also rehearse a few sentences out of the new testament concerning Christ's judgment. Christ himself saith : " The Son of man shall come in the glory of Matt xvi. 38 THE CATECHISM. [Tart John v. Actsx. 1 Pet. iv. Rom. xiv. 2 Cor. v. What is meant by the quick and the dead. 1 Thess. iv. What profit we have by Christ's coiningunto the judgment. 1 John v. Wisd. v. Luke xxii. 1 Cor. xiii. ] John iii. Rev. vi. Isai. Ixiv. 1 Cor. ii. The third part of the christian faith. Of the Holy (ihost. his Father with his angels, and then shall he reward every man according to their deeds." Again he saith: "The Father judgeth no man, but hath given all the judgment to the Son ; that all should honour the Son, as they honour the Father." "Christ," saith St Peter in a certain sermon, as blessed Luke writeth, "commandeth us, that we should preach to the people, and testify that it is he which was appointed of God to be the judge of the quick and the dead." And in his epistle he writeth on this manner : " All men shall render an accompts unto him", that is to say, Christ, " which shall judge both the quick and the dead." St Paul also saith : " We shall all appear before the judging-place of Christ." Again : " We must all appear before the judging-seat of Christ, that every man may receive his reward according unto that which he hath done in his body, whether it be good or evil." Hitherto appertaineth the saying of the holy apostle Judas in his epistle : " Behold, the Lord shall come with thousands of saints to give judgment over all men." Father. What meanest thou by "the quick and the dead"? Son. By "the quick" I understand them which shall be alive in this world, when Christ shall come unto the judgment; and by "the dead", such as have slept in the heart of the earth from the beginning of the world unto the last day. Father. Why, shall any live in this world when Christ shall come to the judgment ? Son. Yea, verily. For thus writeth St Paul : " Behold I shew you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, and that in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trump. For the trump shall blow, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible, and we all shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." Again, he saith : " This say we unto you in the word of the Lord, that we, which live and are remaining in the coming of the Lord, shall not come yer1 they which sleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from' heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall arise first : then shall we which live and remain be caught up with them also in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord." Father. What profit shall the coming of Christ unto the judgment bring unto us ? Son. This world, which is altogether set on wickedness, shall then have an end. The wicked and bloody tyrants of this world, with all the ungodly of the same, shall come unto confusion, their tyranny and wickedness being made open to the whole world. Yea, these wicked themselves shall confess: "0, these be they whom we sometime had in derision, and thought their ways to be very foolishness." The faithful and godly shall then be wholly delivered and made free from the tyranny of the devil, the world and the flesh, and receive that which long tofore they hoped and looked for, I mean everlasting salvation. They shall see God " face to face," " even as he is." They shall be clad with the white vesture of immortality. They shall receive the crown of glory. Finally, they shall have such joys as " eye* never saw the like, ear never heard the like, no tongue is able to express the like, nor any heart is able to conceive or think the like." Father. Hitherto thou hast not altogether unaptly declared the two first parts of the christian faith, concerning God the Father and God the Son. It remaineth that we ap proach unto the third part of the christian belief, which concerneth the third Person in the Godhead, I mean, the Holy Ghost. What saith the article of our faith in this behalf? Son. " I believe in the Holy Ghost." Father. Why sayest thou, " I believe in the Holy Ghost" ? Son. When I say " I believe in the Holy Ghost", it is thus much in effect : I believe with my heart ' and confess with my mouth, that the Holy Ghost, the third Person in the Deity, is 'equal God with God the Father and God the Son, in essence, power, and majesty,'of whom also, as of the Father and of the Son, one true, living, immortal, and everlasting God I look for all good things appertaining unto the body or unto the soul. [' Conic yer, or come er : come ere, or before, anticipate.] [! Folio, ye.] II-] OF FAITH.' 39 Father. How provest thou that the Holy Ghost is God? Son. Because I say no That the less,^ " I believe in the Holy Ghost," than, " I believe in God the Father, and in Jesus HGodGh°st Christ his only Son." For we may believe in none but in God alone. But I believe in the Holy Ghost ; therefore the Holy Ghost is God. Father. I would hear gladly this thing proved by the word of God. Son. Nothing is more easy. In the first book of Moses we read on this manner : " In the beginning Gen j God made heaven and earth. And the earth was void and empty; and darkness was upon the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the water." Here see we, that the Spirit of God, which otherwise we call the Holy Ghost, was in the beginning at the creation of things, not a spirit then made with other creatures, but a Spirit from everlasting,, proceeding from the Father and the Son, maker of all things with the Father and the Son, being also of like majesty and power, as David witnesseth, saying: "The heavens were made through the word of the Lord, and all the host thereof through the Spirit of his mouth." Here are the three Persons in the Godhead lively set forth in the work of the creation, the Lord, the Word, and the Spirit. Hereof doth it follow that as the Lord, whereby is signified the Father, is God, and as the Word, whereby is understand the Son, is God, so likewise is the Spirit, which is the Holy Ghost, God. Therefore in the creation of man it is not in vain said thus : " God Gen. i. spake, Let us make man." He saith not, I will make man, or let me make man, but he saith, " Let us, us, us," namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, true God, one in divine essence, and three in Persons. So likewise read we of Abraham, which saw three persons, but worshipped one. Gen. xviii. Again, in a certain psalm we read on this manner : " Whither shall I go from Psa>- exxxix. thy Spirit ? or whither shall I fly from thy presence ? If I climb up into heaven, thou art there : if I go down to hell, thou art there also," &c. This sentence of the psalmo graph proveth manifestly and truly the Holy Ghost to be God. For none can be in all places at one time, but God alone. .The Holy Ghost is in all places at one time; therefore is the Holy Ghost God. The prophet Esay also saith: "Who hath reformed3 the Spirit of the Lord? or isai. xi. who is of his counsel to teach him ? At whom hath he asked counsel to make him understand, and to learn him the way of judgment ; to teach him science, and to instruct him in the way of understanding ? Behold all people are in comparison of him as a drop to a bucket-full, and are counted as the least thing that the balance weigheth," &c. These words of the prophet testify also abundantly that the Holy Ghost is very God ; forasmuch as he is reformed of no man, asketh counsel of no man, craveth understanding, doctrine, knowledge, &c, of no man, but hath all these things in himself and of himself: yea, all these things flow out of him unto other, as out of a most rich and plenteous fountain or head-spring ; so that, whatsoever goodness we have, it cometh from this Spirit and Holy Ghost, the author, giver, and worker of all good things. Father. Are there any testimonies of the divinity of the Holy Ghost contained in the new testament ? Son. Very many ; yea, and those both noble and notable. Father. Rehearse one or two. Son. In the baptism of Christ, when the Father Matt iii. made himself open by a voice from heaven, and the Son by taking man's nature upon Luke iii. him, the Holy Ghost shewed himself in the likeness of a dove, to declare that the Holy Ghost is of all one majesty with the Father and the Son, and yet a distinct Person from them both. Our Saviour Christ commanded his disciples to "teach all nations, Matt.xxviu. and to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Except the Holy Ghost were true God, truly giving everlasting salvation, he should not be joined in the works of our salvation with the Father and the Son. But foras much as we be baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost, so must it needs follow, that he is undoubtedly very true God. Moreover, in the chronicle of the apostles' acts we Acts a. read that the Holy Ghost filled the whole house, and sat upon each one of the apostles severally ; so that they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. But this thing can no creature do, I mean, be in divers places at once, as we read here of the Holy Ghost : [3 Reformed : informed.] 40 THE CATECHISM. CPart therefore followeth it necessarily that he is true God, of like might, power, and majesty, 1 Johnv. with the Father and the Son. St John also saith: "There are three which bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one." Who seeth not also by this testimony of St John, that the Holy Ghost is very God, and of the same power, might, and majesty with the Father and the Son ? Whatjrofit Father. These testimonies may suffice for this present concerning the divinity of HoiheGho the Holy Gnost- But come off, tell me, what doth it profit thee that the Holy Ghost is bringeth.08 God, and that thou dost believe in him ? Son. So greatly, that otherwise I cannot be saved. First, in that the Holy Ghost is God, he maketh me which believe in him, of a wretched unclean creature, an holy creature. For he is called the Holy Ghost, not only because he is holy for himself and in himself, or that there may be a difference between him and the wicked and unholy spirits; but also because he sanctifieth and maketh the elect people of God holy, pure, and clean. For as the Father hath created me, and the Son hath redeemed me, so likewise hath the Holy Ghost sanctified me ; without whom I am nothing else but a lump of unholiness, and a very monster of Rom. vrn. wickedness, as St Paul saith : " If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is not John lit of God." And Christ himself saith : " That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Therefore prayeth the prophet David on this Psai. h. manner : " Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 0 give me the comfort of thy help again, and stablish me with thy free Spirit." John xiv. Secondly, this Holy Spirit is a comforter unto us, whensoever either Satan, or the law, or the wrath of God, or sin, or the fear of everlasting damnation, troubleth and disquieteth us and our weak conscience. He also encourageth us valiantly to resist the assaults of Satan, studiously to mortify the lusts of the flesh, stoutly to contemn and despise both the tyranny and flattery of the world, and with a good courage through the strength of faith and innocency of life to walk before the Lord our God. i cor. a. Thirdly, forasmuch as we of ourself are nothing but beast-like, rude, gross, ignorant, and utterly without knowledge of God and of his holy mysteries, this Holy Ghost is a teacher and schoolmaster unto us, informing us of all things appertaining unto our salvation, and leading us into all truth necessary for our profession, as Christ said John xiv. t0 \\s disciples: "The Comforter, that Holy Spirit, whom the Father shall send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that ever I John xvi. have said unto you." Again: "When he, which is the Spirit of truth, shall come, he shall lead you into all truth." Fourthly, this Holy Ghost altereth the whole man, making him of the bond slave of Satan the free servant of God ; of the child of wrath the dearly-beloved son of God ; of the firebrand of hell the inheritor of everlasting glory ; as St Paul saith : Rom. viii. "They that are led with the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Again: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." ' Fifthly, he garnishes us with many glorious and heavenly gifts, which we cannot Gai.v. have 0f ourselves, as faith, hope, love, patience, long-suffering, peace, joy, meekness, temperance, pureness, innocency, gentleness, goodness, mercy, liberality, &c. Sixthly, if at any time through the contemplation of our own frailness, or the consideration of God's high justice, we should fear to have access to the merciful throne of God's grace, this Holy Spirit helpeth, comforteth, assisteth us, yea, and prayeth for us; not only that, but he also through his most sweet and comfortable motions encourageth our minds, that we ourselves also have a certain reverent boldness with our prayers to approach unto the glorious throne of his divine majesty, even as Rom. viii. loving children unto their most loving and dear father, as the apostle saith: "Who soever are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For ye have- not received the spirit of bondage to fear any more, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, dear Father. The same Spirit certifieth our spirit that we are the children of God. If we be children, then are we heirs also I mean, the heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ." Again: "The Spirit helpeth our weakness. For we know not what we should desire as we ought : nevertheless the Spirit II.] OF FAITH. 41 itself maketh intercession mightily for us with unoutspeakable groanings. Howbeit he that searcheth the heart knoweth what the mind of the Spirit is ; for he maketh intercession for the saints according to the pleasure of God." To end, if any end may be found in so overflowing, unsearchable, and bottomless sea of all good and heavenly things, this Holy Ghost is " the earnest of our inherit- Eph. t ance," whereby we are assured in our heart of God's good will toward us, that he loveth us, keepeth and defendeth us, blesseth us with all both ghostly and bodily benefits, and hath made us his sons and heirs of his most glorious kingdom. Father. Hitherto hast thou declared unto me thy faith concerning that true, living, Rom. viii. immortal, and everlasting God, one in divine substance, and yet in that divine sub stance three several Persons, God the Father, which made thee; God the Son, which redeemed thee ; and God the Holy Ghost, which sanctifieth thee. What now re- maineth ? Son. The fourth part of the christian faith, which comprehendeth four articles. The fourth Father. Rehearse the first. christianfaith. Son. "I believe that there is an holy universal church, which is the fellowship or of the company of saints." Father. But wherefore sayest thou rather, " I believe that there is one holy universal church," than on this manner, I believe in the holy universal church ? Son. My faith and my belief must be set and reposed in God alone, forasmuch as salvation cometh Psal- •"• from him alone, and not in creatures, be they never so holy and perfect. For vain is the salvation that cometh from man, yea, "cursed be he that putteth his trust Jcr- xvii- and confidence in man, and maketh flesh his arm." If I should say, I believe in the holy universal church, then must I also grant that the church is God, and by this means make four persons in the Godhead, which God forbid. My belief is not in the body, but in the head, which is Christ Jesus our Lord and alone Saviour. Father. What meanest thou by this word "church"? Son. Nothing else than a what this company of people gathered together, or a congregation. And this word " church" in signifieth. the holy scriptures is taken not only for the fellowship or company of the good and faithful, but also of the wicked and unfaithful. St Paul, beside many other places, speaking of that church, which is the company of saints, hath these words : " Christ Eph. v. loved the church, and gave himself for it to sanctify it, and cleansed it in the fountain of water by the word, to make it unto himself a glorious church, having no spot, nor wrinkle, nor any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blame." Of that church, which is the company of the wicked, ungodly, and unfaithful, speaketh that prince-like prophet David on this manner : " I hate and utterly abhor the church psiu. x,;vi. of the malignant and wicked : as for the ungodly, I will by no means keep com pany with them." Father. Why dost thou call the church of Christ " holy" ? Son. To discern it from why p>e 1 ik/r christian other churches, which are unholy. The ethnicks, the Jews, the Mahometans, the anabap- 'I'FS'y8, tists, the Arians, with all the rabble of heretics and sectaries, have their churches also ; but all those churches are the synagogues of Satan, unpure, filthy, stinking, vile, abominable, full of all sin and wickedness. The church of Christ alone, alone is holy, pure, " without spot or wrinkle," as it is written : " Thou art all fair, 0 my love ; Eph. v. and no spot is there in thee." In this church all goodness is to be found: without this church is nothing but sin, wrath, and damnation. Again, the church of Christ is called holy, not for the holiness of itself, (for what member of that church hath not also his infirmity in this life ? as it is written, " If we say we have no sin, i John i. we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Item: "All we offend in many James iii. things,") but for the holiness of Christ, the Son of God, which is the head of the Eph. i. church, which also hath given to his church his holiness, innocency, righteousness, and0"1'1'- whatsoever good thing he hath more, himself being the fountain of all goodness, and hath with all these things clothed, decked, adorned, garnished, and trimmed the church, as his most dear spouse ; so that now, being clothed with Christ's holiness, she may right well be called holy, and without spot or wrinkle. The church of Christ is also called holy, because it is sanctified and made holy of the Holy Ghost, which governeth, ruleth, defendeth, and saveth her, and moveth her continually with his 42 THE CATECHISM. CPam heavenly inspiration unto the fervent study, exercise, and increase of all virtue and godliness. Why the Father. Why is this church called " catholic" or universal ? Son. Because it is not church bound to one certain place, kingdom, or empire, but is dispersed throughout the catholic whole world; so that in all places God hath his elect and chosen people, which be- Johniv. ' lieve in him, call on his holy name, and worship him according to his word, even "in Mark xvi. spirit and truth", according to this commandment of Christ : " Go throughout the Luke xxiv. whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Again : " Ye shall be wit- Matt, xxiv. nesses of me, even unto the furthermost part of the world." Item : " The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole world for a witness unto all nations." Christ's Father. Why dost thou rather say and confess, that there is one holy catholic church is but J ¦> ' • t n one only 0r universal church, than many churches ; seeing there are m the world so many companies, fellowships, or congregations of the faithful, that call on the name of the Lord ? Son. As there is but one head of this holy catholic or universal church, which is the Lord Christ Jesus alone, so likewise is there but One holy church, as it is Cant. vi. written : " One is my dove and my darling. She is the only beloved of her mother, and dear unto her that bare her. When the daughters saw her, they said she was blessed." And, although this holy church in her members be dispersed and scattered abroad throughout the world, so that there be in divers countries divers companies, that profess and confess Christ and his holy gospel ; yet, forasmuch as they are gathered and linked together in one faith and one doctrine, under one head Christ, into whose name alone they are consecrate and sworn, all those so great and so many multitudes l Tim. iii. are counted and called but one church, which church " is the house of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth," so stedfastly founded on the rock Christ, that Epntifvi' "the very gates of hell shall never be able to prevail against her;" so surely "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets," that though abundance of rain Matt.vii. descend, and the winds blow, yet can they not move her; yea, though Satan goeth Lukexxii. never so much about to sift her, yet shall her faith never fail, but remain perfect, whole, and sound. For this church is that holy congregation or fellowship of God's johtnx.xlv' elect, which cannot err, nor be brought into error, much less perish and be damned. certain signs Father. There is at this present day great contention concerning the church, every church of sect sweating to prove that they are the church of God, and that all other, which Christ may 1 n be known dissent from them, are synagogues of Satan : come off, tell me therefore, how the naijogueof true church of Christ may be known from the malignant and wicked churches, which are led with the spirit, not of God, but of the devil. Son. Albeit many signs, tokens, and marks might here be rehearsed, whereby we may easily discern the church of Christ from the synagogue of antichrist, the people of God from the bond-slaves of Satan, the vessels of mercy from the vessels of wrath; yet will I recite at this present only four tokens, or marks, whereby we may truly and undeceivably know the true catholic and apostolic church. Father. Which are those four ? Son. The first is, the sincere, true, and uncorrupt preaching of God's word, without the intermixtion or mingling of man's doctrine, in the which God, that mighty Lord, hath opened himself, his will, his mercy, and favour John viii. to his faithful congregation, as it is written: "He that is of God heareth the words Johnx. 0f God." Again: "My sheep hear my voice;" "as for a stranger, they follow him not, but fly from him; for they know not the voice of strangers." The second is, the true administration of the sacraments according to the institution and ordinance of Christ, as we read of St Paul entreating of the supper of the Lord: i Cor. xi. " That which I delivered unto you received I of the Lord. For the Lord Jesus, the same night in the which he was betrayed, took the bread," &c. The third is, fervent prayer and the diligent invocation of God in the name of our alone Mediator Jesus Christ, with continual thanksgiving for his benefits. The fourth is, ecclesiastical discipline according to the prescript and appointment of God's word. Although many other signs, notes, tokens, and marks, might here be rehearsed, I whereby also the church of Christ may easily be discerned from the synagogue of II.] OF FAITH. 43 antichrist, yet these be the principal and chief; so that, in whatsoever congregation these aforesaid signs be found, there may we well affirm and say the true church of Christ to be, and the faithful people of God. Father. But what dost thou mean by calling the holy universal church " the company why the or fellowship of saints" ? Son. These words, " The company or fellowship of saints" or called the holy men, do nothing else in a manner than declare what the holy universal church fStowshTp01 is ; verily, a company of saints or of holy and godly-disposed persons knit together by one Spirit, in one faith, in one hope, in one love, in one baptism, in one doctrine, having one head, which is Christ Jesus, and serving one God, which is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, "in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life." For Luke i. this fellowship of saints, although they be dispersed never so far abroad, yea, in all quarters under the sun, not only in Europa, but also in India, Persia, &c, be they Jews or gentiles, barbarous or Scythians, have, hold, and maintain one baptism, one faith, one God and Lord, one doctrine, and are led with one Spirit, and make one flock, whereof Christ Jesus is the pastor and shepherd. And in this company or fellowship of saints all things appertaining unto everlasting salvation are common, as the favour of God, remission of sins, quietness of conscience, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and everlasting life; yea, in this holy fellowship there is such a love and hearty good will one toward another (for they are members all of one body, and therefore like af fected and minded), that there is also, as I may so speak, a certain community of temporal Acts iv. things among them, as we read in the Apostles' Acts of Christ's church at the be ginning; so that the rich have not too much, nor the poor too little, but a certain equality is among them, no man wanting, that is of that holy fellowship, but having 2 cor. vui. sufficient to satisfy his necessity; such and so great care one for another reigneth in them, provoked thereunto by the Holy Ghost, which ruleth and governeth that holy congregation and fellowship of saints. Father. I cannot disallow that thou speakest. But as concerning this word " saint," Saint. methink it ought rather to be appropriated unto the saints departed and reigning in glory with Christ, than unto us, which live in this world and are subject to many infirmities. Son. The holy scriptures, both of the old and new testaments, do rather ascribe this word "saint" unto us in this world, which believe in Christ, than unto the godly, which are now in glory with their head Christ. And we are termed why the ° J ' ° * ¦ t 1 faithful in saints by the Holy Ghost in the divine scriptures, first, to put us in remembrance that this world are we are made saints, that is to say, holy, pure, and blameless, by the free grace of God through faith for Christ's sake, and so recounted just and righteous before God for the righteousness not of ourselves, but of our Mediator Christ Jesus : secondly, that we should endeavour ourselves unto the uttermost of our power in all our manners, life, and conversation, to answer to our name, that is to say, to be saints, I mean holy, pure, blameless, good, righteous, merciful, gentle, liberal, and altogether virtuous, " putting on that new man which is shapen after the image of God in true righte- gj>- iv ousness and holiness," as it is written : " Even as he which hath called you is holy, 1 i'et. i. even so be ye holy also in your conversation ; for it is written, Be ye holy, for I am Lev. xix. holy." Father. What doth it profit thee to believe that there is an holy universal church, whatfc pro- which is the company or fellowship of saints, that is to say, of godly and virtuous persons ? Son. Very much. For in believing that there is such an holy church, I am holy well ascertained and fully persuaded, that I also am a member of the same church, and partaker of all the goods of the church, having Christ my head, my bridegroom, and most loving friend, and with him all that ever he hath. Father. What good things are these, which thou hast or hereafter shalt have, Rom. viii. because thou art a member of this holy church ? Son. Even those that are contained in the three last articles of the christian faith now next ensuing. Father. Rehearse them. Son. "The forgiveness of sins." I believe that I, being a member of this holy church, shall have through the of the for- blood of Christ remission and forgiveness of all my sins, be they never so many, great, f£T.** and grievous ; yea, and that not only before or at the time of baptism, but also after Iieve that there is an univi r- sal church. 44 THE CATECHISM. QPart 1 John i. There is no forgivenessof sins, but ¦only in the church of Christ. E.sek. xxxii:. Matt. xi. Isai. Iv. John vii. Hev. xxii. Matt. ix. Luke xix. Luke xv. Matt. ix. Luke vii. Matt. xxvi. Luke xix. xxiii.2 Cor. ii. Philem. All men are sinners. James iii. Luke xvii. Rom. iii. Psai. xiv. Prov. xx. Isai. Ixiv. Psai. cxliii. baptism, even all my life-time and unto the very death, sin I never so oft through the frailness of nature or of ignorancy, or otherwise, if I repent, bewail my sins, crave remission and forgiveness of them through the blood of Christ, with strong faith in the merciful promises of God, that Father of mercies and God of all consolation, yea, and that "not only seven times, but seventy times seven times." For as there is no time wherein we do not sin, even so is there no time wherein the grace and benefit of forgiving our sins is barred and shut up from us of God, if we crave it in the name of Christ, as St John testifieth : " If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." Father. Is there remission of sins in none other congregation, but in the congregation or church of Christ only? Son. No, verily. For to him that is no member of this holy church sin is not remitted but retained. Father. Prove by the holy scriptures, that there is remission of sins laid up in God's treasure-house for all sinners that repent in faith. Son. Are not these the words of God by the prophet? "If the ungodly will turn away from all his sins that he hath done, and keep all my commandments, and do the thing that is equal and right, doubtless he shall live and not die. As for all his sins that he did before, they shall not be thought upon, but in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. For I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner, saith the Lord God, hut rather that he convert and live." Again : " As truly as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but much rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn you, turn you from your ungodly ways, 0 ye of the house of Israel. O, wherefore will ye die?" Also in another place: "It is commonly said, if a man putteth away his wife, and she goeth from him and marrieth with another, should he resort any more unto her after that? Is not this field then defiled and unclean ? But as for thee, thou hast played the harlot with many lovers ; yet turn again unto me, saith the Lord." Item : " Thou shrinking Israel, turn again, saith the Lord, and I will not turn my face from you ; for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not alway bear displeasure against you," &c. " 0 ye shrinking children, turn again, saith the Lord ; and I will be married with you." As I may pass over almost innumerable testimonies of the old testament, which do most manifestly declare, that there is plenty of mercy and abundance of remission of sins laid up in store with God for all sinners that repent and unfeignedly turn unto their Lord God; to whom is it unknown, how lovingly and mercifully Christ Jesus the Lord calleth unto him all such as are grieved and heavy loaden with the burden of sin, and promiseth that he will ease them and give them rest? How oft doth he call them that thirst, and promiseth to give them of the water of life freely! How oft doth he confess that he came " to call sinners unto repentance," and " to seek up that which was lost " ! What other thing do the parables of the stray sheep, of the lost groat, and of the riotous son preach unto us, than that there is mercy in store for all penitent sinners ? Are not these the words of Christ ? " Verily I say unto you, there shall be joy in heaven before the angels of God over one sinner that re- penteth, more than over ninety and nine which need no repentance." What other thing also do the histories of Matthew the publican, of Mary Magdalene, of Simon Peter, of Zache the publican, of the thief, of the incestuous Corinthian, of Paul, of Onesimus, and of such like, than preach unto us, that there is grace, favour, mercy, and remis sion of sins laid up in store in God's treasure-house for all sinners that repent in faith, being members of this holy universal church? Therefore I may right well say: "I believe the forgiveness of sins." Father. We then are all sinners? Son. Yea, verily. For "in many things we all offend." "We are all unprofitable servants." "There is no difference. All have sinned, and want the glory of God." :' There is no man so righteous on the earth which sinneth not." " Who is able to say, My heart is clean, and I am free from sin?" "All our righteousnesses are as a defiled cloth." If God should enter into judgment with us, and deal with us according to our deserts, no man that liveth should be found righteous in his sight. II-] OF FAITH. 45 Father. We may then, although never so sinful, believe, hope, and look for remis sion of our sins boldly at the hand of God, if we unfeignedly repent and turn unto the Lord our God. Son. Nothing is more true. And therefore our Saviour Christ taught us daily to pray on this wise : " And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive Matt. vi. them that trespass against us." Father. Who forgiveth sins ? Son. God alone, as it is written : " No man can God alone. forgive sins, but God alone." And God himself saith : " I am he, yea, I am he indeed, MattlS!"™' which putteth away thy sins, yea, and that for my own sake, and I will remember them no more." " The Lord," saith the psalmograph, " is full of compassion and mercy, Psai. ciii. long-suffering, and of great goodness. He will not alway be chiding, neither will he keep his anger for ever. He dealeth not with us after our sins, neither rewardeth he us according to our wickedness. For look how high the heaven is in comparison of the earth, so great is his mercy also toward them that fear him. Look how wide the east is from the west, so far doth he set our sins from us. Yea, like as a father pitieth his own children, even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear him. For he knoweth whereof we be made, he remembereth that we are but dust." " Who is like Mie. vii. unto thee, O God," saith the prophet Miche, " which pardonest wickedness, and for- givest the offences of the remnant of thine heritage ? Thou keepest not thine anger for ever. And why ? thy delight is to have compassion. Thou shalt turn again, and be merciful unto us ; yea, thou shalt put down our wickednesses, and cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea." Father. What moveth God to be so gentle and merciful unto us, that he will so What mov- bounteously forgive us all our sins, when we repent and turn unto him ? Son. His forgive us own nature, which is altogether good and gracious, and " hateth nothing of all those wisd. xi. things that he hath made." " He hath saved me," saith David, " because it was his pSai. xviii. pleasure." Again : " Freely, and for none of their deserts, shalt thou save them, 0 Lord." *" It lighteth not," saith St Paul, " in any man's will or running, but in the Rom. ix. mercy of God." And God himself saith : " I shew mercy to whom it pleaseth me to Exod. xxxiii. shew mercy, and have compassion on whom it is my pleasure to have compassion." Again : " I am he, yea, I am he indeed, which putteth away thy sins, yea, and that isai. xim. for mine own sake." Item : "Thy destruction cometh of thyself, 0 Israel; but thy sal- Hos. xiii. vation cometh only of me." Father. But seeing that God is not only gracious but also righteous, not only a God the rewarder but also a revenger, not only a Saviour but also a condemner, how cometh us aii good it to pass, that his mercy excelleth his justice, and his judgment giveth place to grace Christ's sake. and favour, so that we be not punished according unto justice, but forgiven according unto mercy ? Son. Christ Jesus is that dearly-beloved Son of God, for whose sake Matt iii. God the Father is well pleased with man. He is our peace-maker. "He by his blood Epii.ji. hath pacified all things both in heaven and earth.'' He hath reconciled us unto God his Father, and set us at one. He is " the perfect fulfilling of the law to justify every Eph. a. one that believeth." He is that " Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the JoimY world." He is that " Mediator between God and man, which gave himself a ransom i Tim. ii. for all men." He is that Advocate, which pleadeth our cause before God the Father, i John ii. and easily obtaineth pardon and forgiveness of our sins. He is that high and everlasting Bishop, "which sitteth on the right hand of God, and maketh intercession for us." He is that Saviour, which " came into the world to save sinners." He is that mighty and valiant conqueror, which hath delivered us from the tyranny of Satan, from the captivity of sin, from the curse of the law, from the danger of desperation, from the dart of death, and finally from the torments of everlasting damnation. To be short, he is our "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that, as it is written, i cor. i. He that rejoiceth should rejoice in the Lord." Father. How or by what means do we obtain and come ye1 this exceeding great By faith we grace favour, and mercy, concerning the remission of our sins at the hand of God for good things Christ's sake ? Son. By faith, as St Paul saith : " Of grace are ye saved through faith, EPh.°ii'. and that not of yourselves ; for it is the gift of God, and cometh not of works, lest any [' Perhaps a mere error for tome by.~\ 46 THE CATECHISM. [Part Acts x. Acts xiii. What profit we have by believing remission of sins. 1 Cor. ii. 1 Cor. vi. Of the resur rection. Rom. Isai. Ezek. xxxvii. man should boast himself." St Peter also saith: "Of Christ all the prophets bear witness, that through his name all they that believe in him shall receive forgiveness of sins." St Paul agreeth with this, as blessed Luke testifieth, saying : " Be it known, ye men and brethren, that through this man (Christ) is preached unto you the forgive ness of sins ; and from all the things whereby ye might not be justified by the law of Moses, by this man (Christ) every one that believeth is justified." Item : " There is no difference : all have sinned, and want the glory of God ; but freely are they made righteous even by his grace through the redemption that is done by Christ Jesu, whom God hath set for a mercy-seat through faith in his blood, to shew the righteousness which availeth before him, in that he forgiveth the sins which were done before under the sufferance of God, which he suffered, that at his time he might shew the righteousness which availeth before him, that he only might be righteous, and the righteous-maker of him which is of the faith of Jesu." Father. What doth it profit thee that thou believest the forgiveness of sins ? Son. By this I am certified and well assured in my conscience, that I am a member of Christ's church. For none doth rightly believe but such as appertain unto the holy congregation of the Christians. Again, that I am partaker of all the merits of Christ's passion and death. Thirdly, that by the blood of Christ all my sins are washed away and utterly forgiven, so that they shall never more be imputed unto me, nor laid unto my charge : not only that, but also that, as all evils be taken away from me by the death and blood of Christ, so likewise by the same are all good things given unto me, as it is written: "Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are made righteous, by the name of the Lord Jesu, and by the Spirit of our God." Father. Let this suffice for this present concerning the article of the forgiveness of sins. What followeth ? Son. " I believe the resurrection of the body." Father. What meanest thou by this ? Son. I believe with my heart, and confess with my mouth, that God by his almighty power at the last day shall raise up from death unto life the bodies of all men, women, and children, that have lived and died from the time of Adam's creation unto the day of judgment, be they good or bad, faithful or unfaithful, and by whatsoever death they perished, whether they were con sumed unto ashes by fire, or devoured of wild beasts, or eaten of the fowls of the air, or swallowed up of the fishes in the waters. Those very same bodies, wherein they lived sometime here upon earth, shall be restored unto them ; so that, body and soul linked together, they shall " all stand before the judging-place of Christ," and there receive their reward according to the works which they have done, be they good or bad. Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that the bodies of the dead shall rise again, and be restored to life at the last day. Son. The scriptures are plentiful in this behalf. The holy man Job speaketh on this manner : " I know, and am fully persuaded, that my Redeemer doth live, and that at the last day I shall rise out of the earth, and be clothed again with my skin, and shall see God in my flesh, whom I myself shall see, and mine eyes shall behold, and none other. This hope lieth buried up in my breast." The prophet Esay saith: "Thy dead shall live again, our bodies shall rise again. Awake and rejoice, ye that dwell in the dust : for thy dew is the dew of life and light." The prophet Ezechiel saith : " The hand of the Lord came upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and let me down in a plain field that lay full of bones ; and he led me round about by them ; and behold, the bones that lay upon the field were very many, and marvellous dry also : then said he unto me, Thou son of man, thinkest thou these bones may live again ? I answered, 0 Lord God, thou knowest. And he said unto me, Prophesy thou upon these bones, and speak unto them, Ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones : Behold, I will put breath into you that ye may live. I will give you sinews, and make flesh' grow upon you, and cover you with skin, and so give you both that ye may live, and know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied, as he had commanded me. And as I was prophesying, - there came a noise and a great motion; so that the bones ran everyone to another. II-] OF FAITH. 47 Now, when I had looked, behold, they had sinews, and flesh grew upon them, and above they were covered with skin ; but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Thou son of man, prophesy thou toward the wind: prophesy and speak to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come, 0 thou air, from the four winds, and blow upon these slain, that they may be restored to life. So I prophesied, as he had com manded me. Then came the breath unto them; and they received life, and stood up upon their feet, a marvellous great sort." And a little after : " Thus saith the Lord God : Behold, I will open your gates, 0 my people, and take you out of your sepulchres, and bring you into the land of Israel again. So shall ye know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you out of them. My Spirit also will I put in you; and ye shall live." The prophet Daniel saith also : " Many of them that sleep in the Dan. xii. dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, some to perpetual shame and reproof." As I may at the last come to the testimonies of the new testament, are not these the words of our Saviour Christ unto the Sadducees, which denied the resurrection of the dead and the immortality of the soul ? " As concerning the resurrection of the dead, have ye Matt, xxii not read what is spoken unto you of God, which saith, I am the God [of] Abraham, and Matt, xxii the God of Isaac, and the God [of] Jacob ? Now is not God the God of the dead, but of the living." Christ said unto Martha of her brother Lazarus that was dead: " Thy brother shall rise again. Martha answered, I know that he shall rise again in John xi. the resurrection at the last day." In another place the Lord Christ, appointing whom Luke xiv. we should call unto our table, namely, the poor, the halt, the lame, the blind, &c. saith, that although they be not able to make us amends, yet shall we be recompensed in the resurrection of the righteous. And that we should not be doubtful of the resurrection of the dead, we read that our Saviour Christ, that most mighty conqueror of sin, devil, death, and hell, raised up certain that were dead unto life, as the widow's son of Nairn, Luke vii. the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus, with divers other. We read also that, after Christ's J^^j" resurrection, "the graves did open, and the bodies of many saints which slept arose, Matt xxm. and came out of the graves, and came into the holy city, and appeared to many." Blessed Luke in the chronicle of the apostles' acts writeth, that St Peter raised up Acta ix- from death unto life a certain woman named Tabitha, otherwise called Dorcas ; again, that St Paul likewise wrought the like miracle upon a certain young man that wasActs*x- dead, named Eutychus. Father. Are there no testimonies of the resurrection of the dead in the epistles of St Paul ? Son. St Paul in all his epistles writeth of nothing so oft and so largely as of the resurrection of the dead. In his epistle unto the Romans he writeth on this manner : " If we be dead with Christ, we believe also that we shall live with him." Bom. vi. Again : " If we be engraft in death like unto him, then shall we also undoubtedly be partakers with him of the resurrection." In his first epistle to the Corinthians he writeth this : " God hath raised up the Lord (Jesus), and he shall raise up us also i Cor. vi. by his power. Know ye not, that your bodies are the members of Christ ?" If our bodies be the members of Christ, then must they also be glorified with their head, Christ. In the fifteenth chapter of the foresaid epistle, the blessed apostle doth prove the resur- i cor. xv. rection of the dead with so manifest reasons and invincible arguments, that it is wonder that the very godless epicures should doubt of it ; which chapter I would wish that all true Christians should diligently commend to memory. I will only give you a taste of it, and of that judge you the residue. Father. It is well said, my son. Let me hear. Son. " If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. If Christ l Cor. xv. be not risen, then is our preaching in vain, and your faith also is in vain; yea, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified against God, that he hath raised up Christ, whom he hath not raised up, if the dead rise not again. For if the dead rise not again, then is Christ also not risen again. But if Christ be not risen again, then is your faith in vain, and ye are yet in your sins : they also that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then are we of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and is become the first- fruits of them that sleep. For by one man cometh death, and by one man the resur- 48 THE CATECHISM. [Past rection of the dead. For as they all die in Adam, so shall they all be made alive in Christ," &c. 2 cor. iv. In his second epistle to the Corinthians he writeth thus : " We know that he which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise us up also by the means of Jesus." Also to the Phil. ai. Philippians : " Our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for a Saviour, even the Lord Jesus Christ, which shall change this our vile body, that he may make it like unto his own glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able also to subdue 1 Thess. iv. all things unto himself." Item to the Thessalonians : " We would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant concerning them which are fallen asleep, that ye sorrow not as other do, which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep by Jesus shall God bring with him. For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we which live and are remaining in the coming of the Lord, shall not come ere they which sleep. For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, and voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall arise first : then shall we, which live and remain, be caught up with them also in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort yourselves one another with these words." Father. We have heard testimonies concerning the resurrection of the dead out of the holy scriptures abundantly. But shall the wicked and ungodly rise again also at the day of judgment, no less than the faithful and godly ? Son. Yea, verily. Father. Where doth that appear in the holy scripture ? Son. In divers and sundry places. Father. Let me hear. Dan. xii. Son. The prophet Daniel saith : " Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, some to perpetual shame and reproof." Our John v. Saviour Christ saith also : " The hour cometh, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of Matt, xxv damnation." And in the gospel of St Matthew, where Christ describeth and setteth forth the form and manner of his judgment, we read that at the last day, "when he shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, he shall sit upon the seat of his glory; and all people shall be gathered before him. And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. Then shall he say unto them that shall be on his right hand, Come hither, ye blessed of my Father, inherit ye the kingdom which was prepared for you from the beginning of the world, &c. Then shall he say unto them also that shall be on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the ever lasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels, &c. And these shall go into everlasting pain, but the righteous into everlasting life." Here is it evident, that all men, both good and bad, faithful and unfaithful, righteous and unrighteous, shall rise again at the day of judgment, and come before the high judge Christ, there to receive a reward according unto their deeds, as Christ himself Kev.xxii. saith: "Behold, I come out of hand, and my reward with me, that I may give to 2 cor. v. every one according unto his works." Hereto agreeth the saying of St Paul: "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." ' Father. With what bodies shall the dead rise again ? Son. Even with the very same bodies wherein sometime they lived in this world. Father. What, mortal, corruptible, heavy, weak, sick, diseased, &c? Son. Nothing less; but immortal, uncorruptible, light, or quick, strong, heathful, perfect &c. Father. How can it be the same body, when it is so altered? Son. The very same body, wherein we have lived here, shall be restored unto us through the mighty power of God, with all the parts and members of the same. The alteration of the body shall be not in substance, but in quality. Our bodies are now mortal and cor ruptible; but at the resurrection they shall be immortal and uncorruptible. Father. Declare by the word of God, that the very same bodies, which we have now, shall be restored unto us at the day of judgment. Son. The holy man Job H-] OF FAITH. 49 saith: " I know, and am fully persuaded, that my Redeemer doth live, and that at the job xix. last day I shall rise out of the earth, and be clothed with my skin, and shall see God in my flesh; whom I myself shall see, and mine eyes shall behold, and none other. This hope lieth buried up in my breast." These words are so plain, that' nothing can be spoken more plainly. St Paul also saith: "This corruptible must puticorxv. on uncorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this cor ruptible shall put on uncorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall the word be fulfilled that is written : Death is swallowed up into victory. Death, isai. xxv. where is thy sting? Hell, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin: the Heb. u.1' strength of sin is the law : but thanks be unto God, which hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Moreover, we read, that in times past, in the Aquilian and Carthagian church, men did use to pronounce this article on this manner: "I believe the resurrection even of this body1." They added to the article these words, "Even of this," to the intent that it might be plainly and evidently expressed, that none other body like unto this shall be raised up or made, but even this very self-same body, wherein we now live, stand, sit, hear, see, walk, sleep, wake, &c. ; yea, and which useth itself here with the soul in all manner of good works. Father. What doth it profit thee, that thou dost believe the resurrection of this what profit body? Son. First, it putteth me in remembrance, that in this world I am nothing bSievtag tL else but a stranger and a pilgrim, and must away from hence, and that therefore I o^thTbody. ought not to set my mind upon the things of this world, but rather " seek after those coi. m. things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Secondly, so often as I say or remember this article of the christian faith, it beateth into my heart a certain reverent fear toward the Lord my God, wherewith I am pro voked to be ware and circumspect, that I commit none unclean thing with this my body, which, being dead, shall once rise again and stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, there to render an accompts, even before the whole world, of all things that it hath done, be it good or bad ; but rather so order it in all my doings, that in this world it may be the temple of the Holy Ghost, and after this life reign with our head Christ in the glory of his Father worlds without end. Thirdly, it encourageth me greatly to suffer in this my body, both patiently and thankfully, whatsoever cross is laid upon me for the glory of my Lord God, and for the testimony of his truth, yea, although it were very death ; being perfectly persuaded that this my body, thus afflicted for the Lord's sake, shall once again be restored unto me after a more perfect and blessed state, than I ever had it in this world, even in all points " like to the glorious body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." pmi. iii. Fourthly, it occasioneth me patiently to bear the departing of my friends, and of such as I most tenderly love, seeing that I am well assured in my heart by the word of God, that they shall live again, not only in soul, which is immortal and never dieth, but in body, although taken away by death, and resolved into earth, dust, and ashes. Fifthly and finally, it provoketh me to be studious of good works, always attempting some good and godly deed in this my body, seeing my labour shall not be vain, but at the resurrection of the righteous, whatsoever good deed I have wrought, it shall abundantly be recompensed me both in body and in soul. Father. What remaineth of the articles of the christian faith? Son. One j>ary ««£.** article, which is this : " And I believe everlasting life. Amen." Father. What meanest thou by that? Son. I believe with my heart, and con- [' Et ideo satis caute ecclesia nostra fidem symboli docet, quae in eo quod a ceteris traditur ' carnis resur- rectionem,' uno additopronomine tradidit ' hujus carnis resurrectionem.' — Symbolum Ruffini in Hieion. Op. Par. 1693—1706. Tom. V. col. 144. Ruffinus was a presbyter of the church of Aquileia ; but his exposi- Qbecon, ii.] tion of the creed was formerly attributed to Cyprian, and is generally now appended to that father's works. Hence, perhaps, the Carthaginian church was under stood to have adopted the same addition to the arti cle. See for further authorities as to the church of Aquileia, Pearson's Exposition of the Creed, Art. xi,] 4 50 THE CATECHISM. [Part Isai. Ixiv. 1 Cor. ii. Wisd. iii. Matt xxii. 1 John iii. •2 Esdr. Matt. xxv. John iii. 2 Cor. Rom. vi. Luke xii. John x. Rev. ii. 1 John v. Rev. xxi. Matt. xxii. Isai. lxvi. John iii. fess with my mouth, that after this transitory and miserable life, which is rather a shadow of a life, if not a death, both my body and soul being linked again together, through the mighty power of God, shall live for ever in the kingdom of God, with out all trouble, pain, sickness, or taste of death any more, in such perfect joy and true felicity, as "eye never saw the like, ear never heard the like, no tongue is able to express the like, nor any heart is able to conceive or think the like." The righte ous shall glister as the shining of heaven, yea, "they shall be as the angels of God." They shall see God " face to face," even " as he is," with all the holy angels and blessed saints of God, which have been from the beginning of the world unto the end of the same; and with them shall they rejoice, glory, and triumph with an unoutspeakable gladness, praising the most high majesty of God, worlds with out end. Father. Declare unto me by the word of God, that there is an everlasting life after this transitory, frail, and short life, which we lead in this world. Son. The prophet Daniel saith : " Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake ; some to everlasting life, some to perpetual shame and reproof. The wise, such as have taught other, shall glister as the shining of heaven; and those that have instructed the multitude unto godliness shall be as the stars world without end." Esdras also hath these words : " I say unto you, 0 ye heathen, that hear and understand : Look for your shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest. For he is nigh at hand, that shall come in the end of the world. Be ready to the reward of the kingdom. For the ever lasting light shall shine upon you for evermore. Flee the shadow of this world : receive the joyfulness of your glory : I testify my Saviour openly. 0 receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him that hath called you to the heavenly kingdom." The Lord Christ saith also : " The righteous shall go into ever lasting life." Again : " God hath so dearly loved the world, that he gave his only- begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Again, in the same chapter: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." Also in another place : " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them everlasting life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave me them, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father am one." Item : " O Father, my hearty desire is, that they, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which thou hast given me." The blessed apostle St Paul saith: "We know surely that, if our earthy house of this dwelling were destroyed, we have a building ordained of God, an house not made with hands, but everlasting in heaven." Father. Is this everlasting life the free gift of God, or is it deserved by our own good deeds? Son. Deserved? What deserve we of ourselves, or by our own works, but the wrath of God and everlasting damnation, if God should deal with us accord ing to our deserts ? " Everlasting life," as Paul saith, " is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." And Christ himself saith: "Fear not, ye little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you a kingdom." Again: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them everlasting fife." Item : " Be thou faithful unto the death ; and I will give thee the crown of life." Hereto appertaineth the saying of St John: "This is the witness, that God hath given us everlasting life, which life is in his Son." "He that hath not the Son hath not life." Again : " We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us a mind to know the true God ; and we are in him which is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and everlasting life." Father. Is this everlasting life given of God to all men indifferently? I mean, so well to the bad as to the good, and to the unfaithful as to the faithful ? Son. Ever lasting life is only given to the faithful : as for the unfaithful, they " have their portion in that lake which brenneth with fire and brimstone," " where is weeping and gnashing of teeth," and "where the worm" that gnaweth the conciences of the damned, "shall never die." Our Saviour Christ saith: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wiU derness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that every one that believeth in him II.] OF FAITH. 51 may not perish, but have everlasting life." Again : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, j0hn v. Whosoever heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, he hath everlasting life, and cometh not into judgment, and is removed from death unto life." Also in another place : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath ever-, John vi. lasting life." Item : " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : he that John in. believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him." These aforesaid scriptures, with many other, do manifestly declare, that everlasting life is only laid up in God's treasure-house for the faithful, and not for the unfaithful ; so that as the one sort, that is to say, the faithful, shall enjoy everlasting life, so likewise the other part, I mean, the unfaithful, shall be cast headlong into " that lake that brenneth with fire and brimstone." Father. And shall the bodies of the faithful enjoy this everlasting life, no less than the souls? Son. Both joined together by the mighty power of God shall be partakers alike of this everlasting life. Father. How can that be, when the holy apostle saith, " Flesh and blood cannot 1 cor. xv. inherit the kingdom of God"? And the Lord Christ saith: "No man goeth up into John m. heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven." Son. Truth it is, that our bodies, as we received them of Adam, (for " that is born John hi. of flesh is flesh," and " by nature we are all the children of wrath,") cannot inherit Eph. u. the kingdom of God : for so are they sinful, mortal, and corruptible. But being regenerate, and born anew by the Spirit of God and holy baptism, and the qualities being changed at the resurrection of the righteous, I mean, corruption into uncorrup- 1 cor. xv. tion, and mortality into immortality, the very same bodies, wherein we have lived, without any alteration of the substance, shall enjoy the kingdom of God, as St Paul2Cor. v. declareth in divers places of his epistles, and as we have abundantly heard heretofore. MS' 'v' Father. What is this everlasting life ? Son. The perfect fruition, sight, and know ledge of God's majesty in his glorious kingdom. "We now see God through a glass i cor. xiii. in a dark speaking, but then shall we see him face to face. We now know God unperfectly, but then shall we know him, even as he now knoweth us." We now behold the majesty of God only with the eyes of our faith, and "it hath not yetuohniii. appeared what we shall be; but we know that, when Christ the Lord shall appear, we shall be like him, and shall see him even as he is." We now, being clad with this mortal and corruptible body, are not at home with the Lord ; but " when this mortality shall be swallowed up of immortality, and this corruption of uncorruption," then shall we be at home with the Lord, and dwell in " an house not made with 2 Cor. v. hands, but everlasting in heaven." Father. What doth it profit thee to believe everlasting life? Son. So greatly, that without this faith the belief of all the other articles profit me nothing at all. So oft as I consider this blessed, glorious, immortal, and everlasting life, it maketh me to fight valiantly against the devil, the world, and the flesh, to seek the glory of the Lord my God unfeignedly, to obey his holy word, will, and commandment, to frame my life according to his pleasure, to do good to all men, yea, even to my very enemies, to bear all kind of adversity, not only patiently but also thankfully ; in fine, to wish for to be loosened out of this miserable and wretched body, and to be with my Lord and Saviour Christ in the kingdom of his Father, where I shall see face to face the glorious majesty of the Lord my God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and understand those heavenly mysteries and secrets, which I, being clad with this gross, mortal, cor ruptible, and sinful body, can by no means attain unto ; where also I shall have the company of the blessed angels, and of all the elect and chosen people of God, which have lived from the beginning unto the end of the world, and with them rejoice in the Lord our God worlds without end. Father. Wherefore dost thou at the end of the articles of the christian faith say, " Amen" ? Son. To declare that even from the very heart I do believe all those articles of the christian faith to be true, which I have now rehearsed, and that whatsoever is contained in them is a most undoubted verity, and hath or shall come to pass unfeignedly, as is in them contained. And thereunto I say once again, Amen. 4 — 2 52 THE CATECHISM. [Part h. Father. We have now handled the two first parts of the Catechism, wherein thou hast not only satisfied, but also overcome my expectation. And I thank my Lord God for thee, my dear child, that he hath through his holy Spirit, in this thy tender age, so graciously endued thee with the knowledge of his holy word. And I beseech him for his mercies' sake to continue his fatherly favour toward thee, and daily more and more to increase the knowledge of his blessed will in thee, that thou mayest at the last become a perfect man in Christ, and serve the Lord thy God in holiness and righteousness all the days of thy life. Son. God give me grace so to do! 53 THE THIRD PART OF THE CATECHISM. OF THE LAW. Father. Now followeth the third part of the Catechism, which thou saidst, as I remember, is the law. Son. Truth it is. Father. Of what law speakest thou? Son. Not of man's, but of God's law. Father. What is this law of God? Son. It is a doctrine containing the certain what the law and unchangeable will of God, teaching what things are holy and pleasant to God, ls' and contrariwise what things are ungodly and displeasant unto him ; again, commanding what we ought to do, and forbidding what we ought to leave undone. Father. Give me examples of this thing. Son. Among the precepts which God will have to be done of us, these are comprehended : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy Deut vi. God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and with all thy strengths.'' Again: " Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath-day." The contrary commandments, I Exod. xx. speak of such as forbid us those things which we ought not to do, are these and such like : " Thou shalt have no strange gods in my sight." " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." "Thou shalt not steal," &c. Father. To whom did God give his law ? Son. He first of all gave it generally to all men, writing it in their hearts, whereby every man did know when he did well or otherwise, his conscience either commending or condemning him for his act : after ward the Lord our God gave it to the people of Israel, when he was determined to erect and stablish a new commonweal among the Israelites; that by this means they might know the certain and express will of God, and frame their lives according to the same. Father. By whom did God deliver his law to the people of Israel? Son. By his servant Moses. Father. Where ? Son. In the mount Sinai. Exod. xix. Father. At what time ? Son. The third month after that the people of Israel At what time . , * A the law was were delivered out of Egypt ; in the year 430 after the promise made to Abraham given. concerning that blessed seed; and after the flood in the year 797; and from the beginning of the world, in the year 2454. Father. After what manner was this law of God given ? Son. With great glory, written with the finger of God in two tables of stone. For when this law of God should be given and published to the people of Israel, God himself, that mighty Lord, came down into the mount Sinai with fire; and there was heard great thundering and much lightning seen in the air. And there was a thick cloud upon the mount, and a noise of a trumpet exceeding mighty, insomuch that the people which were in the tents were wonderful afraid ; for the smoke of the mount went up as the smoke .of a furnace; so that the whole mount was exceeding terrible, and the noise of the trumpet was wonderful mighty. Father. To what end did God give his law to the people of Israel ? Son. Not only to the Israelites in times past gave God his law, (I speak not of the ceremonial or judicial, but of the moral law;) but to us also, and to so many as profess godliness, is that law given, and we owe now no less obedience to it, than heretofore the Jews did; so that we also, which are called Christians, ought diligently to do whatsoever is there commanded, and leave undone whatsoever is there forbidden. Father. I grant. But my question is, to what end, or for what purpose God gave this law? Son. First, that it should be unto us a certain, sure, and undoubted doctrine, why God opening and declaring the everlasting and unchangeable will of God, whereof we may learn both how to frame our life according to the good pleasure of God, and also what works we ought to do, wherewith we may please God, and serve him according to his holy will; lest we, following our own foolish fancies, corrupt judgments, blind aeals, and fleshly good intents, should attempt and do those things which are dis- 54 THE CATECHISM. [Part Unit. xii. pleasant and unacceptable to the Lord our God ; seeing it is written : " Ye shall not do every man what seemeth him good in his own eyes." Again: "That I command thee, do thou only to the Lord : neither put thou any thing thereto, nor take ought Deut iv. therefrom." Item : " Ye shall put nothing to the word which I command you, neither do ought therefrom, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, Eph. ii. which I command you." The holy apostle also saith : " We are the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesu unto good works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them." The names of And for this cause hath the law of God divers names in the holy scriptures, which God in the tend unto this end. The prophet Esay and the psalmograph also call the law of ^loy scrip- q^ u^ w^nesg"5 Decause it testifieth, sheweth, and declareth unto us the good will and isai. viii. pleasure of God. Esay writeth thus : " If any man want light, let him look upon Psai. xix. the law and witness," &c. David saith : " The witness of the Lord is true, and giveth wisdom even unto babes." Moreover, David, Salomon, and our Saviour Christ calleth the law of God "a light." For as the light doth shew to him that walketh in darkness the way perfectly, and how he may safely walk, and without jeopardy; so likewise the law of God sheweth a christian man how he ought to direct his ways, and to walk according to the will of God, neither declining on the right hand nor on the left. And as "he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth," yea, for want of light he goeth out of his way, stumbleth, falleth, hurteth himself, and many times casteth himself into great danger; so, in like manner, he that walketh in the blind darkness and dark blindness of carnal reason, not having the light of God's law, whereunto he may direct his footsteps, falleth into most filthy errors and heresies, embraceth idolatry and super stition in the stead of the true worshipping of God, and, forsaking the alone true God, honoureth idols and false gods : as we may see in the kingdom of the pope, where, for lack of the light of God's word, who is able to express, what false religion, what superstition, what idolatry, what hypocrisy, what heresy, what monstrous sects, what errors, what wicked opinions, what kinds of all abominations do reign? Con trariwise, where the light of God's word reigneth, there is an whole sea of good and godly things; but where the darkness of men's traditions bear rule, there is a world of all evils. Without this light of God's law we utterly know not how we ought to direct our pathways according to the will of God. Look what the "pillar of fire" was to the children of Israel, when they passed through the Red sea, in the night time; the very same unto us, which are tossed with the troublous waves of this world, is the law and word of God. The psalmograph saith : " Thy word, 0 Lord, is a lantern to my feet, and a light to my pathways." Salomon also saith: "The commandment is a lantern, and the law a light." David once again saith: "The commandment of the Lord is bright, and giveth light to the eyes." Hither pertaineth the saying of our Saviour Christ : " This is condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men have loved darkness more than light." St Peter also saith: "We have a sure word of prophecy ; and ye do well that ye take heed thereunto, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawneth, and the day-star arise in your hearts." James i. Furthermore, St James compareth the law of God to a glass. For as in a glass we see what is fair or foul in our face, so likewise when we look in the law of God, we easily see and perceive what is well or evil in our doings; so that through the benefit of this glass, I mean the law of God, we are provoked to amend those things that are amiss, which otherwise should remain and continue in us unto our damnation. Secondly, forasmuch as man of himself is nothing else than a very lump of pride, and soon forgetteth his vileness, nakedness, corrupt and sinful nature, boasting himself even before God to be somewhat, when he is nothing else than mere vanity, and worthy of praise, when he is most worthy of everlasting damnation ; as we may see Luke xviii. in the parable or history of the proud Pharisee and sinful publican, and in divers other of the holy scripture ; God, willing to paint, shew, and set forth man to himself, as it were in his native colours, gave unto him his law, that by the consideration thereof he might learn to know himself, his misery, weakness, impiety, sin, and his Exod . xiii. Psai. cxix. Prov. vi. Psai, xix. John iii. 2 Pet. i. HI] OF THE LAW. 55 unableness to fulfil the law of God, seeing the law is spiritual, and we are carnal; as Rom. vil St Paul testifieth: "By the law," saith he, "cometh the knowledge of sin." Again : Rom. m. " I know not sin, but by the law. For I had not known concupiscence or lust (to Rom. vii. be sin), except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet, or lust. But sin took an Exod. xx. occasion by the means of the commandment, and wrought in me all manner of con cupiscence. For verily without the law sin was dead. I once lived without law: but when the commandment came, sin revived; and I was dead. And the very same commandment, which was ordained unto life, was found to be unto me an occasion of death. For sin took occasion by the means of the commandment, and so deceived me, and by the self commandment slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good. Was that then which is good made death unto me? God forbid! Nay, it was sin," that it might appear, how that sin, by the means of that which is good, had wrought death in me; that sin, by the means of the commandment, might be out of measure sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin, because I allow not that which I do. For what I would, that do I not ; but what I hate, that do I. If I do now that which I would not, I grant to the law that it is good. So then now it is not I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is to say, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing," &c. This end of the law is necessary to be known. For without this knowledge, we esteem of ourselves, of our strengths, of our free will, might, and power, more than becometh us : yea, we think ourselves through our own good works and merits worthy of the favour of God, remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and everlasting life, when we be least of all worthy of those things. But the law uttereth and sheweth us unto ourselves, and maketh evident, plain, and open before our eyes, our own wickedness, misery, and wretchedness ; as we may see in Adam, Heva, Cain, David, Saul, Mary Magdalene, Peter, &c. Yea, the law accuseth, condemneth, killeth, and oasteth us down headlong into hell-fire, with all our works and merits, because we do not fulfil the law with such purity of heart, as the law doth require, according to this saying of our Saviour Christ : " Did not Moses give you a law, and yet none of John v». you keepeth the law?" Hereto belongeth the saying of St Peter: "Why tempt ye Acts xv. God, that ye would put a yoke on the disciples' necks, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" Neither differeth the saying of Moses from this purpose: " Cursed be every one that abideth not in all things which are written in the book of Deut. xxvii. the law, and fulfilleth them." In consideration whereof the law is called " the killing Rom. (v. letter," "the ministry of death and damnation," "the power of sin," &c. fc°r'm; Thirdly, God hath given us his law unto this end, that, after we have perfectly learned of the law our corruption, our wicked nature, our impiety, our pronity unto sin, our slackness unto all goodness, and finally, our feebleness, yea, our nothing in fulfilling the holy, good, and righteous law of God, (lest we, beholding our damnation for not satisfying the will of God, should despair, and be made by this means inhe ritors of hell-fire,) it should be unto us a schoolmaster to point and lead us unto Christ, which is "the end and perfect fulfilling of the law, to make righteous so many as Rom. x. believe on him;" that we, apprehending and laying hand through strong faith on his perfection and fulfilling of the law, might be counted righteous before God, and so become heirs of everlasting glory. For by this means, namely, through faith in Christ, we obtain that of God, which cannot be obtained of the law through works, that is to say, the favour of God, remission of sins, quietness of conscience, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and in fine, everlasting life, as these scriptures following do abundantly testify. Our Saviour Christ saith : " Think not that I am come to break the law or the Matt. .. prophets. No, I am not come to break, but to fulfil." All things written in the law or in the prophets Christ hath unto the uttermost fulfilled, not for himself, but for us, that his fulfilling should be recounted our fulfilling, if we believe on him. This witnesseth St Paul, saying : " Christ is the perfect fulfilling of the law, to justify every Rom. x. one that believeth on him." Again : " Christ hath delivered us from the curse of the Gal. iii. law while he was made accursed for our sake : for it is written, Cursed is every Deut. xxi. 56 THE CATECHISM. [Part Gai. iii. one that hangeth on the tree." Item: "The law was our schoolmaster to drive ue unto Christ, that we might be made righteous by faith. But after that faith is come, now are we no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the sons of God by the Heb. vii. faith which is in Christ Jesus." Also in another place: "The law made nothing perfect, but was an introduction of a better hope ; by which hope we draw nigh unto oai. iv. God." Once again he saith : " When the time was full come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, and made bond unto the law, to redeem them which were under the law; that we through election might receive the inheritance that belongeth unto the natural sons." Hereto appertaineth part of St Paul's sermon, which blessed Luke re- Acts xiii. citeth in his chronicle of the apostles' acts: "Be it known unto you, ye men and brethren, that through this man (Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and that by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Fourthly, God ordained his law, that it should be a bit or a bridle to restrain the evil and disobedient persons from their evil and disobedience, and by this means at the least compel them to walk in an order, and do that which is good and righteous, if not for the love of God, yet for the fear of punishment, as the poet saith : ' Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore ; Oderunt peccare mali formidine poena?.' i Tim. i. Of this use or end of the law speaketh St Paul, saying : " We know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; understanding this, how that the law is not given unto a righteous man, but unto the unrighteous and disobedient, to the ungodly Rom. xiii. and to sinners," &c. Again : " Rulers are not to be feared for good works, but for evil. Wilt thou be without fear of the power ? Do well then ; and so shalt thou be praised of the same : for he is the minister of God for thy wealth. But if thou do evil, then fear; for he beareth not the sword for nought, but is the minister of God to take vengeance on them that do evil." These are the principal and chief causes, which I have now rehearsed, wherefore God hath given us his law, as I have learned of the holy scriptures. Father. How many commandments doth this law of God contain? Son. Ten: whereof four appertain unto God, teaching what our duty is toward the Lord our God, how we ought to serve, honour, and worship him ; again, how we ought to call upon, praise, and glorify his holy name, and behave ourself in all things that concern the glorious majesty of God. The other six teach us what our duty is toward our neighbour, and how we ought to behave ourselves toward him, both in thought, word, and deed. Exod. xx. And for this cause God gave this his law written in two tables of stone : the one containing, as ye have heard, our duty toward God ; the other, toward our neighbour. Father. Rehearse the first commandment. command- Sm' "I am the Lord th? God' which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, ment. even out of the house of bondage : Thou shalt have no strange gods in my sight." Siiedfteis Father- Wherefore doth God U9e 90 solemn and noble preface in the beginning of Lord. his commandments? Why calleth he himself "the Lord" ? Son. The Lord is a name of great majesty and wonderful high excellency, which name is properly due unto our God alone, as he saith by the prophet: "I am the Lord: this is my name. I will give my glory to none other, nor my honour to graven images." And he caUeth himself by this name, " the Lord," to declare and set forth unto us his might, power, and authority, which he of right hath to command all creatures, of whom he alone is the creator, that by this means we may diligently address ourselves unto the perfect accom plishment of his holy and blessed will. SuSh hi Father- Why doth he cal1 himself " our God"? Son- In calKng himself " our God," self our God. he giveth us to understand, that he alone is and will be our high goodness, comfort, help, defence, health, treasure, abundance of all good things, horn of plenty, and bottomless fountain, out of the which we may abundantly draw whatsoever is necessary either [' Hor. Epist. i. xvi. 52, 53.] HI] OF THE LAW. 57 for the soul or for the body, both in this world and in the world to come ; as he said to Abraham : " I am the Almighty God (or as some read, El Shadai, that is, a God Gen. xvii. xv. mighty in power, abundant in riches, sufficient to reward plentifully, and lacking of nothing) : walk before me, and be without spot. I will make my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, throughout their posterities, that it may be an ever lasting covenant ; so that I will be the God of thee, and of thy seed after thee." Again : " Fear not : I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Father. For what cause is mention made here of the deliverance out of Egypt, seeing of the deii- not we, which are called Christians, but the Jews, were delivered out of Egypt, that of Egypt. house of bondage, even from the tyranny of that most wicked king, Pharao ? Son. Their corporal deliverance was a figure of our spiritual deliverance, manumission, and freedom. For as the Israelites were delivered from the captivity of the cruel Egyptians Exod. xiv. by the out-stretched arm and mighty hand of that most mighty God ; even so likewise are we, which are of the household of faith, delivered and made free from the power of the devil, and from the bondage of the world, and from the yoke of sin, death, and damnation, by the passion and death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; yea, and that of God's mere mercy and undeserved liberality, which hath chosen us a peculiar and several people unto himself, and given us the liberty of his most dear sons and the fellowship of everlasting life. In the preface therefore of his law, God maketh mention of the Israelites' deliverance out of Egypt to this end, that we thereby should be put in remembrance of our deliverance out of the spiritual Egypt, that is to say, the tyranny of Satan and hell-fire, and by this means be provoked the more earnestly to embrace the law of God, and to frame our lives according to the same. Father. What doth God require of us in this first commandment, " Thou shalt have what God no strange gods in my sight" ? Son. First, in that we are forbidden to have any strange ul'm'the ° gods in his sight, he signifieth plainly unto us, that he is the one and alone true God, mandment. and that there is none other God but he alone, neither in heaven, nor in earth, nor under the earth. Father. How provest thou that by the holy scripture ? Son. Moses saith : " Take Deut. iv. heed, and imprint it well in your heart, that the Lord is God, both above in heaven, and beneath upon the earth, and that there is none other God." Again : " The Lord is God, and there is none other God but he only." Item : " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God Deut. vi. is one Lord only." God himself saith : " See now that I, I am, and there is none other God but I." Again : " Hear, 0 my people, for I assure thee, 0 Israel, if thou wilt Psai. ixxxL hearken unto me, there shall be no strange god in thee, neither shall thou worship any other God. I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt." By the prophet Esay he saith also : " I am, I am the Lord, and there is none other isai. xini. Saviour. I am the Lord, and besides me there is none other God. Consider, that I am he, before whom there was never any God, neither shall there be any after me. I am only the Lord." Again : " I am the Lord, and besides me there is no God." Hereto isai. xiv. agreeth the saying of St Paul: "We know that there is none other God but one. icor. viii. For although there be that are called gods (as there be gods many, and lords many), yet have we but one God, even that Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." Father. Of this matter we heard abundantly afore in the declaration of the articles of the christian faith. Go forth to express the will of God concerning the first command ment, as thou begannest. Son. Secondly, as I am commanded here to believe, confess, and grant, that there is but one only true and everlasting God, so likewise is it required of me that I put my faith, hope, trust, and confidence in no creature either in heaven or in earth, but in this one God alone; looking for all good things at his hand, be they worldly or heavenly; and thanking him for all the benefits that I receive, whether they appertain unto the body or unto the soul, with this confession, that whatsoever I have, being good and godly, I have it altogether of his mere mercy and undeserved liberality. For as St Paul saith : " What hast thou, that thou hast not received ? If thou hast 1 Cor. iv. received it, why dost thou glory as though thou hadst not received it ?" St James also saith: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down fromjamesi. the Father of lights." 58 THE CATECHISM. [Part Father. How provest thou that, thy whole faith, trust, and confidence ought to Prov. Hi. depend on this God alone ? Son. Salomon saith : " Have thy faith, or put thy trust and confidence, in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not to thine own wisdom." Jer. xvii. The prophet Jeremy pronounceth that man "accursed, which trusteth in man, maketh flesh his strength, and suffereth his heart to depart from the Lord." But he calleth that man " blessed, which setteth his faith and putteth his confidence in the Lord," depend ing wholly on him, and looking for all good things at his hand. St Paul also saith : Heb. xi. " Without faith it is not possible to please God. For he that cometh unto God must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him." To be short, our Mark xi. Saviour Christ saith : " Have your faith and confidence in God." Father. Requireth God in this commandment nothing else but faith in him ? Son. Gai. v. Not only faith, but also love, which issueth and proceedeth out of faith, as fruit out of 1 Tim.'i. the tree, yea, and that " from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and a faith unfeigned," as St Paul saith, doth God require in this commandment. Deut vi. Father. Declare that by the scriptures. Son. Moses saith : " Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord only. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might." In the gospel we read that a certain Mark xii. scribe demanded of Christ : " Which is the chiefest commandment of all ?" To whom Deut. vi. he answered on this manner : " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one God ; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." " And the scribe said unto him, Master, verily thou hast said right. For there is but one God, and there is none other besides him. And to love him with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, is more than brent-offerings and sacrifices." Father. What requireth God in this commandment besides faith and love ? Son. Fear : yea, and that not servile or thrall, but childish and reverent. For God is to be believed as God, loved as a father, feared as a Lord. Deut. x. Father. Let me hear that proved by the scriptures. Son. Moses saith: "Now, Israel, what requireth the Lord thy God of thee, but that thou fear the Lord thy God ; and that thou walk in all his ways, and love him, and serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul ; and that thou keep the commandments of the Lord and his ordinances, which I command thee this day, that thou mayest prosper ?" Salomon Prov. iii. also saith : " Fear the Lord, and depart from evil : so shall thy navel be whole, and Mai. i. thy bones strong." God himself saith by the prophet : " A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master. If I now be a father, where is my honour ? if I be the Lord, where is my fear ?" Father. Requireth God in this precept any other thing, besides faith, love, and fear? Son. Yea. Father. What is that? Son. Honour and service. Deut vi. Father. Where is that proved ? Son. Moses saith : " Thou shalt honour the Lord thy God, and serve him alone." Father. What is the true honour and service of God ? Son. To honour and serve him according to his word, and to do those works, not which carnal reason and blind zeal fancieth, but which God himself commandeth. Of this honour and service John iv. speaketh the Lord Christ in the gospel on this manner : " The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth ; for the Father will have such to worship him. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth." Luke i. Zachary the priest also saith : " God hath delivered us from the power of our ene mies, that we should serve him in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life." Father. May we not also honour and serve other, as angels, saints, or images, as isai. xiii. we do God ? Son. God forbid ! God himself saith by the prophet : " I am the Lord : this is my name. I will give my glory to none other, nor mine honour to graven images." Acts x. We read in the holy scriptures, that when Cornelius the centurion, esteeming more of Peter than he ought to judge of a man, " fell down before Peter, and worshipped him, Acts xiv. peter took him up again, and said, Arise ; for I am a man also." The people of Lystra, for a miracle which was wrought among them, called Paul and Barnabas gods, and HI] OF THE LAW. 59 would have worshipped them as gods. "But Paul rent his clothes, and cried out, saying, Ye men, why do ye these things? We are mortal men also like unto you, and preach unto you the gospel, that ye should turn from these vain things unto the living God, which made heaven and earth," &c. St John also fell down before the angel to worship him ; but the angel forbad him, saying : " Look, that thou do it not. R*y. xix. I am the fellow-servant of thee and of thy brethren, which have the testimony of Jesu. Worship God." All the angels, saints, and blessed spirits cry with one voice : " Not to Psat cxv. us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give the glory, for thy mercy and truth's sake." They all with one accord cast their crowns before the throne of God's majesty, praising and honouring him both day and night, worlds without end, and saying : " Thou art Rev. iv. worthy, 0 Lord our God, to take the glory, honour, and power; for thou hast made all things, and by thy will they are and were created." How grievously did the pro phet Helias rebuke the Israelites, which worshipped both God and Baal ! Were not these his words, "How long will ye halt on both sides? If the Lord be God, follow 1 Kings xviii. him : if Baal be he, follow him"? Father. God then in this his first commandment requireth of us faith, love, fear, and honour. Son. Yea, verily, and that from the very bottom of the heart only and alone, as he saith by Salomon : " O son, give me thy heart." For as " God is a spirit," so will Prov. xxiii. he be worshipped in spirit and truth. And the law of God requireth not only of us outward honest and godly works, but also the pure affects and uncorrupt motions of the mind, with a perfect consent to the law of God concerning the full and due accom plishment of the same. Such as honour and worship God otherwise, God rejecteth and casteth them away by his prophet, saying : " This people draweth nigh unto me, and Lai. xxix. honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Verily, they worship me in vain." Father. Hitherto have we heard, what we ought to do concerning the accomplishment of this first commandment. Declare now also what we are forbidden here to do, that we fall not into the transgression and breaking of this commandment, and so displease the Lord our God. Son. We are forbidden to believe, love, fear, and honour those whom the gentiles and heathen have heretofore through ignorance reputed and taken for gods, when indeed they are nothing but idols, yea devils, as the psalmograph saith : " The gods of the heathen are devils : it is the Lord that made the heavens.'' We are Psai. xcvi. forbidden also to use the art of magic, witchcraft, sorcery, charms, incantations, conju rations, &c. ; to set our affiance and trust in any creature ; to glory in ourselves, blood, kindred, wisdom, strength, riches, beauty, cunning, learning, eloquence, &c. ; to seek health either of body or soul, as the giver thereof, at any creature in heaven or in earth, but only at the mighty hand of God, from whom alone " cometh every good and perfect James l gift ;" again, to receive or set forth any doctrine that fighteth with the word of God ; in fine, to do any thing whereby the glory of God may be obscured, or his holy religion evil reported. Father. In forbidding us to have strange gods, why doth God use these words, "in my sight"? Son. There is nothing hidden from the face of God, which "searcheth Psai. vii. the hearts and reins ;" to whose eyes also " all things are open and naked :" therefore Rev. it doth God require of us in this precept not only an outward reverence of the body, but also the inward honour of the mind, yea, and that a pure and faithful mind, utterly estranged from all idolatry, superstition, hypocrisy, &c. Father. Rehearse the second commandment. Son. " Thou shalt make thee no graven or carved image, nor likeness at all of ^S-4 any thing that is in heaven above, or in earth beneath, or in the waters under the ment' earth. Thou shalt not bow before them, nor worship them. For I the Lord thy God am a strong and jealous God, punishing the wickedness of the parents in the children until the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shew mercy until thousands unto those that love me, and keep my commandments." Father. There are some writers, yea, and those of no obscure fame, (as I may speak nothing of the long custom used in the church, which hath utterly left out this commandment, and to supply the number hath divided the tenth commandment into 60 THE CATECHISM. [Part temples of the Christ ians. two, that is, into the ninth and tenth, contrary to the mind of the lawgiver, whose words, and the order also of the same, ought by no means either to be corrupted, altered, or changed,) which thrust out of the decalogue or ten commandments this second com mandment, as a ceremonial law, serving for the time, but now of none effect concern ing us Christians, to whom it is, say they, lawful to have the images of Christ and of saints in churches, private houses, or elsewhere, without any offence or breach of God's commandment; and therefore, to supply the number of the ten commandments, they also divide, as I said before, the tenth commandment into the ninth and tenth, making of one two, according to the custom used in the pope's church. Son. As touching the custom of reciting the ten commandments according to the appointment of the bishop of Rome, in the which is utterly omitted this second commandment con cerning the forbidding either of making or worshipping of images, it cannot be denied but it is wicked and ungodly, and left out of the pope and of his adherents of a set purpose for the maintenance of images in churches, brought in by the devil and anti christ contrary to the word of God; and therefore ought this custom utterly to be broken, and every commandment to be restored to his proper place, and so to be re cited of the Christians, as it is now used in the best reformed churches. And as for the judgments, or rather opinions and fancies, of certain learned men in this our age, which in this behalf remain still infected with the dirty dregs of that whore of Babylon, I can by no means approve and allow them. For whereas they say, that the second commandment concerning images is ceremonial, and only served for the people of Israel, and not for us, so that it is lawful for us to have images L"wfuHn'the *n our temples, chapels, houses, &c. notwithstanding this commandment; I utterly deny this their doctrine, and affirm it to be most wicked and utterly estranged from the truth of God's word. For if this law be ceremonial, and we set without the limits thereof, then followeth it, that as it is lawful for us to have images in our churches, so is it lawful also to reverence, worship, or honour them : which is so great an ab surdity, that I think they themselves will not allow it, except they be sworn chap lains to pope Gregory III., which made a law, that images should not only be had in churches, as laymen's books, according to the doctrine of pope Gregory I., but that they also should be worshipped and had in greater reverence than ever they were before, and that whosoever were of a contrary opinion, he should be excommunicate and condemned for an heretic1. For throughout the whole course of God's law there is not one commandment so fortressed and confirmed with the testimonies of the holy scripture, and so urged to be observed and kept of God's people, as this is, con cerning the not having or worshipping of images. Therefore as the first, so like wise the second commandment abideth moral, and requireth like obedience. And whereas they exclude it from the number of the ten commandments, and rack that one tenth commandment into two for to supply the number, they do most unjustly, and contrary to the doctrine of the ancient fathers and old catholic doctors of Christ's church. For as our catechist declared unto us, Athanasius, Origenes, Chrysostomus, Gre- gorius Nazianzenus, Hieronymus, Ambrosius, with divers other, both of the ancient and late writers, number this precept among the ten commandments ; and hold that it is a moral law, no less appertaining unto us Christians now, than it did in times past unto the Jews. He said, moreover, unto us, that in the church of God among the Jews, in the old law, there was no image suffered neither of God nor of any saint; although who knoweth not, what a great number of godly persons there lived before the coming of Christ, both patriarchs, judges, kings, priests, Levites, prophets, matrons, virgins, &c? He added furthermore, that, almost five hundred years after Christ's ascension, images could not be suffered to have any place in the temples of the Christians. He told us also an history of a certain holy bishop named Epiphanius, which, coming into a church to pray, saw a veil there hanging, wherein was painted the image of Christ, or of some saint. So soon as he saw it, being greatly offended thereat, he cut the image away, and said, that " it is contrary to the authority of the holy scrip- images in temples de stroyed. Epiphanius. [' In a council held at Rome, a.d. 732. See Concil. Stud. Labbei. Lut. Par. 1671—2. Tom. VI. cols. 1463, 4, 85.] III.] OF THE LAW. 61 tures to have the image of any. man in the church of Christ8." He told us more over of one Serenus, bishop of Massilia", which did not only take away images out of the churches throughout all his diocese, but he also brake them on pieces, and brent them. He brought forth also unto us certain laws and decrees of most noble and virtuous emperors"; again, certain councils6, in the which it was decreed and enacted, that all images should be taken out of the churches and burnt openly ; and that from henceforth no man should presume to make an image either of Christ or of any saint, nor cause it to be painted on the walls of the church where christian men come together for to pray. He alleged unto us the sentence of the great and ancient clerk Lactantius, which saith, that " God cannot be truly worshipped in that place where an image is6." Again : " If your saints (saith he), if the holy mother of Christ be in heaven, why do ye not lift up your eyes unto heaven? Why do ye rather look unto walls and unto stocks, than unto that place where ye believe that they are ? What mean the temples, the tabernacles, yea, and (to be short) what mean those images7 ?" In fine, he said, that the use of images came from the heathen unto us, and alleged Eusebius8 with certain other for his authors; and that therefore they ought by no means to be placed in the temples, chapels, oratories, or houses of the Christians. Father. I can none otherwise but praise thee for thy good remembrance concern ing the doctrine of your catechist, a man both godly and learned. But the image- mongers object and say, that they are laymen's calendars, and are the very same to the lewd, simple, and ignorant people, that books are to the wise, discreet, and learned men. Son. What wisdom, knowledge, or learning can a man get of that thing which is a very block or stone, and utterly without sense ? Can the dumb teach to speak ? the blind to see ? the deaf to hear ? the lame to go ? the dead to live ? Can that which hath no understanding, no wisdom, no learning, teach us to understand, to be wise and learned? O unprofitable schoolmasters! 0 rude teachers! O too much beast-like instructors! "They have mouths," as the psalmograph saith, "and speak not : eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, and hear not : noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, and handle not : feet have they, but they cannot go ; neither can they speak through their throat." They are not able to wipe away the dust from their faces. They have sceptres and swords in their hands, Laws and decrees of princes and bishops against the having of images in churches. Placing of images in churchescame from the old ido laters. Eusebius. The objec tions of the image-mongers answer ed. Images are not profit able books for the lay. [! Prseterea quod audivi quosdam murmurare contra me, quia quando simul pergebamus ad sanc tum locum, qui vocatur Bethel, ut ibi collectam tecum ex more ecclesiastico facerem, et venissem ad villain, quae dicitur Anablatha, vidissemque ibi praeteriens lucernam ardentem, et interrogassem, quis locus esset, didicissemque esse ecclesiam, et intrassem ut orarem : inveni ibi velum pendens in foribus ejusdem ecclesiae tinctum atque depictum, et habens imaginem, quasi Christi, vel sancti cujus- dam : non enim satis memini, cujus imago fuerit. Cum ergo hoc vidissem, in ecclesia Christi contra auctoritatem scripturarum hominis pendere imagi nem, scidi illud, et magis dedi consilium custodibus ejusdem loci, ut pauperem mortuum eo obvolverent et efferrent. Illique contra murmurantes dixerunt ; Si scindere voluerat, justum erat, ut aliud daret velum, atque mutaret. Quod cum audissem, me datuium esse pollicitus sum Nunc autem misi quod potui reperire, et precor ut jubeas presbyteros ejusdem loci suscipere velum a latore, quod a nobis missum est; et deinceps praecipere, in ecclesia Christi ejusmodi vela, quae contra religionem nos- tram veniunt, non appendi — Epiphan. Op. Par. 1622. Epist. ad Joan. Episc. Hieros. Hieron. Interp. Tom. II. p. 317.] [3 Praaterea indico dudum ad nos pervenisse, quod fraternitas vestra, quosdam imaginum adora- tores aspiciens, easdem in ecclesiis imagines con- fregit atque projecit. Et quidem zelum vos, ne quid manu factum adorari posset, habuisse laudavimus ; sed frangere easdem imagines non debuisse indi- camus. Idcirco enim pictura in ecclesiis adhibetur, ut hi qui literas nesciunt, saltern in parietibus videndo legant qua? legere in codicibus non valent. — Gregor. Magni Paps I. Op. Par. 1705. Lib. ix. Indict. ii. Epist. cv. Ad Serenum Massiliens. Episc. Tom. II. col. 1006.] [4 See below, page 71, note 2.J [s See below, page 71, note 5. J [" Quare non est dubium, quin religio nulla sit, ubicumque simulacrum est. — Lactant. Op. Lut. Par. 1748. Divin.Instit.Lib.n. DeOrig. Error, cap. xix. Tom. I. p. 185.] [7 Nempe ideo timetis, quod eos esse in coelo arbitramini : neque enim, si dii sunt, aliter fieri potest Cur igitur oculos in coelum non tollitis? et advoeatis eorum nominibus, in aperto sacrificia cele- bratis? Cur ad parietes, et ligna, et lapides potissi- mum, quam illo spectatis, ubi eos esse creditis'! Quid sibi templa, quid arae volunf! quid denique ipsa simulacra 1 — Id. ibid. cap. ii. p. 116.] [8 Kal Qavp-aarTou oiidev tous TrdXat e£ edvuiit eueoyeTij0eyTas irpos tou Smt^cs r\fiiav TauTa TrGTroirjKevat' ore Kal Ttov dirocrToXwv avTov ras eiaovas TlavXov Kal ileVoou, Kal aiiTou 6?j too Xplo"rou, <5ia xPwf'^'rwv ^v ypafpats o-w£oyueVas IfrToptjtrapEW ais cLkos Ttiov iraXaiwv dirapacpuXaK- TW9, ota (rwrijpas, edviKij trvvtjdeia trap eauToIs tovtov Ti/jLav elaidoTtov toz> TpoTrov. — Hist, Eccles. Script. Amst. 1695—1700. Euseb. Pamph. Lib. vn. cap. xviii. p. 216.] 62 THE CATECHISM. [Part but they are not able to defend themselves. They have candles brenning before them, but they see none of them, neither take they any pleasure of the light. If the house bren over their heads, they are not able to flee that they may escape the danger of brenning. If they fall down to the ground, they cannot rise up again. If any man striketh them, they cannot revenge their quarrel. If the worms eat them, they feel it not. If the owls, sparrows, doves, or any other fowls or beasts file1 upon their heads, they perceive it not, neither are they angry at the matter. In fine, they be utterly unprofitable both to themself and to all other; so far is it off, that such idle idols and mumming mawmets can teach us any good thing. By the lessest creature that ever God made may we learn better to know God than by these dumb images, seem they never so glorious in the eyes of the foolish. Psai. xix. " The heavens," saith David, " shew forth the glory of God ; and the very firmament Rom. i. declareth his handy-works." Hereto appertaineth the saying of St Paul : " That which may be known of God is made open to men. For God hath shewed it unto them, that the invisible things of God (that is, his everlasting power and Godhead) might be seen, while they are considered by the works from the creation of the world; so that they are without excuse, inasmuch as they knew that there is a God, and have not praised him as God, nor thanked him, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was blinded. When they counted themselves wise, they became fools, and turned the glory of the incorruptible God into the similitude of the image of a corruptible man," &c. How unmeet a schoolmaster a blind idol, a dumb mawmet, a popish puppet, a dead image is to teach us any good thing, these words of the prophet declare mani- Hab. ». festly : " What profiteth a graven image which the workman hath fashioned ? a vain cast idol, and false lying image ? Because the workman hath put his trust in it, there fore maketh he dumb images. But wo be unto him which saith to a block, Awake; and to a dumb stone, Arise! Can such one teach, or give any good instructions? Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath in it. But the Lord in his holy temple is he whom all the world should fear." The prophet Esay isai. xiiv. also saith, that " images are profitable for nothing ;" and addeth moreover, that the labour in making them is utterly lost. How then can they be profitable to teach? Wisd. xiv. How can they then be the books of the lewd people ? " The seeking out of images," saith the wise man, " is the beginning of whoredom ; and the bringing up of them is the destruction of life. But they were not from the beginning, neither shall they continue for ever. The wealthy idleness of men hath found them out upon earth: therefore shall they come shortly to an end." If the seeking out of images be the beginning of whoredom, that is to say, idolatry, which in the scripture is called whore dom, how can we be taught and brought unto God by them ? If the bringing up of them be the destruction of life, how can they then bring us unto everlasting sal vation ? and how can they edify us and teach us the way of truth ? Vain and un profitable schoolmasters are these blind and dumb images. When God determined to erect and set up the commonweal of the Israelites he gave them not his image to look upon, that by the sight thereof they might learn to know him and to do his will (no, he only spake to them, any similitude of him they saw not, lest by this means they should have gone about to make his image, and have committed idolatry or spiritual whoredom with the same) ; but he gave them Deut. vi. his holy word, charging and commanding them to hear and read that diligently, and to write it upon the gates and posts of their houses, that it might be always before their eyes, that they might the better frame their lives according to the same and do that which is pleasant in the sight of God. The prophet Esay sendeth not them that want the knowledge of God and of his holy word unto idols, images, and mawmets; but he commandeth them to make isai. viii. haste unto the holy scriptures, saying : " To the law and witness ; if they speak not according unto this, they shall not have the morning light." The psalmograph calleth not them blessed, which stand all the whole day gazing and looking on images to see [' File: defile.] Ill-] OF THE LAW. 63 what they can pick out and learn of them ; but he calleth them blessed and happy, which " delight in the law of the Lord, and exercise themselves in the studying, reading, psai. i. and hearing of that day and night." Again, he calleth not them blessed, which hunt and seek after images, but them which " search the testimonies of the Lord, and seek Psai. cxix. him with their whole heart." Furthermore, Christ, our Lord and Saviour, commandeth all those that will come unto the true knowledge of him, not to behold images, but to search the scriptures, saying : " Search the scriptures ; for they are those that testify of me." He saith also : John v. " My sheep hear my voice." He saith not, My sheep look upon my image. Again : j0hn x. " He that is of God heareth the word of God." He saith not, He that is of God John viii. beholdeth the image of the Trinity, or of the crucifix. Moreover, when the wisdom of God was determined to call all nations of the earth unto the knowledge of the way of salvation, Christ commanded not painters and carvers to be set a work in making images throughout the world, that the people by beholding them may turn from their idolatry unto the worshipping of the true God ; but he sent forth his apostles to preach the gospel to every creature, that they believing Matt. xxym. might be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and so obtain everlasting salvation. For, as St Paul saith : " Faith cometh Rom. *. by hearing ; but hearing cometh by the word of God." We are made faithful by hearing and believing the word of God, and not by looking and tooting2 upon images ; which rather draw men from the true faith of God than allure them unto it; so far is it off, that they be meet schoolmasters to lead us unto God. If the blessed apostle St John had thought images to be profitable books to bring men unto the knowledge either of God or of themselves, he would never have com manded us to " beware and to keep ourselves from images." But he knew right well, 1 John v. . that nothing doth so much pluck away the minds of men from the honour of the true and living God (as daily experience teacheth, and as we have manifestly seen under the kingdom of the pope in the time of darkness, when the people went on pilgrimage unto images, sought their salvation of them, gilded them, costly arrayed them, gave gifts unto them, set up brenning candles before them, kneeled before them, made vows unto them, prayed unto them, asked all good things of them necessary either for the body or for the soul, gave thanks unto them, censed them, imputed working of miracles unto them, yea, and honoured them as gods, rather going for help unto them with the feet of the body, than repairing unto the alone true helping God with the feet of the mind), as these dumb and deaf idols; and therefore he chargeth us above all things to avoid images, and by no means to have any thing to do with them, but to flee from them as from the plague and pestilence, yea, as from the devil and from everlasting damnation. " Let them all therefore," as the psalmograph saith, " be confounded, and be brought pSai. xcvii. unto utter confusion and shame, that worship carved idols, and glory in their images." And let us that fear God cast away all such fond fancies and doting dreams, and give diligent attendance to the hearing, reading, and preaching of God's word, and of that learn to know the way of salvation: so shall we be blessed, and come to the true knowledge of that alone true God and of his Son Jesus Christ; which thing bringeth unto us everlasting life, as the Lord himself saith : " This is everlasting life, John xvii. even to know thee the alone true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ." Father. Thou hast right well answered to the first and principal objection which the image-mongers make for the defence of their vain images, which doctrine they learned of pope Gregory I. as we have tofore heard3. But they say moreover, that images are not only profitable books for the lewd people, but that they also move the beholders of them marvellously unto devotion and true godliness. Son. This is so imagesjnove vain as nothino- is more vain; so false, as that which is most false; so foolish, as it devotion. may' worthily be counted the self foolishness. Can that move unto devotion, which itself is without all motion and devotion? Can the dead corpse of a captain encourage the soldiers unto battle ? Can a featherless eagle teach other birds to fly ? Can a water- [¦ Tooting : prying, peeping.] [3 See before, pp. 60, 1 ; notes 1, 3.] 64 THE CATECHISM. [Part less whale teach other fishes to swim upon the dry land ? No more can these blockish idols, which are utterly without all senses, affects, and motions, move us unto devotion and unto the true worshipping of God, they themselves also being utterly godless, 1 cor. iii. and most estranged from all that is godly. The holy apostle saith : " Neither he that planteth, nor yet he that watereth, is any thing worth; but the Lord God is alto gether, which giveth the increase." If neither the planter nor the waterer (whereby are understand the preachers of God's word) profit nothing, except God giveth the increase, that is to say, worketh with their preaching through the influence of his holy Spirit (which thing to be true, divers places of the holy scripture declare mani festly); what are images then able to do, which have mouths, and speak not; eyes, and see not; noses, and smell not; hands, and feel not; feet, and go not? Father. But God is able, say they, to work no less with the beholding of images in the hearts of men, than with the preaching of his word. Son. What God is able to do, we will not dispute now; although I know this to be an old refuge of the papists, and a sanctuary unto the which they flee in all their straits. But let them shew by the word of God, that the beholding of images is no less an ordinary way appointed of God to bring men unto the knowledge of God and unto everlasting salvation, than the preaching of the word is, whereof St Paul speaketh Rom. x. on this manner : " Faith cometh by hearing ; but hearing cometh by the word of God." Psai. ii. The prophet David saith also : " I will teach the wicked thy ways ; and the ungodly Psai. xviii. shall turn unto thee." Again: "The people, whom I knew not, have served me: through the hearing of the ear they were obedient unto me." And God himself saith isai. iv. by the prophet : " Like as the rain and snow cometh down from heaven, and returneth not thither again, but watereth the earth, maketh it fruitful and green, that it may give corn and bread unto the sower ; so the word also, that cometh out of my mouth, shall not turn again void unto me, but shall accomplish my will, and prosper in the jCT- '• thing whereto I send it." Again : " I will watch diligently upon my word, to perform Rom. i. it." Moreover, St Paul calleth " the gospel of Christ the power of God unto salvation for all that believe it." And St James saith, that the word of God is of such efficacy, James i. strength, virtue, might, and power, that " it is able to save the souls " of so many as John xv. receive it with meekness. Saith not also the Lord Jesus on this manner, "Now are ye clean, because of the word which I have spoken unto you" ? Let the image-mongers prove by the holy scriptures, that the beholding of images worketh this conversion, this repentance, this faith, this newness of life, this salvation, &c, in the gazers of them, that the word of God doth in the faithful believers ; and we will admit them, their doctrine, and images, and suffer them to have place in our churches. But this can they not do : therefore vain are they, vain is their doctrine, and vain are their images, yea, stumbling-blocks are they, thorns and pricks in the eyes of the simple, provoking rather unto abomination than unto devotion, unto wickedness than unto godliness, unto superstition than unto true religion, unto hypocrisy and idolatry than unto pure worshipping and serving of God, as experience hath heretofore taught us. John xiv. Again, our Saviour Christ saith : " I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me." If no man cometh unto the Father but by Christ, what help then images in this behalf? What make they unto the furtherance of true godliness and true religion ? How move they unto devotion ? Again, he saith : Join vi. " No man can come unto me, except my Father draw him." If no man can come unto Christ, except the heavenly Father draweth him by his holy Spirit, what profiteth then in this behalf the beholding of images? Are they of such inward working in the hearts of men, that they are able to convert them unto God, and to bring them unto Christ ? Yea, they lead away men from Christ unto vain spectacles, from the living God unto dumb idols, from true religion unto wicked superstition ; so far is it off, that they move any man unto godly devotion or devout godliness. It is the office of the Holy Ghost to bring us unto Christ, and not the part of dumb idols. The Holy Ghost is appointed of God to be our schoolmaster for to lead us into all truth, and not idle images and monstrous mawmets. To place images therefore in the temples of the Christians to this end, that they should be the books of the lewd people, or that they should move us unto devotion, is nothing else than to make the Holy Ghost, as m-3 OF THE LAW. 65 they use to say, Jack out of office, and to place a rabblement of vile and abominable idols in the stead of God's Spirit to be the teachers and schoolmasters of the faithful. Perish mought all those vain mawmets from the face of the earth, with all such as glory and rejoice in them, that all the honour may be given to our Lord, that living God alone, whose name be praised for ever ! Father. Amen. But these image-mongers have yet another defence for their idols, images gar- and say, that images are to be placed in churches, if for nothing else, yet for the the churches adorning, decking, trimming, beautifying, and garnishing of the temples : which temples christians. otherwise, say they, are more like barns than churches. Son. I answer with St Paul : "How agreeth the temple of God with images?" What concord is there between 2 Cor- vi- God's service and idol-service ? Can God be worthily called upon in that place where so many mawmets stand, contrary to the commandment of God? Can God be worshipped there in spirit and truth, where so many idols are seen, which have neither spirit nor truth ? What garnishing of the church is this, to see a sort of puppets standing in every corner of the church, some holding in their hands a sword, some a sceptre, some a spit, some a butcher's knife, some a gridiron, some a pair of pin- sons1, some a spear, some an anchor of a ship, some a shoemaker's cutting-knife, some a shepherd's hook, some a cross, some a cup, some a boot, some a book, some a key, some a lamb, some an ox, some a pig, some a dog, some a basket of flowers, some a crosier-staff, some a triple cross, some an arrow, some an horn, some an hawk, &c. ; some bearded, some unbearded, some capped, some uncapped, some weeping, some laughing, some gilded, some painted, some housed, some unhoused2, some rotten, some worm-eaten, some coated, some cloked, some gowned, some naked, some censed, some perfumed, some with holy water sprinkled, some with flowers and garlands garnished, &c. ? But why do I tarry in reciting these vain trifles and trifling vanities, wherewith the churches of the papists are stuffed ? I think verily, that in the temples of the old pagans there was never found so much vanity and so many childish sights, as there be at this present day in those churches which are under the yoke and tyranny of that bloody bishop of Rome. These vain idols therefore do not adorn, but deform; not polite, but pollute ; not deck, but infect, the temples of the Christians, and make them of the churches of God the synagogues of Satan ; of houses of prayer, the vile cages of all filthy and unclean birds. For, as we heard before, Lactantius, that ancient and noble clerk, affirmeth plainly, that " God cannot be truly worshipped in that place where an image is3." The primitive church knew no such kind of beautifying and garnishing their temples : all things were then simple, plain, and homely, and altogether without such vain sights, which rather pluck away men's minds from God, than allure them unto the true wor shipping of him. For as " God is a spirit, so will he be worshipped in spirit and John iv. truth." The more simply all things are done in the church of Christ, the better is God served : " for that which before men seemeth to be of great estimation is before Luke xvi. God great abomination." The temples of the Christians are then best garnished, when the people that are in them be gathered together in the unity of the Holy Ghost, with strong faith toward God, and with fervent love one toward another, to hear' the word of God, to call on the name of the Lord, to thank him for his benefits, to eat the supper of the Lord, to make collections for the poor, and to exercise them selves in such works as are pleasant to God and profitable to the brethren. All other superfluous deckings and trimmings, as they be the daughters of foolish fancy, so like wise serve they rather the fond desires of carnal and superstitious people, than make any thing at all unto the true honour of the Lord our God, to whom alone be all glory for ever. Father. Amen. Let these things suffice for this present concerning the objections of the image-mongers for the maintenance of their idols in churches, and to declare that this precept of not making nor worshipping images appertaineth no less now unto us Christians than it did in times past unto the Jews. But come off, tell me, what C Pinsons : pincers.] j stocking or boot.] [2 With, or without, housings, a kind of I . £a See before, page 61, note 6.] [BECON, II.] 66 THE CATECHISM. [Part What God is the good pleasure of God in the second commandment ? Son. God, which is the us in this searcher of the heart, and knoweth the corrupt, froward, and wicked nature of man, mandment. and how even from his cradle he is prone, bent, and wholly given unto all that is ungodly, and specially unto new, strange, and counterfeit worshipping of God, invented of his own idle brain, blind zeal, good intent, corrupt judgment, contrary to God's Deut. xii. holy ordinance and appointment, which willeth none otherwise to be served, honoured, and worshipped, than he himself hath prescribed in his blessed law; to bridle this evil and corrupt affection of man, and to keep him within the limits of his godly commandments, that he run not a whore-hunting after strange idols, but worship him according to his own appointment, and none otherwise, first of all in this his second commandment — forasmuch as nothing doth so alienate, estrange, and pluck away the heart of man from God and from all godliness, as idols, mawmets, images, and puppets, which be made and set forth before the eyes of the simple and unlearned people, to preach and represent unto them the majesty of God, which by no means can he counterfeit, seeing itself is both infinite and incomprehensible, and cannot be feigned nor set forth, no, not so much as shadowed by the art of man, although never so cunning either of graving or painting, in any corporal substance — chargeth and straitly commandeth his people, even so many as take him for their Lord and God, that they make no graven or carved image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, as the sun, moon, stars, &c. ; or in earth beneath, as men, beasts, birds, worms, &c. ; or in the waters under the earth, as fishes, and whatsoever liveth in the waters ; lest by the making of such things they should go about after the manner of the heathen to counterfeit the majesty of God, and so, by beholding the same, at the last conceive an opinion on godhead and divine power to be in those images, and so fall to the worshipping of them, (as we read of divers nations both in God's and man's histo- Deut. iv. ries,) and by this means provoke God unto anger, which is both " a jealous God, and a consuming fire." it is not law- Father. Is it not then lawful to make an image of God? Son. By no means: ful to make ... " Ghodimageof Mr ** *s plamty forbidden of God in this second commandment. Father. Are there no more scriptures in the holy bible, which bear witness of this thing? Son. Yes, forsooth, very many. Father. Recite part of them. Son. Moses, that most excellent prophet of God, Oeut. iv. saith: "The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire. The voice of his words ye heard; nevertheless ye saw no image, but heard the voice only. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to do, namely, the ten verses, and wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the Lord commanded me at the same time to teach you his ordinances and laws, that ye might do thereafter in the land into the which ye go to possess it. Keep well your souls therefore, (for ye saw no manner of image in the day when the Lord spake unto you out of the fire upon mount Horeb,) that ye destroy not yourselves, and make you any image that is like a man, or woman, or beast upon earth, or feathered fowl under the heaven, or worm upon the ground, or fish in the water under the earth ; that thou lift not up thine eyes toward heaven, and see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the whole host of heaven, and be deceived, and worship and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath created to serve all nations under the whole heaven." Again : " Take heed unto yourselves, that ye forget not the covenant of the Lord your God, and that ye make no images of any manner of fashion, as the Lord thy God hath commanded. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire and a jealous God. If when ye have begotten children, and childer's children, and have dwelt in the land, ye mar yourselves, and make you images of any manner of fashion, and do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke him, I call heaven and earth to record over you this day, that ye shall shortly perish from the land into the which ye go over. Jordan to possess it. Ye shall not dwell long therein, but shall utterly be destroyed." Lev. xix. Also in another place : " Ye shall not turn yourselves unto images, and ye shall Deut vii. make you no gods of metal; for I am the Lord your God." Item: "Thus shall ye do with those nations unto whom the Lord your God shall send you: ye shall over throw their altars, break down their pillars, cut down their groves, and burn their HI.] OF THE LAW. 67 images with fire. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: Thee hath the Lord thy God chosen, that thou shouldest be his own peculiar people from among all nations that are upon earth." Again : " These are the ordinances and laws which Deut. x«. ye shall keep, that ye do thereafter in the land which the Lord God of thy fathers hath given thee to possess, as long as ye live upon earth. Destroy all the places wherein the heathen, whom ye shall conquer, have served their gods, whether it be upon high mountains, upon hills, or among green trees. And overthrow their altars, and break down their pillars, and burn their groves with fire, and hew down the images of their gods, and bring the names of them to nought out of the same place." Once again he saith : " Cursed be he that maketh any carved image, or molten idol (an abomina- Deut. xxvu. tion unto the Lord, a work of the hands of the craftsman), and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen." The prophet Esay also saith : " To whom will ye liken God ? or what similitude isai. xi. will ye set up unto him? Shall the carver make him a carved image? and shall the goldsmith cover him with gold, or cast him into a form of silver plates ? &c. Know ye not this? heard ye never of it? hath it not been preached unto you since the beginning? have ye not been informed of this since the foundation of the earth was laid, that he (God) sitteth upon the circle of the world, and all the inhabiters of the world are, in comparison of him, but as grasshoppers," &c. ? God himself saith by the aforesaid prophet : " To whom now will ye liken me ? and whom shall I be like, saith the Holy One ?" Again : " Whom will ye make me isai. xivi. like in fashion or image, that I may be like him? which take out silver and gold out of your purses and weigh it, and hire a goldsmith to make a god of it, that men may kneel down and worship it. Yet must he be taken on men's shoulders, and borne, and set in his place, that he may stand and not move. Alas, that men should cry unto him which giveth no answer, and delivereth not the man that calleth upon him from his trouble ! Consider this well, and be ashamed. Go into your own selves, 0 ye runagates ; remember the things which are past since the beginning of the world, that I am God, and that there is else no God, yea, and that there is nothing like unto me." The prophet Esay saith once again : " All carvers of images are but vain, and their isai. xiiv. labour lost. They must bear record themselves that, seeing they can neither see nor understand, they shall be confounded. Who should now make a god, or fashion an idol that is profitable for nothing ? Behold, all the fellowship of them must be brought to confusion. Let all the work-masters come and stand together from among men : they must be abashed and confounded one with another. The smith taketh iron, and tempereth it with hot coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and maketh it with all the strength of his arms : yea, sometime he is faint for very hunger, and so thirsty that he hath no more power. The carpenter (or image-carver) taketh the. timber and spreadeth forth his line : he maketh it with some colour : he planeth it : he ruleth it, and squareth it, and maketh it after the image of • a man, and according to the beauty of a man, that it may stand in a temple. Moreover, he goeth out to hew down cedar-trees: he bringeth home elms and oaks and other timber of the wood, or else the fir-trees which he planted himself, and such as the rain hath swelled, which wood serveth for men to burn. Of this he taketh and warmeth himself withal : he maketh a fire of it to bake bread, and afterward maketh a god thereof to honour it, and an idol to kneel before it. One piece he burnetii in the fire: with another he roasteth flesh, that he may eat roast his bellyful : with the third he warmeth him self, and saith, Aha! I am well warmed, I have been at the fire. And of the residue he maketh him a god, and an idol for himself. He kneeleth before it, he worshippeth it, he prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my God. Yet men neither consider nor understand, because their eyes are stopped that they cannot see, and their hearts that they cannot perceive. They ponder not in their minds (for they have neither knowledge nor understanding) to think thus : I have brent one piece in the fire ; I have baked bread with the coals thereof ; I have roasted flesh withal, and eaten it : shall I now of the residue make an abominable idol, and fall down before a rotten piece of wood ? Thus he doth but lose his labour, and his heart, which 5—2 68 THE CATECHISM. [Pari Hos. xiii. Of images lawful to be had. Matt. is deceived, doth turn him aside, so that none of them can have a free conscience to think: May not I err? Consider this, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have made thee, that thou mightest serve me. O Israel, forget me not. ' As for thine offences, I drive them away like the clouds, and thy sins as the mist. Turn thee again unto me; and I will deliver thee." The prophet Jeremy saith also : " They hew down a tree in the wood with the hands of the workman, and fashion it with the axe : they cover it over with gold or silver: they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not. It standeth as stiff as the palm-tree : it can neither speak nor go, but must be borne. Be not ye afraid of such; for they can do neither good nor evil. But there is none like unto thee, 0 Lord: thou art great; and great is the name of thy power." God him^self] saith by the prophet Osee : " Of their silver they make them molten images, like the idols of the heathen; and yet all is nothing but the work of the craftsman, &c. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that early passeth away, and like as dust that the wind taketh away from the floor, and as smoke that goeth out of the chimney. I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, that thou shouldest know no God but me only, and that thou shouldest have no Saviour but only me." As I may at the last cease to gather the testimonies of the old testament, which both forbid and condemn the making of such images, as pluck the minds of men from the living God unto dumb mawmets, I would wish all men diligently to read and remember the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth chapters of the book of Wisdom, and the sixth chapter of the prophet Baruch; which lively paint and set forth in their true colours these images, idols, and mawmets, which many have in so great admiration, with all the vanities and abominations of them. Father. Doth not also the new testament judge of images even as the old? Son. Yes, verily. The Holy Ghost varieth not in his doctrine. Paul and Barnabas said unto the people : " We preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities (they speak of images and of image-service) unto the living God, which made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein." St Peter 1 likewise said to the con gregation of God : " My judgment is, that we trouble not them which from among the gentiles are turned to God, but that we write unto them, that they abstain themselves from the filthiness of images." St John saith : " Babes, keep yourselves from images." Father. But come off, my dear child, tell me, Is it not lawful for the Christians in no condition to have images? Son. There be some that so think, of whose judg ment I am not. All such may worthily be resembled to the Turks, which, as they say, take this commandment of God so straitly, that they can by no means suffer any image to be made, no, not in profane and civil things. Father. Is it then lawful in politic, civil, and worldly matters to have images? Son. It is not forbidden, which thing we may right well be learned in that gospel, where we read, that certain men came unto Christ, demanding of him, whether it were lawful to pay tribute unto Cjesar, or not. Christ, willing them to shew him a piece of the money, asked, whose image and superscription that was which was graven on the coin ? And when they said, " The emperor's," he answered, " Give unto the emperor that which is the emperor's, and give unto God that which is God's." We read not here that Christ did condemn the image that was graven in the coin neither that he said, Cast away this money for the image sake ; for it is unlawful even in civil and profane things to have images: but, to declare that the use of images in pro fane and worldly matters is not unlawful, he approved the money, notwithstanding the image. And it is not to be doubted, but that money also, which he commanded Peter to take out of the fish's mouth, and to give it for tribute unto the emperor's officers, was also such money as was then customably paid to the emperor for tribute, having the emperor's image upon it. Again, the money, which the disciples of Christ carried about with them for their relief and for the comfort of the poor which followed Christ, was also without all doubt of that money which was coined with the image [' An oversight, it would appear, for St James.] HI-] . OF THE LAW. 69 and superscription of the emperor. All these things declare manifestly that in politic, civil, profane, and worldly things the use of images is not unlawful. Father. If in politic and worldly matters, why not also in divine and holy things ? Son. In the one is no peril; in the other, great danger, as we have learned too much by experience. Father. Did not God command Moses, after that he had given this law concerning Num. xxi. images, to make the brasen serpent, and to set it up in the wilderness for the people 4Jg of Israel to behold? Son. I grant. Notwithstanding, that was but a figurative image, serving for the time, prefiguring Christ, as we may see in the gospel, and John iii. therefore is now utterly abolished : as all figures, clouds, and shadows of the old testament vanished, when Christ, which is the very truth and light, came. Yea, long before the coming of Christ, that noble and godly king Ezechias, when he saw the 2 Kings xviii. people abuse this image, kneel unto it, honour it, and burn incense unto it, he threw it down and utterly destroyed it, although set up at the commandment of God : which thing he would never have done, if he had known that commandment of setting up the brasen serpent to be moral (for every moral law is the certain, undoubted, un- 43$ changeable, and everlasting will of God); but being well assured that it was but a ceremonial law, serving for the time, and a figure or shadow of a better thing to come, when he saw it abused, so that by that means the glory of God was obscured, yea, and that honour given to an image which alone is due to the living God, he plucked it down, burnt it, and utterly destroyed it. For this is diligently to be noted, that no particular commandment taketh away the virtue of a general or universal law, as this law of images is in the book of God. Father. Thou holdest then, that although it be tolerable, yea, and lawful in politic and worldly things, to have images, yet in matters appertaining unto godliness and religion it is neither tolerable nor lawful. Son. Not only I, but the holy fathers also of the primitive church were of that opinion, as we have tofore heard : " God John iv. is a spirit ; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth." Now, saith Lactantius, " God is never truly worshipped in that place where an image is"2 : which thing made that holy bishop St Epiphanius, when he saw an image in the church, to take it away, and to cut it in pieces, affirming, that it is contrary to the authority of God's word to have images in the church of Christ3: which thing also made many noble princes and holy bishops to give commandment, that all images of God of Christ, of angels, and of saints, should be taken out of churches, and burnt openly, and from henceforth that no images should be made and brought into such places as christian men use to resort unto for to pray unto their Lord God: if any did presume to do the contrary, he should suffer such punishments as was appointed by the law for such and so grievous offenders4. Father. If it be not lawful to make images for religion sake, then is it not lawful it is neither for us to honour and worship them, as the custom was, and yet is, in the pope's church, mike images Son. No verily. For as God in this commandment saith, " Thou shalt make thee no sake?nor°to graven image," &c. ; so likewise saith he, "Neither shalt thou bow down before them, aiem.lp nor worship them." Father. Here then are we forbidden in the way of religion not only to make images, gainst the but also to worship them. Son. Truth it is. of images. Father. Declare unto me by other scriptures also, that it is not lawful to worship images. Son. God saith by his servant Moses : " I am the Lord your God : ye shall Lev. xxvi. make you no idols, nor image in your land, to bow yourselves thereto. For I am the Lord your God." Moses also saith : "Beware, that thou make no covenant with the indwellers Exod. xxxtv. of the land, that thou comest into, lest they be the cause of thy ruin in the midst of it ; but their altars shalt thou overthrow, and break down their gods, and root out their groves. For thou shalt have none other God, (for the Lord is called Jealous, because he is a jealous God ;) lest, if thou make any agreement with the indwellers of the land, when they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, they call thee, and thou eat of their sacrifice, and lest thou take their daughters unto thy sons to wives, and the ["» See before, page 61, note 6.] [3 See before, page 61, note 2.] [" See below, page 71, notes 2 and 5.] 70 THE CATECHISM. [?*** same go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons to go a whoring after their gods Deut. xi. also." Again : " Beware, that your heart be not deceived, that ye go aside and serve other gods, and worship them ; and then the wrath of the Lord wax hot upon you, and he shut up the heaven that there come no rain, and the earth give not her increase, and Deut. xiii. ye perish shortly from the good land which the Lord hath given you." Item : " If there rise up a prophet or dreamer among you, and give thee a token or wonder, and that token or wonder, which he spake of, come to pass, and then say, Let us go after other gods (whom thou knowest not), and let us serve them ; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of such a prophet or dreamer. For the Lord your God proveth you, to wete, whether ye love him with all your heart and with all your soul. For ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and hearken unto his voice, and serve him, and cleave unto him. As for that prophet or dreamer, he shall die ; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God." Psai. xcvii. The psalmograph also saith : " Confounded be all they that worship carved images, wisd. xiv. and they that delight in vain gods." The wise man saith: "The honouring of abomi nable images is the cause, the beginning, and the end of all evil." God himself saith by isai. xiii. the prophet Esay : " I am the Lord, this is my name. I will give my glory to none i cor. x. other, nor my honour to graven images." Hereto pertaineth the saying of St Paul : " Be i cor. vi. not worshippers of images." " For no worshippers of images shall inherit the kingdom Rev. xxi. of God :" yea, as St John saith : " They shall have their part in that lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Besides these sentences of the holy scripture, which utterly condemn the honouring and worshipping of images, we have manifest examples in the word of God of certain holy men, which did rather choose to suffer death, than they would serve, honour, or worship images. What a number of prophets and godly men did that most wicked woman, queen Jesebel, kill and murder, because they would not bow their knee to that Dan. iii. foul idol, Baal ! Read we not also in the book of Daniel the prophet, that three young men did rather choose to be put into a fiery furnace, and there to be burnt unto ashes, than they would once fall down before the golden image at the commandment of king Nabuchodonosor ? Was not this their answer to the king, " 0 Nabuchodonosor, we ought not to consent unto thee in this matter. For why? our God whom we serve is able to keep us from the hot burning oven, O king, and can right well deliver us out of thy hands. And though he will not, yet shalt thou know, 0 king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor do reverence to the image which thou hast set up." Read we not again that b. & Dr. Daniel was commanded of the king to worship a certain image at Babylon called Bel ? But Daniel answered and said, " I may not worship things that are made with hands, but the living God, which made heaven and earth, and hath power upon all flesh." What shall I speak of all the holy martyrs which were in the primitive church, and many years after, that suffered most bitter torments, yea, and very death, because they would not bow down before images, and honour them ? Image-service is such and so great abomination not only before God, but also in the sight of all good men, that we read of certain noble princes, which could by no means abide such wickedness to be used in their kingdoms, and therefore utterly destroyed all those idols, images, puppets, and mawmets, that plucked away the people's hearts 2 Kings xviii. from the honour of the living God unto image-service. Read we not, that king Ezechias put away the high places, and brake down the pillars, and rooted out the groves, and brake the brasen serpent, which Moses had made ? " For unto that time had the children 2 Kings xxiii. of Israel burnt incense unto it." Read we not also, that king Josias destroyed and utterly took away the images and idols, and all the abominations which were seen in the land of Juda and at Jerusalem ; and that he commanded all the vessels to be taken out of the temple, which were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven, and that he burnt them without Jerusalem in the valley of Cedron, and caused the dust of them to be carried unto Bethel ? Again, that he did break down the altars which Manasses had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, and caused the dust of them to he cast into the brook of Cedron ; and the altar at Bethel, and the high place that Jeroboam made, which both he destroyed and made them unto dust, and burnt up the grove, &c. ? Read we not, moreover, that the wicked king Manasses, because that he walked after 2 Chron. xxxiii. III.] OF THE LAW. 71 the abominations of the heathen, builded the high places, which his father Ezechias had broken down, set up altars, made grevous1, worshipped all the host of heaven, caused carved images and idols to be made and set up in the house of the Lord, shed much innocent blood, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, was taken of the host of the king of the Assirians, bound with chains, and so led away prisoner unto Babylon ? Which Manasses being in trouble, after that he had humbled himself and prayed unto the Lord his God, his prayer was heard, and the Lord " brought him again to Jerusalem, even to his kingdom; so that Manasses knew that the Lord is God. Afterward put he away the strange gods and idols out of the house of the Lord, and all the altars which he had builded upon the mount of the house of the Lord, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city, &c." What shall I speak of Constantine the Great, of Leo III., of Valens and Theo- dosius, of Philip, of Constantine, &c, most noble and worthy emperors, and of Sabanus, king of the Bulgarians3, with divers other godly princes, which all banished idols, images, or mawmets out of their dominions, and would by no means suffer them to be remaining in those places, where christian men resort and come together to pray ; lest the people should fall from the honour of the one and alone true living God, and be allured unto the vain worshipping of most vain images, and so heap the wrath and vengeance of God upon them, which as all sins, so likewise the sin and abomination of image-service, most highly doth detest and abhor? What shall I here rehearse the most godly and virtuous acts of the reverend and holy bishops, Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus3, and Sirenus, bishop of Massilia4, and such like, which by no means could abide either images or image-service in their diocese ? I pass over the most holy and christian councils, Agathense, Tolitane, Elibertine6, &c, which decreed that all pictures or images should be had out of the churches, and that nothing that is honoured or worshipped should be painted on the church-walls. f1 The true reading is no doubt groves.] [2 The following authorities may be adduced in regard to the princes above named : 'E7riTeti/as o" eVt fiaXXov 6 /JarriXeus Trjv irpos nrov Qeov baiav, SidatrKaXiav Ktrrd t?/s eidwXoXa- Tptas TrXavjjs twu irpo avTov KetcpaTrjKOTtjiv Tots Karrd irav e6Vos kirap^etjoTai-s KaTeirepnre. — Hist. Eccles. Script. Grac. Amst. 1695—1700. Euseb. Pamph. de Vit. Constant. Lib. ii. cap.xlvii. p. 383. Relatum est in veterum annalibus de Leonis Augusti imperio, et ejus moribus ; quodque is Theo- dosio Imper. defuncto in Byzantio urbe, quae Con- stantinopolis dicitur, factus imperator, edicto cavit, ut omnes quidem sanctorum imagines, quae in Chris- t ianorum fanis ac templis forent, abolerentur. . , . . Sed libitum est verba ex libris Augustalibus referre, quo id to turn melius innotescat ; quoniam et Valens et Theodosius Augusti Imp. praefecto praetorio ad hunc modum scripserunt : Cum sit nobis cura dili- gens in rebus omnibus superni numinis religionem tueri, signum salvatoris Christi nemini quidem con- cedimus, coloribus, lapide, aliave materia fingere, insculpere, aut pingere. Sed quodcunque reperitur tolli jubemus, gravissima poena eos mulctando, qui contrarium decretis nostris et imperio quicquam ten- taverint Petr. Crinit. De Honest. Diseip. Lugd. 1585. Lib. ix. cap. ix. pp. 278, 9. At Constantinus [Papa] habita synodo, non modo Philippici et Joannis monachi opiniones improbat, verum etiam decernit, ut sanctorum patrum imagines, qui sex conciliis ab omnibus probatis interfuerant, in porticu beati Petri depingerentur, cum intellexisset eas a Philippico e parietibus sanctae Sophia? igno minies causa abrasas fuisse. — Plat. De Vit. Pont. Kom. Col. 1568. Constantinus I. p. 107. See also Cent. Eccles. Hist. Magd. Basil. 1560—74. Cent. viii. cap. iii. col. 31. Nam Leo anno imperii sui nono; consilio cujus- dam nomine Beser, et episcopi Nacolias, decretum promulgavit, ne in ulla ecclesia cujuslibet sancti, aut martyris, aut angeli imago habeatur. — Cent. Magd. ibid. col. 33. Imperator [Constantinus Copronymus] ergoedicta proponit quibus imagines adorari vetat : et synodi de- creta suscipi jubet, et reliquias sanctorum igni tradit. —Id. ibid. col. 37. Bulgares contra Sabinum regem suum arma ca- piunt, propter imaginum adorationem defendendam ; quam ille, a Constantino imperatore et a recte sen- tientibus doctoribus persuasus, damnabat, et abolere nitebatur. — Id. ibid. col. 39. See also Paul. Diac. Hist. Miscell. Lib. xxi. capp. xvii. xviii. Lib. xxii. capp. xxiv. xxxix. Lib. xxiii. cap. vii.] [3 See before, page 61, note 1.] [4 See before, page 61, note 2.] [5 Placuit, picturas in ecclesia esse non debere; ne quod colitur, et adoratur, in parietibus depingatur. — Coneil. Eliberit.in Concil. Stud. Labbei. Lut. Par. 1671-2. can. xxxvi. Tom. I. col. 974. The 11th canon of the 12th council of Toledo is probably that intended by the author, in which we find: Cultores idolorum, veneratores lapidum, ac- censores facularum, et excolentes sacra fontium vel arborum admonemus. — Id. Tom. VI. col. 1234. See also the 2nd canon of the 16th council of Toledo — Id. ibid. col. 1337. As respects the council of Agde, the canons, as printed by Labbe, do not seem to contain any thing to the point. Durandus, however, says : Concilium Agathen. de consee. distin. 3. cap. placuit, inhibet picturas in ecclesiis fieri, et quod colitur et adoratur in parietibus depingi. — Gul. Durand. Rat. Div. Offie. Venet. 1609. Lib. i. cap. iii. 4. fol. 9. 2. But as these words are almost identical with the canon of Elvira, quoted above, Durandus was per haps in error.] 72 THE CATECHISM. [Part What it is to bow down before an image. O abomina tion! Matt. iv. Deut. vi. Rev. xix. xxi. What it is to honour or worship images. All these things heretofore rehearsed do evidently declare, what is to be thought both of images made for religion sake, and also of the worshipping and honouring of the same. Father. Now, my good child, forasmuch as in this second commandment of God we are not only forbidden to make images, but also to bow down to them, and to worship them ; tell me what is meant or understand by the bowing down unto an image. Son. To bow down to, or before an image, which in Greek is irpoo-Kwew, and in the Latin adorare, is reverently with the body to fall down before it, to kneel unto it, to set it in a place where we use to worship God, to garnish it with costly array and precious jewels, to kiss it, to put off our cap unto it, and to shew any gesture of reverence outwardly unto it. All these things doth God forbid to be given to images in this his second commandment. Father. Yet all these things are done to images in the pope's churches. Son. Truth it is. For in divers popish books we read on this manner : " To all them that say this prayer following before the image of the crucifix, pitifully beholding the same, and devoutly kneeling upon their knees, are granted as many days of pardon, by divers popes of Rome, as be gravel stones in the sea, or grasses on the earth1." Moreover, who knoweth not this to be a custom in the synagogues of the pope both on Good Friday, as they call it, and on Easter-day in the morning, to creep unto the cross, to kneel unto it, to kiss it, to offer gifts unto it, &c, while the priests and the clerks sing on this manner, Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine, fyc* "We worship thy cross, O Lord;" which is plain and manifest idolatry, and a work directly against the commandment of God ? St Ambrose writeth on this manner : " Helene found a title or superscription, but she worshipped the king, and not the tree ; for this is an heathenish error, and the vanity of the ungodly ; but she worshipped him that did hang on the tree, written in the title, &c."3 With what conscience then can the papists compel, as they do, the simple Christians to worship the cross, contrary to the doctrine both of the holy scriptures and of the ancient godly writers ? This kind of worshipping required the devil at Christ's hand ; but he answered : " Avoid, Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve." This worship refused Simon Peter to be given unto him of Cornelius the centurion. " Stand up," saith he, " I am a man also." This worship also refused the angel, when John fell down at his feet, and said unto John : " See that thou do it not. For I am thy fellow-servant, and one of thy brethren, and of them that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship thou God." If the apostle of Christ and the angel of God refused to be worshipped with falling down before them, and with kneeling unto them, is it reason that this worship, I mean, kneeling and bowing of the body, should be given to dumb idols and vain images? " Confounded and put to utter confusion and shame mought all they be," saith the psalmo graph, " which worship," that is to say, kneel down before, " graven images," or do any outward reverence unto them. Father. We are not only commanded of God in this his second commandment, that we should not bow down before any image, but also that we should not worship nor honour them. What is meant by worshipping or honouring of images ? Son. As by bowing down before an image is understand all outward reverence, which with our body we give unto it, whether it be by setting it in that place where we come together to honour God, as in churches, chapels, oratories, &c, or by kneeling unto it, or putting off our cap unto it, or garnishing it, or kissing it, &c; so likewise by worshipping an image is meant to pray unto it, to offer gifts and sacrifices unto it, to go on pilgrimage [' Bishop Burnet, in the Collection of Records appended to his History of the Reformation, has printed, Vol. II. Book i. No. 26, several extracts exhibiting the chief indulgences in the English offices. Among them are some which resemble that in the text, though not couched in precisely the same words.] [2 The hymn thus commencing may be found re peatedly used in the Romish services. See Missale ad Us. et Consuetud. Sarum. Par. 1527. In die Parasc. fol. 89. 2. Also, In Invent. Sanct. Cruc. iii. Maii. ; and In Exalt. Sanct. Cruc. xiv. Sept. See also Portifor. seu Breviar. ad Us. Eccles. Sa- risbur. Par. 1510. In Exalt. Sanct. Cruc. &c. It is common in modern books of Romish worship.] [3 Invenit ergo titulum, regem adoravit, non lig num utique; quia hie gentilis est error, et vanitas impiorum: sed adoravit ilium, qui pependit inligno, scriptus in titulo — Ambros. Op. Par. 1686—90. De Obit. Theodos. Orat. 46. Tom. II. col. 1211.] nL] OF THE LAW. 73 unto it, to seek health, help, and salvation at it, to flee unto it in our necessities, to put our faith, hope, and confidence in it, and to make it, as I may so speak, a very God ; which is plain idolatry and image-service. Father. These things also are done at this present day in the kingdom of the pope. Son. It is the more to be lamented. All good and godly men ought to study, unto the uttermost of their power, to banish these so great and grievous pestilences from the bounds of Christendom, that all the worship, honour, glory, and praise may be given to God alone, as he himself saith by the prophet : "I am the Lord : this is my name. I will isai. xiu. give my glory to none other, nor my honour to graven images." In the Acts of the Acts xiv. Apostles we read, that when the men of Lystra, with Jupiter's priest, brought oxen and garlands, and would have done sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, because of the miracle that Paul wrought among them, in healing a man which was impotent of his feet, and a cripple even from his mother's womb, and cried out with a loud voice, saying, " The gods are become like unto men, and are come down unto us ; calling Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he was the preacher ;" the apostles rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying and saying : " Ye men, why do ye this ? We are mortal men also like unto you, and preach unto you the gospel, that ye should turn from these vain things unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that therein is." If the apostles of Christ refused to be honoured, to have gifts and sacrifices offered unto them, &c, is it then seemly that such honour should be given to dumb images, idols, and mawmets? Neither outward worship nor inward honour ought to be given unto such vanities. " Blessed is that man," saith the psalmograph, Psai. xi. " whose hope, affiance, and trust is in the name of the Lord, and that hath not regarded these vanities and foolish fond fantasies." These image-mongers may justly be resembled to the priests of Baal, which called on the name of Baal from the morning unto the noon- 1 Kings xviii. day, and yet were not heard. So likewise these new Baalites and idolaters, though they An apt com- nan son cry never so much upon these idols and images, yet shall they never be heard. " For Psai. cxv. they have ears and hear not, &c. They that make them are like unto them, and so are all such as put their trust in them. But let Israel trust in the Lord ; for he is their succour and defence." Father. Hitherto have we heard what the good will and pleasure of God is in this his second commandment, concerning images. Go forth now, and declare unto me that which followeth in this precept. Son. The words that follow are these : " For I the Lord thy God am a strong and a jealous God, punishing the wickedness of the parents in the children, until the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shew mercy until thousands, unto those that love me and keep my com mandments." Father. Why doth the Lord our God call himself "a strong God"? Son. To declare why the Lord that his divine majesty is so great, infinite, unmeasurable, and incomprehensible, so strong God. excellent and far passing the reach and compass of man's wit or reason, that it can by no means be expressed or set forth by any similitude, likeness, or image, that man can devise. For seeing that heaven and earth, and all that ever is contained in them, can not represent God, much less are vile and vain images able to do this, which are made with man's hand, and have neither life nor moving, nor any thing at all that is like our most strong and mighty God, as both Esay and Baruch do right well testify. He isai. xiiv. is also called a strong God, to declare that he is of sufficient might and power to help and to defend all those that put their trust in him, with whatsoever kind of adversity they be assailed ; and that, as he is able, so likewise he will alway be present with his saving health unto all such as unfeignedly cleave unto him, refusing utterly all false gods, idols, images, mawmets, puppets, &c, and seeking their health and salvation both of body and of soul at his merciful hand only and alone. Father. But why doth he call himself " a jealous God" ? Son. To declare that he why the by no means can abide that that glory which is due from us to him alone should be a^aiouf e" given to any creature, although never so excellent, either in heaven or in earth, much less to vain images, dumb idols, monstrous mawmets, and popish puppets; no, nor any part of that glory; as he saith by the prophet : "lam the Lord : this is my name : isai. xiii. 74 THE CATECHISM. CPart I will give my glory to none other, nor my honour to graven images." As of God we receive all good things appertaining either unto the body or unto the soul, so likewise owe we unto God alone all our faith, love, fear, service, honour, glory, praise, &c, as Deut. vi. Moses saith : " Thou shalt honour the Lord thy God, and serve him alone." And as a Matt'1V" true wedded husband, that loveth his wife dearly, tendereth her above all creatures, resteth in her love only, rejoiceth and delighteth in her alone, cherisheth her, and maketh sufficient provision for her in all things, so that at his hand she hath abundantly all good things, yea, and that without any lack, cannot abide that his wife should give her love, or any part of her love to any other man, but to him alone ; so in like manner Eph. v. cannot God suffer, which hath taken us to his spouse, and married us unto him in faith, ' that we should set our love upon any other but upon him alone, of whom we receive icor.iv. all good things necessary both for body and soul, or that we should give the glory and Jr"meS1' praise of our salvation to any but to him alone. Therefore to declare' how impatient he is of any rival or paramour, and how vehement his love is toward us, and how fervently again he requireth of us to be loved, he compareth himself to a jealous lover or husband, and us to a wife; signifying by this comparison how pure, chaste, and unspotted, yea, and utterly estranged from all other creatures, our love toward God ought Psai. lxxiu. to be. This perceived the psalmograph right well, when he said : " Thou destroyest all them that run a whore-hunting from thee. But it is good for me to cleave hard to God, and to put my trust in the Lord God." what is it to Father. What is it to run a whore-hunting from God ? Son. To forsake the Lord huntingfrom our God, and to follow creatures; to pluck our faith and love from God, and to give it unto strange gods; to seek health and salvation, remission of sins and everlasting life; at the hand of any, either in heaven or in earth, saving only at the hand of the Lord our God, which alone is the author, beginner, and finisher of our salvation. And to pluck us away from this whore-hunting and spiritual whoredom, which is nothing else than idolatry or image-service, he doth not only call himself a jealous God, but he also addeth, that he will punish the wickedness of the parents " in the children, until the third and fourth generation of them that hate him." / Father. What wickedness is that which God will so extremely punish ? Son. Every sin is wickedness. God will by no means suffer the transgression and breaking of isai. v. his holy commandments unpunished : as it is written : " Wo be unto them that sin, and keep not my commandments, saith the Lord; for I will not spare them." Again; GaMif*™' " Cursed is every one which abideth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, that be may do them." And albeit all kind of sins do greatly offend the majesty of God, so that he will leave none of them unpunished; yet this sin of idolatry or image-service do most highly displease him : neither will he by any means suffer the transgression and breaking of this second commandment, which forbiddeth idolatry and image-service, to escape without punishment, as divers histories of the holy scripture do manifestly declare. And therefore it is here to be noted by the way, that God calleth the idolaters, image-servants, or worshippers of strange gods, his enemies and such as hate him. Is it to be thought that such can escape unpunished? It is not therefore without a cause, that God, tendering our health and salvation, in this his second com mandment forbiddeth both the making and worshipping of images. If we will avoid the worshipping of images, let us cease to make them, and place them in our temples, chapels, oratories, &c. ; and so shall we easily escape from the danger of idolatry or image-service, which is so grievous an offence, and so wicked and abominable sin he- fore the Lord our God, that he threateneth to punish it in the children of the idolatrous fathers, until the third and fourth generation. Father. This seemeth to me very lamentable, that God should punish the wicked ness of the parents in their children's children. Son. This on this wise is to be understand. If the children of the parents, which were wicked idolaters, commit that same idolatry which their fathers have committed, and continue in the same wicked ness wherein their forefathers have lived, then will God not only punish the parents which have so offended, but also their children, yea, and their children's children, which commit the like offence, yea, and that so much the more grievously, because they he HI-] OF THE LAW. 75 the idolatrous children of idolatrous fathers, and have more pleasure to walk in the wicked steps of their most wicked fathers, than to give ear to the righteous laws of the most righteous God. Father. But what if the parents be wicked and the children godly, as it sometime chanceth, and as we also find in the holy scriptures, shall the children notwithstand ing be plagued and punished for their fathers' offences? Son. God forbid. For it is written : " The soul that sinneth shall die. If a man be godly, and do the thing Ezek. xvin. that is equal and right (he eateth not upon the hills : he lifteth not his eyes up to the idols of Israel : he defileth not his neighbour's wife : he meddleth with no menstruous woman : he grieveth nobody : he giveth his debtor his pledge again : he taketh none other man's good by violence : he parteth his meat with the hungry : he clotheth the naked : he lendeth nothing upon usury : he taketh nothing over : he writhed1 with his hand from doing wrong : he handleth faithfully betwixt man and man : he walketh in my commandments, and keepeth my laws, and performeth them faithfully) ; this is a righteous man : he shall surely live, saith the Lord God. If he now beget a son that is a murderer and a shedder of blood ; if he do one of these things (though he do not all) ; he eateth upon the hills ; he defileth his neighbour's wife ; he grieveth the poor and needy; he robbeth and spoileth; he giveth not the debtor his pledge again; he lifteth up his eyes unto idols, and meddleth with abominable things; he lendeth upon usury, and taketh moreover; shall this man live? he shall not live. Seeing he hath done all these abominations, he shall die : his blood shall be upon him. Now if this man beget a son also, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and feareth, neither doth such like; namely, he eateth not upon the mountains; he lifteth not his eyes up to the idols of Israel ; he defileth not his neighbour's wife ; he vexeth no man ; he keepeth no man's pledge ; he neither spoileth nor robbeth any man ; he dealeth his meat with the hungry ; he clotheth the naked ; he oppresseth not the poor ; he receiveth no usury, nor any thing over ; he keepeth my laws, and walketh in my J~$ commandments; this man shall not die in his father's sin, but shall live without fail. As for his father, because he oppressed and spoiled his brother, and did wickedly among his people, he is dead in his own sin. And yet say ye : Wherefore then should not this son bear his father's sin? Therefore, because the son hath done equity and right, hath kept all my commandments and done them ; therefore shall he live in deed. The soul that sinneth shall die. The son shall not bear the father's offences, neither shall the father bear the son's offence. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself; and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself also." Of these words, which I have borrowed out of the prophet Ezechiel, is it plain and evident, that, although the parents be wicked and idolatrous, yet if their children be not polluted and defiled with the same wickedness and idolatry, but lovers of God, studious of his holy word, and diligent walkers in his laws and commandments; they shall be free from those plagues and punishments which their wicked and ungodly fathers have most justly deserved, and be no partakers of God's displeasure, indignation, and vengeance in this behalf. Therefore, where it is said that God will punish the wickedness of parents "in the children, until the third and fourth generation," it is to be understand of those children which, having wicked fathers, follow the steps of their fathers, committing the same wickedness which they tofore have committed, without repentance or amendment of life. The other, which are free from the wicked ness of their parents, are also free from the curses and plagues of God, and be in the number of those which are mentioned in the end of this second commandment. Father. What is that? Son. "And shew mercy until thousands, unto those that love me and keep my commandments." Father. What learnest thou of these words ? Son. Verily, that as God is righteous and severe in punishing the wicked doers, which transgress his commandments, so likewise is he merciful, gentle, and liberal to all such as love him, and study to frame their lives according to his holy word ; as the apostle saith : " Unto them that are Bom. h. contentious, and not obedient to the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall come indig- l1 Writhed with : turned away.] 76 THE CATECHISM. [Pakt God is greater than the an ger of God. Luke i. Psai. ciii. nation and wrath, trouble and anguish, upon all the souls of men that do evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. But unto all them that do good (shall come) praise and honour and peace, unto the Jew first, and also the Greek. For there is no respect of persons before God." Father. What is meant by this, that God, in plaguing the wickedness of the parents in the children, will only extend his punishment until the third and fourth generation, yea, and that none otherwise, except they follow the wickedness of their fathers, as we heard tofore; but in shewing mercy unto those that love him and keep his com mandments, he saith, that he will extend and stretch forth his merciful kindness and Themercyofkind mercy until thousands, that is to say, infinite generations? Son. This declareth '"unto us, that the mercy of God is greater than his anger, and that he is more bent to loving-kindness than to severe justice. And with this agreeth the saying of that blessed virgin Mary : " His mercy," saith she, " endureth throughout all generations upon them that fear him." The psalmograph also saith : " The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering, and of great goodness. He will not alway be chiding, neither will he keep his anger for ever. He will not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our wickedness. For look how high the heaven is in comparison of the earth ; so great is his mercy also toward them that fear him. Look how wide the east is from the west ; so far will he set our sins from us. Yea, like as a father pitieth his own children, even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear him, &c. The merciful goodness of the Lord endureth for ever and ever upon them that fear him, and his righteousness upon their childer's children; even such as keep his covenant, and think upon his commandments to do them." Father. We have largely talked of all things concerning this second commandment of God ; whereof we have learned, that we ought to make no image of God, nor of any other thing for religion sake, nor yet give any adoration or worship to them, hut serve the Lord our God "in spirit and truth;" forasmuch as he is a spirit, and is chiefly delighted with spiritual things. Go forth now, and recite unto me the third commandment. The third command ment. Exod. xx. Deut. v. What God requireth of us in the third com mandment. Prov. xviii. Acts iv. Pray in ad versity : praise in prosperity. Son. " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Father. What is the will of God in this law? What requireth he of us? Son. First, he forbiddeth us to abuse his holy name through false, light, or vain swearing, or to call his name unto witness in any matter, except it be godly, charitable, true, grave, weighty, and necessary. Again, he chargeth us straitly, that we do not usurp his glorious name in any kind of superstition, sorcery, enchantment, witchcraft, con juration, invocation of devils and wicked spirits : Item, that we do not dishonour the name of the Lord our God through our evil behaviour. Secondly, he requireth of us that in matters of faith, or in grave and weighty causes of controversies, where an oath is necessarily required, and ministered unto us by them which are in authority, we swear not by the name of any creature that is in heaven or in earth, but only by his blessed and glorious name : again, that in all our necessity, sickness, sorrow, and care, we flee unto the name of no creature neither in heaven nor in earth, but only unto his holy name for aid, help, and succour, which is " a strong tower " for all them that resort unto it ; seeing that " there is no name given unto men under the cope of heaven wherein they may receive salvation" either of body or of soul, but this one only name of that most mighty Lord our God. Also, that in our prosperity, when all things go well with us, we shew ourselves thankful unto him, laud, praise, magnify, and extol his holy, blessed, and glorious name : Item, that we set forth, preach, and declare his holy word, and avance his pure and true religion, without the intermixtion or mingling of any man's doctrine. Finally, that we to the uttermost of all our power, even with our whole strength both of body and soul, seek continually the avancement, glory, and honour of God's most glorious and honourable name, never attempting, either in word, deed, or thought, that may in any point before men obscure or deface the majesty of the Lord our God. Father. How provest thou by the word of God, that we are forbidden in this HI] OF THE LAW. 77 third commandment falsely, lightly, or vainly to swear by the name of God? Son. God saith by his servant Moses : " Ye shall not swear falsely by my name, neither Lev. xix. shalt thou unhallow the name of thy God ; for I am the Lord." By the prophet Zachary he also saith : " The things that ye shall do are these : speak every man the truth zech. viii. unto his neighbour : execute judgment truly and peaceably within your gates : let none of you imagine evil in his heart against his neighbour ; and love no false oaths ; for all these are the things that I hate, saith the Lord." Jesus the son of Syrach writeth on this manner : " Hear me, O ye children : I will give you a doctrine, how ye shall Eccius. xxiii. order your mouth: whoso keepeth it shall not perish through his lips, nor be hurt through wicked works. As for the sinner, he shall be taken in his own vanity: he that is proud and cursed shall fall therein. Let not thy mouth be accustomed with swearing; for in it there are many falls. Let not the naming of God be continually in thy mouth ; for like as a servant which is oft punished cannot be without some sore, even so whatsoever he be that sweareth and nameth God shall not be clean purged from sin. A man that useth much swearing shall be filled with wickedness; and the plague shall never go from his house. If he beguile his brother, his fault shall be upon him: if he knowledgeth not his sin, he maketh a double offence; and if he swear in vain, he shall not be found righteous, for his house shall be full of plagues. The words of the swearer bringeth death, (God grant that it be not found in the house of Jacob !) but they that fear God eschew all such things, and lie not weltering in sin." Our Saviour Christ also forbiddeth all manner of vain and light swearing in these words : " Ye have heard how it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not Matt. y. forswear thyself, but shalt perform thy oath to God. But I say unto you, Swear Exod. xx. not at all; neither by heaven, for [it] is God's seat; nor yet by the earth, for it is his footstool ; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King : neither shall thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But your communication shall be yea, yea, nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than that cometh of evil." St James also saith: "Above all things, my brethren, swear not;jamesv. neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by other oath. Let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into dissimulation." Father. Where are we forbidden in the holy scripture to \isurp the name of the Lord, of God, in any kind of superstition, sorcery, enchantment, &c. ? Son. God saith : " Ye shall not turn yourselves to the soothsayers, neither shall ye ask any thing at Lev. xix. the expounders of tokens, that ye be not defiled by them; for I am the Lord your God." Again: "If any soul turn him to the soothsayers and expounders of tokens, Lev. xx. so that he goeth a whoring after them, I will set my face against that soul, and will root him out from among his people. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy, even your God. And keep ye my statutes, and do them; for I am the Lord that sanctified you." Moses also saith : " When thou comest into the land Deut xviii. which the Lord thy God shall give thee, thou shalt not learn to do the abominations of these nations, that there be not found among you that maketh his son or daughter go through the fire, or a prophesier, or a chooser out of days, or that regardeth the birds' crying, or a witch, or a conjurer, or soothsayer, or an expounder of tokens, or that asketh any thing of the dead. For whosoever doth such is abomination unto the Lord." The prophet Esay also saith : " If they say unto you, Ask counsel at isai. viii. the soothsayers, witches, charmers, and conjurers, then make them this answer: Is there a people anywhere that asketh not counsel at his god, whether it be concerning the dead or the living? If any man want light, let him look upon the law and tes timony," &c. Father. Are we also forbidden here to dishonour the name of the Lord our God through our wicked and evil behaviour ? Son. Yea, verily. For God himself com- ^¦i.'»xxvi plaineth in the holy scripture, that his name is greatly dishonoured and evil spoken Bom! ii. of among the heathen, because of the corrupt manners and ungodly conversation of such as profess his name. Therefore the holy apostle St Peter exhorteth us, that we " lead an honest conversation among the heathen ; that whereas they backbite us i Pet. ii. as evil-doers, they, judging us of our good works, may glorify God in the day of 78 THE CATECHISM. [Part Matt v. Heb. vi. Jer. iv. Deut. vi. x. Psai. lxiii. Psai. xv. Psai. ex. Ezek. xxxiii. John iii. iv. vi. viii. Kom. i. ix. Gen. xxi. xiii. & xlvii. Josh. ix. 1 Sam. xx. xxiv. 1 Kings i. ii. Gen. xxiv. Gen. xxi. Gen. xxvi. Gen. xxxi. Gen. xlvii. Exod. xxii. Psai. lxxxii, John x. Psai. I. visitation." And our Saviour Christ commandeth us, that our "light should so^ shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which ia in heaven." For as nothing in this world doth more dishonour the name of God than the wicked life of such as with their mouth " profess God, and with their deeds deny him ;" so likewise nothing in this life doth more avance and set up the glorious majesty of the name of the Lord our God, than when such as profess his holy name live godly, virtuously, and honestly. Father. Is it lawful for a christian man in any case to swear? Son. Yea, in all such cases as I tofore rehearsed. Father. How is that proved ? Son. St Paul saith : " An oath is the end of all controversy, or strife." And God himself saith: "O Israel, if thou wilt turn thee, then turn unto me, saith the Lord. And if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, thou shalt not be moved ; and shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in equity, and in righteousness." Again : " If they (that trouble my people) will learn the ways of them to swear by my name, The Lord liveth, like as they have learned my people to swear by Baal, then shall they be reckoned among my people. But if they will not obey, then will I root out the same folk, and destroy them, saith the Lord." Moses also saith : " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve, and swear by his name." The psalmograph also saith: "All they that swear by him (that is to say, God) shall be commended." Again: "He shall dwell in the tabernacle of God, and rest upon his holy hill, that sweareth unto his neighbour, and disappointeth him not." It is so far off from sin to swear in a true and necessary cause, that we read, that God himself did swear. The psal mograph hath these words : " The Lord sware, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech." In the books of the prophets we read that the manner of swearing which God used was this : " As truly as I live." The evangelical history declareth, that Christ's oath was this : " Verily, verily, I say unto you." St Paul also did swear, as we may see in his epistles. What shall I speak of Abraham and Abimelech, of Joseph, of the princes of Israel, of Josue, of David, and such like? All these histories do evidently declare, that it is not for bidden by God's law for a christian man to swear by the name of the Lord his God, and to call God for a witness in a true and just cause, and specially when it is re quired of the magistrates and head rulers for the avoiding of controversies, that peace and quietness may be had among their subjects. Father. May magistrates then lawfully require an oath of their subjects? Son. Yea, most lawfully. Father. Where is that declared in the word of God ? Son. We read, that Abraham required an oath of his servant; and the servant sware at his master's commandment. King Abimelech required an oath of Abraham, which was a stranger in his land; and Abraham did swear. Abimelech also, king of the Philistines, required an oath of Isaac, that he should do him and his people no harm ; and Isaac agreed to his request, and sware. Jacob sware unto Laban, when he was required. Jacob, otherwise called Israel, required of his son Joseph an oath, that he should not bury him in Egypt, but among his fathers; and Joseph sware. Divers such like examples are to be found in the holy scriptures, which do plainly declare, that christian men may lawfully take an oath, when it is required of them by such as are in authority. Are not these the words of the law of God ? " If a man deliver his neighbour money or vessels to keep, and it be stolen from him out of his house; if the thief be found, he shall restore double. But if the thief be not found, then shall the good man of the house be brought before the gods" (that is to say, before the magistrates, or head rulers), and "shall swear that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's good." Father. Doth this third commandment of God require of us also, that in all our adversity and trouble we flee unto the name of God, as unto a strong tower, for help and succour, and diligently with strong faith call upon it ? Son. Yea, verily. For this is the commandment of God : " Call on me in the day of thy trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt honour me." And as we are commanded to call on the name of God in our trouble, so likewise are we most graciously promised to be heard, III.] OF THE LAW. 79 as it is written: "Every one that calleth on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Joel «. And God himself saith by the psalmograph : " Because he hath put his trust in me, Bom. i. I will deliver him : I will defend him, because be hath known my name. When he calleth upon me, I will hear, him : yea, I am with him in his trouble, and I will deliver him, and bring him to honour. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation." Father. Is it also required of us in this commandment that we be thankful to the name of the Lord our God for his benefits ? Son. Is it not reason that we be thanltful to him and praise his name, of whom we receive all that we have, appertain- 1 cor. iv. jng either unto the body or unto the soul, that good is or godly? Father. It is indeed reason and right. Son. This is the commandment of God by the psalmograph : " Offer unto God the sacrifice of praise or thanksgiving." And Psai. 1. God himself saith : " Whoso offereth unto me thanks and praise,, he honoureth me ; and this is the way whereby I shall shew him the salvation of God." The psalmograph himself also saith : " I will praise the name of God with a song, and magnify it with Psai. ixix. thanksgiving ; and it shall please God better than a bullock that hath horns and hoofs." Father. Are we commanded also in this law to confess and set forth the true reli gion and doctrine of God to other, whensoever the glory of God doth require, and the salvation of the brethren, although the cross, yea, death itself should follow ? Son. Yea, that is our duty ; and whosoever doth it not, he transgresseth this commandment of God, and hath no portion in the inheritance of God's kingdom, as our Saviour Christ testifieth, saying : " Whosoever confesseth me before men, him will I confess Matt. x. also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever denieth me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Again : " Whosoever Mark vm. is ashamed of me and of my sayings before this whorish and sinful generation, of him Luke '*' shall the Son of man also be ashamed, wThen he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Not to confess the truth of God, when the glory of God and ^® the salvation of our neighbour require, is none other thing than to deny the truth and to blaspheme the name of God, and to envy God his glory and praise. And " what Matt. xvi. doth it profit a man to win the whole world, and at the last to lose his own soul? Or what can a man give to redeem his soul withal?" In God's cause, and in the matter of truth, they are not to be feared that slay the body, and that done, they can Matt. x. do no more; but that Lord is to be feared which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell-fire. " For the truth strive thou unto the death," saith the wise man, Eccius. iv. "and God shall fight for thee against thine enemies." Father. Besides these things heretofore rehearsed, are we bound by this command ment to seek the glory of God's most holy name above all things, and not to attempt any thing either in thought, word, or deed, that may in any point obscure the honour of it ? Son. Who doubteth of that ? For this thing only ought to be the alone study of a true Christian, even to the uttermost of his power to avance the glory of God's most glorious name. Therefore thus stirreth up the psalmograph himself, and saith : " Mao-nify the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me praise his holy name. Psai. ciu. Praise the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all his benefits; which forgiveth all thy sins, and healeth all thine infirmities; which saveth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and loving-kindness," &c. Father. But what mean these words that follow in the commandment? "For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his 'name in vain." Son. In these words the Lord our God, which is a mighty and jealous God, yea, and a consuming Deut iv^ fire, declareth how greatly he is angry with them that do abuse his holy name, and honour it not on such sort as is above specified. And although God gave ten com mandments, which he will diligently to be observed of all men, yet to none of them all specially doth he add any threatenings but only to the second and third com mandments : by this signifying unto us, that although his godly majesty detesteth, ab- horreth, and hateth all sins, yet the sin of idolatry and the abusing of his holy name most chiefly; and that whosoever transgresseth these two commandments, he will most extremely plague and punish them ; in this world temporally, and in the world to come eternally, except they repent and amend.. 80 THE CATECHISM. [Part Father. Are there any sentences in the holy scripture which also declare the anger, wrath, and vengeance of God against all such as transgress this commandment, and abuse his holy name? Son. Many and divers. Father. Rehearse some of them. Son. God himself saith by the prophet Moses: Lev. xxiv. " Whosoever blasphemeth his God shall bear his sin ; and he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord shall die the death. The whole congregation shall stone him. As the stranger, so shall he of the household be also. If he blaspheme the name (of God), zech. v. he shall die." And in the prophet Zachary we read on this manner : " I turned me, lifting up mine eyes, looked, and behold, a flying book. And he said unto me, What seest thou ? I answered, I see a flying book, of twenty cubits long, and ten cubits broad. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the whole earth. For all thieves shall be judged after this book, and all swearers shall be judged accord ing to the same. I "will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, so that it shall come to the house of the thief, and to the house of him that falsely sweareth by my name, and shall remain in his house, and consume it with the timber and stones Eccius. xxiii. thereof." The wise man also saith : " Let not thy mouth be accustomed with swear ing; for in it there are many falls. Let not the naming of God be continually in thy mouth; for like as a servant which is oft punished cannot be without some sore, even so whatsoever he be that sweareth and nameth God shall not be clean purged from sin. A man that useth much swearing shall be filled with wickedness; and the plague shall never go from his house, &c. The words of the swearer bring death." Father. These authorities of the holy scripture declare evidently, how greatly God abhorreth the abuse of his holy name, either through false, vain, or light swearing, or otherwise; so that it is not without a cause said in this precept, that "the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." But let us go forth and hear the fourth commandment. Son. The fourth commandment of God is this : The fourth " Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath-day. Six days shalt thou labour, ment. and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God. Exod. xx. Deut'v. In it shalt thou do no manner of work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy servant, nor thy maid, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hal lowed it." What God Father. What is the will of God in this commandment ? Son. God in this his EX the ° law requesteth of us two things : First, that we keep holy the sabbath-day : Secondly, mandmrait that on the seventh day we rest from all worldly and bodily business, labours, and works, that we may the more freely serve the Lord our God, and consider the things which appertain unto the salvation of our souls. Father. What signifieth this word sabbath ? Son. Rest, and ceasing from servile labour and outward works. Wtautisjo Father. What is it to sanctify the sabbath-day ? Son. Not to pass over that day sabbath-day. idly in lewd pastimes, in banqueting, in dicing and carding, in dancing and bear- baiting, in bowling and shooting, in laughing and whoring, and in such like beastly and filthy pleasures of the flesh ; nor yet in bargaining, buying and .selling, as they do which run to fairs and mark'ets on the sabbath-day and on other holy and feast- ful days (for this is not to sanctify, but to profanate, not to hallow, but to defile the sabbath-day) ; but, all such madnesses and wickednesses laid aside, and the mind utterly sequestered from all worldly things, and the body free from all servile works, to ad dress ourselves, and to apply our whole mind and body unto godly and spiritual exercises ; as unto the consideration of the mighty power of God in creating all things both in heaven and in earth, yea, and that of nothing, through his word, for the wealth and commodity of man : again, unto the consideration of God's unoutspeakable goodness in preserving and maintaining those his creatures for the use and profit of man : Item, unto the humble and reverent hearing or reading of God's holy word ; unto the faithful and diligent calling on the name of God by fervent prayer; unto the unfeigned and hearty III.] OF THE LAW. 81 thanksgiving to God for his benefits no less diversly than plenteously declared unto us ; unto the worthy receiving of the holy mysteries of the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesu ; unto the visiting, counselling, comforting, and helping of the poor and miserably afflicted persons ; unto the utter giving over of all the studies, devices, and works of the old man ; unto the earnest embracing of the fruits of the Spirit ; and in fine, unto the whole giving over of ourselves unto the good will of God, to work in us by his holy Spirit whatsoever his blessed pleasure shall be, that he alone may live, rule, reign, and triumph in us. Father. Are there any sentences in the holy scripture, which confirm this law of the sabbath-day? Son. Yea, many and divers. Father. Rehearse part of them. Son. God said to Moses : " Speak unto the ohildren of Israel, and say : Keep my Exod. xxxi. sabbath ; for it is a token between me and you and your posterities, that ye may know how that I am the Lord which halloweth you : therefore keep my sabbath ; Num. xv. for it shall be holy unto you. Whoso unhalloweth it shall die the death. For whoso doeth any work therein shall be rooted out from among his people. Six days shall men work ; but upon the seventh day is the sabbath, that is to say, the holy rest of the Lord. Whoso doeth any work upon the sabbath-day shall die the death. Therefore shall the children of Israel keep the sabbath, that they may keep it also among their posterities for an everlasting covenant. An everlasting token is it between me and the children of Israel. For in six days made the Lord heaven and earth, but upon the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Again he saith unto Moses : " Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them : These are the feasts of the Lev. xxiii. Lord, which ye shall call holy days. Six days shalt thou work; but the seventh day is the rest of the sabbath, and shall be called holy. Ye shall do no work therein ; for it is the sabbath of the Lord, wheresoever ye dwell." By the prophet Esay God also saith : " Keep equity, and do right, &c. Blessed isai. ivi. is the man that doth this, and the man's child, which keepeth the same; even he that taketh heed that he unhalloweth not the sabbath, that is, he that keepeth himself that he do no evil, &c. Unto them that keep my sabbath, and hold greatly of the thing that pleaseth me, and keep my covenant, will I give in my household and within my walls a better heritage and name, than if they had been called sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not perish, &c. All they which keep themselves, that they unhallow not the sabbath, namely, that they fulfil my covenant; them will I bring unto my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer." Again, God by the same prophet saith : " If thou on the sabbath- isai. iviii. day turnest thy foot away from doing thine own will and pleasure in my holy day, then shalt thou be called unto the pleasant, holy, and glorious sabbath of the Lord, where thou shalt be in honour ; so that thou do not after thine own imagination, neither seek thine own will, nor speak thine own words. Then shalt thou have thy pleasure in the Lord, which shall carry thee high above the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the Lord's own mouth hath so promised." By the prophet Jeremy God speaketh also on this manner : " Take heed for your Jer. xvii. lives, that ye carry no burden upon you in the sabbath-day, to bring it through the gates of Jerusalem : ye shall bear no burden also out of your houses in the sabbath. Ye shall do no labour therein, but hallow the sabbath, as I commanded your fathers. Howbeit, they obeyed me not, neither hearkened they unto me, but were obstinate and stubborn, and neither obeyed me, nor received my correction. Nevertheless if ye will hear me, saith the Lord, and bear no burden into the city through this gate upon the sabbath; if ye will hallow the sabbath, so that ye do no work therein; then shall there go through the gates of this city kings and princes, that shall sit upon the seat of David, &c. But if ye will not be obedient unto me, to hallow the sabbath, so that ye will bear your burdens through the gates of Jerusalem upon the sabbath ; then shall I set fire upon the gates of Jerusalem, and it shall burn up the houses of Jerusalem, and no man shall be able to quench it." Again, by the prophet Ezechiel he saith : " Walk not in the statutes of your fore- Ezek. xx. fathers : keep not their ordinances, and defile not yourselves with their idols ; for I am the Lord your God. But walk in my statutes : keep my laws and do them : r n 6 [BECON, II.] 82 THE CATECHISM. [Part hallow my sabbaths ; for they are a token betwixt me and you, that ye may know how that I am the Lord." Whether the Father. Are the Christians also no less bound unto the observation and keeping bomdunto6 of the sabbath-day than the Jews were in times past ? Son. As concerning the seventh ijonof the*" day, which was the Jews' sabbath, wherein they were commanded to rest and cease £sbt£e Jew? from all outward labour, we be free from that law, and are no more bound to the 1 restful keeping thereof than of any other day. In consideration whereof, the godly fathers of Christ's church turned the Jews' sabbath-day into the Sunday, which is now called the sabbath of the Christians, to declare, that we Christians are free from the ' keeping of the aforesaid Jewish sabbath, and that it is in the liberty of the christian The law of magistrates to appoint what day they will to be the sabbath of the Christians; and is partly cere- therefore we shall note, that the law concerning the sabbath-day is partly ceremonial, partly mopi. and partly moral. It is ceremonial, as touching the external rest, and the self seventh day, which now is abrogated with all the other Mosaical ceremonies through the coming of Christ ; so that in this behalf we be free from that law. Notwithstanding, as tonch- Note well, ing the keeping of the public ministry, I mean, the Christians to repair together unto their temples on some certain day in the week at tho appointment of the godly christian rulers, to pray unto God, to give thanks to God for his benefits, to hear God's word, to receive the holy mysteries of the body and blood of our Saviour Christ, &c, and, that they may do these things the more conveniently, to sequester both their bodies and minds from all worldly things and servile works, &c. ; in this behalf this law con cerning the sabbath abideth moral, and is to be observed also of the Christians, not only spiritually, but also corporally, except some grave, weighty, urgent, and neces sary cause persuadeth to the contrary, that by this means they may learn the better to exercise themselves in matters of God and godliness, and seek by that temporal rest, how they may attain unto the perpetual rest of the world to come. Father. Declare to me by the word of God, that the Christians are free from the sabbath of the Jews. Son. Our Saviour Christ said unto the Pharisees (when they Matt. xii. found fault with his disciples, because that "they being hungry plucked of the ears of the corn, and did eat on the sabbath-day, saying unto him, Behold, thy disciples 1 Sam. xxi. do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath), Have ye not read, what David did, when he was hungry, and they also that were with him ? How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shew-breads, which were not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests ? Or have ye not read in the law, how that the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and yet are blameless? But I say unto you, that there is one here greater than the temple. But Hos. vi. if ye knew what this were, I have pleasure in mercy and not in sacrifice, ye would not have condemned innocents. For the Son of man is Lord even over the sabbath." Mark ii. In another place he also saith : " The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. Therefore is the Son of man Lord even over the sabbath." St Paul Gai.iv. also saith: "Seeing ye now know God (yea, rather are known of God), how is it that ye turn you back again unto the weak and beggarly traditions, whereunto ye desire again afresh to be in bondage ? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am in fear of you, lest I have bestowed labour on you in vain." Again: Co), u. " Let no man trouble your consciences about meat, or drink, or for a piece of an holy day, as the holy day of the new moon, or of the sabbath-days, which are the it™., iv. shadow of the things that were to come." Item: "Bodily exercise profiteth little; but godliness is profitable unto all things, as a thing which hath promises of the life that now is, and of the life to come." Father. It appeareth by the words of the apostle in his epistle to the Hebrews, that we Christians have also a sabbath. Son. What are those words? Heb. iv. Father. Thus saith he : " There remaineth yet a sabbath or rest unto the people of God. For he that is entered into the rest of God ceaseth from his works, as God doth from his. Let us make haste, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest that any man fall after the same example of unbelief." Theh,abbath Son. This sabbath or rest, whereof the apostle here speaketh, is not corporal, but christians, spiritual; not worldly, but ghostly; not outward, but inward; consisting rather in the In-] OF THE LAW. 83 quietness or rest of the mind than of the body, being a very figure of that godly and everlasting quietness and rest, which through Christ we shall have after this life in the kingdom of God the Father. For a christian man being at quiet with God in his conscience, by ceasing from doing evil works, and by conforming of himself unto the will of God, even in this world hath heaven in his breast, as I may so speak : even as the faithful man, which believeth in Christ, hath everlasting life even in this world, as it is written: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John iii. The sabbath therefore of the Christians is spiritual and everlasting, not to be observed one day in the week only, after the manner of the Jews, but every day so long as we live, by ceasing to do evil, and by studying to do good, as it is written : " There isai. i=™. shall be a new moon for the other, and a new sabbath for the other; and all flesh shall come to worship before me, saith the Lord." Father. Notwithstanding these things, which thou hast spoken of the spiritual, Feastful inward, and everlasting sabbath of the Christians, thou dost not take away the edybyathPe°int" sabbaths and feastful days, which are appointed of the rulers of Christ's church to Selifbe*88 be observed of their subjects, that they may the more quietly give themselves to observed- spiritual and godly exercises. Son. God forbid. For so should I sin both against faith and charity. Against faith : because I should directly strive against God's word, Rom. xiii. which commandeth not to resist but humbly to obey the godly and righteous ordi- Heb.'xm. nances of the high powers, forasmuch as " there is no power but of God ;" and " he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and purchaseth to himself ever lasting damnation." Against charity : because I should transgress and break that good and godly order, which is both confirmed by public authority, and also received with the common consent of all faithful congregations, avancing greatly both the glory of God, and making not a little to the increase of our knowledge in the mysteries of our salvation through the blood of Christ. Father. And is it lawful for us upon our sabbaths and feastful days in any case of labour on to labour ? Son. " It is lawful," as our Saviour Christ saith, " to do good even on days. the sabbath-day." We read, that on the sabbath-day Christ healed divers persons that were diseased, and restored them to their health, to give us an example to do the like, when either faith, charity, or necessity requireth. For to the true godly, every day is the sabbath-day ; forasmuch as they spend every day in holy works, and have nothing to do with such deeds, as be uncomely to be done of true Christians ; forasmuch also as every day they lift up their minds unto God, call on his holy name by fervent prayer, praise his glorious majesty, and have their meditation in the law of the Lord, yea, and that in the midst of their godly travails and labours. Notwithstanding, except great necessity or urgent causes do require that we should 42® work on the sabbath-day, or on other feastful days appointed by public authority unto holy exercises, we ought not to break that godly quietness on such holy days, but diligently apply our minds (all worldly business set apart) unto such heavenly and godly studies and actions, as the solemnity of those feasts requireth. If any man without necessary cause attempteth the contrary, he greatly offendeth, as I have here tofore said. Father. But wherefore doth God in this law make mention of labour, commanding of labour. us to work six days in the week, and to rest on the seventh ? Son. God at the beginning, so soon as man had transgressed and broken his holy commandment in paradise, and had eaten of the forbidden fruit, enjoined Adam, and in him all his posterity, this penance, that in the sweat of his brows and in the labour of his hands Gen. iii. he should eat his bread, and get his living, until he returned into the earth: for earth he was, and unto earth he should return. Therefore, whereas the Lord our God had from the beginning laid this yoke of labour upon all men's neck, commanding them to work and to travail for their living so long as they remained in this vale of misery, no day excepted, and is now determined to erect and set up a comely order in the public weal of the Israelites, wherein he will have his wonderful works con sidered, his word preached, his glorious name called upon and praised, his people brought unto the knowledge of his holy will, matters of their soul-health regarded, spiritual exercises practised, &c. ; he reneweth here his former penance of labour laid 6—2 84 THE CATECHISM. [Part. upon man for his disobedience, commanding him not to live idly, dissolutely, and slothfully, but diligently to travail by all lawful means to get his living with the labour of his hands and the sweat of his brows, yea, and that six days in the week : notwithstanding, that such godly exercises, whereof I have tofore spoken, may the more conveniently be brought to pass, he exempteth man from labour and servile occupa tions on the sabbath-day, commanding him on that day to rest, and to give himself to corporal quietness, that he may the more freely give his mind to spiritual and godly things, and on that day no less to seek after things pertaining unto the salva tion of his soul, than he the six days past laboured for the things which concern the health and preservation of his body. And to provoke man the more earnestly both unto labour and also unto the hallowing of the sabbath-day, God setteth forth him self an example unto us of them both, that is to say, of labour on the six days, and of rest on the sabbath, which is the seventh day; affirming that " in six days he made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh Gen. ii day," so that " he blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." Father. We are then commanded of God in this precept two things : first, six days to labour ; secondly, to rest from labour on the seventh day, yea, and that unto this end, that we may pass over that day in godly and spiritual exercises. Son. So is it. Father. Are there any other places of the holy scripture, which command us to labour with our hands, and to get our living with the sweat of our brows ? Son. We have plenty, both of sentences and of examples. God said unto Adam inrmedi- Gen. iii. ately after his fall : " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, until thou dost return unto the earth, out of the which thou art taken. For earth thou art, and Psai. cxxviii. to earth shalt thou return." The psalmograph saith : " Thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands : so shalt thou be blessed, and it shall go well with thee." That mirror Job v. of patience saith : " A man is born to labour, and a bird to fly." The wise man Prov. «. sa;th : " Go to the emmet, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and leam to be wise. She hath no guide, nor overseer, nor ruler ; yet in the summer she provideth her meat, and gathereth her food together in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, thou sluggish man? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yea, sleep on still a little; slumber a little; fold thine hands together yet a little, that thou mayest sleep: so shall poverty come unto thee, as one that travelleth by the way, and necessity like a weaponed man." But if thou be not slothful, thy harvest shall come as a springing prov. x. well, and poverty shall flee far from thee. Again : " Whoso gathereth in summer is wise; but he that is sluggish in harvest bringeth himself to confusion." "An idle hand maketh poor; but a quick labouring hand maketh rich." Also in another place: "Whoso is slothful and slack in his labour is the brother of him that is a Prov. xx. waster." Item : " Delight not thou in sleep, lest thou come unto poverty ; but open thine eyes, that thou mayest have bread enough." "A slothful body will not go to plough for cold of the winter : therefore shall he go a begging in summer, and have nothing." Eph. iv. St Paul also saith : " Let him that stole steal no more, but let him rather labour with his hands the thing which is good, that he may give unto him that needeth." 1 Thess. iv. Again: "We beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more, and that ye study to be quiet, and to meddle with your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may behave yourselves honestly toward 2 Thess. iii. them that are without, and that nothing be lacking unto you." Item : " When we were with you, this we warned you of, that if any would not work, the same should not eat. For we have heard say, that there are some which walk among you in ordinately, working not at all, but being busy-bodies. Them that are sucli we com mand and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that they work with quietness, and eat their own bread." iat£urples0f Father- Rehearse some examples of labour out of the holy scripture. Son. Adam, gSTv 6Ven in Paradise> was commanded of God to keep and to till the garden. Cain was a plowman. Abel was a shepherd. Thubal exercised music. Thubal-cain was a Gen.ix. worker in brass and iron. Noe was an husbandman, and planted a vineyard. 2v.. xxix. Abraham> I^ac, Jacob, and many of the ancient patriarchs were keepers of sheep. xxx vii. HI] OF THE LAW. 85 Joseph was a magistrate and ruler in the commonweal. Moses was a shepherd, and Gen. xii. afterward a governor in the public weal of Israel. The children of Israel laboured E'xod! !"' painful in the land of Egypt. David kept sheep, and afterward was king over 1 sam. xvi. Israel. The prophet Elizeus was a plowman and tilled the earth. The prophet Amos ^j? xbt- was a shepherd and kept sheep. Joseph, the husband. of Mary the virgin was a carpenter. Christ likewise was a Matt. xiii. carpenter, and laboured for his living, till he came to the office of preaching. Many Matt. iv! of Christ's disciples were fishermen. Matthew the evangelist was a custom-gatherer. Matt, ix.' Luke the evangelist was a physician. Tabitha, otherwise called Dorcas, made coats coi. iv. and garments with her own hands for the poor people. A certain godly and religious Acts 'xvi. woman, called Lydia, was a seller of purple. Aquila and Priscilla his wife were makers Acts xviii. of tents : of the which occupation St Paul also was, which lived not idly, nor yet of the sweat of other men's brows, but got his living with the labours of his own hands, because he would be chargeable to no man, as these his words do manifestly declare: "We labour and work with our own hands." Again: "Ye yourselves know, icor. iv. 6 . , J '2 Thess. in. how ye ought to follow us. For we behaved not ourselves inordinately among you : neither took we bread of any man for nought; but wrought with labour and sweat night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you : not but that we had authority, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you, to follow us. For when we were with you, this we warned you of, that if any would not work, the same should not eat." Also in another place he saith : " I have desired no man's silver,. Acts xx. gold, or vesture : yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me." Father. Is it not lawful then for christian men to cease from work on those six days, seeing that God saith, "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work"? Son. Even as on the sabbath-day, wherein we are commanded to cease from bodily labour, it is lawful, when charity or necessity requireth, to work, as we have tofore heard; so likewise is it lawful on the other six days to abstain also from labour, when the glory of God, or any other necessary cause, doth require. Father. As God setteth forth himself unto us an example of labour for six days ; so doth he of rest for the seventh day. " For in six days the Lord made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day." Son. Truth it is. Father. Of the sabbath-day and of the sanctifying thereof, we have tofore sufficiently heard. Rehearse therefore the next commandment. Son. " Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land, J^f*, which the Lord thy God giveth thee." rant Father. This commandment pertaineth not unto the person of God, as the other four, which we have tofore heard. Son. No, verily. For the law of God was written Exod. xxxi. with the finger of God in two tables of stone. The first table containeth four com mandments, and those pertain unto the worshipping and honouring of God. The other table comprehendeth six, and those concern our duty toward our neighbour. Of the which six this is the first, which I have now rehearsed. Father. Why is the commandment concerning our duty toward our parents set next in order to the precepts, which concern our office and duty toward God? Son. To declare that, next unto God, we owe the chief honour, worship, and reverence to our father and mother. Father. What is it to " honour thy father and thy mother" ? Son. Not only to give whauusjo them outward reverence, to rise up unto them, to give them place, to put off our fatte and caps, to kneel unto them, to ask them blessing, &c, but also honourably to esteem"" them, godly to think of them, heartily to love them, humbly to obey them, diligently to pray for them, charitably to conceal and hide their faults, in all honest things to gratify them, in their need to help and succour them, and in fine, at all times to do all good things for them, whatsoever lieth in our power. Father. Are there other testimonies contained in the holy scripture, which also require this duty of us toward our parents ? Son. Yea, very many. 86 THE CATECHISM. [Part Lev. xix. Eccius. iii. Tob. iv. Matt. xv. Eph. vi. Examples < obedience unto the parents. Gen. xxii. Father. Rehearse some of them. Son. Moses saith : " Let every one reverence his father and mother." Jesus, the son of Syrach, writeth on this manner: "Hear me, your father, 0 my dear children, and do thereafter, that ye may be safe. For the Lord will have the father honoured of the children; and look, what a mother com mandeth her children to do, he will have it kept. Whoso honoureth his father, his sins shall be forgiven him ; and he that honoureth his mother is like one that gathereth treasure together. Whoso honoureth his father shall have joy of his own children; and when he maketh his prayer, he shall be heard. He that honoureth his father shall have long life; and he that is obedient for the Lord's sake, his mother shall have joy of him. He that feareth the Lord honoureth his father and mother, and doeth them service, as it were to the Lord himself Honour thy father in deed, in word, and in all patience, that thou mayest have God's blessing ; and his blessing shall abide with thee for ever. The blessing of the father buildeth up the houses of the children; but the mother's curse rooteth out the foundations. Rejoice not when thy father is reproved; for it is not honour unto thee, but a shame. For the worship of a man's father is his own worship; and where the father is without honour, it is the dishonesty of the son. My son, make much of thy father in his age, and grieve him not as long as he liveth. And if his understanding fail, have patience with him, and despise him not in thy strength. For the good deed that thou shewest to thy father shall not be forgotten ; and when thou thyself wantest, it shall be rewarded thee (and for thy mother's offences thou shalt be recompensed with good, yea, it shall be found for thee in righteousness), and in the day of trouble thou shalt be remembered. Thy sins also shall melt away, like as the ice in the fair warm weather. But he that forsaketh his father shall come to shame, and he that despiseth his mother is cursed of God." Again he saith : " Honour thy father from thy whole heart ; and forget not the sorrowful travail that thy mother had with thee. Remember that thou was born through them; and how canst thou recompense them the things that they have done for thee?" Old Toby said to his son: "Hold thy mother in honour all the days of thy life. For thou oughtest to remember what and how great perils she suffered for thee in her womb." Our Saviour Christ also hath these words in the gospel : " God commandeth, saying, Honour father and mother ; and he that curs- eth father and mother, let him die the death." St Paul likewise saith : " Ye children, obey your fathers and mothers in the Lord ; for that is right. Honour thy father and mother (the same is the first commandment in the promise) ; that thou mayest prosper, and live long on earth." Again : " Ye children, obey your fathers and mothers in all things; for that is well-pleasing unto the Lord." Father. Are there any ensamples contained in the holy scriptures of such as prac tised this obedience toward their parents? Son. Yea, verily. : Father. Recite part of them. Son. Isaac shewed such obedience to his father Abraham, that when he at the commandment of God should have been offered for a sacrifice unto the Lord, he did not once resist his father, but willingly suffered himself to be bound, and to be laid on the altar above upon the wood, being ready also to be slain of his father, if God had not otherwise provided. Likewise read we of young Tobias, which, when his father sent him unto a far country about certain businesses of his, refused not to take so great a journey upon him, but meekly answered his father, and said : " Father, all that thou hast commanded me will I do, and that diligently." As I may let pass the other examples ; have we not Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour a perfect example in this behalf? First, in as much as he is the only-begotten Son of God, he so obeyed the good will and pleasure of his heavenly Father, that "when he was God and equal with God, he made himself of no reputation, taking on him the shape of a servant, and became like unto men, and was found in his apparel as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient unto the death, even the death of the cross." Again, in that he is man, and the son of Mary the virgin, read we not, that he, being a child, was obedient to Mary his mother, and to Joseph her husband ? Are not these the words of blessed Luke ? " Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient unto them." Father. Owe we such honour and obedience to our fathers and mothers, that we HI] OF THE LAW. 87 are bound by the commandment of God to obey them in all things, and to do what soever they command us? Son. The honour and obedience is great, I confess, which How far the children owe to their parents : notwithstanding, if they command any thing con- LToVeyed. trary to the word of God, in this behalf they are not to be obeyed. The honour due unto parents is so far to be executed, as it may stand with the honour of God. If it doth in any point obscure that, then is it utterly to be rejected and cast away. And we may right well and with a good conscience say : " We must obey God more Acts v. than men." Therefore the apostle saith very aptly : " Ye children, obey your fathers EPh. vi. and mothers in the Lord ; for that is right." Fathers and mothers are none otherwise to be obeyed, than in the Lord, that is to say, than their obedience may stand with the Lord's pleasure and with his holy word. If they command contrary to this, they are by no means to be obeyed. The Father of the spirit and of the new man is more to be honoured and obeyed, than the father of the flesh and of the old man. The honour and obedience toward God, which the law of the first table requireth of us, is more to be regarded, than the honour and obedience toward man, which the law of the second table requireth of us. Father. Give me an ensample of such things, as wherein we may not obey our parents. Son. Let it so be, that our parents were so wicked and ungodly, that they would command us to forsake the true living God and his pure religion, and to follow strange gods, and the trifling traditions of men : in this behalf they are not to be obeyed, but we must rather obey God, which saith by Moses his servant, " Thou Deut. vi. shalt honour the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve." Again : " That I Deut. xii. command thee, do that only to the Lord : look thou neither put ought thereunto, nor pluck any thing from it." Moreover, let this be the case, that some evil-disposed father and mother would entice their daughter for lucre's sake to play the whore, and to make her body common to other : in this behalf she may by no means obey the commandment of her parents, but she must rather obey God, which saith, " Thou Deut xxiii. shalt not play the whore : there shall be no whoremonger among the sons of Israel, nor no whore among the daughters of Israel." Father. Prove by the word of God, that the wicked commandments of ungodly parents are not to be obeyed. Son. God saith by the projdiet : " Walk not in the Ezek. xx. commandments of your fathers : keep not their ordinances, and defile not yourselves with their idols ; for I am the Lord your God. But walk in my statutes : keep my laws, and do them." Again he saith by another prophet: "Be ye not like your Zech. i. fathers, unto whom the prophets cried aforetime, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of hosts : Turn you from your evil ways and from your wicked imaginations. But they would not hear, nor regard me, saith the Lord." Hereto pertaineth the saying of that most noble and virtuous king Ezechias: "Be not ye like your fathers and 2Chron.xxx. your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, which gave them up to be destroyed, as ye see. And now be not ye stiff-necked, like as were your fathers, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his holy place, which he hath sanctified for ever, and serve the Lord your God ; and the fierceness of his wrath shall turn away from you." Our Saviour Christ saith also : " Think not that I am Matt. *. come to send peace into the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they that are of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." Father. Hitherto hast thou right well declared, what it is to honour father and mother, and how far honour and obedience is to be shewed unto them. Now declare unto me what is meant by the words that follow : " That thy days may be long in the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Son. That we, which of ourselves and of our own nature are too much ingrate, unthankful, ungentle, unkind, yea, churlish, and very unmindful of benefits, those specially, which come from our parents, whom we think to do too little for us, when they be most beneficial toward us, may be pro voked, moved, and stirred the more diligently to satisfy this commandment, I mean, to honour our father and mother, God addeth to this his precept a pleasant, bounteous, 88 THE CATECHISM. [Part and liberal promise; which is this, that such as honour their parents from the bottom of their heart, and seek to pleasure them to the uttermost of their power, shall have in this world many good and cheerful days, long, yea, and that quiet and joyful life, good success in all their affairs, abundance of worldly substance, health, peace, rest, com fort, joy, glory, honour, &c. and see their children's children unto the third and fourth Psai. cxxviii. generation, as it is written : " Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord from out of Sion shall so bless thee, that thou shalt see Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life long; yea, that thou shalt see thy childer's children, and peace upon Israel." children dis- Father. And shall all these good things chance to those children also, that un- their parents reverently behave themselves toward their parents ? Son. Nothing less. For of such punished. children speaketh the holy scripture on this manner. First, God the Father saith: Deut xxi. " If any man hath a son, that is stubborn and disobedient, that he will not hearken unto the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they have chastened him, and he would not hearken unto them ; then shall his father and his mother take him, and bring him out to the elders of that city, and unto the gate of the same place, and say unto the elders of the city, This our son is stubborn and disobedient, and will not hearken unto our voice; he is a rioter, and a drunkard. And all the men of that city shall stone him with stones unto death. And thou shalt put evil away from thee; and all Lev. xx. Israel shall hear and fear." Again : " Whosoever he be, that curseth his father or his mother, let him die ; for he that curseth his father and mother, his blood be upon Excd. xxi. him." And again • " He that smiteth his father or mother, let him be slain for it." Deut. xxvii. Also in another place : " Cursed be he that curseth his father and his mother ; and all the people shall say, Amen." Prov. xix. The wise man also saith : " He that hurteth his father, and shutteth out his mother, Prov. xx. is a shameful and an unworthy son." " Whoso curseth his father and mother, his light Prov. xxx. shall be put out in the midst of darkness." "Whoso laugheth his father to scorn, and setteth his mother's commandment at nought; the ravens pick out his eyes in the valley, and devoured be he of the young eagles." What miserable end abideth 1 Sam. iv. those children which dishonour and disobey their parents, the histories of Heli the 2 Sam. xviii. priest's children, and of Absolom David's son, do sufficiently declare. Father. It is good therefore, my dear child, that all children give ear to this piov. xxiii. admonition of the wise man : " Be obedient to thy father that begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old." " Do so that thy father and mother may be glad of thee; and that she that bare thee may rejoice." But come off, tell me, doth this fifth commandment of God bind us only unto the honour, reverence, service, and obedience of our parents? Son. Our schoolmaster, and also our catechist, taught us that this commandment of God doth not only require of honour of us honour and obedience toward our fathers and mothers, but also toward the and obedi- , . . . " ence toward temporal magistrates, and the ministers of God's word, and toward our elders and all our superiors. i -i • i such as be our superiors and governors. For if it be meet and convenient, that we should honour and obey them which are the parents of this our body; is it not also seemly, that we do honour and obey the temporal magistrates, through whose benefit this our body is well governed and enjoy peace and quietness ? again, that we rever ence the spiritual magistrates, I mean the preachers of God's word, which beget us anew, not with mortal and corruptible seed, but with immortal and uncorruptible seed, I mean, the precious word of God, that word of life and everlasting salvation ? Is it not also comely, that we honour and reverence such as excel us, not only in age, but also in learning, wisdom, knowledge, counsel, experience, &c. ? All these aforesaid to honour, reverence, ^ and obey, this commandment of God bindeth us : which thing to neglect is great wickedness. tt?mag!Tg Father. Prove by the word of God, that we ought to honour and obey the temporal PraovS'xxiv. maSistrates' no less than our carnal parents. Son. Salomon saith : " My son, fear thou the Lord and the king, and keep no company with them that slide back from Exod. xxii. his fear." Moses saith : " Thou shalt not rail upon the gods (he meaneth the magis trates, which exercise the office of God in the commonweal, and represent the majesty Matt. xxii. of God), neither blaspheme the ruler of the people." Our Saviour Christ saith : " Give HI-] OF THE LAW. 89 the temporal ruler the things that appertain unto the temporal ruler." St Paul saith : " Let every soul submit himself unto the authority of the higher powers. For there Rom. xiii. is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever there fore resisteth power resisteth the ordinance of God. But they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation, &c. Wherefore ye must needs obey, not only for fear of vengeance, but also because of conscience. And even for this cause pay ye tribute. For they are God's ministers, serving for the same purpose. Give to every man therefore his duty ; tribute, to whom tribute belongeth ; custom, to whom custom is due ; fear, to whom fear belongeth ; honour, to whom honour pertaineth." Again he saith: "Warn them that they submit themselves to rule and power, that they obey Tit. m. the officers," &c. St Peter also saith : " Submit yourselves unto all manner ordinance i Pet ii. of man, for the Lord's sake ; whether it be unto the king, as unto the chief head ; either unto rulers, as unto them that are sent of him for the punishment of evil-doers, but for the praise of them that do well." Again : " Fear God : honour the king." Father. Have we any examples in the holy scripture of this honour and obedience Examples of obedience to toward the higher powers ? Son. Very many, both in the old and new testament, the magis- The Israelites, specially such as were the faithful people of God, were obedient always Exod.' xxxii. to Moses their magistrate, and to the other rulers appointed by him, not only men of the temporalty, but also of the spiritualty, as they say; I mean, the priests and the Levites. When Josua in Moses' stead was appointed ruler by God over the Israelites, and commanded them to do certain things at the appointment of God; they answered all with one voice, and said : " All that thou hast commanded us, we Josh. i. will do ; and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. Even as we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we obey thee : only the Lord thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. And whosoever he be, that doth disobey thy mouth, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, let him die. Only be strong and of a good courage." And as the Israelites obeyed Moses and Josua, so likewise did they obey the judges and kings that succeeded them according to the law of God. And this obedience toward the higher powers, as I said before, was not only practised The spwtuai- of the temporalty, but also of the spiritualty, to declare that all degrees of estates emptedfrom owe obedience to the temporal power ; for Aaron the high priest was obedient to Moses, the magis- whom God appointed ruler over his people, and did whatsoever he commanded him. Exod. xxxii. Achimelech the high priest and all the other priests of the Lord were obedient to king i Sam. xxii. Saul, and called themselves his servants, and him their lord, not once resisting the fury of the most furious king, but rather choosing to suffer death patiently under so great a tyrant, than once to resist him disobediently. What shall I speak of David, Salomon, Ezechias, Josaphat, Josias, &c, which had the bishops, priests, and Levites and other spiritual ministers always humble subjects, and obedient unto them without any resistance? As I may at the last come to the new testament; did not Mary the mother of Luke u. Christ, and Joseph her husband, obey the commandment of Augustus the emperor, when the whole world should be taxed, and went into their city Bethlehem ? Did Matt. xvii. not Christ teach obedience toward the high powers? Did he not pay tribute? Was Mark xiv!' not he content to die under the temporal rulers, and confess that their power was johnxS!' given them from above ? Did not the apostles of Christ so in like manner both teach and do? Did not Paul willingly ever obey the public magistrates, Festus and Felix, Acts xxv. with such like? These histories do sufficiently declare, what honour, reverence, and obedience we owe to the temporal rulers. Neither lack we in the holy scriptures histories also, which do manifestly declare, Disobedience what a great sin disobedience is, and how grievously God hath punished it. To whom pumshed- are the histories of Dathan and Abiron, of Zamri and Baasa unknown ? of the which Num. xvi. the two first, for their sedition, conspiracy, and disobedience against the higher powers l KmBS xvl' were swallowed up alive of the earth, with all that ever they had"; so that they went down quick unto hell ; the other two most miserably perished. I pass over the histories of Miriam, Aaron's sister, of Theudas, and of Judas Galileus and such like, whom God, Num. xii. for their disobedience toward the higher powers, suffered not to escape unpunished. It is good to follow the example of David, which shewed such honour and reverence 90 THE CATECHISM. [Part 1 Sam. xxvi. to king Saul, being both a wicked ruler, and also his mortal enemy, that he would not once hurt him, nor yet suffer any other to do it, although he had sufficient opportu nity and occasion at divers times to have slain him, if he had been minded. "The Lord forbid," saith he, "that I should lay my hand on him." Again: "Kill him ssam.i. not. For who," saith he, "shall lay hands on the Lord's anointed, and be not guilty? The Lord liveth, he dieth not, except the Lord smite him, or that his day be come to die, or else go to battle, and there perish." How far Father. What if the princes be wicked, and command us to do wicked things ? £e'ooeeyed?to Shall we then also obey them? Son. In this behalf we owe them no honour, no reverence, no obedience. So long as they are the ministers of God, that is to say, seek the glory of God, the avancement of his holy religion, the increase of virtue, and the Rom. xiii. suppression of vice, we are bound by the commandment of God to obey them, not only for fear of punishment, but also for conscience sake : but if they cease to be the ministers of God, the promoters of his true religion, the avancers of virtue, and the suppressers of vice, we owe them no honour, no reverence, no obedience in this behalf; but with a Acts v. good conscience we may say unto them with the apostles : " We must obey God more than men." Father. How provest thou by the word of God, that magistrates commanding wicked things are not to be obeyed ? Son. God is the highest magistrate, and his will is to be tendered before the fancy of any inferior magistrate. Therefore if the #2^" inferior magistrate commandeth any thing that is contrary to the commandment of the highest magistrate, I mean God, it is not to be obeyed, but utterly to be rejected and cast away, as these examples of the holy scripture do manifestly prove. Exod. i. That wicked king Pharao gave out this most wicked commandment to midwives of Eoypt, that they should kill all the men-children of the Israelites, and by no means suffer them to live. But the midwives fearing God would not in any condition obey l Sam. xxii. this commandment of the king, but suffered the men-children to live. When king Saul commanded his footmen that stood about him to kill the priests of the Lord, the king's servants would not once move their hands to fall upon the priests of the Lord, Dan. iii. neither would they once touch them. King Nabuchodonozor caused a golden image to be made, and commanded that all his subjects should fall down before it and worship it. Notwithstanding, the servants of God, Sidrach, Misach, and Abednago would by no means worship that idol, but rather choosed to be cast into an hot brenning oven, and so to be consumed unto ashes, than they would once obey the most wicked com- Dan. vi. mandment of so wicked a king. King Darius made a law, that whosoever did ask any petition either of any god or man within thirty days, except it were only of him, the same person should be cast into the lions' den. But Daniel the servant of God would by no means obey this commandment of the king, but choosed rather to be cast into the lions' den, and so be devoured, than he would cease so long time to l Maec. U. pray unto the Lord his God. Mathathias, when he was commanded of king Anti- ochus' commissioners to do sacrifice, and to burn incense unto idols, and to forsake the law of God, as many of Juda and Jerusulem had done according to the king's commandment, utterly refused it, and stoutly brast out into the words, saying : " Though all nations obey the king Antiochus, and fall away every man from keeping of the law of their fathers, though they consent to his commandments, yet will I and my sons and my brethren not fall from the law of our fathers. God forbid we should: that were not good for us, that we should forsake the law and ordinances of God, and to agree unto the commandments of king Antiochus. Therefore we will do no such sacrifice, neither break the statutes of our law, to go another way." And when he had spoken these words, there came one of the Jews, which openly in the sight of all did sacrifice unto the idols upon the altar, in the city of Modin, according to the king's commandment. When Mathathias saw this, it grieved him at the heart, so §S" that his reins shook withal, and his wrath kindled for very zeal of the law. With that he start up, and killed the Jew beside the altar, and slew the king's commis sioner, that compelled him to do sacrifice, and destroyed the altar at the same time: Num. xxv. such a zeal had he unto the law of God, like as Phinehes did unto Zamri, the son of Salom. III.] OF THE LAW. 91 What shall I speak of that most noble woman and of her seven sons, which all did a Mace. vii. rather choose not only to suffer most grievous torments, but also most cruel and bitter death, than they would once obey the king's commandment in eating swine's flesh against the law of God ? I pass over the most notable history of that most worthy and ancient 2 Mace. vi. father Eleazarus, which, refusing also to obey the king's commandment in eating swine's flesh, desired rather to die gloriously than to live with shame, and so offered, himself willingly to the martyrdom, yea, to the very death. The noble enterprise of the apostles is more known, than it needeth here to be recited ; Acts iv. which, when they were commanded that they should no more preach in the name of Christ, would not obey the head rulers in this behalf, but continued still in preaching the gospel of Christ diligently. And when they were convented before the magistrates, and demanded why they shewed themselves so disobedient to their commandment, they stoutly and boldly answered : " Whether it be right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, judge ye. We can none otherwise than speak those things which we have seen and heard." Again : "We must obey God more than men." 0 courageous Acts v. hearts ! And as I may interlace one history, although not mentioned in the sacred bible, yet worthy to be remembered, our catechist, entreating on a certain time of obedience due unto princes, told us this history. " The Roman emperor Diocletian," said he, " com- Thehistoryof • t ¦ • St Maurice. manded one of his captains called Maurice, being a christian man, to prepare an army against the Christians, and utterly to destroy them, except they would give over the faith of Christ, and worship the gods of the Romans, and do sacrifice unto them. But Maurice, valiant not only in body but also in mind, strong in arms, but stronger in faith, courageous in martial affairs, but more courageous in matters of God, stoutly and boldly answered on this manner : ' O emperor, I am ready to serve thee in all thy righteous and honest affairs, neither have I at any time refused to do thee service. Notwithstanding in this behalf, know thou, 0 emperor, I neither may nor will obey thy commandment, being both wicked and ungodly. For I myself also am a christian man and must obey God on whom I believe, and of whom I look for the crown of everlasting glory, more than thee, O emperor, of whom I have only mortal and transitory rewards. Therefore be it known unto thee, O emperor, that I will rather suffer my blood to be shed, than once according to thy commandment attempt to hurt any that profess Christ, being linked and joined with me in one faith, baptism, and doctrine1'." Father. Of the temporal magistrates and of the honour and obedience due to them, ofdho?°if we have sufficiently heard. But come off, tell me, doth this fifth commandment of God ence to the require of us also, that we honour, reverence, and obey the ministers of God's word ? God's word. Son. Yea no less than the temporal ministers. For as the one conserveth the body, so doth the other the soul : yea, both of them watch for the safeguard of the body and of the soul. Father. Declare by the word of God, that we owe no less honour, reverence, and obedience to the ministers of God's word, than we do to the temporal rulers or to our corporal parents. Son. The names which be appropriated to the ministers of jfbe namesof God's word do abundantly declare in what great honour and reverence we ought to have ministers. them. Father. Which are they ? Son. They be called in the holy scriptures " shepherds," Ezek. xxxiy. " watchmen," " overseers," " feeders of the Lord's flock," " angels of the Lord," " em- Mat ii. Who, hearing the ministers of God's word to be called with such honourable names, is 1 Tim. iv! [' The story referred to is that noted one of Mauritius, or Maurice, and the Thehan legion. These are said to have perished, to the number of 6660, rather than take any part in the persecution of their brother Christians. There is an account at length extant under the name of Eucherius, bishop of Lyons, though it probably was not from his pen. The speech (of which that in the text seems to be an abstract) is there fully given, as made by the soldiers to Maximian, the colleague of Diocletian. See Acta Sanct. Martyr. Agaunens. Auct. Sanct. Eucherio Lugd. Episc. in Max. Biblioth. Vet. Patr. Lugd. 1677. Tom. VI. p. 867.] 92 THE CATECHISM. [Part Eccius. vii. Matt. x. Luke x. 1 Thess. Iv. 1 Thess. v. Deut. xxv. 1 Cor. ix. Matt. x. Luke x. * Disobediencepunished.Gen. iii. Matt. xi. Luke x. How far the spiritual mi nisters are to be obeyed. not straightways moved to give honour and reverence unto them, and to esteem them as precious jewels and noble treasures ? Father. But let me hear what the holy scripture speaketh in this behalf. Son. The wise man saith : " Fear the Lord with all thy soul, and honour his ministers. Love thy Maker with all thy strength, and forsake not his servants. Fear the Lord with all thy soul, and honour his priests." God the Father saith : " Beware that thou forsake not the Levite (he meaneth the minister of his word), as long as thou livest upon the earth." Our Saviour Christ saith : " He that receiveth you receiveth me ; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that' sent me. He that heareth you heareth me ; and he that despiseth you despiseth me ; but he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." St Paul saith : " He that despiseth despiseth not man (he meaneth the preacher of God's word) but God, which hath given his holy Spirit into you." " We beseech you, brethren, that ye know them which labour among you, and have the oversight of you in the Lord, and give you exhortation ; that ye have them in high reputation, through love for their work's sake, and be at peace with them." Again : " The elders that rule well are worthy of double honour ; but most specially they which labour in the word and teaching. For the scripture saith : Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox, that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. Against an elder receive none accusation, but under two or three witnesses." Also in another place he saith : " Obey them that have the oversight of you, and submit yourselves unto them ; for they watch for your souls, even as they that must give accompts, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief. For that is a profitable thing for you." Father. If any man sheweth disobedience to the ministers of God's word, and will not honour nor reverence them according to the commandment of God, shall they escape unpunished? Son. Heard ye not before what Christ saith? "He that despiseth you despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." Can there be any greater dishonour be done to a prince, than when his embassador is evil entreated? Can that king take in good part the disobedience of those subjects which disobey and resist his commission, published for their wealth by his officers? No more can God abide that his embassadors and commissioners, I mean the preachers of his holy word, should be contemned, despised, and not regarded, or their sermons, which are the infallible oracles of God, neglected and nothing set by. Yea, such despisers of God's preachers, and of their doctrine, did never, nor never shall, escape unpunished. What drove Adam and Heva out of paradise into this vale of misery, making them of immortal mortal, of uncorruptible corruptible, of God's friends God's enemies, of the inheritors of everlasting glory firebrands of hell, &c, but disobedience to God and to his holy word ? What caused the whole world once to be drowned, eight persons only excepted, but disobedience to the preachers and to their doctrine ? Again, what provoked God to consume Sodom and Gomorre, and certain other cities, with fire and brimstone from heaven, but that they contemned the preacher of God's word, and his heavenly doctrine? What was the occasion that God did so oftentimes plague with hunger, sword, fire, and pestilence, the Israelites, but that they despised the prophets of God and their preachings ? How came it to pass that whole Jewry came to havoc, and finally both destruction and desolation, certain years after Christ's ascension, but that they did nothing regard the doctrine of Christ and of his apostles, but utterly sought the decay and utter confusion of them both ? How doth our Saviour Christ cry out against certain cities, which despised the preachers and the doctrine that they taught! Are not these his words ? " Wo unto thee, Chorasin ! wo unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the miracles which were shewed in you had been done in the city of Tyre or Sidon, they had repented of their sins long agone in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless, I say unto you, it shall be easier for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Caparnaum, which art lift up unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the miracles which have been done in thee had been shewed in Sodom, they had remained until this day. Nevertheless, I say unto you, it shall be easier for the land of Sodom at the day of judgment, than for thee." Father. What if they which take upon them to be the ministers of Christ and the preachers of his word, teach false doctrine, and the traditions of men, corrupting rather HI-] OF THE LAW. 93 than correcting our minds with their wicked doctrine, and labouring to bring us rather unto the perdition than salvation of our souls ? Shall we also in this behalf honour, reverence, and obey them? Son. Nothing less. For they are now no more the ministers of Christ, but the servants of antichrist ; no more the angels of light, but the messengers of darkness ; no more the sons of God, but the bond-slaves of the devil. Therefore have we nothing to do with them. For they sit not in the chair of Moses, but in the chair of Matt xxm. . Psai i pestilence ; so that, if they require any obedience of us because they occupy the place, and yet not the office, of Christ's ministers, we may with a good conscience refuse so to do, and say with the apostles, " We must obey God more than men." Christ sent forth Acts v. his disciples to preach, not their own fancies, nor the traditions of their forefathers, but Mafk xvi™1' the gospel. " Go and preach the gospel," saith he, "to every creature." "Wo be unto johnxx."' me," saith St Paul, " if I preach not the gospel !" The aforesaid apostle in a certain l Cor' '*' epistle writeth on this manner : " Though we ourselves or an angel from heaven preach Gai. i. any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, hold it accursed. As we said before, so say I now again : If any man preach unto you any other gospel than that ye have received, hold it accursed." St John also saith : " If there come any 2 John. unto you, and bring not this learning, him receive not to house, neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." Such there fore as will be counted true ministers of Christ, and zealous preachers of his holy word, must observe this rule of St Peter : " If any man speak, let him so speak, that it be 1 Pet iv. agreeable to God's word;" and so are they worthy to be honoured, reverenced, and obeyed, as spiritual fathers, according to the commandment of God : otherwise there is neither honour, reverence, nor obedience due unto them, as our Saviour Christ saith : " Ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt have lost his saltness, what shall be Matt ». seasoned therewith? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to cast out, and to be trodden down of men." Father. As I remember, thou saidst that your schoolmaster and also your catechist of honour taught you, that not only corporal fathers and mothers, magistrates, and preachers are tooureidera, commanded to be honoured, reverenced, and obeyed, but also our elders, and all such as fnd*™pBriois. be our superiors and governors. Son. Truth it is. Father. What meanest thou by elders ? Son. Such as do excel us in age, wisdom, discretion, knowledge, learning, experience, &c. Father. How provest thou by the holy scripture, that we ought to reverence our elders ? Son. God saith by his servant Moses : " Thou shalt rise up before the hoar- Lev. xix. headed, and reverence the face of the old man, and dread thy God; for I am the Lord." The wise man also saith : " Keep company with the multitude of such elders Eccius. vi. as have understanding, and consent unto their wisdom with thine heart, that thou mayest hear all godly sermons, and that the worthy sentences escape thee not. And if thou seest a man of discreet understanding, get thee soon unto him, and let thy foot tread upon the steps of his doors." Again: "Think scorn of no man in his old age; Eccius. vi«. for we wax old also, &c. Despise not the sermons of such elders as have under standing, but acquaint thyself with the wise sentences of them ; for of them thou shalt learn wisdom, and the doctrine of understanding, and how to serve great men without complaint. Go not from the doctrine of the elders ; for they have learned it of their fathers. For of them shalt thou learn understanding, so that thou mayest make answer in the time of need." Also in another place he saith: "If thou be among men of Eccius. xxxii. higher authority, desire not to compare thyself unto them ; and when an elder speaketh, make not thou many words." Hereto agreeth the saying of St Paul : " Rebuke not 1 Tim. v. an elder rigorously, but exhort him as a father; the younger men as brethren; the elder women as mothers ; the younger as sisters with all pureness." Father. But what if our elders require those things to be done of us, which manifestly How far our fight with the word of the Lord, and be contrary to the glory and honour of God ? to be'obeyed. Shall we then hearken unto them, and obey them? Son. Yea, we shall rather say with the apostles, as we heard afore: "We must obey God more than men." Acts v. Father. What meanest thou by superiors and governors, whom this commandment also, as thou sayest, bindeth us to honour, reverence, and obey? Son. Schoolmasters, teachers, tutors, patrons, masters of occupations, &c. For St Paul saith : " Obey them Heb. xiii. 94 THE CATECHISM. [Part Eph. vi. Col. iii. 1 Tim. vi. Acts iv. v. The sixth commandment.What God Tequireth in the sixth command ment. Lev. xix. Prov. xx. Deut. xxxii. Prov. xxv. Wilful and pretensed murder un pardonable. Gen. ix. Lev. xxiv. that have the oversight of you, and submit yourselves unto them." And that servants ought to honour and obey their bodily masters, appear plainly by these exhortations of St Paul : " Ye servants," saith he, " obey them that are your bodily masters, with fear and trembling, even with the singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not doing service unto the eye, as they that go about to please men; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with a good will, serving the Lord and not men ; knowing this, that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive again of God, whether he be bond or free." Again : " Let as many servants as be under the yoke count their masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God, and his doctrine, be not evil spoken of. See that they which have believing masters despise them not because they are brethren, but rather do service; forasmuch as they are believing and beloved, and partakers of the benefit." Also in another place : " Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them in all things, not answering again, neither to be pickers, but that they shew all good faith fulness, that they may do worship to the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." St Peter also saith : " Ye servants, obey your masters with fear, not only if they be good and courteous, but also though they be froward. For it is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, and suffer wrong undeserved." Father. If the schoolmasters, teachers, tutors, patrons, masters of occupations, or any other of our superiors and governors should command us that which striveth with the glory, honour, and word of God, is it to be obeyed ? Son. You heard before what I said concerning honour, reverence, service, and obedience due unto men, of whatsoever degree or estate they be. If it may not stand with the honour, reverence, service, and obedience, which we owe unto God, it is utterly to be rejected and cast away. For the honour of God is to be considered before the honour of man. Therefore in this behalf, if they require of us any honour, reverence, service, and obedience, that cannot stand with our duty toward God, we may with a good conscience answer with the apostles, and say : " Whether it be right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, judge ye." " We must obey God more than men." Father. Thou hast satisfied me right well in this fifth commandment. Come off, rehearse unto me the next precept, as it followeth in order. Son. "Thou shalt not kill." Father. What doth God require of us in this his commandment? Son. First of all, that no private person shall kill another, although injuried and wronged. Father. Prove that by the word of God. Son. God saith: "Thou shalt not avenge thyself, nor be mindful of wrong against the children of my people, but shalt love thy neighbour even as thyself." The wise man also saith : " Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but put thy trust in the Lord; and he shall defend thee." Hereto agreeth the saying of the apostle : " Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide aforehand things honest, nor only before God, but also in the sight of all men. If it be possible (so much as is in you), live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will reward, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him : if he thirst, give him drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with goodness." Father. What if any man, overcome with ire and madness for the avengement of his own private cause, killeth his neighbour? Shall he be pardoned, and not rather suffer death? Son. Whosoever committeth wilful and pretensed murder ought not to be pardoned, but rather to be killed, as he hath killed. Father. How provest thou that by the word of God ? Son. God saith : " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, his blood shall be shed again. For in the image of God did God make man." Again : " He that killeth any man, let him die the death." "And if a man maim his neighbour, as he hath done, so shall it be done to him again; broke1 for broke, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth: even as he hath maimed a man, [l Broke: breach.] HI-] OF THE LAW. 95 so shall he be maimed again." Also in another place : " He that smiteth a man, Exod. xxi. that he die, shall be slain for it." Our Saviour Christ said unto Peter : " Put up Matt. xxvi. thy sword into his sheath; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Father. Is it not lawful by any means to kill ? Son. For a private man it is The magis- not lawful : for a temporal magistrate it is lawful. la^uUykiu Father. Where findest thou that in the word of God ? Son. God speaking to offenders- the temporal ruler saith : " Thou shalt have no pity on him (the murderer), but thou shalt require soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot, hand for hand." David, that most noble king, saith in a certain psalm : " I shall soon destroy all the ungodly Psai. cj. that are in the land, that I may root out all wicked doers from the city of the Lord." The apostle also saith : " Rulers are not to be feared of them that do well, but of Rom. xni. them that do evil. Wilt thou be without fear of the power? Do well then, and so shalt thou be praised of the same : for he is the minister of God for thy wealth. But if thou do that which is evil, then fear ; for he beareth not the sword for nought. For he is the minister of God to take vengeance on him that doeth evil." St Peter also saith, that the " rulers are ordained of God for the punishment of the evil-doers, 1 pet a. but for the praise of them that do well." Father. What doth God require more of us in this his precept? Son. Secondly, he requireth of us not only that we should not kill, but also that we should bear no hatred, anger, nor malice in our hearts against our neighbour. Father. For this cause then is the law called of St Paul " spiritual," because it Rom. vii. Why the law reauireth not ofusonlv outward and civil righteousness, but also inward and spiritual of God is caii- i- 1 • i i r ed spiritual. justice, even pure and uncorrupt motions of the mind ; so that the law must be ful filled both with the inward and outward man, both with body and soul. Son. Yea, verily ; and so doth our Saviour Christ interpret and expound the whole law of God Matt v. contrary to the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees. Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that we are forbidden to bear any hatred, anger, malice, envy, displeasure, &c. in our hearts against our neigh bour. Son. God saith : " Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour : Lev. xix. I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, but shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, that thou bear not sin for his sake." The wise man saith : " There are six things which the Lord doth hate, and the seventh he utterly abhorreth : Prov. vi. a proud look; a lying tongue; hands that shed innocent blood; an heart that goeth about with wicked imaginations ; feet that be swift in running to do mischief ; a false witness that bringeth up lies ; and such one as soweth discord among brethren." Our Saviour Christ saith : " Ye have heard that it was said to them of the old time, Matt. v. Thou shalt not kill ; for whosoever killeth shall be in danger of judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of judgment ; and whosoever saith unto his brother, Racha, shall be in danger of a council; but whosoever saith, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire. Therefore if thou offerest thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest, that thy brother hath ought against thee ; leave there thine offering before the altar, and go thy way first, and be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him ; lest at any time thy adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the minister, and then thou be cast into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, Thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." St Paul saith : " Let all bitterness, and fierceness, and wrath, Eph. iv. and roaring, and cursed speaking be put away from you, with all maliciousness. Be ye courteous one to another, merciful, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Hereto appertaineth the saying of St John : " He that l John iii. loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a manslayer; and ye know that no manslayer hath eternal life abiding in him." Father. I perceive now right well, that we may not only not kill, hurt, or noy our neighbour in any condition, either with hand, weapon, tongue, &c, but also that we may not so much as once hate him, or bear malice or anger in our hearts toward him, although it should never brast out either into word or deed : if we do, we are transgres- 9G THE CATECHISM. [Part Psai. iv. Eph. iv. Eccius. xxviii. Eph. iv. Col. iii. 1 Thess. v. Rom. xii. Deut. xxxii. Prov. xxv. Matt v. Exod. xxi. Deut. xix. sors of the law of God, and before the majesty of God plain murderers and manslayers. Son. So is it. Father. Who can so warely and circumspectly walk in the pathways of christian charity, or so continue in brotherly love, but that sometime he falleth into anger and displeasure with his neighbour ? Son. We are all frail indeed, and ready at every hour to fall. Therefore if at any time we pass the bounds of charity, and slip into the rage of anger, it is good to follow this most wholesome counsel of the apostle : " Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place unto the backbiter." Father. We may not then continue in anger, nor seek to be revenged ? Son. No, verily, but seek rather to be reconciled, as our Saviour commandeth us in the gospel. For the wise man saith : " He that seeketh vengeance shall find vengeance at the Lord's hand, which shall surely keep him his sins. Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done thee ; and so shall thy sins be forgiven thee also when thou prayest. A man that beareth hatred against another, how dare he desire forgiveness of God? He that sheweth no mercy to a man, which is like himself, how dare he ask forgiveness of his sins ? If he that is but flesh beareth hatred and keepeth it, who will entreat for his sins ? Remember the end, and let enmity pass, which seeketh death and destruction; and abide thou in the commandments. Remember the commandments ; so shalt thou not be rigorous over thy neighbour. Think upon the covenant of the Highest, and forgive thy neighbour's ignorance. Beware of strife, and thou shalt make thy sins fewer. For an angry man kindleth variance, and the ungodly disquieteth friends, and putteth discord among them that be at peace." Father. What is required of us more in this precept ? Son. Thirdly, God requireth of us not only that we should not kill, hurt, noy, or bear secretly in our hearts any anger or displeasure against our neighbour, but also that we should patiently suffer whatsoever is unjustly done against us, and for evil recompense goodness ; when we are evil spoken of, speak well ; when we are cursed, bless ; when we are railed upon, give good words ; when we are injuried, forgive ; when we have displeasure done unto us, do good, &c. Father. Where are these things taught in the holy scripture ? Son. That we ought patiently to suffer, whatsoever is unjustly done against us, we have our master Christ, whose disciples we profess ourselves to be, for a most manifest example, of whom St Peter writeth on this manner : " Christ suffered for us, leaving us an ensample that. ye should follow his steps; which did no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth ; which, when he was reviled, reviled not again ; when he suffered, he threatened not, but commit the vengeance to him that judgeth righteously." St Paul also exhorteth us, that " with all lowliness and meekness, and with all humbleness of mind, we should forbear one another through love, and be diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace :" again, that we should " forgive one another, if any man have a quarrel against another, even as Christ hath forgiven us." Father. Where are we taught to recompense evil with good? Son. St Paul saith: " See that none recompense evil for evil unto any man ; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men." Again : " Recompense to no man evil for evil, &c. Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will reward, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink : for in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with goodness." Father. Where readest thou, that when we are evil spoken of, we should speak well, &c. ? Son. Our Saviour Christ, that most perfect schoolmaster of all perfect righte-, ousness, saith : " Ye have heard that is said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil. But whosoever giveth thee a blow on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever will compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from, him that would borrow, turn not thou away. Ye have heard that is said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your In-] OF THE LAW. 97 enemies : bless them that curse you : do good to them that hate you : pray for them which hurt you and persecute you ; that ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven. For he maketh his sun to arise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not the publicans also even the same? And if ye make much of your brethren only, what singular thing do ye? do not also the publicans likewise? Ye shall therefore be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." St Paul also saith : " Bless them which persecute you : bless, I say, and curse not." Rom. xii. Hereto agreeth the saying of St Peter : " Be ye all of one mind, of one heart, love i Pet. iii. as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous, meek, not rendering evil for evil, or rebuke for rebuke; but contrariwise, bless, knowing that ye are thereunto called, even that ye should be heirs of the blessing. For he that doth long after life, and loveth to see Psai. xxxiv. good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak not guile : let him eschew evil, and do good: let him seek peace, and ensue it." Father. Declare now in few words what God forbiddeth, and what be requireth, in this his sixth commandment, that we may proceed with the residue. Son. God forbiddeth us that outwardly we should kill, hurt, noy, hinder, strike, or smite our neighbour, or yet speak and report evil of him, or hinder his good name, or ungently entreat either him or any that do belong unto him. That same God forbiddeth us that inwardly we should malign, envy, or hate our neighbour. And the same Lord our God requireth of us, that [we] patiently suffer whatsoever is unjustly done against us'; that we speak well of our neighbour ; that we maintain his good name ; that we further his commodity and profit; and seek all means possible, as to love him with our heart unfeignedly, so most readily to do for him and his to the uttermost of his power, that we may satisfy the will of God, which saith : " Thou shalt love thy Lev. xix. neighbour as thyself." Again : " What ye would other men would do to you, do you Rom', xiii.' the same to them." * Lukevi.' Father. Let us hear the next commandment. Son. The next is the seventh in order, and soundeth thus: " Thou shalt not commit adultery." The scventh command- Father. What doth God forbid, or what requireth he, in this commandment ? ment Son. First, forasmuch as God is the institutor and ordainer of the holy state of Gen. ii. Matt xix honourable wedlock, he utterly forbiddeth that such as profess that godly order, and what God have chosen that kind of life, should in any point defile themselves with whoredom, the seventh adultery, or with any kind of filthy uncleanness or unclean filthiness; but that they mem. should live together in all godliness, purity, cleanness, and honesty all the days of Heb. xiii.' their life, according to their promise made of one to the other, without the knowledge of married of any strange flesh, that God may bless them and their marriage, and make them joyful parents of many children, which in this world may be good members of the christian commonweal, and in the world to come blessed citizens of that glorious and heavenly Jerusalem. Father. Declare unto me by the word of God, that such as be married ought not to break their marriage vow, nor defile themselves with adultery or any other un cleanness. Son. God saith : " The man that breaketh wedlock with another man's wife, even Lev. xx. he that breaketh wedlock with his neighbour's wife, let him be slain, both the advouterer and the advouteress." Again: "Cursed be he that lieth with his neighbour's Deutxxvii. wife ; and all the people shall say, Amen." The wise man saith : " Keep thee from Prov. vi. the evil woman, and from the flattering tongue of the harlot, that thou lust not after her beauty in thy heart, and lest thou be taken with her fair looks. An harlot will make a man to beg his bread; but an honest married wife will hunt for the precious life. May a man carry fire in his bosom, and his- clothes not be brent? Or can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be hurt? Even so whosoever goeth in to his neighbour's wife, and toucheth her, cannot be unguilty. Men do not utterly despise a thief that stealeth to satisfy his soul, when he is hungry ; but if he may be gotten, he restoreth again seven times as much, or else he maketh recompence with all the [BECON, II. J 98 THE CATECHISM. [Part Thefiuitsof whoredom. Job xxxi. Eccius. xii. Of unmarried persons. Deut. xxiii. Lev. xix. goods of his house : but whoso committeth adultery with a woman, he is a fool, and bringeth his life to destruction. He getteth himself also shame and dishonour, such as shall never be put out. For the jealousy and wrath of the man will not be entreated : no, though thou wouldest offer him great gifts to make amends, he will not receive them." The ancient father Tobie said to his son: "My son, keep thee well from whoredom; and beside thy wife see that no fault be known of thee." Job also saith: " I made a covenant with mine eyes, that I would not look upon a damsel. For how great a portion shall I have of God, and what inheritance from the Almighty on high? As for the ungodly, and he that joineth himself to the company of wicked doers, shall not destruction and misery come upon him? &c. If my heart hath lusted after my neighbour's wife, or if I have laid wait at his door ; O then let my wife grind unto another man, and let other men lie with her. For this is a wickedness and sin, that is worthy to be punished ; yea, a fire that should utterly consume and root out all my substance." Jesus, the son of Sirach, saith : " Be ashamed of whoredom before father and mother. Be ashamed of lying before the prince and men of authority; of sin before the judge and ruler ; of offence before the congregation and people ; of unrighteousness before a companion and friend ; of theft before thy neighbours. As for the truth of God and his covenant, be not ashamed thereof. Be ashamed to lie with thine elbows upon the bread : be ashamed to look upon harlots : be ashamed to turn away thy face from thy friend. Be ashamed to take and not to give : be ashamed also to look upon another man's wife, and to make many trifling words with her maiden, or to stand by her bedside. Be ashamed to upbraid thy friend : when thou givest any thing, cast him not in the teeth withal." Father. Are such only as are married forbidden to lead an incontinent life ? Son. Both the married and unmarried are forbidden in this precept to exercise any corporal uncleanness in their life and conversation: whether they be linked with the chain of matrimony, or free from it, this commandment1 forbiddeth them to practise any kind of incontinency in their manners. Not only adultery, which (as they say) is committed between two married persons unlawful, or between a married and a single person, is here forbidden ; but also fornication, which is the sin of uncleanness committed between two single or unmarried persons, as some writeth. To be short, God, speaking on this manner, " Thou shalt not commit adultery," forbiddeth all unlawful knowledge of man and woman, be they married or unmarried. Father. Prove by the word of God, that not only adultery, but fornication also and all other uncleanness, is forbidden. Son. God saith : " There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor whore-keeper of the sons of Israel." Again: "Thou shalt not make thy daughter common, that thou wouldest cause her to be an whore, lest the land also fall to whoredom, and be full of wickedness." The wise man saith : " When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and thy soul delighteth in knowledge, then shall counsel pre serve thee, and understanding shall keep thee;" "that thou mayest be delivered from the strange woman, and from her that is not thine own ; which giveth sweet words, forsaketh the husband of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house is inclined unto death, and her paths unto hell. All they that go in unto her come not again, neither take they hold of the word of life. Therefore walk thou in the way of such as be virtuous, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the just shall dwell in the land, and they that be perfect shall remain in it ; but the ungodly shall be rooted out of the land, and the wicked doers shall be rooted out of it." Again : (" Apply not thyself to the deceitfulness of a woman. For the lips of an harlot are a dropping honey comb, and her throat is more glistering than oil : but at the last she is as bitter as wormwood, and her tongue as sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down unto death, and her steps pierce through unto hell, &c. Keep thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her house ; that thou give not thy strength unto other, and thy years to the cruel; that other men be not filled with thy goods, and that thy labours come not in a strange house; yea, that thou mourn not at the last, when thou hast spent thy body and lusty green youth, and then say, Alas! why hated I nurture? why did my heart despise correction ? wherefore was I not obedient unto the voice of my teachers, and hearkened not unto them that informed me ? I am come almost into all HI-] OF THE LAW. 99 misfortune, in the midst of the multitude and congregation, &c. Be glad with the wife of thy youth. Loving is the hind, and friendly is the roe. Let her breasts always satisfy thee, and hold thee ever content with her love. My son, why wilt thou have pleasure in an harlot, and embrace the bosom of another woman? For every man's ways are open in the sight of the Lord; and he pondereth all their goings. The wicked ness of the ungodly shall catch himself, and with the snares of his own sins shall he be trapped," &c. " Hear me now, therefore, 0 my children, and mark the words of my Prov. vii. mouth. Let not thine heart wander in the ways of an whore, and be not thou deceived in her paths. For many one hath she wounded and cast down : yea, many a strong man hath been slain by the means of her. Her houses are the way unto hell, and bring men down into the chambers of death." ( The holy apostle St Paul saW: " If any that is called a brother (that is to say, a i cor. v. Christian) be an whoremonger, or a covetous person, or a worshipper of images, either a railer, either a drunkard, or an extortioner; with him that is such see that ye eat not." Again : " Know ye not, that your bodies are the members of Christ ? Shall 1 1 cor. vi. now take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot ? God forbid. Do ye not know, that he which coupleth himself with an harlot is become one body ? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined to the Lord is Gen. ii. one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body : but Mark x!*' he that is a fornicator sinneth against his own body. Either know ye not, how that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, which dwelleth in you, whom ye have of God, and how that ye are not your own ? For ye are dearly bought. Therefore glorify God in your bodies, and in your spirits, which are God's." " Be not deceived. For neither fornicators, neither worshippers of images, neither advouterers, neither weak lings, neither abusers of themselves with mankind, neither thieves, neither covetous persons, neither drunkards, neither cursed speakers, neither pillers shall inherit the kingdom of God." Again : " Let us not be defiled with fornication, as some of them 1 cor. x. (the Israelites) were defiled with fornication, and fell in one day twenty-three thousand." "For this is the will of God, even your holiness, that ye should abstain from fornication, 1 Thess. iv. and that every one of you should know how to keep his vessel in holiness and honour, and not in the lust of concupiscence, as do the heathen, which know not God, &c. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." Also in another place : " Mortify your earthy members, fornication, uncleanness, unnatural lust, evil concu- coi. in. piscence," &c. Item : " Wedlock is honourable among all persons, and the bed undefiled. Heb. xiii. But whoremongers and adulterers God shall judge." Father. Doth God forbid us none other thing in this commandment, but only to ah entice- abstain from the gross sin of adultery, fornication, incest, and such other corporal unclean- cleanness are ness ? Son. All filthy talk, wanton countenances, singing of bawdy ballads, reading of amorous books, idle jesting, vain pastimes, and whatsoever maketh unto the provocation of fleshly appetite, as idleness, banqueting, wanton company-keeping, &c. is here also forbidden. Father. Is it not then lawful to use merry talk, singing of pleasant ballads, reading of amorous books, &c. ? Son. By no means. For St Paul saith : " Let no filthy com- Eph. iv. munication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to edify withal, as oft as need is, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not ye the Holy Spirit of God, by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Again : " Let coi. iv. your speech be always well-savoured, and powdered with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Also in another place : " As for fornication, and all Eph. v. uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as it becometh saints ; or filthiness, or foolish talking, or jesting, which are not comely, but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, either unclean person, or covetous person (which is a worshipper of images) hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of such things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of [unjbelief. Be not ye therefore companions of them." Father. Are we only forbidden in this precept the uncleanness of the body ? Son. Not only. For God forbiddeth us here also the impurity and uncleanness of the mind. 7—2 100 THE CATECHISM. [Part John iv. Matt. ,. Matt. xv. Col. iii. 1 Pet. ii. Whoredom plagued. Gen. vi. Gen. xix. Gen. xxxiv. Num. xxv. 1 Cor. x. .Tudg. xx. 1 Sam. ii. 2 Sam. xi. 1 Kings xi. Hos. iv. I Cor. vi. Eph. v. 1 Thess. iv Heb. xiii. Heb. x. Wisd. viii. Matt. xix. The law of God, as you know, is spiritual, and must be fulfilled not only outwardly but also inwardly, even with pure affects and clean motions of the heart. For even as he is very murderer and manslayer before God, which beareth hatred and malice in his heart against his neighbour, although he never lay hand on him, nor hurt him outwardly; so likewise is he a very adulterer and whoremonger before God, which nourisheth fleshly lusts in his heart, although he never commit the outward uncleanness. For as " God is a Spirit," so judgeth he all things of the spirit. If our hearts be once polluted and defiled with the evil lust and filthy concupiscence of any woman, we arc straightways no less adulterers and fornicators before God, than we are before men, when we have outwardly committed the very act. And as I am guilty and worthy f" before men, when I have so wickedly behaved myself, of punishment, yea, of very death ; so likewise am I before God guilty and worthy of everlasting damnation, so soon as the evil concupiscence entereth into my heart, and I with delight consent to the same. Father. How provest thou this ? Son. By the words of Christ, which saith : " Ye have heard, that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on another man's wife to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Therefore if thy right eye hinder thee, pluck him out, and cast him from thee. For better is it unto thee, that one member perish, than that thy whole body should be cast into hell." " And if thy right hand hinder thee, cut him off, and cast him from thee. For better it is unto thee, that one of thy members perish, than that all thy body should be cast into hell." Again : " Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, breaking of wedlock, whoredoms, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man." St Paul also saith : " Mortify your earthy members, fornications, uncleanness, unnatural lust, evil concupiscence," &c. Hereto agreeth the saying of St Peter: "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which fight against the soul; and see that ye have honest conversation among the gentiles, that, whereas they backbite you as ill-doers, they may see your good works, and praise God in the day of visitation." Father. Hath God at any time plagued this sin of adultery, whoredom, &c. ? Son. Yea, very oft, and that most grievously. Father. Shew me that out of the holy scripture. Son. To whom is this unknown, that the whole world was once drowned, eight persons only except ? Was not whoredom one of the chief causes why the world was thus plagued with waters ? Sodom with certain other cities were consumed with fire and brimstone from heaven : was not un cleanness of life a great occasion hereof ? Were not the citizens of Sichem slain, because their prince deflowered Dina, Jacob's daughter ? Were there not slain in the wilderness twenty-three thousand men for whoredom ? Was not the whole tribe of Benjamin after ward almost utterly destroyed for abusing a Levite's wife ? Perished not the sons of Heli the priest in battle, because of their too much unshamefaced wickedness committed with women ? Who knoweth not, into what great miseries David fell, and his kingdom also, for the adultery which he committed with Urias' wife ? How was Salomon plagued for his too much licentious living with women ? Was not his most excellent wisdom turned into most extreme foolishness, when at the enticement of women he fell from honouring the true God unto the worshipping of idols ? So true is it, which the prophet hath : " Whoredom, wine, and drunkenness take away the heart." Many other and divers histories are found in the holy bible, which do sufficiently declare, how grievously God hath plagued adultery, whoredom, and all uncleanness, in every age; as I may speak nothing of the most grievous plague, which is everlasting damnation. Father. Seeing that God doth so greatly detest and abhor this abominable vice of uncleanness; come off, tell me how it may be eschewed, that we provoke not God unto anger, and procure unto us his heavy displeasure, seeing, as the apostle saith, " it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Son. To lead an honest, pure, and continent life, is the gift of God, and cannot be obtained by our own strengths, as the wise man saith : " I know that I cannot be chaste, except God giveth the gift :" and as our Saviour Christ saith : " All men cannot away with this saying HI-] OF THE LAW. 101 (he meaneth, to lead a single life and unmarried) but they to whom it is given." Not withstanding, certain remedies may be devised against these most abominable sins of adultery and whoredom, which to practise it shall neither be ungodly nor unprofitable. Father. Which are they ? Let me hear them. Son. First, when Satan, that old Remedies adversary of mankind, which, as St Peter saith, "goeth about like a roaring lion, XSom. seeking whom he may devour," goeth about to attempt us unto incontinency, adultery, ' Pet' v' whoredom, incest, or unto any other uncleanness, which fighteth with the word of God; it shall be necessary to set before our eyes, not the desire of the flesh, not the filthy and short pleasure of the body, whereof followeth everlasting damnation, but the commandment of God, which saith, "Thou shalt not commit adultery:" and again, Psai.cxix. "Flee whoredom:" once again, "There shall be no whore among the daughters of Israel, nor no whore-keeper among the sons of Israel ;" and cleave with tooth and nail, as they use to say, to these commandments of God, which he hath most straitly commanded to be observed and kept. For there is no weapon more apt to resist " the Eph. vi. fiery darts" of Satan, than the word of God, as St Paul teacheth, and as we have our Saviour Christ for an ensample. "Thy words have I hidden within my heart," Mattw. saith the psalmograph, "that I should not sin against thee." Again: "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way ? even by ruling himself after thy word." It shall not be unprofitable also to set before our eyes the grievous plagues, which God in every age poureth out upon the adulterers, fornicators, and all unclean persons; again, everlasting damnation both of body and soul after this life, if repentance, joined with faith, cometh not. Secondly, forasmuch as we of ourselves are able to do no good thing, no, not so much as once to think a good thought (" it is God that worketh in us both the 2 cor. iii. will and the deed"), it shall be necessary that, so soon as we begin to feel that the devil and the flesh begin to assail and to provoke us unto the breach of God's com mandment, and by this means to fall into whoredom, adultery, incest, &c, we straight- ways give ourselves unto prayer, according to this commandment of Christ : " Watch Matt. xxvi. and pray, that ye fall not into temptation. The spirit is ready, but the flesh is weak." For there is not a better armour against Satan and his subtile suggestions, than faithful and continual prayer. " The fervent prayer of a righteous man," saith St James, James v. "availeth much." "Call on me," saith God, "in the time of thy trouble, and I will Psai. 1. deliver thee, and thou shalt honour me." It shall be good to pray with the wise man and to say : " 0 Lord, thou Father and God of my life, let me not have a proud Eccius. xxiu, look, but turn away all voluptuousness fro me. Take fro me the lusts of the body: let not the desires of uncleanness take hold upon me," and " give me not over into an unshamefaced and obstinate mind." Pray also with the psalmograph on this manner : " 0 turn away mine eyes, lest they behold vanity ; and quicken thou me in thy way. Psai. cxix. 0 stablish thy word in thy servant, that I may fear thee." Again : " Make me a Psai. ii. clean heart, 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. 0 give me the comfort of thy help again; and stablish me with thy free Spirit." Thirdly, idleness above all things is to be eschewed, and some virtuous and honest idleness is to labour is continually to be practised, that our enemy find us not idle. For idleness is the chief " mistress of vices all," as a certain ballad hath. Nothing doth so open both windows and doors to the tempter, as sluggish idleness. It is truly said of the poet: " Otia si tollas, periere Cupidinis arcus." " If thou takest away idleness," saith he, "Cupid the god of love shooteth his arrows in vain." Again that same poet saith : " Queeritur, iEgistus quare sit factus adulter: In promptu causa est, desidiosus erat1." "If any man will know," saith he, "how it came to pass that iEgistus fell into adultery; it may soon be known, he was idle." Read we not that Dina, Jacob's Gen. xxxiv. [> Ovid. Remed. Amor. 139, 161, 2.] 102 THE CATECHISM. [Pari 2 Sam. xi. 1 Kings xi, Eccius. xxxiii. The company of the wicked is to be es chewed. 1 Cor. xv. Psai. xviii. Eccius. xiii. Eccius. ix. 1 Kings xi. Num. xxv. Matt. xxvi. Tob. ii. Tob. iv. 1 Cor. v. 1 Cor. iii. vi 2 Cor. vi. daughter, through idleness, when she went out to see the daughters of the land, was ravished and deflowered of Sichem, the son of Hemar, the Hevite, lord of that country ? Read we not that David, when he was once free from the persecution of Saul, and possessed his kingdom quietly, and by this means fell into idleness, committed adultery? What did so greatly cause Salomon to dote in the love of so many women, as wealth and idleness ? It is truly said of the wise man : " Idleness bringeth much evil." Who knoweth not, what too much abominable uncleanness was practised of the most filthy Sodomites? And was not idleness one of the principal causes thereof? These are the words of the prophet : " Behold, the sins of thy sister Sodoma were these, pride, fulness of meat, abundance, and idleness : these things did she and her daughters. Besides that, they reached not their hand to the poor and needy, but were proud, and did abominable things before me. Therefore I took them away, as pleased me." Fourthly, as idleness above all things is to be eschewed, so likewise the company and communication of wanton and unhonest persons is utterly to be abhorred, if we purpose to lead a godly, pure, and honest life. For "evil words corrupt good man ners." " With the holy thou shalt be holy, and with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect. With the clean thou shalt be clean, and with the froward thou shalt learn frowardness," saith the psalmograph. " Whoso toucheth pitch," saith Jesus the son of Sirach, " shall be filled withal ; and he that is familiar with the proud shall clothe himself with pride." Again : " Look not upon a woman, that is desirous of many men, lest thou fall into her snares. Use not the company of a woman that is a player and a dancer, and hear S her not, lest thou perish through her enticing. Behold not a maiden, that thou be I not hurt in her beauty. Cast not thy mind upon any harlots in any manner of thing, 4 lest thou destroy both thyself and thine heritage. Go not about gazing in every lane of the city; neither wander thou abroad in the streets thereof. Turn away thy face from a beautiful woman, and look not upon the fairness of other. Many a man hath perished through the beauty of women ; for through it the desire is kindled as it were fire. An advouterous woman shall be trodden under foot, as mire, of every one that goeth by the way. Many a man wondering at the beauty of a strange woman hath been cast out; for her words kindled as fire. Sit not with another man's wife by any means : lie not with her upon the bed : make no words with her at the wine, lest thy heart consent unto her, and so thou with thy blood fall into destruction." Became not Salomon an idolater by keeping company with idolatrous women? Became not the children of Israel wicked and ungodly by companying with wicked and ungodly people ? Became not Peter, which, so long as he continued with Christ and his disciples, was faithful, constant, and stedfast in the love and service of Christ, a very denier and forswearer of his master, when he once accompanied himself with the servants of the high priest? Sara, Abraham's wife, could by no means abide that her son Isaac should play and keep company with Ismael her handmaid's son, but drove both bim and his mother out of the doors. Jacob would by no means keep company with his ungodly brother Esau. Notable is this saying of Sara, young Tobias wife: "Thou knowest, O Lord, that I never had desire unto man, and that I have kept my soul clean from all uncleanly lust. I have not kept company with those that pass their time in sport ; neither have I made myself partaker with them that walk in light behaviour." Old Tobias would keep company with none, but with such as feared God; and he commanded his son, young Tobias, that he should keep no company, neither eat nor drink, with the sinners. St Paul also chargeth us, that we should not eat nor keep company with such as are whoremongers and of a lewd dis position. If therefore we intend to have pure minds and chaste bodies, wherein as in a most sacred temple the Holy Ghost doth delight to dwell, let us diligently avoid the wicked company of wicked doers. Fifthly, to avoid uncleanness both of body and mind, it shall not a little help, if we be temperate and sober in our diet, considering with ourselves, that we live not to eat, but we eat to live ; and nature is content with a little. It was wittily said of the poet: Sine Cerere et Baecho friget Venus;1 that is to say: "Temperance in [' Ter. Eun. iv. v. 6.] . XVI. Gen. xix. i XXI. HI-] OF THE LAW. 103 eating and drinking cooleth and abateth the courageous lust of the flesh." The wise man saith : " Look not thou upon the wine, how red it is, and what a colour it Prov. xxiii giveth in the glass. It goeth down softly ; but at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth as an adder. So shall thine eyes look unto strange women; and thine heart shall muse upon fro ward things." What a great provocation unto uncleanness intem- perancy of diet is, the history of Loth the patriarch doth plainly declare, which, not once giving place to the filthy Sodomites in any point of their abominations all the time of his being among them, at the last through drunkenness fell into such horrible wick- Gen. xix. edness, that he deflowered and defiled his own daughters. Was not the excess of eating and drinking one of the causes that the world was once drowned, and that Sodom and Gen. vii. Gomorre with certain other cities were consumed with fire and brimstone from heaven? Ezek.T"' It shall be good, therefore, if we intend to lead an honest and godly life, utterly ' estranged from the filthy sin of most filthy whoredom and adultery, to follow the most godly counsel of our SaViour Christ and of his apostles. Christ saith : " Take Luke i heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcome with surfeiting and drunkenness." St Paul saith : " Let us walk honestly, as it were in the daylight, not Rom. xiii. in eating and drinking, neither in chambering and wantonness ; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ; and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts of it." Again : " Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be ye filled with the Spirit." Eph. v. St Peter also saith : " Forasmuch as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm ye i Pet. iv. yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he which suffereth in the flesh, ceaseth from sin; that he henceforward should live (as much time as remaineth in the flesh) not after the lusts of men, but after the will of God. For it is sufficient for us, that we have spent the time that is past of the life after the will of the gentiles, walking in wantonness, lusts, in excess of drinking, in drunkenness, and in abominable idolatry." | Sixthly, forasmuch as matrimony is an honourable state of living, ordained of God, of matri- sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and beautified with the first-fruits of Christ's miracles; Gen.i'i.ix. to the end that we may avoid all uncleanness in our life and conversation, and lead Heb. xiii. an honest and virtuous life before God and man, it shall be very meet and conve- 1 cor. vii. nient for all such as have not received of God the gift of continency to take upon them the holy state of honourable wedlock, and to join unto them a wife in the fear of God, and so to live christianly and quietly together, as St Paul saith: "To avoid 1 cor. vii. whoredom, let every man have his own wife, and every woman her own husband. Let the husband give unto the wife due benevolence: likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband. And likewise the husband hath no power of his own body, but the wife. Withdraw not yourselves one from another, except it be with consent for a time, for to give your selves to fasting and prayer. And afterward come together again, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency." Again: "If any cannot abstain, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn." Also in another place: "This is the will of i Thess. w. God, even your holiness, that ye should abstain from fornication, and that every one of you should know how to keep his vessel in holiness and honour, and not in the lust of concupiscence, as do the heathen, which know not God." Item : " Wedlock is Heb. xiu. honourable among all men, and the bed undefiled. But adulterers and whoremongers God shall judge," that is to say, punish, plague, and condemn. To embrace there fore holy matrimony in the fear of God, if the gift of continency be not given, is the most sure way to avoid all uncleanness, both of the mind and body. And hereunto ought all kind of persons the more diligently to apply themselves, because j it is the holy ordinance of God appointed unto that end. Father. Hitherto have we heard, what God forbiddeth in this his seventh com mandment : declare unto me now, what he also requireth in the same. Son. That will I do, yea, and that in few words. First, whereas God saith, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," he declareth evi- what God dently, that he approveth and alloweth the holy state of honourable wedlock, and us in this the godly life of the same ; so that the very act of matrimony between the man precept' and the wife, done in the fear of God, and unto that end for the which God did 104 THE CATECHISM. [Part Heb. xiii. The duty of married per sons. The duty of unmarriedpersons. The eighth commandment.What God forbiddeth in the eighth command ment. Lev. xix. Prov. xxix, Eph. iv. Divers thieves and divers kinds of theft ordain it, is also pure and clean in the sight of God, as St Paul witnesseth: "Wed lock is honourable among all persons, and the bed undefiled." And forasmuch as matrimony is an holy state of life, God in the aforesaid pre cept requireth of all married persons, that they lead a pure, clean, and blameless life, that they be faithful and loving one to the other, that they break not the mar riage vow, that they know not the company of any strange flesh, that they defile not themselves in mind with evil lusts and in the body with uncleanness; but that they be pure both in body and spirit, utterly estranged from all adultery, incest, whoredom, and whatsoever is unclean in the sight of God, living together in all godliness and honesty. And that the married folk may the better this do, God requireth also of them in this precept, that they suffer no fleshly thoughts to rise and rule in their hearts, but that they suppress them straightways through earnest and hearty prayer, and through the diligent consideration of God's holy will, and through the fervent meditation of the sacred scripture: itgain, that they frequent the company of no lewd and evil-disposed persons, whereby they may be the rather provoked unto the breach of this commandment and unto dissolution of life : Item, that they avoid all wanton pastimes, all filthy communication, all uncomely gestures, all nice and lascivious apparel, all reading of wanton books, all beholding of unpure images or pictures, all banqueting and excess of eating and drinking, and besides, whatsoever may entice or move unto the filthy pleasure of the flesh ; and finally, that in all their words and deeds there appear nothing in them but gravity, modesty, and honest behaviour, unto the good ensample of such as be their youngers and inferiors. Moreover, God also requireth, in this his precept, of all single and unmarried per sons, that they fly the lascivious lusts of frail youth, eschew all vain and foolish pastimes, abhor all wanton talk, despise all wicked counsels, refrain all ungodly com pany, contemn the reading or singing of bawdy ballads, refuse riot and all excess both in diet and apparel, and in fine, so utterly reject and cast away whatsoever is contrary to the purity of the mind or to cleanness of the body, that they, in their single life being free from all corruption of manners, may bring with them unto the holy state of honourable matrimony (if God afterward call them unto it) both pure minds and chaste bodies, and so continually be made the temples of the Holy Ghost, * which delighteth to dwell in such bodies and hearts, as be pure, holy, virtuous, and given to the study of godliness and honesty. Father. God make us such ! Son. Amen. Father. Let me now hear the eighth commandment. Son. It is this: "Thou shalt not steal." Father. Tell me now, my dear child, what God forbiddeth, and what he requireth, in this his precept. Son. First, God forbiddeth here, that we by no means take away unjustly our neighbour's goods, whether it be openly by force and vio lence, or secretly by craft or subtilty. For all this is termed theft in this com mandment of God. Father. Let me hear some authorities of the holy scripture, which forbid theft and the unjust taking away of our neighbour's goods. Son. God saith: "Ye shall not steal, neither lie, neither deal falsely one with another." The wise man saith: "Whoso keepeth company with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth blasphemies, and telleth it not forth." The holy apostle saith also : " Let him that stole steal no more, but let him rather labour with his hands the thing which is good, that he may give unto him that needeth." But we shall note that there be divers kinds of thieves, and therefore divers kinds also of theft. Father. Why, are not they thieves only, which either violently take or craftily steal away other men's goods? Son. No, verily. There be many thieves besides these, which steal, rob, poll, pill, and spoil, no less than the other, although before the world they be more glorious thieves, and not of so great infamy. Father. Which are they? Son. Such as in buying and selling beguile and cir cumvent their neighbour with craft and subtilty, and use false weights and false HI-] OF THE LAW. 105 measures: these also are thieves, and transgress this commandment of God, "Thou shalt not steal." ^ Father. Where is that forbidden ? Son. God saith : " Thou shalt not do thy Lev. xix. neighbour wrong, neither rob him violently." " If thou sellest ought to thy neighbour, Lev. xxv. or buyest of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not deceive one another." The apostle saith : " This is the will of God, even your holiness, that no man oppress and de- 1 Thess. iv. fraud his brother in bargaining; because that the Lord is the avenger of all such things." And as concerning false weights and false measures, God saith : " Ye shall Lev. xix. do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. True balances, true weights, a true epha, and a true hin shall ye have: I am the Lord your God." Again: "Thou shalt not have in thy bag two manner of weights, a Deut xxv. great and a small: neither shalt thou have in thy house divers measures, a great and a small. But thou shalt have a right and just weight, and a perfect and a just measure shalt thou have, that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, and all that do unright, are abomination unto the Lord thy God." God saith also by the prophet : " Should Mic. vi. I not be displeased for the unrighteous good that is in the houses of the wicked, and because the measure is minished? Or should I justify the false balances, and the bag of deceitful weights, among those that be full of riches unrighteously gotten ; where the citizens deal with falsehood, speak lies, and have deceitful tongues in their mouths? Therefore I will take in hand to punish thee, and to make thee desolate because of thy sins." The wise man also saith : " A false balance is an abomination Prov. xi. unto the Lord; but a true weight pleaseth him:" Again: "A true measure and a Prov. xv true balance are the Lord's judgment: he maketh all weights." Item: " To use two Prov. xx. manner of weights, or two manner of measures, both these are abominable unto the Lord." Again: "The Lord abhorreth two manner of weights; and a false balance is an evil thing." Father. Ought satisfaction to be made unto all such as are thus deceived and satisfaction. wronged? Son. Yea, verily. For whatsoever is gotten with craft and subtilty, with unrighteous bargaining, with false weights and unjust measures, is before God plain theft ; and therefore it ought to be restored. Father. How provest thou that by the word of God? Son. Is not this the commandment of God, that if any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall restore for one ox five oxen, and for one sheep four sheep? Are not these also the words of God? "A thief shall make restitution: if he have not Exod. xxii. wherewith, he shall be sold for his theft." So likewise saith Salomon: "A thief,- Prov. vi. if he may be gotten, restoreth again seven times as much; or else he maketh -re^ compence with all the good of his house." Were not these the words of Zacheus unto Christ ? " Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor ; and if I have Luke xix. done any man wrong, I restore him fourfold." Father. What other are there, which, transgressing this commandment, are also thieves before God ? Son. Such as unjustly retain in their hands the reward or Retaining of wages that is due to workmen or servants for their labour, pain, and travail. mrjustiy^6* Father. Are these thieves also ? , Son. Yea, verily : for they break the com- ' le '' mandment of God. Father. Why, what saith God in this behalf? Son. Thus saith he : " Thou Lev. xix. shalt not do thy neighbour wrong, neither rob him violently : neither shall the workman's labour abide with thee until the morning." Again: "Thou shalt not de- Deut. xxiv. fraud an hired servant that is needy and poor, whether he be of thy brethren or of the stranger that are in the land within thy gates ; but thou shalt give him his hire the same day, and let not the sun go down thereon; (for he is needy and there with sustaineth his life;) lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee." Saint James also saith: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl on yourjamesv. wretchedness that shall come upon you. Your riches is corrupt : your garments are moth-eaten : your gold and silver is cankered ; and the rust of them shall be a witness unto you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together, even wrath to yourselves in your last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers, which 106 THE CATECHISM. [Part Unmercifulrich men are thievesbefore God. Eccius. xxxiv. Luke xvi. Rev. xxi. Matt. v. James ii. Matt xxv. Luke xvi. Exod. xxii. Luke vi. Labourers. Artificers.Servants. have reaped down your fields, (which hire is of you kept back by fraud,) crieth ; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton : ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter : yea, ye have condemned and killed the righteous, and he hath not resisted you." Father. Remain there any other, that be guilty of theft through the transgression of this commandment ? Son. Yea, very many. The rich men also, to whom God hath committed the goods of this world, not only of them to live themselves, hut also to distribute some reasonable portion of the same to the poor and needy, and yet are so unfaithful to God and unmerciful to their poor neighbours, that they will consider nothing at all the miserable state of other, when necessity requireth, are very thieves and robbers ; yea, and very murderers, as the wise man saith : " The bread of the needy is the life of the poor ; but he' that defraudeth him of it is a manslayer." And these covetous and unmerciful rich men may be sure to obtain no mercy at the hand of God, but with that unpitiful rich glutton to be cast into hell-fire, even into that " lake that burneth with fire and brimstone." For as they are "blessed which are merciful, and shall obtain mercy" at the hand of God at that great day of judgment ; so likewise " shall the judgment be without mercy to him that hath shewed no mercy." It is a point of wisdom therefore for all rich men to follow this counsel of our Saviour Christ : " Make you friends of wicked mammon, that, when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting tabernacles." Again : such as they commonly call usurers, which are they that oppress their debtors with receiving too much gain for the loan of their money, corn, cattle, &c, are also thieves, and transgress this commandment. Father. Where is it forbidden in the word of God, that we may not commit usury, that is to say, receive such unreasonable gain for the loan of our money, corn, cattle, &c, as we can get, although it be to the great damage, loss, yea, and almost utter undoing, of our debtors ? Son. God saith by his servant Moses : " If thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee, thou shalt relieve him, both the stranger and sojourner, that he may live with thee. And thou shalt take none usury of him, or vantage. But thou shalt fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy corn for increase. I am the Lord your God," &c. Again he saith: "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be as tyrant unto him ; neither shalt thou oppress him with usury." Also in another place : " Thou shalt not hurt thy neighbour by usury of money, or by usury of corn, nor by usury of any thing that he may be hurt withal." Father. Of these authorities aforesaid, which thou hast alleged, methink I may right well gather two things : one is, that if I lend unto my neighbour such things as God hath blessed me with, to do him pleasure and profit thereby, for any gain or avantage, as it shall be covenanted and agreed upon between him and me, I may not so let him out my things, that I shall grieve or oppress him by taking any commodity for the loan thereof, but suffer him so to have the use thereof for a reasonable gain, that I may not disprofit but profit him, not hinder but promote him, not drive him unto poverty but rather help that he may be able to live. Son. You say truth. Father. The other is, that if my neighbour be fallen into poverty, I ought to lend him part of such goods, as God hath lent unto me, freely and without any avantage, looking for no gain at his hand, that by this means he may be delivered from the heavy yoke of poverty, and be able to live. Son. To such as be poor we are not only bound by the commandment of God freely and without any avantage to lend, but also to give. For thus are we taught of our Saviour Christ in the gospel : " Give to every man that asketh of thee." (He speaketh of the poor and needy, which have not of their own, whereof to live.) " And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. Lend, looking for nothing again ; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest : for he is kind to the unkind and to the evil." What shall I speak of the labourers, of artificers, and men of occupation, of servants, and such other like, which, being hired diligently to do their work, negligently behave HI-] OF THE LAW. 107 themselves in their business, idly and unfruitfully spending their time, which they ought faithfully and truly, yea, painfully and earnestly to bestow upon such works as are appointed unto them by such as have hired them ? These also are thieves, and trans gress the commandment of God. Moreover, what shall I speak of those magistrates, princes, rulers, common officers, Magistrates. and governors of the public weal, which without just cause do overcharge their subjects with rents, services, tributes, customs, toll, subsidies, pensions, &c. and exact of them more than is needful to the maintenance of the common charges, and so impoverish and oppress them, whom they ought from all injury and wrong to save and defend ? Again, which do not bestow the goods, which they receive for the maintenance of the common weal, as they ought to do, but spend them away in riot and unlawful pleasures, or in things of vanity ? These also are thieves before God, and shall grievously be punished of God for their misbehaviour ; and they be of that company, of the which the prophet speaketh on this manner : " Thy princes are wicked, and companions of thieves. They isai. i. love gifts altogether, and gape for rewards. As for the fatherless, they help him not to his right : neither will they let the widow's causes come before them. Therefore saith the Lord God of hosts, the mighty governor of Israel, Out upon ye : I will ease me of mine enemies, and I will avenge me of mine adversaries." The prophet Ezechiel saith also : " Thy rulers in thee are like ravening wolves to shed blood, and to destroy souls Ezek. xxii. for their own covetous lucre." Hereto belongeth the saying of the prophet Micheas : " Hear, 0 ye princes," saith he ; " should not ye know what were lawful and right ? But ye hate the good, and love the evil. Ye pluck off men's skins, and the flesh from their bones. Ye eat the flesh of rny people, and flay off their skin. Ye break their bones ; ye chop them in pieces as it were into a caldron, and as flesh into a pot." The prophet Sophonie saith also : " Wo to that abominable, filthy, and cruel city, zeph. w. which will not hear, nor be reformed ! Her trust is not in the Lord, neither will she hold her to her God. Her rulers within her are as roaring lions : her judges are as wolves in the evening, which leave nothing behind them till the morrow." Again, what shall I speak of those subjects, which, contrary to the law of God subjects. and good conscience, either grudge to pay, or else unjustly withhold, such taxes, tributes, customs, subsidies, tenths, pensions, &c. as are due to the magistrates or common officers for the conservation of the public weal, that they may be the more able to sustain and bear the charges of the common administration? These also are thieves, and grievously offend God, which by his apostle giveth this commandment: " Give to every man his duty, tribute to whom tribute belongeth, custom to whom Rom. xiii. custom is due, fear to whom fear belongeth, honour to whom honour pertaineth." Furthermore, what shall I speak of bishops, pastors, curates, preachers, and such Bishops. other spiritual ministers, which, contrary to their profession and calling, steal away cSatS'. from the people of God the nourishment both of their souls and bodies, while they neither feed them with the true and sincere word of God, which is the food of the soul, nor yet with corporal sustenance for the comfort of their bodies; but like bellied hypocrites and voluptuous epicures give themselves to the pleasures of the flesh, to eating and drinking, to dicing and carding, to hunting and hawking, &c. being led with no care toward the flock of Christ, whom he hath so dearly purchased, even with Actsxx. his own dear and precious blood; but so framing their life, as though there were no life after this, or as though they should never render accompts of their pastoral office to the high pastor and shepherd Christ ? These are also thieves, and deserve at the John x. hand of God most grievous punishment. Against these sluggish, unmerciful, and thievish pastors God crieth out by his prophet, saying : " Wo be unto the shepherds of Israel Ezek. xxxiv. that feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? Ye have eaten up the fat : ye have clothed you with the wool : the best fed have ye slain ; but the flock have ye not nourished. The weak have ye not holden up : the sick have ye not healed : the broken have ye not bound together: the outcasts have ye not brought again: the lost have ye not sought; but churlishly and cruelly have ye ruled them," &c. Yea, these are those hirelings, thieves, robbers, and murderers, which enter not into the John x. sheepfold by the door, but climb up some other way; which, when they see the wolf coming, leave the sheep and fly away. For they came only into the sheepfold to steal, 108 THE CATECHISM. [Part 1 Cor. ix. Matt. x. 1 Tim. v. Deut. xxv. Gal. vi. Lawyers. Advocates. Attorneys. Proctors. Judges. Merchants. Chapmen. Husband men. Finders of things. Gamesters. Dicers. Carders. Prodigal parents. Matt vii. Luke vi. to kill, and to destroy, and not to teach, to comfort and to edify, which is the very proper and true office of a faithful and godly pastor. " Wo be unto me," saith St Paul, "if I preach not the gospel." i. Those parishioners also, which do detain and withhold such duties and payments, as by order of law are due to the ministers of God's word for their labour, travail, and pain in the ministry, are thieves before God, and transgressors of his holy law. For "the Lord hath ordained, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." "The workman is. worthy his reward." The priests "that rule well are worthy of double honour, but most specially they which labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith : Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox, that treadeth out the corn." And St Paul saith : " Let him that is taught in the word of God minister unto him that teacheth him all good things. Be not deceived : God is not mocked." Again, what shall I speak of those lawyers, advocates, attorneys, proctors, &c, which for their own gains do counsel a man to wage the law, making him to believe, that his matter is good, when in deed they think it naught; which also for money do so craftily handle or plead a matter, that they with their shifts and colours will purposely hide the truth, and make a good cause to seem bad, and a bad cause to appear good ? Of those judges, which for bribes or any corruption do wittingly and willingly give wrong judgment ? Of those merchantmen, brokers, chapmen, merchants' factors, which require unreasonable gains in selling of their merchandise; utter corrupt and naughty wares for good; deceive their neighbour with false weight and measure, &c? Of husbandmen in the country, which for worldly lucre sell their corn, cattle, or any other victual, at unreasonable prices, and seek to make a dearth of things, where no need is? Of those gentlemen, which either take of their tenants such fines and incomes, or ' else so stretch out the prices and annual rents of their farms, that their farmers must either go on begging, or else sell their corn, hay, cattle, butter, cheese, &c. at such unreasonable prices, as shall turn unto the utter impoverishment of the buyers ? Of those debtors, which, although they be able, yet for their own lucre will not pay their debts, nor at the day appointed restore that money which they have borrowed? Of such, as do not render the things which they have found, so far as they can come to knowledge of the true owners? Of them that do not give again such things as be committed to their custody for a time ? Of gamesters, as dicers, and carders, &c, which direct their play only to this end, by unlawful pastimes, yea, by craft and subtilty, to deceive their neighbour, and to win away their substance? Of prodigal persons, which, lashing1 out their goods without discretion or measure, after ward fall into beggary, and from beggary many times unto thievery, and from thievery come to the pillory, yea, to the halter? Of valiant and sturdy beggars, which, being able to labour and to get their living with the sweat of their brows and with the labour of their hands, walk up and down idly from door to door, and without all shame, through their importune begging, get that unto them, which is due to such as be in deed poor, and are not able to work for the infirmity and weakness of their body? To conclude, what shall I speak of all them that do hawk and hunt for other men's goods against the will of the owners, or do hurt them in any part of the same, &c? All these aforesaid are thieves before God, although the world doth not so judge them, nor punish them for the same. Father. There is a great number of thieves by thy reckoning. Son. The world is full of privy thieves. For there is almost no state or kind of life, from the highest to the lowest, of the which there be not many that have broken this commandment. "Who soever dealeth with his neighbour unjustly or untruly, and otherwise than he would that his neighbour should deal with him, he is before God a very thief and a robber. For this is the commandment of Christ : " Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye the very same unto them." " For look with what measure ye mete unto other, with the same shall it be mete again to you." [' Lashing : lavishing.] UI.] OF THE LAW. 109 Father. Why, will God punish them also that transgress this commandment ? Son. Why should they escape unpunished ? Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that the transgressors of this Theft , op • punished. commandment shall not escape free from punishment. Son. God commanded in the Exod. xxi. Deut xxiv. law of Moses, that if any person among the Israelites did steal a man, and sell him, the same should suffer death. Again, if any did steal an ox or a sheep, that he should Exod. xxii. restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. Item, that it should be lawful for a man taking a thief in his house before daylight to kill him. The wise man saith : "He that is partaker with a thief hateth his own soul." St Paul writeth, that "thieves, Prov. xxix. 1 Cor. vi. extortioners, robbers, pollers, &c, shall not inherit the kingdom of God." He addeth, moreover, that " if any man oppress or defraud his brother in bargaining, the Lord will J Thess- iv. be avenged of him." Jesus the son of Sirach saith : " Shame and sorrow goeth over Eccius. v. the thief." The prophet Esay crieth out against the thief on this manner : " Wo be to thee that Isai- xxxm. spoilest ! for thou shalt be spoiled again." So likewise doth the prophet Micheas, saying : " 0 wo be unto them that imagine to do harm, and devise ungraciousness upon their Mic- •'• beds to perform it in the clear day ! for their power is against God. When they come to have land, they take it by violence : they rob men of their houses. Thus they oppress a man for his house, and every man for his heritage. Therefore thus saith the Lord : Behold, against this household I have devised a plague, whereout ye shall not pluck your necks. Ye shall no more go so proudly ; for it will be a perilous time." Again : " Should I not be displeased for the unrighteous good in the houses of the wicked, Mic- vi- and because the measure is minished ? Or should I justify the false balances, and the bag of the deceitful weights, among those that be full of riches unrighteously gotten ; where the citizens deal with falsehood, speak lies, and have deceitful tongues in their mouths? Therefore I will take in hand to punish thee, and to make thee desolate, because of thy sins." The prophet Habacuc crieth out in like manner, saying : " Wo be unto him that Hab- "• heapeth up other men's goods ! How long will he load himself with thick clay ? O how suddenly shall they stand up that shall bite, and awake that shall tear thee in pieces ! yea, thou shalt be their prey. Seeing that thou hast spoiled many nations, therefore shall the remnant of the people spoil thee ; because of men's blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city, and unto all them that dwell therein. Wo be unto him that covetously gathereth together evil-gotten goods into his house, that he may set his nest on high, to escape from the power of misfortune ! Thou hast devised the shame of thine own house ; for thou hast slain too much people, and hast wilfully offended, so that the very stones of thy wall shall cry out of it, and the timber that lieth betwixt the joints of the building shall answer. Wo be unto him that buildeth the town with blood, and maintaineth the city with unrighteousness !" Read we not, that the prophet Zachary saw a flying book of twenty cubits long and ten cubits broad, in the which was written the curse that shall fall upon all thieves ? " I will bring Zech- v- it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, so that it shall come to the house of the thief, and shall remain in his house, and consume it with the timber and stones thereof." The wise man also saith : " Whoso hoardeth up riches with the deceitfulness of his tongue, he Prov. xxi. is vain and a fool, and like unto them that seek their own death. The robberies of the un godly shall be their own destruction ; for they will not do the thing that is right." Moreover in the book of Josua we read, that Achan the son of Zereth stole and Josh. vii. conveyed away a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred sides2 of silver, and a tongue of gold of fifty sides a weight, and that therefore at the commandment of God he was stoned unto death; and his stolen good with all that ever he had besides, his sons and his daughters, his oxen and his asses, his sheep and his tent, &c. were brent with fire. Was not Gehezi, the servant of Elisa the prophet, stricken with leprosy even 2 Kings v. unto his dying day, both he and his seed for ever, because with craft and subtilty in his master's name he took of Naaman the Syrian two talents of silver, and two change of garments ? [2 Sides: shekels.] 110 THE CATECHISM. [Part 2 Mace. i. I pags over with silence king Antiochus, which, when he with his army entered into the temple, purposing to have spoiled it, and to take out of it great sums of money, was slain both he and his company, and hewn in pieces. What shall I here rehearse, 2 Mace. iii. how that king Saleucus, understanding that there were great sums of gold and silver in the temple of Jerusalem, sent Heliodorus his steward thither to take away the money, and to bring it unto him ? But when the aforesaid Heliodorus with his men of war brast into the temple, and were about the treasure, the Spirit of God shewed himself openly, so that all they which presumed to obey Heliodorus fell through the power of God into great tearfulness and dread. " For there appeared unto them an horse with a terrible man sitting upon him decked in goodly array, and the horse smote at Heliodorus with his fore feet. Now he that sat upon the horse had harness of gold upon him. Moreover there appeared two fair and beautiful young men in goodly array, which stood by him, scourged him of both the sides, and gave him many stripes without ceasing. With that fell Heliodorus suddenly unto the ground. So they took him up (being com passed about with great darkness), and bare him out upon a bier. Thus he, that came with so many runners and men of war into the said treasure, was borne out, where as no man might help him ; and so the power of God was manifest and known. He lay still dumb also by the power of God, destitute of all hope and life." These and such like ensamples contained in the holy scripture declare evidently, how greatly God detesteth and abhorreth robbing, stealing, spoiling, polling, picking, and all unrighteous dealing, aud that he will by no means suffer it to escape unpunished. ofprppnety Father. Thou sayest truth, my child. Here learn we also moreover, that all things of goods. ^a^ we ,j0 p0Ssess are not common, and at liberty to take them for all other also, and to do with them what they lust without check; but that there is a propriety and ownership of things among the people of God. Son. If it were otherwise, this com mandment of God, " Thou shalt not steal," were given in vain, and it were no theft nor robbery to take from my neighbour what I lusted, and to do withal what I would, seeing all things be common among the Christians, and nothing proper. But the word of God teacheth us, that a christian man may with a good conscience have riches, enjoy, and possess them, and use them as his own. For riches is the good Prov. x. gift of God, as Salomon saith : " The blessing of the Lord maketh men rich." And Eccius. xi. Sirach saith, that " both riches and poverty cometh from God." St Paul wrote not unto bishop Timothy, that he should command the rich men of this world, that they should not be rich, nor have any riches and possessions, but rather cast away their goods from i Tim. vi. them as things unlawful to be possessed ; but he chargeth him to " command the rich men, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, which giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy them; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to give, and gladly to distribute, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may obtain everlasting life." It is not forbidden the Christians to have riches, but to set their whole heart Psai. lxii. upon the riches, as the psalmograph saith : " If ye have abundance of riches, set not Eccius. xxxi. your heart upon them." " Blessed is the rich," saith Sirach, " which is found without blemish, and hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money and treasures. Where is there a such one ? and we shall commend him, and call him blessed ; for great things doeth he among his people." Matt. xix. Father. Doth not our Saviour Christ say, that " it is more easy for a cable-rope to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven"? Son. I grant. But Christ speaketh there of such rich men as are mammonists and the slaves of mammon, as put not their trust in the living God, but in uncertain riches, as glory not in God, but have all their rejoicing in the goods of this world, as St Mark doth right well declare, which reporteth the Markx. words of Christ on this manner: "Little children, it is a very hard thing for them that put their confidence in money to enter into the kingdom of God." Gen. xx. Abraham was rich, and brought great possessions with him out of Egypt. Isaac> Gen! xxvi! his son, was wonderful rich, and had great abundance of cattle. Jacob brought with Gen. xxxi. nml from Julian great multitudes of sheep and very much substance ; for the Lord Gen. xi'. had blessed him. Joseph was a noble magistrate and a mighty ruler in Egypt, and HI-] OF THE LAW. Ill was endued with great possessions. Job was exceedingly rich; for "he had of his Job xiii. own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses," and a very great family. Tobias also was so rich, that Tob. i. ii. he was able daily to give and distribute almose to the poor. What shall I speak of the noble kings, David, Salomon, Ezechias, Josias, &c, and of the virtuous women Judith, Hester, &c, and such like; which all had great possessions and very many goods and riches; and yet were they the dearly beloved servants of God, and are now inheritors of everlasting glory? Christ saith not simply, that the poor are blessed, and that unto them belongeth the kingdom of heaven, but the poor in spirit. " Blessed are the poor in spirit," Matt. ,.. saith he, " for unto them doth the kingdom of heaven belong." Christ crieth not Luke "' wo upon all rich men without exception, but upon such only as repose all their consolation and comfort, all their joy and hope, in their riches. Riches, therefore, for asmuch as they are the gift and blessing of God, may right well be possessed of the Prov. x. true Christians : neither do the possessions of this world hinder or let any thing unto ec U8' "' the obtaining of everlasting life, if we set not our heart upon them, if like good stewards we give and distribute them gladly, when necessity requireth, to the poor and needy members of Christ, and follow this counsel of the apostle : " The time is 1 cor. vii. short," saith he : " it remaineth that they which have wives be as though they had none ; and they that weep be as though they wept not ; and they that rejoice be as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy be as though they possessed not; and they that use this world be as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." Father. Hitherto have we heard, my dear son, what God forbiddeth in this his law, "Thou shalt not steal," and how grievously he will punish all such as transgress this commandment. Now it remaineth, that thou declarest unto me, what God re quireth of us to be done in this law. Son. In this law God requireth of us, that What God we should not only not steal or unjustly convey away our neighbour's goods by any theeighthin means from him, and turn them unto our own use and commodity ; but also that ment we should seek all means possible to save, keep, and defend his goods, to help him, to study how we may, either in word or in deed, pleasure him, that his goods through us may not be diminished, but increased. Verily, so great care ought we to have for our neighbour, and for all things that appertain unto him, as we have for ourselves and for ours. Father. How provest thou this ? Son. It is soon proved. God saith : " Thou Lev. xix. shalt love thy neighbour even as thyself." Again he saith : " Whatsoever ye would RoV. xiu.' that men should do to you, do ye so even to them also. For this is the law and the jamel'ii. prophets." And in the law of Moses God gave this commandment, saying: " Thou Luke vi.'' shalt not see thy brother's ox or sheep go astray, and withdraw thyself from them ; Deut' xxli' but shalt bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then bring it to thine own house ; and it shall remain with thee, until thy brother ask for them ; and then deliver him them again. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass, and so shalt thou do with his raiment ; and with all the lost things of thy brother, which he had lost and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise ; for thou mayest not hide it. Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or ox fall down by the way, and withdraw thyself from them, but shalt help him to heave them up again." Again he saith: "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or ass going astray, thou shalt bring them to him again. If thou see thine enemy's ass sink under his burden, thou shalt not pass by and let him alone, but shalt help him to lift him up again." Here are we commanded of God to do good to our neighbour, to help, save, and defend our neighbour's goods, that nothing of them perish; yea, and that not only if he be our friend, but also if he be our enemy, that we may be the children of our Father which is in heaven; "for he maketh his sun to arise on the evil and on Matt. ,. the good, and sendeth rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous" : so far is it off, that we ought unjustly to take away his goods, or in any point to hinder him. What we ought to be to our neighbour, the parable of the wounded man and of the Samaritan 112 THE CATECHISM. [Part do manifestly set forth unto us in the gospel of St Luke ; which I would wish all men at all times to have before their eyes. Father. What is that parable? Rehearse it unto me. Son. St Luke describeth it Lukex. 0n this manner: "A certain man (saith be) descended from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which robbed him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And it chanced that there came down a certain priest that same way, and when he saw him he passed by. And likewise a Levite, when he went nigh to the place, came and looked on him, and passed by. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came unto him ; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, and poured in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to a common inn, and made provision for him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him : Take cure1 of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will recompense thee." Father. This parable setteth forth our duty right well to our neighbour. Son. It teacheth us, that we should be ready at all times both with our heart, body, and goods to help and succour our neighbour : so far is it off, that we ought to envy him the good success of things, or the felicity of worldly goods, or unjustly by any manner of means to convey his goods unto us and unto our use; but rather rejoice, when all things go prosperously with our neighbour, and to the uttermost of our power labour that he and whatsoever pertaineth unto him may be safely preserved without all peril and danger. For charity and true neighbourly love seeketh not her own, but the commodity and profit of other. The duty of Father. What requireth God of us more in this law? Son. That such as be rich the rich. should deal mercifully and liberally with the poor, helping their necessity and relieving their poverty. For unto this end hath God blessed them with worldly substance, that they should be merciful and bounteous to the poor, and gladly and willingly minister unto them all good things, as faithful and trusty stewards of the Lord's treasures. Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that the Lord our God re quireth of the rich men this mercy and liberality to the poor. Son. The holy scripture Deut. xv. is iarge m this behalf. God saith : " There shall be no needy person nor beggar among you, that the Lord thy God may bless thee." Again : "If any of the brethren among you be poor within any of thy gates, in the land which the Lord God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; but open thine hand unto him, and lend him sufficient for his need which he hath. Beware, that there be not a wicked point in thine heart, that thou wouldest say, The seventh year, the year of freedom, is at hand; and therefore it grieveth thee to look on thy poor brother, and givest him nought, and he then cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee ; but give him, and let it not grieve thine heart to give unto him; because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand to. The land shall never be without poor. And therefore I command thee, saying: Thou shalt open thine hand unto thy brother that is needy and poor in the land." The wise man saith: Prov. iii, "Withdraw no good thing from them that have need, so long as thine hand is able to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go thy way and come again : to-morrow will I give thee; whereas thou hast now to give him." Eccius. iv. Jesus the son of Sirach saith : " My son, defraud not the poor of his alms, and turn not away thine eyes from him that hath need. Despise not an hungry soul, and defy not the poor in his necessity. Grieve not the heart of him that is helpless, and withdraw not thy gift from the needful. Refuse not the prayer of one that is in trouble : turn not away thy face from the needy : cast not thine eyes aside from the poor for any evil will, that thou give him none occasion to speak evil of thee. For if he complain of thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard ; even he that made him shall hear him. Be courteous unto the company of the poor. Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine ear unto the poor ; but pay the debt, and give [l Cure : care. It is still used, as in cure of souls.] In-] OF THE LAW. 113 him a friendly answer, and that with meekness. Let not thine hand be stretched out to receive, and shut when thou shouldest give." Again he saith : " The bread of the Eccius. needy is the life of the poor : he that defraudeth him thereof is a man-slayer. Whoso x*xlv robbeth his neighbour of his living doth as great a sin, as though he slew him to death." b The prophet Esay saith : " Loose him out of bondage, that is in thy danger. Break isai. mm the oath of wicked bargains. Let the oppressed go free, and take from him all manner of burdens. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor wayfaring man home into thine house: when thou seest the naked, cover him, and hide not thy face from thy neighbour, and despise not thine own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health flourish right shortly: thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall embrace thee." And the prophet Zachary saith: " Execute true judgment : shew mercy and loving-kindness every man to his brother, zeeh. vii Do the widow, the fatherless, the stranger, and poor no wrong ; and let no man imagine evil against his brother in his heart." Tobias saith: "Give alms of thy goods, and turn never thy face from the poor; Tob. iv. and so shall it come to pass, that the face of the Lord shall not be turned away from thee. Be merciful after thy power. If thou hast much, give plenteously : if thou hast little, do thy diligence gladly to give of that little. For so gatherest thou thyself a good reward in the day of necessity. For mercy delivereth from all sin and from death, and suffereth not the soul to come in darkness. A great comfort is mercy before the high God unto all them that shew it." "Look that thou never do unto another man the thing that thou wouldest not another man should do unto thee." "Eat thy bread with the hungry and poor, and cover the naked with thy clothes." Moreover Christ our Saviour saith: "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him Matt ,. that would borrow turn not thou away." " Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon Matt. vi. earth, where the rust and the moth do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for you treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." "Be ye merciful, even as your heavenly Father is Luke vi. merciful. Give, and it shall be given unto you : good measure, and pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosoms. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, shall other men mete to you [a]gain." " Sell that Luke xii. ye have, and give alms : and prepare you bags that wax not old, even a treasure that faileth not in heaven, where no thief cometh, neither moth corrupteth." " When Luke thou makest a feast, call the poor, the feeble, the lame, and the blind, and thou shalt be happy : for they cannot recompense thee ; but thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous." " Make you friends of unrighteous mammon, that, Luke xvi when ye shall have need, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." The blessed apostle St Paul saith : " Distribute unto the necessity of the saints. Bom. xii. Be ready to harbour." " If thine enemy hunger, feed him : if he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil; but overcome evil with goodness." " Let us not be weary of well doing : for when Gai. vi. the time is come, we shall reap without weariness. While we have therefore time, let us do good unto all men, but specially unto them which are of the household of faith." And to bishop Timothy he writeth thus : " Charge them which are rich in 1 Tim. vi this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, which giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy them; that they do good; that they be rich in good works ; that they be ready to give, and gladly to distribute, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may obtain everlasting life." St James also saith : " The judgment shall be without mercy unto bim that sheweth James ii. no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. What availeth it, my brethren, though a man saith he hath faith, if he have no deeds ? Can faith save him ? If a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace; God send you warmness and food; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what shall it help ? &c." r t 8 |_I3ECON, II.J xiv. 114 THE CATECHISM. [Pakt 1 John iv. Matt. xxv. Rev. xxi. Luke xvi. 1 Tim. vi. Heb. xiii. Josh. i. Psai. cxviii. Eccius. xxix, Magistrates. Rom. xiii. Eccius. xxxii Subjects. Pastors. John xxi. 1 Pet v. 1 Tim. iii. 1 Tim. iv. Parishioners.1 Cor. iv. Gal. iv. 1 Cor. iv. 1 Tim. v. Gal. vi. 1 Thess. v. Men of law. St John saith likewise : " Whoso hath the goods of this world, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him ?" " And this commandment have we of him, that he which loveth God should love his brother also." In the gospel we read, that the merciful at the day of judgment shall receive this mercy at the hand of God, that they shall be made inheritors of the heavenly kingdom. Contrariwise, the unmerciful shall for their portion have everlasting damna tion in that lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone; as we have the unmerciful rich glutton for an example. Father. What is more required of us in this commandment of God? Son. God requireth also of us in this his law, that we should be content with that we have, and not falsely and unjustly go about to be rich with the incommodity and hindrance of our neighbour, but be well pleased with our own, whether it be much or little, avoiding covetousness, which is the root of all evils, in all our life and conversation. Father. Where are we taught to be content with our own? Son. The blessed apostle saith : " Godliness is great riches, if a man be content with that he hath. For we brought nothing into the world, neither may we carry any thing out. But when we have food and raiment, we must therewith be content. They that will be rich fall into temptation and snares of the devil, and into many foolish and noisome lusts, which drown men into perdition and destruction. For covetousness of money is the root of all evil : which while some lusted after, they erred from the faith, and tangled themselves with many sorrows. But thou, man of God, fly such things, Follow righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness," &c. Also in another place he saith : " Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have already. For he hath said, I will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; and I will not fear what man may do unto me." Hereto agreeth the saying of Sirach : " Be it little or much that thou hast, hold thee content withal ; and thou shalt not be blamed as a vagabond; for a miserable life is it to go from house to house." Father. What requireth God more of us in this precept? Son. He requireth that every man in his vocation and calling shall so live, that he shall not only not hurt his neighbour either in thought, word, or deed, but also do good to all men, so much as lieth in him. The magistrate ought not to take too much of his subjects, nor to overcharge them with intolerable payments, but only to lay such burdens upon them, as they may well and conveniently bear, yea, and that for the maintenance of the common weal ; ever setting before their eyes, that they are the ministers of God, appointed to bear rule not for their own profit and commodity, but for the wealth and profit of God's people; as St Paul saith: "The magistrate is the minister of God for thy wealth." Hereto agreeth the saying of Jesus, the son of Sirach : " If thou be made a ruler, pride not thyself therein, but be thou as one of the people. Take diligent care for them, and look well thereto; and when thou hast done all thy duty, sit thee down, that thou mayest be merry with them, and receive the crown of honour." The subjects ought not to withhold any thing unjustly that is due to the temporal rulers, but gladly and willingly to give, whatsoever is required of them for the maintenance of the commonweal. The bishops, pastors, and curates ought diligently to feed the flock of Christ with the true and pure word of God, to maintain hospitality for the relief of the poor and miserably afflicted Christians, and to be an example to the flock in all godliness and honesty. The parishioners ought to reverence the spiritual ministers, as fathers that begat them in Christ through the gospel, as the angels of God, as the stewards of the mys teries of God, and to give them double honour, and to provide and aforesee, that they lack no good thing necessary for their estate, that their ministry be not hindered. Such as be officers in the law ought above all things to seek equity and justice, to give counsel according to right, to boult out the truth,* to judge indifferently without respect of persons, not to prolong for filthy lucre's sake the causes of their XXII. viii. 1 2 Chron. xix. HI-] OF THE LAW. 115 clients; but with all expedition and convenient haste to dispatch them, yea, and that isai. i. according to right and conscience, ever setting before their eyes this notable ad- zeeh!v.i* monition, which the most noble king Jehosaphat gave to the judges: "Take heed," saith he, " what ye do ; for ye execute not the judgment ' of man, but of God, which is with you in judgment. Let the fear of the Lord be therefore upon you; and take heed, and see that ye do the thing that pleaseth him. For there is no unrighteousness with the Lord your God, that he should have respect of persons or take rewards." They that exercise themselves in merchandise, in buying and selling, in husbandry, Merchants. in manual arts and handy occupations, &c, ought so to travail in their mysteries, menband" that, all craft and subtilty, all falsehood and dissimulation set apart, they may deal Artlflcers' truly and faithfully with all men, having ever an eye not so much unto their own private profit, as to the commodity of the country wherein they dwell; re membering also, that we be not born for ourselves, but to do good to other and to serve other. The gentlemen and landlords ought so to let out their farms, lands, tenements, lord- Gentlemen. ships, &c, for a reasonable price, that their tenants may be able to live under them, to LancUorcls' nourish their family, to bring up their children in good arts, to maintain hospitality, to help to bear the charges of the commonweal, to sell their corn, cattle, and all other victuals, for a mean and indifferent price, and to do good unto such as have need of their help. Such as are indebted ought truly and faithfully at the day appointed to pay their Debtors. debts, and to live of their own. Such as live after an unlawful and wicked means, as dicers, carders, jesters, coun- Dicers. terfeit fools, &c, ought to cast away this licentious kind of living, and to practise jestersj'&c. some honest and seemly art, wherewith they may be able not only to eat their own bread with a good conscience, but also to profit other, as the apostle saith : " Let him Eph. iv. that stole steal no more, but let him rather labour with his hands the thing which is good, that he may give unto him that needeth." Again: "We require you, brethren, 2 Thess. iii. by the name of our Lord Jesu Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that behaveth himself inordinately, and not after the institution which he received of us. For ye yourselves know how ye ought to follow us. For we behaved not our selves inordinately among you : neither took we bread of any man for nought ; but wrought with labour and sweat night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you : not but that we had authority ; but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. For when we were with you, this we warned you of, that, if any would not work, the same should not eat. For we have heard say that there are some which walk among you inordinately, working nothing at all, but being busy- bodies. Them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that they work with quietness, and eat their own bread." They also that are called beggars, and get their living by asking alms from door Beggars. to door, if they have their limbs, and be able to work, ought not to run up and down idly, but to labour with their hands for their living, and with the sweat of psai. cxxviii their faces to eat their own bread, and to be able also to give somewhat unto the Eph. i"'. needy. For let them know this to be a most certain truth, that, if they be able to labour and will not, they are thieves before God ; and every morsel of bread or meat, that they eat by this their begging, turneth to their own damnation ; forasmuch as they eat away the living of the poor needy man, which is feeble, sick, lame, &c. Servants, workmen, day-labourers, and such other like, ought diligently to labour servants. and to serve their bodily masters, which have hired them, and of whom they take Da^iabour- wages, " not with eye-service only as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, ers' doing the will of God from the heart with a good will, serving the Lord and not Eph. vi. men, knowing this, that whatsoever good thing a man doeth, the same shall he receive mtii.' again of God, whether he be bond or free." In fine, all persons of every degree ought so to frame their lives according to the will of God, that they should not at any time attempt any thing toward their neigh bour, that they would gladly refuse to be done to themselves; but live with such an^l 8—2 116 THE CATECHISM. [Paht The ninth commandment. A good name passeth all worldly riches.Prov. xv. Prov. xxii. Eccles. vii. Eccius. xii. What God forbiddeth in this com mandment. Exod. xxiii. upright mind toward all men, that they should be no less careful for their neighbour's commodity, than they are for their own; so far is it off that any enterprise to the contrary ought to be attempted of them that profess godliness. If all men on this manner would endeavour themselves to frame their lives accord ing to the rule of God's word, sin should soon decrease, and virtue increase ; self-love should shortly be banished, and neighbourly love take place ; private profit should quickly cease, and common commodity rise, grow, prosper, flourish, reign, triumph. Father. God make us true professors and faithful practisers of his holy will ! Son. Amen, good Lord. Father. Now have we passed over eight of God's commandments. Let me now hear the ninth. Son. This is it : "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Father. What is the will of God in this law? Son. In the four last command ments, which concern our duty toward our neighbour, first, we have learned how we ought to behave ourselves toward our parents, superiors, and elders ; secondly, what our duty is toward our neighbour concerning his body; thirdly, how we ought to behave ourselves toward our neighbour concerning his wife; fourthly, what our duty is toward our neighbour concerning his goods. Now followeth the fifth commandment of the second table, which is the ninth precept in order, wherein we are taught, how we should behave ourselves toward our neighbour concerning his good name and fame. For he doth no less offend, which oppresseth his innocent neighbour with false witness, than he which killeth him with weapon. Neither is that thief more worthy of pun ishment, which with open violence or with subtile and crafty means spoileth a man of his goods, than that person, which with lying and false witness-bearing robbeth a man of his good name and fame : which good name doth so far excel all the riches of this world, as the sun in quantity and brightness surmounteth and passeth the least star in the firmament. The wise man saith: "Like as the clearness of the eyes rejoiceth the heart, so doth a good name feed the bones." Again he saith : " A good name is more worth than great riches; and loving favour is better than silver and gold." Item: "A good name is more worth than precious ointment." Jesus the son of Sirach saith : " Labour to get thee a good name ; for that shall continue surer by thee than a thousand great treasures of gold. A good life hath a number of days; but a good name endureth ever." Therefore, forasmuch as " the tongue," as St James saith, " although a little member, boasteth great things, is a fire and a world of wick edness, defileth the whole body, and setteth a-fire all that we have of nature, and is itself set a-fire even of hell," being "an unruly evil, and full of deadly poison;" God in this his law declareth unto us, how we should behave ourselves toward our neighbour in tongue and speech, as he hath taught us in his laws aforesaid, how we should behave ourselves toward him in body and in bodily acts. And as we are for bidden, in the four commandments above rehearsed, to hurt our neighbour with our body or with the deeds thereof; so likewise in this precept are we forbidden to hurt our neighbour with our tongue, or with any word that proceedeth from the same. And in this behalf God commandeth us here expressly, that we bear not false witness against our neighbour. Father. What doth God forbid, or what requireth he, in this commandment? Son. First, he forbiddeth, that, when any matter being in controversy is brought before the judge, and we be called of him to be witnesses in this behalf, we, contrary to our conscience and knowledge, either for favour toward the one part, or for displeasure toward the other part, should bear false witness or give wrong evidence against our neighbour, to the impoverishment and loss of his goods, or to the appairing1 of his good name, estimation, and fame. Father. Is this bearing of false witness forbidden in other places also of the holy scripture? Son. Yea, verily. God saith by his servant Moses: "Thou shalt not ac cept a vain tale, neither shalt thou put thy hand with the wicked, to be an unrighte- [' Appairing: impairing.] IH-] OF THE LAW. 117 ous witness (against thy neighbour). Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, neither answer in a matter of plea, that thou wouldest (to follow many) turn away from the truth," &c. Again : " Thou shalt not go up and down as a privy accuser among Lev. xix. thy people, neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord." Also in another place : " Cursed be he that hindereth the right of the stranger, Deut. xxvh. fatherless, and widow; and all the people shall say, Amen." "Cursed be he that taketh a reward to slay the soul of innocent blood; and the people shall say, Amen." The wise man saith : " Be not a false witness against thy neighbour, and speak no false- Prov. xxiv. hood with thy lips." Again : " Whoso beareth false witness against his neighbour, he pr0v. xxv. is a very club, a sword, and a sharp arrow." Our Saviour Christ saith : " Thou shalt Matt xix. not speak false witness." Again : " Out of the heart come false witnesses and evil speak- Matt. xv. ings: these defile a man." Father. Is God angry with such as bear false witness against their neighbour? Son. Who doubteth of that? Gave he not this commandment by his servant Moses to the people of Israel ? " If any unrighteous witness rise up against a man to accuse Deut xix. him of trespass, then both the men which strive together shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges which shall be in those days ; and the judges shall make diligent inquisition. And if the witness be found false, and that he hath given false witness against his brother, then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to do unto his brother; and thou shalt put evil away from thee. And other shall hear and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such wickedness among you. And thine eye shall have no compassion, but soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." This thing read we practised in the two elders, which gave false witness against the virtuous and chaste lady Susanna ; also in those princes Hist. sus. and lords, which sought the destruction of Daniel the prophet. Furthermore, the wise man saith : " The Lord hateth a false witness that bringeth up lies." Again : " A Prov. vi. Prov. xix. false witness shall not remain unpunished ; and he that speaketh lies shall not escape." Also in another place he saith : " A false witness shall perish ; but he that is a true Prov. xxi. man boldly speaketh that he hath heard." Father. Is false witness-bearing only forbidden in this precept? Son. Not only that, but also all other vices and abuses of the tongue. Father. Where is lying forbidden in the word of God? Son. God saith by his of lying. servant Moses : " Ye shall not lie." The wise man saith : " God hateth a lying tongue." Lev. xix. Jesus the son of Sirach hath these words : " In no wise speak against the word of EccLTiv. truth ; but be ashamed of the lies of thine own ignorance. Shame not to confess thine error, and submit not thyself unto every man' because of sin." Again : " Make no lies Eccius. m. against thy brother, neither do the same against thy friend. Use not to make any manner of lie ; for the custom thereof is not good." Once again he saith : " A lie is Eccius. xx. a wicked shame in a man, yet shall it be ever in the mouth of the unwise. A thief is better than a man that is accustomed to lie; but they both shall have destruction to heritage." The psalmograph saith : " Thou, O Lord, shalt destroy all them that Psai. v. speak leasing: the Lord will abhor both the blood-thirsty and deceitful man." The holy apostle saith: "Put away lying, and speak every man truth unto his neighbour; EPh. iv. forasmuch as we are members one of another." Again: "Put away wrath, fierceness, coi.iii. maliciousness, cursed speaking, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his works, and have put on the new man, which is renewed into the knowledge and image of him that made him." Father. Will God punish them also that are liars? Son. Heard you not even now out of the words of Salomon, that "God hateth a lying tongue"? Again, of Prov. vi. Jesus the son of Sirach, that "the liar shall have destruction for his heritage"? Item Eccius.xx. of the psalmograph, that "God will destroy them that speak lies"? Moreover Salo- Psai. ». mon saith: "Lying lips are abomination unto the Lord; but they that labour forprov.xn. truth please him." "Again he saith: "The mouth that lieth slayeth the soul." Readwtsd.i. we not also in the last chapter of St John's Revelations, that "such as make leas- Kev. xxi. ings shall have their portion with enchanters, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, in that lake that brenneth with fire and brimstone"? The devil is a liar Gen. hi. 118 THE CATECHISM. [Part John viii. Matt. xxv. Of slander ing. Eccius. xxviii. Kom. xii. Eph. iv. Eccius. xxi. Matt. xv. What God re quireth in this commandment. Lev. xix. Prov. x. I Pet. iv. and the father of all lying. Therefore whosoever followeth him in this behalf shall with him feel the like and very same torments in hell-fire. Father. A reward worthy such an act. But come off, tell me, is false witness- bearing and lying only forbidden in this precept? Son. Not only: for slandering, evil reporting, backbiting, defaming of our neighbour, with all other vices of the tongue, are here also forbidden. Father. What saith the holy scripture of these things ? Son. God saith : " Thou shalt not go up and down as a privy accuser among thy people : neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour : I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart," &c. Jesus the son of Sirach saith: "Be not a privy accuser as long as thou livest, and use no slander with thy tongue. For shame and sorrow goeth over the thief, and an evil name over him that is double- tongued ; but he that is a privy accuser of other men shall be hated, envied, and con founded." Again : " A privy accuser of other men shall defile his own soul, and he hated of every man ; but he that keepeth his tongue and is discreet shall come to honour." Also in another place: "Beware of strife, and thou shalt make thy sins fewer. For an angry man kindleth variance, and the ungodly disquieteth friends, and putteth discord among them that be at peace." "A tongue that beareth false witness bringeth death. The slanderer and double-tongued is cursed; for many one that be friends setteth he at variance." St Paul saith : " Bless them which persecute you : bless (I say) and curse not." Again : " Let all bitterness, and fierceness, and wrath, and roaring, and cursed speaking be put away from you with all maliciousness. Be ye courteous one to another, merciful, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Father. Fall these also into the displeasure of God? Son. Yea, verily. Heard ye not afore, that "he which is a privy accuser of other men defileth his own soul"? " Out of the heart," saith our Saviour Christ, " proceed evil thoughts, murders, break ing of wedlock, whoredoms, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, or evil speakings. These are the things which defile a man." Again he saith : " Of every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give accompts in the day of judgment. For out of thy words shalt thou be justified, and out of thy words thou shalt be condemned." St Paul saith, that "cursed speakers shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Father. Now that we have heard what God forbiddeth in this his law, declare also unto me what he requireth of us, that we may learn to know and to do his blessed will and pleasure. Son. First, he requireth of us, that we boldly and without fear (whensoever we be called of any temporal ruler to bear witness in any matter) testify the truth, and by no means, neither for love nor for hatred, dissemble and cloke that which we know to be true, but freely utter it, although displeasure at the hands of the ungodly should follow ; as the wise man saith : " For righteousness take pains with all thy soul, and for the truth strive thou unto the death ; and God shall fight for thee against thine enemies." This is God's commandment. " Thou shalt not hinder (saith he) the right of the poor in their suit. Keep thee far from a false matter ; and the innocent and righteous see thou slay not ; for I will not justify the wicked. Thou shalt take no gifts; for gifts blind the sight, and pervert the words of the righteous." Again: "Ye shall not do unrighteousness in judgment. Thou shalt not favour the poor, nor honour the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour." The wise man also saith : " A just man will tell the truth, and shew the thing that is right ; but a false witness deceiveth. A slanderous person pricketh like a sword ; but a wise man's tongue is wholesome. A true mouth is ever constant ; but a dissembling tongue is soon changed." Secondly, God requireth of us, that we should not only not backbite, slander, and defame our neighbour, but also that we speak well of him, defend his good name, set forth his good report, maintain his honest estimation, and rather cover, cloke, and dis semble our neighbour's faults, than accuse and publish them unto his hindrance and destruction, as Salomon saith : " Evil will stirreth up strife ; but love covereth the mul titude of sins." Hereto pertaineth the saying of St Peter : " Above all things have fervent love among yourselves ; for love shall cover the midtitude of sins." U1-] OF THE LAW. 119 Thirdly, it is required of us, not only that we shall not through our misreports and slanderous words set neighbours together at variance, but also, if any be at dis sension among themselves, to help to reconcile them, to make them friends, to set them at one, and to link them together again in true amity and unfeigned love, that we may be of that number of whom our Saviour Christ speaketh on this manner: " Blessed are they which make peace ; for they shall be called the sons of God." Matt. ,-. i Fourthly, God requireth of us, that we should at all times so use our tongue, that it may profit, not disprofit our neighbour, quiet, not disquiet him, further, not hinder, his good name and estimation; and in fine, so to use our tongue, that it may be the organ of the Holy Ghost, ready at all times to set forth the glory of God and the commodity of our neighbour. And that we may the more conveniently this do, it shall not be unprofitable at all times to set before our eyes these sayings of the holy scripture. David saith : " What man is he that lusteth to live, and would fain see good days ? Keep thy pSai. xxxiv. tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile. Eschew evil and do good, seek peace and ensue it." " For a man full of words shall not prosper upon the Psai. cxi. earth : evil shall hunt the wicked person to overthrow him." Therefore prayeth that prince-like prophet on this manner : " Set a watch, 0 Lord, before my mouth, and Psai. cxii. keep the door of my lips." Salomon hath these golden sentences : " Where much bab- Prov. x. bling is, there must needs be offence ; but he that refraineth his lips is wise." " A Prov. xvii. wise man useth but few words; and he is a man of understanding, that maketh much of his spirit. Yea, a very fool, when he holdeth his tongue, is counted wise, and to have understanding, when he shutteth his lips." " A word spoken in due prov. xxv. season is like apples of gold in a graven work of silver." Jesus the son of Sirach saith : " Learn before thou speak." " Who shall set a watch before my mouth, and Eccius. xviii. 1 -i Eccius. xxn. a sure seal upon my lips, that I fall not with them, and that my tongue destroy me not ?" The holy apostle saith : " Let no filthy communication proceed out of your Eph. vi. mouth, but that which is good to edify withal, as oft as need is ; that it may minister grace to the hearers." Again : " Let your speech be always well savoured and powdered coi. iv. with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." St James saith: "Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to wrath." "If any James i. man among you seemeth to be devout, and refraineth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's devotion is in vain." " The tongue is a little member, and James iii. boasteth great things: :it is a fire and a world of wickedness: it defileth the whole body, and setteth a-fire all that we have of nature, and is itself set a-fire even of hell:" it is " an unruly evil, full of deadly poison," &c. St Peter also saith : " Render not l Pet in. evil for evil, or rebuke for rebuke ; but contrariwise, bless, knowing that ye are there unto called, even that ye should be heirs of the blessing. For he that doth long after Psai. xxxiv. life, and loveth to see 'good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil and do good : let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous ; and his ears are open unto their prayers." Again : " The face of the Lord is over them that do evil." And to be short, it shall not a little profit, but help greatly, to remember this saying of our Saviour Christ : " Of every idle word that men shall speak they shall render accompts Matt. xii. at the day of judgment." Father. Thou hast satisfied mine expectation concerning the ninth commandment. Rehearse me now the tenth commandment, as it followeth in order. Son. It is this : "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neigh- Thetenth hour's wife, his servant, his maid, his ox, his ass, nor any thing that is thy ment. neighbour's." Father. What is the good pleasure of God in this commandment ? Son. For asmuch as the words of the aforesaid commandments seem by outward appearance to require nothing of us, but politic, civil, and external justice or righteousness; lest that any man should think to have fulfilled the law by bringing forth, after a certain manner, the outward works of the law, and so think himself to be somewhat, when indeed he is nothing, and by this means glory of his own perfection and righteous- 120 THE CATECHISM. [Part ness, whereas all his glory ought to be only in the Lord our God, as it is written, 2 cor. x. " He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord ;" God, willing to shew man unto him- 1 cor. i. self, what he is, with all the strengths of his free will, with all his perfection and righteousness, with all his good works and merits, in this his law requireth of us not only politic, civil, and outward justice, but also spiritual and inward justice, with the full and perfect consent of the mind, with the unspotted cleanness of the heart, with the pure thoughts, godly desires, and holy affects of the spirit ; yea, and that without any grudging or concupiscence to the contrary : which thing is impossible i cor. ii. for any natural man to do, which " understandeth not the things that belong unto 2 cor. iii. God :" which of himself is not able so much as to think a good thought : whose Eph. h. heart (as of him which by nature is the child of wrath, begotten, conceived, and Jer. xvii. born in sin) is lewd and unsearchable : whose " imaginations of the thoughts of his heart Gen. vi. viii. . . . isai. ixiv. are evil continually even from his youth :" whose " righteousness and best works are as Bom. vii. a cloth defiled1;" forasmuch as "the law is spiritual," and he "carnal, sold under sin," 2 cor. iii. yea, and the very bond-slave of Satan, not able of himself either to think, breathe, speak, or do, that is praiseworthy before God. And here must all flesh with all humility and reverence fall down before the Rom. m. majesty of God, and confess themselves most grievous sinners, and worthy of ever lasting damnation, forasmuch as they are justly proved transgressors of the law of GiMiiXX™' ®0^ ' seemg i* *s written : " Cursed be every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to fulfil them." For no man liveth which $S" fulfilleth the law of God with such purity of mind, with such obedience of heart, with such free will of the spirit, and with such pure and uncorrupt motions of the inward man, as the law requireth, according to this saying of our Saviour Christ: Rom'vii "Moses gave you a law; and yet none of you keepeth the law." "We know," saith St Paul, " that the law is spiritual ; but I am carnal, sold under sin." Father. God, therefore, in this his tenth and last commandment requireth of us not only outward justice, but also inward righteousness, so that we may not once what God lust or covet against the law of God. Son. Not only in this last commandment, requireth of,. J ' us m his law. but in all the other also God requireth that we shall not only, after a certain manner, fulfil them outwardly, but also inwardly, with a full and perfect consent of a pure and uncorrupt heart, without any grudging or concupiscence to the contrary. Father. Prove by the word of God, that we may not so much as once lust or covet against the will of God, and that concupiscence is sin before God. Son. That Rom. vii. concupiscence is sin, it is manifest by these words of the apostle : " I had not known," saith he, "what lust had meant, except the law had said, Thou shalt not lust. But sin took an occasion by the means of the commandment, and wrought in me all manner of concupiscence." Now, that we are forbidden to lust or covet contrary to the commandment of God, and that, if we do otherwise, I mean, nourish any evil concupiscence or lust in our heart, although it never brast out into outward work, we are transgressors of the law of God, and worthy of everlasting damnation, it appeareth manifestly by Matt v. these words of Christ : " Whosoever looketh on another man's wife to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Here is it evident, that God requireth not only an outward cleanness of the body, but also an inward purity of the mind; so that we must be unspotted both in body and in mind. For as he is an adulterer before man, which is apprehended in the very act of gross adultery; so likewise is he an adulterer before God, which only in his heart lusteth after another man's wife, although he never commit the act, no, nor once make mention Johniv. of it so much as by word. "God is a Spirit," and he judgeth all things of the $?T spirit. If the spirit and inward man be once polluted with filthy lusts and fleshly concupiscences, we are straightways before God transgressors and breakers of his law, and worthy to be condemned unto everlasting fire, although we appear never so holy, pure, and honest before the blind world, which only seeth and considereth the outward deeds, and cannot behold the secrets of our heart, which only are known [' Two words are omitted.] HI-] OF THE LAW. 121 unto God. Therefore Christ, the Wisdom of the Father, and the true interpreter of the law, in the aforesaid sentence pronounceth him not only an adulterer, which com mitteth the gross act of adultery, but also which only in his heart nourisheth fleshly and unclean lusts ; to declare unto us, that the law of God, as St Paul saith, " is spiritual," Bom. va. and requireth not only an outward cleanness of the body, but also a perfect purity of the mind, utterly estranged from all evil, wicked, and ungodly concupiscences and lusts. Hereto pertaineth the saying of Jesus, the son of Sirach : " Thou shalt not lust after Eccius. xxv. the beauty of a woman, lest thou be provoked in desire toward her." And as our Saviour Christ expoundeth this commandment spiritually, " Thou Matt v. shalt not commit adultery," declaring that not only pure bodies but also clean minds, uncorrupt affects, godly motions, &c, are required unto the perfect fulfilling thereof; so likewise doeth he in the other. This kind of doctrine used also both the apostles and prophets ; as for an ensample, let us take this commandment : " Thou shalt not kill." Exod. xx. Whereas the words seemeth only to forbid gross manslaughter, the mind of the law- eut' "' giver, which is the Lord our God, is that we shall not only not kill our neighbour, but also bear no malice nor envy against him in our heart, but rather love him, and seek to preserve him to the uttermost of our power. For Moses writeth ori this manner : " Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart." " Thou shalt not Lev. xix. avenge thyself, nor be mindful of wrong against the children of my people; but thou shalt love thy neighbour even as thyself." St John also saith : " He that loveth 1 John Mi. not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a manslayer : and ye know that no manslayer hath everlasting life abiding in him." Of these authorities of the holy scripture do we learn, that this commandment of God, " Thou shalt not kill," forbiddeth us not only to abstain from gross man slaughter, but also from all malice, envy, hatred, and all manner of displeasure-bearing against our neighbour ; so that before God he is not only a manslayer, which with weapon killeth his brother, but he also which in his heart hath conceived malice, hatred, and displeasure against his neighbour, although it never brasteth into outward and gross manslaughter, as the history of Cairn doth evidently declare: in the which we read that, before he murdered his brother Abel, God would not once vouchsafe to Gen. iv. look neither unto Cairn nor unto his gifts. Why so ? Because of the malice and hatred which he had already conceived in his heart against his brother Abel. He was now before God a bloody murderer, and had transgressed this commandment of God, " Thou shalt not kill," and therefore worthy of everlasting damnation. The wise man also saith: "The bread of the needy is the life of the poor: he that defraudeth Eccius. him of it is a plain murderer." Here the unmerciful man is called a murderer, not xxx"' that he hath with any weapon slain the poor man, but because he hath with drawn that from the poor and needy, through the covetous affection which is in his heart, that should sustain the miserable life of the poor. The blind world recounteth the unmerciful man no murderer; but before God such one is both a murderer and the heir of everlasting damnation, as St James saith : " The judgment shall be James ii. ... i ». ml n l 11 Matt. XXV. without mercy to him that hath shewed no mercy. Thus may we see, that all Luke xvi. the commandments of God require of us not only an outward and civil righteous ness, but also an inward and spiritual justice, with pure affects and clean motions of the mind, utterly sequestered from all carnality and imperfection. Father. Let me hear more sentences of the holy scripture, wherein we are for bidden to nourish evil concupiscences and wicked lusts in our hearts: for many be of this mind, that evil lusts and ungodly thoughts defile not man. Son. That which in the holy scriptures is forbidden is plain sin. Evil concupiscence in the word of God is forbidden ; therefore is evil concupiscence sin. And as touching wicked and unclean thoughts, thus saith the holy scripture : " God hateth and utterly ab- Prov. *. horreth an heart that goeth about with wicked imaginations." Again: " Froward wisd. i. thoughts separate from God." Item: "Inquisition shall be made for the thoughts of the ungodly; and the report of his words shall Come unto God, so that his wickedness shall be punished." Our Saviour Christ saith also : " Out of the heart Matt. xv. proceed evil thoughts : these are the things which defile man." Now as concerning 122 THE CATECHISM. [Part Prov. iv. Eccius. v. Eccius. xviii Eccius. xxv. Prov. vi. Zech. vii. Zech. viii. Luke xxi. Rom. xiii. Col. iii. 1 Tim. vi. Heb. xiii. Josh. i. Psai. xxvii. James i. Evil lusts punished.Prov. vi. Wisd. i. Zech. vii. viii. Kom. viii. Gen. iv. 1 John iii. Jude. the sentences, which forbid the filthy raging lusts of the heart, the scripture is full of them in every place. Salomon saith : " Keep thine heart with all diligence ; for thereupon hangeth life." Jesus the son of Sirach saith : " Follow not the lusts of thine own heart." Again: "Follow not thy lusts, but turn thee from thine own will: for if thou givest thy soul her desires, it shall make thine enemies to laugh thee to scorn." Also in another place : " Be ashamed to desire another man's wife, and to make many trifling words with her maiden, or to stand by her bedside." Item : " Look not too narrowly upon the beauty of a woman, lest thou be pro-- voked in desire toward her." Salomon saith again : " Lust not after the beauty of a strange woman in thine heart, lest thou be taken with her fair looks." The prophet Zachary saith : " Let no man imagine evil against his brother in his heart." Again : " Speak every man the truth unto his neighbour : execute judgment truly and peaceably within your ports. None of you imagine evil in his heart against his neighbour, and love no false oaths ; for all these are the things that I hate, saith the Lord." Our Saviour Christ saith : " The cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, do so choke the wore* of God, that it is made unfruit ful." Again : " Take heed that your hearts be not overwhelmed with the cares of this life." St Paul saith : " Make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts of it." Again : " Mortify your earthy members ; fornication, uncleanness, unnatural lust, evil concupiscence," &c. Also in another place : " Godliness is great riches, if a man be content with that he hath. For we brought nothing into the world, neither may we carry any thing out. But when we have food and raiment, we must therewith be content. They that will be rich fall into temptation and snares of the devil, and into many foolish and noisome lusts, which drown men into perdition and de struction. For the covetousness of money is the root of all evil, which while some lusted after, they erred from the faith, and tangled themselves with many sorrows. But thou, man of God, flee such things. Follow righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." Item: "Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have already. For he hath said, I will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man may do unto me." St James saith: "Let no man say, when he is tempted, that he is tempted of God. For as God cannot be tempted with evil, so neither he himself tempteth any man unto evil. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away and enticed of his own concupiscence. Then when lust is conceived, she bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." St John also saith : " See that ye love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, as the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." Father. Doth evil concupiscence or lust also so displease God, that he will punish it ? Son. We heard afore out of the mouth of Salomon, that God hateth and utterly abhorreth that heart, which goeth about with wicked imaginations; and that God will punish the wickedness of an ungodly mind. The like thing heard we of the prophet Zachary. St Paul also saith, that " if we live after the flesh, we shall die," that is to say, be damned for ever. And in the first book of Moses we read, that Cairn was found a murderer before God, before he slew his brother, because of the malice and hatred that he had conceived in his heart against his brother; so that God would neither look upon him nor upon his offerings. Therefore was he cursed, and all his life-tune was he a fugitive and a vagabond, and is now a damned soul in hell-fire. In the aforesaid book also read we, that God smote Pharao and his house with great plagues, because in his heart he brenned with evil concu piscence and fleshly lust toward Sara, Abraham's wife; whom notwithstanding he had not touched, neither knew he that she was Abraham's wife. The like thing read we of king Abimelech. m-] OF THE LAW. 123 Father. What requireth God then of us in this his last commandment ? Son. That we, having contented minds with such things as wherewith God hath blessed us, what God should not desire unlawfully any thing that appertaineth unto our neighbour, but rather STntt.e °f do our diligence, that whatsoever is his may remain his, unto his own commodity and m^iS. profit; yea, and if we be able further to pleasure him or his, to do it unto the uttermost of our power, being no less godly and profitably affected toward him, than we are toward ourselves, yea, and that from the very heart. In fine, God requireth of us both in this last precept and in all other, that we bring unto the fulfilling of his law, not only outward, but also inward righteousness, not only the innocency of the body, but also the purity of the mind; so that both our bodies, and souls, hearts, minds, desires, and thoughts be pure, clean, and without spot, according to this saying of St Paul : " Ye are dearly bought ; therefore glorify God in your bodies and in your l Cor. vi. spirits, which belong unto God." Father. Rehearse me the sum briefly of all the commandments of God, that we The sum of may know, in few words, what is our duty to do both toward God and our neighbour. thelaw' Son. Christ saith : " Hear, 0 Israel : The Lord our God is Lord only. And thou shalt Mark xii. love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy Matt' xx"' mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like unto this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. In these two command ments hang all the law and the prophets." " Whatsoever ye would that men should Matt vii. do to you, do ye even so to them also : for this is the law and the prophets." St Luke "' Paul saith : " Owe nothing to any man, but this, that ye love one another. For he Rom. xiii. that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For these commandments, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not lust, and so forth, if there be any other commandment, it is all comprehended in this saying, namely, Love thy neighbour as thyself. Love hurteth not his neighbour : therefore is love the fulfilling of the law." Again he saith : " All the law is fulfilled in one word, which is this : Thou shalt love thy Gai. v. neighbour as thyself." Also in another place : " The end of the commandment is 1 iim. i. love, out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." St John saith : " This is God's commandment, that we believe on the name of his Son Jesus 1 John iii. Christ, and that we love one another." "For this commandment have we of him, Uohniv. that he which loveth God should love his brother also." Father. Well, now have we heard, my dear son, what the law is; to what end the law was given ; and how many commandments of the law there are ; and what is required of us that we should do concerning the fulfilling of them. This law of God seemeth unto me a very heavy yoke and a burden almost intolerable, if the righteousness of Christ in this behalf did not help us, which (as St Paul saith) is "the perfect fulfilling of the law to justify all that believe." Now, forasmuch as a Rom. x. new life requireth new manners, and our faith and love toward God is to be declared in the obedience of his law, and in the framing of our life according to his holy commandment; which thing of ourselves and of our own strengths we by no means are able to perform, seeing we be not able so much as to think a good thought, much 2 cor. m. less to accomplish the will of God with such purity and innocency of heart, as is required of us ; come off, tell me, what is now to be done, that we may obtain some both will and strength, whereby we may be able to shew ourselves not altogether negligent in conforming ourselves to the blessed will of God, but that our " light Matt v. may so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven." Son. This question, 0 my dear father, is asked in due time. To obtain will and strength to walk in the law of God, there is none other way but only to fly unto faithful and hearty prayer, and to crave of the Lord our God by of prayer. humble supplication the help of his holy Spirit, which may renew our hearts, and engraff in us new affects and new motions, that by this means we may become new creatures, unto the glory, praise, and honour of his holy name. And the order of the doctrine of the catechism requireth now, that we speak of prayer, which is the fourth part of the catechism, as you heard. 124 THE CATECHISM. [Part III. Father. Well said, my son. For we have passed over the first three parts; that is to say, repentance, faith, and law. Now remaineth the fourth part to be entreated of, which thou sayest is prayer. Son. Yea, verily. Father. What order wilt thou take in this treatise of prayer? Son. I will, first, by the grace of God and through the help of his holy Spirit, declare what prayer is. Secondly, how we ought to address ourselves unto prayer. Thirdly, I will declare and expound the Lord's prayer; forasmuch as that of all prayers is the best and most excellent, both because of the maker of it, which is the Lord Jesus, and also because in few words it containeth abundantly whatsoever is necessary to be desired either for the body or for the soul. Father. I allow thy order well. Tell me therefore, my son, what prayer is. 125 THE FOURTH PART OF THE CATECHISM. OF PRAYER. Son. Our preacher and also our catechist hath declared unto us divers defini tions of prayer. Father. Let me hear one or two of them. Son. Prayer is a lifting up of a pure what prayer mind unto God, in the which we ask somewhat of him according to his will. Or 1S- thus: Prayer is an earnest talk with God, proceeding from a very inward, deep, and brenning or fervent affection of the heart, craving somewhat at the hand of God. Or else thus : Prayer is a mourning, or a longing and a desire, of the spirit to God- ward, for that which she lacketh; as the sick mourneth and sorroweth in his heart, longing for health. Father. Of these definitions of prayer I learn three things. First, that prayer is the work and exercise of the mind, heart, or spirit, I mean, the inward man. Secondly, ¦** that in our prayer we must ask and crave somewhat. Thirdly, that that thing which we desire to have, we must require it at the hand of God. Son. Truth. Father. How provest thou, that prayer is the work of the spirit ? Son. I am so Prayer is the . work of the taught by the word of God. Our Saviour Christ saith : " The hour cometh, and spirit. now it is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth : for the Father seeketh such that should worship him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.'' St Paul also saith: " God is my witness, whom I worship in my spirit." Likewise saith the psalmograph : Rom. i. " 0 my soul, praise thou the Lord, and all that is within me, praise his holy name. Psai. ciii. O my soul, praise thou the Lord, and forget not all his benefits." Again : " My psai. 1™. heart is fixed, 0 God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." The history of Moses, when he led the people of Israel out of Egypt, declareth manifestly, that Exod. xiv. prayer is the work and exercise of the spirit. For when he by reason saw no way how to escape either from the bloody hands of that most bloody tyrant Pharao, or else from drowning, he only groaned and lamented in his heart unto God, desiring his help for their safe deliverance; and God said unto him, "What criest thou unto me ?" His crying was not the voice of the mouth, but the affection of the heart. He cried with a sorrowful mind unto God, and he was heard, although the mouth kept silence, and obtained that he desired. Likewise Anna the wife of Helcana, when i Sam. i. she had been long barren, prayed unto God for to give her children. But what saith the scripture of her prayer ? " She spake in her heart : her lips only moved, but her voice was heard nothing at all." Who seeth not now, that prayer is the work of the mind, heart, spirit, and inward man? Not without a cause, therefore, saith the blessed apostle St Paul : " Speak among yourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual Eph. ,. songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord." Father. What sayest thou then of those prayers, which are only uttered with the lips and tongue, yea, and that without the affection of the spirit? Son. Even that, which Christ speaketh in the gospel, alleging it out of the prophet Esay: " This people," saith he, " draweth nigh unto me, and honoureth me with their lips, M-^xix. howbeit their heart is far from me; but in vain do they honour me." Father. Dost thou then utterly contemn and condemn prayers that come from the mouth, tongue, and lips? Son. If they proceed from the heart, and rise of the Mouth^ayer affection of the mind, they are not to be discommended, but rather commended, inasmuch Somthehlart as the tongue doth nothing but utter the fervent desire of the mind, the prayer still me^ST" remaining the work of the inward man. The outward speaking or singing of prayers, the kneeling or prostrating of ourselves, the lifting up of hands and eyes, the knocking of the breast, and such other like gestures in praying, are not discommendable, so long as they spring of the fervent affection of the mind. For all these things have many godly men used in their prayers heretofore, and yet do. "Let us," saith the prophet Lam. iii. Jeremy, " lift up our hearts with our hands to the Lord even unto the heavens." St Paul also saith : " I will that men pray in every place, lifting up pure hands without i Km. «. 126 THE CATECHISM. [Part wrath and contention." The psalmograph saith : " I will magnify the Lord at all times : his praise shall be always in my mouth." Moses and the prophets, Christ and his apostles, prayed with expressed words, as the scripture doth declare. Moreover, we Matt xxvi. read that Christ fell flat upon the ground, when he prayed. Paul and so many as Luke xviii. were with him kneeled at a certain time, when they prayed. The publican knocked his breast, when he prayed. Father. The second thing, which I noted in the definitions of prayer, is that whosoever intendeth to pray with fruit, he must in his prayer ask somewhat. Son. It is truth. For unto what end should we pray, if in our prayer we ask nothing? Is not the office of prayer to ask that which we lack ? Which of the godly ever prayed, not setting before the eyes of their mind the cause of their prayer? Otherwise to pray is nothing else than to mock and scorn God. Father. Yet many there are, which persuade themselves to pray, yea, and to merit greatly for their praying, when they, notwithstanding, neither know what nor where fore they pray. Son. The ignorancy and blindness of such is greatly to be lamented. Matt. xii. And if at the day of judgment, as Christ affirmeth, we shall render an accompts of every idle word that we have spoken, what is then to be thought of those words, which be not only vainly and idly, but also superstitiously and dissemblingly, uttered Matt, xxiii. in prayer ? To pretend to pray, and not to pray, is double wickedness, and deserveth the greater damnation. Father. I gather also of the definitions of prayer, that whensoever we ask any thing, of God only we must ask it of God only. Son. Is it not meet and right so to do? Whither should things are to the sick man go for counsel, but unto the physician ? Whither shall the thirsty hart repair to slake her thirst, but unto the water-brooks ? So likewise, whither shall we go to obtain any good thing by prayer, but unto God, which is the fountain and well-' James i. spring of all goodness ? " Every good gift and every perfect gift," saith St James, "is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." Unto whom prayed all the holy patriarchs and the godly men, which lived under the old testament, but unto Psai. xxii. God ? as David saith : " Our fathers trusted in thee ; they trusted in thee, and thou deliveredst them. They cried unto thee, and they were saved : they trusted in thee, and they were not confounded." And as all the godly of the old testament directed their prayers only unto God, so likewise did all the holy men of the new testament. We also in every age ought to make our prayers unto God alone, according to their Psai. 1. example ; yea, according to the doctrine of the holy scripture. " Call upon me," saith God, " in the day of thy trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt honour me." Psai. cxx. " When I was in trouble," saith David, " I cried unto the Lord ; and he graciously Psai. xxv. heard me." Again : " Mine eyes are continually unto the Lord ; for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare." Item : " The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are bent unto their prayers." Father. Notwithstanding, some there are, which offer their prayers unto creatures, and crave of them all good things necessary both for the body and for the soul. Son. These walk a wrong way, and may right well be resembled, likened, and com- 1 Kings xviii. pared to the priests of Baal, which cried continually unto their idol, " 0 Baal, hear Psai. xciv. us, 0 Baal, hear us;" and yet notwithstanding they were not heard. "Take heed," saith the psalmograph, " ye unwise among the people : 0 ye fools, when will ye un derstand? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? Or he that made the eye, shall he not see? The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man." He that flieth unto any creature, either in heaven or in earth, for succour, or asketh remission of his sins and everlasting life, or whatsoever good thing it be besides, except of God alone, he is a thief, and robbeth God of his honour, and grievously offendeth against the first commandment of God, and is of the number of those, against whom God complaineth jer. ii. by the prophet on this manner : " Be astonied, 0 ye heavens, be afraid and abashed at such a thing, saith the Lord. For my people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of the water of life, and digged them pits, yea, vile and reut. yi. broken pits, that can hold no water." " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God (saith Mark i. ' Moses), and him alone shalt thou serve." Can there be any greater service done, or more honour shewed unto God, than in the time of adversity to fly unto his holy Iv-] OF PRAYER. 127 name for succour, by faithful and earnest prayer, as unto a strong tower? Again, m the time of prosperity, to praise and to magnify his glorious name for the benefits received? as the psalmograph saith: "What reward shall I give unto the Lord for Psai. cxvi. all the benefits that he hath done unto me? I will receive the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows in the presence of all his people." Father. Thou holdest then, that whatsoever good thing we have need of, appertaining unto the body or unto the s6ul, we ought to ask it only of God, the alone fountain of all goodness. Son. Yea, verily, and that in the name only of his most dear Son Jesus Christ, our alone Mediator, Advocate, and Intercessor. " For there is one Lord 1 Tim. ii. of all, which is plentifully rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever doth call Rom.Viii. on the name of the Lord, he shall be safe." " God is able," saith St Paul, " to do Rom"x. exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that Eph. iii. worketh in us." " The hand of the Lord is not so shortened, that it cannot help : neither isai. hx. is his ear so stopped, that it cannot hear:" nor yet are his eyes so dim, that they sa-xtw- can no more see. " Blessed is the man, that putteth his trust in the name of the Psai. xi. Lord, and regardeth not vanities and false imaginations." "Thou, 0 God, art our Father," saith the prophet Esay : " Abraham knoweth us not ; neither is Israel ac- isai. txui. quainted with us. But thou, Lord, art our Father and Redeemer, and thy name is everlasting." Father. We have talked sufficiently for this present concerning the definition of prayer. Let me hear now, how we ought to address and prepare ourselves unto the exercise of prayer, that we may pray with fruit; seeing it is written, "Before thou Eccius. x^ii. prayest, prepare thy soul, and be not as one that tempteth God:" lest, if we pray unworthily, we be found in the number of those, to whom God speaketh on this man ner by the prophet : " When ye hold out your hands, I will turn mine eyes from isai. i. you; and when ye make many prayers, I will not hear you; for your hands are full of blood." Son. Prayer is a precious treasure in the sight of God, and easily obtaineth The virtue of whatsoever it asketh, so that it be made according to the will of God. But if it be prayer' framed contrary to the good pleasure of God, it bringeth not salvation but destruction, not pleasure but displeasure, not commodity but incommodity, not favour but wrath, not life but death, yea, and finally everlasting damnation. If God could not abide that the Jews should presume to receive the law, which notwithstanding is " the 2 cor. iii. ministration of death," which also accuseth, judgeth, condemneth, woundeth, killeth, Rom. vii. yea, and casteth down headlong into the dungeon of hell-fire all men without exception for their imperfection and wickedness, if they were not delivered from that damnation by faith in the blood of Christ, before they were sanctified and cleansed; is it to be thought, that God will hear our prayer, although proceeding from a corrupt, filthy, and unpure heart ? Can that prayer be accepted of God, and obtain good things at the hand of God, which cometh from an heart void of faith, charity, mercy, &c. and overwhelmed with all beastly and carnal affects ? The psalmograph saith : "If I in- Psai. lxvi. cline unto wickedness with my heart, the Lord will not hear me." " We be sure," John ix. saith the blind man, "that God heareth not sinners: (he speaketh of the unpenitent sinners, and of such as glory in their sin, and delight when they have done evil.) But if any man be a worshipper of God, and obedient to his will, him heareth he." St Paul also straitly chargeth us, that we " lift up pure hands " unto God. And our 1 Tim. ii. Saviour Christ saith, that " they which will worship God the Father must worship John iv. him in spirit and truth." Hereunto appertaineth the saying of the psalmograph: "The Lord is nigh unto all that call on him, yea, unto all that call on him in Psai. cxiv. truth." Father. Seeing then that wickedness must be cast out of our heart, seeing pure Psai. lxyi. hands must be lifted up unto God, seeing God heareth not sinners, but such as joiZix"' labour to be obedient unto his holy will, seeing God must be worshipped in spirit p°ain cxivi. and truth, in fine, seeing that God is not otherwise to be called upon, but as he hath prescribed in his holy word; come off, tell me, what is to be done, that we may not come altogether unworthily unto the throne of God's majesty, but rather offer up such prayers unto his glorious name, as he shall be well content to accept them for his 128 THE CATECHISM. [Part is diligently to be con sidered. How we shall mercy's sake in the blood of Christ. Son. That we may not altogether unworthily selves to pray, come with our prayers unto the gracious and merciful throne of God's majesty, it shall not be unprofitable to mark these few things, which I shall now rehearse. The cause First of all, if we will pray with fruit, we must diligently and earnestly consider, ethustopray weigh, and ponder the cause, which moveth us to pray. For whosoever addresseth himself unto prayer, not having an urgent, grave, weighty, and necessary cause to pray, doth none other thing, than after the manner of the popinjay recite a multitude of words without the affection of the mind and the desire of the heart; and so is his prayer a very derision and mocking of God : yea, it is nothing else than hypocrisy and feigned holiness, and therefore also double wickedness. Father. Few observe this order. Son. Few therefore pray before God. Father. Many think that they do God good service when they pray after this manner, although they know not what nor wherefore they pray. Son. Such do nothing less than pray. The godly both of the old and new testament never addressed them selves unto prayer, before some grave and weighty matter provoked them to pray, as divers examples in the holy scripture evidently declare. Father. Rehearse me some of them. Son. Abraham, the father of the faithful prayed for Abimelech and for his household, that God would turn away his wrath from them. He prayed also for the life of his son Ismael. Abraham's servant prayed for a good and prosperous journey. Isaac prayed that his wife Rebecca might be fruitful and bring forth children. Lia and Rachel, the wives of Jacob, prayed that their barrenness might be taken from them, and that they might become fruitful. Jacob prayed that he might be delivered from the tyranny of his brother Esau. Moses prayed divers times for divers sundry causes. Josua prayed that the sun and the moon might stand still by the space of an whole day, until he was revenged of his enemies. Anna, the wife of Helcana, prayed that she might conceive and bring forth children. The Israelites prayed for victory against their enemies. David often times prayed, yea, and that for sundry purposes. I pass over the residue of the godly, both men and women of the old testament, (lest I should seem to be too long,) which always prayed unto God, when they had an urgent and necessary cause. What shall I speak of them which are remembered in the new testament? The lepers prayed that they might be cleansed from their leprosy : the blind that they might be restored to their sight : the woman of Canaan for her daughter : the centurion for his servant : the publican for remission of his sins : Christ himself for his disciples, and for the whole congregation : the apostles for the good success of the gospel: St Stephen for his enemies. The congregation of Christ prayed for the deliverance of Peter out of prison. St Paul prayed for the churches of Christ, that they might abide constant and stedfast in the faith of Christ unto the coming of Christ. To be short, none of all the godly at any time attempted to pray unto God, but provoked with some urgent, grave, weighty, and necessary cause, which compelled them- to fly unto God for aid, help, and succour. After their examples ought we to behave ourselves. £§f Therefore, before we pray, let us consider wherefore we will pray, and what moveth us to offer up our prayers unto God, lest that we become like unto those hypocrites, which think that they shall be heard for their much babbling sake, howsoever they pray, although they neither know what or wherefore they pray. Let us diligently ponder our necessity, and weigh our cause, and warely aforesee, that our cause, which moveth us to pray, be godly, righteous, and honest, yea, and in all points such as shall not be thought unworthy the ears of God's majesty ; I mean, made unto this end, that God thereby may be glorified, we ourselves comforted, and our neighbour not endamaged. Now, as concerning the causes which ought to move us for to pray, they be in finite and innumerable, whether we respect the body or the mind. If we consider also our state, vocation, or calling, causes many shall abundantly offer themselves unto us, which justly and necessarily ought to provoke us unto prayer. If we weigh the great company of our adversaries, which daily and hourly go about like raven ing wolves to devour us ; if we ponder our infirmity and weakness, and how unable Gen. xx. Gen. xxiv. Gen. xxv. Gen. xxx. Gen. xxxii. Exod. viii. xvii. xxxii. &c. Josh. x. 1 Sam. i. 2 Sam. vii. Psai. Ii. Matt viii. Matt. ix. Matt. xv. Matt. viii. Luke xviii. John xvii. Acts iv. Acts vii. Rom. i. Col. i. 1 Thess. i. Matt vi. IV-] OF PRAYER. 129 we be to stand against their power, &c. we shall find abundance of causes wherefore we ought to pray; so that we need not to come slackly and dissolutely, but rather diligently and earnestly, unto prayer. Father. This then is thy counsel, that, before we attempt to pray, we first of all diligently consider with ourselves, wherefore we will pray, and unto what end we will direct our prayer, that we seem not rather to mock God than to pray God: again, that the cause, which moveth us to pray, be godly, just, honest, and not un worthy the ears of God. Son. So is it. Father. What is requisite more unto the worthy preparation unto prayer? Son. Secondly, after that we have diligently considered our necessity, and pondered the cause that moveth us to pray, and have found it good, godly, just, honest, necessary, and not unworthy the hearing of God, so that we find in ourselves, whether we respect the body or the mind, plenty of causes, which justly ought to provoke us to fly unto God, and by faithful and earnest prayer to crave help and succour at his hand, that we may either be delivered from so great evils, or else endued with such benefits from God, as we greatly desire, hunger, and thirst after; it shall be expedient, that we straightways set before the eyes of our mind the commandment The com- of God, which willeth and commandeth us to pray, to call upon his glorious majesty, God to pray. and to fly unto his holy name, as unto a strong tower and mighty fortress in all our necessities, troubles, adversities, and miseries. This commandment of God to pray is earnestly to be weighed, pondered, and considered. For although we have never so many and necessary causes, yea, and those godly, good, righteous, honest, &c, yet, if we had not a commandment from God to pray, who durst so much as once be bold to open his lips for to pray unto God, which is " a consuming fire," which hateth both the wicked and his wickedness, which rieut iv. hath prepared hell-fire to be a reward unto such as transgress his holy law ; of the which number we all are without exception, being worthy for our disobedience not only not to be heard, but also to have our miseries increased, and finally to be rewarded with the torments of that " lake which brenneth with fire and brimstone ?" Rev. xxi. Come off, tell me, what traitor is so without all shame, that he dare appear in An example. the presence of that prince, and to crave pardon of him, whom he hath most traitorously offended, and whose honour he hath sought utterly to deface and ob scure ? Yea, rather fleeth not that traitor from the face of that prince so far as his legs are able to bear him, and wisheth that that prince were dead, that by this means he might be free from that punishment which he most righteously hath deserved for his wicked and abominable treason? Now was there never traitor that hath at any time so grievously offended his prince, as we (ah, wretches that we are!) through our infidelity and wicked conversation have offended the Lord our God, that Prince of Glory, yea, that " King of kings, and Lord of lords." How i Tim. yi. then dare we be bold to shew ourselves before that God, which is "a consuming xix.' fire," whom we have so often most grievously offended, and to offer and to present Heb. 'xii! unto his most excellent majesty our prayers for pardon and remission of our sins, or to ask any thing at all of him ? Verily, if God had not given us a command ment to pray unto him, we would sooner have put our heads in a bush with gen. m. Adam, or taken us unto our legs with Caim, or have hanged up ourselves with Acts i/ that traitor Judas, than we would once have opened our lips to pray unto him. And who therefore seeth not here the exceeding great, marvellous, and unspeakable kindness of the. Lord our God toward us vile and wretched sinners, which, being hedged round about with the thorns both of so many miseries and wickednesses, and not knowing how to be delivered from them, are notwithstanding commanded of this our most gentle God boldly to come unto him, frankly to lament our miseries unto him, largely to pour out the sighings and groanings of our heavy hearts before him, and frankly and with a good courage to ask all good things of him? O the deep and bottomless seas of God's wonderful mercies toward mankind ! All the commandments therefore of God, wherewith we are provoked unto prayer, are to be embraced as most precious jewels, and to be reposed in the lowest part of our memory as incomparable treasures, that we never forget them ; of the which [becok, ii.] 130 THE CATECHISM. [Part Matt vii. Matt. xxvi. Col. iv. 1 Thess. v. Psai. cxlv. John xiv. Exod. xx. Deut. v. Matt. vii. The promise to hear. sort these are that follow. " Call upon me," saith God, " in the time of thy trouble." Here have we a commandment of God to fly unto him with our prayers in all our troubles, necessities, and miseries. Christ our Saviour saith also : "Ask :" " Seek :" " Knock." Again : " Watch and pray, that ye fall not into temptation." St Paul also saith : " Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." Again : " Pray continually : in all things give thanks ; for this is the will of God." For no man is able to express what great consolation and comfort, what joy and gladness these commandments to pray bring to troubled and weak consciences. For who now will be afraid even with a good courage to go unto the throne of God's majesty with his prayers, seeing he hath so many commandments to stir him up and to prick him forward to pray ; yea, and that out of the mouth of God, which is " faithful in all his words and holy in all his works ;" which is not only true, but also the self truth? Let no man object his indignity or unworthiness to pray. Our unworthiness ought to be no let unto us, that we should not be bold to call upon God, so that we repent and turn unto God with full purpose from henceforth to train our life according to the rule of God's word. For God neither for our worthiness nor for our unworthiness heareth us ; but for his commandment and promise sake. He hath commanded us to pray; therefore ought we to pray. For if we should never pray till we were worthy of ourselves before God to pray, so should we never pray : but we therefore pray, because God hath commanded us so to do. Our worthiness is the humble confession of our unworthiness ; and our obedience unto the commandment of God to pray maketh us most worthy. He that will not pray, because he thinketh himself unworthy to pray, might with the same reason be a thief or an adulterer all his life-time, and excuse himself by saying on this manner : I am not worthy to keep these commandments of God, " Thou shalt not steal," " Thou shalt not commit adultery." But all men are bound to keep all the ten commandments of God : so likewise are they bound to observe and keep this commandment of praying : "Ask:" "Seek" "Knock:" &c. For as he falleth into the danger of everlasting damnation, which violateth and breaketh this commandment, " Thou shalt have no strange gods in my sight ;" so likewise doth he make himself the son of Satan and the inheritor of hell-fire, which neglecteth and transgresseth this commandment of God, "Watch and pray." For he that said, " Thou shalt not steal ;" the same saith also, " Thou shalt pray :" and we owe like obedience to both commandments; and the transgression or breaking of any of these commandments deserveth like pain. He that killeth a man, or he that defileth his neighbour's wife, sinneth not more before God, than he which prayeth not. For as this commandment, " Thou shalt not kill," is a precept negative ; so likewise is this commandment, "Thou shalt pray," a precept affirmative; and God requireth the same and like obedience to all his commandments. Let us therefore, when we intend to pray, not be discouraged from prayer, although we feel in ourselves an unwor thiness to pray ; but rather consider the commandment of God, which willeth us to pray, and according to his will fall to prayer, and ask all good things of him, which is both the only fountain of all goodness, and also the alone horn of plenty, Father. What is more to be done ? Son. Thirdly, we must consider the loving gentleness of the Lord our God toward us, which hath not only commanded us to pray, but hath also promised most graciously to hear us. And this maketh unto our great consolation and comfort, that we are not only commanded to pray, but also promised to be heard. Therefore, when we intend to pray, as we set before our eyes the commandment of God, wherein we are willed to pray, that by this means we may with the better courage come unto the throne of God's majesty with our prayers ; so likewise must we call to remembrance the. most loving, sweet, and comfortable promises of God, which he hath annexed and joined to his command ment, having ever this consideration in ourselves, that we are both commanded to pray, and also promised to be heard. And here again appeareth the singular and exceeding great goodness of God toward us. For what should it have profited us to pray, if we had not been heard? The pro- IV-] OF PRAYER. 131 raises therefore, which God hath made unto us, that he will hear us, are most earnestly to be considered; of the which sort these are: "Call on me," saith God, " in the time of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Here have we a commandment of God both to call on him, and also a promise that he will hear us. Again, by the prophet Hieremy he saith : " Call on me, and ye shall live : Jer. xxix. pray unto me, and I will graciously hear you : seek me, and ye shall find. When ye shall seek me with all your heart, I will be found of you, saith the Lord." And our Saviour Christ saith : " Ask, and it shall be given unto you. Seek, and ye shall Matt. vii. find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For whosoever asketh receiveth; and whosoever seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Here have we to every commandment a promise annexed. We are commanded to ask ; and we are promised to have. We are commanded to seek ; and we are promised to find. We are commanded to knock; and we are promised to be let in. It followeth: " Is there any man among you (saith Christ) which, if his son ask bread, will offer Matt vii. him a stone ? or he if he ask fish, will he proffer him a serpent ? If ye then, Luke "' when ye are evil, can give your children good gifts ; how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things, if ye ask of him!" In another place Christ also saith: "Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be perfect." John xvi. These and such other comfortable promises are diligently to be retained in memory, both against the assaults of Satan, and against the infirmities of our flesh. For whensoever we intend earnestly to pray (I speak of experience, God comfort me !) Satan on the one side, and the flesh on the other side, saith unto us : Tush, man, what wilt thou do ? Wilt thou pray unto God? Thou labourest in vain. Thou comest, or thou be welcome. Knowest thou not these words of the scripture ? " God John ix. heareth not sinners." Again : " Salvation is far from sinners." Hast thou not sinned ? Psai. cxix. If thou deniest it, thy conscience shall bear witness against thee. Thy conscience shall accuse thee, prove thee guilty, and condemn thee. If thou confessest that thou art a sinner, then mayest thou be well assured that God will not hear thee; for the scripture saith : " God heareth not sinners." If thou then, seeing thou art a sinner, lookest for help at the hand of God, thou art utterly deceived. For the scripture, which is the word of truth, and cannot lie, saith : " Salvation is far from sinners." 0 subtile Satan ! O frail flesh ! Indeed it is most true, that God heareth not sinners ; but those sinners are un- J£® penitent, unfaithful, and obstinate or stubborn sinners. Salvation also without doubt is far from sinners; but yet from such sinners as have cast away both God and the study of all godliness. If sinners repent, believe, and amend, although they be never so notable and grievous sinners, yet God receiveth them into favour for Christ's sake. If they pray, God heareth them. If they seek salvation at the hand of God, they shall surely find it. For to such sinners are all the comfortable promises of God made, which are found in the holy scripture. Are not these the words of Christ our Saviour ? "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners unto repentance." Again : Matt ix. " The Son of man is come to seek and to save that was lost." Whom calleth Christ Luke xix. unto him in these words, but sinners ? " Come unto me all ye that labour and Matt xi. are heavy loaden, and I shall refresh you." St Paul also saith : " This is a true 1 r* i. saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." Against these assaults therefore of Satan, and against the weakness of the flesh, it why God shall not a little profit always to set before the eyes of our mind the most sweet and payers.01" comfortable promises of God in hearing us, although never so great sinners, when in faith we repent and pray unto him; and to consider that God heareth not us for our dignity and innocency, but for his promise sake, for his faith and truth's sake, that he may be found faithful in all his words, and such a God as neither will nor can lie. No: "let God be true, and all men liars." I"™-™-. All the saints in time past, both of the old and new testament, whensoever they did pray, did not set before their eyes and consider their own dignity and worthiness, their own works and merits, but the commandment and promise of God, which both commanded them to pray, and also promised to hear them, and to grant them their 9—2 132 THE CATECHISM. [Part Dan. ix. Psai. lxxix. Psai. xxv. Faith in prayer. Psai. cix. Prov. xxviii. Rom. xiv. Heb. xi. petitions. They depended wholly on the most loving and merciful promises of God; and being comforted and encouraged with them, they feared not to have access with their prayers unto the glorious throne of God's most glorious majesty. Hear what Daniel saith, both in his own name, and in the name of all the godly : " Not in our own righteousnesses," saith he, "lay we forth our prayers before thy face, but in thy great and manifold mercies." David also prayeth on this manner: "Help us, 0 God our Saviour, and for the glory of thy name, 0 Lord, deliver us, and forgive our sins for thy holy name's sake." Again : " For thy name's sake, 0 Lord, be merciful unto my sin ; for it is great." Jacob, in his prayer unto God for his deliverance from the hand of his brother Esau, confesseth that he is "unworthy of all the mercies which God had shewed unto him :" notwithstanding, setting before his eyes the pro mises which God had made him, he feareth nothing even to ask greater things of him, which he also obtained. A Christian, although never so unworthy in his own sight, may be bold to ask whatsoever God hath commanded and promised. For God giveth not us any thing for our worthiness, but for his promise, name, mercy, and truth's sake, that this sen tence of David may for ever and ever abide true and constant : " All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth." It is the great and infinite mercy of the Lord, that he freely and without our merits and deserts promiseth unto us so many and so great good things. It is the truth of the Lord, in that he performeth truly and faithfully those things which he mercifully hath promised. Let us therefore, whensoever we intend to pray, diligently consider the promises of God, and embrace them as most precious treasures and heavenly jewels, and de pend wholly upon them, and not upon our worthiness and innocency, not upon our merits and good works, not upon our satisfactions and works of supererogation, nor upon the mediations and intercessions of saints in heaven. For whosoever, in asking any thing of God, dependeth upon any creature, either in heaven or in earth, hut upon the merciful promise of God alone, he shall obtain nothing of God, although he prayeth so earnestly that he sweateth drops of blood. Father. Blessed be God for his sweet and comfortable promises that he hath made us ; and God give us grace to enjoy them ! Son. Amen. Father. Is there none other thing to be considered, when we intend to pray, but only the commandment and promise of God ? Son. Fourthly, it is required of us, if we will pray with fruit, that we give an earnest and undoubted faith to the promise of God, believing stedfastly, that we shall abundantly receive of God what soever he hath mercifully promised. For without this faith nothing is obtained of God. The commandment of the Lord to pray, and the promise of God to hear and to grant those things for the which we pray, profit nothing at all, if faith be absent: yea, whatsoever good thing God promiseth, he promiseth it only to the faithful; so that whosoever presumeth to pray without faith, that is to say, without a full and certain persuasion of the mind to obtain the thing which he asketh, he doth none other thing than deride and mock God, yea, and recounteth God a liar, forasmuch as he doubteth of the truth, faith, constancy, and power of God ; and by this means is his prayer become sin and abomination to the Lord, and to himself sin and dam nation. "For whatsoever is not of faith is sin," saith St Paul. Again: "Without faith it is unpossible to please God: for he that cometh unto God must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of such as seek him." Now he that doubteth whether God be a rewarder to them that seek him, cometh not to God aright ; hut this do they, which do not believe that they shall obtain the thing which they ask of God : therefore come they not rightly unto God, and so consequently they obtain ¦nothing of God. No, verily; for where faith wanteth in prayer, no good thing is obtained, although they pray so fervently, that they sweat both water and blood. That faith is necessarily required in prayer, very many both sentences and his tories of the holy scripture do most manifestly declare. St James saith : " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of him that giveth it, even God, which giveth to all men indifferently, and casteth no man in the teeth; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, and waver not : for he that doubteth is like a wave Iy-] OF PRAYER. 133 of the sea, which is tossed of the winds, and carried with violence. Neither let that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A wavering-minded man is unstable in all his ways." Our Saviour Christ saith also: "Whatsoever ye desire Mark xi. when ye pray, believe that ye shall have it ; and it shall be done to you." Faith obtaineth easily all things of God. For "all things are possible to him that Markix. believeth." And without faith nothing is obtained of God, but wrath, vengeance, the curse of God, and everlasting damnation. Therefore in the histories of the gospel we read, that when any benefit was asked of Christ, Christ made inquisition of their faith, demanding of the askers, whether they did believe that he was able to grant them their requests, and to satisfy their desires. In the gospel of Matthew we read, Matt. ix. that when two blind men desired Christ, that he would restore unto them their sight, "Christ said unto them, Do ye believe that I am able to do this thing?" They an swered : " We believe, Lord." Then said Christ : " According to your faith be it unto you." Likewise read we, that when the father of that child, which was possessed of a dumb spirit, desired Christ to have pity on his son and to heal him, "Jesus Markix. said unto him : If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. The father of the child even with tears cried out and said : I believe ; O Lord, help my incredulity." And straightways his son was made whole. Again, to whom is Matt. xv. this unknown, that the woman of Canaan making intercession for her daughter, which was possessed of a devil, received of Christ many hard, and (as I may so speak) unfriendly answers : notwithstanding she with a strong and unshaken faith continued still praying, never ceasing from prayer, till at the last Christ, being overcome with the faithful prayer of her, said : " 0 woman, great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou desirest." How often read we in the scripture, " Thy faith hath saved thee!" Faith is so mighty a thing before God, that it many times obtaineth a benefit of God before it be asked. Read we not, that certain men brought a man diseased Matt ix. of the palsy unto Christ ? We read not, that they made any petition unto Christ for his health : notwithstanding Christ healed him, and said unto him, " Son, be on a good comfort : thy sins are forgiven thee. Rise, take up thy bed, and go thy way into thy house." How came this to pass? Verily, through the faith both of the man diseased of the palsy, and of them also which brought the man. For thus writeth St Matthew : " When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man diseased of the palsy, Be on a good comfort, son : thy sins are forgiven thee." They believed in their hearts, that Christ both was able and also would heal the sick man, of the which thing the sick man himself was also fully persuaded; and this their faith was so ac ceptable unto Christ, that without any asking, yea, before they opened their mouth to speak, he granted them their desire. And here see we that true, which God speak eth by the prophet : " It shall be that, or ever they call, I shall answer them : while isai. lxv. they are yet but thinking how to speak, I shall hear them." This we see also proved true in David, which writeth on this manner : " I said, I will confess my sins unto Psai. xxxii. the Lord; and so thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin. For this shall every one that is godly make his prayer unto thee, in a time when thou mayest be found." It is truly also said of Moses : " What other nation is so great, that gods come so nigh Deut iv. unto, as the Lord our God is nigh unto us in all things, as oft as we call unto him ?" Forasmuclrtherefore as we have so gentle, so loving, and so liberal a Father, which hath not only commanded us, that we should pray unto him, but also hath promised that he will hear us, and grant us our petitions ; let us bring with us, whensoever we intend to pray, a sure, constant, and unshaken faith, nothing doubting of the pro mises of God; but being surely persuaded that, whatsoever he most graciously hath promised us, the same will he also most bounteously perform and give unto us. Father. God give us this faith ! Son. Let us crave it of God, and pray with the apostles, saying: "O Lord, increase our faith." Luke xvii. Father. Is there any other thing behind, concerning the due preparation unto prayer? Son. Yea, verily. Fifthly, after we have diligently considered the cause wherefore we will pray, and have earnestly pondered the commandment of God, which willeth us to pray, and have also most deeply weighed the promise of God, that he 134 THE CATECHISM. [Part will both hear us and grant us our petitions, again, that to the promise of God, we must annex and adjoin a sure and stedfast faith, being thoroughly persuaded, that whatsoever God hath promised, he will abundantly perform; this followeth next in Prayer must or(jer to be considered, that whatsoever we ask of God, it must be asked of him in be made m ' ' , the name of the name of his most dear and only-begotten Son, Christ Jesus. For albeit our cause Christ n . be never so good and godly, and although our consideration about both the com mandment and promise of God be never so earnest, and albeit we bring never so great faith by believing the promises of God ; yet, if the prayers, which we do make, if the petitions which we do ask, be not made and asked in the name of Christ, all the aforesaid things profit nothing at all. Whosoever therefore intendeth to pray aright, let him fully determine with him- $*^ self, before he pray, to ask nothing of God, but only in the name of Christ : other wise he shall not only pray in vain, but also with his prayers provoke and kindle the wrath and vengeance of God against himself. For whatsoever we obtain of God, we obtain it not for our worthiness, nor for the holiness of any creature either in heaven or in earth, but only for Christ's sake, for Christ's innocency, dignity, and holiness; Matt m. in whom, and for whose sake, God the Father is well pleased with us. For, as St Paul 2Pe'ti. saith, "All the promises of God by Christ are yea, and by him Amen;" that is to say, in Christ and for Christ's sake God most certainly fulfilleth whatsoever he hath Mark i. ix. most graciously promised. For Christ is that dearly-beloved Son, for whose sake God johnx.1' 1X' the Father is well pleased with man. Christ is that door, by the which we have Rom. v. free access unto God the Father. Christ is that way, by the which whosoever doth John xiv. not walk, he cannot come unto the Father, as he himself testifieth : " I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Christ is that high and everlasting bishop, by whom we must offer our prayers, praises, and thanks- Heb. xiii. givings unto God the Father, as the apostle saith: "By him (Christ) do we offer sacrifice of praise alway to God, that is to say, the fruit of those lips which confess his name." Whosoever striveth to approach unto God with his prayers by any other mean than by Christ alone, he is a thief, a robber, and a spoiler of the glory of Christ. And against such Christ-robbers this saying of Christ shall stand for ever, John xiv. as an invincible bulwark and mighty fortress : " I am the way, the truth, and life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Whosoever therefore will address himself unto prayer aright, he must direct his prayers unto God the Father, not in his own name, nor in the name of any other creature either in heaven or in earth, but only in the name of Jesus Christ, our alone Mediator, Advocate, and Intercessor. what it is to Father. What is it to pray in the name of Christ? Son. To pray in the name name of of Christ is to believe and to acknowledge Christ alone to be our Mediator, Advocate; and Intercessor unto God the Father; and in the dignity, virtue, and power of his mediation and intercession to offer up our prayers and praises unto God, and to ask of him all good things necessary for the body or for the soul, only for the excellency, majesty, and honour of this our alone Mediator, Christ Jesu. Whosoever prayeth on this manner, I mean, in the name of Christ, he may be well assured, that he shall suffer no repulse at the hand of God, but shall abundantly obtain whatsoever he asketh, John xiv. as our Saviour Christ saith : " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified by the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, that will I do." To make us certain and sure that, whatsoever we ask of God in the name of Christ, we shall easily obtain it, Christ in the aforesaid words promiseth twice, that he will bring to pass, that we shall enjoy the things which we have asked John xvi. in his name. Again he saith : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name, he shall give you." As Christ afore promised twice that he will bring to pass, that we shall obtain of God the Father whatsoever we ask in his name ; so likewise now, because we should not doubt of his truth, he addeth unto his promise an oath, and sweareth, that whatsoever we ask of the Father in his name he shall give us : " Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he shall give you." O unoutspeakable comfort! Coi. hi. St Paul also commandeth us, that "whatsoever we do in word or in deed, we should do all things in the name of the Lord Jesu." For nothing is acceptable IV.] OF PRAYER. 135 unto God, that is not done in the name of Christ. Our prayings, our preachings, our watchings, our fastings, our almose-deeds, with all our other good works, are vile £» rJr.7' y6a' they Stink before the face of God> if they be not done in the name of Christ, be they otherwise never so much seasoned and powdered either with the merits and intercessions of saints, or with our own righteousness and good works. For what other thing are " all our righteousnesses," yea, even of the most perfectest, but | as a polluted and defiled cloth," if Christ's righteousness be laid aside? All isai. ixiv. our righteousnesses, prayings, fastings, watchings, almose-deeds, good works, satisfac tions, merits, and whatsoever .besides even the most holy among us have, are none other thing before God, without Christ, than dunghills of abominations. It is not therefore without a cause required of him, which intendeth to pray aright, that he offer his prayers unto God in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. It is truly said of St Austin: "The prayer which is not made through Christ m Psai. cviii. (that is to say, in the name of Christ) doth not only not put away sin, but the very prayer itself is made sin1." Notable, golden, and precious is this sentence of St Ambrose, and worthy to be reposed in the lowest part of our memory: "Christ alone is our Libr. de Isaac mouth, whereby we speak to the Father; our eye, whereby we see the Father; ouretanima' right hand, whereby we offer unto the Father ; which Christ except he maketh inter cession for us, neither we, nor all the saints, have any thing to do with God2." And here fall down flat to the ground, yea, to the very hell, all the prayers of the Jews, of the Mahometists, and of all other sectaries. For albeit that all these after a certain manner call upon God, and offer prayers and praises unto him ; yet, forasmuch as they pray not in the name of Christ, they rather with their prayers provoke God unto anger, than make him their good and gracious Lord. For as concerning the Jews, although at this present day they boast themselves The Jews. alone to be the peculiar people of God, they pray, they fast, &c, yet, because they do not believe in Christ, neither acknowledge Christ to be God and man, to be their Saviour, Mediator, Reconciliator, and Atonement-maker, &c, nor offer their prayers unto God in his name, God doth utterly detest and abhor both them and their prayers, as it is written: "He that believeth on the Son bath everlasting life. But he that John m. believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." Neither is it sufficient that the Jews do acknowledge God the Father, pretend a certain faith toward him, pray unto him, and call upon his holy name, except they also be lieve and confess that Christ is the Son of God, yea, God himself, equal with the Father, of the same majesty, might, virtue, and power, to the uttermost ; for whose sake alone God is at one with them, forgiveth them their sins, and accepteth their prayers ; which thing because they do not, whatsoever they boast of the favour and good will of God toward them, it is but a vain ostentation and brag, seeing they cast away Christ, and the saving health, which is laid up in him for all the faithful. For, as St John saith : " Whosoever denieth the Son, he hath not the Father." Again : 1 John a. " He that hath the Son hath life : he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." i John v. The same is to be said of the Mahometists, that we have spoken of the Jews. For Mahometists. neither they call on God in the name of Christ : therefore are their prayers also sin, wickedness, and plain abomination before God. But what shall we speak of the papists ? Do they call upon God in the name Papists. of Christ ? yea, rather in the merits, mediations, intercessions, dignities, wounds, blood, passion, and death of saints. Let the popish portasses3 and mass-books be searched, and it shall soon be perceived how idolatrous the prayers of the papists are, formed and made in the names, merits, and intercessions of saints, as though there were so great dignity in the merits and intercessions of saints, that God for their sake were bound both to hear their prayers and to grant their requests. I could bring forth ensamples too many of this matter, if time did serve. But to whom are they un- [' August. Op. Par. 1679-1700. Enarrat. in Psalm, cviii. v. 7. Tom. IV. col. 1219— See Vol. I. page 149, note 3.] [2 Ambros. Op. Par. 1686-90. De Isaac et Anim. Lib. cap. viii. 75. Tom. I. col. 380 See Vol. I. page 150, note 2. J [a Portasses: breviaries.] 136 THE CATECHISM. [Pabt known ? Whosoever therefore will prepare himself to pray aright, let him fully determine with himself to offer and present his prayers to God only, only in the name of Christ, in the virtue and power of Christ, in the dignity and excellency of Christ ; and desire to be heard, and his prayers to be accepted of God, for Christ's sake our only Medi- Heb. xiii. ator, as St Paul saith : " By him (Christ) we offer sacrifice of praise alway to God, that is to say, the fruit of those lips which confess his name." If any man presume to pray otherwise, he shall find at God's hand all one reward with the Jews, Maho metists, papists, and such other sectaries. Father. God give us all grace in the unity of his holy Spirit truly to call upon the Lord our God, in the name of his most dear Son Jesus Christ, our alone Mediator. But if there be yet remaining any thing that is necessarily required unto the worthy ah things are preparation unto prayer, I would gladly hear it. Son. Sixthly, it is required of us, to \iG s^kficl according to if we will pray aright, that we have also this consideration in us, I mean, that in our God. prayer we ask nothing of God but that which is agreeable to his holy will. For our will is wicked and naught, desirous rather of ungodly than godly things, and for the most part wishing that which should rather hurt us than profit us. And here may we see the corruption of our nature, which we have sucked out of the breast of our old mother Heve ; which hath so infected and poisoned us, yea, and every part of us, that, whether we respect the body or the soul, nothing can be found whole, nothing sound, nothing perfect in us; so truly is it said of the prophet: isai. i. " The whole head is sick, and the heart is heavy. From the sole of the foot unto the head there is no whole part in all your body ; but all are wounds, botches, sores, and stripes," &c. The heart of man is unpure, filthy, lewd, and so stuffed full of all Jer. xvii. kind of wickedness, that it is utterly unsearchable, except of him alone which searcheth the hearts and the reins. All the senses and thoughts of man are not only prone unto Gen. vi. viii. evil, but also evil in deed even from the very cradles. The free will of man is so wounded and made weak, that in things appertaining unto the Spirit of God and John xv. unto our salvation it can of itself do nothing at all, as Christ saith: "Without me Phii. h. ye can do nothing." Also St Paul : " It is God that worketh in us both the will and 2 cor. »i. the deed." Again : " We are not able of ourselves so much as to think a good thought." Moreover, the strengths of man are so weak, yea, so none, that, being once thrown down, we are not able to rise up again. Luke x. Such misers and wretches are we, that we suffer ourselves as miserable bond-slaves u exv' to be led captive of the devil, the world, and the flesh, and to be handled as it Lukex. pleaseth them. We are so spoiled of our garments, that our miserable nakedness is Gen. iii. easy to be perceived ; neither can we of ourselves cover that evil-favoured nakedness 1 Cor. «. of ours. Beastly are we, not understanding the things which belong unto the Spirit of God. Hypocrites are we, and a very lump of wickedness, yea, the wickedness 2 cor. m. itself. We cannot so much as once think well ; so unable are we either to ask or to do any good thing. What would such a monster of wickedness do in prayer, if it were suffered to ask according to his own will, and to enjoy the requests which it would ask? What would that monster (I mean man) desire? what would he ask? what would he wish ? Being a covetous man, he would wish with king Midas, that whatsoever he touched might straightways be made gold. Being a carnal and ^ voluptuous man, he would wish with Jupiter, that Phoebus would prolong the time of going forth with his fiery cart many hours, that he, being in darkness, might without all shame use his venerous pastime at his pleasure. Being an ambitious man, he would Dan. iii. wish with king Nabuchodonosor to have all nations under the heavens subject unto him, and himself to be taken for a god upon the earth. Being an idolater, he would i Kings xviii. wish with Jesabel, that no god might be worshipped but Baal, and that no ministers should be had in honour but only the priests of Baal. Being an hog of Epicure's flock, he would wish with Epicurus none other thing but worldly and fleshly pleasures, eating and drinking, quietness, rest, dicing, carding, &c. Are not these meet and worthy things to be asked of God ? 0 miserable blindness of most miserable man ! Eom. viii. It is truly said of St Paul : " We know not what to desire as we ought." It is not therefore without a cause required, that whosoever intendeth to pray aright should determine with himself only to ask that in his prayer which is agreeable to the will IV.] OF PRAYER. 137 of God. For it is not lawful for us to ask what we think good in our carnal judg ments, but that only which we know to be acceptable in the sight of God ; or else we pray in vain, and without fruit : or if we do obtain at any time that which we un godly require, we obtain it unto our destruction and damnation; and better were it for us never to have obtained it. The will of God above all things is to be con sidered in our prayers, and according unto that ought we to pray ; -which thing if we do, we may be sure to pray profitably, and to obtain that we ask, as St John testi fieth, saying : " This is the trust that we have in God, that if we ask any thing 1 John v. according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him." That things asked contrary to the will of God are vainly asked and without fruit, it appeareth by divers histories of the holy scripture. In the gospel of St Mark we Mark x. read, that James and John, the sons of Zebedeus, came unto Christ, and said : " Mas ter, we will that, whatsoever we shall ask, thou grant us. Christ said unto them, What will ye have me to do for you? They said, Grant us, that one may sit on thy right hand, the other on the left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus answered : Ye know not what ye ask." James and John, the dearly beloved disciples of Christ, persuaded themselves, that they should easily obtain whatsoever they asked of so loving and gentle master, without any respect or exception. They dreamed that Christ (as the blind Jews do at this present day) should have an earthly kingdom in this world, and reign like a most triumphant and glorious prince over all nations : therefore de sired they of Christ, that one of them might sit on his right hand in his kingdom, the other on his left hand, that is to say, bear the chief rule about him; and, as I may so speak, one to be lord chancellor, and the other to be lord treasurer. These two disciples prayed, but not according to the will of God. Therefore said Christ unto them : " Ye know not what ye ask." The will of God was, not that they should reign in this world as earthly princes, which thing they greatly desired; but that they should prepare themselves to the cross, and be content to suffer for the gospel of his Son, and so to enter into glory, not of the world, but of heaven. St Paul also prayed that the unquietness through the flesh, even the messenger 2 cor. xii. of Satan, wherewith he was continually buffeted, might depart from him ; but he ob tained not his desire, although he desired it of the Lord thrice, that is to say, often times. Why so ? Because he prayed not according to the will of God. Therefore was it answered him on this manner : " My grace is sufficient for thee." Many in times past have prayed, and were not heard. Many also pray at this day, and are not heard. How cometh it to pass ? Because they pray not according to the will of God. Plato in his prayer unto Jupiter hath a notable sentence, which is this : " O king Jupiter, give us good things both when we pray, and when we do not pray. As concerning things which are evil, give them by no means unto us, although we ask them1." The noble philosopher Socrates affirmed that we should ask nothing of the immortal gods, but only that they should give us good things, forasmuch as they do best know what is most profitable for every man: as for us, we many times in our prayers ask that which were better for us not to have it granted2. Here even of the very ethnicks may we learn, that nothing ought to be asked of God, but that only which is good: again, that in all our prayers we submit our will to the good will and pleasure of God, according to this our common prayer : " Thy will be Matth. vi. . .... » Luke xi. done in earth, as it is in heaven. Father. What is to be done that we may pray according to the will of God ? Son. God hath opened unto us his blessed will in the holy scripture, wherein he hath [' Zed paoriXev, to fi'ev eo-0Xa Kal euxo/ieVols Kal dvevKTOis djxjxi SiSou, rd 8k oeivd Kal e!>xo^ei/OK dira- Xe£eiv. These lines are quoted in Plat. Alcibiad. Secund.] [z Socrates human® sapiential quasi quoddam terrestre oraculum, nihil ultra petendum a Diis im- mortalibus arbitrabatur, quam ut bona tribuerent; quia ii demum scirent quid unicuique esset utile: nos autem plerumque id votis expetere, quod non impetrasse melius foret. — Valer. Max. Lib. vii. cap.ii.] 138 THE CATECHISM. [Part Luke xxiii. Phil. i. 2 Pet. iii. Ezek. xviii. xxxiii. Luke xv. Gen. iv. Matt. ii. Matt, xxvii. Acts i. Mark i. John vi. Luke xvii. 1 Thess. iv. declared what we ought to ask. Whatsoever we find in them to be the will of God, that may we be bold to ask and to crave. And whatsoever we ask, so praying, we may be sure to obtain it, forasmuch as we pray according to the will of God. As for an example: St Paul writeth this to be the will of God, that "all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." Whosoever therefore prayeth that he may be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, he prayeth according to the will of God. Jeremy the prophet prayed unto God that he might obtain everlasting salvation, saying : " Heal thou me, O Lord, and I shall be healed : save thou me, and I shall be saved." The thief also prayed for the same on this manner: "0 Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Also St Paul: "I wish to be loosened, and to be with Christ." For the knowledge of God's truth David prayed thus : " Shew me thy ways, 0 Lord, and teach me thy paths. Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour." Again, he saith: " Give me understanding, 0 Lord, that I may know thy testimonies." All these prayed according to the will of God, and were heard. Moreover, the holy scripture declareth this to be the will of God, that no man should perish, but that all should repent and live. For so writeth St Peter : " The Lord is patient toward us, while he will none to perish, but to receive all unto re pentance." God himself saith by the prophet : " As surely as I live, saith the Lord, I will not the death of a sinner, but rather that he turn and live." Christ also saith: " I say unto you, that there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous, that need no repentance." Whosoever therefore prayeth unto God for repentance, he prayeth according to the will of God, and may be sure to be heard. Likewise as for repentance,, so for faith also, the good will of God is, that we should pray; forasmuch as without faith repentance before God is of no valor: yea, repentance without faith driveth unto desperation, and desperation unto damnation, as we may see in Caim, Judas, and such like. And forasmuch as both repentance and faith is the gift of God, therefore must they both be asked of him. For Christ said not only, " repent," but he added, " and believe the gospel." Repentance and faith must go together as companions inseparable, even as the sun and light, fire and heat. For the will of God is, not only that we should repent, but also that we should believe, as our Saviour Christ saith : " This is the will of him that sent me, that all that see the Son and believe on him should have everlasting life." Whosoever there fore prayeth for faith, that he may have everlasting life through Christ, he prayeth according to the will of God. So read we of the apostles, which prayed unto God for faith on this manner : " 0 Lord, increase our faith." Furthermore, "this is the will of God (saith St Paul), even your sanctification, that ye abstain from whoredom, and that every one of you know how to possess his own vessel with holiness and honour, and not in the lust of concupiscence, as do the heathen, which know not God." Again, this is the will of God, saith he, "that no man op press and defraud his brother in bargaining, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such things." Whosoever therefore prayeth that he may be holy in all his con versation, that he may not pollute his vessel, that is to say, his body, with fornica tion, adultery, or with any other kind of uncleanness, but keep it in holiness and honour ; again, whosoever prayeth that he may deal justly and truly with all men, with whom he hath to do, either in bargaining, buying, or selling, he prayeth accord ing to the will of God, and may be sure to be heard. To be short, look whatsoever we find in the holy scripture to be the will of God, that may we freely and with a good conscience ask ; and so asking we pray according to the will of God, and we may be sure both to be heard and also to enjoy our requests. Father. We may then lawfully pray for the enlarging of Christ's kingdom, for the avancement of his holy word, for the true understanding of the sacred scripture, for constancy and stedfastness in the religion of Christ, for remission of our sins, for the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the increase of faith, for fervent love toward our neighbour, yea, even toward our enemy, for peace and quietness of conscience, for long-suffering, for modesty, for patience in adversity, for humility in prosperity, and IV-H OF PRAYER. 139 for such other like spiritual gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost: and as we pray for them, so shall we enjoy them. Son. Yea, verily. Father. But what concerning bodily and worldly things? must we ask them also of God ? Do we pray according to the will of God, when we crave at his hand all things necessary for the sustentation of this our poor and needy life? Son. I am not altogether ignorant what some writers judge in this behalf. Notwith standing, this have I learned, that we may with a good conscience ask of God all things necessary as well for the body as for the soul; as meat, drink, clothe, health of body, long life, defence from miseries, deliverance from tribulations, prosperous success in all our labours and travails, a quiet commonweal, public peace, a good wife, obedient children, quiet subjects, good magistrates, and such like, as we have divers examples in the holy scripture. And our Saviour Christ taught us to ask of God the Father " our daily bread," that we may know that all good things, Matt. vi. both for the body and for the soul, come from God, and by this means leam to be thankful unto God for all his benefits. But this is to be noted, that as all spiritual things appertaining either unto the glory of God or unto the salvation of our souls are to be asked of God without any condition, so likewise are all corporal things to be desired of God with a con dition, which knoweth better what is expedient for us, than we ourselves do. As Note weii. for an example : When we pray for the forgiveness of sins, we shall not pray on this manner : ' O heavenly Father, forgive us our sins, if it be thy will.' No, but without, any condition we shall say : ' O heavenly Father, forgive us our sins for Christ's sake.' For God hath declared unto us in his holy word, that it is his good will and pleasure that we should so pray. " As surely as I live (saith he) I will Ezek. xxxiu. not the death of a sinner, but rather that he turn and live." But if we pray to be delivered from any corporal incommodity or disease, as from an ague, from the plague, from banishment, from imprisonment, from poverty, from sickness, from death, &c, then ought we to submit our will to God's will, which best knoweth what is most profitable for us ; as a certain man saith : " What is most profitable for the sick man, the physician knoweth better than he that is diseased." As for an example, if we should pray to be delivered from sickness, we must pray after this manner : ' O God and heavenly Father, which for our sins and wickedness hast worthily cast upon us this grievous cross of sickness, wherewith we be greatly enfeebled, made weak and brought low ; we most humbly beseech thee, that thou wilt now at the last, after so many and so great troubles, pains, and adversities, take away mercifully from us this our sickness, and liberally restore unto us the benefit of health, that we, as in mind, so likewise in body, being made sound and strong, may live and glorify thy holy name. Notwithstanding, O heavenly Father, thy will, and not ours, be done in this thing.' For concerning temporal and corporal matters we must so pray, that all things be left unto the counsel, determination, and will of God, to give unto us what he will, when he will, and how much he will. So teacheth us Christ in our common prayer : " Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." And as he taught us thus Matt. vi. to pray, so likewise did he himself practise this manner of praying. For when the time of his passion began to draw nigh, he prayed unto his Father on this manner : " 0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup depart from me. Notwithstanding, not Matt. xxvi. as I will, but as thou wilt." Here Christ prayed his Father, that he might not Luke xiii. drink of the cup of his passion : notwithstanding he submitted his will to the will of his Father. Likewise prayed the leper : " Lord," saith he, " if thou wilt, thou art Matt. viii. able to make me clean." The leper wished to be cleansed from his leprosy: not withstanding he referred the matter to Christ, and to his holy will, to do with him as he thought best. Again, those three young men, which at Nabuchodonosor's commandment were cast into the hot brenning furnace, because they would not wor ship the golden image, said to the king : " We may not consent unto thee in this Dan. hi. matter. For behold, our God, whom we serve, is able to keep us from the hot burning oven, 0 king, and can right well deliver us out of thy hands. And though he will not, yet shalt thou know, 0 king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor do reverence unto that image which thou hast set up." Furthermore David desired to 2 Sam. xv. 140 THE CATECHISM. [Part Psai. cxlv. 1 John iii. Forgiving our offend ers. Matt. v. Luke vi. Gen. iv. 1 John iii. 1 Cor. xiii. be restored to his kingdom, when he was put out of it by Absolon his son ; yet he wished it none otherwise then it should seem good in the sight of God. His words are these : " If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again. But if the Lord thus say, I have no lust unto thee ; behold, here am I, let him do with me what seemeth good in his eyes." Note here, how obedient David shewed himself to the will of God. He wisheth to be restored to his kingdom : notwithstanding, if it shall otherwise seem good unto God, he is content also to obey his holy will. All these examples teach us, that in all corporal and temporal things we ought to submit our will to the good will and pleasure of God, and to be content to receive of him whatsoever his good will shall be, whether it be riches or poverty, health or sickness, life or death, &c. He is our Father, and we are his sons. Let us not doubt therefore, but that he will give us that which he knoweth to be best and most profitable for us. Only let us do our endeavour to pray according to his will, and ask those things which we are taught in the holy scripture to ask, that is to say, those things which belong unto the glory of God, the salvation of our souls, and the commodity of our neighbour; and let us not doubt, but that we shall be heard, and obtain our desires, whether they pertain unto the soul or unto the body. God without doubt will accomplish our desire, if we go about to satisfy his godly pleasure, and frame our prayers according to his blessed will; as the psalmograph witnesseth, saying : " He will accomplish the desire of them that fear him, and hear their prayer, and save them." Hereto belongeth the saying of St John : "Dearly beloved, if our heart do not condemn us, we have trust to God- ward; and whatso ever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight." Father. God give us all grace, both in our prayers and in all other exercises either of the body or of the soul, only to do those things which are acceptable in his sight ! Son. Amen. Father. What remaineth there yet behind concerning the worthy preparation unto prayer ? Son. Seventhly, although the aforesaid things, whereof we have hitherto spoken, are so necessary to the worthy preparation unto prayer, that whosoever cometh not so instructed unto prayer, he prayeth unprofitably and in vain; yet this matter also, whereof we shall now entreat, is so necessary unto him that intendeth to pray with fruit, that without it all the other profit nothing at all. Father. What is that, my son? Son. It is the frank and free forgiving of them, which have offended us either in word or in deed. Father. Is this thing so necessary ? Son. Yea, verily, as you shall hear here after. Therefore whosoever intendeth to pray, if he will pray aright, let him consider with himself, how he is affected toward his neighbour, although his enemy. Let him search his conscience, and look in the book of his heart, whether all things in him be friendly, loving, and charitable toward not only his friends, but also his enemies. For, as our Saviour Christ saith: "If ye love them which love you, what thanks have ye ? For sinners also love their lovers. And if ye do good for them which do good for you, what thank have ye ? For sinners also do even the same." Whosoever therefore intendeth to pray with fruit, let him see in himself whether he hath a cankered, malicious, hateful, despiteful, and envious heart against any man, or not. If he have, let him know that he is a right bird of Caim's nest, and a very image of Satan, although he speak with the tongues of angels, and understood all the mysteries both of God and God's word; yea, although he were so fervent in prayer, that his knees were made like to the knees of camels through kneeling, as we read of St James, the bishop of Jerusalem1. If any man therefore findeth in himself an hateful heart toward any man, let him not presume once to open his mouth for to pray. If he do, the first word of his prayer turneth unto his own damnation. And the more he prayeth, being so affected, the more doth he heap the hot wrath and fierce vengeance of God against himself. Neither shall such a monster of wickedness obtain any grace or favour at the hand [' Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Lib. n. cap. xxiii. p. 50. Amst. 1695. See Vol. i. p. 143.] IV-3 OF PRAYER. 141 of God, as the wise man testifieth, saying : " He that seeketh vengeance shall find Eccius. vengeance at the Lord's hand, which shall sure keep him his sins. Forgive thy xxvl"' neighbour thy hurt that he hath done thee; and so shall thy sins be forgiven thee also, when thou prayest. A man that beareth hatred against another, how dare he desire forgiveness of God ? He that sheweth no mercy to a man, which is like him self, how dare he ask forgiveness of his sins ? If he that is but flesh beareth hatred and keepeth it, who will entreat for his sins? Remember the end, and let enmity pass, which seeketh death and destruction, and abide thou in the commandments (of God). Remember the commandments (of God): so shalt thou not be rigorous over thy neighbour, &c." Here hear we, that except we forgive them that have offended us, although we pray never so much, yet shall not our prayers be heard of God, I mean unto our salvation: our sins shall never be forgiven us, but God shall reserve and keep them unto our damnation; and albeit heaven and earth, and all that ever are in them, with one voice should pray for us, yet should not their prayers for us be heard, so vile misers and damnable wretches are we in the sight of God, so long as we continue in this malicious mind and despiteful hatred. For God loveth, alloweth, and regardeth nothing that proceedeth from an envious, hateful, and malicious heart. Let us remember Cairn. He offered sacrifices unto God, praying and praising God out wardly with no less holiness and devotion, than his brother Abel did. But what saith the scripture ? " God looked unto Abel, and unto his gifts ; but unto Caim and Gen. iv. unto his gifts he looked not." Why so? Because his heart was void both of faith toward God, and of love toward his brother. His heart burned with envy and hatred against his brother Abel. Therefore his prayers, praises, and sacrifices were abomina tion unto God. 0, with what face dare we be bold once to open our mouth, and to say the Lord's prayer, calling the heavenly Father our Father, when we hate one another, and speak evil one of another ? Is God the Father the father of the malicious, of the envious, of the hateful, and of the uncharitable ? Or is he rather the father of the friendly, of the loving, of the charitable, and of the well- willing ? " God is charity," saith 1 John iv. St John, " and he that dwelleth in charity dwelleth in God, and God in him." Now he that dwelleth in hatred, in whom dwelleth he ? verily, in the devil, and the devil in him. Is such a monster of malice a meet person to call upon God the Father? A malicious and envious person to call God father, is none other thing than to call God envious, malicious, hateful, despiteful, and the father of all tyrants and blood thirsty people. And how great an impiety that is, who knoweth not ? Again, with what forehead (except we have too much rubbed our forehead, I mean, except we be past all shame) dare we say in the Lord's prayer, " Forgive us our Matt. vi. trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us," if we do not forgive them which have offended us ? So to pray, is it any other thing than to ask vengeance upon ourselves? If we retain hatred in our minds; if we seek to be revenged; if we devise how we may hurt them that have hurted us ; yea, if we labour not to be reconciled even to our very enemies; and if we cannot be content to forgive them, to love and favour them, to speak well of them, to pray for them, and to do for them whatsoever lieth in our power, and no less to seek their commodity and profit, than we do our own; when we pray this prayer, we do none other thing than beseech God that he will not forgive us our sins, but rather deal with us according to our deservings, with all kind of rigour and severity. For except we forgive other, it is vain to look for remission and forgiveness of our sins at the hand of God, as our Saviour Christ witnesseth, saying: "Forgive, and it shall be forgiven you."Lukevi. Again : " If ye forgive men their faults, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matt. vi. But if ye will not forgive men their faults, neither will your Father forgive you your sins." The demand which Peter asked of Christ, how often he should forgive his brother is not unknown. St Matthew writeth, that " Peter said unto Christ on Matt, xviii. this manner: Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I shall forgive him? Seven times? Christ answered: I say not unto thee seven times, but seventy times seven times:" that is to say, so often as he sinneth, forgive him. The parable, 142 THE CATECHISM. [Part Col. iii. Rom. v. 1 Cor. xv. Heb. ii. In prayer no time of grant ing is to be appointed unto God. Isai. xxx. Lam. iii. Psai. cxxiii. which Christ immediately after put forth, dedareth evidently, that except we forgive them that have offended us, yea, and that from the very heart, we shall never obtain remission of our sins at the hand of God. Are not these the words of blessed St Paul, " Forgive ye one another : if any man have a quarrel against another, even as Christ forgave you, even so do ye ?" Can any better or more apt example be brought forth, whereby we may be provoked one to forgive another, than the example of Christ ? To whom is his free forgiving of our sins unknown ? When we were yet his enemies, he did not only forgive us our sins, but he also gave himself even unto the death to be a ransom for our sins, and to reconcile us unto God his Father, that through his pains we might be deli vered from the pains of hell, and by his death be made free from everlasting death, and be made inheritors of everlasting life. Father. It is meet and convenient, that if we will find favour at the hand of God, we shew also favour to our neighbour, and be the very same unto him that we would wish God should be unto us. And forasmuch as we are but frail vessels, and cannot so live in this world, but sometime displeasure shall chance among us, it is our duty one of us to forgive another, to bear one with another, to take all things into the best part, not soon to be provoked unto anger, not straightways to bear any displeasure against any man, not to shew ourselves hard to be entreated, but easy to be reconciled, and to seek all men. Son. This is the office and duty of a christian man. For if any do behave himself otherwise, he is no meet man to pray unto God. Father. Remaineth there any more to be spoken of, concerning the worthy prepa ration unto prayer ? Son. Finally, it is requisite, that whensoever we intend to pray, we appoint not God the time when he shall help us, and perform our desires; but commit this thing unto his godly wisdom, as unto him which best knoweth when our petitions ought to take place, and to be brought unto effect. For as the way and the place to help us are not to be assigned unto God, no more is the time to be appointed unto him when he shall help us, and bring our requests unto a fortunate end; hut in this behalf we must be content to receive the benefits of our desires at the hand of God, not when we will, but at what time it shall be his good pleasure to give them unto us ; which thing without all doubt shall then come to pass, when it shall be most unto our great joy and singular comfort. And although we do not perceive that God doth straightways grant us our petitions, yet let us not faint in our faith, nor despair of our hope, nor yet conceive an evil opinion of God, as though he were angry with us, or unfaithful in his words, and not true in his promises ; but rather cleave unto him with a strong faith, and wholly depend upon his promises, nothing doubting, but that in his time he will liberally perform and abundantly give whatsoever we have asked, yea, more than we can or dare be bold to ask, as the prophet Habacuc saith : " If the Lord maketh tarriance, abide thou his leisure ; for he will undoubtedly come, and will not tarry." The pro phet Esay saith: "In silence and hope shall your strength be." Jeremy also saith: "It is good with silence to tarry for the saving health of God." For God many times deferreth to give us our requests, not because he is angry or hateth us, or because he is unfaithful in his words and not constant in his promises; but unto this end, that he may prove our faith, and try whether we be faithful and constant in giving credit to his promises, or not : again, that we, after long desire en joying his benefits, should the more fervently be kindled to embrace them, and to make much of them : again, that we should the more earnestly be provoked heartily to praise and magnify the name of God for his fatherly benefits, so liberally and lovingly be stowed upon us. For things soon given soon wax vile ; but things long desired, and at the last obtained, are highly esteemed and had in great price. All the godly there fore in times past, although they did not straightways enjoy their desires, ceased not still to pray unto God : neither were they any thing at all dismayed, but patiently abode the Lord's leisure, being content to receive when it should be his good pleasure to give, as David saith : " Behold, even as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters; and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; even so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us." Here David IV-] OF PRAYER. 143 appointed God no certain time, when he shall shew his mercy on him and grant him his requests, neither ceaseth he from lifting up his eyes unto the Lord his God, be cause he doth not straightways obtain his desires; but he goeth forth in his prayers, and continueth calling on the name of God, even so long until the Lord hath pity on him, and grant him his desire. O blessed David ! O worthy ensample to be followed of all them which are led with the earnest love of prayer, and heartily wish to have their petitions accepted of God ! And this is it that our Saviour Christ saith in the gospel : " Men ought alway to Luke xviii. pray, and not to be weary." " For God will tender the supplications of them which night and day cry unto him, although for a time he defer them." Such patient abider of the Lord's leisure was Job also, which saith: "Although he killeth me, yet will I Job xiii. put my trust in him." Likewise said Moses unto the children of Israel, when Pharao pursued them, and they saw no way to escape, but either to perish with waters, or else to fall into the hands of the enemy. " Fear not," saith he, " stand still, and Exod. xiv. behold the wonderful works of God, which he will do this day." Moses commandeth the people of Israel not to fear, but to stand still, that is to say, not to prescribe unto God either the way, or the place, or the time of their deliverance, but with strong faith to cleave to the promises of God, and patiently to abide their deliverance, when his good pleasure shall be. The patient abiding of the Lord's leisure doth so greatly please God, that nothing can more haste or provoke his benefits; as, on the contrary part, nothing doth more displease and offend God, than through impatiency to prescribe unto him the time when he shall help us; as we may perceive by the words which the godly matron Judith spake unto the citizens of Bethulia, which, when Holofernes besieged their city, prescribed unto God five days' respite to help them. If no help came from God by that time, they were full determined to yield and give over the city to the enemy. But how earnestly that stout-stomached and courageous matron Judith rebuked them for this their impatiency, incredulity, and tempting of God, these her words do evi dently declare : " What thing is this (saith she) wherein Osias hath consented, that, if Judith viii. God help not within five days, he will give over the city to the Assyrians? What are ye, that ye tempt the Lord ? This device obtaineth no mercy of God, but provoketh him to wrath and displeasure. Will ye set the mercy of the Lord a time, and ap point him a day after your will? Nevertheless, forasmuch as the Lord is patient, let us rather repent, pouring out tears and beseeching him of grace. For God threateneth not as a man, neither will he be provoked unto wrath as the children of men. And therefore let us heartily fall down before him, and serve him with a meek spirit, and with weeping eyes say unto the Lord, that he deal with us according to his own will and mercy." Therefore, whensoever we intend to pray, let us determine with ourselves patiently to abide the Lord's leisure, and by no means to prescribe unto him either the time, or the place, or the way, or any other circumstance, concerning our requests, but to submit all our desires to his fatherly providence ; being content to receive of him what, when, and how, it shall be his good pleasure to give us; and yet notwithstanding, still con tinuing to cry unto the Lord with our prayers both day and night, after the example of the widow of whom we read in the gospel of Luke, with this sure persuasion, Luke xviii. that God in his time will either give unto us those things which we presently ask, or else better things. Whosoever on this manner offereth his prayers unto God, he may be sure to be welcome unto the majesty of God, and to obtain his requests, unto the salvation both of his body and soul. And thus much have I spoken concerning the due and worthy preparation unto prayer, as I have heretofore learned of our preacher and catechist. Father. I greatly commend thee, my sweet and dear son, that thou dost so well remember the good and godly doctrine which heretofore thou hast learned of thy teachers. Let me hear now, according to thy promise, the declaration of the Lord's prayer, that in this behalf also I may have a taste of thy diligence. Son. The Lord's prayer The preface J of the Lord s beginneth on this manner: theS"'* " Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." ation^ pe~ 144 THE CATECHISM. [Part Father. This is the first petition contained in the Lord's prayer ? Son. Yea, verily. Father. How many petitions are there in the Lord's prayer? Son. They com monly number seven. Why it is Father. Why is it called the Lord's prayer? Son. Because the Lord Christ him- called the .... Lord's self made it, and taught it his disciples, and willed them so to pray. Father. Where teacheth the holy scripture that? Son. In the gospel of Luke we Luke xi. read, that one of the disciples came unto Christ, and said unto him : " Lord, • teach us to pray, even as John taught his disciples. And Christ said unto them, When ye pray, say : Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name," &c. The excel- Father. Is this prayer of all other most excellent ? Son. Yea, forsooth ; both Lord's because of the maker of it, as I said before, which is the Lord Jesus; and also be cause in few words it containeth abundantly whatsoever is necessary to be desired, either for the glory of God or for the safeguard of the body and soul of man. For the three first petitions concern the glory of God and the avancement of his kingdom : the other four petitions, which follow in order, entreat of our necessities, and pertain unto our commodity and profit, whether we respect the body or the soul, or both. Father. Why dost thou direct thy prayer unto God, and not rather unto men, $£&¦ or unto the blessed spirits in heaven ? Son. Vain is the salvation that is looked for James i. from man. To save is the office of God alone, from whom "cometh down every good and perfect gift;" therefore unto God alone are our prayers to be directed, according Psai. 1. to this commandment : " Call on me," saith God, " in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." To invocate and call upon the saints in heaven, as it is not com manded in the word of God, so likewise is it injurious to the majesty of God, seeing we give that honour to creatures, which is due to God alone ; neither have we any promise in the holy scripture, that we shall be heard and enjoy our petitions, if we pray unto saints departed. To pray unto God, and to ask all good things of him in the name of our alone Mediator Christ Jesu, we are not only commanded, but also promised that we shall be heard. Therefore to leave that which is certain, and to embrace that which is uncertain, is mere folly, as I may speak nothing more sharply. Father. But what if we do both ? Son. What mean you ? Father. Pray both unto God and unto the saints in heaven? Son. Then is your faith divided; and therefore no true and perfect faith. Then also do you steal away that honour and glory from God and give it unto creatures, which alone is due unto g^- God. For there can be no greater glory and honour given to God, than in our ad- Prov. xviii. versity and trouble to flee unto his holy name as unto a strong bulwark, to call upon De°t'vX' '*' an<* to ask a^ £00<* things of the Lord our God, which is "a jealous God," and isai xiu! speaketh by the prophet on this manner: "I am the Lord, this is my name: my Deut. yi. glory will I give to none other." And his servant Moses saith : " Thou shalt honour Luke'iv.' the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve." The saints themselves also cry Psai. cxv. and say : " Not to us, 0 Lord, not to us, but to thy name give the glory, for thy mercy and truth's sake." Against all such half worshippers of God, the prophet Elias l Kings xviii. thundereth on this manner: "How long will ye halt on both knees? If the Lord be God, follow him : if Baal be he, follow him." And God himself saith to such halting Rev. iii. hypocrites and double dissemblers : " I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot : I would thou were cold or hot. But because thou art between both, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." As God alone giveth all good things, so is he alone to be called upon in all our adversities and troubles. Superstitious Father. What is to be thought of them which, when they pray unto the saints in rfSmuT18 heaven, use to say this prayer of the Lord, " Our Father which art in heaven," &c. and use to say it oftentimes in the honour of such saints as they most fancy? Son. Their blindness is much to be lamented; and it is to be wished that such peo ple were better taught. Is it a meet thing to call any saint in heaven, Father? to desire that his name may be sanctified? and that he will forgive us our sins, &c.? They which thus pray do rather dishonour than honour the heavenly spirits; and indeed, so praying, they do nothing else than blaspheme God, and provoke God unto anger; so that by this means, where they seem to seek salvation, they fall into the danger of everlasting damnation. Iv-] OF PRAYER. 145 Father. Thou holdest then, that this prayer ought to be said unto God alone. Son. Yea, verily, if we intend to pray it with fruit. Father. Let us then fall in hand with this prayer of the Lord, and boult out every parcel thereof. Son. Content. Father. In the beginning of this prayer thou callest God "Father". Son. So is it. whywecaii Father. Why callest thou God thy Father? Son. I have learned so to do out G°d Fathcr' of the word of God. Father. Let me hear some testimonies of the holy scripture concerning this matter. Son. Moses saith to every faithful man : " Is not the Lord thy Father, and thine Deut. xxxu. owner? Hath he not made thee and ordained thee?" Father. But why dost thou rather say "our Father," than "my Father"? Son. To declare that God is the common Father of all the faithful, and not of one only. Father. How provest that by the word of God ? Son. The prophet Esay saith : " Thou, O God, art our Father. For Abraham knoweth us not, neither is Israel isai. ixiii. acquainted with us. But thou, Lord, art our Father and Redeemer; and thy name is everlasting." Again : " Thou, O Lord, art our Father : we are thy clay, and thou art our potter, and we all are the work of thy hands." The prophet Malache saith : " Have we not all one Father ? Hath not God made us ? Why doth every one of Mai. a. us then despise his own brother?" God himself saith by the same prophet: " Should Mai-i. not the son honour his father, and a servant fear his master ? If I be now a Father, where is my honour? If I be a Lord, where is my fear?" In another place he also saith: "I will be a Father unto you; and ye shall be my sons and daughters." Our2Cor. vi. Saviour Christ saith : " Call no man your father on the earth ; for one is your Father, Matt xxiii. which is in heaven." St Paul also saith : " As many as are led by the Spirit of God, Rom. viii. they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage to fear any more, but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, dear Father. The same Spirit certifieth our spirit, that we are the sons of God. If we be sons, then are we also heirs; the heirs (I mean) of God, and fellow-heirs with Christ." Again : " Because ye are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, Gai. iv. crying, Abba, dear Father. Wherefore now thou art not a servant, but a son. If thou be a son, thou art also an heir of God through Christ." St John also saith : " Behold, 1 John m. what exceeding great love the Father hath shewed unto us, that we should be called (and be in deed) the sons of God." Father. How cometh it to pass, that God is our Father, seeing that we are flesh How God is and blood, corruption and dust ? Son. God is our Father two manner of ways : first, in that he hath created and made us, as we tofore heard; secondly, in that he hath begotten us anew, " not of mortal, but of immortal seed," in that he hath given us 1 pet. i. his Spirit, and we believe in his Son Christ Jesu, as St John saith : " As many as John i. received him (Christ), to them gave he power to be the sons of God, even them that believed in his name ; which were born not of the blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor yet of the will of man, but of God." St Paul also saith : " Ye are all the children Gai. in. of God, because ye believe in Christ Jesu." Again : " As many as are led by the Rom. via. Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Father. Then are not we the sons of God by nature? Son. No, verily, but by Christ alone adoption. One only is the natural Son of God, even Christ Jesus the Lord : the God by na- t tur6 wc bv faithful are the sons of God only by adoption and grace, as we tofore abundantly adoption. heard in the declaration of the second article of the christian belief. Father. Thou sayest truth, my child. But what profit hast thou in this, that God whatitpro- J > J L 1-iij.iio "tetn us that is thy Father ? Son. What profit have I not, whether I respect the body or the soul ! God^h our In that God is my Father, I am well assured, that I shall want no good thing ne cessary both for the body and for the soul. For as a good father hath a special care to provide and aforesee, that his son lack no good thing that is necessary for him ; so likewise my heavenly Father, which by adoption and grace hath chosen me to be his son, will suffer me to lack no good thing, but abundantly minister and give unto me whatsoever is needful either for the body or for the soul, as God said unto Abraham : " Fear not : I am thy defence and mighty shield ; and thy reward shall be exceeding Gen. xv. great." By the psalmograph he also saith : " I am the Lord thy God, &c. : open thy pSai. taxi. [becon, ii.J 146 THE CATECHISM. [Part mouth wide, and I shall fill it." And if at any time I seem to lack, in that God is my Father, I may be bold to come unto him, and to crave of him whatsoever thing I have need of, with this perfect persuasion and assured hope, that he will grant me my petitions no less, yea, much more (for he is almighty, and an horn of plenty) than any natural father will labour to satisfy the desires of his son; as our Saviour Matt. va. Christ saith : " Is there any man among you, which, if his son ask bread, will offer him a stone ? or if he ask fish, will he proffer him a serpent ? If ye then (when ye are evil) can give your children good gifts, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give you good things, if ye ask of him?" Therefore in that I John xiv. am taught by him, which is the self truth, to call God Father, I may be bold to come unto him, to lament my miseries unto him, to crave at his hand help, succour, defence, and whatsoever besides I have need of, with this faith, that I shall not be denied of my requests ; forasmuch as he tendereth me no less, yea, much more, than a most loving father pitieth his most dear child. Sn'b™6' 11 Father. What learnest thou of this, that thou sayest not "my Father," but "our ™s God our Father"? Son. In that I call God "our Father," I am put in remembrance, that God is the Father of us all, (I mean the faithful,) and that we be his sons, and therefore brethren S^ also. Now, forasmuch as we all have one Father, and be all brethren and fellow-heirs of one and the same kingdom, I am here taught to love my brethren, and to do them good unto the uttermost of my power, to seek no less their commodity and profit than: phii. a. mine own, as St Paul saith : " Let no man seek his own commodity, but the profit 1 cor. xm. of other." Again : " Charity or love seeketh not her own." He that hath not this love toward his christian brethren, he is not the son of God, neither is God his Father. John xiu. " ln this thing," saith Christ, " shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another." Father. Thou dost not only call God " our Father", but thou sayest moreover that he "is in heaven". Son. Yea, verily. heav'n™ Father. How provest thou that God is in heaven ? Son. God himself saith by Psai'1™' the prophet: "Heaven is my seat." The psalmograph also saith: "The Lord hath Psai' cxxir PrePare(i his sea* m heaven." Again : " Our God is in heaven." Item : " Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, which dwellest in the heavens." Likewise saith our Saviour Matt. xxui. Christ : " Call no man father on the earth ; for one is your Father, which is in heaven." Father. How canst thou truly and properly say that God is in heaven, when he is in all places at once, and filleth heaven and earth with his presence ; forasmuch as Psai. cxxxix. he is infinite and incomprehensible ? as the psalmograph saith : " Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I go from thy presence? If I climb up into heaven, thou art there : if I go down to hell, thou art there also. If I take the wings of the morning, and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there also shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Peradventure the dark ness shall cover me ; then shall my night be turned to day. Yea, the darkness is no darkness with thee ; but the night is as clear as the day : the darkness and the light i Kings via. to thee are both alike." Salomon also in his prayer said unto God: "Behold, the heavens and heavens of all heavens are not able to contain thee." And God himself Jer. xxiii. saith by the prophet : " I fill both heaven and earth." Son. I know and confess that God is inn- the majesty of God is infinite, unmeasurable, incomprehensible, filleth heaven and earth, mty, and can- . , ,. , ' r ' , not be com- occupieth all places at once, and cannot be compassed within sertain limits (as all within certain creatures are); forasmuch as he is the Maker of all things, and not a thing made: not withstanding, the holy scripture most commonly termeth him to be and to dwell in heaven, yea, and that for divers causes. sMdulat God First' to Set forth unt° US his maJesty> highness, might, and power; while we consider UohnT611' that his dwellmg is not m tms world, which is a vale of miseries and a sink of all evils, but in the most high and glorious palace of heaven, where all joy and ever lasting felicity is, where all goodness and virtue do abound, where nothing is that is not most delectable, most sweet, most pleasant ; and that he hath there placed himself, not only that it should be his mansion, but ours also, forasmuch as he is our Father, and we are his children; so that whatsoever glory, joy, and felicity our Father hath IV-] OF PRAYER. 147 and enjoyeth, the very same shall we his children, after this our banishment, likewise have and enjoy, as our inheritance freely given us of our most loving, gentle, and bounteous Father. Secondly, to declare that our heavenly Father, being in so high a place, doth lovingly behold us and all ours, consider our necessities, hear our prayers, grant our requests, defend us, save us from our enemies, and give us all good things; as the psalmograph saith : " The Lord is high above all heathen, and his glory above the heavens. Who Psai. cxia. is like unto the Lord our God, that hath his dwelling so high, and yet humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth ? He taketh up the simple out of the dust, and lifteth the poor out of the mire ; that he may set him with the princes, even with the princes of his people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children." Thirdly, to teach us, that as the heaven by unmeasurable wideness of compass containeth all places, the earth and the sea ; and no place is there, that may be hid from the large reach of heaven, sith it is at every instant of time to every thing present; so likewise God is present to each thing in each place. He seeth, heareth, understandeth, and perceiveth all things, he being himself a spirit, and most far from John iv. all earthy and mortal state. This witnesseth God himself by the prophet, saying: "Am not I a God near unto you? and am not I a God far off? Shall any man Jer. xxiii. be able to shroud himself in such a corner that I cannot espy him?" Fourthly, to signify unto us, that if we will have any thing to do with this our heavenly Father, we must have our minds free and utterly estranged from vicious affects, sinful lusts, and worldly desires, and fixed only upon God, and upon heavenly and everlasting things, as the apostle saith : " If ye be risen again with Christ, seek those coi. hi. things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on heavenly things, and not on earthy things." Fifthly and finally, we call God our heavenly Father, to discern him from our fathers which be upon earth. For our fathers which we have in earth are but miserable, poor, needy, and mortal men, and of themselves neither able to save themselves nor us. But our Father which we have in heaven is omnipotent, almighty, rich, suffi ciently able of himself to help us in all our necessities, immortal and ever living, at all times ready in this world to give us what is needful for body and soul, and after our departure from this world to place us in his heavenly kingdom, there to remain with him for ever in eternal felicity and joy. Father. God make us all partakers of that heavenly glory! Now that thou hast declared why we call God our Father, and what is meant when the scripture saith he is in heaven; come off, rehearse unto me the first petition of the Lord's prayer. Son. The first petition is this : "Hallowed be thy name." The first pe- J tition. Father. What desire we of God in this petition ? Son. Forasmuch as the name, whf^ede- that is to say, the majesty, glory, honour, fame, wisdom, power, goodness, mercy, justice, first petition. truth, knowledge, &c, of God, is divers ways profanated, polluted, and defiled in this world by many and sundry sects, by divers heresies and wicked opinions, by manifold superstition and idolatry, by the drowsy dreams and trifling traditions of men; we most humbly beseech our heavenly Father, that he will take away out of the earth all these abominations and filthy uncleannesses, wherewith not only the glory of his most glorious name among men is greatly obscured and defaced, but the souls of many are brought also into great errors, and in fine unto everlasting damnation. And as we desire of our heavenly Father in this first petition, that all things may be taken away wherewith either the glory of his holy name is diminished, or the salvation of men's souls is hindered ; so likewise we pray, that he alone may be known, not only among the Christians, but also among all the nations of the earth, to be the only true God, the alone Saviour of the world, the mighty defender of his people, the plentiful rewarder of all them that trust in him, the merciful comforter of the faithful penitent sinners, the joyful receiver of such as turn unto him, and the strong avensrer and punisher of all those that run from him a whore-hunting after strange. b X 10—2 148 THE CATECHISM. [Part gods, and the wicked imaginations and inventions of their own hearts: again, that all nations of the world without exception may fear, reverence, honour, worship, glorify, call upon, and praise the glorious name of our heavenly Father, and in all things seek the avancement and honour thereof, preferring the glory of it before all creatures either in heaven or in earth, yea, more than our own goods and life, as it is written : Psai. xiiv. " For thy sake," that is to say, for the glory and hallowing of thy name, " we are Bom.vm. ^led aii day long, and are counted as sheep appointed to be slain." Daniel crieth Dan. ix. out on this manner, and saith : " 0 Lord, to us, to our kings and princes, to our forefathers, yea, even to us all that have offended thee, belongeth nothing but open shame. But unto thee, O Lord our God, pertaineth righteousness, mercy, and forgive- Psai. cxv. ness." All the saints of God cry out on this wise : " Not to us, 0 Lord, not to us, but to thy name give the glory, for thy mercy and truth's sake." Father. Methink the words of this first petition do so sound, as though the name of God might yet be made more holy and more glorious than it is now, Rev. xxii. as it is written : " He that is righteous, let him be more righteous ; and he that is holy, let him be more holy." Son. God forbid, that any man should so think, that the name of God may be made more holy, glorious, and honourable than it is already, which is in all points in itself and of itself so holy, that no holiness can be put unto it; so glorious, that no glory can be added; so honourable, that more honourable it cannot be made ; being of itself full of all holiness, glory, and honour : neither do we pray, that the name of our heavenly Father may be sancti fied and hallowed unto this end, that in itself it may be made more holy, which is already most holy, but that it may be hallowed of all men in this world, and that the holiness of his name may be known among all nations, that they with one consent may believe and repose their whole affiance, trust, and confidence in it, call upon it Prov. xvia. and fly unto it as unto a strong and mighty bulwark in their adversity, praise and magnify it in their prosperity, and at all times have it in great honour and reverence; so that in all their thoughts, words, and deeds, the glory of God's most glorious name i cor. x. may be set forth by them, as the apostle saith : " Whatsoever ye do, do all to the coi. ai. glory and praise of God." Again : " Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesu, giving thanks to God the Father by him." Of this hallowing of his name among all nations, God speaketh by the prophet on Ezek. xxxix. this manner : " I will make the name of my holiness to be known among my people of Israel ; and I will not let my holy name be evil spoken of any more ; but the very heathen also shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, it cometh, and shall be fulfilled indeed, saith the Lord God." Hereto belongeth the saying of the Psai. ixxxvi. psalmograph : " Among the gods there is none like unto thee, 0 Lord : there is not one that can do as thou doest. All nations, whom thou hast made, shall come and worship thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name." Moreover, we do not only pray that the name of God may be sanctified, hallowed, called upon, praised, magnified, and perfectly known among all nations, yea, among the very heathen, which as yet have no perfect and true knowledge of God and of his holy name ; but also that his name may be hallowed and magnified of us, which are his people, which have dedicated ourselves to his holy religion, which are baptized in the name of his Son Christ, and of him are called Christians, which profess godli ness, and which are dead unto the world, and live unto Christ, lest, through our corrupt manners, wicked life, and ungodly conversation, the name of the Lord God be evil spoken of, slandered, railed upon, and blasphemed among the enemies of the truth, isai. ia. and his holy law condemned for heresy, as God himself complaineth by the prophet. Bom. ii. And St Paul saith : " The name of God is evil spoken of among the gentiles through ftS- you." For as there can be no greater dishonour done unto God in this world, nor no greater ignominy unto his holy name, than when such as profess godliness practise ungodliness, unto the great slander of our profession, and unto the utter condemnation of ourselves ; so likewise can there be no greater honour and glory shewed unto the Lord our God, and unto his blessed name, than when we, which profess godliness in Tit. i. word, practise the same in deed, that we be not of the number of them which "profess that they know God, but with their deeds deny him, seeing they are abominable and IV0 OF PRAYER. 149 disobedient, and unapt unto every good work ;" nor like unto the five foolish virgins, Matt. xxv. which had lamps and no oil, and therefore were shut out of the bridegroom's chamber, and when they knocked, and would have been let in, answer was made, " I know you not; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity;" nor like to that son, which promised his Psai.vi. father that he would work in his vineyard, and yet did not ; nor yet like unto that Ma"' xx"' fig-tree, which had leaves, but no fruit, and therefore was accursed of Christ, so that Markxi. it withered away, and never brought forth fruit after. In consideration whereof our Saviour Christ exhorteth us unto good works, saying : " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify Matt. v. your Father, which is in heaven." St Peter also saith : " Dearly beloved, I beseech you i Pet. ii. as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which fight against the soul; and have your conversation honest, that whereas they backbite you as evil doers, they, judging you of your good works, may glorify God in the day of visitation." Again : " This is the will of God, that with well doing ye may stop the mouths of foolish and ignorant men ; as free, and not as having the liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but even as the servants of God." Likewise St Paul in divers places of his epistles exhorteth us, that by well doing we should " garnish the doctrine of God our Saviour," Tit. ii. walk worthy of the gospel of Christ, and so live, that we may be " such as no man PhiL ii. can complain on, and unfeigned sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom we ought so to shine as the lights of the world, hold ing fast the word of life." Father. In this first petition, therefore, we ask of our heavenly Father, that his name, that is to say, his majesty, glory, honour, fame, wisdom, power, goodness, mercy, justice, truth, knowledge, &c, might be known, reverenced, honoured, and mag nified throughout the world ; and that all things, which in any part may seem to hinder the glory of God's most glorious name, or let the salvation of men's souls, although there be never so great shine and outward appearance of holiness, may utterly be extirped and rooted out of the earth, that the Lord our God may be known among all the nations of the world, to be the alone true and everlasting God, the alone Saviour of them that trust in him, and the plentiful fountain of all goodness, in adver sity to be called on, in prosperity to be thanked and praised, and at all times to be most humbly reverenced, worshipped, and honoured: again, that such as profess his holy name may so frame their lives according to his blessed word, that God may be glorified, even among the very heathen, through their godly conversation and honest life, and his most glorious name praised among all the nations of the world. Son. So is it. Father. Let me now hear the second petition. Son. This is it : " Thy kingdom come." The second J ° petition. Father. What do we require of God in this second petition? Son. It is not of Satan. unknown how great, how mighty, and of what puissance the kingdom of Satan is, desire in o ? o j 7 ... .. . -, the second which, as St Peter saith, " goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may petition. devour ;" which Satan, in the holy scriptures, is termed the " prince and god of this JohVxjjv. world," " the ruler of darkness," " the strong armed man," and " the accuser of the Eph. Vi. ' brethren," and such one indeed as feared not, even in the state of their innocency and Hev.ex|'. sinless life, to assault our grand parents, Adam and Heva, and with his sugared elo quence to allure them from the obedience of God's most blessed word unto the wicked transgression of his holy commandmant and perfect will; not only that, but he also feared not (such is his impudency and unshamefacedness) to attempt the Lord Jesus, Matt. jv. that innocent Lamb of God, "in whom was never sin, and in whose mouth no guile Kiv. at any time was found," that he should despair of his heavenly Father's good will ^'.ji. toward him, and obey to his subtile persuasions and wicked temptations. There is no ifohnffi. ravening wolf that so earnestly seeketh greedily to devour his prey, as this enemy of lS°'Ji. mankind : that old serpent hunteth and studieth every moment of an hour, how he lE*g\l may destroy and bring to everlasting damnation mortal men, that they may fall from the favour of God, and " have their portion with him in that lake that burneth isai. ixvL with fire and brimstone." As this god of the world, I mean Satan, is a great king Bev' ™- 150 THE CATECHISM. [Paw Eph. ii. Of the world. Jer. iv. Phil. ii. fcT Gen. xlvii. Psai. xxxix. 1 Pet. ii. 1 Tim. vi. 1 John v. Heb. xiii. Josh. i. Psai. cxviii. Heb. xiii. Of the flesh. Rom. viii. and mighty prince, and strongly ruleth in the children of unbelief and in the vessels of wrath, so is his kingdom ample and large ; which kingdom this prince of darkness ceaseth not daily more and more to amplify, to enlarge, and to make very populous, that he might be the chief ruler of this world, and his kingdom the alone monarchy on the earth. And as Satan and his kingdom is mighty, large, and great, so likewise is the world a mighty prince, and ruleth strongly and stoutly in very many ; whose kingdom also is most ample and populous, stuffed in every part with infinite numbers of people, compassed about with all wickedness. The guard of this prince is so great, that in' this earth no potentate, no ruler, no governor is able to compare with it. For from the highest to the lowest, from the magistrate to the subject, from the priest to pro phet, from the bishop to the deacon, all in a manner are worldlings, and under the kingdom of this mighty prince, the world. The world at this present hath so blinded the eyes of all men, that without any consideration they follow the world and the vanities thereof, being snarled with them, even as the fish is with the line and hook. They from the least to the greatest are miserable mammonists and wretched money-slaves,. serving their goods, and not their goods them, which is the greatest slavery and the most detestable bondage that can be found on the earth. And in serving such a vile idol, they are utterly fallen away from the faithful service which they owe unto the one and alone true God, whom above all things they ought to fear, reverence, serve, honour,! worship, praise, magnify, and obey, yea, and that with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all the powers both of their soul and body, that the Lord our God may reign king, ruler, and governor alone, and that his kingdom may be enlarged " from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same;" again, that his holy name may be known and praised among all the nations of the world. The world so ruleth in the hearts almost of all men, that they utterly forget themselves to be "strangers and pilgrims" in this life; neither do they consider, that they "brought nothing into this world, neither shall they carry any thing out of it;" so far is it off, that at any time they call to remembrance these sayings of the holy scripture : " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God ? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is made the enemy of God." Again : " See that ye love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world (as the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life) is not of the Father, but of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that fulfilleth the will of God abideth for ever." Also ,in another place: "We know that we are of God, and the world is altogether set on wickedness." Item : " The time is short : it remaineth that they which buy he as though they possessed not, and they that use this world be as though they used it not." Once again: "Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be con tent with such things as ye have already: for he hath said, I will not fail thee, neither forsake thee ; so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will- not fear what man may do unto me." " Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Again, what shall I speak of the flesh? Is her kingdom small and little? Ruleth she in few, or rather in many? This flesh also seeketh and deviseth all means possible to enlarge her kingdom and empire, and studieth with all her wits how she may allure and entice the people of this world from the works of God's Spirit unto her filthy lusts and fleshly pleasures, as the apostle saith: "Walk in the Spirit, and fulfil not the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh. These are contrary one to the other." " They that are carnal are carnally minded: but they that are spiritual are ghostly minded. To be car nally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace: because the fleshly mind is enemy against God; for it is not obedient to the law of God, neither can be ; so that they which are in the flesh cannot please God." The kingdom of this flesh, as it hath been in all ages, so likewise now in these our days, wherein IV-3 OF PRAYER. 151 men are rather "lovers of pleasure than of God," is very large and ample, and com- 2 Tim. hi. prehendeth infinite numbers of people, which willingly offer themselves subjects, ser vants, and slaves to this vile strumpet, the flesh ; and the flesh again as a most mighty empress ruleth in them, and carrieth them as bond-slaves whither she willeth, and enforceth them as miserable captives to follow her lust and pleasure in all points ; so that the flesh also is a mighty ruler and governor of the people of this world, and her kingdom is wide, large, and populous. Now at the last cometh also antichrist and his kingdom ; which antichrist with of anti- his false belief, superstition, hypocrisy, false worshipping of God, men's traditions, christ' wicked counsels, devilish constitutions, ungodly doctrines, &c, stoutly and strongly ruleth in the hearts of the children of unbelief, deceiving them through the super stitious visor of feigned holiness, and throwing them into everlasting damnation ; for asmuch as they reject and cast away, despise and condemn the true faith, religion, and doctrine of our Saviour Christ, and embrace, maintain, and defend the trifling traditions of this most abominable antichrist, that adversary of God and of all godli- 2 Thess. a. ness. The kingdom also of this antichrist is very ample, large, mighty, and strong, and containeth in it infinite multitudes of people, even so many as are fallen away from the faith and doctrine of Christ, and are not led with the Spirit of God. " For they only are the sons and children of God, which are led with the Spirit of Rom. viii. God." All these princes and rulers, I mean the devil, the world, the flesh, and antichrist, labour with all main daily and continually to plant their kingdoms and to rule in the hearts of men, that, God and his holy Spirit through unbelief and wickedness of life chased out of their minds, they only may reign and possess them as their slaves, impelling and moving them unto what lewdness they lust. And this their labour they do not only employ about the wicked (whom they have already in their nets), but also, yea, much more, about us, which are the children of light, which profess godliness, and in our bap- 4?§ tism have utterly forsaken and given over the devil, the world, and the flesh, with all their vain pomps, beastly pleasures, and wicked works, and have wholly renounced and cast away antichrist with all his antichristian traditions, and dedicated ourselves to God, to God's doctrine, and to his holy religion. Who seeth not now then, how necessary this second petition is, wherein we pray that the kingdom of our heavenly Father may come and rule in us ? Father. What meanest thou ? For I do not perfectly understand thee. Son. Foras much as we are environed, besieged, compassed, and set round about with so many adver saries, as we have tofore heard, which studiously and diligently labour to possess our hearts, to rule in us, and to make us their subjects, servants, bondmen, captives, and slaves in this present world, and after this life to make us firebrands of hell and inheritors of everlasting damnation ; our Lord and Master Christ Jesus — the alone teacher of truth, and the alone wisdom also of the Father, tendering our health and salvation of body and soul both in this world and in the world to come, knowing also how unable we be of ourselves to resist and withstand so great multitudes of adversaries, which, being strong and valiant, strongly and valiantly seek our destruction — commandeth us to flee unto our heavenly Father with faithful and earnest prayer, and to crave of him succour and aid against so fierce and cruel enemies, lest we fall into their hands, and so become their preys, and at the last be swallowed up of hell-mouth, and made heirs of everlasting damnation. And in this behalf we first of all desire of our heavenly Father, that the kingdom of the devil, that sworn enemy of mankind, " that old serpent," that wily fox, that ravening Gen. iii. wolf, which at all hours seeketh our destruction, may utterly be subdued, destroyed, and 1 pet.Xv.' brought to nought, with all his wicked temptations and poisonful persuasions, that we never give place unto them, nor yet be overcome of them, but with strong faith manfully resist them, that Satan may not rule in us, nor we become his kingdom. We also desire of our heavenly Father, that the kingdom of the wicked world with all his vain pleasures,, lusts, pomps, and vanities, may be dispersed and brought unto confusion, that we, which profess godliness, be by no means snarled or seduced by them; but that we, considering how vain, •transitory, flitting, and soon passing away they be, may embrace those pleasures which 152 THE CATECHISM. [Part are immortal, those goods which are constant, those riches which never fail, and by this means bid adieu both to the world and to his kingdom, setting always before our remem- john xv. brance, that we are selected and " chosen aside from the world ;" yea, that by our profession coi.iu. we are dead to the world, and our "life is hid with Christ in God." Again, we desire of our heavenly Father, that the kingdom of the wicked flesh, with all her carnal concupiscences and filthy lusts, which fight against the soul, may be so extirped and plucked up by the roots, that we, being made free from all the uncleannesses thereof, may no more be seduced with the venomous and poisonful enticements of this most venomous and poisonful mermaid, the flesh, nor by any means hereafter consent to her beast-like desires and filthy lusts; but so live, being clad with this weak and mortal flesh, that the lusts thereof may not rule in us, but that we rather may subdue Eph. jv. them, and " put on the new man, which is shapen and made in righteousness, holiness, and truth." Item, we desire of our heavenly Father, that antichrist with his kingdom, which hath seduced, and daily doth seduce, an infinite number of miserable and poor wretched souls through his glistering and painted visor of counterfeit, false, and feigned holiness, isai. xi. may shortly be slain and brought unto confusion " with the breath of the Lord's mouth, 2 Thess. s. and utterly be abolished with the brightness of his coming ;" that " that sinful man, the son of perdition, which is an adversary, and is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped," may no longer " sit in the temple of God, boasting himself to be God," nor Rev. xva. be " drunken " any more " with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs Rev. xviii. of Jesu," nor yet sell the souls of men, nor utter any more of his false and counterfeit Rev. xix. merchandise to the simple ones ; that the kingdom may be his alone, which is " King of kings and Lord of lords." And as we pray unto our heavenly Father, that we, through his mighty power, may be delivered from these our aforesaid enemies and from their tyranny (so that they rule not us, but we rather rule and subdue them) ; even so in like manner do we desire of him, that he will vouchsafe to make us his kingdom, and to rule in us by his mighty power, that we may be his inheritance, and he our owner ; he our Lord, and we his people ; he our Father, and we his children. And forasmuch as we of ourselves are feeble and weak, of no force and strength, ready at all times to be cast down even of the least of our enemies, if we were not underpropped and stayed up by the strong hand of God ; we in this petition crave of our heavenly Father, that he will pour out his holy Spirit into our hearts, which may rule and govern us, and direct us in all our ways, and so at all times work and shew his mighty power in Luke i. us, that we may be and continue the obedient people of God, " serving him in holiness Rom. xiv. and righteousness all tbe days of our life." For " the kingdom of God," as St Paul saith, "is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;" and God hath delivered us "from the power of our enemies, that we should serve him in holiness and righteousness all the Heb. ix. days of our life." Christ, that most high and everlasting bishop, " through the everlasting Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, that he might purge our conscience from dead 1 Thess. iv. works for to serve the living God." For "God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." Again, forasmuch as we of ourselves, of our own nature and natural strengths, Mattxu although otherwise never so prudent and worldly-wise, are not able to perceive and understand those things which belong unto the Spirit of God and unto our salvation, but are miserable, poor, and blind, and without any true knowledge of God; we desire our heavenly Father, that, all our ignorance and blindness wiped away, and all the dark dreams and dreaming darkness of antichrist utterly dispelled, removed, and Rom. i. put aside, the glorious light of Christ's gospel, which is " the mighty power of God Psai. xix. to save so many as believe, which is the food of the soul, which is the undefiled word of the Lord, which " turneth souls," which " is pure and giveth wisdom unto the simple," which "rejoiceth the hearts," which "giveth light unto the eyes," which 2 cor. vi. is an " armour," or weapon, " not carnal, but mighty in God to cast down strong holds, and to overthrow counsels, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringeth into captivity all imagination to the obedience of Ej*. vi. Christ," which is " the sword of the Spirit," &c, may shine among us, lighten our IV-1 OF PRAYER. 153 dark hearts, illumine our senses, polish our wits, fine our understanding, and bring us unto the true knowledge, faith, and doctrine of him (I mean God the Father) which " hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the king- coi. i. dom of his dear Son, by whom we have redemption through his blood, even the for giveness of sins." For where this gospel of Christ is truly preached, and through the working of the Holy Ghost received into the hearts of the hearers, there is faith, joy, peace, quietness of conscience, new godly affects, spiritual motions, heavenly de sires, correction of manners, newness of life, continual study of innocency, with all the fruits of the Holy Ghost, as St Paul saith : " If any man be in Christ, he is a new 2 cor. v. creature." Again : " They that appertain unto Christ have crucified the flesh with Gai. v. the affects and lusts thereof." Contrariwise, where the gospel of Christ is not preached nor received, there remaineth unbelief, grief of mind, trouble of heart, disquietness of conscience, old corrupt affects, carnal motions, worldly desires, continuance in sin, wickedness of life, disposition unto all evil, with all the works of the flesh, as Salomon saith : " When the preaching of Prov. xxix. God's word faileth, the people perish." Again : " Where the knowledge of God's word Prov. xix. is not, there is no goodness for the soul." Item : " Vain are all they which have no wisd. xiii. knowledge of God." Therefore in this petition also we ask of our heavenly Father, that his holy gospel may reign among us, all man's doctrines utterly set apart, and that it may bring forth such fruits in us, that we may be the kingdom of God, his holy Spirit continually ruling and governing us, and "leading us into all truth." John xvi. Moreover, forasmuch as there be yet divers nations and kingdoms which know not the true, and him the one and alone God, but walk after the vanities of their own mind, or else after the trifling traditions of men ; we beseech our heavenly Father, that he will have mercy on all people, and " shew unto them also the light of his Psai. ix™. countenance, that all nations on the earth may know his ways, and his saving health sal' "' throughout the world ;" that, as we altogether have one Creator and Maker, so likewise Mai. i. we may have " one faith, one hope, one baptism," one doctrine, and one life everlast- Eph. iv. ing, there worlds without end to magnify and praise our heavenly Father. For by this means shall it come to pass, that the kingdom of Satan, of the world, of the flesh, of sin, and of antichrist, shall greatly be diminished and soon brought to nought, and the glorious kingdom of God shall most triumphantly prosper, grow, increase, wax strong, and flourish ; so that with one voice all nations of the earth shall praise the blessed name of the Lord our God, and be made his kingdom and possession, know ing him and his saving health even " from the least to the greatest, insomuch that it jer. xxxi. shall not be needful one to say unto another, Know the Lord; for," when the kingdom of God shall so be enlarged, "all shall know God, even from the highest to the lowest." Finally, in this our petition we do not only ask and desire of our heavenly Father, that the' kingdom of Satan, of the world, of the flesh, and of antichrist, may be de stroyed and brought to nought, so that from henceforth we neither serve them, neither they rule in us : again, that God through his Holy Ghost and blessed word should only have dominion and power over us, yea, and rule in our hearts, so that, all sin and wickedness set apart, we shall be plentiful of all good works, and abound in all godliness and honesty : Item, that the kingdom of our heavenly Father may be so enlarged, that all nations of the world may know him to be the alone true God, and embrace his blessed gospel, and, so believing, become with us the people and servants of God ; but also, that after this life we may come to that kingdom, where all true joy and immortal felicity is, which is the end of our faith, and the consummation and perfect fulfilling of our hope, I mean the glorious palace of that most high God, where we shall see the blessed Trinity, not " in a dark speech or in a glass," or with 1 cor. xiii. the eyes of our faith, as we do now, but we shall see him " face to face, and know him, as we are known," according to this saying of St John: "Dearly beloved, nowu0hniii. are we the sons of God, and yet it doth not appear what we shall be : but we know that, when it shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is. And every one that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is also pure." 154 THE CATECHISM. [Part The third petition. What we de sire in the third petition Gen. vi. viii. Phil. ii. The will of man is natu rally bent unto evil. Rom. vii. Rom. viii. John Ui. 1 Cor. ii. 2 Cor. iii. James i. John xv. Phil. Ii. Matt. vi. J?sal. cxliii. Isai. xivi. Jer. xxxii. Isai. xiv. Psai. xxxiii. Hereto belongeth the saying of St Paul: "Now we see in a glass, even in a dark speaking; but then shall we see face to face. Now I know unperfectly, but then shall I know even as I am known." Father. God give us grace so to behave ourselves in this world, that after this mortal and transitory life we may come unto his heavenly kingdom, and enjoy the immortal and everlasting life ! Son. Amen. Father. Rehearse the third petition contained in the Lord's prayer. Son. "Thy will be done in earth, even as it is in heaven." Father. What is that ? Son. Forasmuch as our will is alway evil, or at the least prone unto evil, even from our cradles upward, fleshly, and disobedient to the most holy and perfect will of God, seeking her own, and not that which is Christ's, coveting evermore worldly and not godly things, wholly bent unto things which lead not unto salvation but unto damnation; in this third petition we desire our heavenly Father,. that he will mortify this our carnal, worldly, and devilish will, and make it obedient and conformable to his most godly and blessed will, that we in nothing resist his holy pleasure, but shew ourselves ready to follow and to accomplish unto the uttermost of our power, without any resistance, that which in the holy scripture we have learned unfeignedly to be his good and fatherly will. Father. Are not we able of ourselves, without craving this at the hand of God, to frame our will to the will of God, and to perform whatsoever the good pleasure of God is? Son. Our will of itself is a captive, bond, and thrall will, subject unto sin, estranged from all goodness, and altogether unapt either to consent unto the will of God or to perform the same ; so little, or rather none, are the strengths of our will, whose liberty or freedom was not only grievously wounded, but in a manner wholly lost and perished in the fall of Adam, insomuch that the best and most perfectest among the children of men may right well say with St Paul : " The law," that is to say, the will of God, " is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." Again : " The fleshly mind is enemy against God ; for it is not obedient to the law of God, neither can it be; so that they which are in the flesh cannot please God." For "that which is born of flesh is flesh;" and "a natural man perceiveth not the things that belong to the Spirit of God : for they are but foolishness unto him ; neither can he perceive them, because they are spiritually examined." " We be not able of ourselves to think any (good) thing, as of ourselves ; but if we be able unto any (good) thing, the same cometh of God." For " every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." " Without me," saith Christ, " ye can do nothing." " It is God that worketh in us both the will and the deed, even of good will." Who seeth not now therefore, what great need we have to cry unto God, that it may please him to reform our will, which is altogether naught and given to wickedness, and to make it obedient and conformable to his will, which is most holy, just, and perfect ? This considered the Lord Jesu, which is the wisdom of his Father, when he taught us in this most perfect prayer to say : " Thy will be done in earth, even as it is in heaven." This thing also was not unknown to the psalmograph, when he prayed on this manner : " Teach me, O Lord, to do thy will ; for thou art my God." Father. But what meaneth this that we are taught to pray, that God's will may be fulfilled here " in earth, as it is in heaven" ? Is not God able to bring to pass whatsoever his good pleasure is here in earth among the children of men, as well as he is able to do it in heaven among the holy angels and blessed saints? Son. God is almighty, and able to perform abundantly whatsoever he determineth; neither is any thing impossible unto him ; so that without our help or without our prayer he can right well bring to pass whatsoever his good will and pleasure shall be, as he himself saith by the prophet : " My device standeth stedfastly stablished, and I fulfil all my pleasure." Again: "Behold, I am the Lord God of all flesh: is there any thing then too hard for me?" The prophet Esay also saith: "If the Lord of hosts determine a thing, who is able to disannul it ? And if he stretch forth his hand, who may hold it in again?" Likewise saith the psalmograph: "He spake, and it was done: he commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought* Iy-1 OF PRAYER. 155 and. maketh the devices of the people to be of none effect : but the counsel of the Lord shall endure for ever, and the thoughts of his heart from generation to gene ration." Again he saith : " Our God is in heaven : he hath done whatsoever pleased Psai. cxv. him." We pray not, therefore, that God's will may be done here in earth "as it is in heaven," unto this end, as though it had need of our prayer, that it may have good success, which in and of itself is almighty ; but we pray, that God's good will, which he hath revealed and shewed unto us in his holy word, may effectually be done in us through the working of the Holy Ghost, and obediently fulfilled by us, both pri vately and openly, both in word and in deed, unto the glory of his holy name ; which otherwise can never be brought to pass of us nor in us, so great is our infirmity, so corrupt is our nature, so malicious and disposed to all evil is our heart, so carnal, wicked, and ungodly is our own will, and so slender, yea, rather so none, are all the strengths of our free will, which, as the apostle saith, " of ourselves are not able to 2 cor. m. think a good thought." Father. But what meaneth this, when we pray that the will of God may " be done in earth, as it is in heaven"? Why is mention made here of the fulfilling of God's will in heaven? Son. Our Saviour Christ, in teaching us so to pray, setteth before our eyes a goodly exemplar or pattern to follow. Who knoweth not that the glorious angels and blessed spirits in heaven do most obediently and readily accom plish and fulfil the holy will of God, and by no means resist his godly pleasure? as it is written : " 0 praise the Lord, ye angels of his, ye that excel in strength, ye Psai. cm. that fulfil his commandment, and hearken unto the voice of his words." The Lord commanded his angel to plague the Israelites with pestilence ; and he plagued them 2 Sam. xxiv. straightways, so that there died in three days seventy thousand men. And when the Lord bade him hold his hand, the angel striked no more, so that the plague ceased. The Lord's angel also at his commandment slew in one night an hundred fourscore 2 Kings xix. and five thousand of the Assyrians. Raphael the angel, at the Lord's commandment, Tob. v. xii. accompanied young Tobias in all his journey. Again, Gabriel the angel, at the com- Luke i. mandment of God, came from heaven unto the virgin Mary, to declare unto her the good pleasure of God concerning his Son's incarnation, which through the power of the Holy Ghost should be brought to pass in her. Many other histories have we in the holy scripture, which do evidently declare how obediently and diligently the angels accomplish the will of God; so that not without a cause they are called of St Paul " ministering spirits, that are sent to minister for their sakes which shall Heb. i. be heirs of salvation." After the example of these holy angels and blessed spirits ought we here in earth with all diligence to endeavour ourselves to accomplish the good pleasure of God. Father. Have we any examples in the holy scriptures, that men, living here in this world, have in this behalf followed the angels by practising and executing the will of God ? Son. Many are found in the word of God ; but let this one example of our Lord and Saviour Christ suffice for this present, of whom we read, that it was his meat and greatest desire to fulfil the will of his heavenly Father, insomuch John iv. that, to obey his blessed pleasure and determinate counsel, he was content to suffer "death, yea, even the death of the cross." He prayed unto his heavenly Father, that if pwi. a. it were possible, the cup of his passion and death might pass away from him ; yet he Mark xiv. added: "Not as I will, but as thou wilt, O Father." In all things he gladly obeyed the will of his Father, and performed the same, to give us an example, which of Christ are called Christians, that we also should labour to practise the like obedience to the will of God in our life and conversation, as St John saith : " He which saith that 1 John a. he dwelleth in Christ ought to walk even as he hath walked." And the Lord Jesus himself saith : " I have given you an example, that even as I have done, so ye like- John xiii. wise should do." Father. Seeing we pray in this third petition, that we may have so fervent a desire to accomplish the will of'God in all things here on earth, as the holy angels and blessed saints have in heaven; come off, tell me what the will of God is. Son. What the Although we have partly touched this matter before, when we entreated of the worthy £! 156 THE CATECHISM. [Part Eph. ii. Psai. li. Repentance. Jer.[Ezek.xxxiii.l1 Tim. ii. Malt. iii. iv. Mark i. Luke iii. Acts ii. Rev. ii. Mark i. A new life. 2 Cor. v. Gal. v. Horn. vi. 1 Thess. iv. 1 Pet. u. Cross. Prov. iii. Rev. iii. Heb. xii. preparation unto prayer; yet, forasmuch as your pleasure is to ask me this question, I answer that the will of God is whatsoever in his holy word he commandeth us to do. Father. What willeth he us to do ? What commandeth he ? Son. Forasmuch as by nature we are the " children of wrath," and bond unto everlasting damnation, God, tendering our health and salvation, hath commanded us to repent and to better our life, that by this means we might be received into favour. Father. Where hath he expressed this his will ? Son. In divers places of the holy scripture. By the prophet he saith: "I have no pleasure in the death of a simmer; but rather that he should turn and live." St Paul also saith : " God will all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." St John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, call us all unto repentance and unto the amendment of our life; whereof also we may learn, that the good will of God is, that although heretofore we have been never so great and grievous sinners, yet we should now repent, correct our manners, and amend our life. Secondly, forasmuch as repentance and amendment of life are things unperfect con cerning everlasting life, except faith be annexed, therefore the good will of God is not only that we should repent, but also believe, I mean, in our hearts to be perfectly persuaded that for Christ's sake, our alone Mediator, all our sins be forgiven us. There fore Christ and his apostles taught not only repentance and amendment of life, but also faith. "Repent and believe the gospel," saith our Saviour Christ. God's good pleasure therefore is, not only that we should repent, but also believe, and so be saved, as Christ saith : " This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have everlasting life." Again: "This is the work of God (which he requireth of you), that ye should believe on him whom he hath sent." Thirdly, after we be engrafted in Christ through faith, God, willing us to shew ourselves no more to be the sons of Satan, or of the world, but the sons of God,> and new-born children of the Holy Ghost, commandeth us from henceforth not to obey the lust of the flesh, but the desire of the Spirit ; not to walk any more in our old sinful life, but to lead a new conversation, and to practise new manners, yea, and those godly, pure, and christian, as St Paul saith : " If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." " They that pertain unto Christ have crucified the flesh with the affects and lusts thereof." Again: "Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should thereunto obey by the lusts of it : neither give ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin ; but give over yourselves unto God, as they that of dead are alive." Also in another place: "This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from whoredom, and that every one know to possess his vessel with holiness and honour, &c. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." Likewise saith St Peter : " This is the will of God, that by well doing ye should stop the mouth of foolish and ignorant men; as free, and yet not having the freedom as a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." Fourthly and finally, this also is the good will and pleasure of God, that we shall not only repent, believe, and lead a new life, garnished with all good works; but also that we both obediently, patiently, and thankfully bear and suffer whatso ever cross, trouble, sickness, persecution, or any other kind of adversity God layeth upon us, being thoroughly persuaded, that this visitation of God cometh not from an angry and displeasant heart, but rather from a fatherly affection and singular good will toward us, yea, and that not for our destruction and damnation, but rather for our edification and salvation, as it is written : " My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, him he chasteneth, and yet delighteth in him, even as the father in his own son." God himself saith : " As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." " If ye endure chasten ing," saith St Paul, " God offereth himself unto you as unto sons. What son is he, whom the father chasteneth not? If ye be not under correction, whereof all are partakers, then ye are bastards, and not sons," &c. "No manner chastising for the present time seemeth to be joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward it bringeth IV] OF PRAYER. 157 the quiet fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." "Blessed is James i. the man," saith St James, "that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." Hereto belongeth the saying of the psalmograph : " It is highly for my profit that Psai. cxix. thou hast chastened me, that I may learn thine ordinances." For "those which God Rom. viii. knew afore, he also ordained afore, that they should be like fashioned unto the shape of his Son." " The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord." Matt. *. Our elder brother Christ first suffered, and afterward entered into glory. " By many Luke xxiv. tribulations must we enter into the kingdom of God." "All that will live godly n^a. in Christ Jesu shall suffer persecution." "If we be dead with Christ, we shall 2 Tim. a. also live with Christ: if we suffer with Christ, we shall also reign with Christ." And our Saviour Christ himself saith: "Whosoever will follow me, let him forsake Matt. xvi. himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life Lukeix"' shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Forasmuch therefore as it is God's good pleasure to keep his children under the cross, whom he hath appointed to be inheritors of his everlasting J0& glory, it shall become as many as wish to be glorified with Christ, to bear also the cross with Christ, and to shew themselves in all kind of adversity and trouble conformable to the will of God, and both obediently, patiently, gladly, and thank fully to bear whatsoever God layeth upon their shoulders, even unto the very death. Father. Have we any examples in the holy scripture, which declare that certain in times past have been so obedient to the will of God in this behalf, that they have patiently, and without any murmuring or grudging (against God), borne and suffered whatsoever kind of adversity hath been cast upon them? Son. You heard Examples of before the example of the Lord Jesu. But besides this we have divers other. To pa lence' whom is it unknown, with how many great and grievous kinds of adversity that mirror of perfect patience, I mean Job, was afflicted? Notwithstanding, how con formable he shewed himself to the will of God, how patiently he suffered that heavy cross, these his words do most manifestly ' declare : " Naked came I out of my j0b i. mother's womb, and naked shall I turn thither again. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Even as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it come to pass. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Again: "Shall we receive prosperity at the hand of God, job a. and not receive adversity?" "In all these things," saith the historiograph, "Job did job i. not offend, nor murmured foolishly against God." To whom also is the history of old Tobias unknown? whom God deprived of his sight, that he might try his patience and conformity to his godly will. " He grudged not," saith the scripture, " against Tob. ii. God, because the plague of blindness had chanced unto him, but remaineth still sted- fast in the fear of God, and praising God all the days of his life." What shall I speak of king David, which, being grievously and mortally pursued of his ungodly 2 sam. xv. and disobedient son Absolon, committed himself wholly unto the hands of God, ready to receive whatsoever the good pleasure of God should be, whether it were restitution unto his kingdom, or an utter loss of the same ? I pass over Moses and the prophets, Paul and the apostles, which patiently, joy fully, and thankfully bare whatsoever cross God laid upon their back, never grudging against the will of God. The history of Lazarus is more known than it needeth here Luke xvi. to be recited, which, suffering quietly the great pains of many mortal diseases, besides the extreme famine, with whose dart he was most miserably pierced, and never grudg ing ao-ainst the good will of God, was at the last of the glorious angels carried up into the bosom of Abraham. I pass over the history of the leper, which although he Matt. via. desired to be cleansed from his leprosy, yet he referred the matter to Christ, to do with him whatsoever his good pleasure should be, either to be made clean, or to remain still in his leprosy. Thus all good men from time to time in every age have patiently and thankfully borne the cross that God hath laid upon them, and submitted their will to the good will of God, being fully persuaded that " all things work for the Rom. via. best unto them that love God," seeing that nothing chanceth to the godly without the good will and the determinate counsel and singular providence of God. Father. Doth God send such afflictions and troubles as chance unto men in this XXXII. XXXU1. 158 THE CATECHISM. [Part world ? Son. To the godly, and to such as fear God, nothing cometh by fortune or by chance, but by the determination and will of God, be it never so grievous and troublous cross. isai. xiv. God saith by the prophet : "I am the Lord, and there is else none. It is I that created light and darkness. I make peace and trouble : yea, even I the Lord do all Lam. iii. these things." Jeremy also saith : " What is he that saith, there should some thing be done without the Lord's commandment? Out of the mouth of the Most Highest goeth not evil and good?" By evil he meaneth adversity; by good he under- Matt, x. standeth prosperity. Likewise saith our Saviour Christ : " Are not two little sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not light on the ground without your Father ;" that is to say, without the consent and good will, without the counsel Psai. xxxiv. and determination of your Father. " The Lord keepeth all the bones of the righteous, Psai'. xxxiv. so that not one of them shall be broken." For he giveth his angels charge of them "Wisd. xiv. . to keep them in all their ways, which shall pitch their tents round about the godly, and shall deliver them. By the providence of God all things are governed, and at his appointment all things chance to the godly; neither can any thing happen to Gen. xxva. such as fear God without both the determination and permission of God. Esau burneth with an immortal hatred against his brother Jacob, purposing in his heart to kill him : but God so mollified his heart, that when he met with his brother Jacob; he lovingly embraced him, friendly kissed him, and for very joy wept upon him." Saul persecuted David cruelly, purposing to kill him ; but his labour was in vain. 1 Kings xix. Jesabel threatened and sware, that she would slay the prophet Helias ; but the Lord Job u. preserved him. Satan could do nothing to Job, till God licensed him ; neither exer cised he his cruelness any further against Job than he was appointed of God. Christ John xix. said unto Pilate : " Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above." The devils had no power to enter into the swine, till Christ Matt. via. gave them leave. " If thou cast us out of this man," said they, " suffer us to enter into the herd of swine." Christ answered, " Go ye ;" and they went. Seeing then that nothing chanceth "to the godly without the singular providence and determinate counsel of the Lord our God; again, whatsoever chanceth unto them is for the best, and for their great commodity and profit; it is our duty in prosperity not to wax proud against God, nor in adversity to murmur or grudge against him; but like obedient children to surrender and give up unto him ourselves, our wills, our affections, our lusts, and whatsoever we have besides, humbly desiring him, that not our own will, nor the will of Satan, or of the world, but his most godly and blessed will may be done in us ; yea, and that with no less fervent desire and greedy affection than it is accomplished and fulfilled of the glorious angels and blessed spirits in the kingdom of heaven ; so that from henceforth even unto our life's end there may no motion of lust be felt in us, but such only as shall wholly consent with his will; nor that we will any thing of ourself, but as the Holy Ghost will in us, by whose secret instruction we may learn to love and to do those things that be pleasant to him, and to hate and abhor whatsoever displeaseth him. Father. God for his mercy's sake mought vouchsafe to bring to pass this thing in us, unto the glory of his holy name ! Son. Amen. Father. Let me now, my son, hear the fourth petition. pehtftfon.rth Son- " Give us this day our dai]y bread." Father. To what end do we direct this prayer unto God ? Son. You heard afore, that the Lord's prayer containeth in it seven several petitions, whereof the three first petitions concern the glory of God and the avancement of his kingdom ; the other four, which follow in order, entreat of our necessities, and appertain unto our commodity and profit ; of the which this is the first : " Give us this day our daily bread." After that we have most humbly desired of our heavenly Father, that his holy name may be sanctified in us; that the glorious kingdom of his holy Spirit and gospel may come unto us; and that his most blessed will may be done and fulfilled of us here in earth, with no less desire than it is done and accomplished of the holy angels in heaven; forasmuch as we cannot live in this world to enjoy these most precious and . Vlll. Matt. iv. IV-3 OF PRAYER. 159 inestimable benefits, for the which we have tofore prayed, without bodily food (for man being made of two parts must have a double nourishment; he is made of soul, whose food is the word of God; he is also made of body, which must needs Deut. be fed with corporal sustenance); therefore, as "in him we live, move, and have our Luke l being," so likewise in this petition do we crave of him all things necessary for theActsx " maintenance of this our poor and needy life, as that alone fountain of all goodness, " from whom descendeth every good and perfect gift ;" and as that alone most bounteous jamesi. Lord, which "giveth food to all flesh, and filleth every living creature with his bless- Psai.cxiv. ing." And of this order of praying we learn a good and profitable lesson, even this, a good les- that we should first of all pray unto our heavenly Father for spiritual and heavenly son' things, and afterward for such things as are necessary for the preservation of the body, as our Saviour Christ saith : " Seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness Matt. vi. thereof; and all these things shall be cast unto you." "For man shall not live withMatt.iv. bread alone, but with every word that cometh out of the mouth of God." Deut- yiii- Father. But come off, let us examine every word of this petition in order. Son. Agreed. Father. Wherefore sayest thou unto God, "give"? Can we not have whereof Give. to live by our own policy, wit, industry, and labour, except we ask it of God? Son. No, verily. Except the Lord blessed our labours, pains, and travails, all that ever we do is in vain, as the psalmograph saith : " Except the Lord build the house, Psai. cxxvii. their labour is but lost that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." " The blessing of the Lord maketh men rich : as for careful prov. x. travail, it doth nothing thereto." And therefore are we taught of our Saviour Christ Matt. vi. to crave daily food of our heavenly Father. For except he give it us, our travail is vain and but lost, as the psalmograph saith : " All creatures wait upon thee, O Lord, Psai. civ. that thou mayest give them meat in due season. When thou givest it them, they gather it ; and when thou openest thy hand, they are filled with plenteousness. But when thou hidest thy face, they are troubled ; and when thou takest away their breath, they die, and are turned again to their dust." " It is the Lord that giveth meat to Psai. cxivi. the hungry." " They that fear the Lord shall have no scarceness : they which seek Psai. xxxiv. the Lord shall want no good thing." " The eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear Psai. xxxai. him, and upon them that trust in his mercy ; that he may deliver their lives from death, and nourish them in the time of hunger." " In this world we lead a poor life ; Tob. iv. notwithstanding we shall have plenty of all good things, if we fear the Lord, depart from all sin, and do good." For good and evil, life and death, poverty and riches are of God, " in whose sight it is an easy thing quickly to enrich a poor Eccius. xi. man." Whosoever trusteth in God and laboureth according to his vocation or calling, ever crying unto God for good success in his labours, he may be well assured never to want, as David saith : " The lions do lack and suffer hunger ; but they which seek psai. xxxiv. the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good." Again : " I have been young, psal. xxxvii. and now am old; and yet saw I never the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread on the earth. He is merciful all his life-time, and lendeth, and yet hath his children after him God's plenty and enough." Let us therefore " cast all our care 1 pet. v. upon the Lord ; for he careth for us." " Lay thy care upon the Lord," saith David, Psai. w. "and he shall nourish thee." Father. It is then God alone which giveth us all good things, when we call upon him. Son. Yea, verily. This considered Jacob right well, when he said on this manner .- " If God will be with me, and will keep me in this journey which I go, and will give Gen. xxvia. me bread to eat, and clothes to put on, so that I come again unto my father's house in safety, then shall the Lord be my God." Neither was this thing unknown to Salomon, when he thus prayed : " Two things have I required of thee, 0 Lord, that pr0v. xxx. thou wilt not deny me before I die. Remove from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches : only grant me a necessary living ; lest if I be too full, I deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord ? and lest I, being constrained through poverty, fall unto stealing, and take the name of my God in vain." Father. But wherefore in this petition do I rather say, praying by myself alone, us. 160 THE CATECHISM. [Part Matty,. "give us," than "give me"? Son. This prayer, which the Lord Christ both taught Luke xi. and commanded us to say, is a common and general prayer, serving for the use of the whole church or congregation of God, in the which we pray one for another, the prince for the subject, and the subject for the prince; the lord for the servant,. the servant for the lord; the rich for the poor, and the poor for the rich, &c. and not every man for himself only; yea, and that both in spiritual and corporal things. There fore in the beginning of this pra3^er, we say not, " My Father which art in heaven," but " Our Father which art in heaven." So likewise in this petition we say not, " give me this day my daily bread," but "give us this day our daily bread;" wishing not only from our heavenly Father good things every man to himself privately and only, but generally and universally to all men indifferently; declaring hereby, that as we be members all of one body, and children of one heavenly Father, so are we careful one for another, gentle and loving one to another, and pray generally one for another, wishing indifferently all good things to all men without exception, and without any respect had to private profit and singular commodity. Bom. xii. And this is it that St Paul saith : " Be of like affection one toward another." Phil. ii. Again : " If there be any consolation in Christ, if there be any comfort of love, if there be any fellowship of the Spirit, if there be any compassion and mercy, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having one love, being of one accord, and of one mind ; that nothing be done through strife, or of vain glory ; but in meekness of mind let every man esteem another better than himself. Look not ye every man on his own things, but every man on the things that are other men's. Let the same mind be in i Cor. xii. you that was also in Christ Jesu," &c. Also in another place : " Members (all Christians are members one of another's body) should indifferently care one for another. And if one member suffer, all suffer with him : if one member be had in honour, all members be glad also. Ye are the body of Christ, and members one of another." Of this christian and brotherly affection toward the congregation of Christ was blessed 2 cor. xi. St Paul, as these his words plainly declare : " I am cumbered daily, and do care for all the congregations. Who is weak, and I am not weak ? Who is offended, and I burn not?" $& Father. It is then the duty of so many as profess Christ, one to be careful for another ; one to pray and provide for another, according to this commandment of God : Lev. xix. " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Son. Yea, verily. For " love is gentle and courteous," and " seeketh not her own." Father. They then which are led with no careful and friendly affection toward other, neither have any regard whether their neighbour sink or swim, but only are studious of themselves and of their own gain, say not this prayer aright. Son. They do nothing else than mock God, and their prayer is to themselves sin and damnation; so far is it off, that it please God, or obtain any thing at the hand of God, which requireth a loving and charitable heart in all them that pray. Everyman Father. But tell me, my son, is it not lawful for a christian man to pray for pray to God himself only, and for his own necessities unto God ? Son. Yes, verily, so that the necessities, affection of neighbourly love be not quenched in us. For whether we respect ghostly or bodily things, we find sufficient examples in the holy scripture, which plainly shew that divers men have lamented their private and singular state unto God, craving at his hand aid and succour against their own miseries, and have obtained their requests. Gen. xxvia. Jacob and Salomon, as we heard, desired of God corporal sustenance. David, Manasses, PsXuxxx" Mary Magdalene, Peter, the thief, the publican, &c, craved of God remission of their xxxiii!"' sins; and every one of these severally obtained their requests at the hand of God. M^ttxi'vi. It is therefore lawful for every man to lament his private cause unto God, as his Luke xxiii. • , , „ Luke xviii. necessity shall require. This day. Father. Why do we use this word in our petition, "this day"? "Give us this Psai. xxxix. day our daily bread." Son. Forasmuch as in this world we are " strangers and pil- lPet.'ii. ' grims," as our forefathers were before us, and "have here none abiding city, but seek James iv." one to come ;" forasmuch also as nothing is more certain than death, and nothing more uncertain than the hour of death, to the which death our life at all hours, yea, at every moment of an hour is subject and ready to give place ; our Saviour Christ, IV-3 OF PRAYER. 161 willing to give us an occasion not to forget, but to have those things continually in our remembrance, teacheth us to ask of our heavenly Father food and sustenance of the body, not for many days, months, or years to come, being uncertain whether we shall live so long or not, but for that one present day wherein we live; that we may learn not to be careful after the manner of the worldlings, in making provision aforehand for this uncertain life, but to be content with the meat of the present time, so that, leaving to the providence of God, we care not for the morrow, seeing that "the morrow-day shall care for itself;" and again, "sufficient unto the day is the Matt. vl travail thereof." For what is our life, that we should make provision for it so many days, months, or years aforehand? Verily, this "our life," as St James saith, "is even James iv. a vapour, that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away." "A man that Job xiv. is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up and is cut down like a flower. He flieth as it were a shadow, and never con- tinueth in one state." His " days are more swift than a runner : they pass away as Joi ix- the ships that be good under sail, and as the eagle that flieth to the prey." Father. Few consider this thing ; but many, flattering themselves with hope of long life, make provision aforehand for a great number of years to come. Son. These may justly be resembled to that rich man of whom we read in the gospel of Luke, which, having great abundance of goods, and not knowing where to bestow them, said, " This will I do : I will destroy my barns and build greater, and therein will Luke xii. I gather all my goods that are grown unto me ; and I will say unto my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up in store for many years : take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night will they fetch away thy soul again from thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ?" Father. The like thing chanceth to many in these our days; but few regard it. Son. No marvel ; for the world and the love of worldly things hath so blinded their eyes, that they cannot consider the things that belong unto their salvation. They forget themselves to be strangers and pilgrims on earth. They consider not how in Psai. xxxix. . ... 2 Esdr. xvi. this world they have none abiding city, and that therefore they ought to seek one to i Pet. h. come. They call not unto remembrance that they brought nothing into this world, i Tim. vi. neither shall they carry any thing out of it ; and that therefore having meat, drink, and clothe, they ought to be content ; forasmuch as naked they came out of their J°b L mothers womb, and naked they shall depart again. That we ought not to be so careful in making provision aforehand for long time to come, not only the shortness and uncertainty of our life teacheth us, but also the manner of feeding the Israelites which God used in the wilderness. For when God sent the people of Israel meat from heaven, which in the book of Moses is called " manna," or heavenly bread, and in the book of Psalms the " bread of angels," and Exod. xvl ¦> ' ii Psal- lxxviiL in the book of Wisdom " angels' food and bread from heaven, very pleasant and of Wisd. x»i good taste"; he commanded them that they should gather no more of it every day than should serve and suffice them for that one present day, and so every day gather new, except on the sixth day ; then was it lawful to gather by the commandment of God so much as should serve them that day and the day following, which was the sabbath of the Lord and a day of rest. If any presumed, of a greedy, careful, Exod. XvL and covetous mind, to gather more than should suffice for that present day, it waxed ¦** full of worms and stank : whereby we may evidently learn, that as God will not forsake them that depend on his fatherly providence and put their trust in him, but daily give them all things necessary for their use, yea, and that abundantly; so likewise he utterly abhorreth, condemneth, and cursed the sorrowful carefulness of the flesh, which, mistrusting the providence and help of God, leaneth only unto her own wis dom, forecast, and provision. " Covetousness is the root of all evils, and it causeth l Tim. vi. many to wander from the faith, and to snarl themselves with many sorrows"; and yet the covetous man, " heaping treasure upon treasure, cannot tell for whom he Psai. xxxix. gathereth his treasure." Father. Truth it is ; but let us go forward. Wherefore do we use this word "our," saying, "Give us this day our daily bread", and not rather "my" daily bread ? Our. L.BECON, II.] 162 THE CATECHISM. [Part Lev. xix. Matt. vii. No man Son. For two causes. First, to declare our good will toward our neighbours, while we wish no less abundance of good things to them than to ourselves, and be led with no less careful affection toward them and their profit, than we are toward ourselves and our own commodity. For this mind ought to rule in all that profess God, have one heavenly Father, and be called by one name, I mean Christians, that they should be careful one for another, provide one for another, one seek another's com modity and profit, and in all points be the same to other that they are to them selves, according to this commandment of God : " Thou shalt love thy neighbour even as thyself." Again: " Whatsoever ye would that other men should do to you, do ye the same unto them." But of this thing we spake afore, when we entreated of this word " us." Father. Thou sayest truth. Let me now hear the second cause. Son. The idiyhttol've second cause why we say "our bread" is to put us in remembrance that we live not idly, nor of the labour of other men's hands, nor of the sweat of other men's brows, nor yet that we eat our bread and get our living unjustly, or by any unlawful means ; but that we eat our own bread justly and truly, labouring every man some good thing according to his vocation and calling, avoiding idleness as an extreme pestilence, both of ourselves and of the commonweal wherein we dwell. For God, shortly after the transgression of his holy commandment in para dise, gave this charge not only to Adam, but to all his posterity, that they by no means should live idly as unprofitable burdens of the earth, or as mon sters only "born to consume the good fruits of the earth"1; but that they should exer cise some good art, some profitable occupation, whereby they may be able to eat Gen. ai. their own bread, and not to be any burden without cause to other. "In the sweat of thy face (saith God) shalt thou eat thy bread, till thou be turned again into the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken, inasmuch as thou art dust, and into dust shalt Job v. thou be turned again." " As the bird is born to fly, so is man to labour," saith Psai. cxxviii. Job. The psalmograph also saith : " Thou shalt eat the labours of thine own hands, and so shall it go well with thee." Likewise saith the blessed apostle St Paul: 1 Thess. iv. " We beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more, and that ye study to be quiet, and to meddle with your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you ; that ye may behave yourselves honestly toward them 2 Thess. iii. that be without, and that nothing be lacking unto you." Again : " We require you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesu Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that behaveth himself inordinately, and not after the institution which he received of us. For ye yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves inordinately among you ; neither took we bread of any man for nought; but wrought with labour and sweat night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you : not but that we had authority ; but to make us an ensample unto you to follow us. For when we were with you, this we warned you of, that if any would not work, the same should not eat. For we have heard say that there are some which walk among you inordinately, working not at all, but being busy-bodies. Them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that they work with quietness, and eat their own bread." And ac cording to this commandment of God all the holy men both of the old and new testament behaved themselves, practising always some honest and godly exercise, that by this means they might both avoid idleness, and also eat their own bread, as we tofore heard in the declaration of the fourth commandment. Father. What thinkest thou then of such as live by unlawful gaining, as dicing, carding, &c., or by usury? Son. I count them nothing else than thieves, robbers, and spoilers of the commonweal; forasmuch as they eat not their own bread, but by fraud and subtilty, by craft and oppression, they unlawfully get from other, wherewith they maintain themselves. And of such speaketh St Paul on this man ner : " Let him that stole steal no more ; but let him rather labour with his hands the thing which is good, that he may give unto him that needeth." Dicers.Carders. Eph. iv. [' Fruges cousumere nati, Hor. Epist. t. ii. 27.] IY-1 OF PRAYER. 163 Father. -What is thy judgment of those rich men, which either defraud the poor ungodly rich men of their almose, or keep back the wages from the labourers? Son. These also™'" are thieves and murderers. Against the one sort of these ungodly rich men speaketh the wise man on this manner : " The bread of the needy is the life of the poor : he Eccius. that defraudeth him of it is a manslayer." Against the other speaketh St James James v. thus : " Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl on your wretchedness that shall come upon you. Your riches is corrupt: your garments are moth-eaten: your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness unto you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together, even wrath to yourselves in your last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers which have reaped down your fields (which hire is of you kept back by fraud) crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts." Against them both crieth out the word of God on this manner : " Wo to thee that spoilest isai. xxxia. or robbest ; for thou also shalt be spoiled and robbed !" " Wo unto him that heapeth Hab. a. up other men's goods ! How long will he load himself with thick clay ? O how suddenly will they stand up that shall bite, and awake that shall tear thee in pieces! yea, thou shalt be their prey. Seeing thou hast spoiled many people, therefore shall the remnant of the people spoil thee, because of men's blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the city, and to all them that dwell therein. Wo unto him that covetously gathereth evil-gotten goods into his house, that he may set his nest on high, to escape from the power of misfortune ! Thou hast devised the shame of thine own house; for thou hast slain too much people, and hast wilfully offended; so that the very stones of the wall shall cry out of it, and the timber that lieth betwixt the joints of the building shall answer. Wo unto him that buildeth the town with blood, and maintaineth the city with unrighteousness !" These ungodly and unmerciful rich men in praying this prayer do none other thing than mock God and abuse his holy name, seeing both their affects and deeds are contrary to their words. Of such it may right well be verified, that our Saviour Christ hath in the gospel, borrowing it out of the prophet : " This people draweth isai. xxix. nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; howbeit their heart is far from me. In vain verily do they serve me." For they desire of God "our bread," that is to say, things necessary not only for themselves, but also for other; and they themselves, contrary to their prayer, go about with all diligence to deprive the poor of that which is their living, being indeed before God thieves, robbers, murderers, manslayers, and blood-soupers. Therefore whatsoever they pray in this behalf, it is nothing else than a mocking of God, and to themselves sin and everlasting damnation. Father. Many, I grant, are so worldly-minded, that, seeking their own com modity, they little esteem the profit of other. God amend that is amiss ! But, my dear son, tell me what is meant by this word "daily," which followeth in order. For thus pray we: "Give us this day our daily bread." Son. This word " daily" Daily. putteth us in remembrance of two things. The first is, which I partly touched afore in speaking of this word " this day," that we should not be led with too much carefulness for living in time to come, but be content with the present blessing of God, nothing doubting but that that liberal God, our heavenly Father, which feedeth us this day, is both able and also will feed us to-morrow and the next day and so forth so long as we live, as Christ himself witnesseth, saying: "Be not careful for your life, what ye shall eat or drink, nor yet for your body, what Matt. vi. raiment ye shall put on. Is not the life more worth than meat, and the body more of value than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor carry into the barns; and yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ? Which of you by taking careful thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why care ye for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They labour not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Salomon in all his royalty was not arrayed like unto one of these. Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which, though it stand to-day, is to-morrow cast into the furnace, shall he not much more do the same for you, O 11—2 164 THE CATECHISM. [Part ye of little faith ? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? After all these things do the heathen seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But rather seek ye first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof; and all these things shall be ministered unto you. Care not then for the morrow; for the morrow-day shall care for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the travail thereof." 1 t™. vi. " Godliness," saith St Paul, " is great riches, if a man be content with that he hath. For we brought nothing into the world, neither may we carry any thing out, But when we have food and raiment, we must therewith be content. They that will be rich fall into temptation and snares of the devil, and into many foolish and noisome lusts, which drown men into perdition and destruction. For covetousness of money is the root of all evil; which while some lusted after, they erred from the faith, and tangled themselves with many sorrows. But thou, man of God, fly such things." Gen. xxviii. Jacob desired of God only food and raiment. Salomon prayed unto God for no 1 Kiiigs'xi'x. more, but for things necessary for his living. When the prophet Elias fled from the face of wicked Jesabel which sought his life, and was hungry in the wilderness, God by his angel sent him not great plenty of dainty dishes or costly wines, but only bread and a cup of water; to declare that we should not hunt after superfluous things, but be content with things present; and if we have necessaries, and so much as will suffice nature, which is content with little, we should desire no more; as St Heb. xiii. Paul saith : " Let your conversation be without covetousness ; and be content with such Josh. i. things as ye have already. For he hath said, I will not fail thee, neither forsake thee." Father. But come off, tell me, my son, is it not lawful for a christian man in Note well, any condition to provide aforehand, and to lay up in store necessaries for themselves, l Tim. v. and for such as belong unto them, seeing it is written, " If any make not provision for his, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" ? Son. God forbid else ! Godly, righteous, and necessary provision is not forbidden ; but greedy careful ness and insatiable covetousness of worldly things, which riseth of mistrust toward the providence of God, and of unfaithfulness toward his promise, as though God would not satisfy his promise, but suffer us to perish for hunger if we did not provide for ourselves, is here reproved and condemned as a thing unworthy the children of God, which ought to look for all good things with a strong faith at the hands of their heavenly Father, nothing doubting but that he will abundantly perform what soever he hath mercifully promised. 2 cor. xii. St Paul saith: "The children ought not to lay up for the fathers and mothers, but the fathers and mothers for the children." Here the holy apostle evidently declareth that it is parent"'5' °f thf office and duty of Parents to provide in the fear of God, and to lay up in store all Gen. xii. things necessary for their children, and to aforesee that they want nothing. Joseph is greatly commended in the word of God, because in the time of plenty he provided and laid up in store abundance of corn against the time of dearth, which after certain years followed, by this means preserving the commonweal from famine. In the history of the gospel we read that, when Christ had fed certain thousands, and there remained Mark vi?' Part of the meat uneaten, he said unto his disciples : " Gather up the broken John vi." meat which remaineth, that nothing be lost. And they gathered it together," &o. Moreover, upon the sixth day God commanded the Israelites that they should gather and lay up in store so much of manna as should suffice them to eat on the sabbath Actsvi. day. And it is not to be doubted but that the seven deacons, whom the apostles and the congregation appointed to minister unto the poor, and to foresee that they lack nothing, had in store both money and victuals, and made provision aforehand for such things as the necessity of the poor required. After this manner may every householder, or whosoever hath care over other, make provision aforehand, and lay up in store things necessary for them and theirs. And this carefulness is not wicked nor unrighteous, but godly and righteous ; forasmuch as it riseth not of false faith or mistrust toward God, but of an honest care toward those over whom God hath appointed him ruler and overseer. The wise man saith: IV-1 OF PRAYER. 165 " Go to the emmet, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and learn to be wise. She Prov. vi. hath no guide, nor overseer, nor ruler; yet in the summer she provideth her meat, and gathereth her food together in the harvest." Again : " Whoso gathereth in summer Prov. x. is wise ; but he that is sluggish in harvest bringeth himself to confusion." Father. Thou hast both godly and learnedly answered to my question. Let me now hear the second cause why we use this word "daily" in our prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." Son. In so praying we are admonished that our life is not maintained and preserved by our own wisdom, forecast, counsel, labour, travail, &c. Neither that the things which be needful for the feeding and conservation of this our mortal body are gotten only by our own provision; but that all these things come unto us by the appointment, counsel, and determination of God, through whose blessing all good things chance unto us, as the wise man saith : " The blessing of Prov. x. the Lord maketh men rich : as for careful travail, it doth nothing thereto :" and that therefore, as we have need of our daily food, so ought we daily to crave and ask it at the hand of our heavenly Father, "from whom cometh every good and perfect gift ;" James i. which heavenly Father, when he openeth his hand, filleth all living creatures with Psai. civ. plenteousness ; but when he hideth his face, then are they troubled, and nothing availeth their labour; so truly is it said of our Saviour Christ: "No man's life Luke xii. standeth in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." For "except the Lord Psai. cxxva. build the house, their labour is but lost that build it : except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Father. Daily therefore must we ask of our heavenly Father our daily bread. Son. Yea, verily. Father. And he will give it us. Son. Nothing is more certain than that, if we pray in faith and according to his will. " The Lord will not let the soul of the pr0v. x. righteous suffer hunger." For the Son of God would never have taught us to call on God his Father for all good things, if he would not have granted us our requests. "If ye," saith he, "when ye are evil, can give your children good gifts, how much Matt. \ii. more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things, if ye ask of him ? " Likewise saith St Paul : " The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing ; but in all Phil. iv. prayer and supplication let your petitions be manifest unto God with giving of thanks." And our heavenly Father himself saith : "lam the Lord thy God : open thy mouth Psai. ixxxi. wide, and I shall fill it." Father. Are there any examples in the holy scripture which may ascertain us of this liberality and lent1 good will of God toward us, when we call upon him ? Son. Very many ; which all at this present to recite, were almost an infinite labour. But I will rehearse certain, and omit the residue. God at the beginning, willing to shew his fatherly care in making provision for Gen. i. man, before he created and made man, prepared all things necessary for man, and then making man, he brought man into paradise, a place already garnished with all most pleasant fruits, and stuffed full of all things necessary for the conservation of man, and there placed him, so to have continued, if he had not been disobedient to the voice of God. But after that God for his disobedience had cast him out ofcen. ia. paradise into this world, what lacked man here, that might in any point serve his necessary use ? Of an earth flowing with the abundance of all good things made God man ruler and possessor, that we may learn God to be a careful God for man his creature, and that he will not suffer him to want any good thing. What shall I speak of Adam's posterity, specially of the ancient patriarchs Abraham, Gen. xii. xiv Isaac, Jacob, &c? How did God provide for them, yea, and that in strange countries ! xxii! xxxix. How' richly did he bless them, and give them favour in the eyes of unknown men ! x ' How liberaUy dealt he with the Israelites, after that he had brought them out of Exod. xvi. Egypt into the wilderness, where he fed them by the space of forty years with meat n™ ^ from heaven, and gave them most sweet and pleasant waters even out of the hard rock ! w'isd.Tvi. How lovingly handled he their children, bringing them into a land that flowed with Josh. xiii. milk and honey! How miraculously did he increase the oil and meal of Helias' i Kings xvii. f_> Lent : if correct, perhaps it is used ia the sense of offered.] m. xi. lxxviil. 166 THE CATECHISM. [Part b. & Dr. hostess, the widow of Sarepta ! How mercifully provided he for Daniel, being in the Mark viii. den of lions ! How bounteously fed he certain thousands with few loaves and fishes ! johnii.' How friendly did he turn water into wine at a certain marriage, when wine wanted! These and divers histories do abundantly declare, that the Lord our God is Rom. x. plentifully " rich to so many as call on him in truth ;" so that, if we daily ask of him our daily bread, we may be sure daily to be heard and daily to be fed, so that Psai. xxxiv. we shall lack no good thing, as David saith : " Fear the Lord, all ye his saints ; for they that fear him shall have no scarceness." Again: "The rich have wanted and suffered hunger; but they that seek after the Lord shall want no good thing." Father. God give us all grace to seek the Lord unfeignedly, that, our minds sequestered from the unrighteous and unnecessary cares of this world, we may wholly depend on the merciful providence of God, live according to our vocation, and do that which is righteous in the sight of God! Son. Amen. Father. This petition beginneth to haste unto an end. Tell me therefore what Bread. thou understandest by this word "bread"? For thus pray we: "Give us this day our what bread daily bread." Son. By "bread" I understand not only that which we commonly call tKoiy m bread, but also all other things necessary for the body and for this present life; as scripture. meat, drink, apparel, health, peace, tranquillity, strength to labour, wisdom to govern our tilings, a quiet household, a loving wife, obedient children, faithful servants, a flourishing commonweal, wholesomeness of air, seasonable weather, rain in due time, a fruitful year, abundance of all things, safeguard from enemies, long life, joyful days, house, land, cattle, good magistrates, righteous officers, painful teachers, diligent tutors, and whatsoever is necessary to the maintenance and conservation of our life. As bread, after the Hebrew phrase and manner of speaking, signifieth all these things aforesaid, so are we taught of our Saviour Christ in this petition to ask all these things of James i. God alone, "from whom cometh every good and perfect gift;" which also is rich John'iv! enough even unto the full to help so many as " in spirit and truth " call upon him ; Psai. xxxiii. again, whose "eye is upon them that fear him, and upon them that put their trust in his mercy, to deliver their lives from death, and to feed them in the time of dearth." Father. I have heard that this word "bread", in this petition, signifieth not only the nourishment of the body, but also the food of the soul ; so that as man is made of two parts, that is to say, of body and soul, so likewise we ask here of God daily sustenance for them both. Son. By an allegory it may be used unto this end ; but after the doctrine of our catechist the more simple, sincere, and right sense is, that "bread" in this place should only signify the food of the body, for the which we also here pray. Notwithstanding both our preacher and catechist have not so concealed this exposition also from us, but that they also have declared unto us the minds of certain writers in this behalf. Father. What have they said? Son. This have they said, that some expositors Christ the understand by this word " bread" in this place Christ Jesus, our Lord and alone Saviour, soul. which undoubtedly is the food of our soul and the bread of everlasting life, as he John vi. testifieth of himself, saying : " I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall not hunger ; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." Again : "I am that living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall 1 cor. x. live for ever." St Paul also calleth the Lord Christ a " spiritual meat", which the fathers of the old testament through faith did eat, while they, through the word of God's promise, and through the outward figures and ceremonies which painted forth Christ, believed, saw, and laid hand on Christ, believing him to be their alone Saviour, i cor. x. and therefore the alone food and meat also of their souls. " Our fathers," saith he, "were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized under Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat of one spiritual meat, and drink all one manner of spiritual drink," &c. For look, what corporal sustenance is to the hungry body, the same is Christ Jesus the Lord to the hungry soul. And as the eating of material bread comforteth and maketh both strong and merry, the body that was hungry; so likewise doth the Lord Christ through his holy Spirit, and through true faith in him, in his passion and death, in his merits and deserts, IV-3 OF PRAYER. 167 comfort and make joyful that soul which cometh unto him hungering .and thirsting after righteousness, as it is written: "He hath filled the hungry with good things ; Luke i. but the rich he hath sent empty away." Again: "Blessed are they which hunger Matt. v. and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." Some understand by " bread" in this petition the word of God, that is to say, the The word of law and the gospel; affirming that this word of God is as necessary for the consola tion and conservation of the soul, as the material bread is for the comfort and pre servation of the body, alleging this text of the holy scripture : " Man shall not live Deut. viii. by bread alone, but by every word that cometh out of the mouth of God." Some say that " bread" in this place signifieth the mystical bread and cup of Christ's The super body and blood, which St Paul calleth "the Lord's supper." , Thus this word "bread" is icor!xi!r of divers diversely expounded. I will strive with no man, so that his exposition dissent not from the analogy and true proportion of the christian faith and doctrine, that this rule of St Peter may be observed : " If any man speak, let him so speak that it be agreeable to the words of i Pet. iv. God": again, that this commandment of the heavenly Father may be obeyed, ipsum audite: "hear him," that is to say, my Son Christ and his doctrine, in whose mouth Matt. xvii. I have put my words, that ye may hear and hearken unto them, lest, if any presume Deut. xvia. to do the contrary, I take vengeance on him, plague, punish, and condemn him. For as it is godly and our bounden duty to desire of God meat, drink, and all other necessaries for the conservation and maintenance of this our frail and needy life ; so likewise is it most godly and our most bounden duty to crave at the hand of our Lord God that he will give us his Son Christ, which is the true food of the soul, to feed John vi. upon by strong faith, being perfectly persuaded that he alone is our Redeemer, Mediator, 1 Tim. a.' Advocate, Intercessor, Peace-maker, Law-fulfiller, Saviour, Wisdom, Righteousness, Eph. a. ' Sanctification, &c. For except the heavenly Father give us this faith and knowledge, Gai"iij!' whereby we may spiritually feed upon his Son Christ, we shall still in spirit and mind Acts'iv. remain and continue miserably famished, and never be fed with that heavenly meat, and so at the last die the death everlasting, as Christ himself testifieth, saying: "No man can Johnvi. come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him ; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, They shall all be taught of God. Every Psai. xiiv. one therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me: not Psa'i. bv.' that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, the same hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that putteth his trust in me hath ever lasting life. I am that bread of life." " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day, &c. But I say unto you, That no man can come unto me, except it be given unto him of my Father." Again, forasmuch as man doth not consist of body only, but also of soul, and Deut. via. God hath appointed his holy word to be the nourishment and food of the soul, and this Luke iv.' food of his blessed word can we not come by, but only through the benefit of our heavenly Father; therefore is it meet and convenient that we crave at his hand this spiritual and heavenly nourishment of the soul, which is the word of God, that it may be truly preached unto us, and that we again may earnestly hear it and faith fully believe it, yea, and plentifully bring forth the fruits of the same in patience, unto Luke via. the glory of his holy name. For little doth the sound of the outward letter profit, whether it be by reading or hearing, as we may see in Jews and Turks, except God inwardly teach us by his holy Spirit, as the apostle saith : " Neither he that planteth 1 cor. ia. nor he that watereth is any thing, but God which giveth the increase;" otherwise our heart shall still continue hardened, stony, and uncircumcised, and we hearing shall not hear, neither understand. When Lydia, a seller of purple, heard Paul preach, the Acts xvi. scripture saith that "the Lord opened her heart, that she attended unto the things which Paul spake." And God himself saith : " I will put my laws in their minds, Heb. via. and in their hearts I will write them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Now as touching the supper, of the Lord, which is also a certain kind of spiritual The supper of 168 THE CATECHISM. [Part spiritual nourishment for the soul, if it be received in faith and with a good conscience to- 2°cUorr.Si™ent' ward God; and this of ourselves we cannot do, except God give us the gift (for "of Phil. ii. ourselves we are not able to think a good thought"; "it is God that worketh in us both the will and the deed") ; and, otherwise receiving it, we do none other thing than eat and drink our own damnation : it is not unfitting, but convenient and necessary, that we desire of God his Spirit and grace, that whensoever we come unto that hea- 1 cor. xi. venly banquet, we may worthily eat that mystical bread and drink of that mystical cup, and so be made worthy partakers of Christ's blessed body and precious blood, and of all the merits of his death and passion, whereby he hath purchased to all sinners that Eph. i. repent in faith remission of sins, the favour of God, quietness of conscience, the gift coi. i. a. of the Holy Ghost, and finally everlasting life. They therefore, which teach that in this petition we, asking of our heavenly Father bread, desire of him the food of his Son Christ, the nourishment of his holy word, and the worthy participation of the holy mysteries of Christ's body and blood, which all three are the meat of the soul, teach nothing contrary to the word of God; so that this their exposition may well be received of the faithful, although it seem to some enforced, and not agreeable to the mind of Christ in that place. Father. I cannot disallow any thing that thou hast spoken, but commend it as godly and good. And forasmuch as we may seem abundantly to have spoken of this petition, let me hear what followeth. Son. The next that followeth in order is the fifth petition, and soundeth on this manner : The fifth " j^nc[ forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." Father. What crave we of our heavenly Father in this petition ? Son. In the former petition we desired of our heavenly Father meat, drink, clothe, and whatsoever besides is necessary unto the conservation and maintenance of this our present life, with out the which we cannot live, neither be able to do those things either unto God What we ask or unto our neighbour, which the law of God requireth of us. In this present peti- Hfth petition, tion we pray our heavenly Father to give us that which is the consolation and conser vation of our souls, yea, of both our bodies and souls unto everlasting life. Father. What is that? Son. Forgiveness of our sins. Father. Is that so great a comfort to the soul ? Son. Yea, verily. For where of the for- remission and forgiveness of sins is, there is the favour of God, the gift of the Holy ?in.eneb Ghost, quietness of conscience, rest of spirit, joy of heart, and assurance of everlast ing life. They that obtain this great and singular benefit at the hand of God are called in the holy scripture blessed and happy. For so is it written by that prince- Psai. xxxii. like prophet : " Blessed are they whose unrighteousnesses are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is that man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Father. May we be so bold to ask of our heavenly Father forgiveness of our sins ? Psai. xxxii. Son. David saith : " I will knowledge my sin unto thee, and mine unrighteousness have I not hid. I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord ; and so thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin. For this (that is to say, for the forgiveness of sins) shall every one that is godly make his prayer unto thee in a time when thou mayest be 1 John i. found." Likewise saith St John : " If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And in this peti tion are we taught of our Saviour Christ to ask of our heavenly Father forgiveness of our sins. Father. This is great comfort to a penitent sinner. Son. Nothing can be greater. gg° For if we have our sins forgiven, we have also an assurance both of God's favour and also of everlasting life. But many things offer themselves to be spoken of in this petition. Father. What are they? Son. First of all, that so many of us as are clad with this mortal flesh, and breathe upon the earth, are without exception sinners and offenders. All are sin- Father. How provest thou that? Son. It is soon proved. For who knoweth exception? not that we all are begotten, conceived, born, nourished, and live in sin? We are Eph.' ii.' " all the children of wrath by nature," saith St Paul, Christ Jesus only excepted, that IV.] OF PRAYER. 169 blessed Seed of the woman, which was "the Lamb of God," "innocent, faultless, and Gen. iii. without spot"; which "never committed sin, and in whose mouth no guile or deceit join?.' was found" : all other that have lived, do live, or shall live unto the end of the world, Exod- £xii-l may justly be counted in the number of sinners. Father. Let me hear some testimonies of the holy scripture concerning this matter. Son. The psalmograph saith : " They are corrupt and become abominable in their Psai. xiv. doings: there is not one that doth good, no, not one. The Lord looked down from heaven Bom' '"' upon the children of men, to see if there were any that would understand and seek after God. But they are all gone out of the way : they are all together become abo minable : there is none that doth good, no, not one." The wise man saith : " There Eccles. vii. is not one just upon the earth, that doeth good and sinneth not." The prophet saith : " We have gone all astray, like sheep : every one hath turned his own way." Salo- isai. im. mon saith : " Who is able to say, My heart is clean, and I am free from sin ?" St Prov. xx. Paul saith : " There is no difference : all have sinned, and want the glory of God." Rom. ia. St James saith : " In many things we offend all." St John saith : " If we say we James m. have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have no sin, there is no truth in us." Father. These sentences of the holy scripture do manifestly declare that all men are sinners. Are there also any histories contained in the holy bible, which make this thing evident? Son. Very many, both in the old and new testament. Father. Rehearse me part of them. Son. Adam and Eve, of whom we had our Gen. iii. beginning, sinned against God in paradise, by eating the forbidden fruit ; and in them Eom' T' have all we sinned, and worthily deserved everlasting damnation. Noah, that noble and Gen. ix. ancient patriarch, was drunken, so that he lay sleeping, his privities uncovered. Lot Gen. xix. was not only drUnken, but he also lay with his own daughters, and committed the vile sin of incest. Abraham, which in the scripture is called the father of the faithful, Rom. iv. -ii ht t\- • 1 Gen. xn. xx, denied his wife twice, and put her in danger of defiling. Divers of the patriarchs, Gen. xxxva. besides other sins, conspired to put Joseph their brother unto death. Moses committed Exod. ii. manslaughter. David was both an adulterer and a murderer. Salomon his son was 2 sam. xi. • iit» 11-11 Kings xi. an idolater. Matthew the evangelist was a toll-gatherer. Peter both denied and for- Matt. ix. . • Matt xxvi. sware Christ. The apostles of Christ were ambitious, and contended which among them Luke xxii.' should be greatest. They were " foolish in heart, and slow to believe." They for- Luke xxiv. sook their Master Christ in his chief trouble. Mary Magdalene was a famous sinner. Matt. xxvi. . , ™ . t ¦ * Luke vii. The thief that was saved, hanging on the cross with Christ, was a seditious person Luke xxai. and a murderer. Paul persecuted the congregation of God, consented to the death of Acts via. ix. the blessed martyr St Stephen, blasphemed Christ and his glorious gospel, &c. iTim. i. These histories, with divers other contained in the holy bible, declare manifestly that all the children of men are sinners without exception ; so truly is it said of our Saviour Christ, " There is none good but God alone." Again : " When ye have done Matt xix. all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants." It is not without a cause said of Job : " Behold, God found no truth in his servants, and J°b iy- in his angels there was folly : how much more in them that dwell in houses of clay, and whose foundation is but dust !" &c. Again : " If I will justify myself, mine own Job ix. mouth shall condemn me. If I will put forth myself for a perfect man, God shall prove me a wicked doer." " If I wash myself with snow-water, and make my hands never so clean at the well, yet shalt thou, O God, dip me in the mire, and mine own clothes shall defile me." Also in another place: "What is man, that he should Job xv. be clean? What hath he that is born of a woman, whereby he might be righteous? Behold, he doth not trust his saints ; yea, the very heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more then an abominable and vile man, which drinketh wickedness like water !" Item : " How can he be clean that is born of a woman ? Behold, the moon Job xxv. shineth nothing in comparison to him, and the stars are unclean in his sight. How much more then man, that is but corruption; and the son of man, which is but a worm!" "All our righteousnesses," saith the prophet, "are as a cloth defiled1." isai.ixiv. * [' Two words are omitted.] 170 THE CATECHISM. [Part Rom. vii. Bom. xi. Psai. cxliii. Psai. cxxx. Mary the mother of Christ. Luke i. The wicked opinion of the anabap tists. Jer. iii. iv. xvui. xxiii. xxv.Ezek. xviii. xxxiu.Hos. ii. Joel ii. Jonah iii. iv. Zech. i. Psai. IxviiL Isai. lix. Matt, xviii. Luke xvii. Matt. vi. Luke vi. Matt. xvi. Matt. xxvi. Gal. ii. St Paul likewise saith : " I know that in me, that is to say, in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing." Again : " God hath comprehended all under sin, that he might have mercy of all." The perfectest amongst the children of men may pray on this manner : " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord ; for none that liveth shall be righteous in thy sight." Again : " If thou, O Lord, shouldest narrowly look upon our iniquities, 0 Lord, who were able to abide it? But there is mercy with thee in store ; yea, with the Lord there is mercy, and plenteous redemption with him." The glorious virgin Mary, although of all creatures most holy, most pure, most innocent (Christ Jesus her Son only excepted), in her song, considering certain imperfections to remain and abide in her, which she received of old Adam from her father and mother, confesseth and granteth God, and not herself, to be her Saviour. " My soul," saith she, " magnifieth the Lord ; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." She calleth God her Saviour, to declare that there was somewhat in her, from the which she must be saved by the mercy and goodness of God. Now if so pure, godly, and virtuous a virgin would not justify herself before God, but humbly confessed God to be her Saviour, and magnified him; who is so far estranged from the knowledge both of God and of himself, that he will not humble himself before the majesty of God, and grant himself to be (as he is indeed) a sinner, but rather justify himself before God, in whose sight the very angels in heaven are not pure and clean ? Father. Seeing we be all sinners, and grievously offend the Lord our God, inso much that through our dissolution of life we deserve the loss of everlasting life, tell me if there be any hope of the remission of our sins at the hand of God. For there lack not at this present day, which affirm that a man sinning after baptism shall never be forgiven. Son. This is an old heresy lately renewed by the wicked ana baptists. If those sins were unpardonable which be commit after baptism, then had Christ taught us in vain daily to pray for the daily remission of our daily sins. But Christ teacheth nothing in vain ; therefore are sins also committed after baptism1 forgiven. If God could not as well forgive sins after baptism as afore, so were he not almighty : then is this article of our faith false, " I believe in God the Father Almighty." But God is almighty; therefore is he able at all times to forgive and to remit sin. And that he doth at all times forgive sin to such as repent in faith and call unto him for mercy, innumerable places of the holy scripture, both in the old and new testament, do evidently shew and declare. How oftentimes doth God call sinners unto him, and will them to convert and turn unto him, and promise that he will receive them, take them again into his favour, and forgive them their sins ! How oftentimes doth he protest by the prophets, that at whatsoever hour a sinner turneth unto him, repenteth him of his former life, and intendeth to become a new man, he shall be safe, his sins shall be forgiven and forgotten, yea, so forgiven and forgotten that they shall never more be remembered nor laid to his charge ! God is called " the God of saving health ;" and is his hand so shortened, and his power so abated, that he can only save and forgive sins before baptism, and not after baptism also ? Is he not a " God of saving health" at all times and at all hours ? The mercies of God are like and one at all seasons without excep tion. So often as a sinner with all his heart repenteth and turneth unto God, so often is he forgiven and pardoned of all his offences. " Turn you unto the Lord your God," saith the prophet ; " for he is gracious and merciful, long-suffering, and of great compassion, and ready to pardon wickedness.' Our Saviour Christ commanded us in the gospel to forgive our neighbours that have offended us so often as they come unto us and grant their offence, offend they never so often; and promised again, that we shall find the like kindness at our heavenly Father's hand. How dare then the wicked anabaptists teach, that the sins committed after baptism are not pardonable? Who doubteth but that the apostles of Christ were baptized? And yet who knoweth not that after baptism they both offended and were forgiven ? Did not Peter so offend his Master Christ, that he called him Satan? Did not Peter afterward forsake his Master and run away from him, yea, utterly deny and forswear him? Did not Peter after that also so halt in matters of IV- 1 OF PRAYER. 171 the gospel, that Paul openly reproved him ? Were not all those sins forgiven Peter? James and John, the sons of Zebedeus, were so ambitious that they would have been Matt. xx. in authority above all their fellow-apostles, insomuch that Christ reproved them sharply Markx' for this their ambition. The very same apostles also were so replenished with anger against the Samaritans, because they would not receive their Master Christ, that they Luke ix. wished fire to come down from heaven upon them and utterly to consume them. The other apostles of Christ had also their infirmities and imperfections ; and yet were they all forgiven, and are now most glorious saints in the kingdom of God. Sins therefore are forgiven after baptism. The incestuous Corinthian was baptized, and in profession a Christian, yet fell he 1 cor. v. afterward so grievously from the rule of christian doctrine, that by the apostle's com mandment he was excommunicate ; and yet notwithstanding afterward he was forgiven, 2 cor. ii. when he repented, and was received into the fellowship of God's saints. Sinners then after baptism are forgiven. To whom wrote St John those words ? " If we say we have no sin, we deceive 1 John i. ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little babes, 1 John a these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, that righteous one. He it is that obtaineth mercy for our sins, not for our sins only, but also for the sins of all the world." Wrote not St John these words to the Christians that were baptized? See we not then here, that though the Christians do sin after baptism, if they confess their sins, God for his faithfulness and righteousness' sake will forgive them; yea, and that so much the more, because Jesus Christ is our advocate, which for his dignity and worthiness, for his perfection and righteousness, easily obtaineth of God the Father for us not only remission and forgiveness of our sins, but also all other good things, both bodily and ghostly? Our Saviour Christ calleth unto him all that are grieved and laden with the Matt. xi. burden of sin, and promiseth that he will refresh and ease them. He appointed no time, no age, before baptism, or after baptism. Only he biddeth them come, and whensoever they come, he promiseth to ease them of their burdens, be they never so grievous and many. Christ is that "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of John i. the world." Note that he saith, "taketh away," and not have taken away, to declare, that the virtue of Christ's passion and death abideth still before God of such dignity and price, that it continually sufficeth at all times, and in all ages, to put away the sins of the world, whether they be committed before or after baptism. For as the apostle saith, "The blood of Christ speaketh better than the blood of Abel." He Christ in the holy scripture is called our Mediator and Advocate, and is reported i t to live with God to this end, that he may at all times make intercession for us unto Heb the Father. And is it to be thought that this his intercession serveth only for the sins committed before baptism, and not rather generally for all sins, whensoever they be done? The apostle writeth that Christ Jesus, that most high and everlasting Bishop, is "able at the full and even unto the uttermost to save them that come unto Heb.va God through him." But this could he not do, if he saved us only from the sins committed before baptism. Who seeth not now the fond and foolish, the vain and wicked doctrine of the anabaptists to be directly contrary to God's most holy and blessed word, while they teach that sins committed after baptism are unpardonable, when the truth of the holy scriptures plainly teacheth that, through faith in Christ, sins not only before, but also after baptism committed, are forgiven to the penitent sinner at all times ? Father. As the doctrine of the anabaptists is utterly uncomfortable, and leadeth unto desperation; so likewise is the doctrine of the holy scripture most comfortable to a penitent sinner, and openeth the way unto everlasting salvation. But tell me, my son, seeing we be all sinners, and notwithstanding there is hope of the forgiveness of our sins, who forgiveth these sins ? Son. God our heavenly Father. For thus pray we : "And forgive us our trespasses." in. 11. John ii. vii. 172 THE CATECHISM. [Part God aione Father. But doth God alone, and none but God only, forgive sin ? Son. Only forgiveth sin. G()d^ and God ajon^ forgiveth gin- Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God. Son. God himself by the isai. xaa. prophet Esay speaketh on this manner : " I am, I am he which putteth away thy sins, yea, and that for mine own sake, and I will remember them no more." God in this aforesaid sentence, because he would not have us to doubt, but to be most certainly persuaded that he alone forgiveth sin, doubleth, and saith twice: "I am, isai. xiiv. I am he which putteth away thy sins." By the same prophet he saith also: "0 Israel, forget me not. As for thine offences, I have driven them away like the clouds, and thy sins as the mist : turn thee again unto me." By the prophet Jeremy God jer. xxxia. also saith : " From all misdeeds wherein they have offended against me I will cleanse them, and all their blasphemies which they have done against me, when they regarded Hos. xia. me not, I will forgive them." By the prophet Osee God also saith : " Thy destruction, 0 Israel, cometh of thyself : only of me cometh thy salvation." The prophet Micheas, Mic. va. speaketh unto God on this manner : " Where is there such a God as thou, that pardonest wickedness, and forgivest the offences of the remnant of thine heritage?, He keepeth not his wrath for ever ; and why ? His delight is to have compassion : he shall turn again, and be merciful to us : he shall put down our wickednesses, and cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea." Psai. da. The psalmograph also saith : " Praise the Lord, 0 my soul, and all that is within me, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all his benefits; which forgiveth all thy sins, and healeth all thine infirmities ; which saveth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with mercy and loving-kindness," &c. "The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering and of great goodness. He will not alway be chiding, neither keepeth he his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our wickedness. For look how high the heaven is in comparison of the earth ; so great is his mercy also toward them that fear him. Look how wide also the east is from the west ; so far hath he set our sins from us. Yea, like as a father pitieth his own children, even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear him. For he knoweth whereof we be made : he remembereth that we are but dust." As I may at the last come unto the new testament, we read in the gospel that Matt. ix. our Saviour Christ said to a certain man sick of the palsy : " Son, be of good cheer : Mark ii. r J ' & Lukev. thy sins are forgiven thee. And behold, certain of the scribes said within them- To forgive sin selves, This man blasphemeth: who can forgive sins, but God alone?" The scribes GoTabne.0 judged Christ to be only man, and not God. Now, if he had been man only, and not God also, so had he spoken blasphemies; forasmuch as he challenged that to him which is alone due to God, that is to say, forgiveness of sins. But forasmuch as Christ is not only man, but also very God, therefore not Christ but the Jews blasphemed. Here is it evident, even by the testimony of Christ's enemies, that God alone forgiveth sin. Neither read we, in any part either of the old or new testament, that any other Job xiv. forgiveth sin but God alone. For "who can be made clean of him that is unclean?" who can make him clean which is conceived of unclean seed, but God alone ? All the saints of the old and new law did always fly unto God for the remission of sins, as it is Psai. xxxa. written : " For this," that is to say, for the remission of sins, " shall every saint pray unto thee in time convenient." He therefore doth nothing else, whatsoever be be, than blaspheme God, which taketh upon him to forgive sin; seeing that he only must forgive the sin against whom the sin is committed. Now is the sin committed against God, whose commandment is transgressed and broken : God therefore must forgive the sin, and none other. The bishop of Father. The bishop of Rome hath taken upon him by his bulls and pardons to forgive sin. Son. Unjustly hath he this done. For not only the holy scriptures, but also the ancient fathers of Christ's church, affirm plainly that God alone for giveth sin. in serm. de " The Lord alone," saith St Cyprian, " may shew mercy, and forgive the sins: which are committed against him : he alone can grant pardon, which bare our sins, IV.] OF PRAYER. 173 which sorrowed for us, whom God delivered unto the death for us. Man cannot be greater than God, neither can he forgive and pardon the servants of that which through grievous sin is committed against the Lord1." St Ambrose saith : " To forgive sin, and to give the Holy Ghost, is only in the power of God2." Again: "He alone forgiveth the sins, which alone died for our in 2 c0r. cap. sins8." xiL St Austin saith : " No man taketh away the sins of the world, but Christ alone, contra Juiu- which is the Lamb that taketh the sins of the world. He taketh away, both in num' Ub' "' forgiving those sins that are done, and in helping that they may be no more done, and in bringing unto life, when they can by no means be any more done4." Cyril, the Greek doctor, saith : " Inwardly to quicken a sinner, it is the gift of in Joan. cap. him alone which saith by the prophet, ' I am he which putteth away thine ini- xl' quities'6." Chrysostom saith : " To deliver from the filthiness of sin, it is without doubt the inMatt. cap. mighty power of Christ." Again: "The bondage of sin is most grievous, from the™' which God alone is able to deliver. No man hath power to forgive sin but God6." Theophylact saith : " It belongeth to God alone to forgive sin. Therefore he saith, in Joan. cap. ' Every one that doth sin is the servant of sin' ; and ye therefore are servants, because ye are sinners. Moreover, forasmuch as it was like that they would say, Although we be bound to such thraldom, yet have we sacrifices, we have also priests, which shall purge and make us clean from sin ; he saith, that they also are sinners. ' For all Rom. ia. have sinned and want the glory of God.' And your priests, forasmuch as they are also servants, have no power to forgive other men their sins ; which thing St Paul declareth manifestly, saying, ' The priest hath as much need to offer for himself as for Heb. v.. the people, seeing that he also is compassed about with infirmities and diseases'7." Again he saith : " Christ could not otherwise have been known to be God, except he in Lucam, had forgiven the people their sins. For it belongeth to God to forgive sins8." The bishop of Rome in taking upon him to forgive sin sheweth himself to be " that 2 Thess. a. sinful man, that son of perdition, that adversary, which exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he doth sit in the temple of God, boasting himself to be God." [l Solus Dominus misereri potest. Veniam pec- catis, quae: in ipsum commissa sunt, solus potest ille largiri, qui peccata nostra portavit, qui pro no bis doluit, quem Deus tradidit pro peccatis nostris. Homo Deo esse non potest major: nee remittere aut donare indulgentia sua servus potest, quod in Dominum delicto graviore commissum est. — Cypr. Op. Oxon. 1682. De Lapsis. p. 129.] ['* This passage will be given more fully after wards. See the Index.] [3 See below, page 174, note 1.] [4 Ac per hoc, nemo tollit peccatum, quod nee lex, quamvis sancta et justa et bona, potuit auferre, nisi ille de quo dictum est, Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. Tollit autem et dimittendo qua? facta sunt, ubi et originale comprehenditur, et adjuvando ne fiant, et perdu- cendo ad vitam ubi fieri omnino non possint — August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. Op. Imperf. cont. Julian. Lib. 11. lxxxiv. Tom. X. col. 986.] [5 Vivificare autem interius peccatorem solius Dei munus est, qui per prophetam dicit: Ego sum qui deleo iniquitates vestras — Cyril. Alex. Op. Lat. Par. 1604—5. In Joan. Evang. Lib. vn. cap. xxiii. Tom. I. p. 591. These are not the genuine words of Cyril. Only fragments of the 7th and 8th books of that father's commen tary on St John have been discovered ; and these, with the 5th and 6th books, were first printed after Becon's time. In their place four books had been previously inserted by Judocus Clichtoveus. See Cave's Script. Eccles. Hist. Lit. Oxon. 1740—3. Vol. I. pp. 391, 2.] [6 There appears to be an error in the refer ence, as above given. The latter passage is found elsewhere : 'AXV ou touto etnrouo'a^e delfcai, SovXovs dudpwwtav yevouei/ous* dXXd Tr/9 dp-apTias, ijirep ecrt Kal xaXeTrtoTaTij SouXeia, 77s Oeos p.6vos diraXXd^ai dvvaTai. to yap d, on el Kal TOtavTTj SovXela viroKeifj.edaf dXXd Bvaias ^X0- fiev, dXX' lepeT's, o'l KaQapiaovaiv r\fia.ti'i ii baptized in and of the Holy Ghost ? Son. To be admitted and received into the family and house- the name of hold of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and from henceforth to be and of the' reckoned, yea, and also to be, the son and heir of God, serving him in "holiness and the Holy ° ... „ Ghost. righteousness all the days of our life. Father. To what end art thou baptized ? Son. First, that baptism (which thing why we are . • i baptized I have partly touched before) should be unto my conscience a sure testimony and witness of God's favour toward me through his Son Christ, against the subtile as saults of Satan, the world, and the flesh, and against the curse of the law, the sting of death, and the dreadful dart of damnable desperation; wherewith I may be bold at all times to comfort myself against mine enemies even in the midst of all my troubles and temptations. Father. Of what favour from God is baptism a sign and testimony unto thee ? The fruit of Son. Baptism declareth evidently unto me, that God doth so dearly love and favour baptl5m' [2 Folio, apostle.] 204 THE CATECHISM. [Part Eph. Tit. ill. Psai. Ii. Eph. ii. Mark xvi. Eph. Gal. ». Acts i. Matt. iii. Mark i . Luke iii. James i. Rom. viii. me, that whereas before I was an heathen, I am now become a Christian; whereas before I was by nature the child of wrath and a very firebrand of hell, I am now the son of God and heir of everlasting glory ; where before I was a member of Satan, I am now a member of that holy congregation and body whereof Christ is the head; whereas before I was stuffed full of all sin, yea, I was nothing else but a very lump of sin, both body and soul, I am now cleansed from all sin, delivered from all wicked ness, purged from all uncleanness, and adorned with most beautiful amd goodly virtues; as St Paul saith : " Christ loved the congregation, and gave himself for it, to sanctify it, and cleansed it in the fountain of water through the word, to make it unto him self a glorious congregation, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blame." Again: "After that the kindness and love of our Saviour God toward man appeared, not by the deeds of righteousness which we wrought, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the fountain of the new birthy and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that we, justified by his grace, should be made heirs according to the hope of everlasting life." Father. Camest thou then a sinner unto baptism? Son. Yea, and stuffed full of sin, begotten, conceived, brought forth, nourished, and living in sin, and the very child of wrath by nature. Father. And art thou delivered from the whole lump of ungodliness at thy bap tism ? Son. Yea, verily. Father. How provest thou that ? Son. Christ our Saviour saith : " He that be lieveth and is baptized, he shall be saved." The citizens of Hierusalem said unto Peter, when he reproved them in his sermon for their wickedness against the Lord Christ, the alone author of our salvation: "What shall we do? Peter said unto them, Re pent of your sins, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." And Ananias said to Paul : " Why tarriest thou ? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins in calling on the name of the Lord." And we heard before out of the mouth of St Paul, that " Christ hath sanctified and cleansed his congregation in the fountain of water through the word, to make it unto himself a glorious congregation, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing ; that it should be holy and without blame.'' And again he saith : " Such were you sometime (he meaneth, fornicators, worshippers of images, advouterers, weaklings, thieves, covetous persons, drunkards, cursed speakers, pillers, ex tortioners, and polluted with all kind of sin) ; but ye are washed (from these your sins by baptism), but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, by the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Father. In baptism then we receive both remission of our sins, and the Holy Ghost. Son. Yea, and with the Holy Ghost the fruits also of God's Spirit, which St Paul remembereth in his epistle to the Galatians. And this is it which Christ said to his disciples : " John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." So likewise said John the Baptist : " I baptize you with water unto repentance ; but he that shall come after me is mightier than I : he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Father. If sin be remitted and forgiven us, yea, and put away in baptism, how cometh it then to pass, that we feel in ourselves such cruel and raging lusts, which without ceasing move and provoke us unto the transgression of God's most holy r will ? Son. That concupiscence is left unto us to be an exercise of our faith, that we should daily labour through [the] Spirit of God to repress it, and by little to quench it, that at the last we may wax perfect in Christ. Father. Doth not that concupiscence condemn us ? Son. No, verily, except we willingly give over the Spirit of God, and give place to those fleshly lusts, and so fall away from the grace that was given us in our baptism. For not only the gross sins, but also the concupiscence of the flesh is forgiven in baptism ; not that it should not be, but that it should not be reckoned to us for sin. For, as St Paul saith: " There is no damnation to them which are in Christ Jesu, which walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life through Jesus Christ V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 205 hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, inasmuch as it was weak because of the flesh, that performed God, and sent his Son in the similitude of sinful flesh, and by sin damned sin in the flesh, that the righte ousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, which walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." So long as we live in this mortal body, we shall find in ourselves a continual strife, yea, a mortal war between the flesh and the Spirit, as St Paul saith : "The flesh lusteth contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh. These Gai. ,, are contrary one to the other, so that ye cannot do whatsoever ye would." Likewise saith St Peter : " Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain 1 pet. ii. from fleshly lusts, which fight against the soul, and see that ye have honest conver sation among the gentiles; that, whereas they backbite you as evil-doers, they may see your good works, and praise God in the day of visitation." And St Paul com mandeth us so to frame our lives, that " sin reign not in our mortal bodies, that we Rom. vi. should thereunto obey by the lusts of it : " again, that we should " not make pro- Rom. xiii. vision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts of it." Father. What other thing doth baptism preach unto thee ? Son. Baptism doth not only declare unto me, that I am in the favour of God, have obtained remission of all my sins, and that I am the son and heir of God; but also that I am dead unto sin, that I have crucified the old man with his concupiscences and lusts, that I have given over the devil, the world, and the flesh, with all their works, pomps, vanities, pleasures &c, that I have put off old Adam with all his deeds, and that I col. Hi. am buried with Christ, so that from henceforth " the world should be crucified unto GaLvL1' me, and I unto the world." Father. How provest thou this ? Son. St Paul saith : " Know ye not, that all Rom. vi. we which are baptized into Jesus Christ are baptized to die with him ? We are buried then with him by baptism for to die, that likewise as Christ was raised up from death by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in a new life. For if we be graft in death like unto him, even so shall we be partakers of the resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him also, that the body of sin might utterly be destroyed, that henceforth we should not be servants unto sin. For he that is dead is justified from sin. Wherefore if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; knowing that Christ being raised from death dieth no more : death hath no more power over him. For as touching that he died, he died concerning sin once ; and as touching that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise consider ye also that ye are dead as touching sin, but are alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Likewise saith St Peter : " Baptism now saveth us, 1 pet. m. not the putting away of the filthiness of the flesh, but in that a good conscience con- senteth to God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is on the right hand of God, and is gone into heaven, angels, powers, and might subdued unto him." Father. What learnest thou more of thy baptism ? Son. Baptism preacheth unto me not only the mortification of the flesh, but also the vivification of the Spirit. Father. What meanest thou ? Speak more plainly. Son. Baptism teacheth me, that I should not only put off the old man with all his lusts and works, mortify the flesh with all her affects and concupiscences, and utterly die and be buried unto sin ; but also that I should " put on the new man, which is renewed into the knowledge coi. m. and image of him that made him, in righteousness and true holiness;" that I should ph' "walk in a new life;" that I now, "being delivered from the power of mine enemies, Rom. vi. should serve the Lord my God in such holiness and righteousness" as are accepted before him, "all the days of my life;" and in fine, so form1 my life and compose my manners in all points, that it may be garnished with good works and with the fruits of the Holy Ghost, unto the glory and praise of God. For " how shall we, that are Rom. vi. dead as touching sin, live any longer therein ? We are buried with Christ by baptism for to die (unto sin), that likewise as Christ was raised up from death by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in a new life." "If any man be in Christ, 2Cor,v. he is a new creature." "So many as are baptized have put on Christ." Yea, " they Gai! "!' [' The folio reads in synne, so from.] 206 THE CATECHISM. [Part What is to put on Christ. 1 Pet. ii. John xiii. 1 John ii. 1 John i. 2 Cor. v. Gross gospellers. Prov. xxvi. Matt. xxv. Matt. xxvi. Acts viii. Luke ix. that belong unto Christ have crucified the flesh with the affects and lusts thereof." " If ye be risen again with Christ," saith St Paul, " seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on heavenly things, and not on earthy things. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Father. So many therefore as are baptized ought to address themselves unto a new life, and to walk worthy this kindness of God, which they have received in their baptism. Son. Yea, verily. For they that are baptized in Christ Jesu have not only remission of all their sins, but they receive also of God the gift of the Holy Ghost, which worketh in them new affects and new motions, yea, and those godly and spiritual, out of the which issueth, through the power of God's Spirit, a virtuous life and a christian conversation; so that it is truly said of St Paul: "All ye that are baptized have put on Christ." Father. What is it to put on Christ? Son. Not only to clothe ourselves with his saving health, but also to garnish our lives with his godly virtues, which he used in all his life, when he was in this wretched world, to give us "an ensample that we should follow his steps," as he saith : " I have given you an ensample, that as I have done, so likewise ye should do." "He that saith that he dwelleth in Christ," saith St John, " ought to walk as Christ hath walked." Again : " If we say that we have fellowship with God, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in light, even as he is in light, then have we fellowship with him, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." " If any man he in Christ," saith St Paul, " he is a new creature." They therefore which have taken on them holy baptism, ought to answer and to live agreeable to their baptism, I mean, to die unto sin, and to live unto righteousness; and not only to clothe them selves with the merits of Christ, embracing him with strong faith as their true and alone Saviour, but also to garnish their life and conversation with the virtues of Christ, that they may be Christ's both in heart, word, and deed. Father. What sayest thou then to those Christians, which brag much of Christ and of Christ's gospel, and yet lead a life spotted and defiled with all kind of sin and wickedness ? Son. These are fallen from the grace which they received in their baptism, and have lost the Holy Ghost, wherewith they were renewed in the fountain of re generation; and although "with their mouth they profess God, yet with their deeds they deny him, seeing they are abominable and disobedient, and unapt unto every good work : " neither are such the servants of Christ, though they brag never so much of Christ and of Christ's gospel, but rather bond-slaves of Satan, and miserable captives of the world and of the flesh. " Know ye not," saith St Paul, " that to whomsoever ye commit yourselves as servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether it be of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Likewise saith St Peter : " Of whom a man is overcome, unto the same is he brought in bondage. For if they (after they have escaped from the filthiness of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and the Saviour Jesu Christ) are yet tangled again therein, and overcome, then is the latter end worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment that was given unto them. But the same is happened unto them that is used to be spoken by the true proverb, The dog is turned to bis own vomit again, and the sow that was washed is turned again to her wallowing in the mire." These backsliding Christians may justly be compared to Lot's wife, which, after she was delivered out of stinking Sodom, and commanded no more to look back unto it, but with all expedition to fly far from it, looked back again unto Sodom, con trary to the commandment of God, and for her disobedience she was turned into a pillar of salt. They may also be truly resembled unto that son which promised his father to work in his vineyard, and yet wrought nothing at all. They are those foolish virgins which had lamps and no oil ; and therefore were they shut out of the bridegroom's chamber. Yea, they may not without a cause be likened to Judas Iscarioth the traitor, and to Simon Magus, which both fell away from their profession which they made at baptism. "No man that putteth his hand to the plough, and V-] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 207 looketh back, is meet for the kingdom of God." "He that continueth unto the end, Matt. x. he shall be saved." "God hath delivered us from the power of our enemies, that Luke i. we should serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life." " The Heb. ix. blood of Christ hath purged our conscience from dead works to serve the living God." " God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." " Be faithful unto 1 Thess. iv. the death," saith Christ, " and I will give thee the crown of life." Bev' "' Father. God make us all true Christians both in word and in work ! But come off, ofceremonie. my child, what thinkest thou of those ceremonies which are used in the pope's church SsmfnthT at the ministration of baptism, as salt, oil, cream, spittle, candle, hallowed font, holy Starch. water, crossing of the child, chrism, conjuring the devil out of the child, laying the child down upon the ground before the high altar, while the priest' read the gospel against the falling sickness, and such like? Dost thou think that these things are necessary unto the administration of baptism ? Son. I think them neither necessary nor commendable. For they are but the idle inventions of the most idle papists, thrust into the church without the authority of God's word, not garnishing but rather obscuring the dignity of holy baptism. St John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles, and the ancient primitive church knew no such beggarly ceremonies; neither doth the word of God make any mention of them. The more simply and the more agreeably 45$ to the institution of Christ the sacraments are ministered, the more doth it please God. In the Acts of the Apostles we read that Philip baptized the eunuch, cham- Acts via. berlain to the queen of Candace. This eunuch did confess Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, which is the sign of our faith, and desired baptism ; and Philip, at the next water they came unto, washed him "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Here was neither hallowed font, nor holy water, salt, oil, cream, spittle, candle, or any other point of papistry; and yet I am sure, that no man will deny, but that the manner of baptizing which Philip used here was both good and perfect. And to say truth, it were better that these popish ceremonies were rooted out of the church, than that they should be suffered to continue : for they have been and yet are the occasion of much superstition and false belief. Father. It is truly said. For many people at this present day die so superstitious and so far from true belief, that they are fully persuaded, that if any of those cere monies, whereof we spake tofore, do lack in the ministration of baptism, that the baptism is not perfect, nor the child fully and sufficiently christened. Son. Truth it is. And verily it is greatly to be lamented, that such blind popish errors have crept into the church of Christ. These are those tares, which the enemy hath sown in the Matt. xiii. Lord's field, while the men slept. But " every plant that the heavenly Father hath Matt. xv. not planted shall be plucked up by the roots." Father. Forasmuch as now we entreat of baptism, I would gladly hear thine of the opinion and/- learning concerning the baptism of infants. For. there wanteth not a infants. swarm of heretics in this our age, which both deny and condemn the baptism of infants, and teach that such as were baptized in their infancy received no profit by their baptism; and that therefore they must be baptized again, when they come to age, and be able to confess their faith. Son. These are the anabaptists, whom the Anabaptists. devil, that old enemy of mankind, hath raised up now of late to trouble and to disquiet the church of Christ with their most pestilent and schismatical errors and heresies. Father. Is it then lawful to baptize young children in their infancy, and before they be able openly to confess their faith? Son. Yea, verily. Father. How provest thou that ? Son. When our Saviour Christ sent forth his disciples to convert the world from vain superstition unto true religion, from false gods unto the one and alone living. God, he commanded them to baptize all nations Matt, xxvin. generally, excepting no state nor age. Under this general commandment are the infants contained; therefore ought the children also to be baptized. Father. But the children cannot profess their faith; therefore, say the adversaries, they ought not to be baptized. Son. As concerning the profession of faith, that doth God require only of such as are grown up in age; and are already instructed in the mysteries of Christ's religion ; of the which sort there were many about the beginning of Christ's church after Christ's ascension, which, after they were taught the gospel, confessed their faith, and so were baptized, as we read in divers places of the holy 208 THE CATECHISM. [Part scripture. But this toucheth not the infants, which as they lack speech, so want they the use of reason, whereby (God assisting them with his grace) they should attain unto the knowledge of God's doctrine and of christian faith; and yet notwithstanding they are not excluded from baptism, but are comprehended under the general com mandment of baptizing all nations. For as the infants of the Hebrews were not secluded and put away from circumcision, which was also a sacrament or sign of God's grace, mercy, and favour to the Jews, even as baptism is now to the Christians, although they could not profess their faith, but were commanded of God notwith standing to be circumcised, and by this outward sign to be received into the congre gation of God's people, and so to be counted for the promise sake the sons and heirs of God; even so in like manner ought the infants of the Christians to be admitted unto the sacrament and sign of grace, (I mean baptism,) although they cannot by the reason of their tender age profess their faith ; forasmuch as God is now no less the God of the Christians and of their children, than he was in times past the God of the Jews and of their children. Gen. xvii. For this gracious promise of God, " I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed," appertaineth no less unto us Christians and unto our children, than it belonged here tofore unto the Jews and unto their children. For there is one God both of the believing Jew and of the faithful gentile ; neither is there any respect of persons before him. And is it to be thought, that the grace of God is now diminished toward the children of the Christians, and not so plenteous in this time of the new testament, after that the Lord Christ hath taken upon him our nature and clothed himself with our flesh, and all figures and clouds be utterly dispelled and put away, so that now the true light of God's most glorious truth shineth, as it was in the law of Moses? God blessed the children of the Jews even in their mothers' womb, and gave them his holy Spirit, yea, and that before they were born; and is it to be thought, that his hand is now so shortened, that he neither can nor will shew the like merciful kindness to the children of the Christians, whom he hath taken unto him to be his people, yea, to be his sons and heirs of everlasting glory ? God envied not the children of the Jews his sacrament and sign of grace, (I mean circumcision,) although they could neither speak nor had the use of reason; and shall we think that he disdaineth that our children should be enabled with his sacrament and sign of grace, (I mean baptism,) now in the new testament ? The children of the old testament were endued with the Holy Ghost even from jer. i. their cradles, yea, before they were born, as we read of Jeremy the prophet, and of Lukei. St John Baptist; and shall we be persuaded that the like mercy is not shewed to our children in the new testament, a time of all grace, favour, mercy, and loving kindness ? The children of the old testament, after they had received the Holy Ghost even in their mother's womb, were admitted unto circumcision, yea, and that by the commandment of God; and shall the children of the new testament be barred and shut out from baptism, which have now received the Holy Ghost no less than they did in the old law? The best and the chiefest baptism is given to the infants; and shall we deny them1 the inferior and baser baptism? God hath baptized them with the Holy Ghost; and shall we disdain to baptize them with water? St Peter saith: Actsx. "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received Rom. viii. the Holy Ghost as well as we?" "They that are led with the Spirit of God," saith St Paul, " are the sons of God." The infants of the Christians are led with the Spirit jer. i. of God, as we heard before of the prophet Jeremy and of St John Baptist; and St 1Jcor.''vii. Paul likewise calleth the children of the Christians holy and pure: therefore are they the sons of God. Now, if the infants of the Christians be pure and holy and the sons of God, shall any man be so rigorous to take that from them which God hath appointed and ordained for his sons ? God hath instituted baptism as a most certain pledge of his love, mercy, and favour toward his people, and hath commanded it to be received of all that appertain unto him; -and shall we, contrary to the commandment and will of God, deny it to the Matt. xix. infants whom Christ commanded to be brought unto him; whom Christ most lov- Mark x. ° [' Folio, then.'] v0 OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 209 ingly embraced in his arms ; whom Christ most graciously blessed ; whom Christ pro- Luke xvia. nounced to belong unto the kingdom of God ; whose angels Christ affirmeth to see the Matt. xviu. face of our heavenly Father? Who seeth not here therefore the madness of those apish anabaptists, which, contrary to the commandment and expressed will of God, forbid baptism to be given unto the infants ? Our Saviour Christ saith : " Except a man be born of John m. water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." What other thing then do the anabaptists, by forbidding the water of baptism to be given unto infants, than utterly seclude and put away the young children, so much as in them is, from the inheritance of God's kingdom, and so to become for ever heirs of ever lasting damnation? O most damnable sect! 0 bloody murderers, both of souls and bodies ! As they are of the devil their father, so do these wicked anabaptists satisfy the desires of the devil their father, " which was a murderer from the beginning, and John via. abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." Moreover, do we not read that the apostles baptized whole households ? and is it Acts xvi. to be thought that there were no children among them? If it were lawful at that time to baptize children, is it unlawful now in these our days ? If it were then lawful to dedicate young children to God, and to receive them into the church of- Christ by baptism, that they might be one body with the elders, and partakers of the same glory, shall it be counted now unlawful? If the apostles of Christ and the primitive church thought it an holy deed and acceptable before the presence of God's majesty to offer their infants by humble prayers and by the administration of holy baptism unto God, obeying the general commandment of Christ to baptize all nations without Matt, xxvia. exception, and trusting on this merciful promise of God, " I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed ;" shall we be so far estranged from all sense and feeling of godliness, that through the fleshly, wicked, ungodly, and devilish persuasions of these most fleshly, most wicked, most ungodly, and most devilish anabaptists, we shall cease to do that for the salvation of our infants, which both the apostles of Christ and the primitive church most gladly and most willingly practised? Father. But the anabaptists utterly deny that the apostles of Christ and the primitive church baptized any infants. Son. It is an easy thing to deny. But let them prove their denial with the manifest words of the holy scripture, as we have proved our purpose by the authority of the same; and we will gladly give place straightways unto them. If they cannot so do (as I am right well assured they cannot), let them give over their damnable errors, lean to the truth, and come again unto the church of Christ, out of the which there is no salvation. But that children were baptized in the time of the apos tles and of the primitive church, not only the holy scriptures, but also the most ancient fathers do testify. Origen, that ancient father and doctor of Christ's church, which lived in the year origen. of our Lord two hundred and thirty, affirmeth plainly, that the baptism of infants in sext. cap. ,.,,.,. , ., ¦, . ad Horn. was the doctrine of the apostles, and that to baptize young children was no new in- Lib. v. vention, but an observation used of the apostles, and by them commended to the church of Christ2. St Cyprian, that ancient father and most constant martyr of Christ, which lived Cyprian. about the year of our Lord two hundred and five and fifty, affirmeth plainly the baptism of infants, and saith that the young speechless children ought not to be kept from baptism and grace. Again, whereas a certain priest called Fid us held this opinion, Lib. iii. cap. that the infants of the Christians ought not to be baptized before the eighth day, as the children of the Hebrews were not circumcised before the eighth day; St Cyprian, with sixty-six bishops gathered together in a council, consented and agreed that the infants might be baptized at all times, yea, even so soon as they are born, and not of necessity to defer their baptism until the eighth day. For " spiritual circum cision," said he, "ought not to be hindered by carnal circumcision3." [2 Pro hoc et ecclesia ab apostolis traditionem suscepit, etiam parvulis baptismum dare. Sciebant enim illi quibus mysteriorum secreta commissa sunt divinorum, quod essent in omnibus genuinae sordes peccati, quae per aquam et Spiritum ablui deberent — [BECON, II.] Orig. Op. Par. 1733-59. In Epist. ad Rom. Lib. v. Tom. IV. p. 565.] [3 Quantum vera ad causam infantium pertinet, quos dixisti intra secundum vel tertium diem, quo nati sint, constitutes, baptizari non oportere, et con- 14 210 THE CATECHISM. [Part Hierome. Ad Lactam et adversus Pelagian. DeVoc.Gent Lib. ii. cap. 8, Austin. Adversus Donatist.Lib. iv. cap 4. Hyginus. St Hierome, that old and learned doctor of Christ's church, which lived about the year of our Lord three hundred and seventy, in divers of his books, both approveth, and proveth with manifest scriptures and grounded reasons, the baptism of infants1. St Ambrose, that both ancient, learned, and courageous doctor of Christ's church, which lived about the year of our Lord three hundred and threescore, maketh mention also of the baptism of infants, affirming that it ought necessarily to be given also unto young children2. What shall I speak of St Augustine, which lived also in the time of St Am brose and of St Hierome ? Verily, he is so stout in the defence of the baptism of infants, that he doth not only affirm the baptism of young children to come from the apostles unto us, and not to be enacted and stablished by any council of men, but also, that all infants ought of necessity to be baptized, and that otherwise they are in great danger of their salvation3. I pass over the other ancient fathers and doctors both of the Greek and Latin churches, which in all their writings allow the baptism of infants, as a doctrine com ing from Christ and his apostles unto us. But one thing I may not pass over, how a certain bishop of Rome called Higinus, which lived in the year of our Lord a hundred and eleven, as some write, com manded that infants, when they were brought to be baptized, should have at the least one godfather and godmother4: whereby we may also learn, that the baptism of children is no new invention, but an ancient godly custom coming unto us from the apostles, and so from their days unto this time continued in the church of Christ. Father. But the adversaries object and say, that children ought not to be bap tized, because they have no faith. For these are the words of Christ : " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Faith, say they, goeth before baptism : if any man therefore putteth baptism before faith, he perverteth the order of Christ's words. Forasmuch therefore as infants and speechless children have not faith, say they, therefore ought they not to be baptized. Son. If the adversaries do so greatly rejoice in this one sentence, which you have alleged out of St Mark, what will they say to this sentence written in the gospel of St John, which also are the words of our Saviour Christ? siderandam esse legem circumcisionis antiquae, ut intra octavum diem eum qui natus est baptizandum et sanctificandum non putares ; longe aliud in con- cilio nostra omnibus visum est...neminem putamus a gratia consequenda impediendum esse. . .nee spiri talem circumcisionem impediri carnali circumeisione de- bere...Porro autem, si etiam gravissimis delictoribus et in Deum multum ante peccantibus, cum postea crediderint, remissa peccatorum datur, et baptismo atque a gratia nemo prohibetur ; quanto magis prohi- beri non debet infans, qui reeens natus nihil peccavit, nisi quod secundum Adam carnaliter natus contagium mortis antiquae prima nalivitate contraxif! — Cypr. Op. Oxon. 1682. Epist. Ixiv. Ad Fidum. pp. 158-161.] [' Hoc unum dicam, ut tandem finiatur oratio : aut novum vos debere symbolum tradere, ut post Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum baptizetis in fantes in regnum coelorum ; aut unum et in parvulis et in magnis habetis baptisma, etiam infantes in xemissionem peccatorum baptizandos in simil itudinem praevaricationis Adam Hieron. Op. 1693 — 1706. Lib. in. Dial. adv. Pelag. Tom. IV. Pars n. col. 546. Jerome is here summing up his argument against the Pelagians, who, though they allowed in fant baptism, yet denied that it was for the remis sion of sins.] [s Ambros. Op. Par. 1614. Tom. IV. cols. 545-7. The chapter referred to is headed : Quare tanta mul titude non regcneratorum infantium a perpetua ali- enetur salute. The necessity of- infant baptism i» of course implied.] [3 Nullus Christianorum dixerit eos [parvulos] inaniter baptizari. Et si quisquam in hac re auctori- tatem divinam quasrat, quamquam quod universa tenet ecclesia, nee conciliis institutum, sed semper retentum est, non nisi auctoritate apostolica traditum rectissime creditor ; tamen veraciter eonjicere possu- mus, quid valeat in parvulis baptismi sacramentum, ex circumeisione carnis August. Op. Par. 1679 — 1700. De Bapt. cont. Donatist. Lib. iv. 30, 1. Tom. IX. col. 140.] [4 It is possible that the following ascribed to Hyginus may be the decree intended : In catechismo et in baptismo et in eonfirmatione unus patrinus fieri potest, si necessitas cogat Hygin. Papa? Deer, in Concil. Collect. Par. 1644. Tom. I. p. 220. Or perhaps the following, which stands next below it in Gratian, may have been confounded with it: Non plures ad suscipiendum de baptismo infantem acce- dant, quam unus sive vir, sive mulier. — Ex Deer. Leon. Papas in Decret. Gratiani, Par. 1583. Deer. Tert. Pars, De Consecr. Dist. iv. can. 101. cols. 2481, 2. See however Polyd. Verg. de Rer. Invent. Lib. iv. c. iv. p. 306, Basil. 1570. Iginius Romanus pontifex statuit, ut unus, quern compatrem vocant, uti testis inleresset The date of Hyginus is gene rally placed later than that assigned in the text.] V-3 OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 211 Father. What words are those? Son. "Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except John iii. a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Here is mention made, first of water, and afterward of the Spirit. Hereof then may we gather, that children may be baptized before they have faith. For water is put here before the Spirit, which Spirit, (I mean the Holy Ghost,) is the author and giver of faith. If baptism may be ministered to the speechless children before they believe, then do the anabaptists plain wrong to the infants, when they deny them baptism. And look what authority the wicked anabaptists may deny baptism to the infants by the virtue of this text, " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ;" even with Mark xvi. the same authority will we grant baptism to the infants by the virtue of this text, " Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, John ia. he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Father. How then is that text, which the adversaries allege out of St Mark, Mark xvi. to be understand, which mentioneth faith before baptism, as though no man ought to be baptized before he believeth ? Son. It may be answered two manner of ways. First, we shall consider what goeth before. Thus writeth the evangelist : " Go ye .JSSl into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved : but he that believeth not shall be damned." Here our Saviour Christ gave commandment to his apostles to preach the gospel to all reason able creatures. Now if any that heard the preaching of the gospel (I speak of them which through their age had the use of reason) believed the doctrine of the gospel preached unto them, he commanded that they should be baptized, in token that they were of the household of God, and inheritors of everlasting glory. For when the apostles began first to preach the gospel, their hearers were for the most part heathen, and ignorant both of God and of his godly mysteries; and therefore so many as be lieved the doctrine of the apostles, and desired to be recounted among the Christians, first confessed their sins, afterward protested their faith, and so consequently they were admitted unto holy baptism. Thus see we, that faith went before baptism, ac cording to the saying of Christ, — I mean in them that had the use of reason, and were able to confess their faith. Another way it may be answered thus : Infants and speechless children have faith ; therefore they also ought to be baptized, that they may be saved, according unto Christ's saying: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." So that this Mark xvi. sentence of our Saviour Christ, which the ungodly anabaptists wrest and wring for the condemnation of the baptism of infants, make nothing for them, but rather sta- blisheth the baptism of young children against them and against their most devilish doctrine. Father. What, hath infants faith? St Paul saith: "Faith cometh by hearing, of the faith and hearing cometh by the word of God." How can infants have faith, when they Rom. x. ' understand not the preaching of God's word? Son. Whether infants have faith or no (I speak of the infants which are the children of the Christians), we shall afterward consider. But I will first answer to the words of St Paul. It is truth that "faith cometh by hearing." But this is to be understand of such as have age, and are endued with reason, and can discern good from evil. The ordinary way, which God useth to call such unto faith, is the preaching of his holy word, as we may see throughout the holy scripture. God saith by the psalmograph : " A people whom I Psai. xviii. knew not have served me : through the hearing of the ear they obeyed me." And the psalmograph himself saith : " I will teach the wicked thy ways, and the ungodly Psai. ii. shall turn unto thee." So likewise read we that, when the apostles preached the gospel of Christ among the heathen, "so many as were tofore appointed unto ever- Acts xiii. lasting life believed," and with great joy received the doctrine of the gospel; so that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the word of God," as God saith by the prophet : " Like as the rain and snow cometh down from heaven, and retumeth isai. iv. not thither again, but watereth the earth, maketh it fruitful and green, that it may give corn to the sower and bread to him that eateth ; so the word also that cometh out of my mouth shall not turn void again unto me, but shall accomplish my will, and prosper in the thing whereto I send it." For, although God is able by his holy 14-2 Luke iv. 212 THE CATECHISM. [Pari Spirit to turn the hearts of all men, to plant faith in the minds of all men, and to John xvii. bring all men unto the knowledge of him and of his Son Christ Jesu, which know ledge bringeth everlasting life; as he is able to feed the whole world without meat, Matt. iv. drink, or bread, as our Saviour Christ saith, " Man shall not live with bread alone, but with every word that cometh out of the mouth of God:" yet, as his ordinary way to feed his creatures is to give them corporal sustenance, so likewise to plant faith and true religion in the hearts of men his ordinary way is the preaching of his Rom. i. holy word ; so that it is not without a cause said of St Paul : " I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." God was able to have converted all, both Jews and gentiles, without the preaching of any man, unto the faith : notwithstanding in the old law to turn the Jews he sent his prophets, priests, and Levites to preach unto them ; and in the new law to turn both the Jews and gentiles he sent his apostles, that by this means they might believe and be saved. God was able to have converted the city of Corinth without Paul's preaching : notwithstanding he used his ordinary mean to call them unto the faith, and Acts xvia. therefore said unto Paul : " Fear not, but speak, and hold not thy peace ; for I have much people in this city." The like examples find we in other places of the holy Acts via. scripture, as of Philip and the chamberlain, of Saul and Ananias, of Peter and Cor- Acts x. nelius, &c. The ordinary way to call such as are grown up in age, and have the use of reason, unto faith and unto the true knowledge of God, is the preaching of God's word, as Rom. *. St Paul, saith : " Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the word of God." Psai. cxix. And as the psalmograph saith : " The declaration of thy word, O Lord, giveth light, Psai. xix. and openeth understanding to the little ones." Again : " The law of the Lord turneth souls, giveth wisdom to the humble, maketh merry the hearts, lighteneth the eyes, .... and is worthy more to be desired than gold and precious stone ; yea, it is sweeter than the honey and the honey-comb." Father. But this ordinary way useth not God toward the infants, which have neither speech nor use of reason, to bring them unto the faith. Son. No, verily. Faith is the Father. How then do they obtain faith ? Son. By the Holy Ghost. . For true ¦ ' " ¦ and christian faith is the work and fruit of the Holy Ghost; without whose divine inspiration all the preaching in the world cannot bring faith to a man, as St Paul i cor. ai. saith : " Neither he that planteth, nor he that watereth is any thing ; but God which John vi. giveth the increase." And our Saviour Christ saith : " This is the work of God, that ye believe in him whom he hath sent." Again : " No man can come unto me, except isai. iiv. my Father draweth him." " It is written in the prophets, All shall be taught of God." Phil. i. ' And St Paul, writing to the Philippians, saith : " It is given to you, not only that ye should believe in him, but also that ye should suffer for him." Likewise writeth Acts xvi. St Luke of a certain woman called Lydia, " whose heart," saith he, " the Lord opened, that she attended to the things which Paul spake." Father. I grant that faith is the great and singular gift of God. But how canst thou prove, that the infants and speechless children have this gift of faith in them? Heb. xi. Son. St Paul saith : " Without faith it is impossible to please God." But children do please God. Therefore children have faith. Father. The first part of thine argument I cannot deny. But how provest thou the second part, I mean, that children please God? Son. By the histories of the sacred bible, in the which we read that Jacob, Jeremy the prophet, John Baptist, and such like, pleased God. Mai. i. Father. What saith the scripture of Jacob? Son. God himself saith thus: "I have loved Jacob, and hated Esau." Of Jeremy the prophet God speaketh thus : Jer. i. " Before I fashioned thee in thy mother's womb, I did know thee. (That is to say, I favoured and loved thee.) And or ever thou wast born, I sanctified thee." Of John Baptist the angel of the Lord spake unto Zacharias the priest his father on this manner: Lu\ei. "He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." Blessed Luke also writeth that, when Elizabeth, John's mother, the priest's wife, heard the salutation of Mary, " the babe sprung in her womb." And Elizabeth herself said unto Vlll. v-] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 213 Mary her cousin, Christ's mother : " Behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe sprung in my womb for joy." St Mark also telleth in his evangelical history, how Christ " rebuked them that forbade the children to come Mark x unto him," and commanded that they should come unto him ; again, how " he took the children in his arms, laid his hands upon them, and blessed them." Are not all these things manifest signs and evident tokens of Christ's dear love toward children ? If he commanded the children to come unto him, if he embraced them in his arms, if he blessed them, is it not a good argument that they pleased him ? If they pleased bim, then doth it consequently follow, that they were not without faith : for " without Heb. xi faith it is imp'ossible to please God," saith St Paul ; and " whatsoever is not of faith Rom. x is sin." Who doubteth now of the faith of infants? If they have faith, with what forehead dare the impudent anabaptists deny infants their baptism, and recount them in the number of the unfaithful ? Moreover, how can the infants be without faith, when they have the Holy Ghost ? Dwelleth the Holy Ghost in the hearts of the unfaithful ? " What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? Or what company hath 2 Cor. * light with darkness ? Or what concord hath Christ with Belial ?" Father. How provest thou that children have the Holy Ghost? Son. St Paul saith : " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of God's." But children R0m are God's, and dearly beloved of God, as we have tofore heard. Therefore children have the Spirit of Christ. The histories also of Jacob, of Jeremy the prophet, of John Baptist, &c, whereof we spake before, declare evidently that children have the Holy Ghost. We read that God loved Jacob, yea, and that before he was born. But God loveth none that hath Gen. xxv. not his Spirit, as we heard before out of St Paul. It therefore followeth, that Jacob Ma™i.lx' had the Spirit of God, yea, and that before he was born. Of Jeremy the prophet the om' vm' scripture saith, that before he was fashioned in his mother's womb, God knew him, that jer. i. is to say, favoured and loved him; again, or that ever he was born, God sanctified him. Wherewith was Jeremy sanctified, but by the Holy Ghost and faith? So doth it then follow, that Jeremy had both the Holy Ghost and faith. Of John Baptist Luke i. we read, that he was filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb ; again, that, being in his mother's womb, he sprung for joy so soon as Mary the mother of Christ saluted his mother Elizabeth, rejoicing without all doubt that the time of grace was come, wherein Christ the Saviour of the world, so oft promised and so long looked for, should be born, unto the great comfort of all people. Thus see we that infants also have the Holy Ghost, as these aforesaid ensamples of Jacob, of Jeremy, of John Baptist, &c, do manifestly declare. Furthermore, God himself saith by the prophet Joel : " I will pour out of my j0ei a. Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions," &c. Now if the infants have the Spirit of God, as it is already proved by the holy scripture, then are they also the sons of God, as St Paul saith : " They that are led with the Spirit of God are the sons of God. If they R0m. via. be sons, then are they also heirs ; the heirs, I mean, of God, and heirs annexed with Christ." Again, St Paul calleth them holy, and our Saviour Christ pronounceth them , Cor. vii. to pertain unto the kingdom of heaven ; and God himself saith, that he will be their MjJ!fc x.'x' God, that is to say, their Saviour and mighty defender. If young children then be Gen' xv"' favoured of God, sanctified in their mother's womb, have the Holy Ghost, be endued with faith, are the sons and heirs of God, are holy, belong unto the kingdom of heaven, have God their Saviour and mighty defender, &c. ; how can baptism be justly denied them, seeing that baptism appertaineth unto the people of God, whereof the children are not the lessest part? For God himself numbereth the young infants among his people. " I will be their God," saith he, " and the God of thy seed." And the prophet Gen. xvU, Joel saith : " Call the congregation, and gather the people together, warn the congrega- jod a. tion, gather the elders, bring the children and sucklings together," &c. Father. But the adversaries object and say, We see no fruits of faith in the infants, neither in word or in work ; therefore we may right well doubt of their faith, yea, we may conclude that they have no faith. Son. That the infants have faith, we have tofore heard. Now, whereas the adversaries say, that the infants shew no fruits of 214 THE CATECHISM. [Part faith, and therefore they have no faith ; this is no good argument. St Paul (who know eth not ?) was a diligent preacher of the Lord's word, and had a strong faith in Christ. Shall we notwithstanding say, that when St Paul after his great and unrestful labours gave himself to rest, and to the quietness of sweet sleep for the comfort of his wearied body, and for the recovery of his wasted strengths, and ceased to preach, to pray, to make provision for the poor, &c, he had no faith ? Faith without all doubt remained in St Paul being asleep, although he brought not forth the works and fruits of faith. Even so likewise dwelleth faith in children through the secret ministry of the Holy Ghost, although they be not yet come unto the time of declaring of faith by their works. And God, which kept the faith of St Paul, when he was at rest, doth also keep and nourish the treasure of faith in the young ones by his holy Spirit, until the time come of bringing forth the fruits of faith ; and in the mean time they are counted faithful before God. Is there any man so fond or so foolish, that will call a young gryft' of the first year's gryfting fruitless and barren, when as it cannot for lack of time and age bring forth as yet any fruit ? If we cannot call a tree unfruitful, until the time come of bringing forth of fruit ; so ought we not to call a child unbelieving and faithless, until he come unto the time of declaring his faith. As a child both is and also may be called a reasonable creature, although for lack of time and age he cannot use reason ; so likewise may a child have faith and be called faithful, although for lack of time and age it can shew as yet no good works, which are the tokens and fruits of faith. A Psai. i. Christian in the holy scripture is resembled, compared, and likened to " a tree planted. by the rivers' side, that will bring forth his fruit in due season," or as some read, " in his Muk iv. time." " The kingdom of God," saith our Saviour Christ, "is even as if a man should sow seed in the ground, and should sleep; and notwithstanding it riseth up night and day, and the seed springeth and groweth up while he is not aware." What can be more plainly spoken against the wisdom of man's reason, than that Christ saith here? Reason cannot see how infants can have faith and believe. But of these words of Christ we learn, that faith, even when we know not, yea, when we are asleep, groweth and Cant. r. increaseth in us ; so that every faithful Christian may say, " I sleep, and yet my heart watcheth." Father. Thou holdest then, that the infants of the Christians have both the Holy Ghost and faith ; and that therefore they ought of right to be baptized according to the commandment of Christ, and the practice of the primitive church. Son. Yea, verily. Father. What sayest thou of the infants of the heathen and unbelieving ? Son. For asmuch as they belong not unto the household, of faith, neither are contained in this Sri'xUv' covenant> "! wil1 be tlry Gocl, an wherewith they go about to impugn the baptism of infants. But now, out baptism, come off, and tell me what thou thinkest of those children of the Christians, which, prevented with death, come not unto baptism, but depart unbaptized. Judgest thou them damned or saved ? Let me hear thine opinion in this behalf. Son. I know how hard and rigorous divers fathers of Christ's church are to such infants as die without baptism, whose names I pass over with silence. And although I reverence both them and their writings, yet their judgment in this behalf I can by no means allow; forasmuch (so far as I have learned) it is not only injurious to the grace of God, but also it utterly dissenteth from the verity of God's word, which we all are bound to defend [' Gryft: graft.] Y-l OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 215 against all men, and all men's inventions, that the victory may be God's and his Son John ai. viii. Christ's ; yea, that " God may be true, and all men liars." Psa'- cxvi. Father. How provest thou that the doctrine which generally condemneth all that die without baptism is injurious to the grace of God? Son. First, I here protest that, as you have already heard, I utterly abhor and detest, I wholly contemn and The protesta- condemn the wicked doctrine of the anabaptists, which deny the baptism of infants, author con- as a thing unprofitably used in the church of Christ ; and I believe with my heart, Emtf and confess with my mouth, that baptism is an holy sacrament, and a most certain lnfants' sign of God's grace, favour, and mercy toward the faithful, instituted of the Lord Jesu to be frequented and used in his church, and reverently to be received of all degrees and estates, of whatsoever age they are ; so that whosoever may have convenient time to be baptized, and yet refuse to take that holy sacrament, and willingly reject and cast away baptism, as I believe them not to be led with the Spirit of God, but with the spirit of error, not with the Spirit of Christ, but with the spirit of antichrist ; so likewise I am fully persuaded that they have no portion in the inheritance of God's kingdom. And this also do I speak of all such parents as will not suffer their children to be baptized, being infected with the pestiferous plague of anabaptism. Notwith standing this protestation, I plainly confess, that I neither do nor can allow the doctrine of them which generally condemn all such, and seclude them from the king dom of God, that die without the baptism of water, whether they be infants or of a more ripe age. For, as I said before, this doctrine is not only injurious to the grace of God, but also it utterly dissenteth from the verity of God's word. Father. Let me hear it proved that this doctrine is injurious to the grace of God. Son. The holy scripture in every place attributeth our salvation to the free grace of God, and not either to our own works, or to any outward sign or sacrament. St Paul saith : " There is [no] difference ; for all have sinned, and have need of the glory of God ; but Rom. m. are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesu, whom God hath set forth to be the obtainer of mercy through faith by the means of his blood, to declare his righteousness in that he forgiveth the sins that are passed, which God did suffer, to shew at his time his righteousness; that he might be counted righteous, and the righteous-maker of him which believeth on Jesus." Again : " If Rom. xi. (our salvation) be of grace, then is it not now of works ; for then grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it now no grace." Also in another place : " By Eph. ii. grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, and cometh not of works, lest any man should boast himself." Item : " Not by the Tit ai. deeds of righteousness which we wrought, but according to his mercy he saved us." St Peter also saith: "We believe that we shall be saved by the grace of our Acts xv. Lord Jesus Christ." Once again, St Paul saith : " God hath saved us, and called us 2 Tim. i. with an holy calling, not according to our deeds, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us through Christ Jesu before the world began." And in another place he saith : " By the grace of God I am that I am." Here the blessed 1 cor. xv. apostle granteth that whatsoever he is, or whatsoever he hath that is good, apper taining unto body or soul, whether it be his election, vocation, creation, reparation, justification, glorification, &c, it cometh altogether of the free grace of God. If our election, vocation, creation, reparation, justification, glorification, and what- Bom. via. soever maketh unto the salvation either of body or soul, come of the free grace and mere mercy of God, is it not injurious to the grace and kindness of the Lord our God, so to embrace it, that without the help of an external sign and outward ceremony it cannot save us ? Hath God so bound and made himself thrall to a sacrament, that without it his power of saving is lame, and of no force to defend from damnation ? In the old testament it was not lawful to circumcise the male children of the Hebrews before the eighth day : who doubteth but that many of their infants died before that time, and so departed without circumcision? Shall we now say that all those children perished and were damned? Where is then this promise of God become? " I will be thy God, and the God of thy seed." God saved not the Jews and their Gen. xvii children for the circumcision sake, but for his gracious and merciful promise sake. " For he is not a Jew," as St Paul saith, " which is a Jew outward ; neither is it Rom ii. 216 THE CATECHISM. [Part circumcision, which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew, which is hid within; and the circumcision of the heart is the true circumcision, which eonsisteth in the Gai. v. spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Again : " In Christ Jesu neither is circumcision any thing worth, neither yet uncircumcision ; but 1 cor. va. faith, which worketh by love." Once again : " Circumcision is nothing, and uncircum cision is nothing, but the keeping of God's commandments." Deut. x. For this cause the holy scripture calleth the disobedient and ungodly Jews " uncir- Actsvii. cumcised," and exhorteth them to circumcise the heart, and to mortify their carnal affects, which fight against the soul, and to become new men in their life and con- Phii. ia. versation, which is the true circumcision, and not the cutting away of the foreskin. " We coi. a. are the circumcision," saith St Paul, "which serve God in the spirit." Again: "By Christ are ye circumcised with circumcision which is done without hands; forasmuch as ye have put off the sinful body of the flesh through the circumcision that is in Christ, in that ye are buried with him through baptism, in whom ye are also risen again through faith, that is wrought by the operation of God, which raised him from death." Hereof then doth it follow, that if God saved not the fathers of the old testament §^ for circumcision, but for his gracious and merciful promise ; again, if God received unto his glory the children of the Hebrews, before they were comprehended in the covenant which God made with their fathers, although they died uncircumcised ; neither doth he save us for the outward baptism, which is the washing of the body by water, but for his gracious promise : again, that he will receive the children of the Chistians, because they be members of his church, unto everlasting life, though it so chance that they die without baptism. For it is not to be thought that God will deal less mercifully with the Christians, and with their children, than he did with the isai. i. fathers, and with their infants, in the time of the old testament. The hand and mighty power of God is not so shortened, that it cannot now also help : neither is his ear so stopped, that it cannot now hear. He is a saving God at all times alike. And, moreover, look of what price and dignity baptism is now with us Christians ; even of the same price and dignity was circumcision with the Jews, into whose place baptism hath succeeded. And look of what necessity baptism is required now of us Christians; even of the very same necessity was circumcision required of the fathers in Note. the old testament. But God by his grace, for his merciful promise sake, saved the infants of the Hebrews, although they departed before the eighth day, and so were uncircumcised: in like manner God by his grace, for his merciful promise sake, saveth the young children of the Christians, although by the providence of God they are taken away from this life before they be baptized. St Paul calleth circumcision not the self righteousness, or the righteous-making, but Rom. iv. " a seal of righteousness." And to declare that righteousness, that is to say, forgiveness of sins, salvation, and everlasting life cometh not of any outward sign, sacrament, ceremony, or work, but of the free grace of God through faith, the blessed apostle St Paul expresseth with manifest words that Abraham was justified and accepted for righteous before God through faith, before he was circumcised. His words are these : Rom. iv. " We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? when he was in the circumcision, or when he was in the uncircumcision? Not in the time of circumcision, but when he was yet uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, as a seal of the righteousness of faith, which he had yet being uncircumcised, that he should be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also ; and that he might be the father of circumcision, not unto them only which came of the cir cumcised, but unto them also that walk in the steps of the faith that was in our father Abraham before the time of circumcision. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, happened not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if the'y which are of the law be heirs, then is faith but vain, and the promise of none effect." Forasmuch therefore as baptism is unto the Christians even the very same in effect that circumcision was to the Jews, I mean, not the self righteousness, or righteous-making, v0 OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 217 but only " a seal of righteousness," and a sign or token of God's favour toward us, (for the outward baptism doth neither give us the Spirit of God, neither yet grace, that is to say, the favour of God, by any power or influence that it hath ; otherwise should it come to pass, that whosoever were baptized, although he were an infidel and utterly without faith, should receive this precious gift, that is, the Spirit and grace of God, which is not so ;) it followeth, that not the outward washing in water saveth us, but the free grace and mere mercy of God. And as the enjoining1 of this outward baptism \doth not save, so likewise the wanting of it (if it be not contemned of any man that is grown up in age, but he would gladly have it, if he might obtain it; as many holy martyrs in times past, prevented by death through the cruelty of tyrants, died without baptism of water, being indeed baptized inwardly with the Holy Ghost, and outwardly with their own blood ; or if an infant of the Christian taken away by death, either before the birth, or in the birth, or immediately after the birth, should depart before the baptism of water can be ministered unto the child) doth not condemn. This considered St Peter right well, when he wrote on this manner : " Baptism 1 Pet. ia. now saveth us, not the putting away of the filthiness of the flesh, but in that a good conscience consenteth to God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is on the right hand of God, and is gone into heaven, angels, power, and might subdued unto him." Hereof then may we truly conclude, that, forasmuch as the outward baptism, which is done by water, neither giveth the Holy Ghost, nor the grace of God, but only is a sign and token thereof; if any of the christian infants, prevented by death, depart without baptism (necessity so compelling), they are not damned, but be saved by the free grace of God ; forasmuch as we tofore heard, they be contained in the covenant of grace, they be members of God's church, God promiseth to be their God, they have faith, and be endued with the Spirit of God, and so finally " sons and heirs of God, Rom. via. and heirs annexed with Christ Jesu." Who seeth not now, that the doctrine which generally condemneth all such, be they young or old, that die without the baptism of water, is injurious to the grace of God, whereby alone we be saved? For if the baptism of water saveth either in part or in whole, so resteth not all our salvation only and alone in the free grace of =^[ God, neither is God a perfect and sufficient Saviour. But as God in the old law saved many both young and old, which were never circumcised; so likewise it is not to be doubted, but many also in this time of grace, both young and old, God saveth, although, prevented by death, and not of any contempt, they die unbaptized, seeing God is as merciful unto us, which are of the spiritual Israel, as he was unto carnal Israel. For as St Paul saith : " They are not all Israelites, which are of Israel ; R„m. ix. neither are they all children straightways, that are the seed of Abraham. They which are the children of the flesh are not the children of God; but they which be the children of promise are counted the seed," &c. Father. I have heard some say, that there is great difference between the sacra- The difference ments of the old law, and the sacraments of the new law. Son. It is truth. For s|Cramcntse the Jews had circumcision, in whose place the Christians have baptism. The Jews newlw. "" had the paschal lamb, in whose stead the Christians have the Lord's supper. The Jews' sacraments prefigured and tofore taught Christ to come. The sacraments of the Christians do plainly declare and shew unto us that Christ is come, and hath perfectly fulfilled whatsoever was written of him in the law, in the psalms, and in the prophets. The Jews' sacraments had specially in outward appearance promises of corporal benefits annexed unto them: the sacraments of the Christians have adjoined unto them pro mises of spiritual and heavenly benefits, as the grace, favour, and mercy of God, re mission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, quietness of conscience, and the assurance of everlasting life. The sacraments of the old testament only appertained unto the nation of the Jews; but the sacraments of the new testament belong both unto the Jew and unto the gentile, yea, unto the whole world, even unto so many as turn from idolatry unto the true worshipping of that one and alone living God, and with sure faith embrace the gospel of our Saviour Jesus Christ. [' Perhaps enjoying.] 218 THE CATECHISM. [Part Father. My meaning is this. The sacraments of the old law were only signs and tokens of God's grace and favour to the Jews ; but the sacraments of the new testa ment, as I have heard say, are not only signs and tokens, notes and marks, testimo nies and seals of God's grace, but they also give grace to such as receive them. Son. sacraments This your hearsay hath sounded no truth in your ears. For this doctrine is contrary gfvehn?t dves to the word of God, brought lately into the church by the papists, and is greatly in- grace' jurious both to the grace of God, and to the blood of Christ, and also to the dignity of faith. If our sacraments, which of themselves are nothing else than (as St Paul Rom. iv. termeth them) the " seals of righteousness," or of our righteous-making by faith, and witnesses of God's favour toward us, were of such virtue, that they could give grace, that is, the favour of God, remission of sins, justification, the Holy Ghost, everlasting life, &c. by the work wrought, as they say, or by any power that remaineth in the outward signs ; so should it follow, that our justification depend not only of the free Rom. xi. grace of God, but of works ; which is most false : " If it be of grace," as St Paul witnesseth, " then is it not now of works : for then grace is no more grace." Again : EPh. ii. " By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God, and cometh not of works, lest any man should boast himself." Also in another Tit. in. place : " Not by the works of righteousness which we wrought, but according to his mercy he saved us, &c, that we, justified by his grace, should be made heirs ac cording to hope of everlasting life." If sacraments of themselves, by any power or influence that is in them, could give Acts viii. grace and the Spirit of God, then should Simon Magus and Judas the traitor have been endued with the grace and Spirit of God; which is most false. For although Simon Magus, the filthy sorcerer and dissembling hypocrite, received the outward sign of baptism, (I mean water,) as a great number of false Christians likewise have done; yet received he neither the grace nor the Spirit of God, as both divine and human jotmvi. histories declare. Likewise Judas the traitor received the sacrament of Christ's body ° n xl"' and blood with the other disciples, (I mean the bread and the wine,) yet received he John xvii. neither the Spirit nor the grace of God, but the devil and damnation, as the holy scriptures bear witness. Are not these also the words of the apostle, concerning all such as unworthily come unto the holy communion of the body and blood of the 1 cor. xi. Lord ? " Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh his own dam nation." And as concerning the outward baptism of water, saith not St Peter on this l Pet. ia. manner ? " Baptism saveth us now, not the putting away of the filthiness of the flesh, but in that a good conscience consenteth to God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Who seeth not now evidently by the testimonies of these two apostles, that the outward sacraments of themselves give not grace, justify not, neither bring the Holy Matt. m. Ghost, which only are the works of the Almighty God ? "I baptize you with water Luke iii. unto repentance," saith St John; "but he that shall come after me (he speaketh of Christ) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Of these words of the holy Baptist, it is manifest that washing with water bringeth not the Holy Ghost, but it is the gift of God. Man baptizeth with water ; but God baptizeth with his Spirit and grace. With out the inward baptism of the Holy Ghost, the outward baptism of the water pro- Lib. Quaist. fiteth nothing, as St Austin saith : " Moses sanctifieth not for the Lord, but Moses 3. qua**. 83. wj^ jnvjgjn]e sacraments through his ministry, and the Lord with invisible grace through the Holy Ghost sanctifieth; where is the whole fruit also of the visible sacraments. »gjs= For without this sanctifying of the invisible grace what do the visible sacraments profit ?" And afterward in the same place he sheweth, that the invisible sanctifying Luke xxiii. may both be present and also * profit without the visible sign, as in the thief; and again, that the visible sign without the invisible sanctifying may be present and profit Acts via. nothing, as in Simon Magus1. ° Again he saith: "The Lord hath granted to many In Seal. « Parad. cap. 3. ¦ [' Quomodo ergo et Moyses sanctfficat etDonii- nus? Non enim Moyses pro Domino'; ^ed Moyses visibilibus sacramentis per ministerium saum, Domi- nus autem invisibili gratia per Spiritum sanctum, ubi est totus fructus etiam visibilium sacramentorum. Nun sine ista sanctificatione invisibilis gratis visibiha va OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 219 the office of baptizing; but the power and authority in baptism to forgive sins hath he retained to himself alone2." _ St Ambrose also saith: "To forgive sins (in baptism), and to give the Holy Ghost, micor. is the office of God alone. If God therefore give the effect of health, there is no glory cap'3' of man in this behalf. For we know that the Holy Ghost was given of God with- Actsx. out laying on of hands, and that he, which was not baptized, obtained remission of sins . ' Friar Bonaventure, a writer numbered among the school doctors, and canonized of m iv. Lib. the pope for a saint, writeth on this manner: "It is by no means to be said, that mSSS. afc grace is contained in the sacraments essentially, as water in a vessel, or medicine in J^ a box ; yea, thus to think is erroneous. But the sacraments are said to contain grace, because they signify it, and because, except there be a default of the receiver's part] in them grace is always given; yet so understanding the matter, that grace is in the soul, and not in the visible signs : in consideration whereof they are called the vessels of grace. They may also be called vessels in another respect. For as that which is in the vessel is not of it, nor of the substance thereof, but yet is drawn from it; so likewise grace is not of the sacraments, nor out of the sacraments, but it springeth from the everlasting fountain, and is drawn from that of the very soul in the sacra ments4". ., Another friar, called Franciscus Maronis, hath these words also : " If the very sacra- in iv. Lib. ments by their own virtue should cause grace, then such ministers as minister the Sentem' sacraments should give the Holy Ghost"6. „ Who seeth not, that the sacraments by themselves and by their own power do not-.give grace, nor the Spirit of God, neither justify they the receiver ? " If righte- Gai. a. ousness come by works, then died Christ in vain." " By faith doth God purify our Acts xv. hearts," and by the grace of the Lord Jesu are we saved. " Neither he that planteth, i cor. ia. nor yet he that watereth, is any thing worth, but God which giveth the increase." "In Christ Jesu neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is any thing worth; but faith Ga)- T- which worketh by love." In consideration whereof our Saviour Christ, when he speaketh of baptism, joineth the water and the Spirit together, or baptism and faith, which is the fruit of the Spirit, to declare that outward baptism without the Spirit and faith availeth nothing. These are his words: "Except a man be born of the water and of John ai. the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Again : " He that believeth and Mark xvi. is baptized shall be saved." So likewise do the. apostles of Christ, as the holy scrip tures do evidently declare. For when the Jews, hearing Peter's sermon, wherein he re buked them for their cruel murdering of Christ, were pricked in their hearts, and said sacramenta quid prosunt! Nihil quippe profuit Simoni Mago visibilis baptismus, cui sanctificatio in- visibilis defuit Hoc et de latrone illo, cui secum crucifixo Dominus ait, Hodie mecum eris in paradiso. Neque enim sine sanctificatione invisibili tanta feli citate donatus est. Proinde colligitur invisibilem sanctificationem quibusdam affuisse atque profuisse sine visibilibus sacramentis, quae pro temporum di- versitate mutata sunt, ut alia tunc fuerint, et alia modo sint : visibilem vero sanctificationem, qua» fieret per visibilia sacramenta, sine ista invisibili posse adesse, non posse prodesse. — August. Op. Par. 1679 — 1700. Quaest. in Heptateuch. Lib. in. Quaest. lxxxiv. Tom. III. Pars i. col 524.] [2 Omcium baptizandi Dominus concessit mul- tis, potestatem vero et auctoritatem in baptismo remittendi peccata sibi soli retinuit. — Id. Seal. Parad. Tom. VI. Appendix, col. 164. This is not a genuine work of Augustine.] [3 Plantare est evangelizare, et ad fidem adtra- here : rigare vero baptizare solemnibus verbis : pec cata autem dimittere, et Spiritum dare, Dei solius. Si ergo effectum salutis Deus dat, nulla gloria in hac re hominis est. Scimus enim et Spiritum sanctum sine manus impositione datum a Deo, et non baptizatum consequutum remissionem peccatorum. Numquid non hie invisibiliter baptizatus est ; quando donum baptismatis consequutus est? — Ambros. Op. Par. 1686-90. Comm. in Epist. ad Cor. prim. cap. iii. v. 6. Tom. II. Appendix, col. 121.] [4 Sed tamen, sicut ostensum est per plures rationes, non est aliquo modo dicendum quod gratia contineatur in ipsis sacramentis essentialiter tam- quam aqua in vase, vel medicina in pyxide : immo hoc intelligere est erroneum. Sed dicuntur continere gratiam, quia ipsam significant ; et quia nisi ibi sit defectus ex parte suscipientis, in ipsis gratia semper confertur, ita intelligendo quod gratia sit in anima, non in signis visibilibus : pro tanto etiam dicuntur vasa gratiae. Possunt etiam dici vasa alia ratione, quia sicut quod est in vase non est de ipso, nee ex ipso, sed tamen ab ipso hauritur ; sic gratia non est a sacramentis, nee de sacramentis, sed oritur a fonte Efiterno, et ab illo hauritur ab ipsa anima in ipsis sacramentis Bonavent. Op. Mogunt 1609. In Lib. iv. Sentent. Dist. i. Quaest. 3. Tom. V. pp. 7, 8.] [5 The precise words of the text have not been discdvered in the work of Francisc. de Mayronis upon the Lib. Sentent.] 220 THE CATECHISM. [Part Actsii. unto him and unto the other apostles, "Ye men and brethren, what shall we do? Peter said unto them, Repent ye of your sins, and let every one of you be bap tized in the name of Jesu Christ unto the remission of sins ; and ye shall receive the Acts via. gift of the Holy Ghost." When "the eunuch said unto Philip, Behold water; what letteth that I may not be baptized? Philip answered, If thou believest from thy whole heart, it is lawful. And the eunuch said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Likewise St Paul, when he should baptize the keeper of the prison, Acts xvi. said unto him : " Believe thou in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved." And in Tit. ia. his epistle unto bishop Titus he writeth thus : " God according to his mercy hath saved us by the fountain of the new birth and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that we, justified by his grace, should be made heirs according to hope of everlasting life." Father. Thou hast abundantly satisfied me in this point. Let me hear it now proved by the holy scripture, that that doctrine, which teacheth that christian infants dying without the outward baptism of water perish and are damned, utterly dissenteth from the verity of God's word, as thou hast already proved that it is injurious to the grace of God. Son. First, as we have tofore heard, God hath promised not only Gen. xvii. to be God of the ancient believers, but also of their children. Now what other thing is it to be the God of the faithful people's children, than to be their Saviour and blessed- Psai. cxiv. maker? If God, which is faithful in all his words, which also is not only true, but John xiv. also the self truth, saveth the children for his promise sake ; is it to be thought, that the want of a little water (when necessity compelleth) can make God to fall from his truth, and his promise to be both vain and void, so that without the water he can not save the christian infants, whom notwithstanding he hath promised to save ? What other thing is this, than to make God servant to his sacraments, and to bind his grace and Spirit to an outward ceremony or sign? Which thing, what is it but to deny God to be omnipotent ? But that God both is able, and also will, yea, and doth save without the help of any outward sacrament or sign, we have tofore sufficiently heard. John ai. Again, that the grace and Spirit of God cometh where and when it pleaseth God, yea, and that they be not bound to any external ceremony, as to be present and to be given when the sacraments are ministered, and otherwise not, so that the Spirit and grace of God must wait and attend upon those outward signs, as servants do attend and wait upon their lords and masters, (which is nothing else than to bring God into bondage of his creatures, and to make him not master of his own,) the Actsx. history of Cornelius the centurion doth evidently declare. For Cornelius and all his household (as blessed Luke testifieth) received the Holy Ghost before they were bap tized ; insomuch that Peter said : " May any man forbid that these should be baptized with water, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ? And so he com manded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." Here may we see, that the Spirit of God lighteth where he will, neither is he bound to any thing. Hereof also may we learn, that the sacraments are given to be an outward witness unto all the congregation of the grace, which is .given before privately unto every man; so that through baptism the congregation of God receiveth the infant into the church of Christ, which was received before of God through the grace of his promise. Who seeth not now that baptism itself bringeth not grace, but doth testify unto the congregation, that he which is baptized hath already received grace and the Spirit of God, and is accepted of God for his merciful promise sake a dear child and heir of everlasting glory? Again, who knoweth not that many even among the gentiles, as Job and such like, under the old law, were the elect and chosen people of God, yea, and had the Spirit and grace of God, and were saved, although outwardly they were not circumcised, being notwithstanding inwardly circumcised through the Spirit of God, which indeed is the true circumcision, and most regarded of God, as St Paul Rom. a. testifieth, saying : " He is not a Jew, which is a Jew outward ; neither is that cir cumcision, which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew which is hid within; and the circumcision of the heart is the true circumcision, which eonsisteth in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 221 And it is not to be doubted but that, even among the Turks and the other heathen, there are many spiritually baptized, and so are saved, although their bodies want the water of baptism. For he is not a Christian only, which is washed with water; neither is that baptism only, which is outward in the flesh ; but that is the very baptism, which God alloweth, even to be baptized in heart through the Spirit of God, as St Peter saith : " Baptism now saveth us, not the putting away of the filthiness of the i Pet. ia. flesh, but in that a good conscience consenteth to God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." St Paul also saith : " We are the circumcision, which serve God in the spirit." Phil. iii. Again : " By Christ are ye circumcised with circumcision which is done without hands ; Coi. a. forasmuch as ye have put off the sinful body of the flesh through the circumcision that is in Christ, in that ye are also buried with him through baptism, in whom ye are also risen again through faith that is wrought by the operation of God, which raised him from death." Item\, who doubted that many and divers infants of the Israelites died without circumcision ? Shall we say that all these perished and were damned for lack of circumcision ? God forbid ! God saved not these infants for the circumcision sake, but for his merciful promise sake, and because they were comprehended in the covenant of grace, which he had made with Abraham and his posterity. And is it to be thought that this Lord our God, that Father of mercies and God of all consolation and comfort, will be less merciful to the infants of the Christians than he was to the young children of the Hebrews, seeing that the very same promise of grace, mercy, and favour is made to us that was made to them ? The infants of the Hebrews dying without circumcision were saved because of the promise ; and shall our children (whom in our hearts we have consecrated and commended to God, whom also we have greatly wished to have been baptized, if they had not been taken away by sudden death), dying without baptism, be damned, seeing that the same gracious promise doth no less appertain unto them, than it doth to the other ? Who seeth not now, how greatly their doctrine dissenteth from the truth of God's word, which teach that the infants of the Christians dying without baptism perish and are damned ? Moreover, doth not St Paul call the children of the Christians pure and clean ? 1 cor. va. If they be pure and clean, can the lack of a little water make them so unpure and so unclean, that they shall be cast out of the favour of God, and have their portion with the damned spirits in that " lake that burneth with fire and brimstone ?" " They that Rev. xxi. be pure shall see God." "The children are pure." The children therefore shall see God. icor. va. The angels, which as ministers attend upon the children for their health and safeguard, Matt. xvia. see the face of our heavenly Father ; and shall the infants, upon whom they wait at the appointment of God, be cast from the sight of that heavenly Father, because they depart unbaptized? The infants of the Christians are so dearly beloved of God, that he sendeth his angels to attend upon them; and shall the lack of an outward sign be of such force, that it shall quench this love of God toward the infants, seeing whom God once loveth, he loveth unto the end ? seeing also that " the gifts and calling of God John xiii. ... , • r ,i i* Rom. xi. are such, that it cannot repent mm ot them. Furthermore St Paul saith : " They that are led with the Spirit of God are the Rom. via. sons of God." The infants of the Christians are led with the Spirit of God, as we tofore heard of Jacob, Jeremy, and John Baptist. Therefore are the infants of the Christians the sons of God. " If they be sons, then are they also heirs ; the heirs, I Rom. via. mean, of God, and heirs annexed with Christ." How can these sons and heirs of God then be damned, if through the providence of God they be suddenly called away from this life before they can attain unto baptism, seeing " there is no damnation to them Rom. viii. which are in Christ Jesu ?" Besides all these things, what shall we say of God's election? Can the lack of ofGocTs outward baptism destroy and make of none effect the election of God; so that'' whom God hath chosen unto everlasting salvation, the want of an external sign shall cast down unto everlasting damnation ? St Paul saith : " Whom God ap- Kom. via. pointed before, them also he called : and whom he hath called, them also he justified; and whom he justified, them also he glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be on our side, who can be against us? Which spared 222 THE CATECHISM. [Part not his own Son, but gave him for us all; how can it be, that with him he should not give us all things also ? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect and chosen ? It is God that justifieth : who is he that can condemn ? It is Christ which died, yea, rather which is risen again, which is also on the right hand of God, and maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of God? &c. I am sure that no creature shall be able to pluck us from the love of God, which John vi. is in Christ Jesu our Lord." Our Saviour Christ saith also : " All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cmtieth to me I cast not away. For I came down from heaven, not to do that I will, but that he will which hath sent me. And this is the Father's will which sent me, that ''of all which he hath given me I John x. shall lose nothing, but raise them up again at the lasl day." Again he saith : " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them everlasting life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all; and no man is able to take them out of my Father's hand." If the election of God be certain, as it is most certain, who learneth not then of these aforesaid sentences, that God's elect can by no means perish ? To be elected is to Eph. i. be saved. The infants are elected : the infants therefore are saved. " God," saith St Paul, " did choose us in Christ, before the foundations of the world were laid, that we should be holy and without blame before him through love ; which ordained us before through Jesus Christ to be heirs unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherewith he hath made us accepted through the Beloved ; by whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." Of this sentence also of St Paul who learneth not, that our salvation dependeth only of the election of God, and not of any outward sacrament? Neither are we then first elected, when we be washed with the water of baptism ; but we were " elected in Christ Jesu," saith St Paul, " before the foundations of the world were laid ;" that we may certainly know that our whole salvation dependeth not of any external work, but of the free election and undoubted grace of God. Who seeth not now, that the doctrine of them which teach that christian infants, dying without the outward baptism of water, perish and are damned, utterly dissenteth from the verity of God's word ? They, therefore, that teach and hold this doctrine, are not only enemies to the salvation of the infants, but they also utterly obscure, yea, and quench the grace and election of God, and the secret operation of the Holy Ghost in the tender breasts of the most tender infants, and attribute to an external sign more than right is. John iii. Father. What sayest thou then to these words of Christ ? " Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Are not these words plain enough ? Doth it not evidently appear here that, except a man be born not only of the Spirit, but also of water, he cannot be saved ? How can infants then be saved, if they be not born of water ? Son. The like manner of speaking almost read we in the holy scripture concerning circumcision, Gen. xvii. when God said unto Abraham : " See thou keep my testament, both thou and thy seed after thee, in their generations. This is my testament, which ye shall keep, between me and you, and thy seed after thee : Every man-child among you shall be circumcised. Ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the bond between me and you ; and every man-child of eight days old shall be circumcised among you, and such as be in your generations, and born at home, and he that is bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thine house, and he also that is bought with money, must needs be circumcised ; and my testament shall be in your flesh for an everlasting bond. And the uncircumcised man-child, in whose flesh the foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall perish from his people, because he hath broken my testament." Who seeth not here what strait charge God giveth concerning circumcision ? " He must needs," saith he, " be circumcised." Again : " The uncircumcised man-child's soul shall perish." Who perceiveth not now by these words, how strait God here requireth v0 OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 223 circumcision ; so that, as the words do import outwardly, the man-child of necessity must be circumcised, otherwise his soul perisheth ? &c. What shall we then say to those infants which died before the eighth day ? are they damned ? Where then is this promise of God become ? " I will be thy God, and the Gen.^a. God of thy seed." What shall we say of God's election and predestination ? Are they made frustrate and void, because the flesh of the foreskin is not circumcised ? What shall we then say to these words of the apostle ? " Whom God appointed before, Rom. via. them also he called : and whom he hath called, them also he justified ; and whom he justified, them also he glorified. What shall we then say to these things ? If God be on our side, who can be against us ?" Again : " God Eph. i. did elect and choose us in Christ Jesu, before the foundations of the world were laid." And a little after he saith : " God hath predestinate and tofore ordained us through Jesus Christ to be heirs unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." What shall we also say to the operation of the Holy Ghost in the tender breast of the infant? Is that also vain, if circumcision be absent, specially when necessity com- pelleth ? But how standeth that with this saying of St Paul ? " They that are led Rom. via. with the Spirit of God are the sons of God." If the infants be led with the Spirit of God, as we have tofore heard, so followeth it that they are the sons of God. If they be the sons of God, then are they also the heirs of God. If they be the heirs of God, then are they also heirs annexed with Christ. If they be fellow-heirs with Christ, how can the lack of an outward ceremony condemn them, seeing it is written, " There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesu ?" Rom. via. Who doubteth but that there were many infants whom that most bloody tyrant Matt. ii. Herod slew, when he pursued the Lord Jesus, that new-born King «of the Jews, which in that persecution died without circumcision ? Shall we say that these all perished, and are damned ? and not rather (as the church of Christ believeth and confesseth) that they are blessed saints and glorious martyrs in the kingdom of God? King Pharao gave commandment to the midwives of the Hebrews' women, that Exod. i. in the birth-time they should kill all the male children of the Hebrews, and by no means to suffer them to live. What if this bloody commandment of this most bloody king had been obeyed of the midwives, so that they had slain the infants before they had been circumcised ; is it to be thought that they had so fallen away from the favour of God, that, notwithstanding his merciful promise and covenant made with them and with their fathers, they had perished and be damned? The holy scripture declareth that all the time that the people of Israel were in j0sh. v. the wilderness, which was the space of forty years, there was no circumcision used- among them. Is it not to be supposed that many in the meantime both of the younger and of the elder sort died? Shall we now say that all such were damned, because they died uncircumcised ? God forbid ! Therefore, as the young children of the Hebrews many times died before they were circumcised, and yet notwithstanding for God's election and promise sake they were saved ; so likewise the infants of the Christians, prevented by death, remain still in the favour of God and state of salvation, although (necessity so compelling) they die without baptism ; forasmuch as the gracious and merciful promise of God pertaineth now no less Gen. xvii. to the infants of the Christians, than it did in times past to young children of the Hebrews. Father. But what is to be said to this sentence of Christ? "Except a man be John ia. born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Son. The like manner of speaking read we in the gospel of St John ; and they also are the words of Christ : " Verily, verily I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the John vi. Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."., Some of the ancient fathers, understanding these words literally, thought that whosoever died without the receiving of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, was in great danger of damnation ; and therefore they ordained, that the young infants also, so soon as they were baptized, should receive the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, lest that they, departing without it, should fall from the favour of God, and so perish.; when, to say the truth, these words of Christ are not to be understand literally, but spiritually, not of the sacramental, but of the spiritual eating and drinking of Christ's body-and blood, which is done by faith. 224 THE CATECHISM. [Part John iii. John iii. Read the seventy sev enth epistle of St Ber nard '. Rom. viii. Read St Am brose deMor- te Valentini- ani. Luke xxiii. Contra Do natist. Lib. Epist. 77- And as these fathers grated too hard upon this sentence of Christ, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you ;" so likewise did those fathers cleave too much to these words of Christ, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," when they taught that the children, dying without the baptism of water, perish and are not saved. For as many of the people of God are saved, which never received the sacra ment of the body and blood of Christ, so likewise are many saved, though they were never outwardly baptized with water; forasmuch as the regeneration of a Christian eonsisteth rather in the spirit than in the flesh ; even as the circumcision also of the Jews consisted not in the letter, but in the spirit, not in the circumcision of the flesh, but in the circumcision of the heart. This text therefore of Christ, "Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit," &c. is to be understand of such as may conveniently be baptized, and yet notwithstanding contemptuously refuse baptism, and in this behalf despise the ordi nance of Christ, and by this means seclude themselves from the company of God's people. These shall not enter into the kingdom of God. For this contempt of the outward sacrament is an evident argument and a sure sign, that such despisers of God's ordinance have not the Spirit of God, without the which no man can be saved, as St Paul saith : " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of God's;" and so doth it consequently follow, that they have no portion in the inheritance of Christ and of God. But as touching the young infants, whom their parents would gladly offer unto God by baptism, (and in their hearts they have al ready dedicated them to God by prayer and a free willing spirit,) if they had not been prevented by death, they are free from this sentence of damnation; not only they, but also all other persons, of whatsoever age they are, if they do not con temn the ordinance of God, but rather in the hearts most desirously wish to receive that outward baptism of water according to the institution of Christ, if they might come by it. Such as are thus affected toward holy baptism are without doubt led with the Spirit of God; and though baptism of water be denied, yet, inwardly being baptized with the Holy Ghost, they cannot perish, but have everlasting life; as we read of a cer tain emperor called Valentmianus, which, being desirous to be baptized, and notwith standing prevented by death, came not unto baptism, and yet died in the Lord, and is saved, as St Ambrose abundantly proveth2. And who knoweth not, that in the primitive church many were suddenly taken away through the tyranny of wicked rulers from this life, before that they could attain unto the sacrament of baptism, and suffered martyrdom for the testimony of the Lord Jesus ? Shall we say that all these perished, because they lacked the water of baptism ? God forbid ! Who seeth not now then that this sentence of Christ, " Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," is not so straitly to be taken, that we should judge all those damned which die without the baptism of water ? The thief died without baptism ; yet the thief was saved, as these words of Christ spoken unto him declare manifestly : " This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." It is notably said of St Augustine : " Then is it fulfilled invisibly, when not the contempt of religion, but the article of necessity, excludeth the mystery of baptism3." And St Bernard likewise saith : " The will is taken for the deed, when necessity excludeth the deed4." [' Bernard. Op. Par. 1690. Vol. I. Tom. n. cols. 625-36.] [2 Sed audio vos dolere, quod non acceperit sacramenta baptismatis. Dicite mihi, quid aliud in nobis est, nisi voluntas, nisi petitio? Atqui etiam dudum hoc voti habuit, ut et antequam in Italiam venisset, initiaretur, et proxime baptizari se a me velle significavit ; et ideo prae ceteris causis me ac- cersendum putavit. Non habet ergo gratiam, quam desideravit : non habet quam poposcit ? Certe quia poposcit, accepit Ambros. Op. 1686-90. De Ob. Valentin. Consol. 51. Tom. II. col. 1188.] [s Sed tunc impletur invisibiliter, cum minis- terium baptismi non contemptus religionis, sed arti- culus necessitatis exeludit — August. Op. Par. 1679— 1700. DeBapt. cont. Donatist. Lib. iv. 29. Tom. IX. col. 139.] [4 Quid planius, quod voluntas pro facto repute- V0 OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 225 This thing considered right well certain fathers of Christ's church, which affirm Three kinds the baptism is divided into three kinds, that is to say, the baptism of the Holy" baptls' Ghost, the baptism of blood, and the baptism of water6; and of all these three the baptism of water is the most inferior, forasmuch as we read that divers so baptized have notwithstanding perished. But whosoever is baptized with the Holy Ghost, and so dieth, he cannot perish. For without this baptism the baptism of the water profiteth nothing. Again, such as confess Christ boldly, and seal the confession with their blood, and, through the cruelty of the most cruel persecutors prevented by death, can not come unto baptism, are no less dear and acceptable to God than [if] they were baptized with water. For they are baptized with the Holy Ghost and with their own blood ; so that in them is fulfilled this saying of the apostle : " With the heart Rom. *. it is believed unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be con- isai. xxvui. founded." Moreover, the words of Christ, which he spake after his resurrection to his disciples concerning baptism, are diligently to be noted. The words are these : " He that be- Mark xvi. lieveth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned." He saith not, He that is not baptized (with water) shall be damned; but only, "He that believeth not shall be damned;" hereby declaring that our salvation hangeth not of the water, but of the faith ; as it is written : " He that believeth on the Son John m. . hath everlasting life : but he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Of these aforesaid authorities, both of the holy scripture and also of the ancient fathers, I gather and conclude, that both the infants of the Christians, and also other of more ripe age, being of the number of the faithful, if they be prevented by death, are saved, and inheritors of everlasting life, although they depart without baptism : the infants, both because they are contained in the number of God's people, and are concluded within this most gracious promise, " I will be thy God, and the God of Gen. xva. thy seed," and also because they are prevented by death, and by this means of necessity excluded from the sacrament of baptism; the elder, because they believe in God, confess their faith, and most desirously wish to be baptized, if they might attain thereunto. Father. I cannot disallow thy doctrine in this behalf. But methink thou makest three baptisms, which is contrary to this saying of the apostle : " One Lord, one Eph. iv. faith, one baptism, one God," &c. Son. There is but one baptism. Notwithstanding, because this one baptism is of divers diversely taken, as we have tofore heard, therefore the ancient fathers of Christ's church have thus made a partition of baptism, sometime calling it the baptism of water, sometime the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and sometime the baptism of blood; forasmuch as all that are contained in the visible church are not baptized alike. With water alone are the ungodly and wicked hypocrites baptized, ^M which outwardly feign repentance and faith, when inwardly they have nothing less; and therefore the baptism profiteth them nothing at all, but rather turneth unto their damnation. With the Spirit or Holy Ghost they are baptized, which do truly repent and believe, and fix the eyes of their mind on the commandment of God, and the promise annexed to baptism. To them is the baptism of water wholesome and pro fitable. With blood are they baptized, which, prevented of death through the cruelty of the persecutors, cannot come unto the baptism of water, although greatly wished; and yet notwithstanding boldly and stoutly confess Christ and his holy gospel before the tyrants of this world, yea, and confirm with their death and seal with their blood this their confession. These are holy martyrs and blessed witnesses of Christ; and therefore they are as acceptable and dear unto God, as though they were baptized with water. tur, ubi factum excludit necessitas 1 — Bernard. Op. Par. 1690. Epist. lxxvii. seu Tract, de Bapt. ad Hug. de S. Vict. cap. ii. 8. Vol. I. Tom. n. col. 629.] [6 This distinction may be frequently found made or implied by ancient writers. See Cypr. Op. Oxon, [BECON, II.] 1682. Prafat. ad Fortunat. De Exhort. Martyr. pp. 168, 9 ; Epist. Ixxiii. ad Jubaian. pp. 198, &c. : also Cyril. Hieros. Op. Par. 1720. Cateches. m. 9, 10. p. 44. See also Polyd. Verg. De Rer. Inventor. Basil. 1570. Lib. iv. cap. iv. p. 308.] 15 Matt, xxvin. 22f5 THE CATECHISM. [Part Father. And are these three kinds of baptism approved of God's word? Son. Yea, verily. Father. Where ? Let me hear. Son. Of the baptism of water Christ our Saviour speaketh on this manner : " Baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Mark xvi. Son, and of the Holy Ghost." " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, or of the Spirit, Christ also said thus to his Actsi. apostles : "John baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." And of the baptism of blood the Lord Christ hath these words spoken unto James Matt. xx. and John, which desired to be highest in authority with Christ : " Can ye drink of the cup which I shall drink, and be baptized with the baptism wherewith I shall Luke xa. be baptized?" Again he saith: "I must be baptized with a baptism; and how am I pained till it be ended ! " Father. I perceive now right well, that baptism is an holy mystery and blessed sacrament. Son. Nothing is more true. For it is an holy ordinance instituted of God, and no practice of man's imagination, put in use in Christ's time, and after his resurrection commanded to be ministered unto all that believe, whether they were Jews or gentiles. For although it appeareth outwardly never so base a thing to be washed with water, yet it is an honourable mystery, and ought to be had in great reverenee and price, because it was commanded of God to be done ; insomuch that whosoever contemneth this holy sacrament, and refuse to be baptized, when opportunity serveth, is not of God, neither appertaineth he unto the kingdom of God. For he that despiseth the ordinance of God, despiseth God himself. Whether bap- Father. What judgest thou of them that minister baptism twice to one person? twlce'mmis6 Son. You speak of the anabaptists, which, condemning the baptism of infants as a Person0 °ne thing both vain and unprofitable (such is their madness), because they cannot openly protest their faith before the world, teach that they ought to be baptized again, when they come to age and have the use of reason, being able to confess their own faith. This doctrine of the wieked anabaptists I utterly both contemn and condemn as a doctrine pestiferous and poisonful, which plainly dissenteth from the word of God and from the practice of the primitive church ; forasmuch as we have tofore heard, the baptism of infants is grounded on the word of God, pleaseth him, and is acceptable unto him, even no less than is the baptism of the elder sort. Whosoever therefore is once baptized, of whatsoever age he be, according to. the institution and word of God, isai. xi. which abideth for ever, he ought not to be baptized again. For to be baptized again Ma"' v' is none other thing than to mock and blaspheme God, to recount God a liar, as one which either will not, or else is not able to keep his word uttered in baptism, to doubt of his ordinance, to call our salvation into question, &c. whether the Father. What thinkest thou of baptism, if it be ministered of a wicked and ungodly of the minis- minister? Son. It is to-be wished, that such as are appointed to be spiritual ministers theworthi- in the church of Christ should be men both in doctrine and life godly and virtuous, tism. that they might be no stumbling-blocks to the congregation of God, but edify God's people both with sound learning and christian conversation. But if it so chanceth, that the life of him which, being admitted unto the public ministry, baptizeth, he evil, wicked, and ungodly ; yet notwithstanding, the aforesaid minister ministering bap tism truly, and according to the institution of Christ, his wicked life and ungodly conversation hindereth baptism nothing at all. For the sacraments, when they be lawfully and duly ministered, are not of force and strength for the worthiness of the minister, but for the institution and ordinance of God, that the promise may be certain. For it is Christ himself which truly and properly baptizeth, and not man, whose ministry, as an hand, Christ useth in bap tizing. Man baptizeth outwardly ; but Christ baptizeth inwardly. Man washeth the body with water; but Christ cleanseth the soul with his holy Spirit. in scrm. de For, as St Cyprian saith : " Whether Judas or Paul baptizeth, Christ washeth, absolveth, and putteth away the sin1." itisino. [' ....quoniam sive Judas sive Paulus baptizet; I Op. Oxon. 1682. De Baptism. Christ. This is one Christus peccatum lavat, absolvit, et delet Cypr. | of the treatises of Arnold, abbot of Bonavalla, p. 31.J v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— BAPTISM. 227 " To forgive sins in baptism, and to give the Holy Ghost," saith St Ambrose, i" i cor. ia. "is the office of God alone. If God therefore give the effect of health, then is there no glory of man in this behalf. For we know that the Holy Ghost was given of Acts x. God without laying on of hands, and that he which was not yet baptized obtained remission of sins2." " As concerning the visible ministry, both good and bad baptize ; but invisibly he contra Cres- by them baptizeth, whose both the visible baptism and the invisible grace is. Both cap.' 21. ' "' good and bad may baptize; but to wash the conscience, that can none do, but he which is alway good," saith St Austin3." Again he saith: "To minister and to dis- Contra Pctii. tribute the word and sacrament the minister is somewhat; but to make clean and to «• ' " justify he is nothing. For this thing worketh he only in the inward man, by whom the whole man is made4." Father. Whether is it requisite and necessary that the infant which should be whether in- baptized be plunged down into the water ; or is it sufficient that a little water be poured baptism upon his head or upon his face ? Son. It appeareth by the writings of the ancient fathers, plunged Tertullian, Damasus, Cyril, Austin, Ambrose, Basil, Theophylact6, and divers other, the water. that in times past, both in the Greek and Latin church, the custom was to dip such as should be be baptized thrice into the water, in token that they are baptized in the name of the glorious Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, one alone true and everlasting God. And the plunging into the water signified that we are ^M buried with Christ, as the plucking of us out of the water preacheth unto us that we be risen again with Christ ; which thing St Paul also teacheth in these words : " Know ye not that all we which are baptized into Jesus Christ are baptized to Kom. vi. die with him? We are buried then with him by baptism for to die; that likewise as Christ was raised up from death by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in a new life. For if we be graft in death like unto him, even so shall we be partakers of the resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him also, that the body of sin might utterly be destroyed, that henceforth we should not be servants unto sin." But to dip them thrice into the fount, as the manner was then, I think it not to be of necessity ; but it may seem to suffice, if water be Note. poured upon their head or upon their face. Christ commanded to baptize all men ; but he left the manner of baptizing free to his church, whether they would wash the whole body, or some part thereof. More- 4J§ over, as all the people of the Jews was counted to be sprinkled with the blood of the covenant, because it was accustomed to be sprinkled upon all, when notwithstand ing not their whole bodies, but some part of them was imbrued with the blood ; so likewise a man or an infant is taken to be wholly baptized, dipped, and cleansed, when some one member only is overflowed with water, dipped, or cleansed. For this lawish sprinkling" was a figure of the blood of Christ, wherewith the consciences are sprinkled, and of our baptism. Furthermore, seeing that the virtue and power of [2 See before, page 219, note 3.] [8 Baptizant ergo, quantum adtinet ad visibile ministerium, et boni etmali: invisibiliter autem per eos ille baptizat, cujus est et visibile baptisma et invisibilis gratia. Tinguere ergo possunt et boni et ¦rhali ; abluere autem conscientiam non nisi ille qui semper est bonus August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. Cont. Crescon. Donatist. Lib. n. 26. Tom. IX. coi. 423.] [* Ad ministrandum et dispensandum verbum ac sacramentum aliquid est [minister Christi] : ad mun- dandum autem et justih'candum non est aliquid ; quia hoc non operatur in interiore homine, nisi per quem creatus est totus homo Id. Cont. Litt. Petil. Lib. 111. 66. cols. 331, 2.] [6 See Tertull. Op. Lut. Par. 1641. Advers. Prax. cap. xxvi. p. 659; Joan. Damasc. Op. (perhaps Damasus in the text is an error) Basil. 1575. Orthodox. Fid. Lib. iv. cap. a. p. 296; Cyril. Hieros. Op. Par. 1720. Cateches. Myst. 11. 4. p. 312 ; August, in Decret. Gratiani, Par. 1583. Deer. Tert. Pars, De Consecr. Dist. iv. can. 78. cols. 2473, 4 ; Ambros. Op. Par. 1686-90. De Sacram. Lib. h. cap. vii. 20. Tom. II. col. 359; Basil. Op. Par. 1721-30. De Spir. Sanct. cap. xxvii. Tom. III. p. 55 ; Theophyl. Op. Venet. 1754-63. Comm. in Naum, cap. i. Tom. IV. p. 221. The practice was at length relinquished, because certain Arians chose to interpret the three immersions as denoting a dif ference or division in the three divine Persons. Gregory the Great, being consulted thereupon, pro nounced against it ; and some time after the fourth council of Toledo decreed that only one immersion should be used — See Greg. Leandr. Episc. Hisp. Lib. i. Epist. xii. in Decret. Gratiani, Deer. Tert. Pars, De Consecr. Dist. iv. can. 80. cols. 2475, 6 ; and Concil. Tolet. 4. c. 5, in eod. can. 85. cols. 2477, 8.] [6 Lawish sprinkling : that sprinkling which was prescribed and practised under the law.] 15—2 228 THE CATECHISM. [Part cleansing the minds cometh not from the water, it is all one matter, whether the whole body, or some part thereof, as the head, be washed. It is therefore sufficient, if the signification of spiritual baptism be observed. That to " baptize" signifieth not to plunge the whole man into the water, it may easily be gathered both of St Mark's and St Luke's gospel, where we read thus: Mark vii. Reversi a foro non comedunt nisi prius baptizati ; that is : " The Pharisees, when they come home from the market, eat not, except they first be baptized," that is to say, wash Luke xi. their hands. Again : Mirabatur Phariswus, quod Christus non baptizatus accumbat mensm ; that is : " The Pharisee marvelled that Christ was not baptized," that is to say, washed not his hands, "before he sat down at the table." ofgod-fathers Father. What thinkest thou of those which promise for the infant in his baptism, mothers. whom they call god-fathers and god-mothers ? Son. The custom is old and ancient in the church of Christ, and hath from time to time been used among the Christians above fourteen hundred years ; and it is no less commendable than ancient, if the god fathers and god-mothers satisfy their promise, and do according as they have said, in bringing up the young infant in the nurture and doctrine of the Lord, in the faith, Fatheraought fear, and love of God, in the obedience of God's holy law, &c. But this I greatly to be present . • atthebaptism discommend in the church of the papists, that they will by no means suffer the fa- dren. thers of the infants to be present at the baptism of their children, whom God above Eph. vi. all other hath commanded to instruct and to bring up their children in the knowledge of his holy law, and of them will require a strait accompts concerning the education and bringing up of their young ones. Therefore, as I do not discommend the custom of having god-fathers and god-mothers, which should openly promise for their god children that they shall mortify the root of sin, which springeth in the bodies, and subdue their lusts under the law of God ; again, that they will instruct and bring up their god-children in the faith of Christ ; so likewise do I utterly discommend this use, that fathers cannot be suffered to be present at the baptism of their own children, and there also promise, before God and his holy congregation, that they will, unto the uttermost of their power, provide and see that their children shall so be brought up, that even from their cradles they shall drink in the principles of christian reli gion, and learn to know and serve God, that their whole life may be agreeable to their profession. Father. It were good, in my opinion, that the parents should be present at the baptism of their children, and so there promise, and afterward do, as thou hast said. For it should put them well in remembrance of the duty which they owe by the word of God unto their children. Well, my son, we have now sufficiently conferred of the holy sacrament of bap tism, and of the principal things pertaining unto the same. Let us now somewhat talk of the other sacrament, I mean the holy supper of the Lord, otherwise called the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. Son. Let it so be, my most loving and dear father. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. what the Father. Tell me, first of all, what the Lord's supper is. Son. After the definition is°r ssupper0f St Paul, it is the partaking of the body and blood of Christ. icor.x. Father. Why, what saith St Paul in this behalf? Son. Thus saith he: "Is not the bread which we break the partaking of the body of Christ? And is not the cup of thanksgiving, for the which we give thanks, the partaking of the blood of Christ?" Father. Let me hear other definitions of the Lord's supper, if thou hast any in store. Son. The Lord's supper is an holy and heavenly banquet, in the which the faithful Christians, besides the corporal eating of the bread, and the outward drinking of the wine, do spiritually through faith both eat the body of Christ and drink his blood, unto the confirmation of their faith, the comfort of their conscience, and the sal vation of their souls. V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 229 Or thus : The supper of the Lord is a spiritual food, in the which Christ Jesus the Son of God witnesseth that he is the living bread, wherewith our souls are fed John vi, unto everlasting life. Or on this manner: The supper of the Lord is an holy sacrament instituted of the Lord Jesu, to be a commemoration and a perpetual remembrance of his body- breaking and blood-shedding, yea, of his passion and death on the altar of the cross, that the faithful communicants, eating and receiving those holy mysteries, (I mean the bread and wine sanctified in the body and blood of Christ,) should earnestly set before their eyes the death of Christ and all the benefits which they have received through the same; that is to say, the grace, favour, and mercy of God, remission of sins, quietness of conscience, freedom from the captivity of Satan, from the curse of the law, from the sting of death, and from everlasting damnation, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and assurance of eternal life ; and that by this means they should be pro voked and stirred up to magnify and praise our heavenly Father, for this his unout speakable kindness and exceeding great love. Or on this wise briefly : The supper of the Lord is a memorial of Christ's death. Father. Who instituted and ordained this holy and heavenly banquet, which is who did in- stitute the called the supper of the Lord ? Son. Not angel nor archangel ; not king nor patri- Lord's sup- arch, nor yet mere man ; but Christ Jesus the Lord, both God and man, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Father. Where readest thou that? Son. In the evangelist and in St Paul. Matt. xxvi. Father. Let me hear the words of the institution of the Lord's supper. Son. St Luke xxa. Paul reciteth them on this manner : " The Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread ; and ' Cor- *'¦ when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which is broken for you : this do ye in the remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when supper was done, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood :' this do, so oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." Father. To what use, or for what purpose did the Lord Christ institute this his holy Why Christ supper ? Son. First, that it should be an holy memorial and worthy remembrance of supper. his passion and death, of his body-breaking and blood-shedding, which he suffered on the altar of the cross ; where " he offered himself an acceptable oblation and a sweet-smelling EPh. v. sacrifice unto God " the Father, for us and for our sins, that by his temporal death we i cor. xv. might be delivered from everlasting death. hos.' "ai. Father. How provest thou, that Christ ordained this his supper to be a memorial of his death and passion ? Son. It is evident both by the word of Christ and also of St Paul. For thus saith the Lord Jesu : " This do in the remembrance of me." And Luke xxii. St Paul saith : " So oft as ye shall eat this bread, and drink of this cup, ye shall i Cor. xi. shew the Lord's death till he come." Again, in that the Lord's supper is a sacrament, that is to say, a sign of an holy thing (bread is the sign of Christ's body, and the wine is the sign of his blood), it doth sufficiently instruct and teach us, that it was ordained of Christ to be a memorial of his death and passion. For sacraments are instituted unto this end, to put us in remembrance of other things, which are signified by them ; as the water of baptism, wherewith the body is outwardly washed, preacheth unto us that our souls are inwardly washed by the blood of Christ, and cleansed and sanc tified by the Holy Ghost. Father. Was it of necessity that Christ should die for us ? Son. Otherwise could The necessity we never have been saved. For there was nothing found, neither in heaven nor in earth, of Christ. of such and so great price, dignity, and worthiness in the sight of God, that could pacify the wrath of God, and satisfy his justice, and pay our ransom for our sins, and so reconcile us to God, and make an everlasting agreement between him and us, but Christ alone, that " Lamb of God," without spot, " which taketh away the sin Exod.. xii. of the world." For all creatures were found spotted in the sight of God, and unapt to accomplish the work of our salvation ; so that of necessity the Son of God must by himself alone fulfil this work of our redemption, as it is written : " The blood of Heb. x. 230 THE CATECHISM. [Part oxen and of goats cannot take away sins. Wherefore when he (Christ) cometh into Psai. xi. the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not have ; but a body hast thou ordained me. Burnt offerings also for sin hast thou not allowed. Then said I, Lo, I am here. In the beginning of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will, O God. Above," saith St Paul, " when he saith, Sacrifice and offering and burnt sacrifices and sin offerings thou wouldest not have, neither hast thou allowed them, (which yet are offered by the law); then said he, Lo, I am here to do thy will, 0 God. He taketh away the first to stablish the latter; by which will we are made holy, even by the offering of the body of Jesu Christ once for all." Father. Though sufficient dignity, worthiness, and perfection could not be found in the sacrifices of beasts and fowls to pacify the wrath of God kindled against man for sin; was there neither angel nor man in heaven or in earth of such worthiness and integrity, that might perfectly have finished this work of our salvation? Son. Rom. ai. As concerning men, it is thus written : " There is no difference : all have sinned. There Psa.1 xiv is none righteous, no, not one. All are gone out of the way : they are all unprofit- Rom. xi. able : there is none that doth good, no, not one." " God hath wrapped all nation Gai. in. in unbelief, that he might have mercy on all." "The scripture hath concluded all things under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ should be given unto them EPh. ii. that believe." "We are all by nature the children of wrath." " Through the sin of one isai. ix. ixiv. (Adam) death went over all men ; forasmuch as all have sinned." We are all hypo crites, unclean, sheep that run astray, and "all our righteousnesses are as a cloth Prov. xx. defiled1." The perfectest of us all is not able to say, "My heart is clean, and I am Eecies. vii. free from sin." " There liveth none, even the most righteous, that sinneth not." " No Psai. exliii. living creature is righteous before the eyes of God." Seeing then that the whole kind of man is unpure, wicked, unrighteous, defiled with sin, estranged from all goodness, and a very lump of lewdness, what can such a monster of wickedness do unto the reconciliation Eccius. either of himself or of other unto God? "Of the unclean, what can be cleansed?" Who Job xiv. can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed, but God alone ? And as touching the angels, neither are they so pure in the sight of God, that they were of sufficient worthiness and worthy sufficiency to make an agreement between Jobiv. God and man. For even in them also was there found folly, as Job saith: insomuch 2 Pet. «. that " God spared not the angels that sinned," as St Peter writeth, " but cast them down into hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness (to be punished) to be kept unto judgment." In angels then also was there found imperfection ; so that they were no meet mediators between God and man, to set a love-day between them, and to bring them unto an unity. Who seeth not now then, how necessary the death of Christ was ? without the which no reconciliation could have been made between God and man. Yea, not only things in earth, but also things in heaven are made at one with God through the passion and Eph. i. death of Christ, as St Paul testifieth, saying: "God hath restored and made all things perfect by Christ, both the things which are in heaven, and the things which are in coi. i. earth." Again : " It pleased the Father, that in Christ should all fulness dwell, and by him to reconcile all thing unto himself, and to set at peace by him, through the blood of his cross, both things in heaven and things in earth." Father. By the death of Christ then are we delivered from our sins, and from Kom.iv. the captivity of Satan. -Sow. Yea, verily, Christ was delivered unto the death for i cor. vi. our sins. " We are washed, we are made holy, we are justified and made righteous by the name of the Lord Jesu, and through the Spirit of our God." In Christ God made agreement between the world and himself, and imputed not their sins unto them. Yea, 2 cor. v. " God made Christ, which knew no sin, to be sin for us (that is to say, a sacrifice for sin), that we by his means should be made that righteousness," which before God is allowed. EPh. i. " By Christ we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." By the Eph. a. means of Christ Jesus " we, which were sometime far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ; for he is our peace; so that now we are not strangers and foreigners, but EPh. v. citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." " Christ loved us, and gave — r __ [' Two words are omitted.] V..] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORDS SUPPER. 231 himself for us, an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God." " We are made Heb. x. holy by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ done once for all ;" so that " Christ is Heb. vii. able even unto the full to save them which come unto God by him." Father. And to remember this his passion and death, by the which we have received so many noble and precious benefits, the Lord Christ instituted .this holy sacrament, which the apostle calleth "The Lord's Supper." Son. Yea, verily. And therefore they, that will worthily and with fruit come unto this holy and heavenly banquet, must diligently consider, remember, and set before the eyes of their mind the passion and death of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesu, and the merits and bene fits thereof; that by this means they may the more earnestly be stirred up both unto thanksgiving, and also unto a continual meditation of a better life. Father. Is there any other cause, why the Lord Jesu did ordain this his holy supper? Son. You have heard the chief and principal cause, which is the remem brance of Christ's death. Another end why this holy banquet was instituted is, that it should be a sign and a token of the unity and concord, of the hearty good will and singular friendship, and of the perfect agreement in doctrine and religion that ought to be among them that profess Christ. And this is that which St Paul writeth : "We, though we be many, yet are one bread and one body; inasmuch as we all are i Cor. x. partakers of one bread." Father. They then, which will approach unto the table of the Lord, ought not only to shew themselves mindful of the Lord's passion and death, but also provide that they bring with them charitable, friendly, and loving hearts toward all men, and minds settled in the truth of God's word, and in the unity of his true religion. Son. So is it. For whosoever presume to come unto the table of the Lord with uncharitable hearts, and with minds dissenting from the truth of God's word, and estranged from the unity of God's holy congregation, they shall find nothing there but the wrath and anger of God, the displeasure and vengeance of God, and finally (except repent ance conjoined with true faith come) everlasting death and damnation. For this holy table of the Lord abhorreth no sin so greatly as envy, hatred, malice, anger, dis pleasure, distraction of minds, dissension in religion, &c. In consideration whereof the ancient fathers of Christ's church in times past were wont to call this holy banquet or supper of the Lord Agape2, that is to say "love," to put men in remembrance, that none should come unto that heavenly table, where the blessed sacrament of love is ministered and set forth, but such as came with hearts inflamed with true love and unfeigned charity toward all men. They, therefore, which presume otherwise to come, are companions with Judas, into whom Satan entered so soon John xiii. as he had unreverently and unworthily tasted of these holy mysteries, never forsaking Matt. xxvi. him till he had brought him unto desperation, destruction, and damnation. Seeing we be members all of one body, and have one head, even the Lord Christ Jesus; seeing also we have all one heavenly Father, one elder brother, one inheritance in the kingdom of heaven ; again, seeing we all be baptized with one baptism, and eat of one bread, and drink of one cup; what thing should be of so great force to dissolve this unity, and to break that concord and amity, which we ought continually to have among us, both in doctrine and manners ? " In this thing shall all men know," saith John xia. Christ, "that ye are my disciples, if one of you love another." And the blessed apostle St Paul exhorteth us, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we "allicor.i. speak one thing, and that there be no dissension among us, but that we may be an whole body, of one mind, and of one meaning;" yea, and that the same affection may Phil. a. reign in us one toward another, that was in Christ Jesu, so that, " if one member suffer, i cor. xii. all should suffer with him ; and if one member be had in honour, all members should be glad also," " forasmuch as we be members one of another," and have one head, even the Lord Jesu. [2 Ouk e£o'i/ eWu> xmi°'S "TO" enridKolcov outs ^aiTTi^eiv oUtc dydirr\v iroielv. — Ignat. ad Smyrn. 8. in Patr. Apostol. Oxon. 1838. Tom. II. p. 414. It ought to be observed, that Ignatius is by some supposed to mean here not the Lord's supper itself, but the Agape, or feast of charity which accom panied it; of which our author afterwards makes mention. See below, page 251.] 232 THE CATECHISM. [Part Father. What other causes are there of the institution of the Lord's supper ? Son. The Lord Christ ordained this holy supper also, that we, worthily enjoying the same, should the better be confirmed in our faith, and nothing doubt of the promise and good will of God toward us ; but faithfully and constantly be persuaded, that whatsoever our heavenly Father hath promised us in Christ, and for Christ's sake, Hos. xiii. that will he abundantly perform; so that we need not fear the tyranny of Satan, the Eph. a. curse of the law, the horror of death, the dart of desperation, the pains of hell, nor Heii. ii. any other thing, whatsoever is most contrary to our health and salvation, which all Bom. via. be taken away by the death of Christ. " If God be on our side," saith St Paul, " who can be against us ? which spared not his own Son, but gave him for us all : how can it be, that with him he should not give us all things also?" For who Rom. iv. knoweth not, that sacraments are the seals of God, annexed to his most comfortable promises, which he hath most graciously made to all sinners that repent and believe, that through the contemplation and beholding of them, yea, through the enjoying and using of them, their faith may be stirred up, increased, and confirmed? Again, this holy sacrament was instituted of the Lord Jesu, to preach unto us that his blessed body and his precious blood is the true nourishment of the faithful soul ; and that through this meat, which is received by faith, our souls be relieved, comforted, sustained, made strong, joyful, and merry, and preserved unto everlast- John vi. ing life, as Christ himself testifieth, saying : " I am the bread of life : he that cometh to me shall not hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that putteth his trust in me hath everlasting life." " I am that living bread, which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." " Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life ; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live for the Father; even so he that eateth me shall live by the means of me." Furthermore, another cause of the institution of this heavenly banquet is to move us to be thankful unto our heavenly Father for the death and passion of his Son, and for the inestimable benefits, fruits, and commodities, which we have plentifully obtained by the same, as deliverance from Satan, freedom from the curse of the law, forgiveness of sins, quietness of conscience, the gift of the Holy Ghost, victory against sin, death, and hell, righteousness before God, salvation, and everlasting life. And to this end the ancient fathers of Christ's church called the supper of the Lord Saeramentum Eucharistiw1, that is to say, the " sacrament of thanksgiving." So likewise read we Acts ii. 0f the primitive and apostolic church : " All that believed," saith blessed Luke, " con tinued daily with one accord in the temple, and brake bread from house to house, and did eat their meat together with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." 1 cor. x. And St Paul saith : " Is not the cup of thanksgiving, for the which we give thanks, partaking of the blood of Christ?" &e. Father. Now that thou hast declared unto me, what the Lord's supper is, who did institute it, and for what purpose and end it was ordained and commanded to be frequented and used in the church of Christ, come off, tell me how we ought to prepare ourselves unto the worthy receiving of so worthy and holy mysteries, that we, coming worthily and reverently unto them, may be made partakers of all those heavenly benefits, which Christ hath purchased of God the Father for us by his glorious passion and blessed death. Son. This thing is also necessary to be known. icor. xi. And unto this doth the apostle exhort us, saying: "Whosoever shall eat of this bread, or drink of the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and [' This name is found given to the Lord's supper in Justin. See below, page 239, note 2. Other authorities might easily be added.] V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORDS SUPPER. 233 drink of the cup. For he that eateth or drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh his own damnation; because he maketh no difference of the Lord's body." The Lord our God can by no means abide that any man should come unto his holy sacraments with unwashed feet, as they use to say; that is, unreverently and unworthily, as we may see also in the old law. Was not this the commandment of God, that when the people of Israel did eat the Lord's passover, otherwise called the Exod. xii. paschal lamb (which was the sacrament and figure of the true paschal Lamb, even Christ Jesus, " which taketh away the sin of the world"), they should eat sweet and John i. unleavened bread, and suffer no leaven to be in their houses, nor yet taste of any leavened bread by the space of seven days; and if any did the contrary, that that soul should be plucked out from Israel ? Was not Uzza stricken of God even unto 2 sam. vi. the death, because he unworthily touched the ark of the Lord? Was not a certain man taken from the table, bound hand and foot, and cast into utter darkness, where Matt. xxii. weeping and gnashing of teeth shall be, because he presumed to come unto the marriage of a certain noble king's son without the wedding garment? Did not the devil enter into Judas immediately after he had unworthily received the holy mysteries John xia. of the body and blood of Christ ? Writeth not St Paul, that the Corinthians were 1 cor. xi. both grievously and diversly plagued of God, because they came unreverently unto the Lord's table? And who doubteth but that even at this present time many plagues are cast upon us for abusing this holy sacrament ? It is therefore convenient, that we learn how we may come unto so holy mysteries not unworthily, but worthily, not unto our damnation, but unto our salvation ; lest, where we seem to seek remedy and comfort, we find destruction and displeasure. Father. Well said, my son. Let me therefore now hear, how we ought to prepare How we shau ourselves worthily to come unto the table of the Lord, lest, where we seek consolation, selves unto we find desolation. Son. Whosoever intendeth with fruit to come unto the table of table. the Lord, and worthily to receive the holy mysteries of the body and blood of our Saviour Christ, he must first of all even from the very heart repent him of his former Kepentance. wicked life, lament earnestly his corrupt manners, abhor his old ungodly conver sation, and be heartily sorry that ever he hath committed such wickedness against the Lord his God, and so disobediently transgressed and broken his holy and blessed commandments. Father. Is this repentance so necessary for the worthy preparation unto the coming to the Lord's table? Son. It is so necessary, that whosoever presumeth to come unto the supper of the Lord without this repentance, he shall not only not receive any benefit at the Lord's table, but he also shall be guilty of the body and blood of Christ, and get unto himself everlasting damnation. The unpenitent sinners are meet guests for the table of the devil; but such doth not the Lord admit unto his table, as St Paul saith : " I would not that ye should have fellowship with the 1 cor. %. devils. Ye cannot drink of the cup of the Lord, and of the cup of the devils. Ye cannot be the partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of the devils." If any man therefore intendeth to come unto the Lord's table worthily, let him bring repentance with him, yea, and that not feigned, but hearty repentance; as we read of David, Peter, Mary Magdalen, the thief, and such like. For true repentance is 2 sam. xxir. an acceptable sacrifice unto God, as David witnesseth : " A sacrifice to God is a Mattr°xxviX1' troubled spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, shalt thou not despise." Lute xxii. And the Lord himself saith by the prophet : " Which of them shall I regard ? Even fsSixvi. him that is poor, and of a lowly troubled spirit, and standeth in awe of my words." To the penitent and sorrowful-hearted is Christ a Saviour, and not to such as glory and delight in their sin. " Repent," saith the scripture, " for the kingdom of God," Matt, iv, that is to say, remission of sins, " is at hand." " Repentance" goeth before, and Luke ixiv. "remission of sins" followeth; so that without repentance remission of sins is looked for in vain; as Christ saith: "Except ye repent, ye shall all perish." And the Luke xiii. apostle saith : " Godly sorrow causeth repentance unto salvation not to be repented 2 Cor. va. of." St Peter also saith : " God resisteth the proud, but he favoureth the humble l Pet. v. and lowly." Father. What followeth? Sdn. Out of this hearty and earnest repentance must 234 THE CATECHISM. [Part Confession unto God. Psai. xxxii. 1 John I. Luke xv. Luke xviii. Matt. ix. Luke xv. Eph. v. Heb. vii. ix. Matt. xxii. also an humble confession of the repented sins unto God issue ; so that we do not dissemble nor cloke our sins, but with all humility and lowliness of heart confess them, and frankly and freely grant that we have most wickedly disobeyed the Lord our God, and transgressed his holy and blessed will. Father. Is the confession of sins also necessary for them that will worthily come unto the Lord's table? Son. Yea, verily. Father. And doth it profit also unto everlasting life ? Son. Who doubteth of that ? Hear what the psalmograph saith : " I will knowledge my sin, 0 Lord, unto thee, and mine unrighteousness will I not hide. I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin." Hear also what St John saith : " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." David, guilty both of whoredom and manslaughter, after, he had repented him and confessed that he had sinned against the Lord, heard these sweet and comfortable words at the mouth of the prophet Nathan : " The Lord hath put away thy sin : thou shalt not die." The prodigal son, which had riotously and wickedly spent his father's goods, after that he fell to repentance, humbled himself before his father, and confessed his sins, saying, '* 0 father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son," was clearly forgiven; so that his father had compassion on him, ran unto him, fell on his neck, and kissed him, and caused the best garment to be brought forth and to be put on him, and a ring to be put on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and a fat calf to be killed, that they might eat and make merry, because his son which was dead was alive again, and he that was lost was found again. The poor publican, which was so ashamed of his sins, that he durst not look up unto heaven, but stood afar off, and smote upon his breast, saying, " 0 God, be merciful to me a sinner," went borne to his house more justified than the proud Pharisee for all his glistering works. For Christ " came not to call the righteous," that is to say, such as justify themselves, " but sinners unto repentance." " There is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, than over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance." i Father. Is repentance and confession of sins unto God sufficient for the worthy preparation unto the Lord's table? Son. That which followeth is so necessary, that without it both repentance and confession profit nothing at all. Father. What is that? Son. Faith. Father. What is that to say ? Son. A sure and an undoubted persuasion or belief of heart, that though the sins of them that intend to come unto the Lord's table be never so great and many, yet notwithstanding that they shall be freely and fully for given of God the Father for his Son Christ Jesus' sake, for his passion and death, for his blessed body-breaking and precious blood-shedding, for the dignity and worthiness of that one and alone sweet-smelling sacrifice, which he offered once for all, sufficient to the uttermost for the salvation of the whole world, unto God his Father on the cross. Father. Is this faith necessary to the faithful communicant? Son. So necessary y that without it all other preparations are frustrate and vain. For " he that believeth on the Son of God," saith the scripture, " hath everlasting life : but he that believeth not on the Son of God shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him." Faith is the wedding-garment, wherewith whosoever is not clad, and yet presumeth to come unto the marriage of the Son of God, he shall be bound hand and foot, and cast into utter darkness, where weeping and gnashing of teeth shall be. And these are they (I speak of the unfaithful), which most unworthily come unto the Lord's table, and are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord ; yea, and whatsoever they receive there, they receive it unto the damnation both of their body and soul. Therefore such as intend with fruit to come unto the Lord's table, they may not only bring with them repentance and confession of their sins, but also this faith, wherewith they are most assuredly persuaded that they have obtained full and perfect remission of all their sins through the blood and death of Christ, and that whatsoever Christ V.3 OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 235 suffered on the altar of the cross, he suffered it altogether for them and for their sins : again, whatsoever he won, got, and purchased by his passion and death, he got it altogether for them and for their salvation ; so that whole Christ, with all the benefits, merits, profits, fruits, and commodities, which he obtained of God his Father in his humanity, is altogether theirs, their own, and their right ; forasmuch as they believe in Christ, and with strong faith embrace him as their alone perfect and omnisufficient Saviour, as St Paul saith : " Christ is the perfect fulfilling of the law to justify Rom. x. every one that believeth." Again : " Christ is our wisdom, and righteousness, and i c°r- '¦ sanctification, and redemption, that, according as it is written, He that rejoiceth should Jer. ix. rejoice in the Lord." And the prophet saith : " Whosoever believeth on him shall isai. xxviu. not be confounded." To stir up and to confirm the faith of the faithful communicants in that behalf, it shall be necessary diligently to weigh, ponder, and consider these sweet and com fortable promises, which are annexed to the holy mysteries of the body and blood of our Saviour Christ ; even these : " Which shall be betrayed for you," " which shall be Matt. xxvi. shed for you and for many, unto the remission of sins." For in them doth our greatest consolation and comfort consist, if we believe them. Little doth it profit us to believe that Christ's body was broken, and his blood shed, except we believe that his body was broken and his blood shed for our sins, for our wealth and commodity, for our profit and singular benefit; even as it pleasureth us nothing to believe that Christ was born, except we also believe that he was born for us and for our salvation, as the prophet saith : " A child is born to us, and a son is given to us." For this must isai. ix. be our faith, belief, and undoubted persuasion, that Christ gave up his body to be crucified, and his blood to be shed, that he might purchase unto us remission and forgiveness of all our sins, the grace, favour, and mercy of God, quietness of conscience, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and in fine, everlasting salvation, as St Paul saith : " God 2 cor. v. made him to be sin (that is to say, a sacrifice for sin) for us, which knew no sin, that we by his means should be made that righteousness," which before him is allowed. Again : " Christ loved us, and gave himself for us, an offering and a sweet-smelling Eph. v. sacrifice to God." Father. If the communicants bring with them unto the Lord's table repentance, confession, and faith, is it then sufficient? Son. Out of this repentance and faith, whereof I have hitherto spoken, must true, fervent, christian, vehement, and brenning charity. charity or love toward our neighbour spring; so that we must also diligently consider how the matter standeth between us and our neighbour. For this supper of the Lord, as it abhorreth all sin, so likewise doth it most chiefly detest hatred, malice, envy, rancour, displeasure, and whatsoever is contrary to christian charity and brotherly love; being itself, as we tofore heard, a sacrament of love, unity, and concord. Father. Is charity and love so necessary also to them that intend worthily to come unto the table of the Lord? Son. So necessary, that without it, whatsoever we do at the Lord's table, it turneth unto damnation. To speak with the tongues of men 1 c0r. xiii. and of angels ; to prophesy and to understand all secrets and all knowledge ; to have all faith, so that we could move mountains out of their places; to bestow all our goods to feed the poor ; yea, to give our bodies to be burned ; profiteth nothing, without charity and love. " Every one that loveth," saith St John, " is born of God, and knoweth God. But 1 John iv. he that loveth not knoweth not God ; for God is love." " If any man say, I love God, and yet hate his brother, he is a liar. For how can he, that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, love God whom he hath not seen?" "Every one that 1 John iii. hateth his brother is a manslayer." "In this," saith the Lord Jesu, "shall all men John xia. know that ye are my disciples, if one of you love another." Such therefore as intend worthily to approach unto the Lord's table, let them not only consider how the matter standeth between them and God, but also between them and their neighbours. And if they shall find any displeasure among themselves one ' toward another, let them, before they come unto the Lord's table, seek to be reconciled one to another, according to this commandment of our Lord and Saviour Christ : " If Matt. v. thou offerest thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought 236 THE CATECHISM. [Part against thee, leave there thine offering before the altar, and go thy way first, and be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." How greatly those things displease God, although in outward appearance they glister and shine never so holy Gen. iv. and virtuous, which come from an hateful and malicious heart, the history of Cain 1 Pet. iv. declareth abundantly. " Above all things," saith St Peter, " have fervent charity among you. For charity covereth the multitude of sins." And let this their love be no fleshly 1 Km. i. nor worldly love, but such love as cometh " out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." Such love is the end, that is to say, the fulfilling of the law • Rom. xai. as St Paul saith : " He that loveth his neighbour hath fulfilled the law. For these Deut.'v.x" commandments, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not lust, and so forth ; if there Lev. xix. be any other commandment, it is all comprehended in this saying, namely, Love thy att. xxi . nejgnbour ag thyself. Love hurteth not his neighbour : therefore is love the fulfilling of the law." Father. If this repentance, confession, faith, and love, whereof thou hast hitherto spoken, be found in the communicants, may they then with a free conscience come unto the Lord's table, as persons not altogether unworthy to be partakers of so holy mysteries ? Disposition Son. Besides these things whereof we have hitherto spoken, it is required of the Lord's m'entof'hfe. guests, that they have within themselves an hearty and unfeigned disposition to lead a better life for ever after, and earnestly to provide, that they fall no more into those sins, wherewith heretofore they have most grievously offended the majesty of God; whereof also they are now greatly ashamed and sore repent them. For without this meditation and earnest study of a new life, I see not what all the aforesaid things profit. 2 Cor. v. "If any man," saith St Paul, "be in Christ, he is a new creature." Again: "They Matt. ia. that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." " Bring forth the fruits that belong to repentance," saith St John the Baptist. " For even now is the axe also put unto the root of the trees ; so that every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire." And Christ said unto the Jews: John vai. " If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." Even so, if we be God's children, as we profess by our outward coming unto the Lord's supper, John vi. we must do the works of God. The works which God requireth of us, are to believe in the name of his only-begotten Son, to love one another, and to walk in a new life; Lukei. For unto this end hath God the Father by the death of his Son " delivered us from the power of our enemies, that we should serve him in holiness and righteousness all l Thess. iv. the days of our life." " God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." Eph. a. " We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesu unto good works, which God Tit. a. ordained, that we should walk in them." " The grace of God, which bringeth salvation unto all men, hath appeared, teaching us that we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and that we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and of our Saviour Jesu Christ, which gave himself for us, to redeem us from all unrighteousness, and Heb. ix. to purge us a peculiar people unto himself, fervently given unto good works." " Christ, which through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, hath purged our conscience from dead works, for to serve the living God." Father. The faithful communicants then ought to bring with them unto the Lord's table unfeigned repentance, humble confession of their sins unto God, constant faith in the merciful promises of God, fervent charity toward their neighbour, and an hearty disposition unto amendment of life. Son. Yea, verily. And all these things ought to brast out into good works, into godliness of life, into a new conversation, into un corrupt manners ; so that from henceforth our life be altered, our conversation be changed, and our manners be framed according to the rule of God's holy word, that ever after we may be " such as no man can complain on, and unfeigned sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, shining as lights in the world, Matt. .. and holding fast the word of life." " Let your light so shine before men," saith our Saviour Christ, " that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which Tit. iii. is in heaven." And St Paul saith : " Let ours (that is to say, Christians) learn to excel in good works, as far forth as need requireth, that they be not unfruitful." V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 237 Father. And must this disposition unto innocency of life continue in them so long as they live ? Son. They may not only dispose themselves unto good works, but also practise good works diligently all the days of their life, that they be not wording gospellers, but working gospellers ; not favourers only, but also followers of God's word. For it is not sufficient to begin well, except we continue well ; neither it is sufficient for a while to continue well, except we end well. "He that continueth untg the end Matt. x. shall be saved." "No man that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is Luke ix. meet for the kingdom of God." " No man is crowned, except he strive lawfully." 2 Tim. a. " Be faithful unto the death," saith Christ, " and I will give thee the crown of life." Rev. ii. Our Saviour Christ in the gospel commandeth us to " remember Lot's wife ;" by the Luke xvii. which he goeth about to put us in remembrance, that it is not sufficient to begin well, except we continue well, and also end well. Lot's wife began well, when she came out of Sodom ; but because she continued not well, but, contrary to the commandment of God's angel, looked back again to Sodom, she was punished and turned into a salt Gen. xix, pillar. The wise men, which came from the east parts to seek Christ, that new-born Kino- Matt. ii. of the Jews, after they had departed from that bloody tyrant king Herod, and had worshipped Christ, were commanded by the angel of God that they should no more return unto king Herod, but go home into your country another way. For all such as have dedicated themselves to God by taking on them the holy sacrament of baptism, 43$ and by receiving the holy and blessed mysteries of the body and blood of our Saviour Christ, have openly professed, that from henceforth they will never have to do with the devil, the world, and the flesh, but utterly renounce and forsake them, with all their works, pomps, and vanities, serving their Lord God " in holiness and righteousness Luke i. all the days of their life." Now, if any fall from this their profession, and join familiarity again with the devil, the world, and the flesh, obeying their lusts, and satisfying their desires, then have they utterly given over God and all godliness ; yea, then are they become mockers of God and of his holy mysteries, and get to themselves everlasting damnation. " For 2 Pet. a. of whom a man is overcome," saith St Peter, " unto the same is he brought in bondage. For if they (after they have escaped from the filthiness of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesu Christ) are yet tangled again therein, and overcome, then is the latter end worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment that was given unto them. But the same is happened to them that is used to be spoken by the true proverb, The Prov. xxvi. dog is turned to his vomit again ; and the sow that was washed is turned again to her wallowing in the mire." To whom is this saying of the Lord Jesu unknown ? "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking mkexi. rest. And when he findeth none, he saith, I will return again unto my house, whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh to him seven other spirits worse than himself; and they enter in and dwell there : and the end of that man is worse than the beginning." Therefore whosoever intendeth to prepare himself worthily unto the Lord's table, jp$ let him first of all fall unto hearty repentance; secondly, let him humble himself before the majesty of God by confessing his sins; thirdly, let him stedfastly believe, and be perfectly persuaded, that all his sins are forgiven him of God the Father for Christ's sake ; fourthly, let him nourish fervent love in. his heart toward his neigh bour; fifthly and finally, let him for ever after so dispose himself to walk in a new life, that from henceforth he " have no more to do with the unfruitful works of Eph. v. darkness," but in all points so behave himself as it becometh the professor of godliness. Father. Hitherto thou hast declared what the Lord's supper is, who did institute it, unto what end it was ordained, and how we ought to prepare ourselves worthily to come unto the Lord's table : I would now gladly hear, if any abuses have crept into the church of Christ concerning the Lord's supper. Have your preacher or catechist opened nothing unto you in this behalf? Son. Yes, verily. They have 238 THE CATECHISM. [Part Certainabuses of the Lord's supper. The Lord's supper ought [not]tobepri- vate repast, but an holy banquet for many. Matt. xxvi. Mark xiv. Luke xxii. 1 Cor. xi. The doctrine of the old fathers con cerning the Lord's sup per.In Epist. i. declared certain notable abuses brought into the church of Christ in times past by antichrist and his adherents. Father. Which are they ? Let me hear part of them. Son. First, whereas the Lord Christ ordained this his holy supper to be received of many, antichrist and his complices, contrary to the institution and commandment of Christ, have made a private breakfast of it ; as we may see in the popish mass, where the mumbling massmonger eateth and drinketh all alone, and giveth no man part with him, except this be any part, to bless the people with an empty cup, when he hath drunk up altogether, as the manner is in all the pope's churches at principal and high feasts, as they term them. Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that the Lord's supper ought riot to be a private repast (as the papists abuse it in their masses), but rather a common banquet for many to receive it together. Son. The institution itself declareth evidently that it ought to be the food of many together, and not of one alone. For thus read we : " When they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take ye, eat ye : this is my body, which is betrayed for you. And he took the cup, and thanked, and gave it them, saying, Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood (which is of the new testament), that is shed for many for the remission of sins. This do in the remembrance of me." Here is it evident that Christ did not eat and drink the sacrament of his body and blood alone, nor yet gave it to one of his disciples only; but he distributed it to all his disciples, that they should eat and drink of it together, and not one alone. "Take ye: eat ye." He saith not, Take thou, eat thou alone by thyself. Again: " Drink ye all of this." He saith not, Drink thou alone of this. And the blessed apostle St Paul saith : " Is not the bread which we break (he saith not, which I break) partaking of the body of Christ? Is not the cup of thanksgiving, for the which we gave thanks, (he saith not, I give thanks) partaking of the blood of Christ?" And a little after he saith : " We all are partakers of one bread, and of one cup." Again be saith : " When ye come together into one place, the Lord's supper cannot be eaten. For every one beginneth afore to eat his own supper." Also in the same place he saith : " My brethren, when ye come together to eat (the Lord's supper), tarry one for another. If any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation." And blessed St Luke, describing the manner and custom of the primitive church, saith: "All that believed kept themselves together, and had all things common, and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they continued daily with one accord in the temple, and brake bread from house to house, and did eat their meat together with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God." Again: " Upon one of the sabbath days, when the disciples came together for to break bread," &c. Of these authorities of the holy scripture is it evident, that the Lord's supper ought to be the banquet of many together, and not of one alone, as the papists abuse it. Father. But what is the doctrine of the ancient fathers in this behalf? Son. In all points like to the doctrine of the holy scripture. Of the order used in the old Latin church concerning the receiving of the holy communion of the body and blood of the Lord Jesu, Anacletus, bishop of Rome, writeth on this manner : " When the consecration is once done, let all communicate that will not be excommunicate. For so did the apostles ordain, and the holy church of Rome doth still observe and maintain the same1." Here it is plain, that the manner of the Latin church, otherwise called the west church, was that many, yea "all," saith Anacletus, should eat the Lord's supper together. Again, that all which would not be partakers of the Lord's supper should be excommunicate. He addeth moreover, that it was the ordinance of the apostles, and that the church of Rome did observe, keep, and maintain that ordinance [' Peracta consecratione omnes communicent, qui noluerint ecclesiasticis carere liminibus. Sic enim et apostoli statuerunt, et sancta Romana tenet ecclesia. — Anaclet. Papa, Epist. i. in Decret. Gra tiani, Par. 1583. Deer. Tert. Pars, De Consecr. Dist. ii. can. 10. cols. 2363,4. The decretal epistles ascribed to the early bishops of Home are not genuine.] v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 239 of the apostles; that is to say, that, when the Lord's supper was ministered, not one alone, as the manner is now, but many together were partakers of the same. Father. The private masses were not then in use, as it seemeth. Son. Antichrist The old and the devil brought in those private, that is to say, thievish masses, many hundred chulcn'of years after, for lucre's sake, as the ancient histories do evidently prove. MprivltT" Father. But what sayest thou of the Greek church, otherwise called the east masses' church? What order observed they? Son. Even the very same that the old Latin or west church observed. For the Greeks even from the apostles' time until these The Greeks our days have ever observed and kept the order that was used in the primitive church, vatemLsS" neither would they at any time receive these private masses into their churches ; but whensoever they celebrate the Lord's supper, not one alone (as the use is in the pope's church), but many together are partakers of the same, according to this saying of St Paul : " We all are partakers of one bread, and of one cup." 1 cor. x. Father. Canst thou prove this by ancient writers of the Greek church ? Son. Yea, forsooth, very easily. Father. Let me hear. Son. The ancient Greek writer, Justinus Martyr, hath in secund. these words : " After that he which is the ruler (in the ministry) hath given thanks, and all the people hath blessed, they which are called with us deacons, do give to every one of them that are present bread, wine, and water to receive ; which with • thanksgiving are consecrate ; and they also carry it unto them that are absent. And this meat is called with us Eucharistia"," that is to say, thanksgiving. And Dionysius Areopagita, in his book De Ecclesiastica Hierarchia, sheweth evi- cap. 3. part 2. dently that in his time also the bread and the cup was not received of the minister alone, but that they were distributed to all men; so that many were partakers of those holy mysteries, and not one alone, as it is used in the popish masses3. St John Chrysostom in a certain homily hath these words : " Forasmuch as it is In ] cor. rap. the dominical supper, that is to say, the Lord's, it ought to be common. For those things that are the Lord's, belong not to this or that servant (only), but they are common to all. That therefore which is the Lord's, even the very same is also common. For if it be thy Lord's, as it is indeed, thou oughtest not to take those things as proper to thee, but to set them forth as the Lord's things commonly to all ; for this is the 4c$ Lord's. But now thou dost not suffer it to be the Lord's, when thou dost not suffer it to be common, but eatest to thyself." Clement, bishop of Rome, commandeth that there should so many hosts be offered Epist. 2. on the altar, as should suffice the people. He saith not, as should serve the priest alone6. Bishop Durande writeth on this manner : " In the primitive church all that were in Rat. Div. present at the celebration of the masses (he meaneth, the Lord's supper) were wont every day to communicate, because all the apostles did drink of the cup, according to this saying of the Lord, ' Drink ye all of this.' For they offered a great loaf of bread, Matt xxvi. and sufficient for all ; which thing the Grecians are reported to keep at this day6." Albertus, in his book De Missas Mysteriis, declareth, that the use in times past [2 EuxapiffTtfo-ai/Tos "^ tov irpoeo'TwTOS, Kai eirevr[ avTii KaXelTai trap' ijp.1v euxapiaria, — .Tust. Mart. Op. Par. 1742. Apol. i. p. 83.] [3 Kai Tas leoas Beovpyias b 'Updpx^ bp.vi']o-as Upovpyel rd 0eioVs irpoKeipuSvtav aup./36Xojv' Kal ras Saypeds tw OeovpyiZv iiiro6Vi'£as, e£s Koivusviav aiiTmv Updv ai/Tos ts epx^Tai, Kal toOs dXXovs TrpoTpeireTat. pit-Taax<»v Se Kal fieTaSovs TJjs 6eapx<-Kys Koivwvias, eis evxaptaTiav lepdv KaTaXt)- yei_ Dionys. Areop. Op. Antv. 1634. De Eccles. Hierarch. cap. iii. 2. Tom. I. p. 284. See also 3. pp. 298, 9. It is hardly necessary to say that the works which go under the name of the Areopagite are not really his.] [4 "Oti to KUpiaKov SeZirvov, TOVTeaTi, t6 8e- anroTiK&v, 6 ~Xaui /A6Texeiy uu p.6Teixev b lepevv. dXX' ov vvv' dXXd irdatv ev uwpa nrpoKenai, Kal irOTripiov ei/._Chrysost. Op. Par. 1718-38. In Epist. n. ad. Cor. Hom. xviii. Tom. X. p. 568.] [8 See before, p. 240, notes 3, 5 J 246 THE CATECHISM. [Pakt Against the Father. What meanest thou by that? Son. It is not unknown to the godly thermass°f learned, that the Lord Jesus instituted the holy mysteries of his body and blood to this end, that they should be a memorial of his body-breaking and blood-shedding, of his passion and death, which he suffered on the altar of the cross for our redemp- Luke xxii. tion, as these his words evidently prove : " Take ye, eat ye : this is my body which is broken for you : do this in the remembrance of me." Again : " Drink ye all of this : this cup is a new testament in my blood. Do this, so oft as ye shall drink it, in the remembrance of me." So likewise saith the holy apostle : " So oft as ye shall eat this bread, and drink of the cup, ye shall shew the Lord's death till he come." But the papists cannot be content with this doctrine, that the supper of the Lord (which they more gladly term "the mass"), should be a memorial or remembrance of that sacrifice which Christ himself offered on the cross ; but they will have it the self-same sacrifice, of the same virtue, strength, efficacy, might, and power, to save the souls both of the quick and dead. o biasphem- Father. How can that be ? Son. They say that they offer up Christ the Son of God oils doctrine ' •* «/ •* x unto his heavenly Father, for a sacrifice both for the sins of the quick and of the dead. Father. Is it so? Son. Nothing less. For the holy scripture declareth plainly in many places, that not another, but Christ himself offered himself a sacrifice unto God his Father to appease his wrath kindled against mankind through sin; and that, by the virtue of that his one and alone sacrifice God is at peace with man, favoureth, and loveth man, and accepteth man for righteous in his sight. St Paul hath these Eph. v. words : " Christ loved us, and gave up himself for us an oblation and sweet-smelling Heb. ix. sacrifice to God." Again : " Christ through the everlasting Spirit offered himself un defiled unto God." Also in another place : " Christ did that, when he offered him- isai. mi. self." And the prophet saith : " He offered up himself, because it was his pleasure." And although the papists have shewed themselves very arrogant and proud in matters of salvation ; yet in this one point, that they will take upon them to offer Christ in their masses to be a propitiatory sacrifice unto God the Father for the sins of the quick and of the dead, they shew themselves to be more proud than Lucifer, as they isai. xiv. say, or than that most proud king, which said in his heart: "I will climb up into heaven, and exalt my throne above, beside the stars of God. I will sit also upon the holy mount toward the north. I will climb up above the clouds, and will be like 2 Thess. ii. the Highest of all." And verily this is " that man of sin, the son of perdition, which is an adversary, and is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he doth sit in the temple of God, boasting himself to be God: whom the isai. xi. Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the appear ance of his coming." For what other thing is it, to presume for to offer Christ, than the massing papists to make themselves equal in dignity with Christ ; yea, than to excel Christ in dignity? For he that offereth sacrifice unto God is greater and of more dignity before God than the sacrifice that is offered (for for the offerer's sake is the offering accepted of God, and not contrariwise) : it therefore followeth that the massing papists, pre suming to offer Christ for a sacrifice, are greater and of more dignity before God than Christ the Son of God. 0 intolerable pride ! Gen. iv. "Who knoweth not that Habel was greater and of more dignity before God than the firstlings of his sheep, which he offered for a sacrifice? To whom also is it unknown, that Noah was more acceptable unto God, and of greater dignity before him, than all the clean beasts and clean fowls that he offered for a sacrifice? Was not Abraham of more excellency before God than the ram which he offered up for a sacrifice ? The sacrificer is greater than the sacrifice. Who seeth not then, that the mass-mongers sacrificing Christ are greater and of more worthiness before God than isai. xiv. Christ, whom they offer? Is not this to be like the Highest of all? But if there be none other remedy, but that the massing priests will sacrifice Christ in their masses, and so obtain remission of sins unto them for whom they offer; then doth it also follow that they must needs murder, kill, and slay Christ, Heb.ix. and shed Christ's blood. For "without shedding of blood," saith the apostle, "there Kom.vi. is no remission of sins." But what read we in St Paul? "Christ," saith he, "being raised from death, dieth no more. Death hath no more power over him. For as Gen. viii. V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 247 touching that he died, he died as concerning sin once ; and as touching that he liveth, be liveth unto God." If Christ dieth no more, then is he sacrificed no more. If he be sacrificed no more, then obtain the papists no remission of sins, either for the quick or for the dead, by the virtue of their popish mass, though they make it a sacrifice never so much propitiatory, expiatory, satisfactory, &c. But these massing papists are those " false prophets and false teachers," " which deny the Lord that bought them, 2 p<*. «• and bring upon themselves swift damnation; and many follow their damnable ways, by whom the way of truth is evil spoken of, and through covetousness with feigned words they make merchandise of their captives; whose judgment is not far off, and their damnation sleepeth not." Moreover, this doctrine of the sacrifice of the mass is plainly injurious to the blood The .mlss?' 7 r j j sacrifice is of Christ, obscureth the price of Christ's death, and disannuUeth the virtue of Christ's ™JU™US'" . r . . the blood of sacrifice, which he offered on the altar of the cross for our sins, and maketh Christ Cnr>st- no perfect Saviour and Redeemer. For if any of our sins be put away through the 4t$ sacrifice of the popish mass, then was not our redemption perfect in the death of Christ, neither were all our sins washed away by the blood of Christ. But if all our sins be put away by the death of Christ, according to the doctrine of Christ and of his -C$ apostles, then is their doctrine of the missal sacrifice vain, false, wicked, and worthy to be hissed out of the church of Christ ; seeing it so greatly embaseth the dignity of the sacrifice of Christ's death, and plucked away our trust and confidence from the merits of Christ's passion and death unto the trifling traditions and devilish doctrines of men. For to stablish a new sacrifice to take away sin is nothing else than to affirm and grant that the old sacrifice (I mean the death of Christ) is either of no force, or else it is imperfect. For if the death of Christ be of full force, and sufficiently perfect, yea, and to the uttermost able to take away the sins of the whole world (as it is indeed,) what need we the missal sacrifice, lately brought in by the devil and antichrist ? Father. Christ then offered himself a sacrifice to God the Father for our sins. Son. Yea, verily. He was both the offerer and the offering, the sacrificer and the sacrifice. For there was found neither patriarch nor prophet, neither priest nor Levite, neither angel nor archangel, neither any other creature in heaven or earth, that was of sufficient dignity to offer this our sacrifice, I mean the Lord Jesus. Much less are the filthy and ungodly papists, whose life is full of all uncleanness, and whose doc trine swimmeth with divers errors and heresies, meet men to offer up the Son of God a sacrifice for sin to the heavenly Father. And therefore " Christ offered him- Eph. v. self a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God the Father." Father. And was this his one sacrifice, which he offered on the altar of the cross, The omni- sut~H t'i cncv of sufficient for the sins of the whole world, once offered, so that it needeth no more Christ's sacri- . fice. to be reiterated or offered again, being and remaining of sufficient force for ever and ever to purge the wickednesses of the people? Son. Christ is an everlasting priest; and as his priesthood is everlasting, so likewise is his sacrifice everlasting, I mean it endureth for ever in full virtue and perfect strength to put away at all times all the sins of all people that do unfeignedly repent and believe : so that it needeth not for any imbecillity, weakness, or imperfection to be repeated or offered again, as the papists presume, being of itself most perfect and most full for the abolishing of sin even unto the uttermost ; yea, and that even to the world's end, when sin shall altogether cease, as the apostle saith : " Jesus Christ yesterday and to-day, and the same continueth Heb. xiii. for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange learning." Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that that one and alone sacri fice, which Christ himself offered once for all on the altar of the cross, is sufficient without any repetition or offering again to put away the sins of the world; so that we may be thoroughly persuaded that the sacrifice of the popish mass, whereof the papists do so greatly brag, and wherewith they have almost seduced the whole world, and too much bleared the eyes of the simple and ignorant, is vain and wicked. Son. St Paul saith : " Jesus was a stablisher of a better testament. For among them many Heb. vii. were made priests, because they were not suffered to endure by the reason of death. But this man (Christ), because he endureth for ever, hath an everlasting priesthood. Wherefore he is able also ever to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by 248 THE CATECHISM. [P. ART him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us. For such an high priest became us to have, which is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher than heaven; which needeth not daily, as yonder high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's sins : for that he did once, when he offered up himself." Heb. ix. Again : " Christ, being an high priest of good things to come, came by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, and found everlasting redemption.'' And a little after: "Christ is not entered into the holy places that are made with hands, (which are similitudes of true things ;) but he is entered into the very heaven, for to appear now in the sight of God for us : not to offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with strange blood ; for then must he have often suffered since the world began. But now, in the end of the world, hath he appeared once to put sin to flight by the offering up of himself. And as it was appointed unto all men that they shall once die, and then cometh the judgment ; even so Christ was once offered to take away the sins of many ; and unto them that look for him shall he appear again without sin unto salvation." Heb. x. Once again he saith : " By the will of (Christ) we are made holy, even by the offering of the body of Jesu Christ once for all. And every priest (he speaketh of the priests of the old law) is ready daily ministering, and offering oftentimes one manner of ob lation, which can never take away sins. But this man (Christ), after he hath offered one sacrifice for sins, is set down for ever on the right hand of God, and from hence forth tarrieth till his foes be made his footstool. For with one offering hath he made perfect for ever them that are sanctified." i Pet. u. Hereto belongeth the saying of St Peter : " Christ his own self bare our sins in his body on the tree, that we, being delivered from sin, should live unto righteousness." Rev. i. St John also saith : " Christ loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God his Father." And God the Father himself isai. liii. saith by the prophet : " For the wickedness of my people have I stricken him," which Rom. vm. indeed had deserved the punishment, as St Paul saith : " God spared not his own Son, Rom. iv. but gave him (unto the death) for us all." Again: " Christ died for our sins." Item: Eph. i. " By Christ we have redemption through his blood, even remission of sins." And isai. mi. the prophet saith : " He only (Christ) hath taken on him our infirmities, and borne our pains. He was wounded for our offences, and smitten for our wickedness. For the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him ; and with his stripes are we healed. As for us, we have gone all astray (like sheep); every one hath turned his own way: but the Lord hath heaped together upon him the iniquity of us all." " Yet hath it pleased the Lord thus to burst him with plagues, and to smite him with infirmities, that, when he had made his soul an offering for sin, he might see long-lasting seed." Again : "He shall justify the multitude, for he shall bear away their sins." Item : " He hath taken away the sins of the multitude, and made intercession for the mis- isai. ixiii. doers." And Christ himself saith by the prophet : " I have trodden down the wine press myself alone, and of all people there is not one with me." All these sentences aforesaid do evidently declare, that by that one and alone sacri fice, which Christ, that high and everlasting Bishop, offered once for all upon the altar of the cross, we are made righteous, holy, pure, and perfect; so that, after that one and alone sacrifice done by Christ on the tree, no sacrifice, no offering for sin remain to be offered for the sins of the people, of any person either in heaven or in earth, all sins being already taken away by that one sacrifice of Christ : so far is it Phil. iii. 0ff that we have need of that missal sacrifice whereof the massing papists, " whose God the belly is," do so greatly brag; wherein also they stoutly affirm that they offer for a propitiatory sacrifice unto God the Father, for the sins of the quick and of the dead, the Son of God, Christ Jesus the Lord; when as tofore we have abun dantly heard that Christ (and not any other) offered himself on the altar of the cross, " a sweet-smelling sacrifice unto God his Father" for the sins of the whole world, yea, and that once for all; so that with that One and alone oblation, without any repe tition or renewing of the same, all that are sanctified are made perfect for ever and ever. v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 249 And this is that which the Lord Jesus, hanging on the cross, said a little before his death- "It is finished:" as though he should say, "Whatsoever is necessary for John xix. the salvation of man is perfectly, and even unto the uttermost, and at the full, ac complished and fulfilled in this one and alone sacrifice of my body, which I now offer unto my heavenly Father here hanging upon the cross." For upon the cross, and not upon the popish altar, was Christ Jesus offered, and there abundantly he finished the work of our redemption, as the apostle saith: "Now Eph. ii. by the means of Christ Jesu ye which sometime were far off were made nigh by the blood of Christ; for he is our peace, which hath made of both one, and hath broken down the wall that was a stop between us, and hath also put away through his flesh the cause of hatred, even the law of commandments contained in the law written, for to make of twain one new man in himself, so making peace, and to recon cile both unto God in one body through the cross, and slew hatred thereby, and came and preached peace to you that were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both (Jew and gentile) have an entrance in one Spirit unto the Father." Again : " It pleased the Father that in him (Christ) should all fulness dwell, and coi. i. by him to reconcile all thing unto himself, and to set at peace by him through the blood of his cross both things in heaven and things in earth." St Peter also saith : " Christ his own self bare our sins in his body on the tree, that we being delivered 1 ret. ii. from sin should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." Father. What shall we then say to the ancient fathers of Christ's church, which in many places call the supper of the Lord a sacrifice ? Son. " Even as images are wont to be called (as St Austin saith) by the names of those things whereof they ^% are images, as when we behold a table or wall painted we say, That is Cicero, that is Sallustius ' ;" so likewise, forasmuch as the celebration of the Lord's supper is a certain representative image of the passion of Christ, which is the alone true sa crifice, therefore the holy fathers many times call the Lord's supper a sacrifice. Now, if the Lord's supper be not properly a sacrifice, but only a memorial of the true sacrifice, which is the passion and death of Christ ; how can the massing papists brag that their mass (in the which many things are done contrary to the institution of Christ) is a propitiatory, satisfactory, and expiatory sacrifice for the sins of the quick and of the dead? Father. How provest thou that this was the meaning of the fathers? Son. St John Chrysostom saith : " Do we not offer every day ? We offer indeed, but yet in Heb. that we do is unto the remembrance of his death, &c. This that we do is done Hom' '7' in the remembrance of that which was done. 'This do ye,' saith he, 'in the remem- Luke xxii. brance of me.' Not another sacrifice, as the bishop did, but the self-same do we alway ; yea, rather we work a remembrance of the sacrifice 8." The very same words in effect hath St Ambrose. " In Christ," saith he, " a sa- in Heb. crifice was once offered, mighty enough unto everlasting salvation. What do we then ? Do not we also offer every day? Yea, but unto the remembrance of his death3." St Austin also saith : ¦ " The flesh and blood of this sacrifice before the coming of contra Faus- Christ was promised by the sacrifices of similitudes : in the passion of Christ it was eap/21. ' performed by the self truth : after the ascension of Christ it is celebrated by the sa crament of remembrance 4." [' ...omnes fere imagines earum rerum quarum imagines sunt, appellari nominibus solent velut cum intuentes tabulam aut parietem, dicimus, Ille Cicero est, ille Sallustius August. Op. Par. 1679- 1700. De Div. Quaest. ad Simplic. Lib. 11. Quaest. iv. 2. Tom. VI. col. 116.] P Tt ovv ; rj/xel? Kad' eKds dirapTiadeia-n? /xexa ti\v tuiv fivarripioiv Koivuiviav, eirl Koiv-qv irdvTes yeaav evu>xiav, tujv p.ev ttXoutovvtwv (pepovToiv Ta e8e- ap.aTa, tcSv 8e irevop.evmv Kal avSev exbvTiov uir avTibv KaXovp.evaiv, Kal Koivy nrdvTuiv eo-Tiwpevuiv. dXX' iiffTepov Kal tovto Siecjiddptl to epos. — Chry- sost. Op. Par. 1718-38. In Epist. 1. ad Cor. Hom. xxvii. Tom. X. p. 240.] [9 Ccena nostra de nomine rationem sui ostendit. Id vocatur quod dilectio penes Graecos. Quantis- cunque sumptibus constet, lucrum est pietatis no mine facere sumptum. siquidem inopes quosque refrigerio isto juvamus, non qua penes vos parasiti affectant ad gloriam famulandae libertatis sub auc- toramento ventris inter contumelias saginandi ; sed qua penes Deum major est contemplatio medio- crium Tertull. Op. Lut. 1641. Apologet. 39. pp. 35, 6.J [l0 Certe tanta in altario holocausta offerantur, quanta populo sufficere debeant. Quod si reman- serint, in crastinum non reserventur, sed cum ti- more et tremore, clericorum diligentia consuman- tur Clement. Papae I. Epist. ii. ad Jacob, in Epist. Decret. Sum. Pont. Rom. 1591. Tom. 1. p. 16.] [" Nam et Dominus panem, quem discipulis dabat, et dicebat eis, Accipite et manducate, non distulit, nee servari jussit in crastinum Orig. Op. Par. 1733-59. In Levit. Hom. v. 8. Tom. II. p. 211.] 252 THE CATECHISM. [P. ART Dp Trinit. Lib. iii. c. Contra Nice tarn. Dist. 2. do Consee. John vi. And St Austin saith : " The bread appointed for this purpose is consumed and 10. spent in receiving the sacrament1." Evagrius, in his Ecclesiastical History, declareth that " the old custom was, when much of the holy parcels of the undefiled body of Christ our God remained, the young children, which were wont to go to school, were called for to eat them2". In the time of Origen and Hesychius (as their commentaries testify) the bread that remained after the communion was wont to be brent 3- And a certain man called Humbertus writeth on this manner : " We read not that the Lord himself did deliver to his disciples an unperfect, but a perfect comme moration, the bread being blessed, and straightways broken and distributed. For he did not only bless it, and so reserved it to be broken till to-morrow; neither did he break it only, and keep ' it in store ; but he distributed it straightways so soon as it was broken. In consideration whereof blessed Alexander, the martyr and fifth4 pope from the apostle Peter, putting the passion of the Lord in the canon of the mass, saith: 'So oft as ye shall do this,' that is to say, bless, break, and distribute, 'ye shall do it in the remembrance of me.' For every one of these three done without the residue, that is to say, either the blessing without the breaking and distribution or the breaking without the blessing and distribution, representeth not a perfect re membrance of Christ, as neither do the distribution without blessing and breaking5." Paschasius also hath these words : " Christ, willing to set forth the fruit of this sacrament, said : ' He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, he shall live for ever.' " And afterward : " Christ willing that his disciples should be made partakers of the fruit of this sacrament, after he had consecrated his body, he stood not still in the consecration, neither gave it he to his disciples, that they should reserve and keep it honourably; but he gave it them for that purpose for the which he did institute it, saying, 'Take ye, and eat6.'" Of these authorities, gathered out of the writings of the ancient fathers, it is evident that the church of Christ, when it was most pure, and most diligently walked in the steps of the doctrine of Christ and of his apostles, knew no reservation of the Lord's bread, as it is now used in the church of the pope. Neither is this use of reserving and keeping, of boxing and pixing, of hiding and closing the sacramental [' ...panis ad hoc factus in accipiendo sacra mento consumitur August. Op. Par. 1679-1700. De Trin. Lib. in. 19. Tom. VIII. col. 803.] [a *E6os iraXaibv povXeTai dvd Ttjv fiaaiXev- ovaav, or' dv iroXv rt xpiJP-a Tutv dyiwv pepiSwv tov dxpdvTov (TinpaTos Xpio-Toi/ tov Qeov 1)11(0!' evairop-elvoL, iralSas d(p86povs p.eTairep.TrTov's yiy- veaQai irapd twv ev xaP-aL8i8aaKdXov (poiTUjVTtov, Kal TavTa KaTea-Bleiv — Evagr. Schol. in Hist. Ec cles. Script. Amst. 1695-1700. Lib. iv. cap. xxxvi. pp. 410, 11.] [3 Sed hoc quod reliquum est de carnibus et panibus, in igne incendi praecepit. Quod nunc videmus etiam sensibiliter in ecclesia fieri, ignique tradi quaecunque remanere contigerit inconsumpta, non omnino ea quae una die, vel duabus, aut multis servata sunt : sicut enim apparet, non hoc legislator priEcepit: sed quod reliquum est, incendi jubet lsych. Presb. Hieros. in Levit. Basil. 1527. Lib. 11. in cap. viii. fol. 49, 2 quod idem habes in Origene super Leviticum, licet idem sit liber qui duobus ascribitur Loc. Com. Pet. Mart. Heid. 1613. Class, iv. cap. x. 51. p. 862.] [4 A correction is here made from the passage as given below of Humbert. The folio reads master and first.] [5 Nempe hie, in panis fractione et communica- tione, non nisi perfectam actionem missse debemus accipere ; quemadmodum et ipsum Dominum legi- mus non imperfectam, sed perfectam commemora- tionem suis discipulis tradidisse, in pane a se bene- dicto et mox fracto atque distributo. Non enim benedixit tantum et servavit frangendum in crasti num, nee fregit tantum et reposuit, sed fractum statim distribuit. Unde B. Alexander martyr et papa V. ab apostolo Petro, passionem Domini in- serens Canoni Missae, non ait, Hoc quotiescunque feceritis ; sed, ' Haec quotiescunque feceritis,' id est, benedixeritis, fregeritis et distribueritis, ' in mei memoriam facietis : ' quia quodlibet hoTum trium, si sine reliquis fiat, scilicet, benedictio sine distribu- tione, aut fractio sine benedictione et distributione, perfectam Christi memoriam non repraesentant, sicul distributio nulla sine benedictione et fractione.— Hum bert, cont. Nicet. in Mag. Biblioth. Vet. Patr. Col. Agrip. 1618-22. Tom. XI. p. 333.] [6 Ad idem Pascasius canone immediate prace- dente : Hinc frequenter Christus volens exprimere fructum hujus sacramenti dixit: Quimanducat car nem meam et bibit sanguinem meum habet vitam eternam. Manducatio et potio hujus sacramenti est usus. Hinc et volens discipulos suos Christus fructus hujus sacramenti participes fieri, postquam corpus suum consecravit, non sislebat in consecratione. Neque dedit discipulis ut ipsum honorifice conser- varent: sed dedit in sui usum dicens, Accipite et manducate Gab. Biel. Canon. Missae Expos. Basil. 1515. Led. xxxvi. fol. 83. 2. This passage does not appear in Gratian in the canon named.] v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 253 bread, so greatly old. Verily it was the invention of pope Innocent the third, about the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and fifteen7. Father. God give us all grace to use Christ's holy sacraments aright, and accord ing to his institution! Son. Amen. Father. Is there any other abuse that hath crept into the church concerning the Lord's supper? Son. Fifthly, the papists greatly abused the Lord's supper, while they made of The fifth it a gazing-stock, by carrying it about in public processions, or by heaving and*' lifting it up above their heads to make it a spectacle to the people; by this means provoking them unto the worshipping of it, and so to fall unto idolatry, unto the great danger of their soul health. For this sacrament was not ordained of the Lord Jesu to be carried about like a puppet, as the manner is in the pope's wicked kingdom, nor to be made an heave-offering, as the papists use in their masses; but to be meat unto the faithful, to be broken and eaten in the remembrance of Christ's passion and death, as Erasmus Roterodamus very godly writeth : " Christ," saith he, " is in that in Lib. de sacrament, under this manner of meat and drink, that he should be received with high purity of mind ; not that he should be shewed abroad, or carried about in plays and com mon pageants, or that he should be carried about the fields on horseback. This was not the manner of the primitive church, but in this thing the foolish affections of the multitude hath been too much served and obeyed8". Neither is this custom so greatly old, but brought in, as it may appear, of pope Honorius the third, about the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and twenty-two9. Sixthly, this was also a great abuse among the papists, that the sacrament of The sixth the body and blood of Christ was always ministered to the common people in a strange and unknown tongue, which the simple and rude common people understood not, and au things so were not edified, neither received they any profit by the words that were spoken, churches to lix l. j j Jl 'bespoken in although never so g<*od and godly. that tongue Father. Was this also an abuse ? Son. Yea, verily, and a great abuse, and directly common peo- contrary both to the doctrine of Christ, and the ancient practice of Christ's church, stand. Father. How provest thou that ? Son. St Paul saith : " Brethren, if I come unto i cor. xiv. you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine ? Moreover, when things without life give sound (whether it be a pipe or an harp) except they make a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped ? For if the trump give an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself to the war ? Even so likewise when ye speak with tongues, except ye speak words that have significa tion, how shall it be understand what is spoken? For ye shall but speak in the air." And a little after he saith: "When thou blessest with the spirit (that is to say, givest thanks in a strange tongue), how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? Thou verily givest thanks well; but the other is not edified, &c. I had rather in the congregation to speak five words with my understanding to the [7 Statuimus, ut in cunctis ecclesiis chrisma et eucharistia sub fideli custodia clavibus adhibitis con- serventur ; ne possitad ilia temeraria manus extendi, ad aliqua horribilia vel nefaria exercenda. — Concil. Lat. iv. cap. xx. in Concil. Stud. Labbei. Lut. Par. 1671-2. Tom. XI. Pars i. col. 172.] [8 Quamquam Christus in eo sacramento est 6ub ratione cibi ac potus, ut summa cum animi puritate sumatur, non ut ostentetur, aut in ludis publicisque pompis circumferatur, aut in equo circum arva veha- tur. Id nequaquam est veteris exempli, sed in hoc multitudinis affectui plus satis indultum est — Des. Erasm. Op. Lugd. Bat. 1703—6. De Amab. Ec cles. Concord. Enarr. Psalm, lxxxiii. Tom. V. cols. 503, 4.] [9 Ne propter incuriam sacerdotum divina indig- natio gravius exardescat, districte percipiendo man damus, quatenus a sacerdotibus eucharistia, in loco singulari, mundo, et signato semper honorifice collo- cata, devote, ac fideliter conservetur. Sacerdos vero quilibet frequenter doceat plebem suam, ut cum in celebratione missarum elevatur hostia salutaris, se reverenter inclinet, idem faciens, cum earn defert presbyter ad infirmum. Quam in decenti habitu, superposito mundo velamine, ferat, et referat inani- feste ac honorifice ante pectus, cum omni reverentia et timore, semper lumine prascedente, cum sit candor lucis aeternae : ut ex hoc apud omnes fides et devotio augeatur. Praelati autem huj usmodi mandati graviter punirenon differant transgressores, si et ipsidivinam et nostram volunt effugere ultionem.— Hon. III. in Decretal. Greg. IX. Taurin. 1621. Lib. in. De Celebr. Missar. Tit. lxi. col. 1378. See also Const. Ric. Episc. Sar. (temp. Hon. III.) in Concil. Stud. Labbei. cap. xxxix. Tom. XI. col. 259.] 254 THE CATECHISM. [Part In 1 Cor. cap. xiv. In I Cor. cap. xiv. Hom. 63. information of other, than ten thousand words with the tongue." Again he saith: "If when all the congregation is come together, and all speak with tongues, there come in they that are unlearned, or they which believe not, will they not say that ye are out of your wits? But and if alf prophesy, and there come in one that be lieveth not, or one unlearned, he is rebuked of all men, and is judged of every man; and so are the secrets of his heart opened, and so falleth he down on his face and worshippeth God, and saith that God is in you of a truth, &c. Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak with tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course, and let another interpret it. But if there be no inter preter, let him keep silence in the congregation, and let him speak to himself and to God." Who seeth not evidently by these words of the holy apostle, that whatsoever things be spoken in the congregation, whether it be in praying or in preaching, all things ought to be uttered in that language which the people understand, and that all things ought to be done unto edifying? which thing cannot be brought to pass if the ad ministration of God's mysteries be done in a foreign and strange tongue, as the papists do in all their churches. The papists therefore have greatly abused themselves in the administration of God's holy mysteries, while they have uttered all things to the people in such a tongue as they understand not. Father. Was the use in the church of Christ also after the apostles' time, that all things both in preaching and praying should be done in that speech which the com mon people understood? Son. Yea, forsooth, many hundred years after, till that antichrist, the bishop of Rome, sitting now in the consciences of men, and calling himself " Christ's vicar," " Peter's successor," and " supreme head of the universal church of Christ," devised and commanded the contrary; so that so many as submitted their necks to the tyranny of that Romish bishop from that time forward were compelled to use the Roman, that is to say, the Latin tongue in all their divine service, as they use to call it, contrary to the doctrine of God, and contrary to the practice of Christ's ancient church, yea, and that without all edifying or profit. Father. And was this Romish order universally received of all Christians through out all Christendom ? Son. Nothing less. For many christian nations even unto this day would never obey the tyranny of that Romish bishop, nor knowledge him to be " Christ's vicar," " Peter's successor," " supreme head of the universal church of Christ," &c, nor yet to have any more power than any other ordinary bishop hath ; but what soever authority or jurisdiction he challengeth more and obtaineth, they' affirm it to be false and usurped, yea, and contrary to the word of God and the doctrine of the ancient fathers of Christ's church. Therefore, as the Jews from the beginning used no strange tongue in their temples, neither yet do at this present, but their own language, that is to say, the Hebrew tongue; so likewise, even from the beginning of Christ's profession, the Greeks, the Indians, the Armenians, the Ulyricks, the Slavones, the Moscovites, the Liburnians, with divers other, have ever used their own country speech in the celebration of God's mysteries, and not a strange tongue (as the manner is in the pope's church), which they understand not. Whosoever hath travailed either in the reading of histories or of ancient writers, he right well knoweth these things to be true which I now speak. Father. I grant, my son. But let me hear an authority or two out of the old writers, which testify this thing to be true. Son. St Ambrose saith : " If ye come together to edify the congregation,- those things ought to be spoken which the hearers may understand. For what doth it profit that any man speak with a tongue which he alone knoweth, that he which heareth may have no profit ? Therefore he ought to hold his peace in the congregation, that they may speak which may profit the hearers . St John Chrysostom saith : " If I shall not speak that which may plainly and easily be understand of you, but only shall shew myself to be endued with the gift [' Folio, there.] [2 Si utique ad aedificandam ecclesiam conve- nitis, ea debent dici, quae intelligant audientes. Nam quid prodest ut quis lingua loquatur, quam solus scit ; ut qui audit, nihil proficiat 1 Ideo ta- cere debet in ecclesia, ut ii loquantur, qui prosint audientibus.— Ambros. Op. Par. 1686-90. Comm. in Epist. ad Cor. prim. cap. xiv. 17. Tom. 1L Appendix, col. 157.J v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 255 of tongues, I believe ye shall go away receiving no fruit of those things which ye understand not. For what profit can there be of a voice not understand3?" Cassiodorus saith : " The speech is unprofitably uttered that is not understand. Not only singing, but also understanding, we ought to give thanks. For no man doth any thing wisely that he understandeth not4." Haymo also saith : " Your speech ought to be understand, that the soldier may in 1 cor. prepare himself unto the spiritual battle of Christ6." To whom is the godly law of the emperor Justinian unknown, in the which he commandeth that all bishops and priests, both in the time of divine service, and also in the ministration of the holy sacraments, should with so open and clear voice utter all things in the tongue which the people understand, that the hearers may thereby be the better edified, and also be the more fervently stirred up unto devotion and praying unto God6? Many authorities out of the old writers might here be alleged to declare, that all things spoken in the church, both in preaching and praying, ought to be uttered in that tongue which the people understand; but let these for this present suffice. Father. Contented, my child. But remaineth there yet any other abuse in the administration of the Lord's supper brought in by that bishop of Rome? Son. Seventhly, this also is a great abuse in the pope's church, that the papists The seventh at the celebration of the Lord's supper do not only suffer the communicants to be present at the participation of those holy mysteries of the body and blood of Christ, (which ought of right so to be,) but also they admit other not communicating to be None ought present, only idle gazers and vain beholders of those things, whereof they will not be atthemlnls' partakers ; whereas of right they ought to be excluded, put out, and utterly banished Lorvi]9, n s ov o-roiexej-Chrysost. Op. Par. 1718—38. In Epist. i. ad Cor. Hom. xxxv. Tom. X. p. 323.] [* Adjecit, Psallite sapienter ; ut non solum can- tantes, sed intelligentes psallere debeamus. Nemo enim sapienter quicquam facit quod non intelligit — Cassiodor. Op. Rotom. 1679. Expos, in Psai. xivi. ». 7. Tom. II. p. 157.] [6 Vester autem sermo intelligi debet, ut possit ad spiritale bellum Christi se miles praparare — Haymo in Div. Paul. Epist. Interp. 1528. Ad Cor. i. cap. xiv. fol. A. v.] [e Ad haec jubemus, ut omnes episcopi pariter et presbyteri non tacito modo, sed clara voce, qua a fideli populo exaudiatur, sacram oblationem et preces in sancto baptismate adhibitas celebrent, quo majore exinde compunctione in depromendis Domini Dei laudibus audientium animi efferantur. Ita enim et divus apostolus docet, dicens in prima ad Corinthios epistola : Enimvero si solummodo benedicas spiritu, quomodo is qui privati locum im- plet, dicet ad gratiarum actionem tuam Deo ipsum Amen; quandoquidem quid dicas, non videtl Tu quidem pulchre gratias agis, alter autem non asdifi- catur. Et rursus in epistola ad Rornanos sic inquit : Corde quidem creditur ad justitiam, ore autem fit confessio ad salutem. His igitur de causis convenit, ut inter ceteras preces et ea qua? in sancta oblatione dicuntur, clara voce a religiosissimis episcopis et presbyteris Domino nostro Jesu Christo Deo nostra cum Patre et sancto Spiritu proferantur : scituris reli giosissimis sacerdotibus, quod si quid horum neglexe- rint, et in horrendo judicio magni Dei et Servatoris nostri Jesu Christi de his rationem reddent, neque nos haec cognoscentes conquiescemus, relinquemusque inulta Justin. Princ. Novell. Constit. Basil. 1561. Const, cxxxvii. (al. cxxiii.) pp. 409, 10.] 256 THE CATECHISM. [Part In Expos. Ord. Horn. Lib. i.deOrd Rom. Lib. deDivin. Off. sec. Ord. Rom. de Off. Exorcists. In Liturg. Chrysost. the sacrament), according to the canons, both they which were called Cathecumeni, that is to say, persons newly instructed or trained up in the principles of christian religion, and also Pcenitentes, that is, such as for their looseness of life were not yet meet to be admitted unto the participation of those holy mysteries, were commanded to go out, so that it was not lawful for them there to remain1." St Gregory also bishop of Rome testifieth, that "this was the manner in times past, that whensoever the holy communion of the body and blood of Christ should be ministered, the deacon turned him to the people, and cried out on this sort: Si quia non communicat, exeat. That. is to say: 'If any do not communicate, let him go out.' For in this respect is the communion called Missa, because all such are to be sent out by the deacon, which are not partakers of the sacrifice or of the holy communion," &c. And in another place he declareth, that when the gospel was once read, the deacon came and openly commanded all such to depart as had not prepared themselves to be partakers of the holy communion. For it was not lawful for such to be present at the celebration of those holy mysteries. Again he saith : " Except such as do not communicate be commanded to go out at the voice of the deacon, according to the custom and manner of our ancestors, the service or office, which commonly is called Missa, cannot truly and perfectly be done." Once again he saith : " The exorcist must cast out devils, and say unto the people, that all such as will not communicate must depart and go away2." And Dionysius Areopagita writeth, that after the gospel was once read, all that did not communicate were put out of the church, and by no means suffered to see those holy mysteries, nor to be present at the ministration of the same3. Moreover, in the liturgy of the Ethiopes, we read thus : " So soon as the gospel is ended, the deacon saith : ' All ye that will not receive the sacrament or eucharist, get ye out.' And again after the creed is sung, the deacon saith : ' Ye that will not communicate, depart and go your way; but ye that will communicate, embrace and kiss one another4'." In the liturgy of the Armenians we find these words : " The deacon a little before the preface saith: 'They that are not worthy to communicate and to be partakers of this holy oblation of God, let them go out and stand before the church door, and there pray"'." And in the liturgy of St John Chrysostom we read that, when the communicants prepared themselves unto the Lord's table, the archdeacon commanded the deacon that stood without, to shut the chancel doors, that none might there remain but the com municants only6. [' Sciendum est autem, juxta antiquos patres, quod soli communicantes divinis mysteriis interesse consueverunt, unde et ante oblationem juxta canones jubebantur exire catechumeni, et pcenitentes, vide licet qui nondum se paraverunt ad communicandum. — Microlog. de Eccles. Observat. in Mag. Biblioth. Vet. Patr. Col. Agrip. 1618—22. cap. Ii. Tom. XI. p. 392.] [2 The substance of these references may be found as follows. Expositor Ord. Rom. B. Gregorius papa testatur, moris fuisse diacono proclamare : Si quis non communicat, exeat ; et propter hoc certe dicitur Missa, quando mittendi sunt foras per diaconum, qui non participant sacrificio vel communione sancta Cassandr. Op. Par. 1616. Liturg. cap. xvii. pp. 35,6. — lterum admonenturab archidiacono his verbis Catechumeni recedant : Si quis catechumenus est, recedat. Omnes catechumeni exeant foras. Ord. Rom. i. in Mus. Ital. a Mabill. Lut. Par. 1687-9. Tom. II. p. 24. See also vii. p. 81.— Exorcistam oportet ejicere daemones, et dicere populo qui non communicat, ut det locum.— Ord. Rom. De Offic. Div. De Exorcist, in Max. Biblioth. Vet. Patr. Lugd. 1677. Tom. XIII. col. 703.] [8 'E£ijs 8k, 8td twv XeiTovpyuiv y) twv dyioypd- tptnv 8cXtwv dvdyvuiijis dKoXovQuis yiveTai' Kal p.€Ta TauTCts, e£w yiyvoirrai ttji lepas ireptoxv^ ol KaTnxoopievoi, Kai wpos auTOis ol evepyovaevol, Kal ol ev pieTavola. bvTes, p.evovai be ol Tijs twv Qeicov e7rouVtas Kal Koivuivias d^ioi. — Dionys. Areop. Op. Antv. 1634. De Eccles. Hierarch. cap. iii. 2. Tom. I. p. 284.] [4 Diaconus. Orate pro pace peifecta, et arnica salutatione apostolica. Amplectimini invicem : Qui non communicatis, exite : qui comraunicatis, amplec timini invicem in plenitudine cordis vestri : qui com- municaturus est custodiat se a male— Lit. Com. ^thiop. in Liturg. Orient. Coll. Stud. Eus. Renau- dot. Par. 1716. Tom. I. p. 513. This is what was uttered after the creed. Of the warning after the gospel, Renaudotsays in his note: Quod in versione Latina statim post recitationem evangelii legitur. Exite fores qui non vultis accipere sacramentum, sive eucharistiam : ite catechumeni, non legitur in editione jEthiopica p. 531.] [5 Diaconus monet, 'Salutate invicem in osculo sancto. Qui non sunt digni communicare hanc ob lationem Dei, exeant foras ante fores ecclesias, et ibi orent Ord. Cel. Myst. ex Lit. Armen. in Cassandr. Op. Liturg. cap. xii. p. 30.] [6 K.al b 8taKovos irepnrTvaaeTat to wpaptov aiiTov, Kal TrpocrKvveT Tyols, Kal eTriarvvdirret eK- tptovuis. Td* 6vpa$, Tas dvpas, ev aoiit.t-iii, eth of the to say, of the word and of the element. Now is the Lord s supper a sacrament : it theeieuifint. followeth therefore that it eonsisteth of the word and of the element. The word of this sacrament is this : " Take, eat : this is my body, which is betrayed for you. Do this in the remembrance of me." Now must this word have his element, which in deed is bread, and not the accidents of bread, as the papists teach. Again, the word of the other part of the sacrament is this : " Take, drink of this, all ye. This cup is a new testament in my blood," &c. Now must this word also have his element, which indeed is wine, and not the accidents of wine, as the papists hold. And who knoweth not that an element is a thing, that is to say, a substance, and not the accident of a thing ? Who perceiveth not now that the papists, teaching this doctrine of transubstantiation, do utterly corrupt and destroy the sacrament, and make it no sacrament in deed; forasmuch as they take away the element, which is bread and wine, from the word? He that would take away water from the sacrament of baptism, which is the element of that sacrament, should he leave baptism a perfect sacrament? Thetioctrine Even so in like manner he, that goeth about to pluck from the sacrament of the stantiation body and blood of Christ the substance of bread and wine, destroyeth utterly the the sacra- aforesaid sacrament, and, to say the truth, maketh it no sacrament. We may tkere- christsbody fore conclude truly and justly, that the doctrine of transubstantiation, as I said before, is a papistical, wicked, and devilish error. Father. God root out all errors once out of his church, that we may walk only in the truth of his holy word! Son. Amen. I nothing doubt of this matter. For this prophecy of the Lord Jesu shall unfeignedly be fulfilled, yea, and that shortly: Matt. xv. "Every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked up by the roots." ofthecorpo- Father. What is the second error? Son. The second error is the doctrine of of^STn tne papists concerning the corporal presence of Christ in the sacrament, as he was ment!cra born of Mary the virgin, and hanged on the cross. Father. This must needs follow of the doctrine of transubstantiation. For if the substance of bread and wine be turned into the substance of the natural body and blood of Christ, then must this doctrine also be true, that Christ is in the sacrament really, naturally, substantially, corporally, &c. ; yea, that the sacrament is the true, real, natural, corporal, and substantial body of Christ. Son. You say truth. But as the doctrine of transubstantiation is vain and false, as we have even now heard both by the holy scriptures, and also by the authorities of the ancient fathers; so likewise the doctrine of Christ's corporal presence in the sacrament ps] most vain, false, and erroneous. Father. In that the papists say it is the very same body, that was born of Mary the virgin and hanged on the cross, methink they greatly overshoot themselves. For who knoweth not that the body of Christ, which he received of Mary the virgin, and died for us on the altar of the cross, was a mortal body? But that body is now become immortal, uncorruptible, glorious, &c. If they then deliver that self-same body, as it was born of Mary the virgin and hanged on the cross, to the communicants, so followeth it that they deliver a mortal body; and by this means should it come to pass that Christ hath two bodies, one mortal here in earth at the distribution of the sacrament, and another immortal in heaven, sitting on the right hand of God the Father. Son. The papists mean, that in the sacrament is contained the very self-same body, that was born of Mary the virgin and died for us on the altar of the cross, the qualities only changed, as mortality into immortality, corruption into uncorruption, &c. Father. And is Christ in the sacrament with his glorified and immortal body, as he is in heaven ? Son. Nothing less. For that manifestly fighteth with the truth of Christ's body, and plainly stablisheth the heresy of the Marcionites. It is proper to [' August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. In Johan. I col. 703. See Vol. I. page 12, note 1.] Evang. cap. xv. Tractat. Ixxx. 3. Tom. III. Pars n. j V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 271 God alone to be in all or in divers places at once ; which property no "creature hath, 45® no, not angel. Therefore, forasmuch as the body of Christ, although immortal and glorified, is, remaineth, and abideth still a creature, and is not swallowed up, as I may so speak, of the divine nature, but, being joined to the divine nature, abideth still a creature, and very man ; it therefore followeth most certainly that Christ's body, taken up into heaven, neither is, neither can be, both in heaven and in earth at once. And we are taught in the articles of the Christian faith, and throughout the whole bible, that as Christ is ascended into heaven, so likewise shall he there remain, as concerning his corporal presence, unto the day of judgment, as St Peter saith : " Jesus Acts iii. Christ must receive heaven, until the time that all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began, be restored again." And the angels said to the apostles at Christ's ascension : " Ye men of Galilee, why Acts i. stand ye gazing up into heaven? This Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come even as ye have seen him go into heaven." And St Paul, entreating of the sacrament, saith : " As often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink of this cup, i cor. xi. ye shall shew the Lord's death till he come." In this one sentence of the holy apostle it manifestly appeareth, that Christ is not corporally in the sacrament, as the papists teach. For he commandeth us to eat and drink those holy mysteries in re- 43§ membrance of the Lord's death till he come, meaning, unto the judgment : whereby we may plainly learn that Christ is not there corporally, really, substantially, naturally, &c, as the adversaries teach, but in heaven only, and there shall remain in the glory of his Father, until that great and fearful day of judgment come. And in the mean season, as often as we shall be partakers of that holy bread and cup, we shall call to remembrance the death of the Lord Christ, and all the benefits that we have re ceived thereby, and give most humble thanks for the same to God the Father. Father. Is this then a true doctrine, that Christ is corporally in heaven only, and Christ's na- in none other place ? Son. Yea, verily. only in hea- Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God. Son. Our Saviour Christ himself saith : " Ye have the poor always with you ; but me shall ye not have always." Matt. xxvi. " I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will John xiv. come again and receive you even unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." " If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto tbe Father." " Now John xvi. I go my way to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me whither I go. But because I have said such things unto you, your hearts are full of sorrow. Nevertheless I tell you the truth : it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away. the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you." " I went out from the Father, and came into the world : again, I leave the world, and go to the Father." St Mark saith : " When the Lord had spoken unto them, Mark xvi. he was received into heaven, and is set down on the right hand of God." Blessed Luke saith : " It came to pass, as Christ blessed them, he departed from them, and Luke xxiv. was carried up into heaven." St Paul saith : " It is Christ which died, yea, rather R„m. Tiii. which is risen again, which is also on the right hand of God." " God the Father Eph. (. raised Christ from the dead, and set him on his right hand in heavenly things, above all rule, power, and might, and dominion, and above all names that are named, not in this world only, but also in the world to come." " Christ is gone up on high, and Eph. iv. hath led captivity captive, and hath given gifts unto men." If ye be risen again Col. m. with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." "Whensoever Christ, which is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory." " This man Christ, after he hath offered one sacrifice for Heb x sins, is set down for ever on the right hand of God, and from henceforth tarrieth till his foes be made his foot-stool." St Peter saith : " Jesus Christ is on the right hand , Pet ui. of God, and is gone into heaven, angels, power, and might subdued unto him." All these scriptures, with divers other, evidently declare that Christ corporally dwelled only in heaven. Heaven is his resting-place concerning his body, and shall be until he come unto the judgment. Father. Christ's body then is not in every pix, and in every altar, and in every massmonger's hands, as the papists hold ? Son. No, verily. As touching his bodily 272 THE CATECHISM. [Part Matt, xviii. Matt, xxviii. Christ in his manhood is in one place only at one time; but in his Godhead he is in all places at one time.John xiv. In Matt. cap. xxiii. Hom. 33. Matt, xviii. Matt, xxviii. John i. Matt, xviii. Matt, xxviii. Matt, xviii. Matt, xxviii. presence, Christ is in heaven, yea, in heaven only. Of them which teach us the con trary Christ biddeth us take heed, saying : " If any man say unto you, Lo, here, is Christ, or there is Christ ; believe it not. For there shall arise false anointed, and false teachers, and shall shew great miracles and wonders; insomuch that, if it were pos sible, the very elect should be deceived. Behold, I have told you afore. Wherefore if they say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert ; go not ye forth : behold, he is in, the secret places ; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and appeareth unto the west ; so shall the coming of the Son of man be." Father. How then are these sentences to be understanded ? " Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Again : " Behold, I am with you continually, until the end of the world." Son. These sentences and such like are to be understanded not of Christ's corporal, but of his spiritual presence. For Christ, in that he is man, abideth only in heaven ; but in that he is God, he is everywhere, at all times present with his church by his almighty power and heavenly Spirit ; as Christ, when he should with his body ascend into the kingdom of his Father, promised that be would "not leave his disciples succourless," but that he would " send unto them another Comforter, which should abide with them for ever, even the Spirit of truth," &c. Father. Thou holclest then that Christ, as concerning his bodily presence, is only in heaven; but, as touching his godly presence, he is everywhere. Son. So am I taught by the word of God, as you have heard. Father. Yea, but what say the ancient fathers of Christ's church ? Do they also affirm this thing ? Son. Most constantly, yea, and that with one voice. Father. Let me bear some of their sayings. For it delighteth me greatly to hear the doctrine and consent of the ancient fathers, that we boldly say : Our doctrine is both grounded of the word of God, and also confirmed of the old writers. Son. To recite all the authorities of all the ancient fathers that make for our purpose, I mean, that evidently declare that Christ in his corporal substance is only in heaven, and not in the sacrament, as the papists teach, were an infinite labour. But I will re hearse so many as may seem for this present to suffice. Father. Agreed. Son. First of all I will allege the mind of the ancient writer Origen. Upon Matthew he hath these words : " Let us first of all inquire of his journey to a strange country, namely because it seemeth to be contrary to that which he promiseth of himself to his disciples, saying : ' Where two or three be gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' Again : ' Behold, I am with you continually, even unto the end of the world.' And also contrary to that which John Baptist speaketh of him, shewing that he is in every place, on this manner : ' In the midst of you standeth he whom ye know not. He it is that cometh after me.' Therefore will some man say, If he stand even in the midst of them that know him not ; if, where soever two or three be gathered together in his name, he be among them ; if, so long as the disciples live, he be with them even unto the world's end ; how then is he set forth in this parable to take his journey into a far country? Entreating of this mat ter, we ought to consider that which Paul speaketh of himself: 'I verily, absent in body, but present in spirit, have determined already (as though I were present), con cerning him that hath done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit with you, with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver him unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.' If that he be ever present with all his, how do bis parables bring him in to be gone into a far country? Thus may this question be answered. He that saith unto his disciples, 'Behold, I am with you unto the end of the world;' and again, ' Where two or three be gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them;' and he also, that standeth in the midst of them that know him not, is the only-begotten Son of God, God tbe Word, and Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Truth, which is not inclosed about with any bodily compass. After this nature of his divinity he is not departed into another country; but he is gone away after the dispensation of the body which he took, after the which also he v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 273 was troubled, and became heavy, saying, 'Now is my soul troubled;' and again : John xii. ' My soul is heavy unto the death.' And speaking these things, we divide not his Matt. xxvi. humanity (for St John writeth, 'Every spirit that divideth Jesus is not of God'), 1J°hniv- but we reserve to both his natures their own properties1." Of these words of the ancient writer Origen we plainly are taught, that the Lord Christ, as touching his divinity, is present at all times and in every place, neither can he be comprehended in any one several place only; but as concerning his humanity, or bodily presence, he is not in all places, neither is he here with us on the earth, but he is gone hence into a far country, that is to say, into heaven. If Christ's body be not here on earth, but is gone hence and estranged from us, with what forehead dare the papists affirm that they have him inclosed in a wafer cake, break him with their fingers, and tear him with their teeth ? Can one and the same thing be both absent and present at one time and in one place? A monstrous doctrine! Father. Do any other of the ancient fathers agree with Origen in this behalf ? Son. All, without exception. For Cyrillus, a Greek writer, also agreeth with Origen in all points, saying :" Although Christ took away from hence the presence of his body, yet In Joan- Li»- in the majesty of his godhead he is ever here, as he promised to his disciples at his departure, saying: 'Behold, I am with you continually, even unto the world's end2.'" Matt- xxviii- Here have we plainly also of Cyrillus, that Christ, as concerning his bodily presence, is not here among us ; but, as touching his godhead, he is never away from us, but remaineth with us continually. I will now recite unto you some of the ancient Latin writers, that by this means you may hear and understand, what time3 concord and perfect amity hath from the beginning continued in the church of Christ in all ages and in all places concerning the truth of God's religion, till this monstrous beast of many heads, (I mean papism,) in the which be more than an hundred sects, brast in and overflowed the world. And foras much as by the judgment of all godly learned men St Austin is the best and most sincere expositor of the holy scripture among the ancient writers, I will first of all declare his mind in this behalf. " As concerning his divine majesty, as concerning his providence, as concerning his In Joan- infallible and invisible grace," saith St Augustine, "these words be fulfilled which he spake : ' Behold, I am with you unto the world's end.' But as concerning the flesh Matt, xxviii. which he took in his incarnation, as concerning that which was born of the virgin, as concerning that which was apprehended by the Jews and crucified upon a tree, and [' Ergo priraum quasramus de peregrinatione ipsius, maxime quia peregrinationi ejus videtur esse contrarium quod ipse de se discipulis suis piomittit, dicens : Ubi fuerint duo vel tres congregati in nomine meo, ibi sum in medio eorum. Item illud : Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus, usque ad consummationem sfficuli. Et quod Baptista dicit de eo, ubique eum esse demonstrans, ita : In medio autem vestrum stat quem vos nescitis ; ipse est qui post me venit. Propterea dicet aliquis : Si in medio etiam nescientium se stat ; si ubicumque duo vel tres congregati fuerint in nomine ejus, inter eos habetur ; si per omnes dies vitae discipulorum cum eis est usque ad consummationem saeculi ; quomodo in ista parabola proponitur peregrinans 1 Tractantes autem assumere debemus et illud quod Paulus ait de se : Ego autem absens corpore, prasens autem spiritu, jam judicavi ut praesens, congregatis vobis et meo spiritu cum virtute Domini Jesu, eum qui talis est tradere Satanas in interitum carnis, ut spiritus ejus salvus sit in die Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Si enim virtus Jesu congregatur cum his qui congregantur in nomine ejus, non peregrinatur a suis, sed semper praesto est eis. Quod si semper omnibus suis est praesens, quomodo introducunt eum parabolas ejus peregrinantem 1 Vide si possumus solvere hoc modo quod quaeritur. Qui enim dicit discipulis suis, Ecce fBECON. II.l ego vobiscum sum usque ad consummationem sx- culi; et item, Ubi fuerint duo vel tres congregati in nomine meo, et ego sum in medio eorum, et ce tera ; et qui in medio etiam nescientium se consistit, Unigenitus Dei est, Deus Verbum, et sapientia, et justitia, et Veritas, qui non est corporeo ambitu cir- cumclusus. Secundum hanc divinitatis sure naturam non peregrinatur, sed peregrinatur secundum dis- pensationem corporis quod suscepit ; secundum quod et turbatus est, et tristis factus est, dicens, Nunc anima mea turbatur ; et ilerum : Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem. Hffic autem dicentes non solvimus suscepti corporis hominem, cum sit scrip- turn apud Joannem : Omnis spiritus qui solvit Jesum, non est ex Deo ; sed unicuique substantias proprie- tatem servamus. — Orig. Op. Par. 1733 — 59. In Matt. Comm. Ser. 65. Tom. III. pp. 882, 3.] [2 Denique quum de se dixit, Me autem non semper habebitis, loquebatur Dominus de praesentia corporis sui. Nam secundum majestatem suam, secundum providentiam, secundum ineffabilem et in- visibilem divinitatis gratiam, impletur quod ab eo dictum est : Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem seculi. — Cyril. Alex. Op. Lat. Par. 1604 — 5. In. Joan. Evang. Lib. viii. cap. vii. Tom. I. p. 597.] [3 Folio, tymr. Probably, true] 1°lu 274 THE CATECHISM. [Part Matt. xxvi. Note. Matt, xxviii. In Matt. cap. xxvi. In Luc. Lib. x. cap. 24. 2 Cor. v. In Hom. Pasch. In Hom. Pentecost. taken down from the cross, lapped in linen clothes, and buried, and rose again, and appeared after his resurrection ; as concerning the flesh, he said : ' You shall not ever have me with you.' Wherefore seeing that, as concerning his flesh, he was conversant with his disciples forty days, and they accompanying, seeing, and following him, he went up into heaven, both he is not here (for he sitteth on the right hand of his Father); and yet he is here, for he departed not hence as concerning the presence of his divine majesty. As touching the presence of his majesty, we have Christ ever with us ; but as concerning the presence of his flesh, he said truly to his disciples : ' Ye shall not ever have me with you.' For as concerning the presence of his flesh, the church had Christ but a few days ; but now it holdeth him fast by faith, it seeth not him with eyes1." Again he saith : " How shall I lay hand on him being absent, or seeing he is gone ? How shall I put my hand into heaven, that I may lay hand on him sitting there ? Send thy faith, and thou hast laid hand on him. Thy fathers have laid hand on him in the flesh ; but lay thou hand on him with thy heart. For Christ, although he be absent, yet is he present : except be were present, we could not lay hand on him. But because that is true which he saith, ' Behold, I am with you continually unto the world's end' ; he is both gone away, and he is also here: he is both gone again, and yet hath he not forsaken us. He hath carried away his body into heaven, yet notwithstanding he hath not taken away his majesty from the world2." Hereto agreeth the saying of St Hierome : " Wherefore said the Lord after his resurrection unto his disciples, 'Behold, I am with you unto the end of the world;' and now he saith, 'You shall not have me always'? Methink that in this place he speaketh of his corporal presence, that he shall not be with them after his resurrection, as he is now, living with them familiarly ; which thing the apostle considering saith : 'Although we have known Christ after the flesh, now yet henceforth know we him so no more3.'" Likewise saith St Ambrose : " 0 Lord Jesu, we ought not to seek thee upon the earth, nor in the earth, nor after the flesh, if we will find thee. For ' we know now Christ no more after the flesh.' Stephen sought thee not upon the earth, which saw thee standing on the right hand of God : but Mary, which sought thee on the earth, could not touch thee. Stephen touched thee, because he sought thee in heaven4.'" And St Gregory writeth thus : " Christ is not here by the presence of his flesh, and yet is he absent nowhere by the presence of his majesty6." Again he saith : "The Word f1 Nam secundum majestatem suam, secundum providentiam, secundum ineffabilem et invisibilem gratiam, impletur quod ab eo dictum est, Ecce ego vobiscum sum usque in consummationem saeculi. Secundum carnem vero quam Verbum assumsit, se cundum id quod de virgine natus est, secundum id quod a Judaeis prehensus est, quod ligno confixus, quod de cruce depositus, quodlinteis involutus, quod in sepulcro conditus, quod in resurrectione manifes- tatus, non semper habebitis vobiscum. Quare : Quo- niam conversatus est secundum corporis praesentiam quadraginta diebus cum discipulis suis, et eis dedu- centibus videndo, non sequendo, adscendit in cesium, et non est hie. Ibi est enim, sedet ad dexteram Pa- tris : et hie est, non enim recessit prassentia majesta- tis. Aliter : Secundum praesentiam majestatis semper habemus Christum : secundum praesentiam carnis, recte dictum est discipulis, Me autem non semper habebitis. Habuit enim ilium ecclesia secundum praesentiam carnis paucis diebus : modo fide tenet, oculis non videt August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. In Johan. Evang. cap. xii. Tractat. 1. 13. Tom. III. Pars n. col. 634.] [2 Quomodo tenebo absenteml Quomodo in ccelum manum mittam, ut ibi sedentem teneam? Fidem mitte, et tenuisti. Parentes tui tenuerunt came, tu tene corde : quoniam Christus absens etiam praesens est. N isi praesens esset, a nobis ipsis teneri non posset. Sed quoniam verum est quod ait, Ecce ego vobiscum sum usque ad consummationem saeculi : et abiit, et hie est ; et rediit, et nos non deserit: cor pus enim suum intulit ccelo, majestatem non abstulit mundo. — Id. ibid. 4. cols. 630, 1.] f3 Alia oboritur quaestio, quare Dominus post resurrectionem dixerit ad discipulos, Ecce ego vo biscum sum usque ad consummationem mundi; et nunc loquatur, Me autem non semper habebitis. Sed mihi videtur in hoc loco de praesentia dicere corpo- rali : quod nequaquam cum eis ita futurus sit post resurrectionem, quomodo nunc in omni convictu et familiaritate. Cujus rei memor apostolus ait : Et si noveramus Jesum Christum secundum carnem, sed nunc jam non novimus eum. — Hieron. Op. Par. 1693—1706. Comm. Lib. iv. in Matt. cap. xxvi. Tom. IV. Pars i. col. 126.] [4 Ergo non supra terram, nee in terra, nee se cundum carnem te quaerere debemus, si volumus invenire; nunc enim secundum carnem jam non no vimus Christum. Denique Stephanus non supra terram quaesivit, qui stantem te ad dexteram Dei vidit : Maria autem quia quasrebat in terra, tangere non potuit. Stephanus tetigit, quia quassivit in coelo. — Ambros. Op. Par. 1686—90. Expos. Evang. sec. Luc. Lib. x. 160. Tom. I. col. 1538.] [5 Surrexit, non est hie. Non est hie, dicitur, per praesentiam carnis, qui tamen nusquam deerit per Y-l OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORDS SUPPER. 275 Horn, in Vi gil. Pent. incarnate both tarrieth and goeth away : he goeth away in his body, but he tarrieth in his godhead0." Likewise saith Beda : " He (Christ), being God and man, was taken up in his humanity, m Hom which he took of the earth ; but, as concerning his divinity, he abideth still with his saints Pasch' on the earth, wherewith he filleth earth and heaven7." Also in another place he saith : "He, after his resurrection going up into heaven, forsook them corporally, which not- H withstanding never failed them concerning the presence of his divine majesty8." B' Moreover Vigilius, that blessed bishop and holy martyr, writing against Eutyches, that heretic, which denied the humanity of Christ, hath these words : " Christ said to his Lib. i. disciples : ' If ye loved me, ye would rejoice ; for I go unto my Father.' And again John xiv. he said : ' It is expedient for you that I go ; for if I go not, the Comforter shall not John xvi. come to you.' And yet surely the eternal Word of God, the Virtue of God, the Wisdom of God, was ever with his Father and in his Father, yea, even at the same time when he was with us and in us. For when he did mercifully dwell in this world, he left not his habitation or dwelling in heaven ; for he is every where whole with his Father, equal in divinity, whom no place can contain. For the Son filleth all things, and there is no place that lacketh the presence of his divinity. From whence then and whither did he say that he would go ? Or how did he say that he went to his Father, from whom doubtless he never departed ? But that was to go to the Father and to depart from us, even to take from this world that nature which he received of us. Thou seest therefore, that it was the property of that nature to be taken away and to go from us, which in the end of the world shall be rendered again to us, as the angels witnessed, sayino- : ' This Jesus, which is taken from you, shall come again, like as you saw him going up Acts ¦, into heaven.' For look upon the miracle, look upon the mystery of both the natures. The Son of God, as concerning his humanity, went from us: as concerning his divinity, he said unto us, ' Behold, I am with you all the days unto the world's Matt, xxvii end.'" And a little after he saith : " He is both with us, and he is not with us. For those whom he left, and went from them, as concerning his humanity, those he left not, nor forsook them not, as touching his divinity. For as touching the form of a servant (which he took away from us into heaven), he is absent from us; but by the form of God (which goeth not from us), he is present with us in earth ; and nevertheless, both present and absent, he is all one Christ9.'" And a certain bishop called Justus Orgelitanus, writing upon Salomon's ballads, in cantica bringeth in Christ speaking to the faithful soul on this manner : " Desire thou not to Car,tlcorum praesentiam majestatis. — Gregor. Magni Papae I. Op. Par. 1705. In Evang. Lib. 11. Horn. xxi. Die Sanct. Pasch. Tom. I. col. 1527.] [6 Sed Verbum incarnatum et manet et recedit : recedit corpore, manet divinitate. — Id. Lib. 11. Hom. xxx. Die Sanct. Pentecost, col. 1576.] [7 Quia enim ipse Deus et homo est, assumptus est in ccelum humanitate, quam de terra susceperat : manet cum Sanctis in terra divinitate, qua terram pariter implet et ccelum Ven. Bed. Op. Col. Agrip. 1612. Hom. Fer. Sext. Pasch. Tom. VII. col. 14.] [8 Verum quia ille post resurrectionem ascendens in ccelum eos corporaliter deseruit, quibus tamen divinae praesentia majestatis nunquam abfuit, recte de hoc paracleto, id est, Spiritu sancto subjunxit: Ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum Id. Hom. in Fest. Sanct. Pentecost, col. 38.] [9 Ait namque discipulis suis, Si diligeretis me, gauderetis, quia vado ad Patrem, quia Pater major me est. Et iterum : Expedit vobis ut ego earn. Si enim ego non abiero, Paracletus ad vos non veniet. Et certe Verbum Dei, Virtus Dei, Sapientia Dei, sem per apud Patrem et in Patre fuit, etiam quando in nobis nobiscum fuit. Neque enim cum terrena mise- ricorditer incoluit, de ccelesti habitatione recessit. Cum Patre enim ubique est totus pari divinitate, quem nullus continet locus. Plena sunt quippe om nia Filio, nee est aliquis locus divinitatis ejus pra- sentia vacuus. Unde ergo et quo se iturum dicit, aut quomodo se ad Patrem perrecturum adserat, a quo sine dubio nunquam recessit ? Sed hoc erat ire ad Patrem et recedere a nobis, auferre de hoc mundo naturam, quam susceperat ex nobis. Vides ergo ei- dem nature proprium fuisse ut auferretur et abiret a nobis, quae in fine temporum reddenda est nobis, se cundum attestantium vocem angelorum, Hie Jesus qui receptus est a vobis, sic veniet, quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in ccelum. Nam vide miracu- lum, vide utriusque proprietatis mysterium : Dei Fi lms secundum humanitatem suam recessit a nobis, secundum divinitatem suam ait nobis, Ecce ego vo biscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consumma tionem saeculi. Si nobiscum est, quomodo ait, Venient dies quando desideretis diem unum Filii hominis, et non videbitis: Sed et nobiscum est, et non est nobiscum ; quia quos reliquit et a quibus discessit hu manitate sua, non reliquit nee deseruit divinitate sua. Per formam enim servi, quam abstulit a nobis in ccelum, absens est nobis : per formam Dei, quae non recedit a nobis, in terris praesens est nobis ; tamen et prassens et absens ipse unus idemque est nobis — Vigil. adv. Eutych. in Cassandr. Op. Par. 1616. Lib. 1. p. 518.] 18—2 276 THE CATECHISM. [Pakt see me always in the body, whom thou seest better in the spirit through faith. For to this end went I up into heaven, that thou shouldest see me no more compassed in a place ; which notwithstanding do so replenish and fill all things with the presence of my divinity, that I am in every place, and contain all things, and am contained of no place1." Breath should fail me, if I should go forth to recite the sayings of all the ancient Greek and Latin writers, which most constantly affirm, that as the Lord Christ, in that be is God, is every where and filleth all places at all times ; so likewise, in that he is man, he is only in heaven, and in no place else, where he shall remain until the day of judgment, according to the scriptures. Now if this doctrine be true and certain, as it is most true and most certain, then is the doctrine of the papists most false and most vain, which teach the contrary, being through the spirit of error deceived themselves, and also deceiving other. Father. The papists deny not, that the natural body of Christ is in heaven; but thev say moreover, that as he is in heaven, so likewise is he on earth in the sacrament, although invisibly ; insomuch that, whensoever the bread and wine be once consecrate, there straightways, under the accidents of bread and wine, the real, corporal, natural, and substantial body of Christ is contained, even the very self-same body that was born of Mary the virgin, and died on the cross. They add moreover, that, look in how many thousand thousand places the sacrament is, in so many thousand thousand places is the natural body of Christ. Son. 0 monstrous doctrine ! What any other thing is it thus to teach, than to affirm, with the old heretics, that Christ had no true, but a fantastical body ; no natural, but a celestial body ; or, as some later heretics have taught, that the body of Christ is now not only glorified, but also deified, and swallowed up of the divine nature, insomuch that, wheresoever the deity of Christ is, there is also his humanity? O wicked and most detestable doctrine ! Is this any other thing than to destroy and utterly to make nothing the humanity of Christ? Father. There is, they say, great difference between the mortal and immortal, the passible and unpassible, the bumbled and glorified body of Christ. Son. I grant. > For the glorified body of Christ, which is now in heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, is immortal, and delivered from all mortal qualities, as St Paul saith: Rom. vi. "Christ, being raised from death, dieth no more. Death hath no more power over him. For as touching that he died, he died concerning sin once; and as touching that he liveth, he liveth unto God." Notwithstanding, though the qualities of mortality be changed, yet the very same substance and nature of Christ's body remaineth still, and is not altered nor changed; so that, as in his mortality his body was local, and occupied a place, and was not in all places at once, but at one time in one only place; so likewise now, in his immortality, his body is local, and occupieth a place, even heaven, and is not in all places at once, as some hold. Father. Prove me by the word of God, that the body of Christ, although glorified and immortal, is not in divers places at once. Son. The angel of God said to certain Matt, xxviii. women which came to anoint the body of Jesus : " I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid him." "He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he told you." Of these words of the angel it is plain and evident, that as tofore the mortal and humbled, so likewise now the immortal and glorified body of Christ can be but in one place at once. For if the body of Christ, now clad with immortality and uncor ruption, might have been in all places at one time, then had not the angel spoken Aeisiii. truly when he said: "He is not here," &c. St Peter saith plainly, that "Christ must receive heaven, until the time that all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began, be restored again." And all the holy scriptures openly testify that Christ, as concerning his corporal presence, is [' Non me semper in corpore conspiciendum re- quiras, quem Spiritu per fidem melius cernis. Id- circo etenim in ccelos ascendi, ut non semper localis tibi appaream qui sic omnia (divinitatis meae .praesen tia) repleo, ut ubique adsim, cunctaque contineam et a nullo loco continear Just. Orgel. in Cant. Ex- plic. 137. in Mag. Biblioth. Vet. Patr. Col. Agrip- 1618—22. Tom. VI. Pais i. p. 515.] ¦v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 277 in heaven only, and that there he shall remain in the glory of his Father, till he come again to judge the quick and the dead; neither read we in all the bible, that Christ since the time of his ascension hath occupied with his body any other place than heaven. Moreover, doth not Christ plainly forbid us to believe such, which Matt. xxiv. teach us that Christ is in this place, and that place ; in the wilderness, and in secret places, &c. ? as some say that his body is in all places, wheresoever his godhead is ; some again affirm that Christ's natural body is in the pix, is between the priest's hands at mass, is eaten of the mouse, rat, cat, dog, &c. This monstrous kind of doctrine the holy scripture knoweth not, neither was it ever taught of the ancient fathers of Christ's church ; but it is a new doctrine, crept into the church of Christ through the subtilty of Satan, and maintained by the cruel tyranny of antichrist and his adherents. Father. Let me then hear also, what the doctrine of the old doctors and holy fathers is in this behalf. Teach they also, that the natural body of Christ, although immortal and glorified, is only in heaven, and occupieth one place only at one time? Son. Yea, verily. For the holy fathers of Christ's church, led with the Spirit of Christ, could teach nothing, but that which is agreeable to the doctrine of Christ; namely, if we respect the principal points of christian religion. Therefore in this behalf they also agree with the doctrine of the holy scripture, and with one accord affirm that Christ, as concerning his corporal presence, is in heaven only, and occupieth but one place at one time; so that he is not in many and divers places at once, as the ad versaries teach. And that you may be well assured that this is their doctrine, I will here allege certain testimonies out of their own writings. That ancient doctor and courageous bishop of Christ's church hath these words, I mean . St Ambrose : " Christ is to be sought neither upon earth, nor in earth, but in Lucam, in heaven, where he sitteth at the right hand of his Father2." Again he saith : " Here 24. ' " ' ' TiQ C\tV T iIa the shadow, here the image ; there the truth. Shadow in the law, image in the gospel ; iv. cap'. 48. ' truth in heaven. Before the lamb was offered, the calf was offered : now is Christ offered; but he is offered as man, as receiving passion; but he offereth himself as a priest, that he may forgive our sins: here in image, there in truth, where as an advocate he maketh intercession for us unto the Father3." Next in order followeth St Austin, that most worthy and faithful doctor, whose words are these : " Doubt not but that Jesus Christ, as concerning the nature of his Ad Dard. manhood, is now there, from whence he shall come. And remember well, and believe plst' the profession of a christian man, that he rose from death, ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of his Father, and from that place, and from none other, shall he come to judge the quick and the dead. And he shall come (as tbe angels said), Actsi. as he was seen go into heaven; that is to say, in the same form and substance, unto the which he gave immortality, but changed not nature. After this form (he speaketh of Christ's human nature) we may not think that he is every where. For we must J&M beware that we do not so stablish his divinity, that we take away the verity of his body. For it followeth not that the thing, which is in God, should be in every place, as God is. For the scripture doth truly testify unto us, ' that we live, move, and be Acts xvii. in him ;' and yet are we not in every place, as he is. But man is otherwise in God, and God otherwise in man, by a certain proper and singular way. For God and man is one person, and both of them one Christ Jesus, which is in every place in that he is God, and in heaven in that he is man4." Again in the same place he saith : [2 See before, page 274, note 4.] [3Hic umbra, hie imago, illic Veritas. TJmbrainlege, imago in evangelio, Veritas in ccelestibus. Ante agnus offerebatur, offerebatur et vitulus, nunc Christus of- fertur: sed offertur quasi homo, quasi recipiens pas- sionem ; et orTert se ipse quasi sacerdos, ut peccata nostra dimiltat : hie in imagine, ibi in veritate, ubi apud Patrem pro nobis quasi advocatus intervenit. — Ambros. Op. Par. 1686—90. De Offic. Minist. Lib. 1. cap. xlviii. 248. Tom. II. col. 63.] [4 Noli itaque dubitare ibi nunc esse hominem Christum Jesum, unde venturus est, memoriterque recole, et fideliter tene Christianam confessionem, quoniam resurrexit a mortuis, adscendit in ccelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris, nee aliunde quam inde venturus est ad vivos mortuosque judicandos. Et sic venturus est ilia angelica voce testante, quemad- modum ire visus est in ccelum, id est in eadem carnis forma atque substantia ; cui profecto immortalitatem dedit, naturam non abstulit. Secundum hanc foi- mam non est putandus ubique ditfusus. Cavendum est enim, ne ita divinitatem adstruamus hominis, ut 278 THE CATECHISM. [Pari De Pide et Symb. c. vi. In Hom. Pasch. In Hom. in Vigil. Pent. AdTrasi.Lib. ii. John xi. Matt, xxviii. "Doubt not but that our Lord Jesus Christ is every where as God, and that he is in a certain place of heaven, because of the measure of a true body1." Once again in the same place he saith : " Take away the spaces of places from the bodies, and so shall they nowhere be; and forasmuch as they shall be nowhere, neither shall they be. Take away the self bodies from the qualities of the bodies, and there shall be no place where they may be; and so it followeth of necessity that they are not2." And writing upon the gospel of St John, he saith thus : " The Lord is alone3, but yet his truth is here. For his body, wherein he rose, must be in one place; but his truth is dispersed in all places4." Again: "As concerning the presence of his majesty, we have Christ ever with us ; but as concerning the presence of his flesh, he said truly to his disciples : ' Ye shall not ever have me with you.' For as concerning the pre sence of his flesh, the church had Christ but a few days ; yet now it holdeth him fast by faith, though it see him not with eyes5." Also in another place he saith: " Where and how the body of the Lord is in heaven, it is a thing both curious and vain to demand. Notwithstanding, this must we believe, that the body of Christ is only in heaven6." Saint Gregory also saith : " Christ is not here by the presence of his flesh ; and yet is he absent nowhere by the presence of his majesty7." The very same in effect writeth Beda on this manner : " Christ, after his resur rection ascending into heaven, left his disciples corporally; whom notwithstanding he never forsook concerning the presence of his divine majesty8." With these aforesaid ancient writers agreeth the noble clerk Fulgentius, whose words are these : " One and the self-same Christ of mankind was made a man, com passed in a place, who of his Father is God, without measure or place. One and the self-same person, as concerning his man's substance, was not in heaven when he was in earth, and forsook the earth when he ascended into heaven ; but, as concerning his godly substance (which is above all measure), he neither left heaven when he came from heaven, nor he left not the earth, when he ascended into heaven; which may be known by the most certain word of Christ himself, who, to shew the placing of his humanity, said to his disciples : ' I ascend up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' Also, when he had said of Lazarus that he was dead, he added, saying : ' I am glad for your sakes, that you may believe. For I was not there.' But to shew the unmeasurable compass of his divinity, he said to his disciples : ' Behold, I am with you always unto the world's end.' Now, how did he go up into heaven, but because he is a very man, contained within a place ? Or how is he present with faithful people, but because he is very God, being without measure9?" veritatem corporis auferamus. Non est autem con- sequens, ut quod in Deo est, ita sit ubique ut Deus. Nam et de nobis veracissima scriptura dicit, quod in illo vivimus, movemuret sumus, nee tamen sicut ille ubique sumus : sed aliter homo ille in Deo, quoniam aliter et Deus ille in homine, proprio quodam et sin- gularimodo. Una enim persona Deus et homo est, et utrumque est unus Christus Jesus ; ubique per id quod Deus est, in ccelo autem per id quod homo. — August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. Lib. ad Dard. seu Epist. clxxxvii. 10. Tom. II. col. 681.] [' Christum autem Dominum nostrum unigeni- tum Dei filium aaqualem Patri, eumdemque hominis Hliuiu, quo major est Pater, et ubique totum pras- sentem esse nondubites tamquam Deum, et in eodem templo Dei esse tamquam inhabitantem Deum, et in loco aliquo cceli propter veri corporis modum Id. ibid. 41. col. 692.] [s Nam spatia locorum tolle corporibus, nusquam erunt; et quia nusquam erunt, nee erunt. Tolle ipsa corpora qualitatibus corporum, non erit ubi sint, et ideo necesse estut non sint Id. ibid. 18. col. 683.] I3 Perhaps the time reading here is above.] [4 Sursum est Dominus : sed etiam hie est Veri tas Dominus. Corpus enim Domini, in quo resur- rexit, uno loco esse potest : Veritas ejus ubique dif fusa est Id. In Johan. Evang. cap. vii. Tractat. xxx. 1. Tom. III. Pars n. col. 517. This pas sage is cited by Lombard in somewhat different words : in uno loco esse oportet Lib. Sentent. Col. Agrip. 1576. Lib. iv. Dist. x. fol. 351.] [5 See before, page 274, note 1.] [6 Sed ubi et quomodo sit in. ccelo corpus domini- cum, curiosissimum et supervacaneum est quaerere; tantummodo in ccelo esse credendum est. — Id. Lib. de Fid. et Symb. 13. Tom. VI. col. 157.] [7 See before, page 274, note 5.] [8 See before, page 275, note 8.] [9 Unus idemque homo localis ex homine, qui est Deus immensus ex Patre : unus idemque, secundum humanam substantiam, absens ccelo, cum es=et in terra, et derelinquens terram, cum ascendisset in ccelum : secundum divinam vero immensamque sub stantiam, nee ccelum dimittens, cum de ccelo descen ds, nee terram deserens, cum ad ccelum ascendit. Quod ipsius Domini certissimo potest cognosci ser- mone; qui ut localem ostenderet humanitatem suam, dicit discipulis suis : Ascendo ad Patrem meum et ad V.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 279 Vigilius also, a valiant defender of the christian verity, hath these words: "If Contra Eu- the Word and the flesh were both of one nature, seeing the Word is every where, why iv? ™' is not then the flesh every where? For when it was in earth, then verily it was not in heaven; and now, when it is in heaven, it is not surely in earth. And it is so sure that it is not in earth, that as concerning it we look for him to come from heaven, whom as concerning his eternal Word we believe to be with us in earth. ¦£& Therefore by your doctrine (the author speaketh unto the heretic Eutyches, who taught that the divinity and humanity in Christ was but one nature), either the Word is contained in a place with his flesh, or else the flesh is every where with the Word. For one nature cannot receive in itself two diverse and contrary things. But these two things be diverse and far unlike, that is to say, to be contained in a place and to be every where. Therefore, inasmuch as the Word is every where, and the flesh is not every where, it appeareth plainly that one Christ himself hath in him two natures ; and that by his divine nature he is every where, and by his human nature he is con tained in a place; that he is created, and hath no beginning; that he is subject to death, and cannot die. Whereof one he hath by the nature of his Word, whereby he is God; and the other he hath by the nature of his flesh, whereby the same God is man also. Therefore one Son of God, the self-same was made the Son of man, and he hath a beginning of the nature of his flesh, and no beginning by the nature of his godhead. He is comprehended in a place by the nature of his flesh, and not com prehended in a place by the nature of his godhead. He is inferior to angels in the nature of his flesh, and is equal to his Father in the nature of his godhead. He died by the nature of his flesh, and died not by the nature of his godhead. This is the faith and catholic confession, which the apostles taught, the martyrs did corroborate, and faithful people keep unto this day10." I could rehearse divers other, both old and new writers, which with one consent teach, that as the godhead of Christ is every where, and cannot be shut up in one certain place, so likewise the manhood of Christ is only in heaven, and occupieth one certain place, and cannot be in more places than in one at once : but let these suffice for this present. For even of them learn we sufficiently, that the body of Christ is now only in heaven, and so in heaven that it is in none other place, neither shall be until the day of judgment; so far is it off from the truth that the papists teach, affirming that the natural body of Christ lurketh under the kinds of bread and wine, is upon every altar at every mass, is handled, touched, and broken with the priest's hands, is received with the bodily mouth of the priest and of the people, is crushed on pieces with the teeth of the communicants, is devoured of mice, rats, dogs, owls, flitter- mouses, &c. Patrem vestram, Deum meum et Deum vestrum: De Lazaro quoque cum dixisset, Lazarus mortuus est, adjunxit dicens : Et gaudeo propter vos, ut cre- datis, quoniam non eram ibi. Immensitatem vero suae divinitatis ostendens discipulis dicit : Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus, usque ad consum mationem saeculi. Quomodo autem ascendit in cce lum, nisi quia localis et verus est homo * Aut quo modo adest fidelibus suis, nisi quia idem immensus et verus est Deus 1— Fulgent. Op. Venet. 1742. Ad Trasimund. Lib. 11. cap. xvii. p. 50.] [10 Deinde si verbi et carnis una natura est, quo modo, cum verbum ubique sit, non ubique inveniatur et carol Namque quando in terra fuit, non erat utique in coelo : et nunc quia in ccelo est, non est utique in terra; et in tantum non est, ut secundum ipsam Christum spectemus venturum de coelo, quern se cundum verbum nobiscum esse credimus in terra. Igitur secundum vos, aut verbum cum carne sua loco continetur, aut caro cum verbo ubique est, quando una natura contrarium quid et diversum non recipit in seipsa. Diversum est autem et longe dissimile circumscribi loco, et ubique esse ; et quia verbum ubique est, caro autem ejus ubique non est, apparet unum eundemque Christum utriusque esse naturae, et esse quidem ubique secundum naturam divinitatis suaj, et loco contineri secundum naturam humani- tatis suae : creatum esse, etinitium non habere : morti subjacere, et mori non posse : quod unum illi est ex natura verbi, qua Deus est, aliud ex natura carnis, qua idem Deus homo est. Igitur unus Dei Filius, idemque hominis factus Filius, habet initium ex natura carnis suae, et non habet initium ex natura divinitatis suae : creatus est per naturam carnis sua;, et non est creatus per naturam divinitatis suas : cir- cumscribitur loco per naturam carnis sure, et loco non capitur per naturam divinitatis suae : minor est etiam angelis per naturam carnis suae, et aequalis- est Patri secundum naturam divinitatis suae : mor tuus est natura carnis suse, et non est mortuus natura divinitatis suae. Hasc est fides et confessio catholica, quam apostoli tradiderunt, martyres robo- raverunt, et fideles nunc usque custodiunt. — Vigil. adv. Eutych. in Cassandr. Op. Par. 1616. Lib. iv. pp. 546, 7.] 280 THE CATECHISM. [Part Of the omni potency and almightypower of God. Why God is called almighty. Isai. xliii. Psai. xxxiii. Note well. Li'*, de Spi ritu Sanct. cap. xxii. Father. The opinion of the papists, I confess, is gross and too much unsavoury: notwithstanding, in my judgment, it greatly derogateth the omnipotency and almighty power of Christ, (which being God is able to do all things,) to affirm that Christ's body is so inclosed in heaven, that it can be in none other place, or to say, that the body of Christ can be but in one place at once. Son. First, as touching the omnipotency and almighty power of Christ, in that he is God, this thing derogateth nothing the glory, majesty, and virtue of the Lord Jesus, to teach, as we are taught of the holy scriptures, and have received from the most ancient fathers of Christ's church; namely that Christ in his humanity hath forsaken the earth, and is gone up into the glorious kingdom of his Father, where he shall remain until he return unto the judgment. For Christ, being God, is not therefore called almighty because he is able to do all things without exception, but because he is of sufficient power to do whatsoever his good pleasure is to do ; as the psalmograph saith : Omnia quweunque voluit fecit ; " He hath done whatsoever his good pleasure was to do." For there are many things which God cannot do. He cannot lie. He cannot deny himself. He cannot save the un faithful. He cannot condemn the faithful. He cannot deny mercy to them that ho merciful. He cannot make the damned inheritors of everlasting salvation. He cannot make one of like dignity with himself. He cannot love wickedness, nor abhor righte ousness. He cannot delight in the death of sinners; and, as some write, he cannot restore virginity once violated ; neither can he sin, nor do any thing against his word or determinate purpose, &c. Neither doth this thing any whit at all hinder the omnipotency of God, or prove God to be the less omnipotent or almighty. For, as I said before, God is called almighty, because he is able to do whatsoever his godly pleasure is, and because there is no superior power above him, but that he may do all that he will; and all that his pleasure is to do, that may he bring to pass, and no power is able to resist him, as he saith by the prophet: "I will work, and who shall be able to turn it away?" Likewise saith the psalmograph : " The Lord breaketh the counsel of the heathen, and bringeth to nought the devices of the people. But the counsel of the Lord shall stand for ever, and the thoughts of his heart throughout all ages." For, as Salomon saith, "There is no wisdom, no forecast, no counsel, that can prevail against the Lord." Moreover, as concerning Christ's being in heaven only until the day of judgment, we are taught of the holy scriptures both so to believe and to teach. For in the word of God we find none other place appointed for the humanity of Christ than heaven, as we have tofore abundantly heard. And as touching the body of Christ, although immortal and glorified, to be but in one place only at one time, you have hoard before both tbe determination of the Holy Ghost, and also the consent of the ancient godly fathers in this behalf; which all, with one perfect agreement, teach and affirm that the body of Christ is but in one place at one time, although his godhead be every where, and fulfilleth all things. For this is diligently to be noted, that to be in many or in all places at once is only appropriated to the nature of God. For no creature, although never so glorious, pine, immortal, and spiritual, can be in more places at once than in one only. Yea, the very angels and invisible spirits, forasmuch as they be creatures, are only in one place at once, as Basilius Magnus testifieth, saying : " The angel which stood by Cor nelius was not at the same time also with Philip, nor the angel which spake' to Zachary at the altar was not the same time in his proper place in heaven. But the Holy Ghost was at one time in Abacuck, and in Daniel at Babylon, and with Jeremy in prison, and with Ezechiel in Chobar1." Of this sentence of Basil learn here two things : one is that all creatures, although never so pure and perfect, are only at one time in one place, and not in many and diverse places at once; again, that God alone, which is the Creator and Maker of all creatures, can be in many or in all places at once. [} 'O ydp tw K.opvnXi(ii eVto-Tas uyyeXos ovk Vv ev TaiiTw Kal irapd tw ^iXiiririo, oiibe b dirb tov OvataaTijpLov tw 'Laxapia. bLa.Xeyop.evo? KaTa tov aiirbv Kaipbv Kal ev ovpavto t\\v oIkclov GTaaLv tirXijpov. to pev toi irvev/ia, bpob Te ev 'AfifiaKov/i evepyelv, Kal ev Aawn'X eirl tj;s Baf3vXaviai ire- irLaTeoTaL' teal ev Tea KaTappaKT-n clvai /xerct 'lepe- p.Lov, Kal ueto 'IegeiujjX eirl too Xo/3dp. — Basil. Op. Par. 1721—30. Lib. de Spir. Sanct. cap. xxiii. Tom. III. p. 46.] v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 281 And Didymus, in his book which he writeth of the Holy Ghost, proveth that the Holy Ghost is very God, because he is in many places at one time, which no creature can be. " For," saith he, " all creatures, visible and invisible, be circumscribed and cap. xxii. environed either within one place (as corporal and visible things be), or within the property of their own substance (as angels and invisible creatures be) ; so that no angel," saith he, "can be at one time in two places. And forasmuch as the Holy Ghost is in many men at one time, therefore," saith he, "the Holy Ghost must needs be God2." Who seeth not now, except he be wilfully blind, that forasmuch as the body of Christ is a creature, although glorified and clad with immortality, it is and can be but in one place at once? To teach the contrary is none other thing than to evacuate and utterly to destroy the nature of Christ's humanity, and to affirm, with certain heretics, that the body of Christ is deified, and so swallowed up of the godhead, that it is now in all places with the godhead at all times ; which is a most heinous and detestable heresy. For St Austin affirmeth plainly, that a body must needs be in some certain place; AdDarda- and saith moreover, that if it be not within the compass of a place, it is nowhere : ml1' '"s ' and if it be nowhere, then is it not3. St Cyril likewise, considering the proper nature of a very body, said "that, if the DeTrinit. nature of the godhead were a body, it must needs be in a place, and have quantity, greatness, and circumscription4." We may therefore right well conclude, both with the authority of the holy scriptures and with the testimonies of the ancient writers, that the body of Christ, although utterly estranged from corruption and mortality, and now glorified and immortal, is and remain still a perfect and true body, circumscribed, compassed, and measured, and cannot be in divers places at one time. 6 This doctrine is now so plain and evident, so open and manifest, that it cannot be denied; and I much marvel how the papists, specially the learned sort, durst ever maintain so damnable heresy, and teach that the body of Christ is in an infinite number of places at one time. For by this means they make his body to be God (whose property alone it is to be in many or in all places at once), and so confound the two natures of Christ, attributing to his human nature that thing which belongeth only to his divinity; which is a most heinous and abominable heresy. Father. But what is then to be said concerning these words, which the papists continually object, and to the which they cleave with tooth and nail, and the which they defend with stocks and chains, with fire and fagot, with sword and halter, and with all other kind of tyranny? Son. Of what words speak you ? Father. Of these : Hoc est enim corpus meum. The words or For thus read we : " Christ took the bread, thanked, brake it, and gave it to his disciples, as"theycaTin' saying, Take, eat : this is my body, which is given for you," &c. Spake he these words, sidere'd™"" " This is my body," of the bread, or rather of his own natural body, which he received of Mary the virgin ? Son. I know what some hold and teach in this behalf. Some say that Christ, delivering the bread to his disciples for to eat, pointed to his own body and said : " This is my body, which is given for you ;" and afterward said unto them : " Do that," that is to say, break the bread and eat it, " in the remembrance of me." But I rather approve and allow the judgment of them which teach that Christ spake these words, Hoc est corpus meum, " This is my body," of the bread, which he had now made and appointed the mystery of his body. [2 The following is probably the passage in tended: Ipse vero Spiritus sanctus, si unus de creaturis esset, saltern circumscriptam haberet sub- stantiam ; sicut universa quae facta sunt. Nam et- si non circumscribantur loco et finibus invisibiles creaturae, tamen proprietate substantiae finiuntur. Spiritus autem sanctus, cum in pluribus sit, non habet substantiam circumscriptam... Angelus quippe qui aderat, verbi gratia, apostolo in Asia oranti, non poterat simul eodem tempore adesse aliis in ceteris partibus mundi constitutis. Spiritus autem sanctus non solum sejunctis a se hominibus priEsto est, sed et singulis quibusque angelis, principatibus, thronis, dominalionibus inhabitator assistit.— Did. Alex, in Biblioth. Vet. Patr. Stud. Galland. Venet. 1765—81. De Spirit. Sanct. Lib. 6. Tom. VI. p. 265.] [3 See before, page 278, note 2.] [4 El ydp oXais Topij? Te Kal pepiap.ov, Kal iov eKeTvoL (paalv, i\ Beta tpbai? aVe'^crat, voeiaQui Kal truip.a' el be tovto, Kal ev tottco irdvToi? irov, Kal ev peyedeL, Kal iroaw, Kal eireibdv nreiroawTal, p.i\ cpevyeToi irepiypacptjv — Cyril. Alex. Op. Lut. 1638. De S. Trin. Dial. n. Tom. V. Pars i. p. 447.] [s Father, prefixed in Folio.] 282 THE CATECHISM. [Pakt How the bread is Christ'sbody. John xv. John x. Matt xxi. 1 Cor. x. John xv. Matt. xiii. Why Christ called the bread his body. John vi. In Lev. xvii. quest. 57. Contra Adi- lnant. cap. 12. Lev. xvii. Father. If Christ spake these words of the bread, then is the bread his body. Son. His body, I grant, in mystery and figure, but not in nature and substance. For the body of Christ was made of the substance of Mary the virgin, and not of the substance of bread. Though Christ called the bread his body, yet doth it not therefore follow, that the bread is his natural body; but so termed for certain resemblances and like nesses between the body of Christ and the creature of bread, as we have tofore heard. Christ in divers places of the holy scripture diversly nameth himself. He calleth himself " a vine," " a door," " a stone," &c. and is called of St Paul " a rock ;" not that he is a natural vine, door, stone, rock, &c. but for certain resemblances and properties which he hath with them. Christ calleth his Father a plowman, his disciples vine-branches ; the good seed, the children of the kingdom ; the tares, the sons of the wicked ; the field, the world ; the harvest, the end of the world ; the reapers, the angels, &c. ; not that they are so indeed, but for certain properties and resemblances which are between them. Even after the same manner Christ calleth the bread his body; not that it is his natural body indeed, but because it representeth, signifieth, declareth, preacheth, and setteth forth his body unto us ; and hath also, as I may so speak, certain properties with the body of Christ. For as the bread is broken of the faithful in the action of the Lord's supper, so was Christ's body broken on the altar of the cross. And as the bread nourisheth, preserveth, and comforteth the body, when it is eaten, so likewise the body of Christ nourisheth, preserveth, and comforteth both the body and the soul of the faithful communicants ; as Christ himself testifieth : "I am the bread of life : he that cometh unto me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." " I am that living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." " He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life ; and I shall raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is very meat, and my blood is very drink. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him," &c. For these and such like properties and resemblances did Christ call the bread his body. Father. It is then no proper, but a figurative speech, when Christ calleth the bread his body. Son. You say truth. And that the breaking of Christ's body on the altar of the cross for our redemption might the more surely be fixed in our hearts, when we come together to eat the Lord's supper, Christ enabled ' the sacramental bread with the name of his body, when notwithstanding it is the figure and sign of his body. Neither is this a rare and seldom-found thing, but rather common and usual in the holy scriptures, to call the sign by tbe name of the thing that it signifieth, as St Austin saith : " The thing which signifieth is wont to be called by the name of that thing which it signifieth, as it is written, ' The seven ears are seven years.' It saith not, They signify seven years. And, ' Seven kine are seven years ;' and many other like. And so said St Paul, that ' the stone was Christ,' and not, that it signified Christ, but even as it had been he indeed, which nevertheless was not Christ by substance, but by signification2," &c. Again : " In such wise is blood the soul, as the stone was Christ ; and yet the apostle saith not, that the stone signified Christ, but saith, 'it was Christ.' And this sentence, ' Blood is the soul,' may be understand to be spoken in a sign or figure. For Christ did not stick to say, 'This is my body,' when he gave the sign of his body3." [' Folio, ennobled. Perhaps ennobled.] [2 Solet autem res quse signiricat, ejus rei nomine quam significatnuncupari ; sicut scriptum est, Septem spicse septem anni sunt : non enim dixit, septem annos significant : et, Septem boves septem anni sunt: et multa hujusmodi. Hinc est quod dictum est, Petra erat Christus. Non enim dixit, Petra sig- nificat Christum, sed tamquam hoc esset, quod utique per substantiam non hoc erat, sed per significationem. —August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. Quiest. in Heptat. Lib. in. Quaest. lvii. 3. Tom. 111. Pars 11. col. 516.] [3 Non enim Dominus dubitavit dicere, Hoc est corpus meum, cum signum daret corpus sui tamen illud quod lex dixit, fundendum esse sangui nem, nee in escam assumendum, quia sanguis est anima, esse positum dicimus, sicut alia multa; et pene omnia scripturarum illarum sacramenta sigms et figuris plena sunt future prsadicationis, qua jam per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum declarata est. Sic est enim sanguis anima, quomodo petra erat Christus nee tamen ait, Petra significabat Chris tum : sed ait, Petra erat Christus. — Id. Cont Adi- mant. cap. xii. 3, 5. Tom. VIII. cols. 124, 6.] v.: OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 283 Once again he saith : " We customably use to say, when Easter draweth nigh, To- Ad.^onixfjii morrow or the next day is the Lord's passion. And yet it is many years since he suffered, and that passion was never done but once. And upon the Sunday we say, This day the Lord did rise again ; and yet it is many years since he rose from death. Why then do not men reprove us as liars when we speak in this sort, but because we call these days by a similitude of those days wherein these things were done indeed ? And so it is called that day, which is not that day indeed, but by the course of the year it is a like day. And such things be said to be done that day, for the solemn celebration of the sacrament, which things indeed were not done that day, but long before. Was Christ offered any more but once? And he offered himself; and yet in a sacrament or representation, not only every solemn feast of Easter, but every day he is offered to the people, so that he doth not lie that saith he is every day offered. For if sacraments had not some similitude or likeness of those things whereof they be sacraments, they could in nowise be sacraments. And for their similitude and likeness, commonly they have the name of the things whereof they be sacraments. ^M Therefore, as after a certain manner of speech the sacrament of Christ's body is Christ's body, the sacrament of Christ's blood is Christ's blood; so likewise the sacrament of faith is faith. And to believe is nothing else but to have faith. And therefore when we answer for young children in their baptism that they believe, which have not yet the mind to believe, we answer that they have faith, because they have the sacrament of faith. And we say also that they turn unto God, because of the sacrament of conversion unto God ; for that answer pertaineth to the celebration of the sacrament. And likewise speaketh the apostle of baptism, saying that ' by baptism we be buried Rom. vi. with him into death.' He saith not, that we signify burial, but he saith plainly that ' we be buried.' So that the sacrament of so great a thing is not called but by the name of the thing itself4." Of these words of St Austin it manifestly appeareth, that the sacraments are called by the names of those things whereof they be sacraments; as the sacrament of faith, which is baptism, is called faith. And the sacrament of Christ's body and blood is called the body and blood of Christ, not that they be the things themselves, but they be so called, because they be the figures, sacraments, and representations of the things which they signify, and whereof they bear the names. Likewise in the old testament was it said of the paschal lamb, "This is the Lord's pass-by, or passover:" and yet that paschal lamb was not the Lords very passover or passing-by, but it was a figure, which represented his passing by: even after the same manner in the new testament the sacramental bread is called the body of Christ, and the sacramental wine the blood of Christ; not that they be Christ's very body and blood indeed, but they be figures, which by Christ's institution be unto the godly receivers thereof sacraments, tokens, . significations, and representations of his very flesh and blood; instructing their faith, that as the bread and wine feed [* Nempe saape ita loquimur, ut pascha propin- quante dicamus, crastinam vel perendinam Domini passionem, cum ille ante tam multos annos passus sit, nee omnino nisi semel ilia passio facta sit. Nempe ipso die dominico dicimus, Hodie Dominus resur- rexit; cum ex quo resurrexit tot anni transierint. Cur nemo tam ineptus est, ut nos ita loquentes arguat esse mentitos, nisi quia istos dies secundum illorum, quibus haec gesta sunt, similitudinem nuncu- pamus, ut dicatur ipse dies qui non est ipse, sed re- volutione temporis similis ejus ; et dicatur illo die fieri, propter sacramenti celebration em, quod non illo die, sed jam olim factum est 1 Nonne semel im- molatus est Christus in seipso? et tamen in sacra mento non solum per omnes paschaj solemnitates, sed omni die populis immolatur, nee utique mentitur, qui interrogatus eum responderit immolari. Si enim sacramenta quamdam similitudinem earum rerum, quarum sacramenta sunt, non haberent, omnino sa cramenta non essent. Ex hac autem similitudine plerumque etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt. Sicut ergo secundum quemdam modum sacramen tum corporis Christi corpus Christi est, sacramentum sanguinis Christi sanguis Christi est, ita sacramentum fidei fides e^t. Nihil est autem aliud credere, quam fidem habere. Ac per hoc cum respondetur parvulus credere, qui fidei nondum habet affectum, responde tur fidem habere propter fidei sacramentum, et con- vertere se ad Deum propter conversionis sacramen tum, quia et ipsa responsio ad celebrationem pertinet sacramenti. Sicut de ipso baptismo apostolus, Con- sepulti, inquit, sumus Christo per baptismum in mortem. Non ait, sepulturam significavimus : sed prorsus ait, Consepulti sumus. Sacramentum ergo tantae rei nonnisi ejusdem rei vocabulo nuncupavit Id. Epist. xcviii. 9. ad Bonifac. Tom. II. cols. 267, 8.] 284 THE CATECHISM. [Paiit Contra Max- imin. Lib. iii. cap. 22. In Sent. Prosp. De Consee. llist. 2. Hoc est. them corporally, and continue this temporal life ; so the very flesh and blood of Christ feedeth them spiritually, and giveth everlasting life. Neither ought this phrase or manner of speaking seem strange to any man that hath but a spark of reason, seeing it is not only used in the scriptures of God, but also in our familiar and daily talk. When we behold the images of king Edward the sixth, or of queen Elizabeth, our most gracious queen and governess at this present, use we not to say, This is king Edward, and this is queen Elizabeth ? Looking upon the pictures of Hercules, or Hector, our manner is also to say, This is Hercules, or this is Hector; whom notwithstanding they only represent those persons whom we name. It is well and learnedly said of St Austin : " In sacraments we must not consider what they be, but what they signify. For they be signs of things, being one thing and signifying another1." Which thing he doth shew specially of this sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, saying : " The heavenly bread, which is Christ's flesh, by some manner of speech is called Christ's body, when in very deed it is the sacra ment of his body. And that offering of the flesh, which is done by the priest's hands, is called Christ's passion, death, and crucifying, not in very deed, but in a mystical signification2." Again he saith, as it is recited in the pope's decrees : " As the heavenly bread, which is Christ's flesh, after a manner is called the body of Christ, when in very deed it is a sacrament of Christ's body, that is to say, of that body which, being visible, palpable, mortal, was put upon the cross; and as that offering of the flesh, which is done by the priest's hands, is called the passion, the death, the crucifying of Christ, not in truth of the thing, but in a signifying mystery ; so is the sacrament of faith (which is baptism) faith3." Upon these aforesaid words writeth the expositor on this manner : " The offering which the priest maketh is called improperly the passion, death, or crucifying of Christ, not that it is that, but that it signifieth it." " And the heavenly sacrament, which truly representeth Christ's flesh, is called Christ's body, but improperly. And therefore it is said ' after a manner, but not in the truth of the thing, but in the signifying mystery ;' so that the sense is this : It is called the body of Christ, that is, signifieth4." Father. These things, which thou hast alleged out of the ancient writers, are so evident and plain, that no man can with a good conscience (except he will wilfully resist the truth), deny that these words of Christ, " This is my body," " This is my blood," are figuratively to be understand, and not so grossly as the words sound; yea, and that so much the more, because, if they should literally be taken, they should utterly dissent from many other texts of the holy scriptures, which most evidently declare, that Christ as concerning his corporal presence is not in earth, but in heaven only, and there shall remain until the day of judgment. Notwithstanding, I would be glad to hear how the ancient fathers of Christ's church have understand and taken these words of Christ, that by this means leaving error, and embracing truth, I might from henceforth walk with a quiet conscience in this behalf, and no more be carried about with every wind of doctrine. For it much grieveth me to see in these our days such and so great dissension to be raised up of Satan among men about this sacrament of the body and blood of Christ ; which holy why Christ and heavenly sacrament the Lord Christ ordained to be not only a pledge of his instituted the sacrament of his body and blood. De Consee. Dist. 2. cap. Coelest. I1 Hsc enim sacramenta sunt, in quibus non quid sint, sed quid ostendant semper adtenditur : quoniam signa sunt rerum, aliud exsistentia, et aliud significantia.— Id. Cont. Maxim. Arian. Lib. n. cap. xxi. 3. Tom. VIII. col. 725.] [2 This appeals to be the same passage with that cited immediately after.] [3 See before, page 250, note 1.] [4 Immolatio qua; fit a presbytero, improprie ap pellator Christi passio, vel mors, vel crucifixio : non quod sit ilia, sed quia illam significat — Ibid. col. 2387. And again : Cceleste sacramentum, quod yere reprasentat Christi carnem, dicitur corpus Christi, sed improprie. Cnde dicitur suo modo, sed non rei veritate, sed significati mysterio, ut sit sensus, Voca- tur Christi corpus, id est significat Decret. Gra tiani, Par. 1583. Deer. Tert. Pars, De Consecr. Dist. ii. Gloss, in can. 48. col. 2388.] y-i OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORDS SUPPER. love toward us, but also a sure and an unloosable bond of hearty love and singular good will, which we that profess Christ, and are partakers of those holy mysteries, ought to have and continually to nourish among ourselves, all contention, strife, debate, envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness utterly laid aside and cast away. Son. How the ancient fathers took and understood these words of Christ, " This is my body," "This is my blood," it may easily be known by their own writings. First, Tertullian, which lived in the year of our Lord one hundred and sixty, hath these words, writing against the heretic Marcion, which denied the verity of Christ's body, affirming it not to be a natural but a fantastical body : " Christ, taking bread Adversus and distributing it to his disciples, made it his body, saying, 'This is my body,' that iab"iv'nem is to say, a figure of my body. But this bread could not have been a figure of it, except Christ had had a true body. For a vain thing or a fantasy can take no figure5." Again he saith, writing against the aforesaid heretic : " Christ himself did contra Mar- t i i i i • i -i , , . , « cionem, not reprove or discommend bread, which doth represent his body ." Lib.ii. St Ambrose, which lived in the year of our Lord three hundred and eighty, saith : " Before the consecration another kind is named, but after the consecration the body P? Mysteriis of Christ is signified, &cr." Again he saith : " Make unto us, 0 Lord, this oblation cap- uit. ' De Sacram. to be acceptable, which is the figure of the body and blood of our Lord Jesu Christ8." uo. w. cap. St Jerome, which lived in the year of our Lord four hundred and twenty-two, writeth on this manner : " After the mystical Easter lamb fulfilled, and that Christ J.™^fatt' cap' had eaten the lamb's flesh with the apostles, he took bread, which comforteth the Psai. civ. heart of man, and passeth to the true sacrament of the Easter lamb ; that as Melchi- Gen. xiv. sedech brought forth bread and wine prefiguring him, so might he likewise represent the truth of his body9." St Austin, which lived in the year of our Lord four hundred and thirty, writeth on this wise: "The Lord doubted not to say, 'This is my body,' when he gave tbe sign of his body10." Again he saith: "The Lord admitted Judas unto the maundy, contra Adi- ~ . . . mant. cap. wherein he did betake and deliver unto the disciples the figure of his body and 12. 10 J In Psai. 111. blood11." St Cyprian, which lived in the year of our Lord two hundred and sixty, in a certain sermon writeth on this manner : " The Lord gave at the table, in the which in serm. de he made his last banquet with the apostles, bread and wine with his own hands ; but christi. on the cross he gave his body to be wounded with the hands of the soldiers12," &c. [5 Professus itaque se concupiscentia concupisse edere pascha ut suum (indignum enim ut quid alie- num concupisceret Deus), acceptum panem, et dis- tributum discipulis, corpus ilium suum fecit, Hoc est corpus meum dicendo, id est, figura corporis mei. Figura autem non fuisset, nisi veritatis esset corpus. Ceterum vacua res, quod est phantasma, figuram capere non posset — Tertull. Op. Lut. 1641. Advers. Marcion. Lib. iv. 40. p.571.J [8 Sed ille quidem usque nunc nee aquam re- probavit creatoris, qua suos abluit ; nee oleum, quo suos unguit ; nee mellis et lactis societatem, qua ¦suos infantat ; nee panem, quo ipsum corpus suum teprasentat ; etiam in sacramentis propriis egens mendicitatibus creatoris. — Id. ibid. Lib. 11. 14. pp. 439, 40.] [7 Ante benedictionem verboium ccelestium alia species nominatur, post consecrationem corpus sig- nificatur Ambros. Op. Par. 1686—90. De Myster. .Lib. cap. ix. 54. Tom. II. col. 339. There is much doubt of the genuineness of this work.] [8 Dicit sacerdos : Fac nobis, inquit, hanc obla- tionem adscriptam, ratam, rationabilem, accepta- bilem : quod figura est corporis et sanguinis Domini nostri Jesu Christi Id. de Sacram. Lib. iv. cap. v. 21. col. 371.] [9 Postquam typicum pascha fuerat impletum.et agni caines cum apostolis comederat, assumit panem, qui confortat cor hominis, et ad verum paschae trans- greditur sacramentum ; ut quomodo in praefiguratione ejus Melchisedec, summi Dei sacerdos, panem et vinum offerens fecerat, ipse quoque veritatem sui corporis et sanguinis repraesentaret. — Hieron. Op. Par. 1693—1706. Comm. Lib. iv. in Matt. cap. xxvi. Tom. IV. Pars 1. col. 128.] [10 See before, page 282, note 3.] [n eum tamdiu pertulit tamquam bonum, cum ejus cogitationes non ignoraret, cum adhibuit ad convivium, in quo corporis et sanguinis sui figu ram discipulis commendavit et tradidit August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. Enarr. in Psalm. iii. 1. Tom. IV. col. 7.] [12 Dedit itaque Dominus noster in mensa, in qua ultimum cum apostolis participavit convivium, pro priis manibus panem et vinum : in cruce vero mani- bus militum corpus tradidit vulnerandum ; ut in apostolis secretius impressa sincera Veritas, et vera sinceritas, exponeret gentibus, quomodo vinum et panis caro esset et sanguis, et quibus rationibus causae effectibus convenient, et diversa nomina vel species ad unam reducerentur essentiam, et signifi cant et significata eisdem vocabulis censerentur, ut sacramentum et res sacramenti. — Cypr. Op. Oxon. 1682. De Unct. Chrism. (Arnold.) Appendix, p 48.] 286 THE CATECHISM. [Part Ad Mag. Lib. i. ep. 6. Ad Ca?cil. Lib. ii. ep. 3. Dist. 2. cap. Corpus. In Catalo. Sanctorum. In Serm. de S. Mart. Psai. ex. Psai. civ Psai. civ. Lib. Inst. i. cap. 31. Again : " The Lord called bread, made of many corns and joined together, his body • and the wine, pressed out of many grapes and made into wine, he named his blood'," Also in another place: "It was wine that the Lord called his blood2." Hilarius, which lived in the year of our Lord three hundred and fifty, saith: " There is a figure ; for bread and wine be outwardly seen. And there is also a truth of that figure; for the body and blood of Christ be of a truth inwardly believed8." Petrus de Natalibus saith: "The body of Christ is corporally contained in heaven but in the host it is contained sacramentally4." St Bernard, which lived in the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and forty, saith : " The flesh of Christ even at this present day is exhibited and given to us, notwithstanding spiritually, not carnally5." Beda, which lived in the year of our Lord seven hundred and thirty-two, writing upon the gospel of Luke, hath these words : " After the solemnity of the old Easter lamb was finished, which was observed in the remembrance of the old deliverance out of Egypt, he goeth unto the new, which the church gladly observeth in the re membrance of his redemption ; that he, in the stead of the flesh and blood of the lamb might institute and ordain the sacrament of his flesh and blood in the figure of bread and wine, and so declare himself to be the same unto whom the Lord sware 'Thou art an everlasting priest, after the order of Melchisedech.' And he himself brake the bread which he gave, to shew that the breaking of his body should not be. done without his own will. And likewise he gave them the cup after he had supped. And because bread doth confirm or strength the flesh, and wine worketh blood in the flesh, therefore is the bread mystically referred unto the body of Christ, and the wine referred unto his blood8." Christianus Druthmarus hath these words : " The Lord gave to his disciples the sacrament of his body unto the remission of sins, and unto the conservation of charity that they, being mindful of that act, should always do that in a figure which he should do for them, and not forget this charity or love. 'This is my body,' that is to say in a sacrament or holy sign7." Again he saith : " Wine maketh merry, and increaseth blood, and therefore not unaptly the blood of Christ is figured by it; for whatsoever cometh to us from him maketh us merry with a true mirth, and increaseth all our goodness8." Rabanus Maurus saith : " Forasmuch as corporal bread confirmeth the heart, there in1 See before, page 267, note 6.] [2 Qua in parte invenimus calicem mixtum fuisse quem Dominus obtulit, et vinum fuisse, quod san guinem suum dixit. — Cypr. Op. Oxon. 1682. Epist. Ixiii. ad Officii, p. 152.J [3 Corpus Christi, quod sumitur de altari, figura est, dum panis et vinum extra videtur ; Veritas autem , dum corpus et sanguis Christi in veritate interius creditur Hilar, in Decret. Gratiani, Par. 1583. Deer. Tert. Pars, De Consecr. Dist. ii. Can. 79. cols. 2411, 12.] [4 nee tamen ex hostiarum multitudine cor pus unicura plurificatur : quod etiam in ccelo et in altare, tamen diversimode, continetur. In ccelo enim corporaliter; in hostia sacramentaliter Petr.de Na tal. Catalog. Sanct. Lugd. 1508. De Fest. Corp. J. Christ. Lib. v. cap. xiv. fol. 125.] [5 Videtur tamen etiam in hoc mane de carnibus agni nonnihil esse servatum : sed quod residuum est, utique jam datur igni : quod videlicet usque hodie eadem caro nobis, sed spiritualiter utique, non car- naliter exhibeatur. — Bernard. Op. Par. 1690. In Fest. S. Martin. Serm. Vol. I. Tom. m. col. 1052.] [6 Finitis pascha veteris solenniis*, quas in com- memorationem antique de jEgypto liberationis age- bantur, transiit ad novum, quod in sua? redemptionis memoriam ecclesia frequentare desiderat. Ut vide licet pro came agni vel sanguine suae carnis sangui- nisque sacramentum in panis ac vini figura substituens, ipsum se esse monstraret, cuijuravit Dominus et non pcenitebit eum, Tu es sacerdos in sternum, secundum ordinem Melchisedech. Frangit autem ipse panem quem porrigit, ut ostendat corporis sui fractionem non sine sua sponte futuram, sed sicut alibi dicit, potestatem se habere ponendi animam suam, etiterum sumendi earn Similiter et calicem, postquam ccenavit, dedit eis. Quia ergo panis carnem con- firmat, vinum vero sanguinem operatur in carne; hie ad corpus Christi mystice, illud refertur ad san guinem.— Ven. Bed. Op. Col. Agrip. 1612. In Luc. Evang. cap. xxii. Lib. vi. Tom. V. col. 424.] [7 Dedit discipulis suis sacramentum corporis sui in remissionem peccatorum, et in conservationem caritatis ; ut memores illius facti, semper hoc in figura facerent ; quod pro eis acturus erat, non obli- viscerentur. Hoc est corpus meum : id est in sacra mento — Christ. Druthmar. Expos, in Math. Evang.* Argent. 1514. fol. 84.] [s Vinum namque et laetificat et sanguinem auget. Et idcirco non inconvenienter sanguis Christi per hoc figuratur ; quoniam quicquid nobis ab ipso venit laetificat laetitia vera, et auget omne bonum nostrum Id. ibid.] v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 287 fore it is aptly called the body of Christ ; and because wine worketh blood in the flesh, therefore is it referred unto the blood of Christ9." Isidorus writeth on this manner : " The bread and wine through mystical prayer Eiym.. ' and pronouncing of Christ's words are consecrate unto the remembrance of the Lord's VI' passion, which he suffered for us10." Father. These words of the ancient fathers are so open, plain, and evident, that no man can with a good conscience deny, but that these words, " This is my body," " This is my blood," are not carnally but spiritually, not properly but figuratively, not naturally but significatively to be understand. But forasmuch as all these testimonies which thou hast hitherto alleged are bor rowed out of the Latin writers, I desire also to know and understand the minds of some Greek authors, and by this means learn the truth of God's word not only of the Latin, but also of the Greek fathers ; that I, being confirmed through their autho rity in the true understanding of Christ's words concerning his holy supper, may from henceforth eschew falsehood and lies, and embrace the truth of God's most holy word, and continue in the same unto the end. Son. God give us all grace so to do! First, Origen, which lived in the year of our Lord two hundred and thirty, offereth himself unto us, and saith : " Consider that these things written in God's books (he speaketh of the eating of Christ's body, and of the drinking of Christ's blood) are figures ; and therefore examine and understand them as spiritual, and not as carnal men. For if you understand them as carnal men, they hurt you and feed you not. For even in the gospel is there found a letter that killeth. And not only in the old testament, but also in the new, is there found letter that slayeth him that doth not spiritually under stand that which is spoken. For if thou follow the letter or words of this that Christ said, 'Except ye eat my flesh and drink my blood,' this letter killeth11." Johnvi. Like unto this writeth Chrjsostom : " If any man understand the words of Christ in Joan. carnally, he shall surely profit nothing thereby. For what mean these words, 'The flesh profiteth nothing?' He meant not of his flesh (God forbid!), but he meant of them that fleshly and carnally understood those things that Christ spake. But what is carnal understanding? To understand the words simply as they be spoken, and nothing else. For we ought not so to understand the things which we see; but all mysteries must be considered with inward eyes, and that is spiritually to understand £-"-'"' them12." For, as he saith in another place : "If thou were spiritual or without a body, in Matt. Christ would have given unto thee nakedly those gifts (which are signified by bap- iio>mX83.'' tism, and the sacrament of thanksgiving) even spiritual and without a body. But forasmuch thy soul is joined to the body, things worthy of understanding are delivered unto thee in sensible things13." Again: "What do I call the communion? Even the in 1 cor. cap. [9 Ergo quia panis corporis cor firmat, ideo ille corpus Christi congruenter nuncupatur. Vinum autem quia sanguinem operatur in carne, ideo ad sanguinem Christi refertur Raban. Maur. Op. Col. Agrip. 1626 — 7. De Inst. Cler. Lib. i. cap. xxxi. Tom. VI. p. 12.] [10 Sacrificium dictum, quasi sacrum factum ; quia prece mystica consecratur in memoriam pro nobis Dominicae passionis : unde hoc eo jubente corpus Christi et sanguinem dicimus, quod dum sit ex fructibus terrae, sanctificatur, et fit sacramentum, operante invisibiliter Spiritu Dei, cujus panis et calicis sacramentum Graeci eucharistiam dicunt. — Isidor. Hispal. Op. Col. Agrip. 1617. Orig. sive Etymol. Lib. vi. cap. xix. p. 52.] [u Agnoseite quia figurae sunt, quae in divinis voluminibus scripta sunt ; et ideo tanquam spiritales et non tanquam carnales examinate, et intelligite qua dicuntur. Si enim quasi carnales ista suscipitis, laedunt vos, et non alunt. Est enim et in evangeliis litera quae occidit ; non solum in veteri testamento occidens litera deprehenditur. Est et in novo testa mento litera, quse occidat eum, qui non spiritaliter quae dicuntur adverterit. Si enim secundum literam sequaris hoc ipsum quod dictum est, Nisi mandu- caveritis carnem meam, et biberitis sanguinem meum, occidit haec litera Orig. Op. Par. 1733 — 59. In Levit. Hom. vii. 5. Tom. II. p. 225.] [12 'Eay ydp avTO aapKLKco? tl? eKXdf3oL, ovbev diratvaTO. t'l ovv, ovk gotl i) adp£ aiiToo adp£ ; Kal tr ^" aitrd'nTo'is Ta voijTa ltol ¦wapaSiSwaL Id. In Matt. Hom. lxxxii. Tom. VII. p. 787.] 288 THE CATECHISM. [Part In Matt. Hom. 83. cap. xxvi. In Opere im- perfecto in Matt. Hom. 11. In Sermo de Eueh. in En- camiis. In Psai. xxii. In Ancor. In Joan. Lib. iv. cap. 14. Lib. i. de Pasch. very same body are we. What signifieth the bread l The body of Christ. What are they made which receive it ? The body of Christ1." Once again: " If Christ died not, whose symbol and sign is this sacrifice? So [see] what an earnest study he had, that we should alway remember that he died for us2." Also in another place: "If it be perilous to put these hallowed vessels unto private uses, in the which the true body of Christ is not, but a mystery of his body is contained; how much more the vessels of our body, which God hath prepared a dwelling-place for himself, ought we not to give over to the devil for to do in therri what he will3?" Item: "When ye come to these mysteries, think not that ye receive the divine body (he meaneth the body of Christ) at the hand of man4." Once again he saith : " He prepared this table, that daily, for a similitude or likeness of tbe body and blood of Christ, he should shew unto us in a sacrament bread and wine, after the order of Melchisedech5." Theodoretus also saith : " Our Saviour Christ without doubt changed the names, and gave to the body the name of the sign or token, and to the token he gave the name of the body. And so when he called himself a vine, he called that blood which was the token of blood." And a little after he saith : " The cause is manifest to them that be expert in true religion. For he would that they which be partakers of the godly sacraments should not set their minds upon the nature of things which they see; but bv the changing of the names should believe the things which be wrought in them by grace. For he that called that which is his natural body corn and bread, and also called himself a vine ; even he also did honour the visible tokens and signs with the names of his body and blood ; not changing the nature, but adding grace to nature6." Epiphanius saith : " Christ speaking of a loaf, which is round in fashion, and can not see, hear, nor feel, said of it: 'This is my body'7." Cyril saith : " Christ gave to his disciples pieces of bread, saying : ' Take and eat : this is my body.'8" Theophilus Alexandrinus saith : " The mystical waters in baptism are consecrate through the coming of the Holy Ghost; and the Lord's bread, wherein the body of our Saviour is shewed and represented, and the which we break for our sanctifying, and tbe holy cup, which is set on the table of the church, being things without [] Tt yap \eyoi KOLVtoviav, cpnaiv; avTo eapev eKeXvo to aw/xa. t'l ydp eaTLV b dpTo? ; ampa Xpto"roiJ, t'l be ylvovTaL ol peTaXap.fidvovTe? ; aoipa \pLOTOv ' ovxl crwpaTa iroXXd, dXXd crdipa ev . Id. In Epist. i. ad Cor. Hom. xxiv. Tom. X. p. 213.] [2 EI ydp pr] direQavev b 'Inaovs, t'lvo? ovp.- {3oXa Ta TeXovpeva ; bpa? oar] yeyove tnroobi], bjtt6 del dvapipviioKeadaL otl diredavev virep i]pdiv ; — Id. in Matt. Hom. lxxxii. Tom. VII. p. 783.] [3 Si enim vasa sanctificata ad privates usus transferre peccatum est et periculum, sicut docet nos Balthasar, qui bibens in calicibus sacratis de regno depositus est et de vita : si ergo haec vasa sanctificata ad privatos usus transferre sic pericu- losum est, in quibus non est verum corpus Christi, sed mysterium corporis ejus continetur: quanto magis vasa corporis nostri, quae sibi Deus ad habi- taculum prreparavit, non debemus locum dare diabolo agendi in eis quod vult ? — Id. Op. Impeif. in Matt. Hom. xi. Tom. VI. p. 63.J [4 Ato Kal nrpoaepxopevoL, pr] tv? e£ dvdpwirov vopicn]Tc peTaXapfidvcLV too Qeiov auipaTos, dXX' ta? e£ aiiTLov toiv aepatplp Trj XafiibL tov irvpb?, ijvtrep 'Htraias elbe, tov delov croipaTO? pieTaXap- fidveLv vopi^eTe. Id. De Poenit. Hom. ix. Tom. II. p. 350. See also Op. Lat. Basil. 1547. De Euch. in Eneaen. Admon. Sum. Tom. III. col. 919.] [5 Et quia istam mensam praeparavit servis et ancillis in conspectu eorum, et quotidie in similitu dinem corporis et sanguinis Christi panem et vinum secundum ordinem Melchisedec nobis ostenderet in sacramento, ideo dicit : Parasti in conspectu meo mensam adversus eos qui tribulant me. — Id. Op. Basil. Expos. Psai. xxii. Tom. I. col. 712.] [6 'O o'e ye croiTrip bn'peTepo? evi'iXXa^e Ta ovo- paTa' Kal tui pkv auipaTL to tov ovpfioXov TeveLKev bvopa, tw be avpfioXto to tov aoipaTO?. ovrui? dp7reXov eavTov bvopdaa?, aTpa to avpfloXov irpoa- nyopevoev bijXo? b ltkotto? toX? Ta veXa pepv- npevoL?. r}(3ovXydn ydp Toil? toiv 6eiwv pvarrjplwv peTaXayxdvovTa?, pr) ttj tpvaci ™w ftXeiropcvrnv irpoaexeLV, dXXd bid tij? toiv bvopaTuiv evaXXayij? TTLOTeveiv Trj eK tT]? xapLTO? yeyevnpevn peTafSoXrj. b ydp oN) to tpvaei awpa gXtov Kal aprov irpoaayo- pevaas, Kal av ttoXlv eavTov dpireXov bvopaaas, ovto? Ta bpwpeva avppoXa ttj tov adipaTO? Kai aipaTO? irpoo-nyopia TCTlpnKev, oil Ttjv tjs aloiviov. — Athanas. Op. Par. 1698. Epist. iv. ad Se- rapion. 19. Tom. I. Pars n. p. 710.] [12 "Opa bk dvorialav ' Seov ydp epuiTijoaL, Kal p.adeXv Ta dyvoovpeva, ol be diroin]bfhaL, Kal ovbev TrvevpaTLKuis eKXapfildvovTal, dXXd irdvTa KaTa to LpaLVopevov. eirel ydp crdpKa r'JKOvov, ev6piX,ov, otl crapKOLpdyovs aiiTovs dvayKa^eL yeviatiaL Kal alpo- j36povs. ol bk irvevpaTLKOis voovvTe? ij^ueiv ovts aapKocpdyoL eapev, Kal pdXXov dyta^opeda 8ld ttjs TOLauTV? Tpotpijs e7T6i5r/, w? TroXXaKL? etiropev, crapKLKois eKXapfiavovTes Ta Xeyopeva irapd tov XpioTov ea-KavbaXi'^ovTo, (pnalv, otl to irvevpaTLKLos vocXv Ta Xeyopeva trap' epob, tovto ecrTt to LocpeXovv. r\ be adp£, tovtccttl, to trap- klkois avrd eK8exea8aL, ovbev uirpeXeX, dXXd OKav- bdXov dtpopprj yiveTaL. o'otlo brj aiiTol aapKLKcZs aKovovTe? tlov irapd XpLOTov Xeyopevwv, eaKav- ba.Xi'^ovTO. eiTLtpepeL ovv, otl tu prjpaTa d eyui XoXlo, irvevpd eaTL, tovtclttl, irvevpaTLKa eaTL, Kal £anj eaTLV, oiibev exovTa aapKtKov, Kal %onjv irpofcevouvTa aloivLov Theophyl. Op. Venet. 1754 — 63. In Joan. Comm. cap. vi. Tom. I. p. 597.] 19 290 THE CATECHISM. [Part sense their words remained in the church of Christ a long time after, even unto the time of pope Nicholas the second, which lived in the year of our Lord one thousand1 and fifty-eight, which first of all taught the gross and corporal presence of Christ in the sacrament, affirming that after the words of consecration the body of Christ was so present, that it was handled and broken with the hands of the priest, and crushed and torn on pieces with teeth of the faithful communicants. Afterward, about the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and fifteen, pope Innocentius the third did not only affirm that the body of Christ lurked under the kinds of bread and wine, and was handled and broken with the hands of the priest, yea, and crushed and torn on pieces with the teeth of the communicants, according to the doctrine of pope Nicholas the second ; but also he decreed by general council, that the sacramental bread was turned into the natural substance of Christ's body, and the sacramental wine into the natural substance of the blood of Christ ; so that from that time unto this present age this wicked doctrine of Christ's bodily presence in the sacrament hath so prevailed, that few have espied the truth of God's holy word in this behalf: which thing is the alone occasion that many even at this present day remain and abide still in. their old error and blindness. Father. God have mercy on us and bless us, and lighten his countenance upon us, that we here on earth may know his ways and his saving health among all nations ! Son. Amen. Father. Methink that this one rule, which the learned inculk and beat in all their preachings and writings, might seem to appease the contention of all men in this behalf. Son. What is that? Note this Father. When one sentence of the holy scripture seem to repugn a multitude of sentences, the one sentence ought to give place to the multitude, and not to destroy the verity of the other. As for an example, this one sentence, " This is my body," grossly taken and fleshly understand, yea, and received after the literal sense, seemeth to teach that the natural, corporal, real, substantial, and essential body of Christ is in the sacrament : but if we consider the other places of the holy scripture, which are many in number, affirming plainly that Christ as concerning his corporal presence is not on earth, but in heaven, and so in heaven that he neither is or yet shall be in any other place until the day of judgment; we shall easily grant that it is but a sacramental and figurative speech, and confess that this one sentence ought to give place to a multitude; so that the sacrament is called Christ's body, because it signi fieth and representeth to us the body of Christ, and not that it is so in deed and in truth. Son. It is truly said. For sacraments and signs in the holy scripture, yea, and in our daily speech also, are called by the names of the things which they signify, as we have tofore heard. But as we may draw to an end in this matter, would God all men would at all times remember this good lesson of St Augustine ! De poctrina " Seldom," saith he, " is any difficulty in proper words, but either the circumstance of iii. cap. e. ' the place, or the conferring of divers translations, or else the original tongue wherein it was written, will make the sense plain; but in words that be altered from their proper2 signification, there is great diligence and heed to be taken. And specially we must beware that we take not literally any thing that is spoken figuratively." " Nor contrariwise we must not take for a figure any thing that is spoken properly. Therefore must be declared," saith St Austin, "the manner how to discern a proper speech from a figurative. Wherein," saith he, " must be observed this rule, that if the thing which is spoken be to the furtherance of charity, then is it a proper speech, fCt" and no figure." " So that if it be a commandment that forbiddeth any evil or wicked act, or commandeth any good or beneficial thing, then it is no figure. But if it com mand any evil or wicked thing, or forbid any thing that is good and beneficial, then John vi. js n a figUrative speech. Now this saying of Christ, ' Except ye eat the flesh of the [' The folio has 158 — For popes Nicholas and Innocentius, see before, p. 260, note 2, and 264, n.3.] [2 Folio, prayer.] v.: OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 291 Son of man, and drink his blood, ye shall have no life in you,' seemeth to command an heinous and a wicked thing ; therefore it is a figure, commanding us to be partakers of Christ's passion, keeping in our minds to our great comfort and profit, that his flesh was crucified and wounded for us3." Again he saith : " The Lord and the teaching De poctrina of his apostles hath given to us a few signs for many, and those most easy to be Fx*™p.L9.b' done, most excellent in understanding, and iii performing most pure; as the sacrament of baptism, and the celebration of the body and blood of the Lord; which every man, when he receiveth, knoweth whereunto they be referred, being taught that he wor ship not them with a carnal bondage, but rather with a spiritual freedom. And as it is a vile bondage to follow the letter, and to take the signs for the things signified by them ; so to interpret the signs to no profit is an error that shrewdly spreadeth -Cf abroad4." Father. These sentences of St Augustine, if they were diligently noted, weighed, pondered, and considered, might soon put away the too much uncharitable contention, strife, and debate, which (alas for sorrow !) reigneth now-a-days among men concerning the corporal presence of Christ in the sacrament ; while every one with tooth and nail goeth about to defend his own assertion, little regarding what the apostles of Christ and the ancient fathers of Christ's church have taught in this behalf. But come off, my son, seeing we have sufficiently talked for this present of this matter, let us fall in hand with the third error, which thou notedst in the doctrine of the papists concerning the Lord's supper. Son. The papists teach, that not only the faithful and godly, but also the un- The third faithful and wicked, eat and drink in the sacrament the body and blood of Christ. papists m the Father. And what sayest thou, my son, to this their doctrine? Is it to be allowed? the sacra-0 Son. Nothing less ; forasmuch as it is contrary both to the doctrine of Christ and to ment' the teaching of the ancient fathers. And, notwithstanding, the papists are fallen to such impudency and unshamefacedness, while they affirm the corporal presence of Christ in the sacrament, that they shame not to say, that not only the wicked and ungodly, but also the brute beasts, as the mouse, the cat, the rat, the weasel, &c. eating the sacrament, eat also the very true and natural body of Christ, as he was born of Mary the virgin, and hanged on the cross; which is so monstrous doctrine, that nothing can be in vented more prodigious or monster-like. Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that the wicked and ungodly eat not the flesh of Christ, nor drink his blood. Son. Christ himself, which is not only true, but also the self truth, saith thus : " I am that living bread which came John vi. down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever. And the bread which I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye shall not have life in you. But whosoever eateth my flesh, and drinketh [3 Rarissime igitur et diflicillime inveniri potest ambiguitas in propriis verbis, quantum ad libros divinarum scripturarum spectat, quam non aut cir- cumstantia ipsa sermonis qua cognoscitur scriptorum intentio, aut interpretum collatio, aut praecedentis linguae solvat inspectio. Sed verborum translatorum ambiguitates, de quibus deinceps loquendum est, non mediocrem curam industriamque desiderant. Nam in principio cavendum est, ne figuiatam locutionem ad literam accipias Huic autem observationi, qua cavemus figuratam locutionem, id est translatam, ijuasi propriam sequi, adjungenda etiam ilia est, ne propriam quasi figuratam velimus accipere. Demon- strandus est igitur prius modus inveniendaelocutionis, propriane an figurata sit. Et iste omnino modus est, ut quidquid in sermone divino neque ad morum honestatem neque ad fidei veritatem proprie referri potest, figuratum esse cognoscas Si praeceptiva locutio est aut flagitium aut facinus vetans, aut utili- tatem aut beneficentiam jubens, non est figurata. Si autem flagitium aut facinus videtur jubere, aut utili- tatem aut beneficentiam vetare, figurata est. Nisi manducaveritis, inquit, carnem Filii hominis etsan- guinem biberitis, non habebitis vitam in vobis. Fa cinus vel flagitium videtur jubere: figura est ergo, pracipiens passioni dominicae communicandum, et suaviter atque utiliter recondendum in memoria, quod pro nobis caro ejus crucifixa et vulnerata sit. — August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. De Doctr. Christ. Lib. in. 8, 9, 14, 24. Tom. III. Pars i. cols. 47, 9, 52.] [4 quaadam pauca pro multis, eademque factu facillima, etintellectu augustissima, et observa- tione castissima ipse Dominus et apostolica tradidit disciplina : sicuti est baptismi sacramentum, et cele- bratio corporis et sanguinis Domini. Quae unus- quisque cum percipit, quo referantur imbutus ag- noscit, ut ea non carnali servitute, sed spiritali potius libertate veneTetur. Ut autem literam sequi, et signa pro rebus quae iis significantur accipere, servilis infirmitatis est ; ita inutiliter signa interpretari, male vagantis errorU est. — Id. Ibid. 13. col. 49.] . 19—2 292 THE CATECHISM. [Part my blood, hath everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, even so live I by my Father; and he that eateth me shall live by me. This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers have eaten manna, and are dead : he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." Again he saith : " I am that bread of life. He that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst," &c. The wicked Of these words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ it is manifest, plain, and fui neither " evident, that the virtue and power of his flesh and blood is so great and mighty, that the body and whosoever eateth and drinketh thereof shall live for ever, and have everlasting life. Christ. But the wicked and unfaithful, although they eat the sacramental bread and drink the sacramental wine, have not everlasting life, as we have Judas for an example: therefore it followeth, that the wicked and unfaithful do not eat nor drink the body and blood of Christ. Again Christ saith : " He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." But the wicked and unfaithful dwell not in Christ, nor Christ in them ; therefore the wicked and unfaithful neither eat nor drink the body and blood of Christ, although they daily receive the sacraments and signs of them, as in Sententiis St Augustine saith : " He receiveth the meat of life, and drinketh the everlasting cup, that dwelleth in Christ, and in whom Christ dwelleth. For he that agreeth not with Christ doth neither eat the flesh of Christ, nor drink his blood, although to the con demnation of his presumption he receive every day the sacrament of so high a matter. %& For this is to eat that bread of life, even to believe in Christ, that is to say, by love to be incorporate in him. Therefore, forasmuch as the reprobate hath not believed in him, he hath not eaten him; and so he had not the faith of the Christians, whereby alone sins are released1." Father. These words are very plain, and cannot justly be denied; of the which we learn truly, that not the unfaithful, but the faithful, not the wicked, but the godly- disposed only, eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. Notwithstanding, I would also in this behalf gladly hear the judgment of the ancient fathers and old writers, that we may be well assured, even by their testimonies also, that this is no new doctrine, to teach that the godly only eat Christ, and not the wicked; the faithful, and not the unfaithful; the members of Christ, and not the members of Satan. Son. The ancient writer Origen hath these words : " The Word was made flesh and very meat, which whoso eateth shall surely live for ever, which no evil man can eat. For if it could be that he that continueth evil might eat the Word made flesh, seeing that he is the Word and bread of life, it should not have been written, 'Whosoever eateth this bread shall live for ever2'." Again he saith: "The one and perfect sacrifice is Christ offered. If any man touch the flesh of this sacrifice, he is made holy straightways3." St Cyprian saith : " None do eat of this Lamb, but such as be true Israelites4," that is to say, pure christian men, without colour or dissimulation. St Hierome saith : " All that be lovers more of pleasure than of God eat not the In Matt. cap. xv. John vi. In Levit. cap. vi. Hom. 4. In Serm. de Ccena Dom. In Esai. cap. lxvi. [' Escam vitae accipit, et ajternitatis poculum bibit, qui in Christo manet, et cujus Christus habi- tator est. Nam qui discordat a Christo, nee carnem ejus manducat, nee sanguinem bibit: etiam si tantae rei sacramentum ad judicium suae prajsumptionis quo tidie indifferenter accipiat Id. Prosp. Lib. Sentent. ex August, cccxli. Tom. X. Appendix, col. 247. See also In Johan. Evang. cap. vi. Tractat. xxvr. 18: below, page 293, note 11.] [ IIo\A.a 8' dv Kalirepl avTovXeyoiTo Tov Aoyov, os yiyove adp^, Kal dXtfiLvij /ipmaLs, v\v Tiva b (paymv iraVTLos j^VeTat els too aluiva, obbevbs bvvapevov avXov iaBleiv aurtjV el ydp diov Te r\v eVt tpavXov pivovTa eadicLV tov yevbpevov tsdpKa, Aoyov oVTa Kal dpTov X,mvTa, ovk dv eyeypalTTO, otl iras o fpayoiv tov dpTov tovtov QiacTaL els tov alutva. — Orig. Op. Par. 1733— 59. Comm. in Matt Tom. xi. Tom. III. p. 500.] [3 Igitur sacrificium, pro quo haec omnia sacrificia in typo et figura praecesserant, unum, et perfectum, immolatus est Christus. Hujus sacrificii carnem si quis tetigerit, continuo sanctificatur. — Id. In Levit. Hom. iv. 8. Tom. II. p. 203.] [4 Una est domus ecclesiae, in qua agnus editur ; nullusei communicat, quem Israelitici nominis gene- rositas non commendat Cypr. Op. Oxon. 1682. Pe Coen. Dom. (Arnold.) Appendix, p. 42.] y-i OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 293 flesh of Jesu, nor drink his blood, of the which himself saith : ' He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life5.'" Again he saith: "Heretics eat not the flesh of Jesu, whose flesh is the meat of faithful men6." Also in another place he saith : " They eat this bread which are strong in Christ, &c. And they drink this wine which are virgins, holy both in body and in spirit7." St Ambrose saith : " Jesus is the bread, which is the meat of saints, and he that taketh this bread dieth not the death of a sinner. For this bread is the remission of sins8." And in another place he saith: "He that did eat manna died; but he that eateth this body shall have remission of his sins, and shall not die for ever9." St Augustine saith: "They cannot be both the members of Christ and the members of an harlot. For he saith: 'He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.' Here doth he shew what it is, not sacra- mentally, but truly and effectually, to eat the body of Christ, even to dwell in him. He that dwelleth not in Christ, let him not say or think that he eateth the body of Christ, forasmuch as he is not of his body. He is not a member of Christ, which maketh himself a member of an harlot10." Also in another place he saith: "This is to eat that meat, and to drink that drink, even for a man to dwell in Christ, and to have Christ dwelling in him. And therefore he that dwelleth not in Christ, and in whom Christ dwelleth not, without doubt he neither eateth spiritually his flesh, nor drinketh his blood, although carnally and visibly1' he bite the sacra ment of Christ's body and blood; but he rather eateth and drinketh the sacrament of so worthy a thing unto his own damnation." Item : " They judge truly that say, that he eateth not the body of Christ, which is not in the body of Christ. Neither are they counted to eat the body of Christ, forasmuch as they are not reckoned among the members of Christ 12." Once again he saith : " The heretics that are without the church may have the sacrament ; but the matter of the sacrament they cannot have13." Hilarius saith : " These things taken and received (he speaketh of the body and blood of Christ) make that both we are in Christ, and Christ in us14." In Hiere. cap. xxii. In Zach. cap. ix. De Bened. Patriarch. cap. ix. De Sac. Lib. iv. cap. 5. De Civ. Dei, Lib. xxi. c. 25. John vi. In Joan. Tract. 215. De Civit. Dei, Lib. xxi. c. 25. Ad Bonifa- cium. De Trinit. Lib. viii. [5 Omnes voluptatis magis amatores, quam ama- wres Dei nee comedunt carnem Jesu, neque bibunt sanguinem ejus. De quo ipse loquitui : Qui comedit carnem meam, et bibit sanguinem meum, habet vitam aeternam Hieron. Op. Par. 1693- 1706. Comm. Lib. xviii. in Isai. cap. lxvi. Tom. III. col. 506.J [6 Possumus autem hunc locum juxta anagogen contra haareticos accipere... Quodque infert, Non comedent et non bibent, subauditur corpus et san guinem Salvatoris. — Id. Comm. Lib. iv. in Jerem. Proph. cap. xxii. cols. 630, 1.] [7 Hunc panem comedunt, qui in Christo robusti sunt. ..Qui frumentum est electorum, sive juvenum, ipse est et vinum quod laetificat cor hominis ; et bibi- tur ab his virginibus, quaa sunt sanctae et corpore et spiritu. — Id. Comm. Lib. n. in Zach. Proph. cap. ix. col. 1763.] [8 Hie ergo panis factus est esca sanctorum qui autem accipit, non morietur peccatoris morte, quia panis hie remissio peccatorum est. — Ambros. Op. Par. 1686— SO. De Bened. Patriarch. Lib. cap. ix. 38, 9. Tom. I. cols. 524, 5.] [9 Deinde manna qui manducavit, mortuus est : qui manducaverit hoc corpus, fiet ei remissio pecca torum, etnon morietur in aeternum. — Id. De Sacram. Lib. iv. cap. v. 24. Tom. II. col. 372.] [10 Ut enim alia taceam, non possunt simul esse et membra Christi et membra meretricis. Denique ipse dicens, Qui manducat carnem meam, et bibit sanguinem meum, in me manet, et ego in eo; osten- dit quid sit non sacramento tenus, sed re vera corpus Christi manducare, et ejus sanguinem bibere : hoc est enim in Christo manere, ut in illo maneat et Christus. Sic enim hoc dixit, tamquam diceret, Qui non in me manet, et in quo ego non maneo, non se dicat aut existimet manducare corpus meum, aut bibere sanguinem meum. Non itaque manent in Christo, qui non sunt membra ejus. Non sunt au tem membra Christi, qui se faciunt membra mere tricis August. Op. Par. 1679-1700. De Civ. Dei, Lib. xxi. cap. xxv. 4. Tom. VII. cols. 646, 7.] [n Folio, invisibly Hoc est ergo manducare illam escam, et ilium bibere potum, in Christo ma nere, et ilium manentem in se habere. Ac per hoc qui non manet in Christo, et in quo non manet Christus, procul dubio nee manducat spiritaliter car nem ejus, nee bibit ejus sanguinem, licet carnaliter et visibiliter premat dentibus sacramentum corporis et sanguinis Christi ; sed magis tantae rei sacramen tum ad judicium sibi manducat et bibit — Id. In Johan. Evang. cap. vi. Tractat. xxvi. 18. Tom. III. Pars n. col. 501. See the 29th Article of our Church.] [12 recte intelligunt, non dicendum esse eum manducare corpus Christi, qui in corpore non est Christi Nee isti ergo dicendi sunt manducare cor pus Christi; quoniam nee in membris computandi sunt Christi.— Id. De Civ. Dei, Lib. xxi. cap. xxv. 3,4. Tom. VII. col. 646.] [13 Isti autem cum quibus agimus, vel de quibus agimus, non sunt desperandi : adhuc enim sunt in corpore : sed non quasrant Spiritum sanctum, nisi in Christi corpore, cujus habent foris sacramentum, sed rem ipsain non tenent intus cujus est illud sacra mentum ; et ideo sibi judicium manducant et bibunt. —Id. Lib. de Corr. Donatist. seu Epist. ad Bonifac. clxxxv. 50. Tom. II. col. 663.] [" De veritate carnis et sanguinis non relictus est ambigendi locus. Nunc enim et ipsius Domini pro- 294 THE CATECHISM. [Part In Joan. cap. x. in Joan. cap. xv. In Joan. cap. xiv. In Joan. Tract. 59. What it is to eat Christ. Cyril saith : " The fathers which did eat manna died, because they received thereby no strength to live ever (for it gave no life, but only put away bodily hunger); but they that receive the bread of life shall obtain immortality, and shall eschew all evils of destruction, and for ever live with Christ1." Again: ".He that eateth the flesh of Christ hath everlasting life2." Once again : " When we eat the flesh of Christ, then have we life in us. For if through the touching of Christ's body alone things corrupt were made whole, how then shall we not live, which both taste and eat his flesh3?" And in a certain gloss recited in the pope's law, we read thus : " As in baptism Christ is put on sometime sacramentally, and sometime unto the sanctification of life (the first is common both to good and bad, but the second is proper only to the good) ; so likewise Christ is eaten of evil persons sacramentally only : but of the good he is received both sacramentally and spiritually, and of all the faithful spiritually4." All these testimonies of the ancient writers, diligently considered, declare manifestly that not the wicked and unfaithful, but the godly and faithful persons only eat the body and drink the blood of Christ. The ungodly eat the sacrament; but they eat not Christ, which is signified by the sacrament, as St Augustine writeth of Judas: " The apostles," saith he, " did eat bread, that was the Lord ; but Judas did eat but the bread of the Lord, and not the bread that was the Lord5." For whosoever eateth Christ liveth for ever, dwelleth in Christ and Christ in him, is incorporated and made all one with Christ, is made a member of Christ's body, is sanctified and made holy, is made clean both in body and soul, dieth not the death of a sinner, hath remission of his sins, obtaineth immortality, escheweth all evils of death, and for ever liveth with Christ. But none of all these things chance to the unfaithful and wicked persons; therefore eat they not the body of Christ, nor yet drink his blood. Father. I would gladly hear what it is to eat Christ. Son. Christ is eaten or received two manner of ways; that is to say, sacramentally and spiritually. He is received or eaten sacramentally, when we eat and drink the sacramental bread and wine, according to the institution of Christ; which thing is done not only of the faithful, but also of the unfaithful. He is also eaten or received spiritually, when we believe in Christ, embrace him as our alone Saviour, put our whole hope, trust, and confidence of our redemption and salvation in that one and alone sacrifice, which Christ offered upon the altar of the cross, having his body there broken, and his blood there shed, for the remission of our sin : again, when we earnestly consider in our minds the passion and death of Christ, with all the benefits thereof, chawing and digesting them with the stomach of our heart, be thankful for them to God the Father, and labour to the uttermost of our power to live worthy his kindness, daily increasing more and more in all godliness and honesty. And after this manner fessione et fide nostra vere caro est, et vere sanguis est. Et hasc accepta atque hausta id efficiunt, ut et nos in Christo, et Christus in nobis sit Hilar. Op. Par. 1693. De Trin. Lib. vm. 14. col. 956.] \} Ovkovv ol pkv (payoVTes to pdvva, ij? peTov- ltluv irap' aiiTov be^dpevoL' ov ydp rjv ovtoi? £wo- iroibv, Xipov 8k paXXov erriKovpov aapKLKob, Kal ai? ev tvttui too dXrjdeaTepov irapaXnipdev. ol bk tov apTov ev havToXs elaKopi^ovTe? Trj? ^coijs, yepas e^ovaL Trjv dQavaaiav, tpdopds Te Kal toiv &k TavTrjs kuklov rravreXw? dXoyrjaavTes, irpbs dfLr'jpvTov Te Kal aTeXevTrjTov l3iov tov KaTa Xplcttov dvafii']- aovrai pr,Kos — Cyril. Alex. Op. Lut. 1638. In Joan. Evang. Lib. iv. cap. ii. Tom. IV. p. 351.] [2 Ovkovv b Tptayoiv Trjv dyiav adpKa XptaTov £u)i/w aiiivLov exeL — Id. ibid. p. 363.] | Km eireiirep ^loottolos yeyove tov SwTtjpos i) aap!~, aVe brj t\\ KaTa (pvoLV ijwu>jue'i/n %wrj, t(£ ck Ocuu bijXovoTL Xoyui, oTav aoTpj? diroyevaaipeda, to'tg Ttjv %oii}V exopev ev eavToX? avvevouaevol kol r)p.eX? avTrj, Kaddirep ovv avTrj tlo evoLKrjaavTL Xoyta Kal el bid povrjs d(pij? Trj? dyia? aapKO? ],aio- 7rotetTat to ecpdappevov, rrtos obxl irXovaiuiTepav diroKepbavovpev Trjv X,oioTroibv ebXoyiav, OTav amns Kal diroyevaaipeQa ; — Id. ibid. p. 361.] [4 Nam sicut in baptismo induitur Christus in- terdum sacramento tenus, interdum quoad vitae sanc tificationem ( primum bonorum et malorum est com mune, secundum bonorum et piorum: sed secundum est proprium bonorum) ; sic a malis manducatur Christus sacramentaliter tantum, a bonis vero sacra- mentaliter et spiritualiter, et ab omnibus credentibus spiritualiter. — Decret. Gratiani, Par. 1583. Beer. Tert. Pars, De Consecr. Dist. ii. Glossa in can. 59. col. 2396.] [5 Illi manducabant panem Dominum, ille panem Domini contra Dominum: illi vitam, ille pcenam — August. Op. Par. 1679-1700. In Johan. Evang. cap. xiii. Tiactat. lix. 1. Tom. III. Pars n. col. 663.] v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 295 ¦the godly and faithful only eat and receive Christ. Other eating or receiving of Christ there is none. Father. Why, is not the very natural body of Christ eaten of the communicants both faithful and unfaithful at the Lord's supper? Son. Christ is only received and eaten of the faithful communicants : the unfaithful receive not the body and blood of Christ, but the sacraments of the same only, yea, and that unto their damnation. i Cor. xi. Father. And is Christ received corporally with the corporal mouth of the faithful communicants? Son. The natural body of Christ is only in heaven; and, notwith standing, the soul of the faithful communicant with her mouth, that is to say, with faith, doth truly and unfeignedly feed upon it unto her great joy and comfort, and feeleth no less true refection than the body doth by receiving corporal food ; yea, the faithful communicant, thus eating and receiving Christ, receiveth both in body and soul an heavenly nourishment, a singular comfort, and an unoutspeakable joy. Father. Faith then is the mouth of the soul, wherewith Christ is received and eaten. Son. Yea, verily, as Christ saith : " I am that bread of life. He that cometh John vi. unto me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst." Hereto pertaineth the saying of St Augustine : " Why dost thou prepare thy teeth in Joan. and thy belly? Believe, and thou hast eaten6." "For to believe in him is to eat the bread of life. He that believeth in him eateth him7." Likewise saith St Cyprian : " So oft as we do these things (he speaketh of receiv- in serm. de ing the mysteries of the body and blood of Christ), we whet not our teeth to bite, but with pure faith we break the holy bread8." Hereto agreeth the saying of Eusebius Emissenus, which lived about three hundred years after Christ's ascension : " When thou dost go up to the reverend altar to feed in serm. dc upon spiritual meat, look upon the holy body and blood of thy God with thy faith, De consec. honour him, touch him with thy mind, take him with the hand of thy heart, and chiefly drink him with the draught of thy inward man9." Chrysostom also saith: "'Where the dead corpse is', saith Christ, 'thither will the in 1 cor. eagles resort'. The dead corpse is the body of the Lord, because he died. For Hom. 24. except he had fallen, we had never risen again. He nameth eagles, to declare that he that cometh to this body, must climb up on high, and have nothing to do with the earth, nor to be drawn unto the things beneath and to creep ; but always to fly up unto the things that are above, and to look upon the Sun of righteousness, and to have a most quick and sharp eye of the mind. For this is a table of eagles, and not of jays10". And in the Nicene council we are admonished " not to look down unto the bread Condi.Nicciii and the cup that are set on the Lord's table; but to lift up our minds, and with our faith to consider the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world11". Bertrammus saith, speaking of the body and blood of Christ: "It is a spiritualmLib.de meat, and a spiritual drink, spiritually feeding the soul, and giving the life of ever- sang! Dom. [8 Ut quid paras dentes et ventrem 1 Crede, et manducasti Id. In Johan. Evang. cap. vi.Tractat. xxv. 12. Tom. III. Pars 11. col. 489.] [7 Credere enim in eum, hoc est manducare panem vivum. Qui credit, manducat : invisibiliter saginatur, quia invisibiliter renascitur — Id. Tractat. xxvi. 1. col. 494.] [8 Haec quotiens agimus, non dentes ad mor- dendum acuimus, sed fide sincera panem sanctum frangimus et partimur Cypr. Op. Oxon. 1682. De Ccen. Dom. (Arnold.) p. 44.] [9 ita cum reverendum altare ccelestibus cibis satiandus ascendis, sacrum Dei tui corpus et sanguinem fide respice, honora, mirare, mente con- tinge, cordis manu suscipe, et maxime haustu inte- riore assume. — Euseb. Emiss. in Decret. Gratiani, Deer. Tert. Pare, De Consecr. Dist. ii. can. 35. cols. 2377, 8.] ["> "Oirov ydp to ¦n-Tuip.d, tpnaiv, eKeX ical ol deTol, irTLopa KaXtov to ercopa bid tov BdvaTov. el p.ij ydp eKeXvo? eireaev, l)peX? ovk dveaTripev. deToiis 8k KuXeX, 8eLKvbs otl Kal vxj/rjXdv eXvai 8eX tov irpoa- LOVTa Tip aoipaTL tovto), Kal pvbev irpbs Trjv yrjv kolvov exeLV, pnbk kcetw avpeadaL Kal epireLV, dXX' dvco TreTCaQaL bL-nveKws, Kal irpbs tov rjXLov Trj? bLKaLoavvns evopav, Kal o^vbepKk? to bppa Trj? bta- voias exeLV. deTcvv ydp, ov koXolwv, aVTij r] Tpdire^a. Chrysost. Op. Par. 1718—38. In Epist. 1. ad Cor. Hom. xxiv. Tom. X. p. 216.] [n 'Eirt Trj? Betas TpaireXjis rrdXtv KavTavda pr] ™ irpoKQLpevot dpTto Kal tlo 7roTt}pita Tairetvia? irpoLTexuipev' dXX' vxj/oiaaVTes r]ptov Trjv bidvoLav, iriaTet vorjawp.ev KeXcrQaL krrl Trjs lepds eKeivn? Tpa- ire^Tjs tov dpvbv tov Qeov, tov a'ipovTa Trjv dpap- Tiav too Koapov, ddvTtos otto tlov lepeoiv BvopLevov. — Gelas. Hist. Concil. Nic. in Concil. Stud. Labbei. Lut. Par. 1671-2. cap. xxx. Tom. II. col. 233.] 296 THE CATECHISM. [Part De Consee. Dist. 2.Ulossa in cap. Quid est. De Consec. Dist. 2. cap. Utrum. In Joan. Tract. 25. lasting satiety, as our Saviour himself, commending this mystery, saith: 'It is the Spirit that quickeneth; for the flesh profiteth nothing1.'" In the pope's own law we read thus: "Christ is eaten two manner of ways: one way sacramentally, which chanceth both to the good and to the bad : another way, when he is received by faith and love working together; and this belongeth only to the good2." Father. I perceive now right well, that Christ's natural body is not eaten, as the papists teach, with the mouth of the body, but with the mouth of the soul, which is faith. Son. It is truth. For thus read we in the book of the pope's canons: Christum fas vorari dentibus non est; that is to say, "Christ cannot be devoured with teeth3." As St Austin likewise saith, as we tofore heard : " Why dost thou prepare the teeth and the belly? Believe, and thou hast eaten." "For to believe in him is to eat m Ps. xcviii. the bread of life. He that believeth in him eateth him 4." Again he saith : " When John vi. the Lord spake of his flesh, and said, ' Except a man eat my flesh, he hath not everlasting life in him,' his disciples were offended (peradventure they were seventy), and said, ' This is an hard saying : who can away with this ? And they went away from him, and walked no more with him.' This seemed hard unto them, that lie saith : ' Except a man eat my flesh, he shall not have everlasting life.' They took it foolishly : they understood it carnally : they thought that the Lord would have cut off certain pieces from his body and given them; and therefore they said, 'This is an hard saying.' Notwithstanding they were hard, and not the saying. Yet he instructed them, and said unto them : ' It is the Spirit that quickeneth : the flesh profiteth nothing. The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and life.' Understand you spiritually the thing that I have spoken unto you. This body that ye see shall ye not eat, neither shall ye drink that blood which they shall shed that shall crucify me. I have set forth unto you a certain sacrament, which, being spiritually understanded, shall quicken you, or make you alive5." Father. If Christ be not otherwise truly eaten than with the mouth of the soul, which is faith, and if the faithful alone eat the body of Christ, and drink his blood, how cometh it to pass that we sometime read in ancient fathers, that the wicked DeBapt. con- aiSo eat the body of Christ? St Austin saith on this wise : " Judas received the body cap. 8. ' and blood of the Lord6," &c. Son. You heard before, that sacraments in the holy scripture have the names of the things that are signified by them. After the same [x quoniam spirituals est esca, et spiritualis potus, spiritualiter animam pascens, et aeternae satie- tatis vitam tribuens ; sicut ipse Salvator mysterium hoc commendans, loquitur : Spiritus est, qui vivi- ficat, nam caro nihil prodest. — Ratram. Lib. de Corp. et Sang. Dom. Oxon. 1838. cap. ci. pp. 51, 2.] [2 Duobus modis manducatur Christus : uno modo sacramentaliter, quod competit bonis et malis : alio modo spiritualiter, cum per fidem et dilectionem cooperantem accipitur. hoc est tantum bonorum. —Decret. Gratiani, Deer. Tert. Pars, De Con secr. Dist. ii. Glossa in can. 46. col. 2386.] [3 Sed quia Christum vorari dentibus fas non est, voluit Dominus hunc panem et vinum in mysterio vere carnem suam et sanguinem suum consecratione Spiritus sancti potentialiter creari, et quotidie pro mundi vita mystice immolari. — Id. Dist. ii. can. 72. cols. 2405, 6.] [4 See the preceding page, notes 6, 7.] [6 Tunc autem, quando hoc Dominus commen- davit, de carne sua locutus erat, et dixerat, Nisi quis manducaverit carnem meam, non habebit in se vitam aeternam. Scandalizati sunt discipuli ejus quidam, septuaginta ferme, et dixerunt, Durus est hie sermo, quis potest eum intelligere 1 Et recesserunt ab eo, et amplius cum eo non ambulaverunt. Durum illis vi-;um est quod ait, Nisi quis manducaverit carnem meam, non habebit vitam ffitemam : acceperunt illud stulte, carnaliter itlud cogitaverunt, et putaverunt quod praecisurus esset Dominus particulas quasdam de corpore suo, et daturus illis, et dixerunt, Durus est hie sermo. Ipsi erant duri, non sermo Hie autem instruxit eos, et ait illis, Spiritus est qui vivi- ficat, caro autem nihil prodest : verba qua; locutus sum vobis, spiritus est et vita. Spiritaliter intelli- gite quod locutus sum : non .hoc corpus quod videtis, manducaturi estis; et bibituri ilium sanguinem, quem fusuri sunt qui me crucifigent. Sacramentum aliquod vobis commendavi ; spiritaliter intellectum vivificabit vos. Etsi necesse est illud visibiliter celebrari, opor- tet tamen invisibiliter intelligi.— August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. Enarr. in Psalm, xcviii. 9. Tom. IV. cols. 1065, 6.] [6 The following, though not couched in pre cisely the language above given, is probably the passage intended: Sicut enim Judas, cui buccel- lam tradidit Dominus, non malum accipiendo, sed male accipiendo locum in se diabolo prabuit: sic indigne quisque sumens dominicum sacramentum non efficit, ut quia ipse malus est, malum sit, aut quia non ad salutem accipit, nihil acceperit.— Id. De Bapt. cont. Donatist. Lib. v. 9. Tom. IX- col. 146. But see In Johan. Evang. cap. xiii. Tractat lxii. 3. Tom. III. Pars n. col. 669.] v.: OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 297 manner speaketh St Austin in this place. He saith, that Judas received the body and blood of the Lord, when he meaneth the sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord. For that Judas received not the body and blood of Christ, it appeareth manifestly by these words of St Austin : " The apostles," saith he, " did eat bread g^J"^ that was the Lord ; but Judas did eat but the bread of the Lord, and not that bread that was the Lord7." Here St Austin affirmeth plainly that the apostles, receiving the sacramental bread, received also Christ himself; but Judas, which was wicked and unfaithful, received only the sacramental bread, and not Christ ; so far is it off that he received the very body and blood of Christ, which cannot be eaten nor drunken, but only of the faithful, yea, and that none otherwise than with the mouth of the soul, which is faith, which faith the believing alone have; and therefore they alone eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. For this cause, when we read in the a good old fathers that the wicked receive the body and blood of Christ, it is to be under- J^fe ' stand of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ ; remembering always that figures, signs, or sacraments bear the names of the things which they signify and represent. " All mysteries," saith St John Chrysostom, " are to be considered with in Joan. • j j.x. j. ¦ j. - ¦ -j. n a >. Hom' 4B' inward eyes, that is to say, spiritually . Father. Hitherto thou hast declared, my son, what the Lord's supper is, who did institute the Lord's supper, why the Lord's supper was instituted, how we ought to prepare ourselves unto the Lord's supper, and what abuses and errors have crept into the church of Christ through the wicked doctrine of the papists about the Lord's supper; so that nothing almost concerning the supper of the Lord hath escaped thee, whereof thou hast not sufficiently spoken, yea, and confirmed the same both by the authority of the holy scriptures, and by the testimonies of the ancient fathers. Not withstanding, let me ask thee one or two questions, although not of so great and weighty importance. What thinkest thou, is it more meet to receive the supper of the Lord at a table, or rather at an altar? Son. At a table. Father. Why so ? Son. For our Saviour Christ did both institute this holy supper a table is at a table, and the apostles of Christ also did receive it at a table. And what can for the minis- be more perfect than that which Christ and his apostles have done ? All the primitive Lords sup- church also received the supper of the Lord at a table. And St Paul, speaking of altar. the Lord's supper, maketh mention not of an altar, but of a table. " Ye cannot be 1 cor. x. partakers," saith he, " of the Lord's , table, and of the devils' table also." Tables for the ministration of the Lord's supper continued in the church of Christ almost three hundred years after Christ universally, and in some places longer, as histories make mention3; so that the use of altars is but a new invention, and brought in, as some write, by pope Sixtus, the second of that name10. Moreover, an altar hath relation to a sacrifice. And altars in the old law were built and set up at the commandment of God, to offer sacrifice upon them. But all those sacrifices do now cease (for they were but " shadows of good things to come") ; Heb. x. therefore the altars ought to cease with them. Christ alone is our altar, our sacrifice, and our priest. Our altar is in heaven. Our altar is not made of stone, but of flesh and blood ; of whom the apostle writeth thus : " We have an altar, whereof it is not Heb. xiii. lawful for them to eat which serve in the tabernacle." Furthermore, the papists have greatly abused their altars, while they had such confidence in them, that without an altar, or in the stead thereof a superaltare, they were persuaded that they could not duly and truly, and in right form, minister the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. And this their altar and superaltare like wise must be consecrate, have prints and characters made therein, washed with oil, wine, and water, be covered with a cloth of hair, and be garnished with fine white linen cloths, and other costly apparel ; or else whatsoever was done thereon was counted vain and unprofitable. The use also of altars hath greatly confirmed and maintained [7 See before, page 294, note 5.] [" See before, page 287, note 12.] [9 For a full account of the custom of the primi tive church, and the use of the terms altar, and table, see Bingham, Orig. Eccles. Book vm. chap. vi. 11—14.] [10 See Stella, Vit. Pontif. Basil. 1507. Sixtus II. fol. B.] 298 THE CATECHISM. [Part Of gestures to be used at the Lord's table. the most wicked error and damnable heresy, which the papists hold, concerning the sacrifice of the mass; while they teach that they offer Christ in their mass to God the Father, an oblation and sacrifice for the sins of the people, both of the living and of the dead, and by this means they greatly obscure and deface that most sweet-smelling and alone true, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice of Christ's death. And therefore all the altars of the papists ought now no less to be thrown down and cast out of the tem ples of the Christians, than in times past the altars of the priests of Baal ; so far is it off that they be meet to be used at the celebration of the Lord's supper. Finally, who knoweth not that we come unto the Lord's table, not to offer bloody sacrifices, to the performance whereof we had need of altars, but to eat and drink and spiritually to feed upon him that was once crucified and offered up for us on the altar of the cross, a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God the Father, yea, and that once for all ? Now if we come together to eat and drink these holy mysteries, and so spiritually to eat Christ's body, and to drink his blood, unto salvation both of our bodies and souls, who seeth not that a table is more meet for the celebration of the Lord's supper than an altar ? Father. Thy reasons are good, and not to be discommended. But what sayest thou concerning the gestures to be used at the Lord's table? Shall we receive those holy mysteries kneeling, standing, or sitting ? Son. Albeit I know and confess that gestures of themselves be indifferent; yet I would wish all such gestures to be avoided i Thess. v. as have outwardly any appearance of evil, according to this saying of St Paul : "Ab- of kneeling, stain from all evil appearance." And first of all, forasmuch as kneeling hath been long used in the church of Christ at the receiving of the sacrament, through the doctrine of the papists, although of itself it be indifferent to be or not to be used, yet would I wish that it were taken away by the authority of the higher powers. Father. Why so ? Son. For it hath an outward appearance of evil. When the papists, through their pestilent persuasions, had made of the sacramental bread and wine a god, and had taught and commanded the people to take and worship it as God, then gave they in commandment straightways that all people should with all reverence kneel unto it, worship, and honour it. And by this means this gesture of kneeling crept in, and is yet used in the church of the papists, to declare that they worship the sacrament as their Lord God and Saviour. But I would wish with all my heart, that either this kneeling at the receiving of the sacrament were taken away, or else that the people were taught that that outward reverence was not given to the sacrament and outward sign, but to Christ, which is represented by that sacrament or sign1. But the most certain and sure way is utterly to cease from kneeling, that there may outwardly appear no kind of evil, according to this commandment of St i Thess. v. Paul, "Abstain from all evil appearance:" lest the enemies, by tbe continuance of kneeling, should be confirmed in their error, and the weaklings offended and plucked back from the truth of the gospel. Kneeling with the knowledge of godly honour is due to none but to God alone. Therefore, when Satan commanded our Saviour Christ Matt. iv. to kneel down before him and worship him, he answered, " It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord2"... Standing, which is used in the most part of the reformed churches in these our days, I can right well allow it, if it be appointed by common order to be used at the receiving of the holy communion. And this gesture of standing was also used at the commandment of God of the old Jews, when they did eat the paschal lamb, which was also a sacrament and figure of Christ to come, as our sa crament is a sign and figure of Christ come and gone. Neither did that gesture want his mystery. For the standing of the Jews at the eating of the Lord's passover sig nified, that they had a further journey to go in matters of religion, and that there was a more clear light of the gospel to shine than had hitherto appeared unto them, which Of standing. Exod, P A notice to the effect here mentioned had appeared in the second book of king Edward VI. It was laid aside under queen Elizabeth, but restored with some slight alterations at the last review of the Liturgy, in 1662.] [2 It seems probable that there is some omission here ; as the sense is confused.] v.: OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 299 were wrapped round about with the dark shadows of ceremonies : again, that other, yea, and those more perfect, sacraments were to be given to God's people; which all things were fulfilled and came to pass under Christ, the author of the heavenly doc trine of the gospel, and the institutor of the holy sacraments, baptism and the Lord's supper. Now, as concerning sitting at the Lord's table, which is also used at this day Of sitting. in certain reformed churches, if it were received by public authority and common con sent, and might conveniently be used in our churches, I could allow that gesture best. For as it is not to be doubted but that Christ and his disciples sat at the table, when Christ delivered unto them the sacrament of his body and blood, which use was also observed in the primitive church, and long time after6; so likewise it is most comely that we Christians follow the example of our Master Christ and of his disciples. Nothing can be unreverently done, that is done after the example of Christ and of his apostles. We come together to eat and drink the holy mysteries of the body and blood of Christ : we have a table set before us : is it not meet and convenient that we sit at our table ? The table being prepared, who standeth at his meat? Yea rather, who sitteth not down? When Christ fed the people, he bade them not kneel down, nor stand upon their John vi. feet, but he commanded them to sit down ; which kind of gesture is most meet when we assemble to eat and drink, which thing we do at the Lord's table. Neither doth .g$ the sitting of the communicants at the Lord's table want her mystery. For as the standing of the Jews at the eating of the Lord's passover signified that there was yet to come another doctrine than the law of Moses, even the preaching of the glorious gospel of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesu, and other sacraments than circumcision and the passover, even the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper ; so in like manner the sitting of the christian communicants at the Lord's table doth signify, preach, and declare unto us, that we are come to our journey's end concerning religion, and that there is none other doctrine nor none other sacraments to be looked for than those only which we have already received of Christ the Lord. And therefore we, sitting down at the Lord's table, shew by that our gesture that we are come to the perfec tion of our religion, and look for none other doctrine to be given unto us. Notwith standing, as I said before, gestures are free, so that none occasion of evil be either done or offered. In all things which we call indifferent, this rule of St Paul is dili gently to be obeyed: "Abstain from all evil appearance." 1 Thess. v. Father. I do not disallow thy judgment in this behalf. But come off, tell me, of vestures what sayest thou concerning the vestures which the ministers use at the ministration tation™? ls" „ , ' „ n ' the Lord's of the Lord s supper ; supper. Son. In some reformed churches the ministers use both a surplice and a cope ; in some only a surplice; in some neither cope nor surplice, but their own decent apparel. Father. And what thinkest thou in this behalf? Son. When our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus did minister the sacrament of his body and blood to his disciples, he used none other but his own common and daily apparel, and so likewise did the apostles after him and the primitive church likewise used that order ; and so was it continued many years after, till superstition began to creep into the church. After that time, fond foolish fancy of man's idle brain devised, without the authority of God's word, that the minister in the divine service and in the ministration of the holy sacraments should use a white linen vesture, which we now commonly call a surplice. Until this surpike. time the church of God continued in the simplicity of Christ and of his apostles, re quiring no painted visors to set forth the glory and beauty of our religion ; which is then most glorious and most beautiful when it is most simple, and none otherwise set forth than4 it was used and left unto us of Christ and of his apostles. And contrari- [3 On the posture observed in receiving the sacra ment of the Lord's supper in church, see Bingham, Orig. Eccles. Book xv. chap. v. 3., who gives nume rous quotations from the fathers to shew "that the ancients received sometimes standing, sometimes kneeling, but never sitting."] [4 Folio, whan.] 300 THE CATECHISM. [Part Note. Whether it be lawful to wear a sur plice. Rom. xiii. Of receiving the sacra ment with the hands. wise, it is then most obscured and defaced when it is daubed over with the vile and vain colours of man's wisdom, although outwardly never so gorgeous and glorious. Afterward, as superstition grew and increased, so likewise the people began more and more to be liberal in giving to the church, and in adorning, decking, and trimming the temples of the Christians ; yea, and that so much the more, because they were now persuaded that such temple and will-works pleased God, deserved remission of sins and everlasting life. By this means came it to pass that the simple and plain tables, which were used in the apostolic and primitive church, were taken away, and standing altars set up and gorgeously decked with sumptuous apparel, and garnished with gold, pearl, and precious stone. And because that he which should minister at that gorgeous and sumptuous altar should answer in some point to the glory thereof, therefore it was devised that the minister also should have on his back gallant and gorgeous apparel, as an amice, an alb, a tunicle, a girdle, a fannel1, a stole, a vestment, &c, whereof some were made of silk, some of velvet, some of cloth of gold ; yea, and those garnished with angels, with images, with birds, with beasts, with fishes, with flowers, with herbs, with trees, and with all things that might satisfy and please the vain eye of the carnal man. And all these things, being before but voluntary, grew afterward unto matters of so great weight and importance, yea, unto such necessity, that it was made a matter of conscience, yea, it was become deadly sin to minister the holy communion without these scenical, histrionical, and hickscorner-like garments; so that now to sing mass or to consecrate, as they use to say, without these popish robes, is counted in the church of the papists more than twice deadly sin; so far is it off that these missal vestures are now things of indifferency. Wherefore, in my judgment, it were meet and convenient that all such disguised apparel were utterly taken away; forasmuch as it is but the vain invention of man, and hath been greatly abused of the massing papists. For " what hath the temple of God to do with idols?" " What concord is there between Christ and Belial?" What have the vestments of a popish altar to do with the table of the Lord Christ? Father. But what thinkest thou of the surplice, which is now commonly used in the most part of the reformed churches ? is it lawful to wear a surplice, or not ? Son. In things indifferent we may use our liberty, which we have gotten by Christ. There fore if a magistrate, being godly, command that the minister in the time of his adminis tration wear a surplice, not for the maintenance of superstition, but for a seemly and decent order, his commandment in this behalf is to be obeyed, and no godly minister ought to resist it. For in all matters that are not contrary to God's word the magis trate is to be obeyed, " not only for fear of punishment, but also for conscience sake." But if the magistrate command any thing directly against God's word, in this behalf he is not to be obeyed, nor his commandment to be accomplished ; but we must answer with the apostles : " We must obey God more than men." " Whether it be righteous in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, judge ye." But in things that be indifferent, we must take heed that we clog no man's conscience, nor make that a thing of necessity which is mere voluntary. Father. It is well said. But what thinkest thou of the receiving of the mysteries of Christ's passion and death ? In the church of the papists the lay people can by no means be suffered with their hands to touch either the Lord's bread or the cup; but the sacrificing priest put the bread into the people's mouth and give them the wine, as though the people were unworthy either to touch the bread or the cup. In the reformed churches they take both the sacramental bread and cup in their own hands, delivered unto them by the minister. Son. When the popish priests had exalted themselves too far above the laity, and counted the common people, in comparison of themselves, profane and unclean persons ; again, when they had made of the sacrament a god, and had taught the people to worship it, and to kneel unto it; then, that the sacrament might be had in the greater estimation, they decreed among themselves that the laity should by uo means touch with their unclean hands the body of their Lord God, as they call it; [> Fannel, or fanon : a sort of small scarf worn by a priest on his arm while saying mass.] v.] OF THE SACRAMENTS.— THE LORD'S SUPPER. 301 again, that they with their profane hands should not touch the sacred and hallowed chalice, wherein notwithstanding not the mystery of Christ's blood, but mere wine is contained. For as the papists, like thieves, have stolen away from the common people the Lord's cup, contrary to Christ's institution. And although I know, that it is a matter neither of salvation or damnation, as they use to say, the laity either to take the sacrament into their own hands, or else to receive it at the hand of the minister into their mouths; yet is it more agreeable to the institution of Christ, and to the order of the primitive church, to take the sacraments into their own hands, both the bread and the cup. For what hath the hand more offended than the lips, the tongue, the mouth, the teeth, &c. ? Hath not he sanctified the hand which hallowed the mouth ? Be not both of like holiness before God? A layman to touch the sacramental bread or cup with his bare hand is counted in the parish church a grievous sin; but if the layman have a glove on his hand, made of a sheep's skin, then he may be bold to touch it: as though there were more holiness or worthiness in a sheep's skin than in a christian man's hands. O hypocrites, swallowing in a camel and straining out a gnat! When Christ delivered the signs of his body and blood to his disciples sitting at the table, he said not unto them, Gape, hold, eat, &c. and so thrust the bread into their mouths; but he delivered the bread into their hands, and said: "Take ye, and eat." Neither said he, Hold, open your mouths, I will pour wine into them; but he delivered the cup into their hands, saying : " Take, and divide this among you." And this order continued many years after Christ's time, as we may find both in histories, and also in the monuments of the ancient writers2. This popish custom therefore, of thrusting the sacramental bread into the mouths of the communicants, ought utterly to be abolished, lest that by the maintenance thereof the popish and wicked error of Christ's corporal presence be established and confirmed. Father. Is the sacramental bread to be worshipped, as the papists have heretofore whether the taught ? Son. Nothing less. For it is written : " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy ought to be God, and him alone shalt thou serve." To worship any creature as God is plain idolatry. Christ said : " Take, eat," " divide among you." He said not, Behold, fall down and worship. The worshipping therefore of the sacrament ought utterly to be for bidden and to be abolished, as mere idolatry and most execrable abomination before the Lord our God, to whom alone all worship, honour, and glory is due. Father. Well, my dear son, thou hast not only satisfied, but also overcome mine expectation in all things wherein I have hitherto talked with thee. Five parts of the Catechism have we passed over : one part now remaineth behind to be entreated of, which is concerning the offices of all degrees. Son. You say truth, most loving father. worshipped. [2 See Cypr. Op. Oxon. 1682. De Lapsis, p. 132 ; De Bon. Patient, p. 216 ; August. Op. Par. 1679— 1700. Cont. Lit. Petil. Lib. n. 53. Tom. IX. col. 233. An abundance of other authorities may be seen in Bingham, Orig. Eccles. Book xv. chap. v. 6.] 302 [Part THE SIXTH PART OF THE CATECHISM. OF THE OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES. Father. What order wilt thou observe in this sixth and last part of the Catechism ? Son. I will first entreat of the offices and duties of the higher powers, both temporal and ecclesiastical ; and afterward of all other degrees in order, that are stablished and grounded in the word of God. Father. Thou wilt then begin first with the temporal magistrate? Son. Yea, verily. OF THE OFFICE AND DUTY OF THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE what a ma- Father. Firgt of all tell me, my son, what a temporal magistrate is. Son. A temporal magistrate is a public person, to whom the sword is committed for the de fence of the good, and for the punishment of the evil. Father. Is the magistrate appointed of God an officer, or is he rather a tyrant, usurping power and authority over other persons, against all right and law? Son. The office of He is ordained of God to be a ruler over his people ; and no man hath justly rule and istheordi- authority in any commonweal, which is not ordained of God. God. Father. Let me hear this proved by the word of God. For there are, as I hear, which utterly deny the magistrate to be of God, that is to say, of God's ordinance and appointment. Son. Ye speak of the anabaptists, which are so enemies to this noble degree and honourable estate, that they are almost friendly to none having their founda tion in the religion of Christ. But that magistrates rule at the appointment of God, Prov. viii. it is thus proved. God by the mouth of Salomon speaketh on this manner : " Through me kings reign : through me princes make just laws. Through me lords bear rule ; Wisd. vi. and all judges of the earth execute judgment." And the wise man saith : " Hear, 0 ye kings, and understand : give ear, ye that rule the multitudes. For the power is given you of the Lord, and the strength from the most high God." St Paul also saith : Bom. xiu. " There is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Therefore whoso resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist get 1 Pet. h. to themselves damnation." St Peter likewise exhorteth us to " honour the king, and be subject unto him as the supreme governor, and to the other rulers that are sent of him," yea, and that " for the Lord's sake ;" that is to say, because they are God's officers, " ordained of him for tbe punishment of the evil, but for the praise of the good." Wicked Father. But what if the magistrates be evil, wicked, ungodly, tyrants, haters of grvenof God the truth, oppressors of the poor, &c. ? Are they also appointed of God ? Son. In Job wickedness ol it is thus written: "For the sins of the people doth God make an hypocrite to reign t e peop e. over ^nem_" ^n(j q 0(j nimge]f saitli by the prophet : " I shall give them children to be their princes ; and babes shall have tbe rule of you. The people also shall be pilled Psai. ix. and polled," &c. The psalmograph prayeth against the ungodly on this manner : " Set, O Lord, a tyrant over them, that the heathen may know themselves to be but men." joim xix. And our Saviour Christ confessed that the authority which Pilate had, although a wicked and ungodly person, was from God, and he willingly suffered death under Christ and that tyrant. Neither do we read, that the apostles at any time did reject and cast neveFwith- away the regiment of the heathen rulers as a thing unlawful ; but they rather exhorted authority of the subjects to obey them, so far as they commanded nothing contrary to God's word, JuTers. to honour them, to pray for them, to give them tribute, custom, toll, &c. Thus see we that not only godly, but also ungodly princes, not only righteous, but also un- g^- righteous and wicked rulers are given us of God : the one, I mean the good, for the favour which God beareth' toward us, when we labour to walk in his holy ways; the other, I mean the evil, for anger and displeasure that he hath toward us, when he seeth us disobedient to his laws and ordinances. Father. What manner of men should magistrates be? Son. Men of activity, and VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 303 such as fear God; true men, and hating covetousness; wise and politic; and whose Exod. xviii. conversation is allowed of all men. Deut.' i. ' Father. What is the office of a temporal magistrate? Son. It eonsisteth chiefly ner of men in two points. The first is, that he, banishing out of his kingdom all false religion St to be. and idolatry, do avance, set forth, and maintain God's true religion and holy word, office of a The second is, that he govern his people justly, defend them from all perils, preserve mag,strate "' their goods, maintain the good, and punish the evil. Father. Have civil magistrates also to do with matters of religion ? Son. Yea, whether the verily. For God hath appointed temporal rulers not only keepers and maintainers of rulers ought the works of the second table of the law, which concern the body, but also of the with matters works of the first table of the law, which belong unto God and unto the soul. As religion. the magistrate by the virtue of his office is bound to provide that, so much as in him is, there be no manslaughter, no whoredom, no theft, no false witness-bearing, none unjust coveting of other men's goods, &c, in his land or dominion ; so likewise is his duty to aforesee, that there be no false religion, no idolatry, no superstition, no invocation of strange gods, no dishonouring of the Lord's name, no wicked doctrine, &c, used in his country or kingdom, And for this purpose, because he should not be deceived of the wily and subtile Magistrates hypocrites, which desire above all things to lead the higher powers in ignorance and gently to read blindness, that they may do what they list without check, the magistrate is commanded of God to be learned himself in the laws and ordinances of God, that he may do all things according to God's book, and not after his own fancy or will, nor yet after the crafty persuasions of the subtile hypocrites. " The king," saith God, " when he is Deut. xvii. set upon the seat of his kingdom, he shall write him out a copy of this law in a book. And it shall be with him, and he ought to read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and to keep all the words of this law," &c. And to Josua God said likewise : " Let not the book of this law depart Josh. i. out of thy mouth; but record1 therein day and night, that thou mayest observe and do according to all that is written therein. For then shalt thou make thy way pro sperous, and then shalt thou do wisely." The prophet David also exhorteth the kings Psai. h. and rulers of the earth to get them understanding, and to be learned in the law of the Lord, yea, and to "kiss the Son," that is to say, to embrace Christ the Son of God and his holy gospel; lest, if they do the contrary, God be angry with them, and so they perish from the right way. The like thing read we in the sixth and ninth chap- wisd. vi. ix. ters of the book of Wisdom. Father. Prove by the word of God, that the temporal rulers have to do with matters of christian religion. For there want not at this present day which think, that civil magistrates ought not to meddle with matters pertaining unto the soul, but The fancy of unto the body only. As for all spiritual causes and matters of religion, they belong, ei>aplb say they, to the bishop of Rome and to his adherents. Son. These are the papists, which desire alone to reign in the consciences of men, and to have rule oyer their' faith. But that temporal rulers ought to meddle with matters of God's religion, and that it appertaineth unto their office to weed out all false worshipping of God and all wicked doctrine, it is probable enough by divers histories of the holy scripture. As I may pass over king David and Salomon his son, which travailed not a little in avancing God's true religion, and in setting forth his holy word, what shall I speak of Asa king of Juda ? Did not he, being a worldly prince, take away strange 1 Kings xv. altars, and break down the images, and cut down the groves, and command Juda to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do according to the law and commandment of God? Did not he also put away all the abominable idols that his father had made? Again, did not he put down Maacha his mother from bearing rule, because she had made images in groves? yea, Asa destroyed all her images and burnt them by the brook Cedron. And all these doings of Asa did so greatly please God, that he gave him and all his land rest and quietness ; so far is it off that God was angry with Asa for these his enterprises in matters of religion. [' Record: call to remembrance, meditate.] 304 THE CATECHISM. [PABT 2 Chron. xix. Read we not also of Jeosaphat king of Juda, that, after that God had placed him in his kingdom, perceiving that God was greatly dishonoured through false religion brought in by his wicked forefathers and by the false prophets, he straight- ways commanded a visitation to be had for the speedy redress of all enormities, both in matters of religion and also in worldly affairs, and for the performance of the same he sent forth his lords, and with them certain priests and Levites to go throughout all the cities of Juda to teach the people, having with them the book of the law of God; so that by this means the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Juda, and the king and his people lived in great joy, quietness, and wealth, having abundance of riches and honour? Father. Methink this is both a noble and notable history, to declare and shew, that all princes in their dominions have authority and power to redress abuses and errors in matters of religion, and that for that purpose they may at all times appoint visitations to be had in their kingdoms for a reformation of all enormities, both in The papists spiritual and temporal matters. Son. You say truth. But this cannot the papists magistrates abide. But as they alone will be called spiritual, so likewise do they challenge to than^'wine- themselves all spiritual jurisdiction and the determination of all matters concerning shepherds, religion, leaving to the magistrates authority and power only over the body and bodily matters, making them in this behalf no better than swineherds and shep herds. But not only cure of body, but also charge of soul is committed of God to the secular powers ; and they ought to seek the salvation of both, if they will avoid God's great anger and heavy displeasure, as we may perceive by the histories aforesaid. Father. Were there any other kings that shewed themselves zealous in God's 2 Kings xviii. religion also? Son. To whom are the noble acts and godly enterprises of king Hezekia unknown ? Did not he put away the hill-altars, and break the images, and cut down 2 chron. the groves, and all-to brake the brasen serpent that Moses had made? Did he not renew the feast of the passover? Did not he ordain priests and Levites to serve the Lord God, providing honest living for them, that they might substantially apply themselves to the study of the law of the Lord? and the Lord was with Hezekia, so that he prospered in all things which he took in hand. The most worthy and most glorious acts of that most noble and most godly king 2 chron. Josia are more famous and known than that they need here to be recited. He purged xxxiv all Juda and all Hierusalem from hill-altars, groves, carved images, and images of metal, and such other kinds of idolatry. He repaired the house of the Lord his God. He renewed the feast of the passover. He read in the ears of all the people the words of the law of the Lord, and made a faithful promise to the Lord, that he and all his people should walk according to the statutes of that book ; so that they turned not aside from the Lord God of their fathers so long as he lived. The Lord God therefore deferred his plague that he had threatened to Juda, suffered Josia to live in much honour, and brought him to his grave in peace ; so that his eyes did not see the mischief that the Lord God afterward brought immediately upon Hierusalem and upon the inhabiters of the same. 2 Kings x. What shall I speak of Jehu, king of Israel, which caused all the priests of Baal to be slain, all the images to be fet1 out of the temple of Baal, and to be burnt? He commanded also his captains and men of war to break the image of Baal, and to destroy the house of Baal; so that Baal's house was made a draught-house unto this day. And because Jehu thus sought the glory of God, and destroyed idolatry with the maintainers thereof, he lived in his kingdom unto his dying day; and Ins children unto the fourth generation sat on the seat of Israel. And as these aforesaid most noble kings shewed themselves valiant and courageous magistrates in matters of God's religion, by banishing all idolatry and wicked doctrine, and by erecting and setting up the true worshipping of God and the sincere preach ing of his most holy word; so likewise read we in ecclesiastical histories of certain noble christian princes, which attempted the like enterprises in avancing the true xxxi. [' Fet : fetched.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 305 religion of God, and in driving out of their dominions all idolatry, false worshipping of God, wicked doctrine, &c. Of this sort was that godly emperor Constantinus Magnus2, whom when God had Constantinus called unto the empire and unto the knowledge of his holy word, he straightways agnU commanded that the temples of the idols should be shut up, and from henceforth to be no more frequented, nor sacrifice to be offered any more in them unto those false gods. He commanded also that the gospel of our Saviour Christ should be preached openly, and he gave to the preachers thereof large stipends and honourable rewards. And when the wicked and damnable heresy of Arius began to spread abroad, the most noble emperor with his great labour and cost gathered together a great number of learned bishops, and celebrated an holy and honourable council at Nice, for the suppression of that too much detestable heresy. Plow godly and prince- like he behaved himself at the council, histories do abundantly declare. God therefore blessed him many and divers ways. What shall I speak of Gratianus, Valentmianus, and Theodosius, most holy and Gratianus. worthy emperors, which gave out strait commandment throughout all their dominions, Theodosius. that all their subjects should receive and admit none other doctrine than that only which the holy and blessed apostle St Peter had preached and taught? And they commanded, that all the temples of the idols should utterly be thrown down and rooted out, that the idolaters might have none occasion after their time to set up again their wicked sacrifices3. In a certain city of Phrygia Adauctus, lieutenant of that country under Diocletian, Adauctus. that tyrant-like emperor, toppled down all the idols, and persuaded the whole multi tude to receive tbe doctrine of Christ4. Again, in the city Nicomedia a certain nobleman, receiving the letters of that wicked tyrant Diocletian, which he had sent for the abolishing of christian religion, rent them all on pieces and trod them under his feet, the people looking on6. Divers such like examples we read in ecclesiastical writers, which declare mani festly with what and how fervent zeal a christian magistrate ought to be led to ward christian religion; so that his chief study and labour should be to seek the honour and glory of God, to avance his holy religion, to set forth his blessed word, and to procure the salvation of his subjects' souls, all idolatry, superstition, hypocrisy, and whatsoever is contrary to wholesome doctrine, utterly excluded and put away. And for this cause are they called in the holy scripture " gods," that is to say, Psai. ixxxii. persons appointed of God to conserve, keep, and maintain true religion, and to forbid and abolish idolatry, superstition, wicked doctrine, &c. And that they may this do the more conveniently, it is meet and necessary that what is to they add these two things, without the which true religion cannot long stand. the magis- The first is, that they provide godly and learned preachers in all parts of their conservation dominions, which more truly and unfeignedly teach their subjects the way of the religion. Lord, that they may from their very heart fear the Lord God, honour him, serve him, worship him, call on his holy name, thank him for his benefits, and lead a life worthy their profession. And that the preachers may labour in the vineyard of Preachers. the Lord the more gladly, and have the better courage to do their duty, it is the office of a good magistrate to provide honest and quiet stipends for the preachers, that they may have whereof to feed both themselves and their family, yea, and also to give somewhat to the poor. And to encourage the godly magistrates to do this, it shall be good for them always to set before their eyes this saying of the wise man : " When the preaching of God's word faileth, the people perish and run out Prov. xxix. of order." [2 Euseb. de Vit. Constant, in Hist. Eccles. Script. Amst. 1695 — 1700. Lib. n. capp. xiv. xlvii. Lib. in. cap. vi. pp. 382. 3, 400.] [3 Theodoret. in eod. Lib. v. cap. xxi. pp. 226—28. See also Cod. Justin, in Gothofr. Corp. Jur. Civil. Amst. 1663. Lib. i. Titt. i. 1. xi. Tom. II. pp. 1. 37, 38. [bkcon, II.J An account of the steps taken by the christian emperors for the overthrow of heathenism may be read in Beugnot, Hist, de la Destruction du Paga- nisme en Occident. Paris, 1835.] [4 Nicephor. Callist. Hist. Eccles. Lut. Par. 1630. Lib. vn. cap. ,.. Tom. I. pp. 452, 3.] [5 Id. ibid. cap. v. p. 445.] 20 306 THE CATECHISM. [Part schools. The second is, that forasmuch as preachers be mortal, and cannot alway remain in their function and office, but must needs give over to nature, and change this life after the manner of all men, the magistrates erect and set up schools, where the youth of the christian commonweal may be brought" up in good letters and godly manners, but specially in the knowledge of God's true religion ; that the young chil dren, being trained up even from ;tiheir cradles in the mysteries of God's most holy word, may in time to come supply the rooms of the departed pastors, and become good shepherds of the Lord's flock, feeding them, not with the pestiferous leaven of Pharisees, but with the sweet and comfortable wheat of Christ's gospel. And that Books of the they may be the more able this to do, the magistrate must diligently provide that tureYs ougiit the books both of the old and new testament be read every day to the young ones, in christian with some short exposition of the same; that they may learn holy letters from their 2 mm. iii. infancy, as we read of bishop Timothy, and not spend all their childhood or young age in man's doctrine, doctrine many times more meet for the children of the Turks 1 Cor. vii. than for the children of the Christians, which, as St Paul saith, are " holy and clean." And that they may wax the sooner ripe in the knowledge of godliness, it shall be sermons. convenient that the scholars do oftentimes repair unto the temples to hear the ser mons, and afterward to render accompts of those things that they have heard, lest they become forgetful hearers. And it shall not a little profit unto the increase of orations. godly knowledge, that the scholars sometime have some theme of the holy scripture offered unto them privately in their schools, and so prove their wits, what they are able to do in dilating that text, sometime by tongue, sometime by pen. school- And that those things may be done of the scholars with the more fruit, a chris- masters. t ... . tian magistrate must diligently provide, that such as shall be chosen and appointed schoolmasters, be men of gravity, wisdom, knowledge, learning, of an honest and godly conversation, of an approved life, of uncorrupt manners, diligent and painful in their office, favourers of true and pure religion, earnest lovers of God's word, haters of idolatry and superstition, and such in all points as may be to their scholars, not only teachers of good and godly doctrine, but also example-givers of honest and virtuous conversation ; that as in doctrine, so likewise in manners, they may proceed and go forward, and afterward become profitable members of the christian commonweal. Provision for And that the schoolmasters may be the better encouraged to do their office, schoolmss- ters. and to bring up the youth of the Christians in the nurture and doctrine of the Lord, that they may afterward become good and profitable members of the commonweal, whether they be called unto temporal or spiritual affairs, it shall be necessary that the magistrates provide liberally for the teachers and bringers up of youth, that they may have whereof honestly to live. For if we think it a thing unfitting and unreasonable not to provide for our swineherds and shepherds, which attend upon our brute beasts ; what a shame were it to leave our schoolmasters, which bring up our children, made like to the image of God, in virtue and learning, unprovided ! The very heathen in times past have liberally entertained the teachers of their children; and shall Christians be negligent in this behalf? The Turks at this present day shew themselves very bounteous and of great liberality to such as bring up their children in the knowledge of tongues; and shall the teachers of christian men's children be either left1 unprovided, or at the least slen- ifTimXv derty recompensed ? " The workman is worthy of his reward." And " they that rule well are worthy of double honour." Father. These things which thou hast spoken, my dear son, if they were di ligently considered and put in practice, would make a flourishing christian common weal, so that God should be truly honoured, and his holy church garnished with all kind of good and godly officers, both in spiritual and temporal matters. But come off, and tell me what the office and duty of the magistrate is in worldly affairs. Son. what the As the duty of a magistrate is to avance the glory of God, to set forth the gospel duty ofa . ° " J ' . , , , ¦magistrate is of our Saviour Christ, to plant true religion in all his dominions, to banish idolatry in worldly jr., ,.. " 1 + matters. and false worshippings of God, to weed out unfaithful teachers and false prophets, [' The folio has least.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 307 and instead of them to appoint godly and learned preachers, which may attend upon " the flock of Christ, whom he purchased with his most precious blood," and for their Ac's M- godly travails to appoint them such stipends as shall be liberally sufficient both for them and for their family, yea, of the same also to give somewhat to the poor ; again, to erect and set up schools for the virtuous bringing up of youth, and to appoint godly, grave, and learned schoolmasters for the right institution of them, yea, and those also bounteously recompensed for their painful travails ; so likewise is it his office and duty to govern his people, whom God hath committed to his charge, justly, to defend them from all perils, to preserve their goods, to maintain the good and godly, and to punish the evil and wicked. Father. Are the people over whom the magistrates reign God's people? Son. Yea, verily, God's people, his workmanship, and the sheep of his pasture; for so are they termed in the word of God. Exod. iii. Father. And are the magistrates appointed of God to govern his people ? Son. The magistrate is God's minister, appointed to this end, that he may govern and rule the people of God. And for this cause they be called in the holy scriptures "gods," "princes," "kings," "rulers," "governors," "shepherds," "guides," "captains," &c. Father. And this their regiment ought to be iust and righteous ? Son. Yea ; for Magistrates ouent to they must render an accompts to him that is King of kings and Lord of lords of their rule justly. regiment and governance. To govern justly is required of a magistrate above all things. Father. What is it to govern justly ? Son. To do all things according to equity what it is . . . to rule justly. and justice, and by no means to decline from the way of righteousness, neither unto the right nor unto the left hand ; to cast away all partiality in judgments ; not to pervert justice for bribes' sake ; not to judge neither for favour nor for hatred ; to hear both parts indifferently; and neither to justify the wicked nor to condemn the innocent. Father. Is it thus commanded of God? Son. To whom is that unknown? God saith: "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment. Thou shalt not favour the poor Lev. xix. nor honour the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour." "Hear Deut. l the cause of your brethren," said Moses to the judges, " and judge righteously be tween every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. See that ye know no faces in judgment ; but hear the small as well as the great, and be afraid of no man; for the judgment is God's." "He that saith to the ungodly," Prov. xxiv. saith Salomon, "Thou art righteous, him shall the people curse, yea, the commenty2 shall abhor him. But they that rebuke the ungodly, in them doth God delight ; and a rich blessing shall come upon them." " Judge the thing that is right, O ye Psai. Mil. sons of men," saith the psalmograph. " O love righteousness, ye that are the judges wisd. i. of the earth." Notable is the exhortation that king Josaphat gave to the judges : "Take heed that ye do," saith he; "for ye execute not the judgment of men, but of 2 chron.xix. God, which is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, and take heed, and be doing the thing that pleaseth him. For there is none unrighteousness with the Lord our God, that should have any respect of persons, or take reward." Father. Would God all magistrates would obey these most righteous command ments of God ! Then should not so many deal unjustly, as they do now-a-days. For gifts, rewards, and bribes do so rule in the hearts of many rulers in this our Bribe- taking. age, that they utterly weigh down and suppress justice, and make it of no force. Son. Where bribe-taking is used, justice is utterly refused; and where money is set by, there right loseth the mastery. Therefore God in his law commandeth that Exod. xviii. such should be made rulers over the people as hate covetousness and abhor bribes. Would God that all such bribe-takers and gift-eaters would set before their eyes these commandments of God : " Thou shalt take no gifts ; for gifts blind the sight, and Exod. xxiii. pervert the words of the righteous." " Wrest not thou the law, nor know any Deut. xvi. person, neither take any reward; for gifts blind the wise," &c. Against such bribe- [- Commenty: community.] 20—2 308 THE CATECHISM. [Part isai. v. takers and gift-eaters the prophet crieth out on this manner : " Wo be unto them that give sentence with the ungodly for rewards, but condemn the just cause of the righteous! Therefore, like as fire licketh up the straw, and as the flame con- sumeth the stubble, even so their root shall be as corruption, and their blossom shall Job xv. vanish away like dust." Job also saith : " The fire shall consume the houses of such as are greedy to receive gifts." Friendship. Father. As gifts and bribes cause the subversion of justice, likewise doth friendship many times ; so truly is it said in our common proverb : "As a man is friended, so is his matter ended." Son. Neither friendship nor favour ought to prevail against justice. Both parties Father. Some magistrates are so undiscreet, that, when matters of controversy heard' in-be be brought before them, the first tale doth so prevail that the other party cannot be differently. near(^ though his cause be never so just and good. Son. These judges forget the work of nature, which hath created in them two ears, one to hear the accusant, the other to hear the defendant. ^jr*? And in this behalf I would wish that they were like to king Alexander the Great, anderAlex" wmcn5 when any man complained to him of another being absent, used to stop the other ear with his hand. Being demanded why he did so, he answered that, as he left open one ear to the accusant, so he would keep one ear stopped and close for tbe defendant. Here even of an heathen prince may rulers learn to hear both parts indifferently. Father. If the magistrates would thus behave themselves in all their sessions and courts, the commonweal should be better ordered in many places than it is now; neither should the poor people so grievously complain of injuries and wrongs done unto them. I pray God give the magistrates grace according to their office to govern the people of God justly. Son. Amen. Father. It is the duty of magistrates also to defend their subjects from all perils, g^fe- and to keep such goods as they have harmless? Son. That is their office. They are called in God's book " shepherds ;" because, as a good shepherd doth not only feed his flock, but also defend his flock, and mightily fight for the conservation of his flock against the wolves, so likewise a true magistrate ought to seek all means possible to save his people, to keep them harmless, to save their goods, and to be as care- Rom, xiii, fui for them as for themselves. For, as St Paul saith : " The magistrate is God's minister, appointed for thy wealth." Yea, to save and to defend the lives and goods of their subjects, they ought to put their own lives and goods in jeopardy. Their own private com modity ought to give place to the safeguard of the commonweal. What a fatherly care Moses, Josua, Samuel, David, and other noble princes had for their people, the holy scriptures do evidently declare. Magistrates Father. If it be the duty of princes to defend their subjects from all perils, and opprefflthe'S t° keep such goods as they have harmless; then ought they not to use their subjects subjects. ag siaveS; villains, and peasants, nor to spoil them of their goods, which were either left unto them of their parents, or else they have gotten with their hard labour, at Eccius.xxxii. their pleasure. Son. The wise man saith : " If thou be made a ruler, pride not thy self therein ; but be thou as one of the people. Take diligent care for them, and look well thereto ; and when thou hast done all thy duty, sit thee down, that thou mayest Prov. xx. be merry with them, and receive a crown of honour." Salomon also saith : " Mercy and faithfulness preserve the king; and with loving-kindness his seat is holden up." The richer and the wealthier that the commons are in any realm, the richer and the wealthier is the prince of that realm, yea, and the stronger also is he, and the fur ther from all jeopardy and danger. But, contrariwise, the poorer and the baser that the commons are in any realm, the more feeble and the less valiant is the prince against his enemies. This considered the wise man, which writeth on this manner: Prov. xiv. " The increase and prosperity of the commons is the king's honour ; but the decay of Marcus the people is the confusion of the prince." Notable is this saying of Marcus Curius , that most noble consul of Rome : " I had rather," saith he, " bear rule over them that are rich than to be rich myself." [• Valer. Max. Lib. xv. cap. iii. 5.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 309 Moreover, that a magistrate may not unjustly take away his subjects' goods, the history of Nabot and of wicked king Achab declareth that most manifestly. 1 Kings xxi. And who knoweth not how vehemently God thundereth by his prophets against such wolvish and tyrant-like rulers, which poll and pill the people, and oppress them against all equity and right ? Are not these the words of God by tbe prophet Amos ? " 0 hear this word, ye that do poor men wrong, and oppress the needy : ye that say Amos iv. to your lords, Bring hither, let us drink. Therefore the Lord hath sworn by his holiness, the days shall come upon you, that the enemies shall carry you away," &c. Again by the same prophet he saith : " O wo be to the proud wealthy, to Amos vi. such as think themselves so sure, even them which hold themselves for the best of the world, and rule the house of Israel as they lust!" "Ye are taken out for the evil day; even ye that sit in the stool of wilfulness; ye that lie upon beds of ivory, and use your wantonness upon your couches ; ye that eat the best lambs of the flock, and the fattest calves of the drove; ye that sing at the lute, and in playing of in struments compare yourselves unto David ; ye that , drink wine out of goblets, and anoint yourselves with the best oil; but as for Joseph's hurt, none of you all are sorry for it. Therefore now shall ye be the first of them that shall be led away captive ; and the lusty cheer of the wilful shall come to an end, &c. The Lord is minded to smite the great houses." " For ye have turned true judgment into bitterness, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood." Once again by the same prophet he saith : "O ye that oppress the poor, and destroy the needy in the land : . . . shall not Amos viii. your destruction come upon you as a water-stream?" &c. And by the prophet Micha God also speaketh on this manner : "O ye heads of the house of Jacob, and ye leaders Micah iii. of the house of Israel, should not ye know what were lawful and right ? But ye hate the good, and love the evil. Ye pluck off men's skins, and the flesh from their bones. Ye eat the flesh of my people, and flay off their skin. Ye break their bones : ye chop them on pieces, as it were into a caldron, and as flesh into a pot. Now tbe time sball come that, when they call unto the Lord, he shall not hear them, but hide his face from them; because that through their own imaginations they have dealt so wickedly," &c. Father. It is to be wished that all princes would remember this saying of the most wise prince and king Salomon : " With true judgment," saith he, " the king setteth Prov. xxix. up the land; but if he be a man that oppresseth the people with gatherings, he turneth it upside down. For when the righteous bear rule, the people are in pros perity; but when the ungodly have the overhand, then the people are in beggary." Son. Yea, it is to be wished that all magistrates, from the highest to the lowest, might so behave themselves in their office, that they might justly say with Samuel on this wise : " Behold, here am I : bear record of me before the Lord, and before his anointed. 1 Sam. xii. Whose ox have I taken? whom have I done wrong to? whom have I hurt? or of whose hand have I received any bribe, to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you again. The people answered Samuel and said, Thou hast done us no wrong, nor hurt us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand. He said unto them again, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have no evil in my hands." Father. It were not out of the way for all princes to remember what chanced to Rehoboam, king Salomon's son, for the ungentle entreating of his commons. And how 1 Kings xii. unfortunately it hath gone with many princes in times past for their insatiable polling and pilling of their subjects, histories in all places make mention : " Like as a roaring Prov. xxviii. lion, and as an hungry bear, even so is an ungodly prince over the poor people," saith Salomon. But let us hear more of the magistrate's office, which, thou saidst, is not only to govern the people justly, to defend them from all perils, and to preserve their goods, but also to maintain the good, and to punish the evil. Son. So is it. Father. What is it to maintain the good ? Son. To defend them from the violence Magistrates of the wicked, not to suffer them to be oppressed of the tyrants, to help them unto mainufn their right, to defend their cause, to maintain their good name, to provide for them, fodiy^opie. to suffer them not to lack any good thing, to promote them, to place them in offices about the matters of the commonweal, to have them in reverence for virtue's sake, 310 THE CATECHISM. [Part although they be never so poor and base, &c. And this is it that God saith by the isai. i. prophet : " Learn to do right, apply yourselves to equity, deliver the oppressed, help Jer. xxi. the fatherless to his right, let the widow's complaint come before you." Again: "Hear the word of the Lord, 0 thou house of David; for thus saith the Lord, Minister righteousness, and that soon: deliver the oppressed from violent power, or ever my terrible wrath break out like a fire and burn, so that no man may quench it, because Jer. xxii. 0f the wickedness of your, imaginations." Also in another place : " Thus the Lord commandeth, Keep equity and righteousness : deliver the oppressed from the power of the violent : do not grieve nor oppress the stranger, the fatherless, nor widow ; and Zech. vii. shed no innocent blood." Item : " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Execute true judg ment : shew mercy and loving-kindness every man to his brother. Do the widow, the fatherless, the stranger, and poor no wrong ; and let no man imagine evil in his heart Psai. ixxxii. against his brother." The psalmograph also saith : " How long will ye give wrong judgment, and accept the persons of the ungodly? Defend the poor and fatherless: see that such as be in need and necessity have right. Deliver the outcast and poor: save them from the hand of the ungodly." Magistrates Father. As the duty of the magistrate is to maintain the good and godly, so punish the likewise is it his office to punish the wicked and ungodly. It is not so? Son. Yes, Gen/ix. verily : for so are we taught by the word of God. God himself saith : " Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man (he speaketh of the magistrate) shall his blood be shed." Deut. xix. Again : " Thine eye shall have no compassion, but life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, shalt thou require." Likewise saith St Paul : Kom. xiii. " Rulers . are not fearful to them that do good, but to them that do evil. Wilt thou be without fear of the power? Do well then, and so shalt thou be praised of the same. For he is the minister of God for thy wealth. But and if thou do that which is evil, then fear. For he beareth not the sword for nought. For he is the minister i Pet. ii. of God, to take vengeance on him that doth evil." St Peter also saith : " Submit yourselves to all manner ordinance of man for the Lord's sake ; whether it be unto the king as unto the chief head ; either unto the rulers, as unto them that are sent of him for the punishment of evil-doers, but for the praise of them that do well." Lev. xxiv. God in the law of Moses straitly commanded that the magistrates should bv no Deut. xiii. o ** Lev. xix. means suffer these kind of persons to live ; that is to say, the blasphemer of God's Lev. xxiv. holy name, the false prophet, the idolater, the witch, the necromancer, the sorcerer, Deut. xxxii. the murderer, the man-stealer, tbe adulterer, and the adulteress, the willingly-deflowered Deut. xxi. maid before she was married, he that hath to do with a brute beast, a stubborn child against father and mother, a false witness, &c. And every godly magistrate did punish the wicked in every age according to the laws of the realm where they dwelt, both among the people of God and among the heathen. And this order is observed at this day in all nations, both faithful and unfaithful. §£%¦ That magistrate which suffereth the wicked to escape unpunished is guilty of all the mischief that is done by them, and doth nothing else than seek the subversion and utter destruction of the commonweal, unto his own damnation. God commandeth that the malefactor shall not be spared. That ruler therefore, which spareth the male factor, is first disobedient to God, and afterward injurious to himself, and last of all Note. a wolf and an enemy to the commonweal. For to suffer the wicked to live is nothing else than to destroy the good. Of the prosperity of the evil what followeth but the destruction of the good? Not to pluck away the wolf from the lamb, what other thing is than to murder the lamb? Those magistrates are unworthy to reign, which, being moved with childish, yea, rather foolish pity, favour and pardon1 open malefac tors, and suffer them to live unto the great hindrance of the commonweal, according to the common proverb : " Foolish pity marreth the city." The magistrate hath not , a peacock's tail given unto him when he is made a ruler, but a sword ; which sword he ought to pluck out and exercise whensoever occasion is given, lest the weeds over- Rom. xiii. grow the corn, and the wicked triumph against the righteous. "He beareth not the sword in vain," saith St Paul; "for he is the minister of God, to take vengeance on [' The folio has pardon and.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 311 * him that doeth evil." King David saith: "I will destroy out of hand all the ungodly Psai. ci. that are in the land, that I may root out all wicked doers from the city of the Lord." Did not God command Moses to hang up those wicked princes and rulers, which of a foolish pity would not punish and put to death the wicked offenders, but rather spared them ? " Take," saith he, " all the heads of the people, and hang them up Num. xxv. before the Lord against the sun, that the wrath of the Lord's countenance may be turned from Israel." By this one history it appeareth evidently, how greatly God is displeased with these magistrates which cease to punish the wicked. And albeit that these sheepish, sluggish, and sleepy rulers escape in this world unpunished, for this their negligence and dissolute or loose regiment, yet shall they not avoid the hands of the most high Magistrate in the world to come; but they shall so much the more suffer punishments, because that they have not ministered due correction to the wicked and ungodly, as their duty was. For thus saith the wise man, speaking to the magistrates : " Give ear, ye that rule the multitudes, and delight wisd. vi. in much people. For the power is given you of the Lord, and the strength from the Highest; which shall try your works, and search out your imaginations: how that ye, being officers of his kingdom, have not executed true judgment, have not kept the law of righteousness, nor walked after the will of God. Horrible, and that right soon, shall he appear unto you; for an hard judgment shall they have that bear rule. Mercy is granted unto the simple ; but they that be in authority shall be sore punished. For God, which is Lord over all, shall accept no man's persons, neither shall he stand in awe of any man's greatness. For he hath made the small and great, and careth for all alike. But the mighty shall have the sorer punishment." Father. But let me ask thee one question, my son : in punishing the wicked and Whether the ungodly, may the temporal rulers also punish the idolaters and false prophets or may lawfully preachers of corrupt and wicked doctrine ? Son. The magistrate hath the sword com- te™ and' false mitted unto him, not only to punish the transgressors of the second table, but also such as offend and break the commandments of the first table. For if the temporal ruler ought not to suffer any person to escape unpunished that offendeth man, much less ought he to suffer any to escape unpunished that offendeth his Lord God, specially by idolatry and false doctrine. Is not this the commandment of God given to all high powers ? " If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and give Deut. xiii. thee a sign or a wonder, and that sign or wonder which he hath said come to pass, and then say, Let us go after strange gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; hearken not thou unto the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams. For the Lord thy God proveth you, to wit whether ye love the Lord your God with your heart, and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, keep his commandments, and hearken unto his voice, serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet or dreamer of dreams shall die; because he hath sjioken to turn you away from the Lord your God, &c. And therefore thou shalt put the evil away from thee. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thine own son, or thy daughter, or the wife that lieth in thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul unto thee, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve strange gods, which thou hast not known, nor yet thy fathers, &c. ; thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him : thine eye shall not pity him, neither shalt thou have any compassion on him, nor keep him secret, but cause him to be slain. Thine hand shall be first upon him to kill him, and then the hands of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die; because he hath gone about to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you." Again God saith : " The prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my Deut. xviii. name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that speaketh in the name of strange gods, the same prophet shall die." Also in another place : " Whosoever Lev. xxiv. curseth his God shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, let him be slain ; and all the multitude shall stone him to death : whether he be born in the land or a stranger, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, let him be slain." 312 THE CATECHISM. [Part Isai. v. 2 Kings x. 2 Kings xxiii Ezra vi. Constant.Valentin.Theodosius. Leo the em peror. Whether it be lawful to kill heretics. Can there be a greater cursing of God, than to fall from him which is the alone true God, and to turn unto creatures, and to crave all things of them, as of God? And can there be a more heinous blasphemy done or spoken against the most glorious name of the Lord our God, than to preach and set forth doctrine contrary to God's word ; and by this means to bring the people into error, and to lead them from the way of truth unto falsehood, and so finally unto everlasting damnation ? " Wo be unto them," saith the prophet, " that call evil good and good evil, which make darkness light and light darkness, that make sour sweet and sweet sour ! Wo be unto them that are wise in their own sight, and think themselves to have understanding!" But we have not only an expressed commandment to kill and put out of the way all idolaters and false prophets, I mean such as wilfully and obstinately resist the truth, and will by no means be reformed ; but we read also of divers kings and rulers which did put the same commandment in execution and practice; and God blessed them greatly for it. Read we not that Jehu king of Israel caused all the priests of Baal to be slain all the images to be fet out of the temple of Baal, and to be burnt? He caused also his captains and men of war to break the image of Baal, and to destroy the house of Baal ; so that Baal's house was made a draught house. And did not the Lord bless Jehu for thus doing; so that he lived quietly in his kingdom unto his dying day, and his children sat on the seat of Israel unto the fourth generation ? Read we not also that king Josia put down the ministers of Baal, whom the kings of Juda had founded to bum incense in the hill-altars and cities of Juda that were round about Jerusalem, and also them that burnt incense unto Baal, to the sun, to the moon to the planets, and to all the host of heaven ? Read we not also that king Josia did slay all the priests of the hill-altars that were there, even upon the altars, and burnt men's bones upon them, that were idolaters and false preachers ? Moreover, read we not that Nabuchodonozor, although an heathen king, set out a proclamation, and com manded that all people, kindreds, and tongues, which spake any blasphemy against the God of Israel, should die the death, and that their houses should be prised1, &c? Read we not again that king Darius gave out a commandment that whosoever did hinder the glory of the God of Israel, there should be a beam taken from his house and set up, and he hanged thereon, and his house be made a dunghill? What shall I speak of king Artaxerses, which commanded also, that whosoever would not fulfil the law of the God of Israel and obey his voice, he should have his judgment without delay, whether it were unto death, or to be rooted out, or to be condemned in goods, or to be put in prison ? Furthermore, we read that these noble emperors, Constantinus, Valentmianus, and Theodosius, did not only by their laws forbid the worshipping of idols, but also they made certain penal statutes against the idolaters, so that whosoever would presume to offer sacrifice to any idol contrary to their decrees, they should die the death. Likewise read we of Leo the third, emperor of Greece, which commanded all images to be taken out of churches and openly to be brent. He made a law also, that whosoever resisted his proceedings in this behalf, he should suffer death2. Ecclesias tical histories minister unto us divers such like examples, which declare manifestly that princes have not only authority by the word of God to meddle with matters of christian religion, but also to punish the enemies and hinderers of the same, but specially idolaters and false prophets. Father. And what sayest thou of heretics? Son. Even the same that I have said of idolaters and false prophets. Father. May the magistrate also punish them? Son. Yea, and also take them out of this life, if they will not repent, amend, and come to the truth. Father. What if they keep their errors and heresies in their breasts secretly, and publish them not abroad ? Son. Then hath the magistrates nothing to do with them. God alone seeth and judgeth the heart. [] Prised : overturned, destroyed.] | note 2. See also Cod. Justin, in Gothofr. Corp. [3 See before, page 69, note 2 ; and page 305, > Jur. Civil. Amst. 1663. Lib. i. Tit. viii. p. 36.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 313 Father. What if the heretics publish their heresies, and go about to infect other with their pestilent doctrine? Son. They ought not straightways to be ungently entreated, to be thrown into prison, to be condemned, and so to be carried unto the place of execution ; but first of all to have them convented before the godly magistrates and learned ministers, bishops, or pastors, and so friendly and lovingly to confer with them, without scorns, checks, or taunts, that their conference may seem to proceed not of anger, malice, hatred, or displeasure, but rather of amity, friendship, love, and good will, yea, of such an heart as wisheth rather their salvation than their damnation. And forasmuch as heresy is a spiritual thing, and cannot be weeded out with any corporal violence; therefore ought such as be godly learned to travail with heretics, and to convince them, not with fire and fagot, with sword and halter, or with law will I3, nor yet with old customs and ancient fathers, but with the sincere and pure word of God, with the faithful testimonies of the old godly writers, and with the perfect consent of the apostolic and primitive church. These are the armours4 which we must use against the heretics and enemies of God's truth, as St Paul saith : " The weapons of our warfare are not carnal things, 2 cor. x. but things mighty in God to cast down strong holds ; wherewith we overthrow counsels, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity all imagination to the obedience of Christ, and are ready to take vengeance on all disobedience." For it is required of a spiritual minister not only to Tit. i. be able to exhort by wholesome doctrine, but also to improve, convince, and overcome them that speak against it. "The servant of the Lord," saith St Paul, "must not 2 Tim. ii. strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, and one that can suffer the evil with meekness, and can inform them that resist (the truth), if that God at any time will give them repentance for to know the truth ; and that they may come to themselves again out of the snare of the devil, which are holden captive of him at his pleasure." Again he saith : " Brethren, if a man be taken in any fault, ye which are spiritual Gai. vi. help to amend him in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." St James also saith : " Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, James v. and another convert him, let the same know that he, which converteth the sinner from going astray out of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide the multitude of sins." Father. What if they, after friendly conference had, do persevere and continue still stubborn and obstinate in their erroneous opinions and blasphemous doctrine? Son. I would wish that, according to the common proverb, every stone should be moved, and every occasion sought to win them unto the truth ; but if they remain incorrigible, and will by no means leave and give place to the truth, then let this com mandment of St Paul be obeyed: "A man that is an heretic, or an author of sects, Tit. m. after the first and second admonition, avoid ; knowing that he (that is such) is per verted, and sinneth even damned by himself." Or as our Saviour Christ biddeth: " Tell it to the congregation. And if he hear not the congregation, let him be unto Matt, xviii. thee as an heathen man and as a publican." Father. Now then is the heretic avoided; he is to the congregation as an hea then and publican; he is given to Satan; he is excommunicate; he is cut off from the congregation of God: what is now to be done? Shall he straightways be put to death ? Son. St Paul saith : " The magistrate beareth not the sword in vain." If Rom. xa. he that beareth false witness against man be worthy of death by the commandment 42® of God- is he worthy of less punishment that beareth false witness against God? If he that speaketh evil of a king, which is but a mortal man, yea, but earth, dust, and ashes, dieth the death without remedy; shall he escape unpunished, that openeth his mouth to speak blasphemies against the Most Highest, that King of kings and Lord of lords ? If that member be worthily cut off from the body, which is corrupt, and not only unprofitable, but also perilous, yea, pernicious and hurtful to the whole body; is such one to be suffered in a commonweal, which by his pestilent doctrine [3 Law will I : arbitrary law. Sic volo, sic jubeo, I [4 The folio reads armonies, which is most pro- jjp-j I bably a misprint.] 314 THE CATECHISM. [PabT corrupteth both body and soul, and bringeth them to everlasting damnation ? If that magistrate be counted worthy of praise and commendation, which doth so defend his country with his sword from the invasion of a foreign enemy, that his subjects may live in his realm quietly both with bodies and goods ; how much more worthy to be commended is that ruler, which with his authority and power doth so drive away the masters of errors and the teachers of false doctrine either by banishment or by- sword out of his realm, that his people, retaining the wholesome doctrine of the gospel may be sound in faith and good works, and so living with a quiet conscience before God and man in this world, obtain everlasting joy in the world to come ! If that shepherd be counted wise and discreet, which putteth away the scabby and diseased sheep from the residue of the flock which is whole and sound; is not that magistrate to be counted prudent and wise which separateth such as are infected with error and heresy from them that are yet sound in doctrine and judgment? i Tim. ii. Notwithstanding it is to be wished that, forasmuch as God " would have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth ;" again, forasmuch as Matt. xx. God alone giveth faith and right judgment, and calleth some at this hour, some at that hour, even when his godly pleasure and blessed will is; the magistrate would first of all gently and lovingly deal with heretics, and see unto what conformity he could bring them with his wisdom and counsel, and also suffer them to have access unto such as be godly learned, which may yet once again have conference with them. U2f It were not unfitting also, that the magistrate should enforce and compel the heretics to resort unto the hearing of sermons, in the which sermons the heresies of those sectaries should be declared, refelled1, and confuted by the word of God of the preachers: if peradventure by this means it may come to pass, that they may be called unto repentance, and unto the knowledge of their errors, and so be saved. For who knoweth not, that this is the ordinary way which God useth in calling sinners unto Bom. x. repentance and faith ; even the preaching of his word, as St Paul saith : " Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the word of God?" The psalmograph Psai. ii. also saith : " I will teach the unrighteous thy ways ; and the ungodly shall turn unto thee." If the heretics will not hear, but still obstinately resist the truth, and go forth to spread abroad their errors and heresies, yea, their blasphemies against God and his holy word, and by this means seduce the subjects and lead them out of the way of truth, and move sedition in the commonweal, setting them at variance which ought to remain in one mind, as citizens of one city and subjects of one magistrate; then may the head ruler with a good conscience punish those heretics, not only as heretics, but as seditious persons and troublers of commonweal, whether it be by imprisonment, loss of goods, banishment, sword, or otherwise. For this sentence of St Paul must Rom. xiii. for ever and ever abide true : " If thou do evil, then fear. For the higher power beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God to take vengeance on 1 Pet. ii. him that doth evil." St Peter also testifieth, that " the rulers are appointed of God unto the praise of them that do well, but unto the punishment of evil-doers." But if the magistrates be so sheepish, sleepy, and sluggish, and led with such childish and foolish pity, that they will not punish these wicked blasphemers of God's truth, and seditious troublers of the commonweal, but let them run at large, or suffer all men to have free access unto them, and so they poison the minds of the simple and innocent with their pestilent errors and blasphemous heresies ; let those rulers be well assured that, as they do not the duty of a good magistrate, so shall they not escape unpunished at the hand of God ; and so many as perish through their negli gence and their dissolute or loose regiment, their blood shall be required at those isam. ii. unrighteous magistrates' hands before the judging-seat of God's majesty. "Them that worship me," saith God, " I will worship ; and they that despise me shall come to shame." Father. Albeit I do not disallow these things which thou hast spoken concern ing heretics, and the punishment of them, specially if they be incorrigible, sowers of [' Refelled : the same as confuted.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 315 wicked doctrine, corrupters of men's minds, seducers from God and his truth, seditious persons, troublers of the commonweal, authors of schisms and divisions, breakers of the public peace, &c. ; yet I would wish that all magistrates should be ware and circumspect in handling such as be called heretics, and specially those magistrates which bear rule in the kingdom of the pope. For hitherto ttiie tyranny of the pope and of his papistsjhave so prevailed in many kingdoms, that whosoever hath spoken against the lessest of the pope's decrees and ceremonies, he hath been counted for an heretic, accused and condemned, yea, and with fire consumed unto ashes; although he believed and confessed all things to fee true that are comprehended within the holy bible. These smeared pill-pates2, I would say, prelates, first of all accused him, and afterward pronounced tbe sentence of death upon him, and straightways delivered him to the temporal magistrate for to be put to execution, making the magistrate their hangman and bond-slave, to hang, to draw, to quarter, to burn, to drown, &c. as it pleased them to appoint. 0 slavery ! 0 misery ! 0 unnoble nobility ! Note. In such places therefore, where the devil and the pope yet reign, it shall be necessary Beware, ye for all magistrates, if they will avoid the heavy indignation and fierce displeasure of iSersTbe- God, to take heed unto these bloody antichrists, and from henceforth no more to be bTno'ioSger their hangmen or slaughtermen, but to know the cause themselves, and to examine hangmen? the person themselves, yea, and to judge the matter themselves, and afterward pro nounce as it shall seem good to their wisdom and discretions, yet so that they shall at all times seek rather the salvation of the person than the destruction, the life than the death ; evermore remembering that their power is given them from above to edify and not to destroy. Let the destruction of errors rather than of men be sought. He that is this day a Saul may be to-morrow a Paul. If that noble doctor, Saint Augustine, had been taken away either by halter, fire, st Austin. or sword, when he was infected with the heresy of the Manichees ; verily he had not left to the church of Christ so many noble and learned works, unto the great profit of his posterity. Neither are they straightways to be counted heretics, which do err peradventure of ignorance and for lack of knowledge ; but such as through the instinct and motion of the devil have drunken in damnable errors directly against the manifest word of God, and obstinately, maliciously, and willingly defend them, and by no means will suffer themselves to be plucked from them, either with the authority of God's word, or with the testimonies of the ancient writers, or yet with probable reasons and arguments. And therefore must those magistrates, which live under the tyranny of the Romish bishop, that antichrist, that son of perdition, and that Babylonical strumpet, take heed that they be no more deceived wiCh the glistering visor of feigned holiness, nor yet become any longer the hangmen and butchers of those spiteful, I would say, spiritual o-eneration, which condemn men, not for resisting the truth of God's word, nor yet for dissolution of life, although never so wicked and detestable; but for impugning their feigned holiness and counterfeit religion, wherewith they go about to lead their captives, not to salvation, but to destruction ; not to life, but to death ; yea, death ever lasting. If those whom the bloody and cruel papists, that adders' spawn and gene ration of vipers, do accuse and condemn for heretics, be found only to resist antichrist and his antichristian decrees, let the magistrates take heed that they join not hands with the adversaries, and consent to the shedding of innocent blood, as their prede cessors have done in times past, unto the great peril of their everlasting damnation; but rather, washing their hands from their wicked conspiracy, withstand those bloody papists, yea, and remembering themselves to be called "gods" and "God's ministers" in the holy scripture, make those whelps of Rome rather to obey them, than they any more to be in subjection and slavery to so wolvish and Nero-like generation, a generation sprung out of hell, whose heart imagineth nothing but mischief, whose mouth speaketh The descrip- nothing but blasphemies, whose hands are imbrued with the blood of saints, whose papis0"'16 feet are swift to run to do mischief, whose parts, both inward and outward, only imagine and practise sin, wickedness, tyranny, and abomination. [2 Pill-patcs: pilled or polled, i.e. shaven or shorn, heads. Synonymous with shavelings. Folio, pylpalcs.] 316 THE CATECHISM. [Part How the old godly magis trates hand led heretics in times past But if they whom these Babylonical merchants have condemned for heretics, (which seldom chance,) be heretics indeed, and obstinately persist in their errors and heresies; then would I with all my heart wish that all such should be ordered as thou, my son, hast heretofore godly declared. Let all means possible be sought for their salva tion before any extremity be shewed. Let the cruel sentence of the papists move the godly magistrates nothing at all to attempt extremities ; but let them rather remember with themselves that they be the ministers of God, which willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he turn and live ; which will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth ; which call some unto him in the cock-crowing, some in the dawning of the day, some in the morning, some at high noon-day, some in the evening, some at midnight, &c. Let them also consider that power is given them, not to destroy but to edify. Let them also follow the practices of the noble ancient magistrates, which lived in the church of Christ before the tyranny of the bishop of Rome was known. They most diligently at all times laboured to suppress heresies and to confound heretics, that the church of Christ might in the unity of the christian faith, and in the sincerity of God's true word, continually remain and abide. They called councils both general and national, they gathered together learned men in the holy scriptures, they commanded the heretics to be present, disputations were had, the heretics were suffered quietly, and without any mocks or taunts, to speak, and to shew their learning and reasons. An swer was made again soberly, charitably, and temperately, yea, and that not out of the pope's decrees, or law will I, but out of the word of God, which at that time was judge alone of all controversies. The learned bishops and godly pastors in all their disputations behaved themselves so gravely and lovingly, so quietly and learnedly, that whatsoever came from them seemed to proceed from the spirit of humility, meekness, gentleness, love, and good will, yea, from such a spirit as tendered nothing more than their amendment, conversion, and salvation; whereby it came to pass many times, that they which before erred, seeing the great gentleness of the learned fathers toward them, both in quiet disputation and in friendly exhortation and in godly counsel-giving (as I may speak nothing of their true and sincere allegations of the holy scripture, and of their arguments and reasons grounded on God's word), gave over their errors, repented, converted unto God, embraced the truth of God's word, praised God, thanked the good magistrates and godly ministers, and for ever after remained in the unity of the apostolic faith and doctrine ; insomuch that St Austin write of such on this manner: "We now rejoice of the correction and amendment of many which so truly hold and defend the catholic unity, and are glad that they are delivered from their old errors ; so that now we may well marvel at them, yea, and that with great gratulation and rejoicing1." The godly magistrates and learned bishops at that time sought nothing else but the conversion and salvation of men. The errors, not the men, they sought to extirp and weed out. Of the heresies, and not of the heretics, they laboured to see the de- Lib, i. contra struction, as St Austin admonisheth, saying : " Love the men, kill the errors, strive for cap. ay. ' the truth without cruelty2." Yea, many of the magistrates were so loving and friendly, so gentle and long-suffering, and so desirous of the heretics' conversion and salvation, that although they seemed incorrigible and too much obstinate in the defence of their damnable errors and heresies, after that they were convinced and overcome by the word of God, yet if they did abstain from sparsing abroad the seeds of their wicked doc trine, and from corrupting other, and lived quietly, and otherwise behaved themselves honestly and peaceably in the commonweal, they would not minister unto them any extreme punishment at the first, but quietly bare with them, patiently abiding their conversion. But if they passed these bounds, so that by publishing their errors they gathered to them a church, and so sowed sedition among the people unto the Epist. 4fi. ad Vincent. [' Tfam de multorum jam correctione gaudemus, qui tam veraciter unitatem catholicam tenent atque defendunt, et a pristino errore se liberatos esse la3- tantur, ut eos cum magna giatulatione miremur — August. Op. Par. 1679—1700. Ad Vincent. Ro- gatist. Epist. xciii. 1. Tom. II. col. 230.] [2 Diligite homines, interficite errores : sine su- perbia de veritate praesumite, sine srevitia pro ven- tate certate Id. Cont. Lit. Petil. Lib. i. 31. Tom. IX. col. 218.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE TEMPORAL MAGISTRATE. 317 disturbance of the christian public weal ; then the magistrates, perceiving these great enormities, according to their authority and power given them of God, some they de prived of their liberties, livings, promotions, and honours; some they banished, some they punished by the purse; and such as were the chief seductors and deceivers of the people they kept in prison, till that they remembering themselves came unto amend ment, otherwise they continued still in prison. Few did they put to death, except they added to their heresies commotions, tumults, seditions, insurrections, and such other plagues and pestilences of the commonweal. And for my part I would wish with all my heart that this order were used uni versally in the church of Christ at this present day : then should not the men but the errors, be destroyed, slain, and made out of the way ; yea, many should then per- adventure be saved, which now dying in their errors be damned. Notable is this sen tence of St Austin : " This pleased no good men in the catholic church, if cruelty ex tend itself so far that it killeth any man, yea, though he be an heretic.3" Son. Lenity, clemency, and gentleness is to be shewed to all men, specially to such as err in matters of faith, if peradventure hereafter through the benefit of God they may be called unto repentance and amendment, and so be saved. Notwithstanding, both in this and in all other matters the magistrate must always set before his eyes the glory of God, the avancement of his true religion, the setting forth of Christ's gospel, the salvation of his subjects, the public peace, the conservation of the common weal, the avancement of virtue, and the suppression of vice. Whatsoever shall make unto the setting forth of these things, that must the magistrate with all dili gence perform ; but whatsoever shall hinder these things, that shall the godly magistrate weed out and take away, and by no means suffer to remain in his realm, lest it be made of the church of Christ the synagogue of antichrist, and a cage of all foul and unclean birds. For this sentence of St Paul must always abide true : " If thou Rom. xiu. do evil, then fear. For the higher power beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God to take vengeance on him that doth evil." And St Peter saith, that " the rulers are appointed of God unto the praise of them that do well, 1 Pet. ii. but unto the punishment of them that do evil." And David saith : " I will destroy Psai. c-;. out of hand all the ungodly that are in the land, that I may root out all wicked doers from the city of the Lord." Father. God give all magistrates his holy Spirit, which may direct them in all their ways, and so govern them in all their affairs, that they attempt nothing con trary to the glory of God and the benefit of the commonweal ! Son. Amen. Father. Now that we have heard the office of the temporal magistrate, let us hear also what the duty is of the spiritual magistrate, I mean, the minister of the Lord's word, whether he be called bishop, deacon, minister, pastor, overseer of the Lord's flock, &c. Son. Agreed. For it followeth next in order. OF THE OFFICE AND DUTY OF THE MINISTERS OF GOD'S WORD. Father. First of all, tell me what a bishop or spiritual pastor is. Son. He is what a the minister of Christ, and the dispensator of the mysteries of God. s^MtuVT Father. Why is he called " the minister of Christ " ? Son. Because he is Christ's TcSl iv. servant and embassador, to speak and to do those things which he hath received in commission of his Master Christ. Father. May not a spiritual pastor speak and preach, do and work, what he will? Son. Whosoever preacheth and teacheth any otherwise than he hath learned of his Master Christ, or worketh any thing that is contrary to his Master's will, he is not the minister of Christ, but the bond-slave of antichrist. St Paul saith : " Although we oai. i. ourselves, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any other gospel than that which we have preached, hold him accursed. As we said afore, even so say we f_3 Augustine repeatedly expresses his unwilling ness that harsh measures should be used against heretics. See Ad Donat. Procons. Epist. c. Tom. II. cols. 269, 70, in which the idea, though not the exact words above cited, may be found.] 318 THE CATECHISM. [PART again now, If any man preach unto you any other gospel than that which ye have i Pet. iv. received, hold him accursed." St Peter also saith : " If any man speak, let him so speak, that it be agreeable to the word of God." Hitherto belongeth the saying of 2 John. St John : " If any man come unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into that house, neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed, is partaker of his evil works." Christ commandeth his ministers to preach the gospel that is to say, remission and forgiveness of sins, in his name, and not men's traditions and his own dreams. And as the minister of Christ ought to preach nothing but Christ's word, so ought all his acts, deeds, and enterprises tend unto this purpose only, to set forth the glory of God and the honour of his holy name, both in life John x«i. and doctrine, both in work and word, as Christ saith : " I have given you ensample, that, as I have done, so likewise ye should do." Father. Why is a spiritual pastor called "a dispensator of the mysteries of God"? Son. For as the steward of a nobleman hath the treasures and riches of his master and lord, to bestow and distribute them where his master's good will and pleasure is ; so likewise he that is a spiritual pastor and an overseer of the Lord's flock hath the heavenly riches and most blessed treasures of God in possession, not to hide them under a bushel, nor to couch them in the ground, but to communicate them to other, even to such as the Lord hath committed to bis spiritual charge, as it is written by Mai. h. the prophet : " The lips of a priest keep knowledge, and at his mouth shall they require the law; for he is the angel of the Lord of hosts." Father. What are these " mysteries of God " ? Son. The knowledge of his holy and blessed will, the gift of his word and sacraments, the opening of his Son Christ Jesus to mankind, and of their salvation by him alone. Father. Why are they called "mysteries"? Son. Because they be the secrets of Matt. xi. God, hid from the prudent and wise of this world, and revealed only to such as the good will and pleasure of God is. The ministry Father. And is a spiritual pastor an officer in the church of Christ at the ?s Goo'Ior- appointment, of God, or doth he usurp that authority uncalled and unappointed of God? Son. Even as the temporal magistrate is God's ordinance, and hath his sword given of him, of God for the maintenance of the good and for i,the suppression of the evil ; so likewise is the spiritual magistrate, I mean the minister of God's word, the ordinance of God, and hath a sword also committed to him for the comfort of the good and for the chastisement of the evil. Eph. vi. Father. What is his sword ? Son. The word of God, which St Paul calleth "the sword of the Spirit." Father. Shew me by the word of God, that the spiritual minister ruleth in the church of Christ at God's appointment. Son. A little before our Lord and Saviour Christ ascended with his body into the . kingdom of bis Father, he said to his apostles, and also to all their successors, which are all spiritual ministers that labour Matt, xxviii. in word and doctrine : " Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to keep all things that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you continually unto the world's end." Mark xvi. Again: " Go ye throughout the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved : but he that believeth not shall be con- Johnxx. demned." Once again: "As my Father sent me, so send I you. Take the Holy Ghost. Whose sins ye shall forgive are forgiven them : whose sins ye do retain are John xxi. retained." Item : " Feed my lambs." " Feed my sheep." And St Paul saith : " God hath ordained in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers," &c. Father. May every man that will take upon him this ecclesiastical function or Rom. ^. office of spiritual ministry? Son. .Nothing less. For St Paul saith: "How shall they preach, except they be sent?" Aaron and the prophets, Christ and his apostles, preached not till they were sent. Those that take upon them the ministry before they be called are of the number of those whom God by the prophet describeth on Jer. xxiii. this manner : " I sent them not, and they ran : I spake not unto them, and they preached." of calling Father. How many ways may the ministers be called unto the ministry? Son. ministry. Two. One is, when they be called immediately of God, as the prophets and apostles VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE MINISTER OF GOD'S WORD. 319 were, which were raised up of God to prophesy and to teach without any vocation or calling of man. And this kind of vocation God useth customably outwardly to approve and confirm with wonderful testimonies and signs, as we may more see in Moses, Helias, &c. But this calling is now ceased. The other is, when the ministers / be called mediately, as they say, and in order of men, that is to say, of the magistrate and of the people. They that are thus called unto the ministry may right well persuade themselves that they are called of God, and that their calling is lawful, and that they living in that vocation please God, and their service is acceptable unto God. Father. May not a man offer himself to the church, and desire to be admitted unto the ministry? Son. Yes, verily, so that it rise not of ambition and of the desire of ease and worldly lucre: again, so that he submit himself to the judgment of the congregation, either to be admitted, or to be refused. For thus writeth St Paul : " If any man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." Again : 1 Tim. iii. " Covet spiritual gifts ; but most chiefly that ye may prophesy," that is to say, teach 1 cor. xiv. the congregation. Whosoever therefore perceived himself to be apt and meet to rule in the congregation, both in life and doctrine, and feeleth in himself to be moved there unto by the instinct of the Holy Ghost, and hath in himself also an ardent zeal and fervent desire to help and profit the church of Christ, and to avance God's true religion; the same man may with a good conscience desire the ministry. Father. What difference is there between a bishop and a spiritual minister ? Son. The ministers None at all: their office is one, their authority and power is one1. And therefore word have St Paul calleth the spiritual ministers sometime bishops, sometime elders, sometime thority. pastors, sometime teachers, &c. Father. What is " bishop" in English ? Son. An overseer or superintendent, as St Bishop. Paul said to the elders or bishops of Ephesus : " Take heed unto yourselves, and to Acts xx. all the flock over whom the Holy Ghost hath made you bishops, overseers, or super intendents, to rule, or feed, the congregation of God, which he hath purchased with his blood." Father. What manner of man ought he to be, that should be chosen to be a what man- minister ? Son. St Paul, in his letters unto Timothy and Titus, declareth this evidently, a spiritual Unto bishop Timothy he writeth thus : " A bishop (he meaneth every spiritual minister) ought to be. must be blameless, the husband of one wife, diligent, sober, discreet, a keeper of hospitality, apt to teach ; not given to overmuch wine, no fighter, not greedy of filthy lucre ; but gentle, abhorring fighting, abhorring covetousness, one that ruleth well his own house, one that hath children in subjection with all reverence. For if a man cannot rule well his own house, how shall he care for the congregation of God ? He may not be a young scholar, lest he swell, and fall into the judgment of the evil-speaker. He must also have a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into rebuke and snare of the evil-speaker." And unto bishop Titus he writeth thus : " For this ut. i. cause left I thee in Creta, that thou shouldest reform the things that are unperfect, and shouldest ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee : if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, which are not slandered of riot, neither are disobedient. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God ; not stubborn, not angry, not given to much wine, no fighter, not given to filthy lucre; but a keeper of hospitality, one that loveth goodness, sober, righteous, godly, temperate, [' It may be proper to say, that the Romanists, apparently in order to exalt the pope as the sole fountain of ecclesiastical power, did much to depress the authority and office of bishops. Sometimes in enumerations of the orders of the church bishops seem hardly admitted to be a distinct order. Discus sions upon this point occurred at the council of Trent; when those who held that all the apos tles, and by consequence all bishops, derived their authority from Christ were told that they took away the due authority of the pope. See Fra. Paolo. Hist. Cone. Tr. Lib. vn. In Burnet, Hist. Ref. Vol. I. Records Addenda v., may be found a Declaration subscribed by many bishops and other divines, in which they express their belief that " in the new testament there is no mention made of any degrees or distinctions in orders, but only of deacons or ministers, and of priests or bishops." This notion was hence, it would seem, introduced into the book called " The Institution of a Christian Man," which appeared in 1537. This will shew that Becon was not singular in the opinion he expresses in this place. It is of course not intended to discuss the matter here : it may, however, be observed that Bingham produces abundant evidence from the early Fathers to shew that " the order of bishops was always owned to be superior to that of presbyters." Orig. Eccles. Book n. chaps, i. ii. See also Burnet, Vol. I. Addenda.] 320 THE CATECHISM. [Part 1 Tim. v. 1 Tim. iii The office of a spiritual pastor. Tit. i Hospitalitydecayed among bishops. Of preaching God's word. Isai. Ivi. Matt. v. and such as cleaveth unto the true word of doctrine, that he may be able also to exhort by wholesome learning, and to improve them that say against it." Father. I would gladly that this rule of St Paul were observed in the election and admission of our spiritual ministers in this our age. Then should not the ministry be so evil spoken of as it is at this present. Son. It were good in this behalf for the bishops and elders of the congregation to remember this commandment of the apostle : " Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins." Again : " Let them first be proved, and then let them minister, so that no man be able to reprove them." Father. Let me now hear what the office and duty of a bishop or spiritual minister is. Son. It eonsisteth principally in three points : first, in teaching the word of God, and in ministering the sacraments : secondly, in praying for the people : thirdly, in leading a good life, unto the example of his parishioners. There are also that add to these aforesaid things the maintenance of hospitality, and say that it appertaineth also unto the office of a bishop or spiritual pastor to maintain hospitality. And St Paul, in the description of a bishop, saith that he ought "not to be given to filthy lucre; but to be a keeper of hospitality." Father. Verily, a virtue worthy of so noble estate. And would God that our bishops and spiritual pastors were more diligent in this behalf, that they might feed not only with word, but also with work ! But come off, tell me, is the first and principal point of a bishop's and a spiritual minister's office to teach and preach the word of God? Son. Yea, truly. Father. What if he preach not, neither can preach? Son. Then is he a Nicholas bishop ' and an idol, and indeed no better than a painted bishop on a wall : yea, he is, as the prophet saith, a " dumb dog, not able to bark ;" he is also, as our Saviour Christ saith, " unsavoury salt, worth for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." Wo be to those rulers that set such idols and white daubed walls over the flock of Christ, whom he hath purchased with his precious blood! Horrible and great is their damnation. Father. Let me hear it proved by the word of God, that it is the duty of a spiritual pastor to preach and teach the word of God. Son. The scripture is full of this matter in every place. By the prophet Esay God himself saith : " Go up unto the high hill, thou that bringest good tidings: lift up thy voice with power, 0 thou preacher : lift it up, and be not afraid." " Cry now as loud as thou canst. Leave not off, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their offences, and the house of Jacob their sins." Again : " I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall neither cease day nor night to preach the Lord." By the prophet Ezecbiel God saith thus : " Thou son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel ; therefore take good heed to the words of my mouth, and give them warning at my commandment. If I say unto thee concerning the ungodly man, that without doubt he must die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest Unto him that he may turn from his evil way and so to live, then shall the ungodly man die in his own unrighteousness ; but his blood will I require at thy hand. Nevertheless, if thou give warning unto the wicked, and he yet forsake not his ungodliness, then shall he die in his own wickedness; but thou hast discharged thy soul." Our Saviour Christ saith to his disciples: "As my Father sent me, so send I you." Now who knoweth not, that Christ was sent of his heavenly Father to preach the gospel, as we may see in divers and sundry places of the holy scripture? It therefore followeth, that such as are sent of Christ are sent to preach the gospel. If they preach not, it is an evident token that Christ sent them not, but antichrist S^Aff8 of and the devil. When Christ sent forth his apostles, he commanded them not to baptize bells; nor to hallow churches, copes, vestments, chalices, altars, altar-cloths, &c. ; nor to consecrate oil and cream ; nor to butter children in the forehead ; nor to sing matins, mass, and even-song in Latin ; nor to make holy bread and holy water ; nor to hallow Isai. xl. Isai. Iviii. Isai. lxii. Isai. lxi. Mark i. Luke iv. the pope A rabble of rotten eggs. [' Nicholas bishop : a mock bishop. The allusion is to the boy-bishop, who was elected and inaugurated on St Nicholas's day (Dec. 6), or the evening before. The practice of appointing this mock prelate was abrogated in the earlier years of the reformation, but revived under queen Mary, in 1556. See Strype, Eccles. Mem. Vol. III. chap, xxxix.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE MINISTERS OF GOD'S WORD. 321 palms, ashes, candle, fire, &c. ; nor to hear auricular confession, and to give private absolution in a tongue which the penitent understandeth not ; nor to enjoin penance to say five Ave Marias in the worship of the five joys of our lady, and five Pater Nosters in the honour of the five wounds of our Lord, and one creed in the worship of the twelve apostles, &c, to go on pilgrimage, to buy the pope's pardons, to purchase masses of Scala Codi, to go woolward2, to fast bread and water, &c. ; nor to vow chastity and to lead an unpure single life ; nor to wear shaven crowns, long gowns, tippets, copes, vestments, albs, surplices ; nor to cense images ; nor yet to make new decrees and constitutions for other to observe and keep, &c. ; but he commanded them to keep3. Matt. xxviH. And when Christ was ready to ascend into the kingdom of the Father, he com manded Peter and his fellow-apostles, yea, and all spiritual ministers, to feed his flock, John xxi. his lambs, and his sheep. St Peter also saith: "The elders which are among youipet. .. I exhort, which am also an elder, and a witness of the afflictions of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be opened : feed ye Christ's flock, as much as lieth in you, taking the oversight of them, not as compelled thereto, but willingly ; not for the desire of filthy lucre, but of a good mind ; not as though ye were lords over the parishes, but that ye be an example to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive an uncorruptible crown of glory." Likewise saith St Paul to every spiritual minister : " Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." 1 Tim. iv. " Preach thou the word : be fervent in season and out of season : improve, rebuke, 2 Tim. iv. exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." And in the description of a bishop he saith : " A bishop must be meet to teach." He requireth not only in a bishop or spiritual 1 Tim. in. minister, that he be learned both in divine and human letters; again, that he have some mean knowledge at the least of tongues, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin ; but also ^M that he be endued with such gifts of grace from above, that he be apt to teach and to inform other. Not learning therefore alone, and the knowledge of tongues, is to be considered in him that shall be appointed to the ministry ; but also the aptness of teaching. Father. We may then lament in this our age the state of the church, which have such guides to rule over them as be neither learned nor apt to teach. Son. They be the blind guides of the blind. And " if the blind lead the blind, both fall into Matt. xv. the ditch." Thus see we, that the holy scripture requireth of a bishop and spiritual pastor, that he be diligent in preaching the word of God at all times ; seeing that " when the pr0v. xxix. preaching of Gods word fail, the people perish." Father. What if they preach not? Son. Then nothing abideth them but ever lasting damnation, as St Paul saith : " Wo unto me, if I preach not the gospel !" 1 cor. ix. And against such dumb dogs and blind guides God himself crieth out on this manner by the prophet saying : " Wo be unto the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves ! Ezek. xxxiv. Should not the shepherds feed the flocks ? Ye have eaten up the fat, ye have clothed you with the wool, the best fed have ye slain; but the flock have ye not nourished. The weak have ye not holden up, the sick have ye not healed, the broken have not ye bound together, the outcasts have ye not brought again, the lost have ye not sought ; but churlishly and cruelly have ye ruled them. Thus are they scattered here and there without a shepherd : yea, all the beasts of the field devour them, and they go astray, &c. Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, As truly as I live, forasmuch as my sheep are robbed and devoured of all the wild beasts of the field, having no shepherd ; and seeing that my shepherds take no regard of my sheep, but feed themselves only, and not my sheep ; therefore hear the word of the Lord, 0 ye shepherds : thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I myself will upon the shepherds, and require my sheep from their hands, and make them cease from feeding of my sheep: yea, the shepherds shall feed themselves no more. For I will deliver my sheep out of their mouths ; so that they shall not devour them after this," &c. Father. Is it the duty of a spiritual pastor only by his preaching to exhort? r» Woolward : clad in wool.] [3 i.e. to keep them, the decrees, &c. as in Matt, xxviii. 20.] 21 £bI3CON, II.] 322 THE CATECHISM. [Pari nt. i. Son. The minister of the Lord's word must not only be able, as St Paul saith, to exhort by wholesome doctrine, but also to improve, refel, confute, and put to silence 1 Pet. v. such as speak against it. "The devil" in all ages "goeth about like a roaring lion, Matt. xiii. seeking whom he may devour," and ceaseth not at all times to sow his weeds, tares, and cockle in the Lord's field ; I mean, to plant heresies, wicked opinions, and corrupt and false doctrine in the hearts of men by his false prophets, which transfigure and 2 cor. xi. change themselves into angels of light, that they may the more easily creep into the consciences of the people, and so deceive them. It is therefore necessary and con venient that such be chosen unto the ministry, as shall be able to drive away these wolves from the Lord's flock ; yea, and that not with fire and fagot, not with sword and halter, not with stocks and chains ; but with the authorities of the holy scripture, with the testimonies of the ancient fathers, and with arguments agreeable to the word of God. Such a noble warrior in the Lord's battle was Apollos, that man of great Acti xviii. eloquence and learning. He was "mighty in the scripture," saith Luke, "and spake fervently in the spirit," " and overcame the Jews mightily, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ." Such a warrior also was St Stephen, St Paul, St Austin, &c. These stoutly and strongly resisted the adversaries of God's truth, and defended the sheep of Christ from the teeth of the ravening wolves. Such ought all spiritual ' pastors to be. For it is the duty of a good shepherd not only to drive his flock unto good and wholesome pasture, but also to defend them from the ravening beasts, that no hurt chance unto them. Father. God send us once such shepherds ! We may sooner wish them than have them ; so great ignorancy and blindness occupieth the hearts of the most part of our pastors at this present. Son. Besides doctrine, there is also required of a spiritual overseer due and faithful ministration of the sacraments. For of baptism thus saith the Lord Christ : " Baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Of the mysteries of his body and blood he saith: "Do this in the remembrance of me," &c. The sacraments are then duly and faithfully ministered, when they be delivered unto the people according unto Christ's institution, without any adding or putting to of the pope's beggarly ceremonies, even simply and plainly ; and when the true use of them is preached, declared, and set forth to the people, that the simplest and plainest among them may understand what they are, v)< what they signify, and what profit is received by the worthy taking of them. For sacraments received and not perceived profit little. of praying Father. Rehearse unto me now the second point of the office and duty of a bishop people. or spiritual pastor. Son. That eonsisteth in praying for the people. Lev. ix. Father. How provest thou that by the word of God? Son. God commanded the priests of the old law to pray for the people, which thing they used daily and diligently. , John xvii. Our Saviour Christ also prayed for his holy congregation and church. So likewise did the apostles of Christ. The holy and blessed apostle St Paul maketh mention in many places of his epistles how he prayed for the faithful continually. To the Romans Rom. i. he writeth thus: "I thank my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, that your faith is spoken of in all the world. For God is my witness (whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son) that without ceasing I make mention of you always Phii.i. in my prayers," &c. To the Philippians also he writeth on this manner: "I thank my God with all remembrance of you always in all my prayers for you, and pray with gladness, because ye are come into the fellowship of the gospel," &c. Again: "God is my record how greatly I long after you from the very heart-root in Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may increase yet more and more in know- coi. i. ledge, and in all understanding," &c. To the Colossians he thus writeth : " We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ always for you in our prayers." Again : " We have not ceased to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be fulfilled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that ye i Thess. i. might walk worthy of the Lord," &c. To the Thessalonians he hath these words : " We give God thanks always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers without 2iim.i. ceasing," &c. To Timothy he writeth thus: "Without any ceasing I make mention of thee in my prayers night and day." VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE MINISTERS OF GOD'S WORD. 323 Thus see we, that as the duty of a good spiritual pastor is to preach the holy word of God to the people, so likewise is it his office to pray for the people. Father. How shall he pray for the people? Shall he daily say, as the manner in the pope's church is, our lady's matins, matins of the day, mass, even-song, seven psalms, fifteen psalms, litany, suffrages, &c, and all in Latin, which for the most part neither the priests themselves nor the people understand? Son. With a pure conscience, and in the Spirit, shall they call upon God our heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, his dearly-beloved Son, that he of his fatherly goodness will vouchsafe to defend his church against all heretics and tyrants, and to keep those, whom he hath committed to his spiritual charge, in the true love and study of the heavenly doctrine of the gospel, and to nourish and confirm in them faith and the true invocation of his holy and blessed name, that they may garnish the doctrine of the gospel with godly manners and virtuous examples. Thus did Christ and all the apostles, yea, and the godly bishops and pastors of the primi tive church, pray for the people of God continually. And this also ought to be the exercise of all godly ministers at this present day, that the Lord may give good success to their labours, and make their doctrine to be fruitful in their hearers. For except God also teacheth inwardly by his holy Spirit, the outward ministry profiteth little, as St Paul : " I have planted, Apollo watered ; but God gave the increase. 1 cor. m. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." And as the psalmograph saith : " Except the Lord build Psai. cxxvu. the house, their labour is but lost that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." Father. What is the third point of the office and duty of a bishop or spiritual of leading a pyhNv inn pastor ? Son. As it is the duty of a true spiritual and godly minister to preach the virtuous word of God, and to minister the holy sacraments to the people ; again, to pray unto God also for the health and safeguard of his church ; so likewise is it required of him, that he lead such a life, and so godly a conversation, that all his parishioners, beholding him and his manners, may take an ensample to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. To this end are the pastors called of our Saviour Christ " the light of the world." Matt. v. For as the light sheweth unto us how we may safely walk, and without dangers; so likewise the spiritual ministers ought so to shine with all kind of virtues, that whosoever beholdeth the godliness of their life may know how to walk in all their conversation, and so please God. For this cause St Paul, in the description of a 1 Tim. iii. . bishop, doth principally and first of all require, that he be irreprehensible, that is to say, such one as no man can justly accuse, or lay any notable crime to his charge; again, to whom it cannot be worthily said, when he reproveth any sin, " Physician, Luke iv. heal thyself;" or as St Paul hath: "Thou believest that thou thyself art a guide of Rom. u. the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an informer of them which lack discretion, a teacher of the unlearned, which hast the ensample of knowledge and of the truth by the law. Thou therefore, which teachest another, teachest not thyself. Thou preachest a man should not steal, yet thou stealest. Thou that sayest a man should not commit advoutry, yet thou breakest wedlock. Thou abhorrest images, and yet robbest God of his honour. Thou, that makest thy boast of the law, through break ing the law dishonourest God. For the name of God is evil spoken of among the gentiles through you." In consideration whereof, God in the old law commanded that none should minister unto him that had any deformity in his body. " Whosoever," saith he, " hath any Lev. xxi. blemish shall not come near ; as, if he be blind, or lame, or that hath a bruised nose, or that hath any misshapen member, or is broken-footed, or broken-handed, or have no hair on his eye-brows, or have a web or other blemish in his eye, or be mangy, or scald, or hath his stones broken," &c. What other thing meant God by this, than that such as should be appointed to the ministry should be sound and faultless, both in doctrine and life, having none im perfection nor insufficiency in them, whereof they may be justly accused of the ad versary. For look, what the eye is to the body, the same should the spiritual minister 21—2 324 THE CATECHISM. [pAET Matt. vi. be to the flock of Christ. " The light of the body," saith our Saviour Christ, " is the eye. Wherefore if thine eye be single, all thy body shall be full of light : but and if thine eye be wicked, all thy body shall be full of darkness. Wherefore if iTim. iv. the light that is within thee be darkness, how great is that self darkness!" "Be unto them that believe," saith St Paul, " an ensample in word, in conversation, in 1 Tim. v. love, in spirit, in faith, in pureness." Again : " Keep thyself pure." Also in another 2 Tim. «. place : " Study to shew thyself laudable unto God, a workman that needeth not to be Tit. «. ashamed, distributing the word of truth justly." Item : " In all things shew thyself an ensample of good works, in the doctrine with honesty, gravity, and with the whole some word, which cannot be rebuked; that he which withstandeth may be ashamed, having no evil thing to speak of you." i Pet. v. St Peter also saith : " Feed ye Christ's flock as much as lieth in you, taking the oversight of them, not as compelled thereto, but willingly; not for the desire of filthy lucre, but of a good mind; not as though ye were lords over the parishes, but that ye be an ensample to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive an uncorruptible crown of glory." Again, in setting forth what man ner a man a bishop and overseer of the Lord's flock should be, saith not the i Tim. Hi. apostle that he ought to be " blameless, as the steward of God, sober, discreet, righteous, godly, temperate, one that loveth goodness, no drunkard, no fighter, not given to filthy lucre, but abhorring covetousness, and in fine, such as no man shall be able to reprove, neither in doctrine nor life?" Father. I see now right well, that a good life is also required of God in the minister. Son. To such as teach well and live evil God speaketh on this manner by Psai. l. the psalmograph : " Why dost thou preach my laws, and takest my covenant in thy 'mouth? whereas thou hatest to be reformed, and hast cast my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst unto him, and hast been partaker with- the advouterers. Thou hast let thy mouth speak wickedness, and with thy tongue thou hast set forth deceit. Thou safest and spakest against thy brother, yea, and hast slandered thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I held my tongue, and thou thoughtest (wickedly) that I am even such one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set before thee the things that thou hast done." Our Saviour Matt. v. Christ saith : " Whosoever doeth and teacheth, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." To teach well and to live evil is nothing else than to defile the doctrine that is taught, and to persuade the people that whatsoever is preached f^" is vain and untrue. True doctrine profiteth not so much as corrupt life marreth and destroyeth. Father. If the preachers live evil and teach well, shall we therefore contemn and despise the word of God which they preach? Son. God forbid. Seneca saith: "Not who speaketh, but what is spoken, see that thou mark." Although the godli ness of the preacher's life doth well commend and set forth the word of God, specially to the weaklings ; yet the dignity and worthiness of the Lord's word eonsisteth not in the life of the preacher, whether it be godly or ungodly. Therefore where they preach well and live evil, let us follow the counsel of our Saviour Christ, which saith : Matt. xxm. " The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say, in Matt. and do not." Notable is this saying of St John Chrysostom : " If the priests live 1 well," saith he, "it is their avantage; but if they teach well, it is yours. Be not curious to boult out that which pertaineth to another man. For oftentimes good learn ing cometh forth from an evil man, as evil earth bringeth forth precious gold. Is precious gold despised for the vile earth ? Therefore, as the gold is chosen, and the earth forsaken; so likewise take you the learning, and leave the manners." Again he saith : " Let us take the doctrine, but not the manners. Herbs are not necessary for the bees, but the flowers are. So ye likewise gather the flowers of doctrine, and leave their fashions of living1." [¦ Chrysost. Op. Par. 1718-38. Opus Imperf. in Matt. Hom. xliii. ex cap. xxiii. Tom. VI. P' clxxxiii. See Vol. I. page 387, note 5.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— THE MINISTERS OF GOD'S WORD. 325 Father. God give us all grace to be the same in life and conversation that we are in name and profession! Son. Amen. Father. But what sayest thou of hospitality? Doth that also pertain unto the of hospita- office of a bishop or spiritual pastor ? Son. St Paul, as you heard in the description ' of a bishop, saith, that he ought to be " a maintainer of hospitality." Again he saith : 1 Tim. w. " Distribute unto the necessity of the saints. Be ready to harbour." Once again he item; xii. saith : " Forget not hospitality ; for thereby have divers men lodged angels unwares." Heb. xiii. Likewise saith St Peter : " Be ye harborous one to another without grudging." God i pet. iv. in the old law commanded that tithes should be paid to the priests, not only that they should have whereof to live themselves, but also to have whereof they might give to the poor, and relieve the necessity of their needy brethren. By the prophet Malachy he saith : " Bring ye every tithe into my barn, that there may be meat in Mai. iii. my house." The bishop's house, the parson's house, the vicar's house, the priest's house, the archdeacon's house, the dean's house, the prebendary's house, &c, all these are God's houses ; and tithes and offerings be brought into these houses, not for the incumbents' sake ^§ only, but also for the maintenance of the poor, and that the needy may have whereof to be relieved at their hands. The spiritual ministers are called in the Latin tongue pastores, that is to say, "feeders;" not for this cause only, that they should feed them selves, but rather that they should feed the flock of Christ, both spiritually and corporally. And hereof also have we a goodly example, I mean, of hospitality and reliev ing the poor, in our Saviour Christ, which, when he lived here on earth and preached the gospel, did not only feed the people with the word of God, but also with cor- Matt. xiv. [VI 'irk vi poral sustenance ; so that he fed them both corporally and spiritually. This did he, Luke ix.' without doubt, to give an example to all bishops and spiritual ministers, that they should be careful for the people, namely for such as be in necessity, and harbour them and relieve them in all their need, and by no means to suffer them to lack any good thing to the uttermost of their power. And some say, that when Christ commanded Peter, and in him all pastors, to feed his flock thrice, he meant that John xxi. he should, first, feed them with the word of God; secondly, with example of good life ; and thirdly, with hospitality. Of this I am sure, that both Peter and all his Acts m. iv. fellow-apostles were always careful for the poor, and made provision for them both by themselves and by other. And as touching that holy and blessed apostle St Paul, Rom. xv. how careful and diligent he was for the poor, it is easy to see, both in his own oai. n. writings and others'. What shall I speak of the honourable bishops and holy fathers which lived after the apostles' time? Their houses were always open, and ready to receive strangers, to harbour the poor, to relieve the miserable afflicted saints of God, to comfort so many as were in necessity, &c. This to do was their glory. When their houses were full of poor people, then joyed they and rejoiced. Yea, many of those holy bishops Note weii. and godly fathers were so wholly given to the maintenance of hospitality and relieving the poor, that when they had not sufficient of their own goods to succour them withal, they laboured with their own hands to get more, that the poor people might lack no good thing ; as we read of St Paul : " Ye know," saith he, " that these hands Acts xx. have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to receive the weak, and to remem ber the words of the Lord Jesu, how that he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." St Jerome saith : " Whatsoever the clerks have (he meaneth the bishops and Quaest. i. ministers of Christ's church), that is the poor's ; and their houses ought to be com- Sam. u°~ mon to all men, and they ought to apply themselves to the receiving of pilgrims and strangers2." And in the pope's law it is thus found written : " Hospitality is so neces- Dist. 8«. can. sary for bishops, that if they be found to be no maintainers thereof, they may law- conum!"" fully be deposed3." In consideration whereof Gregory writeth to bishop John, how [2 Hieron.Op. Par. 1693— 1706. Reg. Monachor. ex scriptis ejusdem per Lupum de Oliveto collecta. Tom. V. col. 382. See Vol. I. page 23, note 9.] [3 Decret. Gratiani, Par. 1583. Deer. Prima Pars, Dist. lxxxv. cols. 511, 12. See Vol. I. page 23, note 10.] 326 THE CATECHISM. [Part they did put out and depose a certain bishop at Antioch, because of his tenacity and niggardliness, and did choose another in his place, called Rusticus, a man not greatly learned, notwithstanding liberal, and a great maintainer of hospitality for the poor1. Dist. si. can. Again : "A bishop to the uttermost of his power ought to minister to the poor and to the sick, which through weakness are not able to labour with their own hands, Dist. 86. can. meat, drink, and clothe2." Also in another place: "A bishop should have a liberal Fratiem. ^^ _ ^ ^^j^ ^Ip tnem tilat j,e m nee(j; an(i think other men's necessity to be his own necessity : if he be not thus affected and minded, he beareth the name of a bishop in vain3." Father. Hospitality is a noble virtue, seemly for all men, but namely for bishops and spiritual pastors, whose goods are the goods of the poor, that they may be found pastors and feeders, not only of the soul, but also of the body, and so answer to their name. The office of a deacon. Acts vi. viii. xxi. OF THE OFFICE OF DEACONS. But what is to be said of the office and duty of deacons? Are not they also ministers in the church of Christ ? Son. Yes, verily, and necessary ministers also, if their office were rightly and truly executed and used. Father. What is " deacon " in English ? Son. A minister or servant. Father. What manner a man ought he to be, that should be a deacon? Son. St Paul describeth him on this manner, and saith, that " a deacon should be the hus band of one wife, and such as ruleth his children well, and his own household," " honest, not double-tongued, not given unto much wine, neither greedy of filthy lucre ; but holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience." " For they that minister well get themselves a good degree, and great liberty in the faith which is in Christ Jesu." Father. What is the office of deacons ? Son. If we consider and mark well what blessed Luke writeth of this matter in his chronicle of the apostles' acts, we shall soon perceive what their office and duty is. These are his words : " In those days, when the number of disciples grew, there arose a grudge among the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were despised in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples together, and said, It is not meet that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, and full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, to whom we may commit this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministration of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they did choose Stephen," &c. Here is it evident to be seen, that deacons in the primitive and apostolic church were chosen to this end, that they should daily serve at the table in the ministry of corporal food, that the apostles might not be hindered from the ministry of the word. Those deacons were the almners and distributers of such things as were given of the faithful, in their ecclesiastical assembly or otherwise, for the behoof, use, commodity, and profit of the poor people, of pilgrims and strangers, of widows and fatherless children. The true office therefore of a deacon is to minister unto the necessity of the saints things necessary for their corporal sustenance, whether they be goods freely and willingly offered of the congregation for that purpose, or whether they be things otherwise by their wisdom procured unto that end. We read also that the deacons did preach the gospel, as we may see, in the Acts of the Apostles, of Stephen and Philip : which thing, I think, they began first to practise by the authority and appointment of the apostles, after that the communion of things began to cease at Jerusalem, and the Christians were dispersed into divers countries. Of this may we gather that, although the chief and principal office of a deacon be to provide for the poor, and f1 See Vol. I. page 23, note 8.] [2 Decret. Gratiani, Dist. Ixxxii. can. 1. cols. 497, 8. See Vol. I. page 23, note 11.] [3 Decret. Gratiani, Dist. Ixxxvi. can. 6. cols. 515, 6. See Vol. I. page 24, note 1.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF DEACONS. 327 to minister unto their necessities; yet may they also, if they be godly learned, be admitted of the rulers of Christ's church unto the ministry of the word. Moreover, in the ecclesiastical writers we read that deacons afterward were admitted not only to preach the word, but also to minister the sacraments, and to do all things whatsoever the bishop or pastor did in the ecclesiastical ministry4; which seemeth unto me to be a confusion of the orders, and far to dissent from the first institution. In the church of the pope the name of a deacon remaineth still; but the office of The office of a deacon, as it was used in the apostles' time, is utterly abolished. They are now metope's" appointed, as their chief office, daily to say matins of the day, and to sing the gospel church' at mass, and to stand nearest to the priest. Here is all their solemn business that they have to do, one thing excepted, which is to sing, Ite missa est, on principal feasts, when high mass is done. As touching the poor, and the provision for them, the popish deacons do not so much as once dream of the matter; so far are they fallen away from the true office of a deacon. And would God that even in the reformed churches, which have forsaken the wicked doctrine of the bishop of Rome, the office of a deacon were restored unto the right use, that our churches might go right up, and not halt in any condition ! Then should the state of the poor be in much better case than it is at this present. Father. We have now talked of the chief and principal offices of such as bear rule in the christian commonweal. Let us now hear the duties and offices of the in ferior degrees. And first of all, the duty of subjects toward their superiors, namely the temporal magistrates. Son. Agreed. OF [THE OFFICE AND DUTY OF SUBJECTS. Father. What is the duty of subjects toward their superiors ? Son. It eonsisteth The duty of principally in five points. The first is that they even from the very heart love and m jec reverence the civil magistrates as the ministers and vicars of God, whom God him self doth vouchsafe to adorn and garnish with his own name, saying : " Ye are gods." psai. ixxxii. Father. If it be the duty of subjects not only with outward gesture and words to love, reverence, and honour the higher powers, but also with a true and inward affection of the heart, then may they not hate them, and unworthily speak of them. Son. You say truth. For God saith by Moses : " Thou shalt not rail upon the gods (that is to Exod. xxii. say, the temporal magistrates, which execute the office of God), neither blaspheme the ruler of thy people." And the wise man saith : " Wish the king no evil in thy Eecies. x, thought, and speak no hurt of the rich in thy privy chamber; for a bird of the air shall betray thy voice, and with her feathers shall she bewray thy words." When the people of Israel began to hate Moses, and unreverently to speak of him, being appointed of God to be their magistrate, Moses answered and said unto them : " Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. For what are we, that Exod. xvi. ye have murmured against us ? " And God said to Samuel, when the people desired a king, and would have him no more to be their magistrate : " They have not cast 1 Sam. viii. thee away, but me, that I should not reign over them." Whatsoever displeasure is done against the magistrate, whether it be in thought, word, or deed, that same is done against God, and it shall not escape unplagued, as Salomon saith : " The Prov. xx. king ought to be feared as the roaring of a lion : whoso provoketh him unto anger offendeth against his own soul." Likewise saith St Paul: "Let every soul submit Rom. xiii. himself unto the authority of the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive to themself damnation." Again : " He (the magistrate) beareth not the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God, to take vengeance on him that doth evil." Secondly, the duty and office of subjects is, not only with the very heart to love prayer for and reverence the civil magistrates, but also fervently and heartily to pray for them, trates.a6's [4 A full account of deacons and of the offices and duties to which they were admitted may be found in Bingham, Orig. Eccles. Book n. chap, xx.] 328 THE CATECHISM. [PART that God may be present with them, assist them, defend them, rule and govern all their counsels, studies, devices, enterprises, affairs, &c., unto the glory of his name and unto the tranquillity and quietness of the christian public weal. Father. Where are we taught to pray for the magistrates ? Son. St Paul 1 Tim. ii. saith : " I exhort that, above all things, prayers, supplications, intercessions, and giving of thanks be had for all men ; for kings, and for all that be in authority ; that we may live a quiet and a peaceable life with all godliness and honesty. For that is good and accepted in the sight of God our Saviour." And Jeremy the prophet com manded the Jews that were led away captive unto Babylon under king Nabuchodonozor that they should pray for the city (he meaneth the magistrates and all the inhabitants Jer. xxix. thereof), wherein they were prisoners. "Seek," saith he, "after peace and prosperity of the city wherein ye be prisoners, and pray unto the Lord for it. For in the Bar. i. peace thereof shall your peace be." Baruch the prophet also saith : " Pray for the pros perity of Nabuchodonozor king of Babylon, and for the welfare of Balthazar his son ; that their days may be upon earth as the days of heaven, that God also may give us strength, and lighten our eyes, that we may live under the defence of Nabu chodonozor king of Babylon, and under the protection of Balthazar his son, that we may long do them service, and find favour in their sight." And in Esdras we Ezra vi. read thus : " Let them offer sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the king's life, and for his children." obedience Thirdly, it is required of all faithful subjects that they do not only love and magistrates, reverence their magistrates, and pray for them, but also that they humbly obey them, yea, and that not for fear of punishment, but for conscience sake. For as God hath appointed the magistrate to rule, so hath he commanded to obey. This commandment of God may by no means be disobeyed. For to disobey the magistrate is none other thing than to disobey God, whose minister the magistrate is, and whose office he executeth. Father. Where is obedience in the holy scriptures required of subjects toward their Rom. xiH. superiors ? Son. Are not these the words of blessed St Paul ? " Let every soul submit himself to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. But they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation," &c. Again : " Ye must obey, not only for fear of punishment, but also for conscience ut. iii. sake." Also in another place : " Warn the subjects, that they submit themselves to rule and power, that they obey the officers, that they be ready unto every good work, that they speak evil of no man, that they be no fighters, but gentle, shewing 1 Pet. ii. meekness unto all men." Likewise saith St Peter : " Submit yourself unto all man ner ordinance of man for the Lord's sake ; whether it be to the king, as unto the chief head ; either unto rulers, as unto them that are sent of him for the punish ment of evil-doers, but for the praise of them that do well." Father. If this obedience were thoroughly grafted in the hearts of subjects, all murmurings, tumults, commotions, seditions, insurrections, &c, should soon cease in seditions and the commonweal. Son. They should soon cease; for they should never be at- have never tempted. But whosoever, through the motion of the devil, enterprise such things ' against the magistrates, they alway come unto a miserable end; so far is it off that they have good success in their wicked and damnable attempts, as histories of all Num. xvi. ages do evidently declare. To what end Dathan and Abiron, Zambri and Baasa, with such other like came, it is well known to them that read the holy histories. rrov. xxiv. The wise man giveth a good lesson, and saith : " Fear the king, and keep no com pany with seditious persons.'' All subjects ought to be so affected toward their Josh. i. rulers as the people of Israel were toward Josua, when they said : " All that thou hast commanded us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go.' " And whosoever he be that doth disobey thy mouth, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, let him die. Only be strong and of good courage." .Magistrates Father. But what if the magistrates command such statutes, acts, decrees, and contraryto"8 proclamations to be observed of their subjects, as be contrary to the laws and VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF SUBJECTS. 329 commandments of God? Shall the subjects obey the higher powers in this behalf God's word also ? Son. Nothing less. Here we owe them no obedience. We must say with the obeyed. apostles: ''Whether it be right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, judge ye." " We must obey God more than men." But of" this matter we have Acts v. tofore sufficiently spoken, when we entreated of the fifth commandment. Father. Well remembered, my son. Go forth therefore to declare whatsoever remaineth of the duty of subjects toward their superiors. Son. Fourthly, the office of subjects is willingly and without grudging to bear such Of payments burdens, and to pay such charges, as the magistrates shall reasonably require of them, topnnces- either for the provision and maintenance of their prince-like estate, or else for the safe guard of the commonweal. Father. Where is that commanded in the word of God? Son. Our Saviour Christ saith : " Give unto Cassar that is due unto Csesar." And St Paul saith : " Give to every man his duty ; tribute to whom tribute belongeth ; custom to whom custom is due ; fear to whom fear belongeth ; honour to whom honour pertaineth." Hereof we have also in the holy scriptures divers examples, which teach that subjects ought not to deny the magistrates such tributes, customs, tolls, tenths, rents, subsi dies, &c, as the head rulers reasonably and justly require of them, urgent and ne cessary causes provoking them thereunto. In the new testament we read that Joseph Luke ii. and Mary his espoused wife went into their own city to be taxed at the command ment of Augustus the emperor. Our Saviour Christ paid tribute both for himself Matt. xvii. and for his disciples to the officers of the emperor. Father. May the magistrate take away tbe subject's goods at his pleasure ? Son. Nothing less. For there is a propriety of goods and possessions as well in the subject as in the magistrate ; so that, if the magistrate do unjustly take away his subject's Note. goods, he is a tyrant, and shall not escape the terrible indignation and fierce plagues of God; as we may see in the history of king Achab, and Naboth the Israelite, whose 1 Kings xxi. vineyard the king wrongfully took away; and therefore both he and all his posterity were most grievously punished. St Paul saith that " the magistrate is the minister Rom. xiii. of God, ordained for our wealth," and not for our destruction ; for the maintenance of our goods, and not for the unjust taking away of them. For this is to play the tyrant, and not to do the part of God's minister. It was wittily and wisely said of a certain emperor 1 : "It is the property of a good shepherd to shear, and not to devour the sheep." The higher powers are called in the word of God " shepherds," and not " wolves." The property of a good shepherd is to take that only from the sheep which 4t$ they may well forbear, yea, and that without any damage or hurt to themselves, as the wool and milk in time of the year. But the nature of a wolf is, without any respect, to rent, to tear, to destroy, to kill, to murder, to devour, and to swallow up whatsoever cometh to hand. The rulers that are so disposed are called of the prophet " wicked," and " companions of thieves." Yea, they are termed in God's book " ravening isai. i. wolves," and " roaring lions." But a godly magistrate shall not abuse his authority leph. £?."' and power, which' he hath received of God for the wealth of his subjects. He shall require of his people just tributes and just exactions, even such as necessity rather than riot shall ask; and above all things beware that they do not waste and con sume his subjects' goods with unmeasurable and unreasonable exactions and pollages. He may not rule over his people as though they were brute beasts or bond-slaves, as the Turks and barbarous princes do, which know not the gospel ; but as their brethren in Christ, and fellow-inheritors of everlasting life. Father. Remaineth there any thing of the duty of subjects toward their rulers ? Son. Fifthly and finally, it is required of the subjects that they do not blaze nor The faults of publish abroad, but rather conceal and hide, the faults, oversights, and negligences of traces ought the magistrates, seeing that " charity covereth the multitude of sins." For it is not sembieci of almost possible but that, in so great weight and multitude of matters, the magistrate ' e sub'iects' shall sometime omit and let pass that which of necessity he ought to have done, or sometime do that which had been better to have been left undone. For who almost [' Tiberius. See Sueton. in Vit. 32.] 330 THE CATECHISM. [Part in his own private causes do not many times overshoot himself? What marvel is it then, though he which is a ruler over an whole city, yea, over an whole country or kingdom, do sometime err, fail, or do amiss in some things? The duty therefore of all faithful subjects is to interpret all the doings of the prince unto the best; foras- Prov. xxi. much as they know that the heart of every magistrate " is in the hand of God, and Exod. xxii. he turneth it whithersoever he will." And this is it that God saith by Moses : " Thou shalt not rail upon the gods, neither blaspheme the ruler of thy people." What profit Father. If the subjects did diligently consider with themselves, what benefits and com- the temporal modifies they have by the temporal magistrates, they would not only take in good part all the doings of their rulers, but also give God most humble thanks for them. For by them is public innocency, honest behaviour, godly learning, virtuous knowledge, sincere erudition, necessary arts, fruitful occupations, maintained. By them we live in tranquillity and peace. By them we enjoy our own possessions without any disturbance. By them we are preserved from all injuries and cruel oppressions. By them our realms are defended from the invasion of bloody tyrants. By them the glory of God flourisheth. By them the gospel of Christ triumpheth, and all sects and heresies are extirped and plucked up by the roots. To conclude, by them all good things chance to us, and all evil things are removed from us. Son. Fire and water are not more necessary unto the conservation of this our mortal life, than the office of a magistrate is for the preservation and maintenance of good order in a commonweal. Father. It is true, my son; and God make us thankful for this his benefit! Son. Amen. Father. Now that thou hast opened unto me the office and duty of subjects toward the civil magistrates, my desire is, that thou likewise declare what the duty of such as be hearers of God's word toward their bishops and other spiritual pastors,: which go about no less diligently to defend the souls of their parishioners from the tyranny of the devil, the world, and the flesh, with their sword, which is " the sword of the Spirit," I mean the word of God, and to preserve and keep them in the favour of -God, than the temporal magistrates, with their corporal sword, study to keep their lives, bodies, and goods safe and free from all danger and disturbance. Son. I will do it gladly. OF THE DUTY OF PARISHIONERS TOWARD THEIR PASTORS AND MINISTERS. Parishioners owe unto their pastors, by the word of God, four things. spiritual Father. Which are they? Son. The first is outward honour and reverence. Efnonouredf Father. Why so? Son. For they are the angels, ambassadors, and ministers e"cecLVer" of Christ. They are also the dispensators of the mysteries of God. They watch icoVl'iv. and take care for tne salvation of our souls. They shew unto us the way of truth. Acta xi"' They comfort the weak. They confirm the strong. They stablish and make strong vfetave'by' the wavering and doubtful. They make the blind to see, and the halt to go right mTn!spterrs"al UP- They set the prisoners at liberty. They bring joy and quietness to troubled con sciences. They drive away Satan with his subtile suggestions. They plant the faith of Christ in us. They feed our souls with the heavenly food of Christ's gospel. They by their prayers asswage the wrath of God kindled against us through sin. In fine, they by their ministry bring unto us a sea of good things ; so that without them we can none otherwise but perish and fall from the way of salvation, as Salomon saith : Prov. xxix. "When the preaching of God's word fail, the people perish and run clean out of order." Who honoureth not the ambassador of an earthly prince, and have him in great reverence? And shall we leave them without honour, which are the ambassa dors of him which is King of kings and Lord of lords ? We esteem him greatly that bringeth us good and joyful news concerning our body and this present life ; and shall we not think him worthy of much more estimation, which bringeth unto us blessed and heavenly news concerning the salvation of our souls, and life everlasting? as the isai. iii. prophet saith : " 0 how beautiful are the feet of them which bring tidings of peace, and bring tidings of good things!" St Paul writeth that the Galatians, for the word's VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF PARISHIONERS. 331 sake which he preached unto them, received him " as an angel of God, yea, as Christ Gai. iv. Jesus himself." He addeth, moreover, that they loved him so dearly, that to pleasure him they could have been contented to dig out their own eyes, and to give them unto him. In what great estimation all good and godly men in times past had the prophets, apostles, and preachers of God's word, the histories declare manifestly. Certes they that do dishonour the ministers of Christ dishonour Christ himself, as Christ testifieth, saying : " He that despiseth you despiseth me, and he that despiseth me Lukex. despiseth him that sent me." Father. What honour and reverence is it that we owe unto the ministers of God's word ? Son. Honourably and reverently both to think and to speak of them, namely what honour for the ministry sake, which they use at the appointment of God ; to attribute unto the spiritual them the opinion of wisdom and learning ; to be persuaded that, as they are garnished God's word. with divers gifts of the Spirit far passing the common sort of men, so likewise they are preserved, kept, and defended of God ; to give them outward honour and reverence with our body, as to put off our caps, to bow the knee unto them, to give them the upper hand in all places, to give them audience when they speak, &c. Father. Prove by the word of God that we owe this honour and reverence to the ministers of Christ's gospel. Son. The wise man saith : " Fear the Lord with Eccius. vii. all thy soul, and honour his ministers. Love thy Maker with all thy strength, and forsake not his ministers. Honour God with all thy soul, and reverence his priests. Give them their portion of the first-fruits and increase of the earth, like as it is commanded thee." St Paul saith : " The priests or elders that rule well are worthy l Tim. v. of double honour, most specially they which labour in the word and teaching." Again : " We beseech you, brethren, that ye know them which labour among you, 1 Thess. v. and have the oversight of you in the Lord, and give you exhortation, that ye have them in high reputation through love for their work's sake, and be at peace with them." Also in another place : " Let a man this wise esteem us, even as the ministers of Christ, 1 cor. iv. and stewards of the mysteries of God." Item : " He that despiseth (the minister of i Thess. iv. God's word) despiseth not man, but God." And our Saviour Christ himself saith: " He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that Matt. x. sent me. But he that despiseth you despiseth me, and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me." Father. What is the second thing that parishioners are bound to do unto the mi nisters of God's word ? Son. Plentifully and liberally to give unto them whatsoever Parishioners is necessary for the maintenance of them and of theirs, and of their degree and estate, p^che'rfaiii that they may quietly, and without any disturbance or thought-taking for worldly sMy?o?th5r things, give their minds to the study of godly letters, to prayer, to the preaching of llvmg" God's word, and to the ministration of the holy sacraments. And this ought to be the study and care of princes, to provide and aforesee that the pastors of Christ's church be not neglected or forsaken ; but that provision be made for them in all things that concern their bodily sustenance and living, either of the common treasury, or else of- private collections, or of tenths, or else of their own liberality, according to this saying of the prophet : " Kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and queens shall be thy j.^. xiix. nursing-mothers." For how is it possible that they, which are daily occupied in the public ministry, may travail about things appertaining unto their living? The office of a minister requireth an whole man, and not such one as is distracted and occupied partly about spiritual and partly about temporal affairs. "No man that warreth," 2 Tim. ii. saith St Paul, "entangleth himself with worldly business; and that because he may please him which hath chosen him to be a soldier. And though a man strive for a mastery, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." Therefore as God hath appointed the subjects to pay to the temporal magistrate tribute, toll, custom, &c. Hom. xiii. that he may the more freely attend upon his office, and see to the commonweal; so likewise hath he ordained that "they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." Father. Where is that proved? Son. The Lord Christ s*aith himself: "The work- Matt. x. man is worthy of his meat." Again: '?The workman is worthy of his reward." And Lukex. the holy apostle St Paul saith, speaking of the Jews and of the gentiles : " If the Rom. xv. 332 THE CATECHISM. [Part 1 Cor. ix. Deut. xxv. Gal. vi. 1 Tim. , Deut. xxv. Luke x. Obedience toward the spiritual ministers. Heb. xiii. Ministersteaching con trary to the word of God are not to be obeyed. Gal. i. 2 John. gentiles be made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is to minister unto them in bodily things." Again : " It is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take thought for oxen? Saith he it not altogether for our sake? For our sake, no doubt, this is written: that he which eareth should ear in hope; and he which thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we sow unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your bodily things?" "Do ye not know how that they which minister about holy things live of the sacrifice? and how that they which stand at the altar are partakers of the altar? Even so also did the Lord ordain, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." For " who goeth a warfare at any time at his own cost ? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?" &c. Also in another place he saith : " Let him that is taught with the word minister unto him that teacheth him in all good things. Be not deceived. God is not mocked." Item: "The priests that rule well are worthy of double honour, most specially they which labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward." Father. Rehearse the third part of the office and duty which the parishioners are bound by the commandment of God to do unto their pastors. Son. Their duty is not only to reverence and honour the ministers of God's word, and to make sufficient pro vision for their living, but also to obey them. Father. What meanest thou by that ? Son. Not to wince, kick, and spurn against their sayings, although sometime they seem to reprove them sharply for their misbehaviour, but to suffer themselves to be admonished and warned of them, and to be called again home to the sheepfold, yea, and also to obey them, and to follow their most wholesome admonitions and precepts; forasmuch as they know that their pastors and preachers are appointed of God to attend upon the health of their souls, as they which shall render an accompt at the great day of judgment to the high Shepherd Christ for the state of them all: again, whatsoever wholesome doctrine they teach them out of the word of God, gladly to receive it, and humbly to obey it, and most diligently to practise it in their life and conversation. Father. Where are we commanded to obey the spiritual pastors ? Son. St Paul saith : " Obey" them that have the oversight of you, and submit yourselves unto them ; for they watch for your souls, even as they that must give accompts, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief." And in the old law we read thus: "That man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken and obey the commandment of the priest, which standeth before the Lord thy God to minister, that man shall die; and thou shalt put away evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear, that they may fear, and do no more presumptuously." Father. But what if the minister command things contrary to the word of God ; shall we also obey them in this behalf ? Son. Nothing less. So long as they sit in the chair of Moses, that is to say, so long as they teach the word of God purely, truly, sincerely, and without the mingling of man's doctrine, they are to be heard and obeyed as the angels and ambassadors of God; but, if they once sit in the chair of pestilence, that is, if they teach men's traditions, strange doctrine not contained in the holy bible, but forged of their own idle brains, or devised by other without the authority of God's word, they are by no means to be obeyed, but to be abhorred as extreme enemies of our soul's health, according to this saying of St Paul: "If we ourselves, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." And as St John saith: " If there come any unto you, and bring not this learning, him receive not to house, neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of all his evil deeds." But of this matter we have tofore sufficiently spoken in the declaration of the fifth commandment. No doctrine, no commandment is to be obeyed, that fighteth with the word of God. Father. Well said. Therefore let me now hear the last part of the duty of parishioners toward their pastors and preachers. Son. Forasmuch as we be all men, VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF PARISHIONERS. 333 and no man liveth without fault, it is required of the parishioners that, if the ministers The faults of do at any time offend, or commit that thing which is unseemly for their degree, and are to be unworthy their estate, either in word or deed, they do not publish and declare the of their same abroad, to their infamy and shame, and to the dishonour of their ministry ; but pans 'oners' rather that they for the word's sake, which they preach, do bear with them, dissemble the matter, conceal and hide the fault, according to the order of charity, which " covereth the multitude of sins." And in this behalf let them follow the godly example of the most godly emperor Constantine the Great, whose gentle behaviour in covering the constantine vices and faults of ecclesiastical persons is marvellous and almost to be wondered at. Among all other, this his saying is notable, which we read in chronicles : " Certes," saith he, " I owe such reverence and honour to the ministry of God's word, which ye profess, and to you, ye bishops and priests, for the word's sake, that if I saw any of your order sin with a woman, I would cover him with my mantle; because men should have none occasion to speak evil of your religion for any unseemliness committed on your behalf1." Let them also follow God the Father, if they will be his children, which doth not straightways, when we have offended him, publish and punish us and our sins; but he rather dissembleth and cloketh them, patiently abiding our conversion and amendment. As we would that God should deal with wisd. xi. us, so likewise ought we to deal one with another. Every one of us ought to be 2 Pet. m. to other not a wolf, but a god. " Brethren," saith St Paul, " if a man be taken in Gai. vi. any fault, ye which are spiritual, help to amend him in the spirit of meekness; con sidering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burden, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if any man seem to himself that he is somewhat, when indeed he is nothing, the same deceiveth his own mind. Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing only in hisself, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden." If the pastors teach the word of God purely and faithfully, and otherwise do their office well, though they sometime, through the frailty of man's nature, do amiss and offend, yet ought the parishioners quietly to bear with them, to speak the best of them, lovingly and charitably to admonish them secretly, to pray for them, and to do all things that may maintain their good name, yea, and that for the glory of the ministry of the gospel, which they profess. " Above all things," saith St Peter, 1 pet. iv. "have love among yourselves. For love shall cover the multitude of sins." Father. Although, my son, I do not discommend thy judgment concerning the hiding of the minister's faults (for "all of us offend in many things"), yet I would wish, jamesiii. that all bishops and preachers should so order their life according to their doctrine, that they might not only be "the salt of the earth," but also "the light of the world," Matt. v. that God may be glorified both by their doctrine and conversation. Son. It is greatly to be wished. For, as our Saviour Christ saith, "whosoever doth and teacheth, Matt. v. the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Notwithstanding, better is it for the christian people to have a true and faithful teacher of God's word, with a life not altogether faultless and pure, than to have an hypocrite, outwardly glistering with the visor of holiness, and the same to be a sower of wicked doctrine, and a commter of men's souls. For, as Chrysostom saith : " If the priests live well, it is in cap. r . .. ,, . .. ., ...„ Matt, xxiii. their avantage; but if they teach well, it is the peoples profit . Father. Let us go forth with the offices of other degrees. What followeth ? Son. The next in order that followeth to be entreated of is the duty of husbands unto their wives. Father. What sayest thou of that matter? Let me hear now the office of a married man. T1 Ob ydp etpn xPVvaL Ttov lepetov Ta Tr\np.p.eXti- paTa SrjXa yiveardaL toXs ttoXXoXs, 'Lva pxj crKav8dXov wpodraaLV eVTevdev XafSovres, dSeuls dp.apTavtocn. tpaal 8k avTOV Kal To8e irpoadeXvat, to? el aOToVrns e-n-LiTKOTrov ydpov aXXoTpiov SlopvTTOVTO? yivoiTo, trvyKaXvifraL dv T?j TroptpvpiSL to trapavoptos ytvo- pevov, los dv prj pXdtjjri Toils detopevov? toiv bpoipe- voiv r] ouVis. — Theodoret. in Hist. Eccles. Script. Amst. 1695—1700. Lib. 1. cap. xi. p. 36.] [2 See before, page 324, note 1.] 334 THE CATECHISM. [Part OF THE DUTY OF HUSBANDS TOWARD THEIR WIVES. Son. Four things are necessarily required of every true and godly christian married man, if he will do the duty of a faithful husband toward his wife. The duty of Father. Which are they? Son. The first is, that he love his wife. tatoiove1 Father. How should he love her? Son. Even as himself, and as Christ loved his his wife. congregation. Eph. v. Father. Where findest thou that ? Son. St Paul saith : " Ye husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the congregation, and gave himself for it, to sanctify it, and cleansed it in the fountain of water through the word, to make it unto himself a glorious congregation, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without blame. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord doth the congregation." Again he Coi. iii. saith : " Ye husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter to them." c rtain Father. Wherefore should the husband love his wife ? Son. First, because God tr^husband na*,n s0 commanded, as we tofore heard ; whose commandment to disobey is more tu?wife> love *^an double wickedness. The husband, in loving his wife according to the will of God, doth with his obedience greatly avance the glory of God, and the honour of his holy name ; and it is also a testimony to his own conscience, that God was the author of his marriage, and that he, living quietly with his wife in that state, pleaseth God. Secondly, the husband ought to love his wife, because his marriage, which he bath made with his wife in the fear of God, is an holy mystery of that spiritual marriage and true love, which Christ the Son hath made with every true faithful soul, as Hos. ii. he saith by the prophet : " I will marry thee unto me in faith." For as a faithful husband brenneth with true and unfeigned love toward his dear wife, so likewise is the love of Christ toward his holy congregation most fervent and brenning ; insomuch Eph. v. that "we are now become members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones": which thing he hath most manifestly declared by taking man's nature upon him. . Thirdly, the married man ought to love his wife, not for the satisfying of his carnal pleasure, not for nobility of parentage, not for beauty, nor for propemess of personage, nor yet for riches, &c, (for such love is between ruffians and harlots); but because she is his sister in the christian faith, and inheritor with him of God's most glorious kingdom, j-again, because she is given him of God to be an helper unto him, and a faithful (yoke-fellow, as well in adversity as in prosperity. Moreover, he shall Gen. ii. love her becauW_slifi,is-flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bones ; and in fine, because Eph. v. ' she is endued through the Spirit of God with noble and godly virtues, as shamefacedness, chastity, modesty, sobriety, diligence, sadness1, patience, temperance, silence, obedience, and such other ghostly virtues. All these things, diligently considered, shall easily provoke a true christian married man dearly and heartily to love his wife, although she be never so poor and base in beauty. Father. Must the love of a married man toward his wife excel his love toward all other persons ? Son. Yea, verily. For we read that, so soon as God at the beginning Gen.ii. had brought the woman unto Adam, he brast out into these words, and said: "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because Matt. xix. she was taken out of man. For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined with his wife ; and they shall become one flesh." Father. How long ought this love to continue between man and wife? Son. So Matt. xix. long as they live together, as Christ saith : " Let not man put asunder that which Fom. vii. God hath coupled together." " The woman," saith St Paul, " which is in subjection to a man, is bound by the law to the man as long as he liveth. But if the man be dead, she is loosed from the law of the man," &c. So likewise may it be said of the man. So long as God blesseth the man and wife together with life, ought unfeigned love to remain between them, yea, and if it be possible, daily to increase more and more ; so far is it off that it ought in any point to be diminished. [l Sadness: gravity.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF HUSBANDS. 335 Father. What is required more of a married man? Son. That he so dearly love his wife, that he do not only not touch any other woman, but also that he refrain both his eyes and the thoughts of his heart from coveting any strange flesh. Father. Where is that commanded? Son. Yea, rather where is it not com manded? Is not this the commandment of God, "Thou shalt not covet thy neigh- Exod. xx. hour's wife?" Deut v- Father. Is it not enough, if I do abstain from the act of gross whoredom, except I also keep my heart pure from filthy and unclean thoughts? Son. Christ saith: " Whosoever looketh on another man's wife to lust after her hath committed advoutry Matt. v. with her already in his heart." Father. Must I also keep mine eyes pure and chaste, and refrain them also from lascivious and wanton sights ? Son. That is our duty. Father. But it is hard so to do. Son. I grant. In our power it lieth not so to do. We must therefore pray unto God with the psalmograph for the cleanness of the heart, and say : " Make me a Psai. h. clean heart, 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me." And for the stableness of the eyes pray must we on this manner with the psalmograph also : " 0 turn away Psai. cxix. mine eyes, lest they behold vanity ; and quicken thou me in thy way." It shall also profit us greatly to consider alway in our mind these sentences of the holy scripture : " Apply not thyself to the deceitfulness of a woman. For the lips of an harlot are Prov. v. a dropping honey-comb, and her throat is more glistering than oil. But at the last she is as bitter as wormwood, and her tongue as sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down unto death, and her steps pierce through hell, &c. Keep thy way far from her, and come not nigh the doors of her house, &c. Be glad with the wife of thy youth. Loving is the hind, and friendly is the roe. Let her breasts always satisfy thee, and hold thee ever content with her love. My son, why wilt thou have pleasure in an harlot, and embrace the bosom of another woman ? For every man's ways are open in the sight of God; and he pondereth all their goings. The wickedness of the ungodly shall catch himself, and with the snares of his own sins shall he be trapped," &c. " Keep thee from the evil woman, and from the flattering tongue of the harlot, pr0v. vi. that thou lust not after her beauty in thy heart, and lest thou be taken with her fair looks. An harlot will make a man to beg his bread; but an honest married wife will hunt for the precious life. May a man carry fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be brent ? Or can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be hurt ? Even so, whosoever goeth in to his neighbour's wife and toucheth her cannot be un guilty." " Therefore let not thine heart wander in the ways of an whore, and be prov. vii. not thou deceived in her paths. For many one hath she wounded and cast down; yea, many a strong man hath been slain by the means of her. Her houses are the way unto hell, and bring men down into the chambers of death." Old Toby said to his son : " My son, keep thee well from whoredom ; and beside thy wife, see Tob. iv. that no fault be known of thee." Job also saith : " I made a covenant with mine job xxxi. eyes, that I would not look upon a damsel. For how great a portion shall I have of God, and what inheritance from the Almighty on high? As for the ungodly, and he that joineth himself to the company of wicked doers, shall not destruction and misery come upon him?" St Paul saith: "If any that is called a brother (that isicor. ,. to say, a Christian) be an whoremonger, see that ye eat not with him." "Flee forni- icor.vi. cation," for " neither fornicators, neither advouterers, neither weaklings, neither abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Again he saith : " Wed- Heb. xiii. lock is honourable among all persons, and the bed undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers God shall judge." Moreover, it shall not be unfitting nor out of the way to consider how grievously God in all ages hath punished whoredom. For whoredom the whole world almost Gen. vi. was drowned with waters. For whoredom Sodom and Gomorre, with certain other Gen. xix. cities, were consumed with fire and brimstone from heaven. For whoredom all the Gen. xxxiv. citizens of Sichem were slain with sword. For whoredom there were slain in the Num. xxv. wilderness on one day twenty-three thousand of the Israelites. For whoredom the Judg'.'xx. whole tribe of Benjamin was almost slain and destroyed. For whoredom the sons of i Sam. u. 336 THE CATECHISM. [Part 2 sam. xi. Hely the priest perished in battle. For whoredom David and his whole kingdom fell i Kings xi. into great miseries. For whoredom Salomon fell into idolatry, and into other grievous sins. Not only the holy scriptures, but also human histories, do set forth unto us many and horrible examples of God's wrath and fierce vengeance against whoremongers and adulterers, which ought at all times to be remembered, but specially when the devil and the flesh move and tempt us unto the uncleanness of the body. The consideration of these things shall easily drive away Satan and his subtile suggestions, with that pestiferous mermaid the flesh, and all her deceitful pleasures, and cause the godly married man to rest in the love of his wife, all strange women utterly refused. Father. How adultery and whoredom, with all other uncleanness of the body, may be avoided, thou declaredst very godly in the exposition of the seventh commandment. Therefore go forth, and let me hear more of the duty of a married man toward his The husband wife. Son. Thirdly, it is required of every godly married man, that he make provision make pro-0 for his wife, children, and family, that they lack nothing that is necessary for their w'ife°anfdr his living, but that he minister unto them all good things. For if any man be negligent iaTimy'v. in this behalf, and " provide not for his household, he hath denied the faith," saith St Paul, " and he is worse than an infidel." Father. Ought the man to labour for his wife and family ? Where doth the word Of labour, of God teach that? Son. Did not God, after the transgression of his commandment in paradise, enjoin penance both to man and to woman ? As he spake thus to the Gen. iii. woman, " In multiplying I will multiply thy sorrow and thy conceiving ; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thy lust shall pertain to thy husband, and he shall have the rule of thee:" so likewise saith he to the man, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread, till thou be turned again into the ground, out of the which thou wast taken ; for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt be turned again." Here is a general commandment given to all men, that no man be idle, but that every man work some good and necessary thing, profitable both for himself and for other. Who seeth not then, even of this one commandment of God, that the married man is bound to labour, both for himself and for all such as belong unto him ? As St Paul Acts xx. writeth of himself, that he with his own hands got all things necessary, not only for himself, but also for so many as were with him. Psai. cxxviii. Likewise saith the psalmograph : " Thou shalt eat the labours of thine hands. 0 well is thee, and happy shalt thou be. Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine upon the walls of thy house : thy children like the olive-branches round about thy table. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord." St Paul commandeth, that Eph. iv. "every man should labour some good thing, that he may have to give unto him that lacketh and is in need." How much more is it the duty of a godly married man to labour, that he may have wherewith to feed his hungry wife and children ! The man Eph- v. is bound to " love his wife, as Christ loved the congregation." Now who knoweth not, that of Christ we receive all good things, whatsoever we have need of? Nothing is expedient for us, but that he giveth it unto us abundantly. Likewise, after the example of Christ ought the husband to provide all good and necessary things for his The husband wife. Again : " The husband ought to love his wife as himself, yea, as his own flesh." thlsame to The husband " hateth not his own flesh," neither doth he suffer it to perish for hunger, he is to him- " but he feedeth it and cherisheth it," and bestoweth upon it all good things: so like- Eph. ». wise ought he to do unto his wife, and to suffer her to lack no good thing. Item, the husband and the wife are one flesh and one body; the husband therefore ought to make no less provision for his wife than for himself. To be short, this sentence of St Paul shall for ever and ever abide true, yea, and that unto the condemnation of l Tim. v. all sluggish and negligent husbands, and such like : " If any man do not provide for such as belong unto him, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." How careful husbands ought to be for their wives and children, the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Toby, and such like do sufficiently declare. Therefore whosoever intendeth to marry in the fear of God, he ought first of all to consider if he have whereof to nourish his wife, and to bring up his children. If he have not, let him abstain from marriage, till he have learned some honest and virtuous occupa tion, whereby he shall be able to feed both himself and his. They that are otherwise VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF HUSBANDS. 337 minded fall for the most part after their marriage unto beggary, and from beggary unto stealing, and from stealing to hanging. And in the mean season they give an occasion to their wives to give themselves to uncleanness of life, and to play the whores, not knowing otherwise how to live, for lack of provision. Better had it been for such husbands to have had a mill-stone tied about their necks, and to be cast into the midst of the sea, than so loosely to marry, and afterward to be the authors of so many and so grievous evils. Father. Is it the duty of an husband only to provide for his wife things neces sary for the body ? Son. Not only. His duty is also to provide things necessary Husbands for her soul's health, as right institution in the mysteries of Christ's religion, know- ^ehfor°tKe°" ledge of God's holy word, the true understanding of the holy sacraments, and all thelfw'vesf other things that be necessary for the salvation of her soul. andhsaui!y Father. How provest thou that the man is thus bound to teach his wife the way of truth, and to inform her from time to time in all such matters as appertain unto salvation and unto everlasting life ? Son. St Paul hath these words : " Let 1 cor. xiv. your women keep silence in the congregations. For it is not permitted unto them to speak ; but to be under obedience, as the law saith. If they will learn any thing, Gen. uj. let them ask their husbands at home : for it is a shame for women to speak in the congregation." Again : " Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection." Here 1 Tim. a. is it evident, that if the wife lack knowledge in spiritual and heavenly things, she ought to ask her husband, and to learn of him. If the wife be bound to learn of her husband, then is the husband bound to teach his wife, and to inform her with the knowledge of God's mysteries. Is not the unbelieving wife many times sanctified by the believing husband ? " How knowest thou, 0 man," saith St Paul, " whether ' cor. vu. thou shalt save thy wife or no?" How can the faithful man save his unfaithful wife, but by teaching her the word of salvation ? The man is bound to " love his wife, as Eph. .. Christ loved the congregation." Christ loveth so his congregation, that when he was here corporally on earth, he himself taught it ; and now that he is gone from us con cerning his bodily presence, he sendeth unto the faithful his holy Spirit, to instruct and to teach them, and to lead them into the way of truth, as he saith by the prophet : " I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your joei ii. daughters shall prophesy," &c. Again he saith : " That Comforter, that Holy Spirit, joWxiv. whom the Father shall send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and lead an you into all truth." After the example of Christ ought the husband to instruct his wife, and to seek all means possible to bring her unto the truth. Again, the man is bound to " love his wife as himself." Is there any man so estranged from all wit Eph. T. and reason, that he desire to be ignorant of those things which concern his salvation? Will not he rather seek all means possible to be taught, and to come unto the know ledge of those things? Even that care ought tbe man also to have for his wife, that she in like manner may have the perfect knowledge of the way of salvation. We are commanded to " teach and warn one another" : and shall not the husband col. iii. teach his wife, and warn her of those things that belong unto her salvation ? Every man is a bishop in his own house. Who seeth not then that the householder is bound to teach his household, the chief member whereof the wife is, and therefore necessarily to be instructed and taught of her husband? But it is to be noted in this part of the husband's duty, that the man is not The husband only bound to provide for his wife both bodily and ghostly, but also to defend her oWemthis0 from all injury and displeasure. Her life, her honesty, her good name, and her health Tii fnjuries. ought he to conserve, keep, and maintain, yea, to put himself in danger and peril for the safeguard of his wife, rather than any harm should chance unto her ; following in this behalf the example of Christ, which for the defence of his church bestowed his blood and life. And for this cause " is man head of the wife, even as Christ is head Eph. v. of the congregation ;" namely, to govern, rule, defend, preserve, and maintain her in all appointed to godliness and honesty, and to tender her and her wealth, even as the head studieth, of the wo- deviseth, and compasseth all means possible how to conserve and keep all the mem- man' bers of the body in safety, health, and wealth. Father. It is meet and convenient that the man should this do. But now, my r -i 22 |_BECON, II.] 338 THE CATECHISM. [Part son, tell me what is the fourth and last part of the office and duty of a husband The husband toward his wife. Son. To bear and forbear his wife; to dissemble the faults of his witmhis wife; not to see, but to wink sometime at her negligences; to cover her vices; to forgive her sins ; not to be churlish and cruel toward her, but quiet, gentle, modest, patient, long-suffering, kind, and soft in all his behaviour toward her, and even such one as a gentle and tender father is toward his most dear and sweet child ; ever re membering that that sex, (I mean the feminine kind,) is more weak both in body and i Pet. hi. mind than the man is, and therefore is called in the holy scripture " the weaker Coi. iii. vessel." And this is it that St Paul saith : " Love your wives, ye husbands, and be i Pet. iii. not bitter unto them." Hereto agreeth the saying of St Peter : " Ye men, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as unto them that are heirs of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered." $§¦ That Christ is to the congregation, that same ought every husband to be to his wife. Now who knoweth not in what state Christ took the congregation to his wife? and how many of her faults he doth daily dissemble, and will not see, but rather cover them, never laying them to her charge, and for his love sake toward her re- counteth her faultless, fair, and beautiful, although in herself and of herself spotted cant. i. with divers blemishes, as it is written : " I am black, 0 ye daughters of Jerusalem, like as the tents of Cedarnes, and as the hangings of Salomon ; but yet I am fair and well-favoured withal." The congregation in herself is black and deformed ; but in Christ she is fair and well-favoured. Again, though the congregation runneth sometime astray, and followeth strange lovers, yet is not he so angry with her, but that he patiently abideth her conversion ; and if she at any time return again unto him, he receiveth her most joyfully, and embraceth her most lovingly, never laying to her charge after ward whatsoever tofore she hath done amiss; as he himself saith by the prophet: jer. iii. " Commonly when a man putteth away his wife, and she goeth from him, and marrieth with another, then the question is, should he resort unto her any more after that ? Shall not that woman be then defiled and unclean ? But as for thee, thou bast played the harlot with many lovers ; yet turn again to me, saith the isai. xiiii. Lord, and I will receive thee." For " I, yea, even I only, am he that for mine own self's sake do away thine offences, and forget thy sins, so that I will never think upon them any more." After this manner ought the husband to deal with his wife, and, as I may so speak, be even a Christ unto her. Moreover, who knoweth not that such as are Rom. xv. strong are commanded in the word of God to bear the infirmities of those that are coi.' iii.' weak; yea, not only to bear patiently what is done against them, but also to forgive it, and for evil to recompense good? Ought not the man much more to do this to his wife, which is his own flesh and his own bones ? If the foot chance sometime #3? to stumble, so that the body do fall, and is put in jeopardy, do all the other mem bers of the body rise up against the foot, and either grievously smite it, or else cut it off? Nothing less, but rather bear it both quietly and patiently, and are after ward more circumspect, that the foot may no more stumble. Whatsoever one member is to another member of the same body, even the very same ought the husband to be Eph. v. to his wife ; forasmuch as " they two are one flesh." " Men," saith St Paul, " ought so to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. No man at any time hath hated his own flesh; but he rather cherisheth it, and nourisheth it, even as the Lord doth the congregation. So ought men to do to their wives." Father. There can be no long concord between man and wife, except one bear with another, and one wink at another's faults. Therefore in this behalf the currish and doggish behaviour of some loose-bands, rather than husbands, is greatly to be reproved, which will nothing at all bear with their wives, but all things take to the worst part ; yea, be the fault never so little, they make of a fly an elephant, and of a mole-hill a mountain ; making such a stir in the house, as though heaven and earth should go together. Son. These husbands are much worse than the heathen philoso- Socntes. pher Socrates, which, to maintain peace and quietness in his house, was well contented to bear all kinds of displeasures at his wife's hand. VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF HUSBANDS. 339 Father. They entreating their wives evil have always this saying of God : " Thou Gen. tji. shalt be under the power of thy husband ; and he shall rule thee," and keep thee under. And hereof they gather that they may do with their wives what they lust, and use them, yea, rather abuse them, at their pleasure. Son. Husbands are not ap- Note. pointed heads and rulers of the women unto this end, that they should reign over their wives like lords, or bridle them like horses, or make them to couch down like dogs, or to tumble before them in the mire like swine; but to be the very same to their wives that Christ is to the congregation, that is to say, such as should at all times defend their wives from all perils and dangers, and provide for them all good things, as we have tofore heard; and whatsoever the wives lack either in counsel or wisdom, the husbands to supply it and to make it good; so that the husband shall evermore be that to the wife which the head is to the body. And as the head doth not compass nor imagine how to hurt the body, but rather how to conserve the body and to keep it harmless ; so likewise ought the man, whom God hath ap pointed head of the woman, not to abuse his power, but to use it unto the conser vation and health, unto the quietness and safeguard, of his wife ; ever setting before his eyes this commandment of God by the apostle : " Ye men, love your wives, coi. m. and be not bitter unto them." St Peter also exhorteth all husbands that they " dwell with their wives according to knowledge ;" that is to say, modestly, soberly, 1 pet. iii. quietly, and, as it become christian men, with all patience and long-suffering. And to move the men to be the more gentle, the holy apostle putteth them in remembrance that their wives be no dish-clouts, nor no hand-basket-sloys, nor no drudges, nor yet slavish people, but fellow-heirs with them of everlasting life, and so dear to God as the men ; forasmuch as they also be made like unto the image of God, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Father. Some husbands also be so churlish, and so wedded to their own fancy, that, although their wives be both sober, wise, and prudent, and also able to give good counsel ; yet will they by no means hear them, nor follow their counsel and advice, but rather do that which their brain-sick heads have determined, although foolish and worthy to be laughed at. QSW.] These husbands err and go out of the way. For women also many times can give better counsel than men, and are able to determine what is good and what is otherwise, no less than their husbands. Their counsels therefore and devices are not to be neglected and despised, as the wise and sage Cato monisheth, saying: Uxoris linguam, si frugi est, ferre memento l. "If thy wife," saith he, "be able to give good counsel, be content to hear her, and to suffer her to speak." Read we not that when Sara, Abraham's wife, willed her husband to put away Agar, the bond-maid, and her son Ismael, which she had borne to Abraham, Abraham was loth so to do ? But God said unto Abraham : " Let it not be grievous in thy Gen. xxi. sight because of the lad, and of thy bond-maid. All that Sara hath said unto thee, hear her voice," &c. Did not Isaac also follow the counsel of his wife Rebecca, in sending away their son Jacob from the fury of his brother Esau into Mesopotamia, Gen. xxviii. unto his uncle Laban ? Let husbands therefore know that godly and sage matrons have no less the Holy Ghost than the men have, and be endued no less with the fruits of God's Spirit than they are ; and therefore are they and their counsels worthy also to be had and to be followed. Father. If all husbands would thus behave themselves toward their wives, as thou hast declared, then should there be continual concord and perfect agreement at all times between married folk, and so a most sweet and pleasant life. Son. It is greatly to be wished. For there is nothing that pleaseth God better than amity and concord between husband and wife : which thing God grant, for his mercy's sake ! Father. Amen. Now, my son, seeing thou hast shewed the office of an husband toward his wife, let me now hear also what the duty of a wife is unto her husband. Son. I will do it gladly, mine own dear father. [' Caton. Dist. Moral. Lib. m. 49.] 340 THE CATECHISM. [Part OF THE DUTY OF WIVES TOWARD THEIR HUSBANDS. Divers things are remembered in the holy scripture, which do belong unto the office and duty of a true, honest, and godly wife, which I will recite in order. The wives ought first is, that she submit herself to the will of her husband, and be content to be ad- jeetionto monished, ruled, and governed by him, knowledging him to be her head and lord, bands. and giving him such reverence and honour as the wife oweth to the husband by the word of God. j^~" Father. How provest thou that wives ought to be in subjection to their hus- Gen. iii. i bands? Son. God himself at the beginning said to the woman: "Thou shalt.be Eph. v. under the power of thy husband ; and he shall rule thee." St Paul saith : " Ye women, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the hus band is the wife's head, even as Christ is head of the congregation ; and the same is he that ministereth salvation to the body. Therefore as the congregation is in subjec tion to Christ, even so let the wives be in subjection to their husbands in all things." coi. hi. Again : " Ye wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is comely in the 1 Tim. ii. Lord." Also in another place : " Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, neither to usurp authority over the man, but to Gen. ». be in silence. For Adam was first formed, and then Eve. Adam also was not deceived, but the woman, and was subdued to the transgression. Notwithstanding, through bearing of children she shall be saved, if they continue in faith, and love, and holi- i Pet. iii. ness, with discretion." St Peter also saith : " Ye wives, be in subjection to your hus- \ bands, that even they which obey not the word may without the word be won by the \ conversation of the wives ; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear." Father. Where is the man called the head of the woman ? Son. St Paul saith : Eph. «. " The husband is the wife's head, even as Christ is the head of the congregation." Again, Gen. iii. in that God hath made man ruler over the woman, it evidently appeareth that man by God's ordinance is head of the woman. Father. Where is it commanded that women should reverence their husbands? Eph. v. Son. St Paul saith : " Let the wife reverence her husband." And St Peter saith : l Pet. ui. " In old time holy women were obedient to their husbands, even as Sara obeyed Gen. xviii. Abraham, and called him lord." Father. The stubbornness then and the unreverence which some froward wives use against their husbands is by no means to be commended. Son. Yea, rather most highly to be discommended. For God by no means can abide that the wife should *£&. grow up unto such arrogancy, pride, and haughtiness of mind, that she should in any condition lout or flout, contemn and despise her husband, whom God hath ap pointed her head, although he be never so simple, homely, plain, and of slender wit 2 Sam. vi. or policy ; as we may see in the history of Michol, Saul's daughter and David's wife, which despised David, and laughed him to scorn as a light-brained fellow, because he danced before the ark of the Lord. But God did plague her for her unreverence toward her husband; so that she had no child unto the day of her death. And as this Michol escaped not unpunished for the abusing of herself against her husband David, no more shall those unreverent, scornful, and disobedient wives go away un- plagued from the face of God. God by no means can abide that his ordinance should be neglected and despised. Look what subjection, reverence, obedience, worship, and honour the congregation oweth to Christ her head; even the very same, as 1 may Eph. .. so speak, oweth the wife unto her husband, as St Paul saith : " Ye women, sub mit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the wife's head, even as Christ is the head of the congregation." " Therefore as the congregation is in subjection to Christ, even so let the wives be in subjection to their husbands in all things." And look, what great Offence the congregation committeth, when unreverently she disobeyeth Christ her head; even the like offence committeth the wife, as I may so speak, when she disobeyeth her husband, whom God hath appointed to be her head. For it is written: "Let the wives be in subjection to their husbands in all things." VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF WIVES. 341 Father. But what if the husbands should command their wives to do things contrary to the commandment of God ? shall they also obey them in this behalf; see ing it is said, " Let the wives be in subjection to their husbands in all things ?" Son. Here the wives owe no obedience to their husbands. " We must obey God more than wives owe men." If the husband, for fear of the loss of his goods or life, should command "oSkIi S" his wife to commit idolatry, and to defile herself with image-service ; or for lucre's mTndtag™ sake move his wife to play the harlot ; here the wife ought not by any means to S,1^'' obey her husband, nor to satisfy his commandment, but rather to forsake him, or to suffer death, if the cruelty of the time should so require. Obedience to God and to his holy word ought to be preferred before all obedience to be shewed unto 4?§ man and unto his commandments. Therefore, if the man will challenge of the wo man the obedience, subjection, and reverence that the congregation oweth to her Head ; let the man provide that he be the same to his wife that Christ is to the con gregation, and that he command nothing, but that may stand with the word of God, and work God's favour and everlasting salvation to his wife so obeying; as Paul writeth of Christ : " Christ," saith he, " is the bead of the congregation ; and the Eph. v. same is he that ministereth salvation to the body." Father. Godly spoken. But what followeth concerning the office of the wife ? Son. The second point of an honest and godly matron is that she truly, dearly, Tit. ii. faithfully, and unfeignedly love her husband. And this her love toward her husband wives ought . „ 1 ¦ i ¦,• it to love their shall not rise of any carnal pleasure, beauty, riches, strength, nobility, goodliness of husbands. personage, or of any outward thing ; but only of obedience toward the commandment of God. For God hath commanded that wives should love their husbands. If we ought to love all men as ourselves, how dear then ought the love to be that should be be tween man and wife, whom God hath coupled together, and which are one flesh, and members one of another's body ! The married woman therefore shall love her husband as herself, and think her own husband in her eyes to be most fair, most beautiful, most proper, most handsome, most amiable, most honest, most garnished with all virtues and qualities that become a godly husband ; which opinion the hus band also ought to have of his wife, that one may unfeignedly rejoice in another, and heartily love one another. " In three things," saith the wise man, " hath my [Eceius. spirit ever had pleasure, which also are allowed before God and man: the con- xxv] cord of brethren, the love of neighbours, and man and wife that agreeth well to gether." This love, grafted in the wife's heart toward her husband by the Holy Ghost, shall make her to do all things willingly, and to seek all means possible to please her husband, and by no means to offend and displease him. This love shall so work in her, that she shall accommodate and apply herself and all her studies, labours, and travails wholly unto the contentation of her husband's mind in all honest and godly things ; yea, and that not only at commandment, but also, as they use to say, at a beck. For the nature of true and hearty love is such, that it need no prescription n,e nature of laws ; for freely and of itself it doth more than any law can require of it. of lovc' This love shall be of such efficacy, virtue, might, power, and strength, that no persuasions, no flattering words, no fair promises, no gifts, no tokens, &c, shall be able to turn her mind from her husband, and to entangle her with strange love, and so to make her to defile her husband's bed, and to cast away her first faith and promise that she made to her husband. Father. Would God this love were in the hearts of all married women in these our days ! Then should not holy and honourable matrimony be so defiled with adultery, whoredom, and all other uncleanness, as it is now (alas, for pity !), yea, and that almost without check or punishment. Son. The devil, which " goeth about like a roaring i Pet. „. lion seeking whom he may devour," is enemy to all degrees that God hath ordained ; but specially to the christian state of holy matrimony, as we may see from the beginning. Gen. hi. He can by no means abide that this holy order should be kept of the married folk un spotted and without blemish. Therefore a thousand ways deviseth he to pollute and defile the honourable state of matrimony, and specially by fornication, adultery, incest,. and such other most damnable uncleanness. It shall therefore, as we have tofore spoken of the man, be necessary for every godly married woman ever to set before her eyes The diversity between an ' 342 THE CATECHISM. [Part all those commandments of God which forbid whoredom and adultery, and also all those most terrible histories of God's anger against whores and whoremongers, that be mentioned in the holy bible. It shall not be unprofitable also to consider with herself her marriage promise, that she hath made to her husband before God and before his holy congregation; from the which to fall, and the which to transgress and break, is more than double wick edness, and deserveth not only horrible plagues in this world, but also everlasting ^damnation. Neither shall it be unfitting or out of the way to remember secretly with herself, what a great diversity there is between an honest married wife and a strumpet or whore. The blessing of God is upon the godly married woman : the curse and ven- honestwo- jgeance of God is upon the whore. The honest married woman hath a free and joy- whore. ' fui conscience : the whore hath an unrestful mind in her, tormenting her continually with the remembrance of her wicked living, as with the painful pains of hell-fire. The faithful married woman delighteth in the presence of her husband: the whore abhorreth her husband, and hath all her pleasure in the company of strange lovers. The true married woman seeketh how to enrich her husband : the whore deviseth all means possible to impoverish him. The godly married woman hath great joy when she beholdeth her true and natural children, being well assured that they are the blessings of God, forasmuch as they are the fruit of her matrimony by her lawful husband : the whore hath no delight in her children, forasmuch as, so oft as she be holdeth them, they are witnesses against her, both of her most detestable whoredom, and also of her damnation, putting her in remembrance of her unfaithfulness against her husband, and of her wicked behaviour with strange lovers; again, that her children were not begotten in true matrimony, but are bastards and misbegotten, and there fore they were both begotten, conceived, and born in the heavy anger, wrath, and dis pleasure of God; so that by this means they cannot prosper, but have short continuance Eccius. xxiii. on the earthy '),as the wise man saith : " Thus shall it also go with every wife that leaveth her husband, and gets the inheritance by the strange marriage (that is to say, she shall be openly punished in the streets of the city, and she shall be chased abroad like a young horse-foal ; and when she thinketh least upon it, then shall she be taken : thus shall she be put to shame of every man, because she would not un derstand the fear of the Lord). For first, she hath been unfaithful unto the law of the Most Highest. Secondly, she hath forsaken her own husband. Thirdly, she hath played the whore in advoutry, and gotten her children by another man. She shall be brought out of the congregation; and her children shall be looked upon. Her children shall not take root ; and as for fruit, her branches shall bring forth none. A shameful report shall she leave behind her, and her dishonour shall not be put out. And they that remain shall know that there is nothing better than the fear of God, and that there is nothing sweeter than to take heed unto the commandments of the Lord. A great worship it is to follow the Lord; for long life shall be received of him." Again, the honest married woman is satisfied and well contented with the alone company of her husband, neither doth she desire to be entangled with the love of Eccius. xxvi strangers : " The whore is never satisfied, but is like as one that goeth by the way and is thirsty; even so doth she open her mouth, and drink of every next water that she may get. By every hedge she sits down, and opens her quiver against every arrow." The godly married woman cannot be enticed, neither with fair words nor with gifts, to defile her husband's bed : the whore is easily moved to all kind of dis honesty, yea, for a morsel of bread or a pot of beer. The true married woman is not ashamed to shew her face in the presence of all men : the whore lurketh in corners, and dare not appear in the company of such as be godly and honest, as our Saviour Christ saith: "All that do evil hate the light." The honest married woman hath a good name, and cometh to wealth and worship : the whore is of every man evil re ported, and she is despised of men, as dung in the street ; and the best end of her is extreme beggary with shame. The godly married woman maketh peace and quietness wheresoever she becometh: the whore causeth strife and dissension, and setteth men VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF WIVES. 343 together by the ears. The virtuous married woman is sure always to have God her helper and aider in all her honest travails : the whore hath God ever an enemy unto her, and all that ever she goeth about cometh unto confusion, and hatli no good suc cess. The honest married woman dare with a good conscience in all her necessity and trouble call upon God, with this perfect persuasion and assured hope, that he will both hear her and help her : the whore is so confounded in her conscience, and so feeleth the hot wrath and fierce vengeance of God kindled against her for her whoredom, that she dare not once lift up her eyes unto God, but in her heart wisheth that there were no God, that she might go forth to sin freely and without punishment. The godly married woman, while she liveth in this world, is at rest and peace in her conscience with God and man, and after this life she is well assured to be heir of everlasting glory : the whore in this world is " like a raging sea, which findeth no isai. lvu. rest;'' and when she is once dead, she hath "her portion in that lake that brenneth Rev. xxi. with fire and brimstone." If a godly married woman set these things continually before her eyes, she shall easily both repel Satan and his fiery darts, and quietly repose herself in the love of her husband, according to her bounden duty. Father. I allow thy sayings well, my son. Go forth now to open unto me the office and duty of an honest and godly wife toward her husband. Son.\f\vd third 1 point of a virtuous matron is to look unto her house ; to provide that nothing perish, Wives ought decay, or be lost, through her negligence ; to see that whatsoever be brought into the to their house by the industry, labour, and provision of her husband, be safely kept and warely bestowed; not only to command other to do things, but also to set hand to the business herself ; never to be idle, but always to be well occupied ; to be an Note well. example of all godliness and honesty to her household; to reprove vice sharply in her servants, and to commend virtue ; not to meddle with other folks' business abroad, i/'i/ but diligently to look upon her own at home ; not to go unto her neighbours' houses, to tattle and prattle after the manner of light housewives ; not to be tavern-hunters ; not idly and wantonly to gad abroad, seeking new customers ; not to resort unto places where common plays, interludes, and pastimes be used ; not to accompany her self with any light persons, but only with such as be sober, modest, grave, honest, godly, virtuous, housewifely, thrifty, of good name, well reported, &c. ; and in fine, continually to remain at home in their house diligently and virtuously occupied, except urgent, weighty, and necessary causes compel her to go forth, as to go unto the church, to pray or to hear the word of God, to visit her sick neighbours or to help them, to j go to the market to buy things necessary for her household, &c. Father. If all married women were such housewives, my son, as thou hast here pointed and set forth, many husbands should be in better case than they be at this present. For many women be of such disposition, that they can almost no more abide their own house, than an hare can away with a tabret. Whatsoever meat and drink they have at home, be it never so good, they think it as bitter as gall. And whatsoever company they have at home, although never so honest and virtuous, yet are they none other but thorns and pricks in their eyes; abroad must they. Their house is a wild cat. They shall easily find it again at their return. Set cock on the hoop. Let the devil pay the malt-man. But, my son, let me hear if ought yet remain of the wife's duty. — -r Son. The fourth point of an honest and godly mltron is patiently and quietly to {wives ought bear the incommodities of her husband ; |to dissemble, cloke, hide, and cover the faults iheir'hi" and vices of her husband; not to upbraid nor to cast them in his teeth; not to jan b' exasperate or sharpen her husband's mind through her churlishness, but rather with her soft, gentle, and sober behaviour to quiet him, to pacify his anger, to mitigate his fury, and, as they use to say, to make him of a lion a lamb. So saith St Peter : " Ye wives, be in subjection to your husbands, that even they, which obey not the t pct m word, may without the word be won of the conversation of the wives, while they, behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear." -- ' This thing practised a certain virtuous woman called Monica, the mother of St Monica Austin, with her husband. She, having such an husband as was not only of a fierce fnother"ns 344 THE CATECHISM. [Part nature, churlish, cruel, unpatient, angry, drunken, and replenished with all kind of vice, but also an heathen man, and given to idolatry, yea, and a very enemy to her religion, and to her likewise for her religion sake, did use him with such gentleness of words, and with so sweet, kind, and loving behaviour, that at the last she over came him, brought him from rudeness and vice unto civility and virtue; and in fine, she brought him from gentility unto Christianity, so that he became a Christian and a professor of godliness. And all this came to pass through her godly conversation. For when her husband was drunk, she was sober. When he was angry, she was patient. When he blowed out many furious and unseemly words, she either held her peace, or else gave him fair and gentle language. When he in his manners was more like a brute beast than a man, she shined in her house as a mirror of virtue, in whom there appeared nothing but true godliness.' Moreover, this was also her property, not to fall at words with her husband in his anger or drunkenness, or to upbraid him by it in the presence of other, but to conceal and hide his fault at all times, so much as lay in her power ; and, when his fury and drunkenness was past, to warn him of it by sweet words, and gently to exhort him unto better things. Thus did she not only through her virtuous behaviour win her husband from vice to virtue, from wickedness to god liness, from gentility to Christianity, yea, from hell to heaven, but also she became a noble example of most noble virtues to other women and a good counsel-giver; inso much that, when a certain woman complained to her of her husband's churlishness, and of his cruel handling of her, she very modestly and soberly answered and said unto her : " I fear much lest your husbands be so bitter, sharp, and churlish against you, not so much of their own crooked nature, as through your own fault. For I doubt not but, if you would sometime give place to your husbands in their anopi, and bear with them in their drunkenness, and conceal and hide their faults at a time, rather than fall out with them, and upbraid them by their wicked life, ye should have more gentle and more profitable husbands than ye now have; and all this cometh to pass because of your rashness and lack of sobriety, forasmuch as ye bear not with your husbands sometime, when ye see them out of the way, and wait your time, when ye may conveniently admonish them of their vices and faults, yea, and that gently and lovingly, that they may perceive that your admonitions and counsels proceed not from an hateful and evil will, but rather of a loving and well-desiring mind toward them. For I myself also had sometime a churlish and a froward husband; but by entreating him gently, by bearing with him patiently, and by giving him sweet words and wholesome exhortations, I brought bim from that rude behaviour, and converted him unto the christian faith ; so that now he is become a true professor of godliness, and a profitable citizen of the christian public weal1." Father. O most worthy and noble matron! O most goodly spectacle for all women to behold ! 0 most godly example to be followed ! Son. If all women would address themselves unto the practice of this godly act2 [' The substance of what is here stated may be found as follows: Educata itaque pudice ac sobrie, potiusque a te subdita parentibus, quam a parentibus tibi, ubi plenis annis nubilis facta est, tradita viro servivit veluti Domino, et sategit eum lucrari tibi, loquens te illi moribus suis, quibus earn pulcram faciebas, et reverenter amabilem atque mirabilem viro. Ita autem toleravit cubilis injurias, ut nullam de hac re cum marito haberet umquam simultatem. Expectabat enim misericordiam tuam super eum, ut in te credens castificaretur. Erat vero ille praeterea sicut benevolentia praecipuus, ita ira fervidus. Sed noverat haec non resistere irato viro, non tantum facto, sed ne verbo quidem. Jam vero refracto et quieto, cum opportunum videret, rationem facti sui reddebat, si forte ille inconsideratius commotus fuerat. Deniquecum matronae multae, quarumviri mansueti- ores erant, plagarum vestigia etiam dehonestata facie gererent, inter arnica colloquia ilia? arguebant mari- torum vitam, haec eatum linguam, veluti per jocum graviter admonens, ex quo illas tabulas qua! matrimo- niales vocantur, recitari audissent, tamquam instru- menta, quibus ancillae factae essent, deputare de- buisse ; proinde memores conditionis, superbire ad versus dominos non oportere. Cumque mirarentur illae, scientes quam ferocem conjugem sustineret, numquam fuisse auditum, aut aliquo indicio claru- isse, quod Patricius ceciderit uxorem, aut quod a se invicem vel unum diem domestica lite dissenserint, et caussam familiariter quaererent, docebat ilia insti- tutum suum, quod supra memoravi. Quse observa- bant, expertae gratulabantur : quae non observabant, subjects vexabantur Denique etiam virum suum jam in extrema vita temporali ejus lucrata est tibi, nee in eo jam fideli planxit, quod in nondum fideli toleraverat.— August. Op.~Par. 1679—1700. Con fess. Lib. ix. 19, 22. Tom. I. cols. 164, 5.] [2 Act. Qu. art?] XXI. VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF WIVES. 345 of this- most godly matron Monica, and use the like gentleness and sober behaviour toward their husbands, more love, peace, amity, quietness, and concord, should be found among married folk than is at this present day. But some women are more like the furies of hell than Monica, St Austin's mother. For their whole delight and pleasure is to scold, to brawl, to chide, and to be out of quiet with their hus bands; so far is it off that with their godly conversation and gentle behaviour they go about to maintain amity and concord in their houses. And when they are re proved for their misdemeanour toward their husbands, they shame not to answer: 'A woman hath none other weapon but her tongue, which she must needs put in prac tice. They have been made dolts and fools long enough: it is now high time to take hart of grease3 unto them. There is no worm so vile, but if it be trodden upon it will turn again, &c.' Father. These furies are far unlike the godly ancient matrons which are com mended to us in the holy scriptures and in other histories; and yet will they be called and counted Christians, being indeed worse than the pagans' wives in their behaviour. Son. Of such women speaketh the wise man on this manner : " It is prov. better to dwell in a wilderness, than with a chiding and an angry woman ." Again : " It is better to sit in a Corner under the roof, than with a brawling woman in a Prov xxv wide house." Jesus, the son of Sirach, also saith : " There is not a more wicked Eccius. xx head, than the head of the serpent; and there is no wrath above the wrath of a woman. I will rather dwell with a lion and a dragon, than to keep house with a wicked wife. Tbe wickedness of a woman changeth her face : she shall muzzle her countenance, as it were a bear, and as a sack shall she shew it among the neigh bours. Her husband is brought to shame among his neighbours; and when he heareth it, it maketh him to sigh. All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman : the portion of the ungodly shall fall upon her. Like as to climb upon a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, even so is a wife full of words to a still quiet man. The wrath of a woman is dishonour and great confusion. If a woman get the mastery, then is she contrary to her husband. A wicked wife maketh a sorry heart, an heavy countenance, and a dead wound. Weak hands and feeble knees is a woman, that her husband is not the better for. Of the woman came the be- Gen. iii. ginning of sin ; and through her all we are dead. Give thy water no passage, no not a little.; neither give a wicked woman her will. If she walk not after thy hand, she shall confound thee in the sight of thine enemies. Cut her off then from thy flesh, that she do not alway abuse thee." Father. God give all wives grace so to behave themselves, as it becometh women that profess godliness ! Father. Where is that commanded in the word of God? Son. St Paul hath these words : " I will that women array themselves in comely apparel, with shame- i Tim, ,;. facedness and discreet behaviour; not with broided hair, either gold, or pearls, or costly array ; but, as becometh women that profess godliness, through good works." Here to agreeth St Peter : " Women's apparel," saith he, " shall not be outward, with i rcL m. broided hair and hanging on of gold, either in putting on gorgeous apparel; but let the hid man, which is in the heart, be without all corruption, so that the spirit be at rest and quiet; which spirit before God is a thing much set by. For after this manner, in the old time, did the holy women which trusted in God tire themselves, and were obedient to their husbands, even as Sara obeyed Abraham, and called him lord; whose daughters ye are, so long as ye do well." Father. Why doth the Holy Ghost give so strait a charge concerning women's apparel? Son. The Spirit of God knoweth right well the vanity that lurketh in women's hearts, and how desirous they are of vain things, but special of gorgeous apparel and precious jewels. Therefore, to restrain them from this vanity, and to keep them in a comely order concerning their apparel, such godly lessons are left unto us by the holy apostles, which both wrote and spake as the Holy Ghost taught f3 A " hart of grease" means a fat one : hence, I into Greece. See Nares's Glossary, v. Greece and ! of spirit. It is sometimes corrupted in old writers ' the ballad there quoted.! 346 THE CATECHISM. [Part them. And notwithstanding, who seeth not in this our age how little this com mandment of God is regarded of a number of vain women, which are so addict unto vanity, that they little esteem what either God or man commandeth, so that jthey may satisfy their vain desire and carnal lusts? Father. Why, is it not lawful for women to be honestly apparelled ? Son. Honestly, but not sumptuously; cleanly, but not vainly. It is the part of an hea thenish woman, and not of a christian matron, to be decked and trimmed like a mare-lady1, or the queen of a game. And to say the truth, it is much to be feared that that woman, which so trimmeth and setteth forth herself, passing her degree and estate in costly apparel, keep herself within the bounds of honesty. If she seek only to please her husband with her apparel (which is the duty of every honest woman), what need she then to set out herself, as it were to sell, so minion-like when she goeth abroad? Is this to please her husband, which is at home, or rather to stir up the lusts of other toward her, which are abroad? For who doubteth but that many women, thus disguising themselves, wound the hearts of many, infect the eyes of many, and give also occasions of much evil to many? A measure there fore ought to be kept in their apparel. Neither ought any woman to go apparelled otherwise than their degree and estate require : the prince's wife according to her degree, being a prince's wife ; and so forth orderly even to the poor husbandman's i cor. xiv. wife, that all things may be comely done and in order, as the apostle saith : " For God is the author of peace, and not of confusion." And whether the women be of high or low degree, nobly apparelled or otherwise, let none of them all glory in their Eccius. xi. apparel, according to this commandment of the wise man, " Never rejoice thou in thine apparel;" but even those that are most sumptuously arrayed, let them be like- [Esth. xiv. minded to that most virtuous and godly queen Hesther, which in her prayer made unto God confesseth that she hated the token of pre-eminence and worship which she bare upon her head what time she must shew herself and be seen, and abhorred it like an unclean cloth ; again, that she did not wear it when she was quiet and 1 Tim. vi. alone by herself. " If we have to eat and drink," saith St Paul, " and wherewith we may be covered (he saith not, wherewith we may be gorgeously, gallantly, jy-j^- sumptuously, and finely apparelled), let us be content." " For nothing brought we into the world, neither shall we carry anything out of it." Let the godly matrons there fore be content with honest and comely apparel, every one according to their degree, without any gorgeousness or niceness, always remembering that clothes were first of all provided of God to cover our filthy, shameful, and miserable nakedness, and not to deck and trim us like peacocks : and above all things let them provide that the inward man be decked and garnished with all kind of godly and goodly virtues, which may brast out into godliness of life, that by this means they may shew them selves to be such women as profess godliness, and also garnish the doctrine of our Saviour Christ Jesu through their good works, and glorify the most glorious name of the Lord our God. Father. God give all women, and us likewise, grace so to do ! Son. Amen. Now followeth in order the duty of parents, or fathers and mothers, toward their children : will it please you to hear that also ? Fatlier. Yea, most gladly, my dear son. OF THE OFFICE AND DUTY OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS TOWARD THEIR CHILDREN. Son. In the office and duty of parents toward their children, many things are to be considered. The man First of all, whosoever intendeth to have good, godly, and virtuous children, and circumspect the continuance of them and of their posterity upon the earth, it is necessary that he hisCwifc!ne be wary and circumspect in choosing his wife, and also in ordering his own life. And [' Mare-lady: perhaps Mayer-lady, or Blay-lady, | the "mare" in the harvest-home festivals ; for which queen of the May. Unless it be rather an allusion to I see Brand's Popular Antiquities, Vol. I.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 347 forasmuch as the man is the principal part, it shall be expedient that he himself live in the fear of God, and garnish his life with all kind of godly virtues, that he may be an ensample of godliness and honesty to so many as are under him. And as the man shall dispose and give himself wholly to virtuous and godly exercises, that he may please God, and procure God's blessing in time to come, not only to himself, but also to his wife, whom he intendeth to marry in the fear of the Lord, and likewise to his children, which he trusteth to receive of the liberality of God, as tokens and pledges of Gods dear love and singular good will toward him ; so in like manner shall he, in choosing a wife, of whom through the blessing of God he may receive children, use a discretion, and take heed whom he take unto him to be his wife ; and in this behalf not to respect (as the manner of the world is) riches, beauty, favour, nobility, friendship, &c, but rather the godly qualities of the mind, the honesty of her parentage, her virtuous bringing up, her housewifeliness, and ready disposition to do good. This thing greatly considered the holy ancient fathers in times past, both in their own marriages, and also in the marriages of their children. To obtain godly and virtuous wives for their children, they sent into far countries, not so greatly respecting Gen. xxiv. the riches as the godliness of the maid. For it is diligently to be considered whom Gen' xxv'"" a man shall take to wife, by whom he looketh to have children. Every tree bringeth forth fruit like unto itself, according to the common proverb : " Of an evil crow cometh an evil egg." He that chooseth such one to be his wife as cometh of wicked parents, have been wickedly brought up, and is wicked herself, void of all fear, faith, love, and knowledge of God, destitute of virtue, full of vice, &c. ; what children are to be looked for of such a monster of wickedness, but monstrous and wicked children, like to their mother ? And what good thing can come unto them from God ? Or who dare pro mise to himself long posterity of such fruit ? It shall therefore be meet and conve nient for him that will marry in the Lord, and have children in whom he may de light, and of whom he may hope good things, to choose him such a wife as unfeignedly feareth God, and bendeth herself to live according to her profession, and afterward crave of God to have children by her. That fruit wherewith God shall bless those married folk, so coupled together in the fear of the Lord, shall surely take root and prosper, as it is written : " Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord : he hath great Psai. cxii. delight in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth : the generation of the faithful shall be blessed," Secondly, when God hath blessed christian parents with children, the father shall The father provide that the infants in convenient time and place be consecrated to God by holy prSent atbe baptism, and offered to God by fervent prayer ; at the which time and place it is ofewsaptism the duty of a godly father to be present, and diligently to note what is there promised chlldrcn- for the children, both by him and by other, that he may train and bring them up according to the vow and promise there made. Thirdly, it is the duty of a good and natural mother not to put forth her children Mothers to other women to be nourished, fostered, and brought up with strange milk, except nurse' their very necessity compel her; but to nurse them herself, yea, and that with her own milk. dren.chl1" For to what end hath God given her milk in her breast, but that she with the same milk should nourish and bring up her children ? If God hath created nothing in vain then hath he not given that milk into the mother's breast without cause; verily to nourish and to bring up her infants. Those mothers therefore, which, either of niceness or for ease, put out their children from them to other, when they themselves have abundance of milk, afld might well bring them up, if they would take the pain; as they be but half mothers indeed, so likewise do they greatly offend God, and corrupt the nature of the infants. They offend God, in that they resist his ordinance and workmanship by putting away their milk, and by the refusing the labour of nursinc their children, which God as a penance hath laid upon them. They corrupt also the nature of the infants, in that they be fostered and brought up not of their mothers but of strange women ; not with the natural, but unnatural milk. And by this means it many times comes to pass, that children, being brought forth of gentle and godly parents, prove churlish and wicked, and utterly estranged from the nature and good disposition of the parents. For children, by drinking in strange milk, drink in also 348 THE CATECHISM. [Part strange manners and another nature. Therefore, as it is the duty of a good and natural mother to nurse her child herself, yea, and that with her own milk ; so likewise is it the part of a true father to provide that his wife, having abundance of milk, do not refuse the labour of fostering her infant, according to the work and commandment of God, knowing that in so doing she shall greatly please God, and satisfy the office of a true and natural mother. Father. The holy scripture declareth that the ancient godly matrons of the old testament nursed their children themselves. So likewise did the mother of Christ, Mary the virgin. Son. Yea, and all godly women, from the beginning unto this day for the most part, a few nicelings excepted, which are born to do no good, but only to consume idly the good fruits of the earth. Father. In divers countries, where I have travelled in times past, I have known and proved, that those women which are most noble, and of most excellent parentage, and of greatest renown, and of highest authority, do not put forth their children abroad, but nurse them at home with their own milk, only having certain honest and godly matrons otherwise to attend upon the infants. Son. A custom much com mendable, and worthy to be practised of all godly, true, and natural mothers. Father. Go forth, my son, and declare more of the office and duty of good pa rents toward their children. Son. Fourthly, in the time of nursing the infants, the father and the mother must provide, that no bodily harm chance to the children, either by fire, water, overlaying, or otherwise; but that they be kept warely and diligently both by night and day. But this is chiefly the office of the mother, which ought principally to attend upon the young ones in their infancy; forasmuch as the father is occupied abroad, about the provision for his family. And it shall be necessary that the parents do many times commend their little children to God in their prayers, beseeching him for his mercy to send them his holy angel, which may attend and wait upon them, guard and preserve them from all evil, and evermore conduct them unto all goodness, that they may live, prosper, and become creatures worthy such a Creator. Father. This is godly. Son. Fifthly, when the little children begin to learn to speak, the parents must diligently take heed that neither they themselves nor any other by the reason of niceness or wantonness learn them to stammer, to lisp, and to pronounce their words by halves ; but let them teach their young ones to speak plainly and distinctly, and to utter every word and syllable truly and perfectly. For many in their youth learn such unapt manner of speaking and pronouncing their words, that when they come to age they cannot leave it. So soon as the children be able to speak plainly, let them even from their cradles be taught to utter not vain, foolish, and wanton, but grave, sober, and godly words; as, God, Jesus Christ, faith, love, hope, patience, goodness, peace, &c. And when they be able to pronounce whole sentences, let the parents teach their children such sentences as may kindle in them a love toward virtue, and an hatred against vice and sin ; as for an ensample : God alone saveth me. Christ by his death hath redeemed me. The Holy Ghost sanctifieth me. There is one God. Christ alone is our Mediator and Advocate. The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. There is no damnation to them that are in Christ Jesu, which walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace. Pray without ceasing. Be thankful in all things. Be swift to hear, and slow to speak. Walk in love, as Christ hath loved us. Trust in God, and work that is good. Flee idleness. Spend thy time fruitfully. Be humble and lowly; for such doth God love. Abhor pride; for God is an enemy to the proud. Learn to die, &c. After these and such like godly sentences drunken in of the young ones, it shall children be profitable to teach them the Lord's prayer, the articles of the christian faith, and bmugn'?up the *en commandments, with such other wholesome doctrine, as is contained in the i"dg?ofnow" catechism, or principles of christian religion ; that even from their very young and tender God's word. age tney may ieam to drink in godliness. It is also the duty of faithful parents to teach their children to say grace both at dinner and supper, that they may learn to know of whom they have all good things both for soul and body, and to be thankful VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 349 for them. In these and such like godly exercises the parents must daily and dili gently train up their youth, that they, being thus acquainted with virtue from the beginning, may the more easily for ever after abstain from all sin and vice. Father. If parents would labour thus to bring up their children, virtue should soon increase, and vice decrease. Son. Sixthly, forasmuch as children be naturally given to play, and are desirous of pastimes, it shall be convenient that such pastimes and plays be devised for them The piays as may not hurt their tender bodies, nor yet infect the mind with any lewdness. In0fcmraren. their pastimes the parents must take heed that one of them hurt not another ; again, that they use no swearing, no vain talk, nor babbling, but use a certain kind of gravity and modesty, even in the midst of all their most pleasant pastimes and merry conceits, that gravity, sobriety, and modesty may grow up with them even from the very cradles, all lightness, lewdness, and wantonness of manners utterly repelled and laid aside. Seventhly, the parents also must take heed with whom .they do accompany their young ones, both in earnest studies and in merry pastimes ; for as great profit is to ofromrany- be gotten of company-keeping with honest and godly persons, so likewise by keeping children. fellowship with the wicked and naughty packs all evils are possessed. And as the company of the virtuous is to be recounted more precious than gold or pearl; even so the fellowship of the sinful and ungodly is to be eschewed, as the plague and pestilence, yea, as hell and the devil. For as the one bringeth health and salvation, so likewise the other bringeth death and damnation. With such as a man keepeth company, even such shall he himself also prove, as the psalmograph saith : " With the holy thou shalt be Psal- x™>- holy, and with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect. With the clean thou shalt be clean, and with the froward thou shalt learn frowardness." The wise man also saith : " Whoso toucheth pitch shall be defiled withal : and he that is familiar with the proud Eccius. xiii. shall clothe himself with pride." Again : "Depart from the wicked; and no misfortune Eccius. vii. shall chance unto thee." Salomon also saith : " He that keepeth company with wise Prov. xiii. men shall be wise; but whoso is a companion of fools shall come to misfortune." Father. The godly matron Sara, Abraham's wife, could by no means abide that oen. xxi. her son Isaac should play and keep company with Ismael, her handmaid's son, but she drave both him and his mother out of the doors. Jacob also would not in any con- Gen. xxviii. dition keep company with his ungodly brother Esau. Old Toby, among other most godly and wholesome admonitions, charged his son young Tobias, that he should not Tob. iv. keep company, neither eat nor drink with the sinners. This saying of Sara, young ' Tobias' wife, in her prayer unto God, is so notable, that it is right well worthy to be written in letters of gold : " Thou knowest, O Lord, that I never had desire unto Tob. iii. man, and that I have kept my soul clean from all uncleanly lust. I have not kept company with those that pass their time in sport, neither have I made myself par taker with them that walk in light behaviour." And we are commanded in the word of God, that we should not eat nor keep company with such as be of a i cor. v. vt ,,..,,,... 2 Cor. vi. lewd and wicked disposition. Son. Not without a cause. For, as the wise man saith : " Look what way a Prov. xxii. child tradeth in his youth, he will not depart from the same in his age." What soever liquor is first of all put in a box, it will smell of the same continually. It is an hard point to leave things accustomed : for custom is another nature. Good parents therefore ought above all things to provide, that their children at all times accompany themselves with none but with such only as be honest, godly, and virtuous; lest by the company-keeping of the evil their good disposition be altered and corrupted. For, as St Paul saith: "Evil words corrupt good manners." icor. xv. Eighthly, it is the duty of godly and christian parents to teach their children good manners, yea, and that even in their very tender age and young years, lest Goodman- they prove rude and barbarous in their behaviour, and so become savage people, and unprofitable members of the christian commonweal. Let them first of all be taught, that whensoever God, Christ, or the Holy Ghost be named of them, or of other in their presence, they shew some outward reverence, either by putting off their cap, or else by bowing their knee. Again, if they be present in the time of prayer, or when the holy scripture is read or preached, or else when the holy and blessed sacra ments are ministered, or when any other godly mysteries be in hand, let them 350 THE CATECHISM. [Part either kneel down or stand up, as the manner and custom of the place is, yea, and that with their caps put off. Let them also be taught to reverence their elders, to rise against them, to make courtesy unto them, to put off their caps, and to give them the way. If any man speak unto them, let them salute them again, and uncover their heads. If any man talk with them, let them stand right up, hold up their heads, and look them in the face with a modest and cheerful countenance, mixed with gravity. Let them hold their hands and feet still : let them not bite their lips, nor scratch their head, nor rub their elbows, nor pore in their ears; but, all the parts of the body being set in a comely order, let them diligently mark what is said unto them, that they may make an apt and discreet answer. Let them also be taught to behave themselves mannerly at the table, whether they do sit at it or wait and attend upon it. This also is not to be neglected, that the children be accustomed both evening and morning to humble themselves unto their parents, to kneel before them, and so with all reverence to ask them blessing, and to desire their continual favour; yea, and daily also to pray for the prosperous preservation of their parents. Father. If children from their infancy were accustomed to these and such like good and virtuous manners, then should not such rudeness, grossness, and barbarousness of behaviour, nor such disobedience and unreverence to their elders, be found in them as is at this present day. For civility and comely behaviour is now-a-days so neg lected, that it is almost despised. There is no reverent obedience nor obedient re verence used of the youth toward their superiors in this our age. Parents are not had in such honour and worship of the children as they ought. Mere1 barbarousness occupieth the hearts of all youth almost at this present. Son. No marvel. For christian discipline is exiled out of the church; neither are parents so diligent in doing their office as they are bound by the commandment of God. But I will proceed with my matter. Ninthly, when the children be come to the age of six or seven years, let the children sent parents provide that they be sent to school, yea, and that unto such a school-master to school. ag feareth God, is learned, well-mannered, and is able with discretion to judge of the nature and capacity of the children, and so according to the same to teach, instruct, trade, rule, and govern them. But in this education and bringing up of the children in good letters this must be provided, that the children be not, after the common custom of schools, continually nousled8 in reading and learning heathen and pagan writers, of whom many times is drunken in more wickedness than godliness, more sin than virtue, (for the tongue may not so be filed that the mind be defiled, nor the speech so polited that the heart be polluted ;) but rather that with eloquence they learn also godliness. For those schools, wherein nothing is taught but the doc trine of paganism, are more meet for the youth of the Turks and of the Saracens, and of such other miscreants and cast-aways, than for the children of the Christians. Neither can I see what great profit can come to a christian commonweal of such Wisd xiii schools. "Vain are all they," saith the wise man, "in whom there is no knowledge of God." Yea, where there is no knowledge of God and of his holy word, there wisd. xv. hath the soul no pleasure. " To know thee, 0 God, is perfect righteousness ; and to know thy righteousness and truth is the root of immortality." And as our Saviour John xvii. Christ saith : " This is everlasting life, to know thee to be the alone true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ." Likewise saith St Paul: "I shewed myself among you to know nothing but Jesus Christ, even him that was crucified." Without this knowledge, I mean of Christ and of his gospel, all other knowledge is not greatly profitable, yea, it rather hindereth than profiteth. Porphyry with his logic, Aristotle with his philosophy, Homer with his poetry, Ptolomy with his astronomy, Hippocrates with his physic, &c. without the know ledge of Christ crucified, are ignorant and blind men, neither knowing or seeing any thing that is allowable before God, or is profitable for their souls' health. For wisd xiii. " vam are all they/' saith the wise man, " in whom there is no knowledge of God." Therefore godly parents must earnestly provide, that their children, going to school, do above all things learn to know God, that he is their Maker and Father, that they f1 Folio, more.] [2 Nousled, or nuzzled, differently written : nursed.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 351 receive of him all good things necessary both for body and soul, and that he hath not made them to this end, that they should alway remain here, but rather that they, leaving this transitory life at his appointment, should for ever after dwejl with him in his glorious kingdom, and have such joys as eye never saw the like, ear never heard the like, no tongue is able to express the like, nor no heart is able to conceive or to think the like. They must also leam to know, that all the benefits which they receive of God the Father are not given unto them for their own dignity and wor thiness, for their own merits and deserts, but only for the dignity and worthiness, for the merits and deserts of our alone Mediator Christ Jesus, our alone Saviour, our alone Redeemer, our alone Peace-maker, our alone Advocate, our alone High Priest, our alone Law-fulfiller, and our alone Righteousness ; for whose sake God the Father is well pleased with us, so that through him we obtain all good things both worldly and heavenly of our most dear Father ; so that now we are become the sons Kom- viiK and heirs of God, and heirs annexed with Christ Jesus of everlasting life. Moreover, they must be taught that, for this most loving kindness of their heavenly Father toward them for Jesus Christ's sake, they labour to the uttermost of their power to please God, to fear God, to love God, to believe in God, to call on the glorious name of God by fervent prayer in all their necessities, to be thankful to God for all his benefits, to walk worthy of their profession, to lead a new life, to become new creatures, to be fruitful in doing good works, to live according to their vocation and calling, to shine as mirrors of virtue, and in fine, to be such as shall resemble their heavenly Father and their elder brother Christ in all their life and conversation, as it is written : " He that saith he dwelleth in Christ ought to walk as Christ hath i John "• walked." For we are "delivered from the power of our enemies" to this end, that Luke i. we should " serve the Lord our God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life." And Christ hath " purged our conscience from dead works," saith St Paul, " to Heb. ix. serve the living God." Furthermore, that the children may learn these things the more commodiously, it is the duty of parents to prepare for them, not idle and wanton, not vain and trifling books, but wholesome, holy, and godly books, as the new testament of our Saviour Books for Christ Jesu, the parables of Salomon, the book of Jesus the son of Sirach, and such like, that they may be trained and brought up in them, and by this means drink in the knowledge of godliness from their young and tender years. It shall profit also very much unto true godliness, that the children be brought unto the church to hear the godly psalms, prayers, and chapters that be there read, but specially to hear the sermons and preachings of God's word; and, when they come home, to require of them an accompts of such things as they have heard in the church, but namely concerning the sermon. If they can well call the doctrine of the preacher to remembrance, and make true report thereof, let then the parents praise and commend them, that by this means the children may be encouraged to continue, yea, to increase in well-doing. For, as the common saying is, " virtue praised increaseth." But if the parents shall find them negligent in this behalf, let them be rebuked, yet not too sharply, and exhorted to do better, and to give more diligence hereafter. It shall also help greatly forward unto the increase of true godliness, if the parents chapters of take this order with their children, that whensoever they come home from school unto read at din- dinner or supper, so soon as they themselves be set down at the table, and grace said, per of the ^ one of their children read a chapter of the old or new testament, the other giving c 1 en' good ear thereunto ; and, the chapter once done, reverently to talk of the same, that such as be present may be edified, as St Paul saith : " Let no filthy communication Eph. iv. proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to edify withal, as oft as need is ; that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Again : " Let your speech be always coi. iv. well savoured and powdered with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Father. Is it the duty of parents thus to train up their children in the know- The principal ledge of God, and of his holy word ? Son. It is the principal office of a christian cSianV father and mother. bring up ws Father. Yet the common sort of parents think that they have done their duty g0myren 352 THE CATECHISM. [Part toward their children abundantly, if they keep them from fire and water, and from other dangers ; if they cleanly apparel them ; if they give them meat and drink enough ; if they provide to leave them richly after their departure. Son. The Turks and Saracens, and the other infidels, do this also for their children. They therefore, which only make provision for the bodies of their children, and neglect their souls, are none other than Turkish and Saracen-like fathers ; and in this behalf no better than the brute beasts, which also provide for the bodily conservation of their young ones. But it is required of christian parents, yea, and that most chiefly, that they study also for the health and wealth, for the conservation and preservation of the souls of their children; forasmuch as they know that their children are appointed of God after this life to be the citizens of heaven, and there to remain for ever and ever in glory. Neither is it with christian men's children as it is with the younglings of brute beasts, whose bodies being once dissolved, there remain no part of them unperished. But when the bodies of the children return again unto the earth, their souls are taken up into the glorious kingdom of heaven through the ministry of God's angels, and there remain in joy unto the day of judgment, when their bodies by the mighty power of God shall be restored unto them; and so, their bodies and souls linked and joined together, they shall continue with their Lord God for ever after in joy and glory, worlds without end. In consideration whereof, the parents ought to provide, not only for the bodies, but also for the souls of their children, that they may be made citizens worthy of such and so glorious a city. Father. I would gladly hear it proved by the word of God, that it is the duty of christian parents to see their children brought up in the knowledge of God and of his holy word. Son. The probation is so easy as that which is most easy. God Deut.iv. himself gave this commandment to all parents: "Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, that thou forget not tbe things which thine eyes have seen, and that they depart not out of thine heart all the days of thy life ; but teach them thy Deut. vi. sons, and thy sons' sons." Again : " These words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart ; and thou shalt shew them unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou art at home in thine house, and as thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up ; and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand. And they shall be warning between thine eyes ; and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and upon thy gates." The psalmo- Psai. ixxviii. graph also saith : " I will open my mouth in a parable : I will declare hard sentences of old; which we have heard and known, and such as our fathers have told us; that we should not hide them from the children of the generations to come ; but to shew the honour of the Lord, his might, and wonderful works that he hath done. He made a covenant with Jacob, and gave Israel a law, which he commanded our fathers to teach their children, that their posterity might know it, and the children which were yet unborn ; to the intent that, when they came up, they might shew their children the same ; that they might put their trust in God, and not to forget the works of God, but to keep his commandments." And king Ezechias, in his thanksgiving unto isai. xxxviii. God, saith : " The father shall declare thy truth to his children." The wise man also Eccius. vii. saith : " If thou have sons, bring them up in nurture and learning, and hold them in Eccius. xxx. awe from their youth up." Again : " He that teacheth his son shall have joy in him, and need not to be ashamed of him among his acquaintance." Likewise saith St Eph. vi. Paul : " Ye fathers, move not your children to wrath ; but bring them up in the doctrine and information of the Lord." All these sentences of the holy scripture declare manifestly that parents are bound by the commandment of God, and as they will avoid the danger of everlasting dam nation, to teach their children the law of God and the true worshipping of him, that they, in their young years drinking in the knowledge of God's most holy will, may Luke i. learn to serve their Lord God " in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life." And according to these commandments of God, all good and godly parents from the beginning have travailed from time to time to bring up their children, as we have divers examples in the holy scripture. tteTodiy of Father. Recite to me part of them. Son. Abraham, which in the holy scripture rfyou"iup is called "the father of the faithful", brought up his children both godly and virtuously, Rom. iv. VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 353 and taught them the law of God, as he himself had learned of the Holy Ghost; as these words do manifestly declare: "Shall I hide from Abraham," saith God, " the om. xviii. thing which I intend to do ; seeing that Abraham shall be a great and a mighty people, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? I know this also, that he will command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, and do after right and conscience." And as Abraham trained up his children in godliness and virtue, so likewise did all the other godly patriarchs that succeeded him from time to time. How diligent king David was in the godly bringing up of his children, and specially of Salomon, that he might worthily succeed him in his prince-like estate, as many other, so likewise these words which he spake to Salomon lying on his death [bed] do sufficiently shew : " Behold," saith he, " I must walk by the way of all the world ; 1 Kings ii. nevertheless, be strong and quit thyself manfully, and see thou keep the appointment of the Lord thy God, that thou walk in his ways, and keep his commandments, ordinances, laws, and testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses," &c. The travail of the godly ancient father Tobias, in bringing up his son in the fear Tob. i. and knowledge of God even from his infancy, is more known to such as read the holy histories than it need here to be rehearsed. His exhortations are such, that they Tob. iv. are worthy at all times to be remembered of all men, specially of youth. That godly and virtuous lady Susanna, having righteous parents, was brought Hist. Sus. up by them from her very cradles in the law of Moses, and taught to fear the Lord her God. Blessed Luke, in the chronicle of the apostles' acts, maketh mention of the four Acts xxi. daughters of Philip the evangelist, which did prophesy; that is to say, they were so godly brought up in the knowledge of God's most blessed law, that they were able to declare and expound the holy scriptures and mysteries of God, according to this prophecy : " I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your Joel ii. daughters shall prophesy." Read we not also that blessed St Paul doth greatly commend bishop Timothy, because he had " known the holy scriptures even of a 2 Tim. iii. child?" These and divers other like histories shew evidently that all godly parents, from time to time in all ages, have been diligent according to the commandment of God to bring up their children in the knowledge of God's most holy word, yea, and that from their very cradles and tender infancy; so that whosoever will do the part of a good and godly father, may not only make provision for the wealth of the bodies, but also for tbe health of the souls of his children, which cannot be brought to pass without the knowledge of God's word. Yea, more blessed and happy is that 4?$ child, to whom his father hath procured the knowledge of God and of his holy word, with other virtues and good sciences, than that son to whom his father departing leaveth a thousand pounds by the year. For the possessions of the one are constant and immortal : the possessions of the other are inconstant, transitory, and subject to the vanity of frowning fortune. Moreover, St Paul saith : " Exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise 1 Tim. iv. profiteth little; but godliness is profitable unto all things, as a thing which hath promises of the life that is now, and of the life to come. This is a sure saying, and by all means worthy to be allowed." Our Saviour Christ saith also : " First of all seek the Matt. vi. kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof; and all these things (he meaneth ne cessaries for the sustentation of the life) shall be cast unto you." Likewise saith the psalmograph : " I have been young, and now I am waxen old ; and yet never saw Psai. xxxvii. I righteous man forsaken, nor his seed begging their bread ori the earth." Father. I see now right well, that the office of a godly father is to see that his children be virtuously brought up and in the knowledge of God's most holy word. But let me ask thee one question. What if, the father doing his duty, the Parents children be negligent and will not learn ; or if they learn, they will not frame their conect'their life according to their knowledge ; may not the father with a good conscience correct, they do"' ' those children? Son. Yes, most lawfully. For moderate correction is as necessary amlss' for children as meat and drink. "He that spareth the rod," saith Salomon, "hateth Prov. xiii. C-i ^io P.ECON, II. ] 354 THE CATECHISM. [Part Prov. xxii. his son ; but whoso loveth him chasteneth him betimes." " Foolishness sticketh in Prov. xxiii. the heart of the lad ; but the rod of correction shall drive it away." " Withhold not correction from the child; for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die Prov. xxix. thereof. If thou smite him with the rod, thou shalt deliver his soul from hell." " The rod and correction minister wisdom ; but if a child be not looked to, he bringeth his mother to shame." "Nurture thy son with correction, and thou shalt -be at rest; Eccius. vii. yea, he shall do thee good at the heart." Jesus, the son of Sirach, also saith : " If thou have sons, bring them up in nurture and learning, and hold them in awe from their youth up. If thou have daughters, keep their body, and shew not thy face Eccius. xxx. cheerful toward them." Again he saith : " Whoso loveth his child lioldeth him still under correction, that he may have joy of him afterward. He that teacheth bis son shall have joy in him, and need not to be ashamed of him among his acquaintance. Whoso informeth and teacheth his son grieveth the enemy, and before his friends he may have joy of him. Though the father die, yet is he as though he were not dead; for he hath left one behind him that is like him. In his life he saw him, and had joy in him, and was not sorry in his death, neither' was he ashamed before his enemies; for he left behind him an avenger against his enemies, and a good doer unto his friends. He that chasteneth his child bindeth the wounds together, that his heart may fear every word. An untamed horse will be hard; and a wanton child will be wilful. If thou bring up thy son delicately, he shall make thee afraid; and if thou play with him, he shall bring thee to heaviness. Laugh not with him, lest thou weep with him also, and lest thy teeth be set on edge at the last. Give him no liberty in his youth, and excuse not his folly. Bow down his neck while he is young: hit him on the sides while he is yet but a child, lest he wax stubborn, and give no more force of thee; and so shalt thou have heaviness of soul." Deut. xxi. Moreover, who knoweth not that God in the law of Moses commanded, that the children which were stubborn and disobedient to their parents should be stoned unto death ? To whom also is it unknown unto what miserable end the priest Hely came, because he brought up his children dissolutely, and corrected them not1... for ward, and brake his neck? Perished not his sons also in battle? Again, did not Adonia the [i Kings i. 6.] son of Hagith exalt himself, and said, "I will be king?" "And his father would not displease him in any condition, nor said so much to him as, Why doest thou so?" What was the end of him? was he not slain? Fathers therefore ought not to be slothful nor negligent in the correction of their children, when they see them do amiss, lest the vengeance of God fall both upon them and upon their children. Father. Notwithstanding, the correction ought to be gentle and favourable. Son. According to the fault, and also according to the nature of the child that offendeth. If the fault be little, correction by word is sufficient, or else little punishment. But if the fault be great, let correction be done according to the fault. Some children also Things to be be brought as soon to amendment by words as by stripes. But this is to be observed correction, of all parents in all their corrections, that first of all, before they punish their children which have offended, they lay the fault openly before them, declare unto them how greatly they have offended and broken God's commandment, and exhort them from thenceforth to do better ; that the children may evidently perceive that both the words and stripes, which they suffer at their parents' hands, proceed from such an heart as heartily wish and desire not their destruction, but their salvation; not their loss, but their profit. And this meaneth the apostle, -when he saith : " Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, lest they be of a desperate mind." The good-will of the father toward his child ought to appear and shine even in the midst of his anger, and a moderation is to be had both in words and stripes ; that the wits of the children be not dulled, nor they driven to such an hatred with their parents, that they begin no more to love them as parents, but to hate them as tyrants, and hereof take an occasion to run away from them. Father. As those fathers are not to be commended which are so tender over their children that they cannot abide the wind to blow upon them, nor, though they [¦ This sentence is imperfect. That he fell, or words of the like meaning, should be supplied.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 355 offend, once to frown upon them, or to give them a sharp word; even so are those parents greatly to be discommended which furiously rage against their children, and without consideration beat them as stock-fish. These parents are rather butchers than fathers. Son. It become all parents to use a moderation in correcting their children; but now that I have answered to your question, I will go forth with the office of the parents. Father. Let it so be. Son. Tenthly, after the children have consumed certain years in the school of god liness, virtue, and learning, it is convenient that the parents do now consider with themselves, to what kind of honest and godly exercise they will put their children, that they may be able hereafter to live as good and profitable members of the common weal, and by their own industry and labour to get their living, yea, and to have also whereof to give unto the needy. For -God hath appointed no man to be idle in this world ; but every man to eat his own bread in the labour of his own hands, and to drink his own drink in the sweat of his own brows. And who knoweth not, what a sure patrimony and strong defence against the cruel darts of poverty and beggary an honest and good occupation is ? according to this common proverb : Artem quwvis terra alit; that is to say, " A man having an occupation shall be able to live wheresoever he become." Therefore shall it be wisdom for godly parents to determine with them selves betimes, how they will bestow their children, that they may be able afterward to live. If any of their children shall be found apt in time to come to be spiritual ministers in the church of God, pastors, and preachers, or to be schoolmasters, or magistrates in the public weal ; then shall it be convenient, that they continue still in their studies, and be sent unto some university, where they may exercise themselves in such kind of learning as shall be most meet for that vocation which they intend after ward openly to profess unto the glory of God, and unto the profit of their country. The residue of their children let the parents appoint to some honest and virtuous occupation, that they may be able afterward truly and honestly to live of themselves ; and by no means suffer them to live idly, nor to be of the number of such Sim Shake- bucklers', as in their young years fall unto serving, and in their old years fall unto beggary, if not unto worse. An honest and profitable occupation is a rich and wealthy patri mony. But in this behalf also this consideration must be had of the parents, that their children be set to such occupations as they of nature be most apt and inclined unto : so shall the science which they learn prosper the better with them, and they also shall so much the sooner come unto the knowledge and perfection of the same. For by striving against nature nothing cometh well and fortunately to pass. Furthermore, after the children be set in such estate, that by their knowledge, industry, and labour, they be able to live of themselves, yea, and to make provision for other also, if God shall call them to be rulers of households, and the time doth now require that they give themselves to marriage, whereof also they shew themselves very desirous, that they may be fruitful in the earth, and leave seed behind them, as their ancestors tofore have done according to the commandment of God ; it is the office Gen. i. and duty of good and godly parents to provide marriages for them, that they may Parents marry in the Lord, and with the consent of their parents, to whom also in this behalf p'rfvidem! they are obedient, and without whose counsel and advice they ought not rashly to Kfchii- enterprise any thing concerning matrimony. Children in the state of matrimony ought en' not to follow their own blind judgment, foolish fancy, carnal appetite, sensual pleasure, &c. but the grave, sage, prudent, and wise counsel of their parents, as persons which both for their wisdom and experience know, will, and can better provide for them in this case, than they can or may provide for themselves. Those children, which of their own brain and fancy attempt marriage without the good-will and consent of their parents, do grievously offend; and seldom cometh to pass that such marriages come unto a fortunate and prosperous end. What can prosper, where fear toward God and obedience toward the parents is cast aside, and fleshly sensuality followed ? If God's blessing be not present, what can have good success? And as the duty of children is, not to entangle themselves with the bond of matri- *-« [2 Blusterers and bullies were called swash-bucklers, or shake-bucklers, from shaking their bucklers (which were used by serving-men) in a noisy threatening manner.] 23—2 .356 THE CATECHISM. [Part mony without both the consent and counsel of their fathers and mothers; so likewise is it the office of all godly parents, understanding the desire, will, and mind of their children, to provide such yoke-fellows for them as fear God, come of an honest parentage, have been godly brought up from their infancy, love virtue, hate vice. Let them not so much respect nobility, riches, friendship, &c, after the manner of the world, as the riches of the mind, I mean honest and godly qualities. Let them in this behalf follow the holy and ancient patriarchs, which, because they would couple their children to such as feared God, sent into far countries ; whereas, if they had only considered and tendered wealth, riches, promotions, nobility of blood, friendship, beauty, strength, &c, they might have been provided at home at their own doors, yea, and that with less ^ain and charge. What man- j If they be sons whom they intend to set forth in marriage, let them provide such nerofwile I, , ,., • , , , , • • ,, .,„ a father 'honest, godly, and virtuous maids to be their wives, as may truly say with Sara provide for young Tobias' wife : " Thou knowest, 0 Lord, that I never had desire unto man, and Tob. hi. that I have kept my soul clean from all uncleanly lust. I have not kept company usa ' with those that pass their time in sport, neither have I made myself partaker with them that walk in light behaviour. Nevertheless, an husband have I consented to take, not for my pleasure, but in thy fear." Let them be no delicate minions, nor no white-fingered housewives, which can do nothing else but trick up themselves like puppets, and prick upon a clout without any gain, swift to command, but ready to do nothing, except it be to eat and drink, to keep company with some he-saint, to play at the dice and cards, to dance, to play upon a lute or upon a pair of virginals, &c. ; but rather let them be such as will lay their hands to work, help to get the penny, save such things as the man bringeth in, dress meat and drink, spin and card, look to , her family, nurse her own children, suffer nothing to perish, and in fine, even such j one as Salomon describeth in the thirty-first chapter of his proverbs. What matr— - If they be daughters whom the parents intend to set forth in marriage, let them band a father above all things take heed that such as shall marry their daughters be men that fear ought to pre- , ° J ° vide for his God, love his word, come of an honest stock, have been well brought up, have honest daughter. . . . . ' or; occupations to get their livings, are desirous to live with truth and honesty, abhor riot, hate dicing, carding, and such other vain pastimes, love their own houses, are careful for their families, &c. For better it is for a man to couple his daughter to such one as feareth God, although poor and base, than to a rich man without the fear of God and without the virtuous qualities of the mind, as Themistocles said: "I had rather marry my daughter to a man without money, than to money without a man.1" ^ For nothing can want where God is friend : neither can any thing long prosper where God is enemy. If the parents do thus set forth their daughters to men of a good disposition, then have they done that which is the duty of honest and godly a. fathers and mothers, as the wise man saith : " If thou have daughters, keep their body, and shew not thy face cheerful toward them. Marry thy daughter, and so shalt thou perform a weighty matter; but give her to a man of understanding." But this is also seemly, that parents, giving their children to marriage, give unto them also, according to their ability, some honest portion of substance, that they may be the more able to live : which thing also shall not a little increase, maintain, and confirm love and friendship between the married folk, when they consider the liberality and free heart of the parents toward them. Notwithstanding, let them so give that they themselves lack not : for better it is that children crave of their parents, than that parents should ask of their children. Moreover, as all these things heretofore rehearsed appertain unto the office of christian parents, and may by no means be neglected; so likewise is this also the Parents duty of fathers and mothers, so uprightly to live, and so innocently to behave them- good exam- selves in all their words and acts, that they offend not their children, nor be unto them children in example-givers of evil; but rather that in all their doings they shine as mirrors of of life. virtue in the presence of their children. For, as nothing doth more profit and edify the children than the virtuous, honest, and innocent life of the parents; so likewise [¦ Plut. Apophth. Valer. Max. vii. ii. Extern. 8.J VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 357 nothing corrupteth and hurteth more both the bodies and minds of the children than the wicked and naughty manners of fathers and mothers. For the children think that nothing is unlawful in them that is lawful in the parents; again, that they may boldly do that which they see their parents enterprise, use, and practise before their face. Let all parents therefore think, that fear God, that it is not sufficient for $c them to provide that their children be brought up in godliness and virtue, except they also confirm the same with their examples and manners, that their children, beholding their innocency and quiet behaviour, may study with all diligence to prac tise the same in their life and conversation. For, as the common proverb is, "The young cock croweth as he heareth the old." Again, " The child followeth the father." It were good for all fathers to have this saying of Christ ever before their eyes : " Who- Matt. xvm. soever doth offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Finally, this is the duty of all parents at all times, with their fervent and earnest prayers to commend their children to God, that he may preserve, keep, and govern them with his holy Spirit in his faith, fear, and love, and bless all their doings, giving good success to all their godly and honest enterprises, and so endue them with the abundance of his grace, that they, in this world serving him in holiness and righteous ness all the days of their fife, may, after their departure from this vale of misery, enjoy the heavenly inheritance purchased not with corruptible gold and silver, but with the precious blood of that pure and undefiled Lamb Christ Jesus our Lord; to whom be glory for ever. Father. Amen. Now, my child, seeing thou hast so godly and fruitfully set forth the office of parents toward their children, I also greatly desire to hear of thee on the other part the duty of children unto their parents. Son. It followeth next in order. OF THE DUTY OF CHILDREN TOWARD THEIR PARENTS. As concerning the duty of children toward their parents, we talked of that matter in the declaration of the fifth commandment ; so that it may seem now almost super fluous any more to speak of it : notwithstanding, forasmuch as the place and order requireth that we speak somewhat also now of the office and duty of children, and it is your pleasure that I should so do, I will gladly express unto you whatsoever I have to say in this behalf. Father. I allow thy diligence. Son. The most worthy apostle St Paul describeth the office and duty of children toward their parents on this manner : " Children, obey your fathers and mothers in Eph. vi. the Lord ; for that is right. Honour thy father and mother (the same is the first commandment in the promise), that thou mayest prosper, and live long on the earth." Again he saith : " Ye children, obey your fathers and mothers in all things ; for that col. hi. is well-pleasing to the Lord." Here see we, that the office and duty of children to ward their parents eonsisteth in two things. Father. What two things are they? Son. Honour and obedience. That child, children which will do his office truly and faithfully according to the commandment of God, hSur and must both honour and obey his father and mother. parents. thelr Father. In what points doth the honour of parents consist ? Son. First of all, in having a reverent opinion of them, of their prudence and wisdom, of their state and Of honour- ing parents. vocation, of their regiment and governance ; being persuaded that they are our parents, not by fortune and chance, but by the singular providence and good-will of God, given unto us of God for our great commodity, profit, and wealth. Secondly, in loving them, yea, and that not feignedly, but from the very bottom of the heart ; and in wishing unto them all good things from God, as unto persons which, next unto God, have and do best deserve of us. Thirdly, in giving them that reverence and honour outwardly, which by the com mandment of God is due from children to their parents ; as to bow the knee unto them, to ask them blessing, to put off their cap, to give them place, reverently and meekly 358 THE CATECHISM. [Part Gen. ix. Eccius. iii. Of obeying parents. Acts v. Children ought not to enterprise marriagewithout the counsel and consent of their parents. Exod. xx. Eph. CoLi Prov. xxx. to speak unto them, and with all outward gestures to shew a reverent honour and honourable reverence toward them, as persons representing the majesty of God. Fourthly, in labouring to the uttermost of their power to be thankful, and to requite their parents for such and so great benefits as they have received of God by them and their labours. As for an example, if their parents be aged and fallen into poverty, so that they are not able to live of themselves, nor to get their living by their own industry and labour, then ought the children, if they will truly honour their parents, to labour for them, to see unto their necessity, to provide necessaries for them, and by no means, so much as in them is, to suffer them for to lack any good thing; forasmuch as their parents cared and provided for them, when they were not able to care and provide for themselves. Fifthly and finally, in concealing, hiding, covering, and in interpreting all their parents' faults, vices, and incommodities unto the best, never objecting nor upbraiding them by any thing done amiss; but quietly and patiently to bear all things at their hands, considering that in thus doing they greatly please God, and offer unto him an acceptable sacrifice; and by no means to follow the wicked manners of the most wicked Ham, which, when Noah his father was drunken and lay uncovered 1 in the tent, went and told his two brethren without ; but rather to practise the godly be haviour of Sem and Japhet, which, taking a garment, laid it upon their shoulders and, coming backward, covered the nakedness2 of their father, namely, their faces being turned away, lest they should see their father's nakedness2. By this means were they blessed, and Ham cursed. It becometh a good and godly child, not to display, but to conceal the faults of his father, even as he wisheth that God should cover his own offences, as the wise man saith: "Rejoice not when thy father is reproved; for it is not honour unto thee, but shame. For the worship of a man's father is his own worship; and where the father is without honour, it is the dishonesty of the son. My son, make much of thy father in his age, and grieve him not as long as he liveth. And if his under standing fail, have patience with him, and despise him not in thy strength. For the good deed that thou shewest to thy father shall not be forgotten; and when thou thyself wantest, it shall be rewarded thee," &c. Father. Wherein eonsisteth the obedience of a child toward his father? Son. In two things principally. First, in shewing himself obedient, not feignedly, but from the very heart, to the will and commandment of his father in executing, performing, and accomplishing the same with all diligence, evermore seeking to do that which may please him, and eschewing again at all times whatsoever in any point may displease him. Father. But what if the father command the child to do that thing which is contrary to the word of God ? Son. Here the child oweth unto the father no obedi ence. For " we must obey God more than men." But of this matter we spake when we talked of the fifth commandment. Secondly, in attempting no grave or weighty matter without the counsel of his father, but to desire and crave his father's advice and judgment in all things; as not to enterprise marriage without his consent, nor to entangle himself with any weighty cause without the counsel and consent of his father; always preferring his father's judgment before his own, as one of more experience, larger wisdom, and greater knowledge, yea, as one that tendereth his commodity and profit no less than his own. Father. What ought to move children to shew this honour and obedience unto their parents? Son. First, the commandment of God, which saith: "Honour thy father and thy mother." Again : " Ye children, obey your fathers and mothers in the Lord." Secondly, the promise which is annexed to the commandment ; even this, that they which honour and obey their parents shall prosper and live long on the earth. Thirdly, the commination or threatening of God's anger and vengeance against all disobedient children. "Whoso laugheth his father to scorn, and setteth his mother's [' Three words are omitted.] [2 A word is substituted.] VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF CHILDREN. 359 commandment at nought," saith the wise man, "the ravens pick out his eyes in the valley, and devoured be he of the young eagles." How miserably perished Absolon 2 Sam. xviii. for his disobedience against his father ! Is not the commandment of God, that such Deut. xxi. children as are stubborn and disobedient to their parents should be stoned unto death ? Fourthly, the great labours and pains which the parents take, and the infinite charges and costs which they also bestow, in bringing up of them. These and such like things, diligently considered, shall easily move the heart of any natural and well-disposed child to shew true honour and unfeigned obedience unto his parents, and cause him to seek all means possible to gratify his parents again, and to answer kindness for kindness. Father. God for his mercy work this good disposition in the hearts of all children toward their parents ! Son. Amen. Father. Go forth now, my son, to recite the offices of such degrees as remain. Son. Next in order followeth the office of householders or masters toward their servants. ' OF THE OFFICE OF MASTERS OR HOUSEHOLDERS TOWARD THEIR SERVANTS. Forasmuch as every householder or master, that keepeth servants, maintaineth them unto this end, that by their labour and work things may be provided and gotten that be necessary for himself and for his family; and forasmuch as all labour and pain is taken in vain, except God blesseth the labours, and giveth good success to the travails ; therefore the first and principal office of a master or householder is Masters to bring up his servants and family in virtue and in the true knowledge of God, and gofemtiieir to train them daily in the exercises of true godliness at certain hours appointed, that go"™ and to by this means God may prosper their labours and travails, and bless his household, up'm'gcT and enrich every corner of his house, giving him abundance of all things. For " it is p?ov!'x. the blessing of the Lord that maketh men rich :" and, " except the Lord build the pSai. cxxvii. house, they labour in vain that build it." In the morning before they go unto labour, let the master of the house call all Exercises of his servants together, and, meekly kneeling down upon their knees, let one in the name p°rayerein the of them all give thanks unto our heavenly Father, that it hath pleased him of his mc'm'ng merciful goodness to preserve and defend them that night from all evil, and to give them sweet sleep and comfortable rest; and desire him also to keep and save them that day from all perils and dangers, and graciously to prosper their labours which they intend to enterprise, and always to assist them with his holy Spirit, that they take nothing in hand, but that may be acceptable in his sight, profitable to their christian brethren, and healthful to their souls. Let the rest of the family mark dili gently what is said, consent to it in their hearts, and when it is ended say, Amen. Afterward, all the servants rising up again together, let them all with one voice recite the articles of the christian faith : that done, let them all fall down again upon their knees, and one of them rehearse the ten commandments of God, the residue giving ear unto them, and saying together at the end of every commandment these words : " Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law." And when all the commandments be ended, let them say together with one voice on this wise, lifting up their hearts, eyes, and hands unto heaven : " Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee." These things done, if convenient leisure will serve, let a chapter be read in the presence of them all, even such one as the master of the house shall think most expedient and profitable for his family. After these things, let the master give his servants some little exhortation, to move them to live in the fear of God, to avoid sin, to embrace virtue, and in all points to frame their life according to their vocation and calling, every one in his office, doing their work so as though they did it unto God, which beholdeth all their doings, and 360 THE CATECHISM. [Part Prayer be fore dinner or supper. Grace after will reward every man according to his deeds ; and so let them depart every man unto his work in the peace of God. When the time requires that the servants shall take their repast, whether it be breakfast, dinner, or supper ; before they sit down, let them all reverently stand before the table, and one in the name of them all pray unto God to bless them and those his gifts which they shall there receive of his bounteous liberality, and so mannerly sit down together every man in his place, so behaving themselves all the time of their repast as it become the guests of God, all wanton talk, all scolding words, and all swearing utterly laid aside. Let all their communication either be of godly matters pertaining unto their salvation, or else of such things as belong unto their vocation and calling. Let them not eat and drink unto surfeiting and drunkenness, but unto the satisfaction of nature, which is content with a little ; always remembering, that we live not to eat, but we eat to live. For a belly too much burdened is not meet unto labour. Their repast taken, let one of them in the name of all say grace, and give thanks to God for his benefits so liberally bestowed upon them, and desire him to give them grace to walk worthy of his loving-kindness, that they neither in thought, word, or deed commit any thing displeasant to his divine Majesty; but unfeignedly serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life. Afterward saluting one another, let them repair unto their work in the fear of God, doing that diligently that their vocation requireth. And let this be their exercise at all times, both at breakfast, dinner, and supper. For every householder's house ought to be a school of godliness ; forasmuch as every householder ought also to be a bishop in his own house, and so to oversee his family, that nothing reign in it but virtue, godliness, and honesty. After this manner did the holy patriarchs and all godly householders both of the old and new testament rule and order their families in times past ; yea, and many other godly persons, as the eccle siastical histories do manifestly shew. And after this manner also ought every true and faithful householder to govern and rule his family and household, that God may be honoured in his house, and his holy name magnified of all the inhabitants thereof. Moreover, the days appointed unto work godly and virtuously passed over, when the Sunday come, and such other days as are consecrate to spiritual exercises, the householder, when convenient time require, shall repair unto the church with all his family attending upon him, and there both he and his whole household earnestly pray unto God, with his most humble thanks for his benefits so bounteously bestowed upon him and his family. They shall also give good advertence to the things that be read in the church, and specially to the chapters of the holy bible. And if there be a sermon, let the householder provide, that both he and his family sit in such conve nient place nigh unto the pulpit, that they may well hear the preacher, and the better note what is spoken. Again, if the holy and blessed communion be ministered that day, let both the householder and such as belong unto him, being prepared thereunto, address themselves unto the receiving thereof with all humility and worthiness. And when the householder with his company be returned home, and he is set down at the table, let him call before him all his servants that were with him at church, and require of them an accompts of those things that they have there heard. Such as can well report the sermon, and such other like godly things uttered in the church, let the master commend them; but such as be negligent and forgetful, let him exhort them to be more diligent hereafter : and so with godly and virtuous talk pass over the time, till the hour calleth again to the church, whither he and his ought with all reverence to resort, and to do such things as the worthiness of the place requireth. The evening prayer done, it shall not be unseemly for the householder to license his servants to take some honest pastime for the recreation of their wearied bodies, so that it be done with sobriety and christian modesty, all lightness and wanton toys set aside. The householder, thus training up his household in the exercises of true god liness, shall so obtain the favour of God, that all things shall right well prosper with him. VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF MASTERS. 361 Secondly, as it is the duty of a good master or householder to provide that god liness be planted in the hearts of his servants; so is it his office likewise to see dili gently that no vice take root in them. For commonly, wheresoever God buildeth a church, the devil will build a chapel just by. And wheresoever the goodman of the Matt. xiii. house sow wheat, there will the enemy also sow tares. Therefore the householder must have a diligent and watching eye, that no vice creep into his house. But above all things, let him take heed that there be no swearing used in his house. For that offendeth God greatly, and provoketh the vengeance of God to fall upon that house where it is used, as the wise man saith : " A man that useth much swearing shall be filled with wickedness ; and the plague," Eccius. xxiii. that is to say, the hot wrath and the fierce vengeance of God, " shall never go from his house." Again he saith : " The words of the swearer bringeth death. God grant that it be not found in the house of Jacob !" And the prophet Zachary saith, that he saw " a flying book," of twenty cubits long and ten cubits broad, in zech. v. the which were contained the curses and plagues that shall fall upon the house where swearing is used. " I will bring it forth," saith the Lord of hosts, " so that it shall come to the house of the swearer, and consume it with the timber and stones thereof." Let him also take heed that there be no whoring nor uncleanness of body, no, not so much as a filthy word used in his house ; but all cleanness and purity of life, as St Paul saith : " As for fornication and all uncleanness, let it not once be named Eph. v. among you, as it becometh saints, or filthiness, or foolish talking, or jesting, which are not comely ; but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, either unclean person, bath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." Let no filthy ballads or songs of love be sung in his house, that might stir up the filthy desires of the flesh; but rather songs of the holy scripture, and the psalms of David's David, set forth in metre in our English tongue, very apt for that purpose. In forth in these things let them exercise themselves, whensoever they intend to sing, that they may metre. rejoice in God, as St Paul saith : " Be ye filled with the Spirit, speaking unto your- Eph. v. selves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks alway for all things unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Again, let him provide that there be no quarrelling, scolding, chiding, and fighting used in his house; but rather all love, charity, quietness, amity, and concord. If there chance to fall any variance betwixt the servants, let the master of the house call for them that be at debate, hear the matter quietly, declare unto them how unseemly a thing it is for the servants of one master, dwelling in one house, wearing one livery, feeding upon one table, sleeping together, &c, to fall at variance one with another, which ought to take all one part, draw all by one line, speak all one thing, love together as brethren, &c. And before they depart from their master's presence, let such reconciliation be made between them that they ask one another forgiveness, and desire the good-will one of another, and promise before their master, that they will for ever after continue in hearty friendship one toward another. Moreover, let him take heed that there be no picking nor stealing used in his house, but all truth; no lying, but all fidelity; no dissimulation, but all simplicity; no craft and subtilty, but a plain and right-up dealing with all men; no wickedness, but godliness; no sin, but virtue; no vice, but integrity of manners; no corruption of life, but purity of conversation; that in all things they may garnish the doctrine of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thirdly, as it is the duty of a master or householder to train their servants in all points of godliness, and to exercise them in all virtue and goodness ; so likewise is it his duty to give a good example of virtue and godliness to his servants in life and conversation; lest that he, commanding good things, and working the con trary, destroy more by his wickedness of life than he edify with the godliness of words. Nothing maketh the men-servants so good as the goodness of the master, and nothing maketh the maid-servants so honest as the honesty of the mistress. It is a vain thing for the master to say unto his servant, "Be good ones," when he himself 362 THE CATECHISM. [Part is continually evil. What shall it profit a mistress to exhort her maid unto honesty, when she herself is an harlot? Let a master and a mistress be the same in their houses, that they would wish their household servants to be. For nothing doth so much allure unto godliness as good example-giving. Let masters and mistresses therefore shine in their houses as great lights, full of godliness and virtue, that their servants, seeing their good works, may take an occasion to practise the like, and to glorify our Father which is in heaven. After this sort did the holy patriarchs and all godly persons use themselves in their houses from the beginning. I would wish all householders to have these words of the psalmograph ever before their eyes, and according to the doctrine of the same to rule and govern his house. The words are these : Psa,Di- 1. "I will walk irt my house with a perfect heart." 2. " I will take no wicked thing in hand." 3. " I hate the sins of unfaithfulness : there shall no such cleave uiito me." 4. " A froward heart shall depart from me." 5. " I will not know a wicked person." 6. " Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I set nought by." 7. " Whoso hath a proud look and an high stomach, I will not suffer him." 8. " Mine eyes look unto such as be faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me." 9. "Whoso leadeth a godly life, he shall be my servant." 10. " There shall no deceitful person dwell in my house : he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight." Father. If all householders with their servants were such as the prince-like pro phet David doth here describe, then should godliness and virtue reign in more men's hearts than they do at this present. But let me hear if ought remain of the house holder's office. Son. Fourthly, it is the duty of a godly householder or master not to be rigorous and hasty with their servants, but rather to be gentle and quiet with them ; so that, if the servants sometime through negligence or oversight leave any thing undone, or do not things in such order as they ought to do, they quietly and patiently bear with them, exhorting them from henceforth to be more diligent and circumspect in doing their duty, and by no means like a madman fall out with them, curse, and lame them, cast dishes and pots at their heads, beat them, put them in danger of their life, &c. This becometh not christian modesty nor civil sobriety. It becometh every godly master or householder ever to set before his eyes this saying of the wise man: Eccius. iv. " Be not as a lion in thine own house, destroying the household folks, and oppressing Eph. vi. them that are under thee." Hereto agreeth the saying of St Paul : " Ye masters, put away threatenings, knowing that your Master also is in heaven ; neither is there coi. iv. any respect of persons with him." Again : " Masters, do unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven." Father. Why, is it not lawful for a master to correct his servants that offend, as well by stripes as by words ? Son. If words may do good, what need stripes ? Who offendeth not sometime ? If a servant be so negligent or wilful that he will not amend his fault, although many times heretofore admonished and rebuked for the same, the master may use his discretion in this behalf, and minister such moderate correction to the offender, as shall seem meet to his wisdom; this always considered, that measure be observed in all things, and that correction be ministered with discretion and favour. We be bought all with one price, and we be all inheritors of one glory. Christian men may not handle their servants as the unfaithful Turks do, which entreat their servants as bond-slaves, yea, as beasts, without any respect of manhood. Fifthly and finally, it pertaineth unto the office of a master or householder to give unto their servants such covenants as were agreed of between them; meat, drink, lodging, apparel, wages, &c., and to put unto them such labours as are tolerable, and that they can well bear ; and by no means to charge them with such burdens as they VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF MASTERS. 363 cannot bear, nor with such pains as they are not able to suffer, nor yet to defraud them of their necessary food or rest, whereby they should be the less able to do their work. It is the duty also of a good master not only to provide that his servant shall have all things necessary for him so long as he remaineth with him, and all his covenants at his departure ; but also, if he be of ability, to make some provision for him, that he may afterward be the more able to live, as the wise man saith : " Whereas thy servant Eccius. vii. worketh truly, entreat him not evil, nor the hireling that is faithful unto thee. Love a discreet servant as thine own soul: defraud him not of his liberty, neither leave him a poor man." Father. God make all masters thankful to their servants, and give them grace to consider the painful labours of their faithful servants ! But, my son, as thou hast now opened unto me the office of masters or householders, so likewise declare thou now unto me the duty of servants toward their masters* Son. I will gladly do it, mine own dear father. OF THE DUTY OF SERVANTS TOWARD THEIR MASTERS. The chief and principal point of the duty of servants eonsisteth in honouring and of honour- i_ • 1 1 • . ing masters. obeying their masters. Father. What is it to honour the masters? Son. Reverently to think of them; honourably to speak of them ; heartily to pray for them ; stedfastly to defend their good name ; and in all points so to esteem of them as of persons appointed of God to rule over them, by whom God feedeth them, clotheth them, governeth them, and teacheth them. This honour toward their masters, although never so simple and base, may the servants by no means neglect, nor deny to their rulers. For to dishonour the master is none other thing than to dishonour God, who hath straitly com manded thee, that art a servant, to honour thy master, and to have him in reverence. Father. Where is it commanded ? Son. God, by the holy apostle St Paul, saith : " Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their masters worthy of all honour, 1 Tim. vi. that the name of God and his doctrine be not evil spoken of." Father. Owe servants also obedience unto their masters ? Son. Yea, verily. Father. What is it to obey the masters? Son. Faithfully and with a good heart of obeying to do that which the master commandeth, and diligently to take heed that nothing be ers' either enterprised or neglected, that may in any point offend the master ; but rather to seek how to pleasure him, and to satisfy his commandment. Father. Where is this obedience commanded ? Son. St Paul saith : " Ye servants, Eph. vi. obey them that are your bodily masters with fear and trembling, even with the single ness of your heart, as unto Christ; not doing service unto the eye, as they that go about to please men ; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart ; with good-will serving the Lord, and not men; knowing this, that whatsoever good deed any man doth, the same shall he receive again of God, whether he be bond or free." Again : " Ye servants, be obedient unto them that are your bodily masters in coi. Hi. all things ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers ; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as though ye did it to the Lord, and not unto men ; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of inheritance ; for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doth sin shall receive for his sin. Neither is there any respect of persons with God." Once again he saith : " Exhort servants to be obedient Tit. u. unto their own masters, and to please them in all things ; not answering again ; neither to be pickers ; but that they shew all good faithfulness ; that they may do worship to the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." Father. But what if the masters be unkind, churlish, and shrewd? must the servants obey them also ? Son. So teacheth us St Peter, saying : " Servants, obey your masters i Pet. ii. with fear; not only if they be good and courteous, but also though they be froward. For this is thank- worthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, and suffer wrong undeserved. For what praise is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye 364 THE CATECHISM. [Part take it patiently ? But and if, when ye do well, ye suffer wrong, and take it patiently, then is there thanks with God." Masters com- Father. What if the master command their servants to do that which is contrary tSrytolSsto the will of God? shall they obey them also in this behalf? Son. Nothing less; for to°be obeyed. " we must obey God more than men." But of this matter we spake in the declaration of the fifth commandment. Notwithstanding, whatsoever the master commandeth his servant to do, not being repugnant to the word of God, it ought to be done with all diligence and cheerfulness of mind; as we have Jacob for an ensample, which served Laban, his uncle and master, in keeping his flocks of sheep many years, yea, and that Gen. xxxi. with great pains, as these his words declare, which he spake to his wives : " I have served your father with all my might." To Laban he also said : " Behold, these twenty years have I been with thee : thy sheep and thy goats have not been barren; and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. Whatsoever was torn of beasts, I brought it not unto thee, but made it good myself : of my hand didst thou require it, even as it that was stolen by day or night. By day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from mine eyes," &c. Father. We have few Jacobs at this present day. Such diligence and faithfulness, such labours and pains, as Jacob took, are not now-a-days found in our servants ; unto such dissolution of life, stubbornness of heart, and haughtiness of mind are they come. now servants Son. It is the more to be lamented. To become right Jacobs, that is to say, faithful good. ecom and painful servants, this shall help greatly ; if such as serve consider with themselves, that God hath cast them into that kind of life, that God hath made them servants and subject unto other, and that therefore they ought with all diligence and faithful ness, with all labour and pain, to satisfy their masters' commandment; yea, and that not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart; forasmuch as they know that, in doing faithful service unto their masters, they serve and please God. They ought also to set this before their eyes, that if they walk truly and faithfully in their vocation, serving their bodily masters according to the will and commandment of God, they shall not escape unrewarded ; if not at man's hand, yet at the hand of God, which for his promise sake will leave no good work unrewarded, as St Paul Eph. vi. saith : " Whatsoever good deed any man doth, the same shall he receive again of God, Rom. a. whether he be bond or free." "God will reward every man according to his deeds; that is to say, praise, honour, and immortality to them which continue in good-doing and seek immortality. But unto them that are rebels, and do not obey the truth, but follow unrighteousness, shall come indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon the soul of every man that doth evil." How beneficial God is to those servants Gen. xxxi. which truly and faithfully, diligently and painfully serve their bodily masters, the histories of Jacob and Joseph shew manifestly. Neither shall faithful and painful servants be re warded only in this world with the abundance of all temporal things ; but also in the world to come they shall " receive the reward of" heavenly " inheritance." Again, this they ought also to consider, that as they serve their masters now, so shall they be served of other, when they be householders and masters. If they be true, faithful, trusty, and diligent servants to their masters, God shall give unto them in time to come true, faith ful, trusty, and diligent servants again. But if they be untrue, unfaithful, untrusty, and negligent servants to their masters, even with such shall God pay them home again. For this saying of our Saviour Christ shall for ever and ever abide true : " With what Matt. vii. measure that ye mete withal, shall other men mete to you again." " Therefore, what soever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them also. For this is the law and the prophets." If servants would remember these things, it should encourage them to do their duty, and to live according to their vocation and calling. Father. Is there any thing behind of the servants' duty ? Son. The chief point of their duty ye have heard. This only remaineth, that every servant, where many be in house together, do strive and labour to the uttermost of their power to excel other in virtue, godliness, honesty, and in all kind of well-doing, being certainly per suaded, that in thus doing they please God, which will abundantly acquit this their faithfulness toward their masters, both in this world and in the world to come. Let them be faithful and true to their master. Let them pick, steal, or bribe nothing from xii. Luke vi. VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF SERVANTS. 365 their master. Let them study by all means possible honestly and truly to enrich their master, and not in any condition to hinder him. Let them use no lying, swearing, nor whoring in their master's house; but rather with Joseph embrace all godliness, honesty, and virtue, and in all points so behave themselves, that their master may rejoice in them, and they in their master, and God in them both. So shall it go well with all parties. Father. Well said, my son. What followeth now? Son. The offices and duties of the chief degrees and estates we have already heard. It now remaineth that we talk somewhat of the inferior degrees, as of widows, of young men, of maids, of old men, of old women, &c. Father. What sayest thou of widows and of their office? OF THE OFFICE OF WIDOWS. Son. St Paul describeth two kinds of widows ; the younger, and the elder. The 1 Tim. v. office of the elder or ancient widow is to be occupied about matters of God and of the eider about businesses of the congregation, and wholly to give herself to the exercises "" of the spirit, as to frequent the temple in the time of prayer, to be present at the sermons, to visit the sick, to relieve the needy, to wash the feet of the saints, to be rich in good works, to continue in prayers and supplications both day and night, and to be holy both in body and mind. Such a virtuous and holy widow was that noble matron Judith, which in the higher parts of her house made herself a Judith viii. privy chamber, where she dwelt, being closed in with her maids. She ware a smock of hair, and fasted all the days of her life, except the sabbaths and new moons, and the solemn days that the people of Israel keep. She was a woman of a very good report with every one; for she feared the Lord greatly, and there was nobody that spake any evil word of her. Such a godly widow also was Anna, of whom St Luke Luke n. writeth, that she " departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day." As touching the younger widows, forasmuch as many of them wax wanton against The office of Christ, and follow Satan, breaking their first faith and promise, which they made to widows. " God at their baptism (which is to abstain from all uncleanness both of body and mind, and to lead a pure and honest life), and so cast themselves into the danger of everlasting damnation ; it is convenient, by the doctrine of St Paul, that they " marry 1 Tim. v. again, bring forth children, guide their house" virtuously, and so live in the holy state of matrimony, that no man' may have just occasion to speak evil of them. Father. Where writeth St Paul this? Son. In his first epistle to Timothy. These are his words : " The younger widows refuse. For when they have begun to wax : Tim v. wanton against Christ, they will marry, having damnation, because they have cast away their first faith. And also they learn to go from house to house idle, yea, not idle only, but also prattlers and busy-bodies, speaking things which are not comely. I will therefore, that the younger woman marry, to bear children, to guide the house, and give none occasion to the adversary to speak evil." Father. The counsel of the holy apostle is good and necessary. For what is more convenient and meet for such widows as are ancient, old, aged, and (as they use to say) past the world, than to apply their minds unto the exercises of spiritual and heavenly things, always meditating death, and their departure from this vale of misery, wishing with St Paul to be loosened out of this mortal and wretched body, and to be with pwi. i. Cbrigt? \Again, what is more seemly for a young widow, which is apt to be a wife andfto bring forth children, than to marry in the fear of God, and to take unto her an husband, by whom she may have children, and godly to bring them _ujj^ and to govern her household virtuously, and to do such other things as appertain unto an honest and godly wife U For how light, vain, trifling, unhonest, unhousewife-like, young widows have been in all ages, and are also at this present day, experience doth sufficiently declare. [' The folio has woman.] 366 THE CATECHISM. [Part Nothing therefore is better for young widows than to marry again, so that it be done in the Lord. By this means they shall answer to their age, live honestly with their hus bands, be free from all suspicion of uncleanness, and pass over their time among their neighbours in good name and fame. Son. Old widows also in this our age are not free from fault. For many of them, which by the course of nature are not only past child-bearing, but also ready to go to ow widows their grave, do so doat and are so^ mad in these our days, that when they ought to leave our d'ays. &e the world, they begin to think anew of the world, and when they should only meditate and consider spiritual and heavenly things, they set their mind on fleshly pleasures; insomuch that some of them, being almost fourscore years old, have been known to marry with boys of eighteen years old : another sort, being so plagued with diseases that they were not almost able to stir in their beds, have notwithstanding given themselves to marriage, being far grown in age, yea, and that unto such husbands as, the riches once past, have little esteemed their wives; but, leaving them in all misery whom they found rich and wealthy, they have entangled themselves with strange love, utterly for saking the company of their old and toothless wives. >k Father. Fruits worthy such monstrous marriages ; marriages in times past hated even of the very heathen and infidels. It is good for so many as have the gift of con tinency to keep themselves free from marriage, that they may the more freely serve God; but specially for old women, which by the course of nature are past children-bearing : for their marriages are prodigious marriages. Son. You say truth. But I will go forth to recite the office and duty of young men that be unmarried. Father. Let it be so, my son. OF THE OFFICE AND DUTY OF YOUNG MEN UNMARRIED. Son. The office and duty of such young men as be unmarried eonsisteth chiefly in these points. First, that they, both with their words, works, and outward gestures, do shew reve rence, worship, and honour unto them that be their elders. Lev. xix. Father. Where is that commanded ? Son. God himself saith : " Thou shalt rise up before the hoar head, and reverence the face of the old man, and dread thy God. I am the Lord." Secondly, that they do not only outwardly reverence their elders, but also be ruled by them, ask counsel of them, and suffer themselves to be admonished and rebuked by them ; being persuaded, that there is more wisdom, knowledge, understanding, learning, and experience in the elders, than in themselves, which are but young and of small practice. And therefore ought young persons to have a great delight and singular pleasure to frequent the company of such as be ancient and of good expe rience and wisdom, that by this means they may come by knowledge, as the wise Eccius. vi. man saith : " My son, keep company with the multitude of such elders as have under standing, and consent unto their wisdom with thine heart, that thou mayest hear all godly sermons, and that the worthy sentences escape thee not. And if thou seest a man of discreet understanding, get thee soon unto him ; and let thy foot tread upon Eccius. \ in. the steps of his doors." Again he saith: "Think scorn of no man in his old age; for we wax old also." " Despise not the sermons of such elders as have understand ing, but acquaint thyself with the wise sentences of them; for of them thou shalt learn wisdom and the doctrine of understanding, and how to serve great men without complaint. Go not from the doctrine of the elders ; for they have learned it of their fathers. For of them thou shalt learn understanding, so that thou mayest make answer in the time of need." Thirdly, that they be not proud, nor stand in their own conceit, nor brag or boast themselves of such gifts as God hath endued them with; but rather that they be sober-minded, humble, meek, lovely, gentle, and ready to hear other, and also to give 1 Pet. v. place unto their elders, as St Peter saith : " Ye young folk, submit yourselves unto the elders. Submit yourselves every man one to another. Knit yourselves together VI.] OFFICES OF ALL DEGREES.— OF YOUNG MEN. 367 in lowliness of mind. For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." St Paul also saith : " Exhort the younger men that they be sober-minded." Tit. ii. Fourthly,, that they be not idle, no tavejm-hunters, no users of unhonest or un lawful pastimes, no pickers of quarrels, no drunkarjds^o keepers of evil company ; but rather well occupied, content with the houses where4liey dwell, using honest and law ful pastimes, quiet, sober, keeping company with the godly and virtuous, and ever having God before their eyes. . Fifthly and finally, forasmuch as they intend once to marry, if God bless them with life, it is the duty of young men also to keep their bodies unpolluted, undefiled, unspotted, free and utterly estranged from all whoredom and uncleanness, that they may come with pure bodies unto the holy state of honourable wedlock; following in this behalf the godly example of the most godly young man Joseph, Jacob's son, which did rather choose to lose all his promotions and wealthy livings, yea, to be cast into prison, and there to suffer many and great miseries, than he would trans gress the commandment of God and abuse his body in any kind of uncleanness, be fore God called him unto the blessed state of matrimony. This example let all young men that be unmarried have continually before their eyes, and remember how graciously God dealt with Joseph afterward, how he blessed Gen. xii. him, and made him greatest and of highest authority in all Egypt, the king only excepted. Therefore, when the devil, the world, and the flesh shall move them unto uncleanness, either to deflower maids, or to corrupt men's wives, or to defile widows, or otherwise unhonestly to behave themselves either in thought, word, and deed, let them say with Joseph: "How can I do this wickedness, and sin against God?"