THe first point and chief profession of a true christen man, is most stedfastly to beleue, that ther be thre persones and one God, as we are taught in Baptisme, whiche is commaunded to be ministred in the name of the father, of the sonne,Math. 28 & of the holy spirit. For in y^e bath of holy baptisme, we are regenerate, washed, purified, and made the children of God, by the workmanship of the thre persons, which formed also heauē and earth, and al the glorious fairnes of them, they brought the children of Israel out of the house of bondage, they preserued them from the tyranny and oppression of the Heathen, they gaue also vnto the Hea­then prosperitie and aduersitie, peace & war, pouertie and riches▪ they gouerne the vniuersal church, whose workes be vnseparable. Wherfore I thinke it necessary to declare what God is, and what a persone signifieth in the deitie, for as much as the commen sort of peple are [Page] ignorāt of their maker and gouernour, and the signification of a persone is ap­plied to diuerse things. And because the­se two pointes be darke and hidden mi­steries, and no lesse necessary to be kno­wen of al men, then hard to teach, I wil shape my speach after such a perceiuable fashiō, that I may by Gods help make an Image of God for the capacitie of y^e simple and vnlearned. God spake to the Israelites out of the fire in the mount Oreb, & it is writtē y^t they heard a voice, but they sawe no Image,Deut. 4 because they should make none after it. For it is a dishonor to God, a derogation and defa­ming of the diuine nature, to make any similitude therof, ether of gold, siluer, stone, wood, or in thought and minde. We must hear his voyce, we must learn what God is out of Gods boke, not of mans wisdome. For if al thinges which be vnder the sunne, be to hard for man, as the wyse mā telleth,Eccle. 1 how much more be the secret [...] of Gods nature hid from his eies, of the whiche Esay wryteth: Truly Lorde thou art hidden from vs,Esaie. 45 counting himselfe one of the ignoraunt.Simonides Simonides a famous clarke among the [Page 2] Heathē teacheth vs how feble mās wyt is, in declaring this misterie, who when he was enquired of king Hiero what a thing God was, he asked a day respite, and the next day when he was enquired again, he asked two daies more, & when they were expired, he asked more, not ceassing to double his daies, vntil Hiero required of him why he did so? For be­cause said Simonides, the more I consider it, the darker it is vnto me: And no mar­uel, for as no man knoweth what is in man but y^e spirit of mā, so al men be ignorant what God is, except thei be taught of y^e spirit of God. For seing Paul saith: the eie hath not sene,1 Cor. 2 nor the eare hath not heard, ne yet haue entred into the hert of mā, the things which God hath prepared for them that loue him: howe much more doeth he himself surmount our capacities? But it foloweth: God hath opened them vnto vs by his spirit,Iohn. [...] for the spirit searcheth al things, yea the botom of gods secretes. And this spirit speaketh & breatheth on vs in the scrip­tures, as it is written: My wordes are spirit and life.

Experience doth teache vs, and the [Page] Apostle warneth vs, how sātastical our heads be in searching Gods misteries. For some imagine God to be a corpo­ral thing, & of mās shape and forme, be­cause the scripture doth graūt in diuerse places vnto God hands, fete, eares, eies mouth & tong, called comenly Anthropo morphites. Read the .x. boke of the tripar­tite historie .vii. chap. and there you shal finde a great contention cōcerning this matter,Li. x. hist. [...]rip [...]r. ca. 7 betwene the monkes of Egipt, and Theophilus bishop of Alexādria, albeit the sect of the Epicurus held this assercion long before as it appereth in the first bok of Tullie De natura deorū, wher this opinion is eloquently confuted by Cotta a Senatour of Rome.

Roma. 1Other rob God of his glory & geue it vnto his creatures, worshipping y^e Sun the Mone, the fier, yea and mortal men for the immortal God, and vnreasona­ble beastes, for the authour of al reason, wisdome, and vnderstanding. And some dishonor him by honoring of dead sain­tes, and worshipping of bread and wine, without any cōmaundment of the scrip­ture, any exāple in the old or new testa­ment, any authoritie of the doctors. I [Page 3] wyll not stand in rehersing the sundry phantasies of men as touching God. What is the cause of al these phansies & diuersities, but that for which Esay con­troleth vs, saieng:Esaie. 1 The oxe knoweth his Lord, and the asse his masters stall, but we know not god. Come therfore good christen people, & harken to the wordes of the Lorde, & I wil shew you in them y^e maiestie of God himself, his face & coun­tenāce, his magnificēce & highnes, which cannot abide the felowship of any crea­tures.Hebr. 1 [...] Paul vnto the Hebrues warneth vs that we be not caried away with di­uerse and straung doctrine,Strau [...]ge doctrin [...] what it is. which [...] much to say as if he shuld cōmaunde vs to flie mans doctrine. For m [...]n be the straūgers, whose doctrine he biddeth vs flie, as Peter witnesseth: [...]early belo­ued I besech you as straungers & Pil­g [...]ims. &c. Paul also expoūdeth h [...]m [...]elf,1 Petr. 2 saying that Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob, confessed themselues to [...]e straungers and Pilgrimes vpō the [...] dwelling in tent [...]s. And Christ saith that his sh [...]pe hear not the voice of straungers,Iohn. 1 [...] Math. 8. that is the doctrine of men, the whiche in the viii. of Mar [...]e is called the leauen of the [Page] Pharisies and of Herod.The leauē of the Pharisies. Wherfore if we be shepe of his pasture, and people of his handes, let vs folow his counsel, for he is our shepeheard, our head, and the truth, and of his Apostles, for they are his labourers and workemen, remem­bring that Dauid saith, vnderstanding is good to them that doe after it.psal. 110. a Luke. 12. a For he that knoweth his maisters wil and will not folow it, he shal be more greuovsly punished. Christ saith vnto a woman of Samaria at Iacobs wel besides Sichar, Iohn. 4 Samari­tans, Ie­wes. y^t she & her people worshipped they knew not what, for they leaned to custume & fathers, rather then to the text of Gods word, saiyng: our fathers worshipped in this mountain. But the Iewe [...] [...]leauing vnto Gods word, and worshipping in the temple, knew what they worship­ped, the whiche was written for our en­struction, that we shuld repare vnto the scriptures in all doutes, and controuer­sies, the which is the only touch stone to examin and trie al doctrine, the forged, pretensed and false, from the sincere, ger­mane & true. The weapons of our warre saith Paul:2 Cor. 10. are not carnal thinges, but the power of God to cast down strong [Page 4] holdes, to ouerthrow inuentions, that is to vanquish heresie, to destroy all il doc­trine. Verely the Gospel is that power of God (for so Paul tearmeth it) vnto saluation to all them that beleue.Scriptu [...] is the po­wer of god Roma. 1. A swearde. The Gospel is the spiritual swerd that shall preuaile against Sathan, much more a­gainst heretikes and his members, this swerd shal ouercome Antechrist, whom god shal sley w^t the breath of his mouth: With this swerd Christ confounded the deuil, mainteined his disciples,Ephe. 1. 2 Thes. 2 Math. 4 Math. 12▪ sclaun­dred of the Phariseis as Sabboth brea­kers, proued the resurrectiō against the Saduces, taught a certain yong man y^e way to heauen, contented the Phariseis touching mariage,Math. 22 with this swerd the Apostels in diuerse assembles confuted the Iewes after Christes ascension, as in their actes is regestred. The papistes replie that the scripturs are not sufficiēt and able to confoūd heretikes, but their interpretations and gloses vpon them, because they be not plaine and euident, but dark and hard, and may be wrested to many purposes. How did Christ con­fute the deuil? With scripture or expoū ­ding the scriptures? Again, Gods word [Page] is a lanterne, a light, it turneth the soule, it geueth wisdome euē vnto babes,A lanterne Psa. 118. it re­ioyseth y^e hart, it lightneth the eyes, it is a candle shining in a darke place, & ther­fore not hard nor darke,2. Peter. 1. but easy & plain, and to be studied of all men hygh & low, pore and rich,To be stu­died of all m [...]n. Iob. 7. spirituall and lay. For the holy & paciēt man Iob saith, that the lyfe of man is nothing els, then a very war­fare vpon the earth, ful of misery & trou­ble, set about with a great multitude of mortal enemies, the deuil, the world, and the flesh. Wherfore the sweard of Gods word is very necessary vnto al that be in this warfare.gods word [...] a sword. Luke. 22. For who goeth to battell without a sweard? Doth not he y^t taketh away thy sweard, betray the vnto thyne aduersaries? Christe saith, he y^t hath no sweard, let him sel his coat & by him one, and the papistes seke al meanes possible to spoyle y^e people of their sweard which is Gods word, saieng it wil make them heretiks:2. Cor. 2 for Litera occidit, spiritus est qui viuificat. The letter killeth, and the spirit quikneth, is Gods word the letter? Thē we must not reade it▪ least it kill vs, least it make vs heretykes.Ihon. 17 1. Peter. 1. But harken what master Doctour of all veritye saith. [Page 5] Sermo tuus veritas est. Thy word is truth. And Peter calleth the selfe same immor­tall seed, by which we are borne a newe,Immortal seed. Ihon. 15. Roma. 10. and which lasteth and lyueth for euer. Doth immortal seed kyl vs? Doth truth make vs heretikes? Christ declareth the operatiō of this seed saieng, now you ar cleane by my word, & Paule saith: Fides exauditu, that faith commeth therof, not heresy. These frutes this seed engēdreth where it is sowen: truth, cleannes of life, regeneration, and faith. He that talketh with wyse men, becometh wiser by ther cōmunication. And shall not he that tal­keth with God y^e authour of al wysdom in his scriptures, be edified therby:2. Cor. 3. The [...] letter wha [...] it is. Thē what is Littera occidens, the murthering letter? Truly the lawe which causeth an­ger, by which cometh knowledge of sin,Roma. 4. Roma. 3. Galath. 3. which is a scolemaster vnto Christ. The lawe first killeth, that Christ may make alyue, it condempneth, that Christ may iustify, it sheweth sinne, he healeth sinne. The gospel is a sermon of Gods mercy, that he hathe blotted out oure sinnes by fayth onelye in Chrystes bloude, it ma­keth no heretykes, xii. men by preach­ynge of it,Math. 5. made the vnfaythefull and [Page] heretikes, faithful and true Christians: this candel was not light to be put vn­der a bushel,Math. 5 but to be set in the candel­stick, to geue light to them that be in Gods house.Luke. 11 For Christe crieth, wo worth them, that take away the key of knowledge, nether entring them selues, ne yet suffring other to enter. The key of knowledge is Gods holy testament and word,gods word the key, the touch stone that whiche before we called the touchston to discerne good doctrine frō euil. When thei had taken the touchstone from vs, they made vs beleue that Peuter was siluer, and they sold vs copper for gold, making y^e scriptures a nose of wax and a tenis baule, wresting them vnto euery purpose. Thus we sée from whēce we must fetch the knowledge of God, verely out of Gods word whiche is the truth, and not out of the questio­nistes or schole mē or other like. For he saith by his Apostle:Esay. 33. I wil destroy the wisdome of the wyse, and I will cast a­way the vnderstanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the Scribe? wher is the searcher of this world? [...]. Cor. 1. Hath not God made y^e wisdom of this world folishnes? As God is knowen only of [Page 6] himself, so we must only learne of hym what he is. As for man he knoweth no more what God is, then the vnreasonable beastes know what man is, yea and so much lesse, as there is more difference betwene God and man, then betwene man and the beastes.

Wherfore all leauen, al straunge doc­trine and mans wisdom set apart, I will see what the scriptures teach vs concer­ning God, nor I wil not disdain to aske where I shall see cause, nor be ashamed to learne where I am ignorant, desiring him that readeth this treatise, where the scripture is plain to beleue (for except we beleue, we shal not vnderstand) where it is doubtfull to search with me, where he seeth himself out of the way, to reuoke his opinion, where he seeth me in an er­rour, to enforme me, and I will be glad to learne, and so we shall folow the rule of charitie, searching both after God, whome it is written:psal. 104. Seke the Lorde and hys strength, seke his face euermore.

[Page] WHen Moses desired y^e Lord to shew him his name, the Lord saide vnto him:Exod. 3 I am that I am. That is to wit, I am of my self I am only. Nothing is of it selfe without creation, without corruption, saue only I, which am that I am. Whiche vnderstanding God himself doth declare speaking fur­ther vnto Moses, this shalt thou saye vnto the childrē of Israel. He that is, did send me vnto you, for nothīg is saue on­ly God, forasmuch as they stand not by their proper strength, but by the power and goodnes of him. The heauens, the waters, the earth, the hill [...]s would fall, onles he measured the heauen with hys span,Esay. 40 held the waters in his fist, compre­hended the whole earth in thre fingers, weyed the mountaines and hilles in a balaunce: by which phrases is ment that he gouerneth, ordreth, and disposeth thē as he listeth. Nether the Sunne could geue light, ne yet the fire heat, al thinges would decay and perishe, onles he did rule them, as the soull doth mans body, vnto whom only that belongeth and apperteineth▪ which the Grekes cal on, the [Page 7] Latinistes, est, as witnesseth the Apostle. Non est in illo, est & non, sed est in illo est. 2 Cor. [...]

Of all other thinges (non) may be said for once they were not, but not of God, because he was alwaies, he is, and he is to come, all thinges haue their being of him, and he of him self. Except we vnderstand this saying (he that is, sent me vn­to you) after this sort, it maketh no diffe­rence betwene God and his creatures. For all be it they haue not their begin­ning of themselues, but of him, yet it is truly said of them that they are. Moreo­uer what could y^e Isralites haue thought Moses to haue ment by these wordes, (he that is) then a certain man sent hym vnto them? If they had taken Moises so, they would not haue left Egipt and folowed hym into the wyldernes, but they toke these wordes (he that is) for God himself, and therfore folowed him▪ the which throughout the Bible be ne­uer spoken of any creature, but only of him that made all creatures. The name of God also declareth thys sence to be true, which is Ihuh, of foure letters in all tongues, in Greke Theos, in Latin Deus, in English & Dutch, God, in the Frēch [Page] Dieu, in spanishe Dios, in the Almaines tong Gott, and therfore called Tetragram maton, and in Latin Quadrilitterum, deri­ued of Essendo, or rather that word that signifieth Esse in the Ebrue, is deriued of it. The Iewes read for that worde, Adonai, not that it can not be expressed in their tongue, but for a reuerence to Gods name, the which as they thought was not once to be named.

WE reade also in y^e scriptures that God is a spirit, and no corporall thing.Iohn. 4. God is a spirit and thei that worship him, must worship him in spirit, and truth the Lorde no doubt is a spirit. But you will say, if God be a spi­rit,2 Cor. 3 how is it th [...]t the Prophet affirmeth him to measure heauen with his span, to hold the waters with his fist,Esay. 40 & the earth in thre fingers? Dauid also saieth: The eies of the Lord are ouer the rightuouse,psalm. 33 [Page 8] and his eares are opē vnto their praiers, and the hand of the Lord hath driuē out the Heathē. Hath a spirit, fingers, hāds,psalm. 4 [...] eies, and eares? Whersoeuer scripture doth attribute vnto God a head, eares, eies, eieliddes, nose, mouth, lips, tonge, heart, wombe, handes, right or left, fin­gers or a finger, an arm, hinder partes, fete, it is not to be vnderstand litterally, but a spirituall sence is to be gathered of such wordes. Bycause our vnderstan­dinges be weak & not able to perceiue God, if he should vse such words as be­come his maiestie, he boroweth cōmon & plain words to declare a difficult mat­ter vnto vs: and euen as mothers before they can teach their yōg babes to speak, are faine as it were to lispe stammar & stut with them, so God to teach our ca­pacities, vseth these familiar maner of speches.

When thou readest that God hath a head,what god [...] head is. thou must vnderstand his deuine nature, which was be [...]re all thinges, & vnto it al thinges be obediēt.His hear [...]. His heares signifie his Angels and the whole mul­titude of the chosen. Dan. 7. his clothing was as whit as snow, y^e hear of his head [Page] lyke pure woll, where the head of God is his deitie and Godhead, his clothing and his heares be his Angels and elect, which be like whit snow and pure woll. God is said to haue eies,Eies. bicause he seeth al thinges, and nothing is hid from him in whose sight as the Apostle telleth no creature is vnuisible, for all thinges be nak [...]d and open vnto his eies. His eies also sometimes be taken for his fauour. The eies of the Lord are ouer the righ­tuous.Psal. 33 His eie liddes be taken for his se­cret iudgements.Psalm. 10 Eieliddes. His eie liddes beholde the children of men. He is sayd to haue eares, bicause he heareth al things. The eare of the gelouse heareth all thinges & the noise of the grudgings shall not be hid.Eares. Sap. 1 His nose doth signifie his inspirati­ons in the herts of the faithful.Nose. [...] Reg. 22. Smoke went out of his nosetrelles. The face of God is the knowledge of his deuine nature,His face. Psal. 79 of the whiche is wrytten, shewe vs the lyght of thy coūtenaunce and we shall be hole, that is graunt vs to know thee. Otherwyse Gods face signifieth y^e vnuisible nature of Christes deuinitie, as Exo. do [...]h declare, you shal se my hinder partes but my face you can not see,Exod. 34 [Page 9] that is thou shalt se Christes humanitie, but his diuinitie can not be seen.Mouth. Threno. Gods mouth is takē for the sonne of God the father. We haue prouoked his mouth vnto wrath, or his commaundement.Esay. 59. Tongue. Psal. 44. Arme. Iere. 32 The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Gods tongue is the holy Ghost. My tongue is the pen of a redy wryter. His arme signifieth Christ, of whom Iere­my writeth. Thou hast brought thy people of Israel out of the land of Egipt, w^t an almightie hand, with a stretched out arme. Wher also Christ is called y^e hand of God. For he is both his arme,Hand. Christ. & his hand. Moreouer Gods hand is taken some tyme for his power. Beholde ye house of Israel, ye are in my hand,Power. Iere. 18 euen as the clay in the potters hand. Some time for his scourge saith he: I wil stret­che forth my hand ouer Iuda and Hierusalem,Scourge. Soph. 1 and I wil rote out the remnaunt of Baal, of the which scourge Iob saith, the hand of the Lord hath touched me.Iob. 19 Right hād Christes glory. Psa. 116 Furthermore Christe i [...] called Gods right hand. The right hand of the Lord hath done maruelles, the right hand of the Lord hath gotten the victory. It is vsed also for the glory of the father con­cerning [Page] which he saith to his sonne, syt on my right hād. And in some places for euerlasting ioy and life. And he shal set y^e shepe on his right hand,Math. 25 and the Goats on the left hand, wher as his right hand is taken for uerlasting ioye,Left hand. so his lefte hand signifieth the tormentes of the wicked. Gods finger is the holy ghost. If I cast out deuils in y^e finger of God.Luke. 11 &c. For where Luke saieth in the finger of God,Math. 12 His finger it is in Mathew: If I cast out de­uils in the spirit of God. Gods finger therfore is his holy comforter. For as the hand, finger, and arme, are thre, and yet but of one body: so y^e father, y^e sonne, and the holy ghost, are thre persons, and one substaunce, one God.

The hert of God.The heart of God y^e father signifieth the secret of his wisdom, of which he be­gate his word, that is his sonne with­out beginning, without any passion, my heart is enditing a good matter. His wombe is vsed in thesame signification.Psal. 44. Wombe. psal. 109 Of my womb before the morning star I begat thee. God is said also to haue shulders,Shulders. psalm. 90 Hinder partes. because he beareth vp all thinges as it were vpō his shulders, for al things stand by him. The hinder parts of God [Page 10] is Christs humanitie, the which he toke vpon him in the end of the world, that we might liue without end, which is called also Gods fete.Fete. For as his head sig­nifieth his deuinitie, so his fete signifie Christes humanitie, the which is subiect vnto Gods deitie, as our fete are vnto our heads. Thou hast put all thinges in subiection vnder his fete.psal. 8 In some pla­ces preachers of Gods worde be ment by his fete. They that drawe nigh hys fete, shal tast of his doctrine.Deu. 33 An exhortatiō to swe­rers. You swea­rers & blasphemers which vse to swear by Gods heart, armes, nailes, guttes, legges, and handes, learne what these thinges signifie, and leaue your abhominable othes: For when thou swearest by Gods heart, thou swearest by Gods wisdom: when thou swearest by Gods armes, thou swearest by Christ: when y^u swearest hands, legs, thou swearest by his humanitie: whē thou swearest by his tong, and finger, thou swerest by the ho­ly ghost, and swearing by his head, thou swerest by his diuine and blessed nature, and swearing by his heares, thou abu­sest his creatures, by which thou art for­biddē to swear. Whē an oth is necessary [Page] we are bounde to swear by God only, vnto whom al honor is due, for we ho­nor that thing wherby we swear. It is naught to swear by the Masse, a prophanacion of Christes supper, and a patched creature of the Byshop of Rome,God is ho­nored by swearing. which was longer in patching, then Salomōs great tēple in building. Nether is it law­full to swear by any sainctes, as Iudges and Stewardes make the simple people do at cessions and courtes,God only is to be sworne by. Psal. 62 Heb. 6 for if they be to be sworne by, they are to be praied vnto, and to be honored. Dauid saieth all they that swear by him, shalbe commē ­ded. And Paul vnto the Hebrues spea­keth thus: that God because he had no greater thing to swear by, swore by him self, wherby we must gather, y^t we must swear by God only. Thei that swear by his creatures, or by the Masse, be Ido­laters. But some wil say, if we honor y^• thing wherby we swear, let vs swear by God, that we may honor him. Brother be not deceiued. God is honored by swering, but how? Truly when thou swea­rest by him in a waighty matter of life & death, before an officer, or in any other matters of importaunce, thou dost hym [Page 11] honor and homage: but if in euery trifle thou call him to witnes, thou dishono­norest him, and breakest his commaun­dement, which saith: Non assumes nomen domini. &c. Thou shalt not take y^e name of thy Lord God in vaine: Swear ther­fore by God, as God hath commaūded thee, & thou honorest him. I trust nowe it is euident that God not withstāding all these forsaid partes and members, is a spirit, and no bodely, no corporall, no sensible thing. If ther be any that think otherwyse, I would fain learn how thei set the scripturs together, which can not be contrary one to another, for scripture is truth,Iohn. 17 and truth can by no meanes be contrary to the truth.

If they wil proue of the places before that God is like man, I will proue also because the scripture saith: who is this y^t cometh frō Edom with stained red clo­thes of Bosra, whiche is so costly,Esay. 63 that God goeth in a red coat, whiche if it be true, he must nedes haue a tailer, or els make it himself, for those wordes ar spo­ken of God, as the place sheweth. But if we weigh the place diligently,What stained red clo­thes be E­dom. we shall find that Edom is the earth, & the stai­ned [Page] [...] [Page 11] [...] [Page] red clothes, are Christes bloude, whiche he did shed vppon earth for our sinnes. And they whiche demaund who he is, be his creatures, which shall mar­uel at the wisdom of God in deliuering mankind from the bondage of the spiri­tual Pharao by bloud, by death, by the crosse. I wil proue also, y^t he hath shoes: for he saith by Dauid, ouer Edom wil I strech out my shoe. And then he must nedes haue a shomaker,Psal. 59 what gods shoe [...]s. or els make shoes him selfe. But Edom is the earth, the A­postels fete be his shoes, for it is written how bewtiful are the fete of them which bryng glad tidinges of peace.Iohn. 10 He stret­ched his shoe ouer the earth, when he sent them to preach to al creatures. For their sounde went into all landes, their words to the ends of the world.Psal. 18 I may proue also with lyke argumentes vnto these, bycause Gods worde doth attri­bute wynges vnto God,Psal. 16 that he is a byrd, and so if he be lyke a man and a byrd,Psalm. 7 both, he is a mōster: and bicause it doth attribute vnto him bow, shaftes, & quyuer, that he vseth shoting, bicause it graunteth to him a fan, a flore, wheat & chaffe,Math. 3 that he occupieth husbandry. Dauid [Page 12] saith: defend me vnder the shadowe of thy wynges, likening God to a bird, forasmuche as he is no lesse carefull for his chosen then the Hen is for her chic­kens, as Christ declareth very well cry­ing: Ierusalem, Ierusalem, howe often wold I haue gathered thy children together,Math. [...]3. as the hen gathered hir chickēs vn­der hir winges, and ye would not. And it graunteth God bow and shaftes and a quiuer,How God is said to be a shoter. to signifie him to be a punisher of the vngodly, and a rewarder of the Godly, for as muche as men minister helpe or vengeaunce one to another of­tentimes through bowes and shaftes, and one Prince aideth an other with archers. He hath bent his bow saith Da­uid, and made it ready,Psalm. 7 he hath prepared weapons of death, and ordeined arowes to destroy, that is, he wil auēge euil mē, he wil reward them for their oppression▪ he wil punish them for their vngracious deuises, except they amende, he hathe whet his swerde. And [...]ell may God be compared to a shoter. For as the sho­ter the lesse or more he draweth his shaft his stroke is therafter, and if he draw it far and vp to the Iron, then it payeth [...] [Page] likenes of God? Yea truly, but in soule, in mind, in y^• inward man, not touching his body. Wherfore Augustin a man most expert in Gods word, crieth out against the Image of the trinitie, calling it Sacrilegium. A staining of Gods ho­nour,The image of y^e father is an Idol. and an Idoll, because the glory of the immortall God is chaunged into y^e similitude and Image of mortall man, forbidding such an Image, not only in the church, but also in thought & mind. I suppose that the Antropomorphites e­rected this Image. When Philip desi­red Christ to shew him the father,Iohn. 14. Hebr. 1 he re­buked him, and aunswered: he that seeth me, seeth the Father, for he is the only Image of the Father, as Paul writeth, not a domme Image,How man was made after the Image of God. for he is his word not a dead Image, for he is life and re­surrection, not coūterfet, for he is truth. God is a spirit, not fleshe, a soull, not a body. The soull of man is sayde to be made, Ad imaginem & similitudinem dei, after the Image of God,Gene. 1 because it is a spirituall creature, vnuisible, vncorrup­tible, not of the substaunce of God, as the Maniches,Priscillia­nistes. and the Priscillianistes do falsly defend, but made of nothing. [Page 14] For then it should know all thinges, as God knoweth, and be ignoraunt of no­thing: it should be voyd of al affections, mutabilitie, and vnconstancie. There is in mans soull, reason, discerning good from euil, truth from falshead. There is memory, by the whiche he remembreth thinges past, there is will, by the whiche he choseth what hym lyketh. Besides this, our first parentes were made with out spot, voyd of sinne, clean, righteous, holy, replenished with al floures of ver­tues and knowledge. In these thinges, man was formed after the lykenes of God: In these we be like y^e Angels,Gene. 2 our bodies we haue comen with the brute beastes, it was made of the mould of the earth (as Moses telleth) before ther was any similitude, likenes, or image of god in mā. S. Paul also declareth this to be true, saying:Ephe. 4. be ye renued in the spirit of your mindes, & put on y^e new mā, which after the image of God is shapē in righ­teousnes, & true holines. And in another place:Collossi. 3. lie not one to another after that ye haue put of the old man with his works & put on y^e new, which is renued in knowledge after y^e image of him y^t made him. [...] [Page] place: as for the scorneful, he shall laugh them to scorne.How God doth laugh Prou. 2. God is not of such affec­tion as a man is, to be moued with moc­age and laughter, for he reioyceth not in the hurt of man, but at his amendment: and it is writtē: Abhominatio domini om­nis illusor, God abhorreth scornefull per­sons: but as y^e man which laugheth at o­ther mē, is furthest from a mind to help them, and to remedy their griefes: so is God to such as dispise his commaundements, set light by his threatnings, & are not moued wyth his promises: this is Gods laughter & scorning. He is said to slepe, when Christ lay dead in his graue whose death is called a swete slepe of Hi­eremye,How he is said to slepe. or els when he is slowe to helpe his elect out of trouble, as in the. Psa 43. Arise,Psal. 44 wherfore doest thou slepe O Lord. And contrariwyse, he is said to awake, when he doth straight way without any tarying socour them,To awake help them, and de­liuer them. He is said to forget vs, when he taketh his mercy from vs,Forget. for forget­ting his statutes, ordinaūces, & cōmaun­dements, & to remēbre vs when we cha­unge,Remēbre. not he. Iesus Christe that is God yesterday, & to day continueth the same [Page 16] for euer. He sitteth not after humane maner, but after another sorte.Sitte. To raigne & to sit, be one thing in God, & of one signification & meaning. God raigneth ouer the heathen,Psal. 46 God sitteth in his holy seat he sitteth ouer Cherubin, which is by in­terpretation, fulnes of knowledge, by which word angels be ment, & the myn­des of good men, for in them god sitteth and raigneth, as Salomon testifieth: The soule of the righteous is the seat of wys­dome.Sapien. 7 To stande. And scripture also attributeth stā ­ding vnto God for long suffraūce, wher with he calleth vs to repentaūce, who is said also to go, & to walke,Gooe. Walke. not by chaun­ging of place, for he filleth all places, but by ocupying y^e mynds of the faithful, as in the Prophet: I wil dwel amng them, and walke amonge them,Esay 55. 2. Cor. 6 and be their God, where dwellinge, walking, and to be their God meane one. When these thinges be spoken of God, the chaunge is to be vnderstanded in vs, and not in him, as if you and I shoulde drinke both of one drinke, and I shoulde lyke it, and you mislyke it, the diuersitie is not in the drink but in vs: euen so God, after dy­uers cōditiōs of mē, is said to be pleased [Page] with one and discōtented with another, to remēbre some, and forget other, not that the very passions of anger, of mer­cy, of remēbraūce, of forgetfulnes, take place in him, in whome is no affection, no passion, but the scripture vsethe these speaches for our weak vnderstandings feeding vs wyth mylke, because we are not able to disgest stronger meate. As long as we be in this lyfe, we must lear­ne of God such termes, for our lyfe is a shadowe, our knowledge is vnperfecte, we se in a glasse, in a darke speaking, w^t a corrupt eye. Nothing can be properly spoken of God,1 Cor. 3 for then he shoulde not be vnspeakeable. Who cannot se better in the clear lyght then in a shadow, with out a glasse then in it? we see in this lyfe as it were with a payre of spctacles, but when the spectacles shalbe taken away, we shal se clearly God face to face, who was neuer sene yet, with bodilye eyes. Then shadowes, glasses, dark speaches, spectacles, mylke, and the corrupte eye, shalbe taken away according to the voi­ce of the trumpetour: when that which is perfect cometh, y^t which is vnperfect shalbe done awaye,

THe scripturs teach him also to be ineffable in all tonges, vnsercheable in thought, nothing can attain vnto hym, in so much that Paul crieth out:Rom. 11 O the deapnes of the rightuousnes and wisdom and knowledge of God. How vnsearcheable ar his iudgements, and his waies vntraceable? If his iudgementes surmount our capacities, much more he himselfe, and if Paules, muche more ours. Logike the science of reason, discussing all doubtes and cōtrouersies, confuting all mens wisdome, beholding the beames and brightnes of Gods glorious visage, faileth in searching what he is, and becometh folishnes. I speake not this iudging Logike to be vnprofi­table to the reader of Gods word, no, I thinke rather such as iangel against it, to be void of all reason, for as muche as they speake against the act of reason. Logike is an excellent gift of God not to be dispised or discōmended least we be vnthankefull vnto God,Lodgike. but to be dili­gently learned and commended. Many [Page] clatter and prate that Peter and Paull neuer learned Logike, Philosophie and such dregges, whiche I deny: for Christ said, he would send them the conforter, who should teach them al things. If the holy ghost taught them all thinges, he taught thē also Logike. There you haue that the Apostles learned Logike. But you wil reply that the holy ghost taught them al things necessary for a preacher. Paul also declareth that Logike is necessary for a preacher when he saieth that a bishop must be Didacticos. That is apt to teach. Christ & his Apostels in their ser­mons,1 Tim. 3 disputatiō & letters, vse al formes of arguments, al sorts of reasonings, all waies and meanes of inuentions, as I would proue if I thought it nedefull to stand in this matter. That whiche Paul writeth to the Collossians, Videte ne quis &c. Colloss. 2 Bewar least any man come & spoile you through Philosophie & deceitful vanitie maketh for philosophie not against it. For Paul there biddeth thē take hede of such men that with their Philosophie went about to hinder the gospel, to stop the prosperous successe of Gods word, abusing Gods gift to the destruction of [Page 18] them self and other, rebuking the il cōdi­cions of men, and not dispraising the art for he himself was a great Philosopher, Now if Philosophy did set forth a false & vntrue matter, that it confonded y^e faith of many, how much more is it able to set forth the truth.

BVt to retourne vnto our matter, as he is vnsearch­able, so he is vnuisible, as Paul recordeth vnto Ti­mothe:1 Thm. [...] To the vnuisible God and wise only be honor and praise for euer and euer. Ther be some thinges vnuisible, which not with­standing be subiect to mutabilitie, as mans thought, memory, wyll, and all spirituall creatures: and whatsoeuer also is visible, is also mutable. God is said only to be inuisible, bicause he is void of all mutabilitie. He saieth vn [...] Moyses, no man shall see me and lyue: By Iohn Baptist,Exo. 30 Iohn. 1 no man hath sene God at any time. If no man hath seen GOD, howe did the faithfull of the olde Testament [Page] se him? The scripture saith that the Lord spake vnto Moises face to face as a mā speaketh vnto his frend:Exod. 33 And Micheas affirmeth vnto king Achab the wicked, I saw the Lord sit on his seat,3 Reg. 33 and all the company of heauē standing about him. Steauen also y^e first martir that we read of in the new Testament, loking vp stedfastly with his eies vnto heauen,Act. 7 sawe y^e glory of God, & Iesus standing on his right hand.How Moises, Micheas, & Ste­uen, sawe God, who is inuisi­ble. To these I answer, Moises saw not God with his bodely eies, who is a spirit, nor thou cannot gather any such thing of the text, which saieth that God spake vnto hym face to face as a man vnto his frend, that is God talked familiarly with hym, not that he sawe him in that place, albeit we read oftenti­mes that God appeared vnto him and to all the Israelites,Exod. 33 but not in his owne nature and substaunce, but in his crea­tures and visible formes: For Moises desireth God afterward, if I haue foūd fauour in thy [...]ight, shew me thy self ma­nifestly, wherfore he did not se him ma­nifestly before, but only talked with him And as for Micheas and Steauen,1 Cor. 12 they sawe God as Paul did when he was ca­ried [Page 19] vp vnto the third heauen with the eies of their belefe, of their minde, not of their body. As long as we continue in this life, we shall neuer se the deuine and blessed nature, because our hartes be vnclean:Math. 5 Blessed be the pure in hart saieth Christ, for they shal se God. This lyfe is a warfare and a purifying of our hartes by faith from sinne. As long as the war­fare endureth, there is no perfect victory of sinne, for victory maketh an ende of warre: the victory of sinne is the perfect vision of Gods glory, whiche is gotten by faith as Iohn the beloued disciple te­stified:1 Ioh. 5 This is the victory that ouercommeth the world euen our faith. Who is he that ouercommeth the worlde, but he that beleueth that Iesus is the sonne of God. Of these it appereth that God is a pure nature, vnchaungeable vnsear­cheable inuisible..

HE is also euery where by nature, not by grace ac­cording to which he saith by Ieremy:Hiere. 23 heauen and [Page] earth do I fill. For the heauens be hys seat and the earth is his fotestole. Thys thing belongeth only vnto God, and to no creature, nether spirituall, ne corpo­rall. A certain Christen man being de­maunded of a Phllosopher where God was, enquired of him wher he was not. Wherfore the sonne and the holy ghost be no creatures, for of the sonne it sayd: wisdom reacheth from one end vnto an other mightely,Sapi. 8 and ordereth al thinges louingly, and of the holy comforter ly­kewyse: The spirit of the Lord filleth the round compasse of the worlde,Sap. 1 and vp­holdeth all thinges. There is a great dif­ference betwene mans soull and his bo­dy, but exceading more difference be­twene God & his creatures, who made both the soull and the body. He is not sayde to fulfyll the world as the water, the ayre, the Sunne light, which by de­uisiō be in many places: he is in al places without diuision wholy, and conteined in no place. But as a sound or noyse is hard more of some, & lesse of other some, being of equal distaunce from it, as they be of quick or dull hearyng, so all be it God be present with all thinges, yet he [Page 20] is in some more plentifully, in some lesse not with parcialitie, but according to the diuersities of their capacities. If God be in all places,Sap. 1 how is it true that wysdom doth not enter into a frowarde soule, ne dwell in a body subdued vnto synne? Surely synne doeth seperate vs from God,2 Cor. 7 for what cōpany hath lyght with darkenes? What concord hath Christ with Beliall? What felowship hath truth with falshod? I answer God is said to dwel, to enter, where he fauou­reth, where he loueth, after whiche sort he is not in the wicked, but after ano­ther sort he is in them: For where he is not by hys fauour and grace, he is by his righteousnes, where he is not a be­nefactour, he is a punysher, where he is not a dweller, he is an auenger.Iohn. 1. But Christ saieth if a man loue hym, that his father and he wyll come to hym, if they wyll come to hym, they were not with hym before, and so God is not in al pla­ces. This text sheweth howe all suche thinges are to be vnderstanded in God. The words expoūd one another, which be these: If a man loue me, he wyl kepe my word, and my father also wyll loue [Page] him, and we wil come vnto him & dwell with him. Where the comming of God the father, and dwelling is the same that goeth immediatly before, my father also wyl loue hym. These wordes be a good comentary to the other wordes before: we wyl come to hym, we wil dwel with him. Wherof it is manifest that all such phrases darke speaches and ridels make nothing against the presence of God in al places,Psal. 137 but rather fortifie and establish it: we can go no whither from his spirit, we can flie no where from his face: if we climme vp vnto heauē, he is there: if we go down vnto hell he is also there.

We must not imagin him to be cōteined in place, and yet he is al thing in al. He is to all men as he findeth them: he is good in them that he findeth good, & yll to them that be yll: he is a helper in them that be good, and a punisher in thē that be euill. If thou lokest for any suc­cour, help, or ayd at Gods hand, forsake that is euill, a [...]d folowe that is good. When thou stealest,wickednes coueteth y^e darke. or goest about ad­uoutry, thou tariest for the darke, thou louest the night, because thy workes be of darkenes, lest thou shouldest be seen [Page 21] and shamed, lest thou shouldest be taken and hanged. Thou goest vnto the kings high way, and takest a standing, thou goest to thy neighbours house, and rob­best hym, thou ridest vp to London to sue thy neighbour, to robbe him of his right:God seeth the wicked eury wher. Cal to remembraunce that God is with thee euery where: he is with thee goyng, he is with thee by the way, he is with thee when thou art doing thy de­uelish purpose: he stādeth by and loketh on, wryting thy fact as it were in a paire of tables, and at the last day he wil make it knowen vnto al men to thy vtter con­fusion, shame, and condemnation. If thou be afrayed of men,Fear God aboue al. that destroy the bodi, fear him that hath power to throw both thy body and soull headlong into hell into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, whiche is the seconde death. Thou mayest escape the punishe­ment of man, but thou canst not escape Gods hand, who punisheth more gre­uously then man. Wh [...]ther wilt thou flie? from God?We cānot escap gods hand. surely thou canst not flie from him, but by flying vnto hym: thou canst not escape his wrath, whiche is his righteousnes, but by appealyng [Page] vnto his mercie. Dauid compared God to a man that draweth a bowe, the far­ther he draweth his shaft whiche is his punishment, the greater is the stroke therof.

There is a great altercation nowe a daies,Against the corporall presence. Christ is not in the sacrament touching his huma­nitie. Mar. 13 Math. 24 whether God be in the sacramēt or not: he must nedes be ther, for he is in al places. But whether is he ther by his diuinitie or humanitie? Christ warneth vs that in the latter age there shall aryse many false Prophetes, and Pseudochristi that is false anointed (which be the By­shop of Romes gresed butchers and sa­crificers) which shal say, lo here is Christ and there is Christ. These Pseudochristes, be not they of whom they speake after­ward in thesame chapters: many shall come in my name saying I am Christ, but another sort, for these shall not cha­lenge this to them selues, but direct mā to other: and of these false anointed that shal point vs to other, he saith: Nolite credere, beleue thē not: and therfore I dare not say that he is there after his humanitie, least I be a false Prophet, for this is spoken of his humanitie, not of his diui­nitie. Touching his diuinitie, I say vnto [Page 22] you good people, lo here is Christ, and there is Christ, for it is here, there, in the towne, in the citie, in the chappel, in the church, and wildernes, and euery wher, as I haue declared. The papistes say y^t this place maketh not against y^e presence of Christes body vpō earth,An obiectiō but against false Prophetes, which should preach in the last age, false doctrine: True it is, Christ speaketh here against suche. But what false doctrine shal they teach?The auns­wer. Shal ther come two at one time in one age, of which false prophets shal say, he is christ and an other shal say no this is Christ, pointing to some other? There were ne­uer yet two in one age, which both were said to be Christes, of any false prophets nor the scriptures do not mencion or re­gester any such thing to come, for the veritie saith y^t many such shal come. Now we neuer read that many haue reported and said, here is Christ, and there, onles we take it to be spoken of the papistes, whiche shewe Christ v [...]to vs in many places at once, in euery chapell, and on euery Aultar. Many shall say of them selues that they are Christ, but these be other doctours, compare their wordes [Page] together, and thou shalt fynd that I say true, the one text doth not expounde the other, but they be two dyuerse propheci­es of two diuerse things. This false doc­tryne then is nothynge els, but to teach Christes body after his ascentiō to be v­pon the earth, visibly, or inuisibly. Pi­ghius, Pighius interpreta­cion. who calleth Gods worde a nose of ware, wresteth this text to another pur­pose, taking Christe here for his church. Lo here is Christe, and there is Christe, (saith Pighius) that is, heretikes shal say: here is the church, and there is y^e church. O wyse exposition: shall heretikes saye that Christ is here & there, touchyng his members and church? No verely, this is no heresy: for Christes church is in ma­ny places,Marke. 13 Math. 34 in deserts and other. If Christ must be taken for his church in this text, then we are compelled also to vnderstād the church by him, in the text which im­mediatly foloweth, where he saith, bele­ue them not: Christe that is the church shall come as lightnynge, we must take Christ for the same thorow out the chap­ter. Read diligently, examen the circum­staunce, whych is chieflye to be regar­ded in the exposition of doubtful places, [Page 23] open the scripture with the key,The keye. The pyck­lock. not with the pykelocke, that is: expound it by tt selfe, not by priuate interpretation, and y^u shalt fynd that Christe there is taken for Christ, not for y^e church, as Pighius wold straine the place, making of y^e scriptures a nose of wax. You wil ask me then whether we receiue Christes body? yea truly from heauen, from the right hand of the father, not out of y^e bread, nor in y^e bread. For onles we eat his flesh and drink his bloud, we shal not dwell in him,We recei­ue Christs body from heauen. we shall not arise at the last day, we shal not haue eternall life. Christes humanitie is the mean, wherby we must obtein al things the way, by which we must clyme vp to heauē, the ladder that Iacob sawe going vnto Mesopotamia, reaching vp to heauen, with aungels ascending and descen­ding vpon it. Christ teacheth this vsing, not only his word and commaundemēt in raising the dead, as God, but also his flesh as a help and meane to the same.Math. [...] In raysing the doughter of one of the chief of the synagoge, he toke hir by the hand and raysed her.Math. [...] When he cured one full of the leprosy, he stretched out his hand and touched hym. When he entred into [Page] the citie of Naim, meetinge a dead man caried out,Luke. 7. the only sonne of a wydowe, hauyng compassion on her, he touched the bere, and raised him from dead. Ther be infinit places of scripture, which teach vs that Christes flesh geueth lyfe, deliuereth from death, expelleth vice, but this is notable, forasmuch as this wy­dowe signifieth the church, and her dead sonne representeth mankynd, dead tho­rowe the sinne of Adam. Christ is a vyne and we ar the braūches, as he witnesseth himselfe:Ihon. 15. Ego sum vitis vera. &c. I am the true vyne, and my father is a husbād man, & vos estis palmites. The braūches cannot lyue, onles they take norishment of the substaunce of the vyne and of his iuice: Euen so the soul of a christen man must nedes be fed with the swete fleshe, and comfortable bloud of Iesus Christe. If we be braunches, we be nouryshed of the vyne: I wold learn whether he be the vyne after his humanitie, or by his diuinitie. He is not the vyne touching his diuine nature, for the vyne is not e­quall with the husband man, but at his commaundement. Christ touchinge his diuinitie, is the husbandman, and equall [Page 24] with his father. Marke,Christ is y^e vyne, tow­chynge his flesh. he is the vyne therfore cōcerning that nature, in which he is inferior to his father, which is his humanitie. If then Christe be the vyne not by his diuinitie, but by his humani­tie, and we the braūches: then we must be refreshed of the vyne, that is of his humanitie. This metaphore hath ben a­bused to many euill purposes, as to pro­ue Chryste not to be God, because he is the vyne, it hath ben racked also to pro­ue that these words, hoc est corpus meum, This is my body, is a lyke phrase, a like speach, as when Christ saith, ego sum vi­tis, I am the vyne.I am the vine & this my bodye, are diuers phrases. They be no like phra­ses, but far different and diuerse: for the vyne, is no sacrament, neither the dore, nor the way, be no sacramentes. The bread of the which Christ said, this is my body, is a sacrament,This is my body expounded not a bare and na­ked metaphore, the rocke was a sacra­ment, the brasē serpent was a sacramēt, not metaphores only.Luke. 22. Math. 26 Mark. 24. When Christe sayd this is my body, he ordeyned a sa­cramēt, y^t is, he gaue y^e name of the thing to the signe, so y^t notwythstanding, the matter, nature, & substaunce of the signe [Page] remaineth: onlesse this substaunce re­maine,The sub­staunce of bread re­maineth. the bread is no Sacrament. For sacramentes (saith S. Augustine) are so called of the similitude of those thinges, to which they be sacramentes. Take a­way the matter, the substaunce, and na­ture of bread and wyne, and there remaineth no more similitude. Now all the fa­thers that were before Gregory do con­fesse, that the scriptures do wytnes, that there must be thre similitudes in this sa­crament:Thre similitudes in the Sacrament. a similitude of norishing, a si­militude of vnitie, and a similitude of cō ­uersion. The similitude of norishing is this:Of nori­shing. that as bread and wyne doe norish our body and comfort our outward mā, so the body and bloud of Christ, be the meat and fode of our soules, and do cō ­fort our inward man.Of vnitie. And the similitude of vnitie is this: that as the lo [...] of which we eate was made of many cornes of wheat by the liquor of water knoden in to dough, and yet is but one loaf, and as the wyne wa [...] made of the iuyce of di­uerse grapes, and yet is but one cup of wyne, so al they that eat Christes body, and drinke his bloud, being many, are made one body, & one flesh by the liquor [Page] of charitie and loue, the mistical body of our sauiour Christ which is his church, not his natural body: for the bread is a sacrament not only of Christes naturall body, but also of the congregation and mistical body: and therfore Paul saith, that albeit we be many,1 Cor. 10 yet notwithstanding we ar, Vnus panis, vnum corpus, one loaf, and one body. What a loaf are we? Verely euen Triticeus panis, a wheaten loaf by the similitude of vnitie, which I haue declared.Of conue [...]sion. The similitude of conuer­sion is this, that as the bread and wyne is turned in to y^e substaūce of our bodies, so by the receiuing of Christes body and bloud, we are turned into the nature of them, we are chaunged and made bones of his bones, and flesh of his flesh. He that eateth my flesh saith Chrst, & drin­keth my bloud, he abideth in me and I in him: that is to saye, we be made one flesh and one bloud, and thesame nature that my flesh and my bloud hath, thesa­me getteth he that eateth me. These similitudes must be in the bread and wine or els they be no sacramentes. Now take a­way the substaunce, matter and nature of them, and what similitude remaineth [Page] ether of norishing, or of vnitie, or of con­uersion. These similitudes be in the very substaunce and inward nature of bread and wyne, not in the outward shewe of accidentes, whiche doe nether noryshe, nether are they chaunged, neither haue any similitude of any vnitie.

Here percase gentle reader thou wilt demaund of me: seing I teache the sub­staunce of bread and wyne to remayne after the consecration, what I doe aun­swer to the doctours and fathers which oftentymes doe say that the nature and substaunce of bread and wine is altered, is turned into the body & bloud of our sauiour Christ, as Ciprian in his treatise which he writeth De cena domini, of the Lordes supper saith:Ciprian de cena domi­ni. Panis non effigie, sed natura mutatus, this bread is chaunge [...] not in the outward shew, but in the na­ture and substaunce: and Ignatius saith the same, and Cirill, and Ambrose, and Hierom, and Augustin, and Chrisostom whose doctrin [...]s we doe folowe, and we do alowe, and imbrace them.

How the doctors do say that the substaunce of bread is chaunged.Be not deceiued good people, they ar nothing against this doctrine, but the pillers and mainteiners therof, if their [Page 26] wrytinges be truly vnderstand: Marke the phrases, compare their sayinges to­gether one with an other, and you shall find, that many do fasly slaunder them, and that they, which boast & prate most of the doctours and old fathers, vnder­stand not the old fathers. So they say that Eliseus chaunged and altered the nature of Iron,4 Reg. 6 whē he made it to swym aboue the water, so they say that Elias chaunged the nature of fyre, when tho­rowe his praier it fell from heauen,3 Reg. 18 Ambrose de sacram [...] tis. Exod. 3 and consumed his sacrifice of wood, stones, and dust. The nature of fire was chaun­ged, no man can deny it, at what tyme God appeared vnto Moyses out of a bush in a flame, for the bush was not cō ­sumed. He cōmaunded y^e fier not to hurt his faithful seruaunts, Sidrach, Misak, and Abednago,Dan. 3 & preserued them harm­les, from the hot burning ouen. There a­gain nature was altered. Elias & Elise­us did not turne, alter, or chaūge the ve­ry substaunce & inward essence or mat­ter, ether of Iron, or of the fier into any other substaunce, or nature, but the na­turall propertie of thē making the Iron which is heuy to houe aboue y^e waters,Substance for natural propertie. & [Page] causing the fier which is light to descend dounward. Euen so the doctours and old fathers which we alowe and folow, say that the substaunce of bread & wyne is chaunged, that is the natural proper­tie of them, so that where as before they were only the meat of the body, now af­ter the wordes rehearsed, they are the fode of the soul also, for so much as they deliuer vnto vs Christes swete flesh, and comfortable bloud: before it was comen bread and wine, now it is holy and sanc­tified, before it was no sacrament, now it is a sacrament of the blessed body and honorable bloud of our sauiour Iesus Christ. But for a more manifest profe, y^t the old fathers beleued the substaūce of bread to remaine after the consecration, I wyll aledge some of thē. Ireneus saith, that euery sacrament is made of two na­tures,Ireneus of a heauenly nature, and of a ter­renal or earthly nature. Now take away the substaunce of bread, and what earth­ly nature or substaūce remaineth in this holy sacrament? The papistes say, that the earthly nature is Christes body,An obiec­tion. which he toke of the earth when he was borne of the blessed virgin Mary: For [Page 27] she was earth, and all men be earth. To this I aunswer,The auns­wer. that Christes body is earth in very dede, yet it is not the earth­ly and terrenall nature of this sacramēt, which must haue thre similitudes, of vnitie, of nutricion, and of conuersion, as is declared before, whiche similitudes can not be in Christes body. Moreouer hear what Origen saith:Origen. Panis sanctificatus va­dit in ventrem: The sacramentall bread entreth into the belly. Wherfore entreth it thither? but to norish our bodies, to fe­de them, to be y^e meat of the flesh. Wher­fore the substaunce therof is not turned, not chaunged, not altered, but remay­neth and continueth: for accidentes doe nether fede, nor norish. S. Augustin also subscribeth vnto them, saying:Augustin. Accedat verbum elemento, & fit sacramentum, he saith not succedat, but accedat, whiche is this much to say: Let the word be added to the element, and then it is made a sa­crament. Thus it is euident that y^e bread and wyne which is the element remay­neth, and is not trāsubstanciat, both by autentical scriptures, whiche do alowe thre similitudes, and also by the consent of al the doctors, and elder fathers: For [Page] out of doubt, Athanasius, Basil, Nazian­zene, Hierome, Chrisostome, and other, both Latinistes and Grekes, do not disagre with these. Moreouer the rock was a sacrament of Christes bloud, & yet not transubstanciat: They & we drinke one spiritual drinke, as Paul recordeth. Likewise Manna was a sacrament of his body without any such mutacion.1 Cor. 10 You wil aske me then whether our sacramentes be better then the sacraments of the old testamēt?How our sacramēts are better then the sacramentes of the olde testament. Yea truly, but not of their own nature, but thorow y^e grace of God, tho­row the fulnes of time: bicause in this te­stament the face of Christ is more clear­ly discouered and knowen, and not tho­row any transubstanciation. These be y^e daies which the Patriarkes & Prophets desired to come, the daies of saluation, & the acceptable time. I haue opened the true meaning of Christes words: this is my body, and declared the necessitie, the vse, the fruit, the mary, and swetenes of the holy communion, which fruit is in­comparable. For if all they whiche did but touch the hem of Christes garment,Math. 9 receiued their perfect health: How much more shall we be made strong and con­forted, [Page 28] if we haue Christ in vs. This ho­ly communion geueth lyfe, destroyeth death, quickeneth our bodies, lighte­neth our soules, banysheth synne, and encreaseth vertue. For as a litle wax, powred vpon other wax, is made al one with it, euen so they that receiue this sa­crament worthely, abyde in Christ, and Christ in them. A little leauen sowreth a whole batch, but the seldome receiuing of this sacrament, if (I say) it be receiued worthely, bryngeth remission of sinnes, purgeth our soules, maketh cleane our herts, amendeth our vnderstandinges: but the oftener the better. All you that approch vnto this table, and desyre to be braunches of the vyne, and to be sea­led into the felowship of the congrega­tion, forsake your sinfull lyuing, entend to leade a newe conuersacion from the bottom of your hearts, pourge out the olde leauen, and become newe dough,Euill men do not re­ceiue Christes body. burie al affections and liue vnto vertue: otherwyse ye nether eat Christes flesh, nor drink his bloud. He that eateth Christes flesh, hath eternall life:Iohn. 6 The first reason. Yea mary saith the Papistes, if he eat it digne, wor­thely, adding vnto the text, or els ma­king [Page] it false, but he may receiue it vnworthely as Iudas did. Examen this expo­sition with the touchstone, opē the scrip­ture with the key, not with the pick lock and thou shalt finde that Christes flesh is not receiued vnworthely. In all the scriptures this word, indigne, vnworthe­ly,The secōd reason. is but once read concerning this sa­crament, and there (marke) the bread & the wyne is said to be receiued vnwor­thely, not Christes most cōfortable flesh and bloud. Quicunque manducauerit panē hunc. &c. He that eateth of this bread, & drinketh of this cup (saith Paul) vnwor­thely, he shal be gilthy of the body and bloud of Christ.1 Cor. 11 Lo he saith, he that ea­teth of this bread vnworthely, and drin­keth of this cup, not of the body & bloud of Christ, which alwaies be receiued vnto health.

Chose nowe gentell reader whether thou wilt beleue y^e papistes, which teach that Christes flesh is receiued of euil mē vnworthely, [...]r Paul which saith he that eateth of this bread, that is not commen bread, not dayly bread, but sacramental bread, that is ment by the word (this.) If they can shew in any place of scripture [Page 29] where this word (vnworthely) is ioined with the body of Christ, as I haue she­wed where it is coupled with bread, I will be of their opinion. Christes flesh is meat according to his own saying,The third reason. Iohn. 6 Caro mea vere est cibus. &c. My flesh is very meat and my bloud is very drink. Now meat doth hurt, where it findeth a bely corrupt with naughtie humores. Euen so this spiritual fode, if it find a man de­filed with sinne, encreaseth his dampna­tion, bryngeth hym vnto destruction, not of the nature of it, but thorowe the default of hym that receceiueth it. Yea if we be defiled with corrupt humors, we be no partakers of these deinties. But peraduenture the Papistes wil re­ply, if it be meat then is it receiued both of good and euil men, for nether of both sortes can lyue without meat.an obiectiō aunswered To this I aūswere, it is the meat of the soul not of the bodie, the fode of the spirit not of the flesh, and therfore it is not receiued of e­uill persones, because the meat is good and they be euill, so that this is a strong argument: Christes flesh and bloud is meat, ergo it is not receiued of euil men.The .iiii. reason. Moreouer Christes flesh and bloud is [Page] the vine, as I haue proued before, and we be the braunches.

Only the brauches be fed of the vine. Euil men be not braunches of the vine.A Silogis­me. Ergo euil mē be not partakers of y^e vine Which is Christes flesh and bloud.

Therfor let no Iudas, no Simō Magus, no man with a cloked mind thinke that he is fed with these deinties. If it were not lawful for the vncircumsised in flesh to eate the figuratiue paschal lambe how much more is it vnlawful for y^e vn­circumcised & vnclean in heart, to tast of these deinties? If he that despised Moi­ses law was condempned without any mercy vnto death vnder two or thre witnesses, how more greuously shall he be punished which treadeth vnder fote the sonne of God, & coūteth the bloud of the new testamēt as an vnholy thing, wherwith he is sanctified. Purge out y^e old le­uen, or els thou maist not, nor thou canst not eat this swete bread. Paul testifieth that many among the Corinthiās, for y^e abusing of this sacramēt, were punished with weakenes, with sicknes, yea & ma­ny stroken with death, the whiche he wrot for our enstruction. Against the cō ming [Page 30] of our frend we make cleane our houses, and loke diligētly that al things be trym: And are we negligent in pury­fying of our mindes against the cōming of the great king, who hath promised to dwell with vs after the receiuing of this holy meat?Thankes ought to be geuen for y^e death of Christ. I wold wysh that men wold geue thankes more customably imme­diatly after the receyuing therof vnto God, for the redemption of mankinde and for all his benefites, syngyng the C. Psalme. O be ioyfull in the Lorde all ye landes, serue the Lord in gladnes and come before his presence with a song. And the Psalme that beginneth: O com let vs sing vnto the Lorde,Psal. 94 let vs hartely reioyce in the strength of our saluacion, let vs come before his presence with thā ­kes geuing. With the .C.iii. Psalme: Praise the Lord O my soull. For who cōmeth to the table of any man, & depar­teth without any thākesgeuing: it is cal­led also a sacrament of thankesgeuing. I wold men wold as diligently dispose them selues to receiue this sacrament, as they do eftsones delight to talke of it: if they would prepare them selues to re­ceiue it more oft, the holy Ghost would [Page] enstruct them and becom their scolema­ster, for wysdom entreth not vnto a soul subdued into sin. But I heare some say: I wil not come to receiue the sacrament for I can, and do receiue the bodye and bloud of Christ at home, in the field, and in the church, yea euery where withoute the sacramēt,The sacramentall re­ceiuyng is necessary. beleuing vpon his passion. Truly if thou be godly mynded and do call his death to remembraūce, trusting to haue pardon of thy sinnes by the effu­sion of his bloud, thou dost eat his body and drinke his bloude. But thou art not godly mynded, but carnall, the seruaunt of sinne, if thou dispise the ordinaunce of God, and his cōmaundement, who bid­deth the, take, and eat: and carnall and vngodly men do not receiue the body of Christ, but the spirituall and godly. Thou maist say likewyse, I wil not com at the minister for remission of my sines, and for absolution,The abso­lution of the minist. for God is not boūd to his sacramentes, he pardoneth with­out the ceremony of ministration, as he did y^e thief, Mary magdalen, and other. Sure it is, God forgeueth thy sinnes be­fore thou come to the priest, if thou haue earnest repentaunce, and true entent of [Page 31] amendement: for he sayth, In quacunque hora. &c. In what hour soeuer y^e vnrigh­teous man doth repēt. &c. and yet neuer­theles he himself cōmaūdeth y^e to come to them, for he hath geuen them autho­ritie to louse & to bynd, and to blesse and curse▪ Now what their lousing, blessing, and absolution is, shalbe declared heraf­ter, in the .xvii. Chapter. So albeit Chri­stes body be receiued in fayth, withoute the sacrament: yet thou must come vn­to the sacrament because thou arte com­maunded, or els thou art an euill man. It is not inough to receiue it spiritually we must receiue it also sacramētally: yea he that will not receiue it sacramentally, neither doth he, neither can he, receiue it in faith spiritually: for I haue proued before, y^e euill mē do not eat these dainties.

GOD is also full of vnder­stāding, If any man lack wysdom,Iacob. 1. Iames biddeth him aske it of god, which geueth to al men indiffe­rentlye, and castethe no manne in the teth, and it shall be geuen [Page] him, if he aske it without wauering, wi­thout mistrust. Dauid asking with a sure fayth obteyned his request,Psal. 118 in so much that he had more vnderstanding then all his teachers, & was wyser then the aged, but what foloweth? for because I kepe thy commaundements. Thou askest not in fayth, without keping of Gods com­maundements, ostende mihi fidem tuā ex operibus, shew me thy faith saith Iames, of thy workes.Psal. 98 Psal. 18. 3. Regū. 3 Kepe them & he wil geue the vnderstanding. His testimonies are a lanterne, and geue light euen vnto the babes. He gaue Salomon an vnderstand­ing heart to iudge his people, and to dis­cerne betwen good and bad, so that ther was none lyke hym, neyther before nor after. He gaue him also honour, and ry­ches, and long lyfe, which be his gyftes. He opened the myndes of his discyples,Luke. 24. that they might vnderstand the scriptu­res.2. Cor. 12 He toke Paul vp into y^e third heauē, and taught him things which cannot be vttered. He [...]lled Besaliell and Ahaliab with the spirite of God,Exod. 31. with wysdome, vnderstanding and knowledg, to fynde out curiouse workes, to worke in golde, and syluer, & brasse, to karue in wood, to [Page 32] graue in stone, to make y^e tabernacle of witnes, the Arke, y^e mercy seat, the table the pure candlestickes, the alter of incen­se, vestiments to minister in, and the ho­ly garments for Aaron the priest. Wherfore he himself, must nedes be full of all wysedome and all vnderstanding. But these thinges, as they were cōmaū ­ded to them of the ould law, so we of the new lawe are not boūd to them, because we haue no commaundement. For as Paule writeth vnto his nation,Hebre. 13▪ we haue an aulter wherof thei mai not eat, which serue in the tabernacle. The priesthod of the leuites, ther sacrifices and ther lawes be disanulled. Christes euerlasting priesthod, hath made an end of all the Leuites priesthod, yea and of all other priesthod saue onlye that, whych belongeth to all Christen men. The oblation of his body once for all, vpon the aulter of the crosse: which was a slayne sacrifice for our sin­nes abolisheth all other, and the lawe of his Gospel hath blotted o [...]t the lawe of the carnall commaundement. But oure Romanes allege the prophet Malachy,Malachy maketh nothyng for the sacrifi­ce of the masse or popish priest­hode. for the defence of the sacrifice of their masse, and for their Popish priesthod, by [Page] whom God saith: I haue no pleasure in you, and as for an offring I will not ac­cept it at your hands. For from the ry­sing of the Sunne vnto the going down of the same, my name is great amongest the gentils, yea in euery place shal there sacrifice be done, and a clean offring offe­red vp in my name. Albertus Pighius, one of y^e byshop of Romes chief knygh­tes,Pighius argument laboureth to proue that this text is ment of the oblacion of the masse, whose reasons be these. First that it cannot be taken for the oblation of Christes body on y^e crosse, for God promised here such a sacrifice that should be offred in al pla­ces, and of the Heathen. That was offred in one place, in Iewry only, and of the Iewes. Moreouer it can not be such a sacrifice as Dauid cōmended,Psalm. 50 that a trou­bled spirit, a broken and a contrit heart is a sacrifice vnto God: for the Prophet speaketh here of a cleane sacrifice vnto God, all that we offer vnto God, is spotted, vnclean, and defiled, as the clothes stayned with the flours of a woman. The Prophet also speaketh of a new sa­crifice that was not before,Esaie. 63 but should be vsed among the Heathen, and offred on­ly [Page 33] of the priestes. But we haue the sacri­fice that Dauid praiseth commen with them of the old law, and it is to be offe­red of all christen men and womē: wher­fore it must nedes be spokē of the masse. This is Pighius reason,The aun­swer. yea the principal argument of al the papistes, vnto which I besech you hear paciently my answer. I entend to wryte a comentary to Ma­lachie, but I wil take it out of gods word and I wil open scripture with the key. I defend that Malachie meaneth none o­ther sacrifice, then an oblacion of a pure and contrite heart: and I proue it thus. First Malachie speaketh of such a sacri­fice as shall be offered in all places vnto God, as vndoubtedly this hath bene, & shal be to the worlds end. He speaketh also of a cleane sacrifice:The sacri­fice of thā ­kes is offered in all places. Is not y^e oblaciō of a contrite heart a cleane sacrifice? Yea truly, or els it were not to be offered vp vnto God, to whom no vncleane thyng is to be presented. Paul speaking of this sacrifice, calleth it a holy,A clean sa­crifice. Roma. 11 and an accepta­ble sacrifice, saying: I besech you ther­fore brethren by the mercies of God, y^t you make your bodies a quick sacrifice, holy, and acceptable vnto God. &c. [Page] He meaneth not that we should kyl ou [...] bodies, slea our selues, but kil al our car­nal lustes, vnlawful desires, euil affecti­ons in the body, which is a sacrifice of a contrite and humble hart. And wher as Pighius affirmeth against this, that our harts be vnclean, I deny it not: but ne­uerthelesse God accepteth them as clean and calleth thē so in his word, as by Da­uid saying: Make me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me:Psal. 50 And by Christ: blessed be y^e pure in heart or clean hearted,Math. 5 for they shal se God. We read in the actes, when Peter was a hongred at Cornelius house, that the heauens o­pened, & certen vessels came doun to him as it had bene a great shete knit at four corners, wherin were all maner of four [...]oted beastes, and that he was bidden to arise and kill, but he would not, saying: he did neuer eat no vncleane thinges: but he was aunswed and commaunded not to esteme any thing vnclean,Act. 1 which God hath c [...]nsed. Euen so I say vnto Pighius y^t seing Paul, Dauid & Christ cal it a clean sacrifice, and that GOD hath puriti [...]ied our hearts, it becometh not hym to name it otherwyse: For a [Page 34] good man, a good tree, out of the good treasure of his heart, bryngeth out good fruit. But the papistes say that this is no new sacrifice. I affirme that it is,Math. [...] A new sa­crifice. 2 Cor. [...] ▪ for as much as God saith, behold I make al thinges new. If all thinges be new, then this is a new sacrifice, albeit we ha­ue it commē with the fathers of the old testament: The scripture vseth to call thinges new, when they be commaun­ded a new, as Christ commaunding his disciples to loue one another before his passion, saith:Iohn. 1 [...] 1 Iohn. [...] I geue you a new cōmaū ­dement that ye loue one another. And Iohn likewise again: a new commaun­dement I wryte to you, not that these cōmaundements were not mēcioned before, but that they were so necessary that it pleased God to renue them againe: in which signification the oblation of a cō ­trite heart, may also be called a new sacrifice, and that after the phrase of the holy scripture, although Pighius spurne a­gainst it, who not knowing or not remē bring this acception of ne [...]enes, doth falsly affirme that the sacrifice that Ma­lachie entreateth, only apperteineth vn­to priests. I trust I haue sufficiently de­clared [Page] bi the testimonies of Gods word that a contrite heart is that cleane and new sacrifice offred in al places, of which Malachie speaketh. That y^e Lordes sup­per, which men cal the masse, is not a sa­crifice for sinne, S. Paul declareth plain­ly, saying: sine sanguinis effusione. &c. that without sheding of bloud no sacrifice cā blot out sinne.The first reason. If Christ be sacrificed or offred in his supper for the expiacion of sinne, his precious and moste cōfortable bloud is shed again, is poured forth a­gain:Hebr. 9 for without bloudshed is no remis­sion, it must be a bloudy sacrifice, not a drie sacrifice, for which synne is pardo­ned. Christ (saieth Paull) by his owne bloud entred once for all into the holy place, and found eternal redemption, so that all sinne both that is past and that which is to come in the chosen, is & shal be pardoned by hys eternall sacrifice, which was offred once for al on y^e crosse. And sinne being forgeuē as the Apostle telleth by the vertue of it,The secōd reason. Heb. 10 there remay­neth no more sacrifice for sinne, but only a cōmemoracion & a memorial. For the loue of God, & of our own soules, let vs kepe & vse this sacrament and other in [Page 35] the church, as Christ the author of all sa­cramentes cōmaundeth. He mencioneth no such vse, or rather abuse and propha­nacion. That is a sacrament, in whiche God certifieth vs by some outward and sensible signe,The third reason. y^t he geueth vnto vs sum­what: as for an exāple, in baptisme there is water; which preacheth vnto vs remission of sinnes by Christs bloud. Now a sacrifice is an other thing,No sacra­ment is a sacrifice. for in a sacrifi­ce we geue, dedicate, and presente some thing vnto him. Wherfore the supper of the Lord is no sacrifice for sin, for asmuch as it is a sacrament. Marke this differē ­ce brethren, and be no longer disceiued. The parable of the theues teacheth vs y^t Christes coming hath disanulled al such priesthod as is called sacerdotiū, The .iiii. reason. Luk. 10 The wounded man. but pres­biterum remaineth. The priestes and Le­uites passe by, & leaue the wounded mā, which was robbed going frō Hierusalē to Iericho, vnholpē, vnprouided for. Is not he socoured only of the Samaritā? The wounded man, sig [...]ifieth all man­kind, who descended from Hierusalem to Iericho,Ierusalē. when he was expulsed out of paradise into this miserable world. For Hierusalem is as much to say, as visio [Page] pacis, or visio perfecta, a peaceable visiō of God which mā had in paradise. The the­ues y^t robbed and woūded him,Theues. were the Deuils, that entised him to eat of the tree of concupiscence, & robbed him of his vnderstāding, of fre wil, of dominiō & lord­ship ouer al creaturs, of y^e image of God after which he was made, & made hym after the image of the deuil himself. The priests, the Leuits, were not able to help him, but only the Samaritan, that is Christ healeth him, and restored him to the image of God again. Read ouer the four,The .v. reason. fiue, seuen, nyne, and ten, to the Hebrues, and thou shalt find that the mark y^t S. Paule shoteth at in th [...]se Chapters is only to fortifie, that al suche outward priesthod is taken away. Moreouer marke what I say vnto thee:the .vi. rea­son. Read ouer al the new Testament, and thou shalt not find once this word Sacerdos, Priest, applied or spoken of any one sort of mi­nisters, as the commen sort do vse it: but whē it is refe [...]ed to the Phariseis, & to such as do apperteine without al doubt to the old testamēt, it is referred always to all christen people, which all be Sacer­dotes thorow Christ: and ministers haue [Page 36] no maner of sacrifice, but commen with the laitie, both men and women: that is to say, the sacrifice of thankes geuyng, & the quicke and lyuely oblacion of their own bodies,Ministers haue no sacrifice, but cōmē with the laitie. the new Testament requi­reth no other sacrifice. I doe not meane, that euery man or woman may christen marie, purify women, may leuse & binde consciences, may distribute the holy sa­crament: but I mean, that popish & out­ward priesthod is crept into the churche of God, against the word of God, and I do beleue and confesse no mo orders of ministers but thre, that is Deacons,The order of Mini [...]. only. and Presbiters, & Bishops. These thre the scriptures aloweth, and shewed the ma­ner of their creation, and declareth their offices and duties. Ther be mo ministra­tions, I wil not denay, but they may be reduced all to these thre. The Papistes make .vii. orders, ostiaries or porters,Seuen or­ders. re­ders, acolits, exorcistes, subdeacons, deacons, and priestes, but nether of the na­mes of .v. of them, nor y^t which is meant bi the names, nor their crea [...]iō, nor their offices be expressed in the scripturs. And if I wold recite the offices that they thē se [...]es assigne, and their forme of creaciō, [Page] I think mo would laugh at them, then alow them. Some of the doctours write that ther were some so called in y^e church at their daies, but that their offices were such, as they decribe, they can not shewe out of any doctour. They haue kept the names, and chaunged the duties and of­fices, and haue appointed thē other du­ties, as it is plain, namely in the office of a deacon, and so they do not only rack y^e scriptures, but also depraue and corrupt the doctors, to maintein their dreames, and phantasies, and by the name of an­tiquitie and fathers, they leade vs from our father in heauen.

GOD is also full of truth and mercy, of whom Da­uid witnesseth that al his waies or pathes ar mercy and truth.Psal. 24 Psal. 5 Iohn. 24 Prou. 6 He destroieth al those that forge lies, & deliteth in such as be true, for he is truth it self. Salomō amōg .vii. things which God hateth rekeneth lying twise, as y^t which God most abhorreth, affirming [Page 73] also in another place, that a false witnes & lying lips shal not escape punishment. Ther be that thinke it lawful to lie, as y^e marchaunt man to sell his wares with more aduaūtage, & the Priscillianistes,Prou. 1 [...] ▪ Marchan [...] man. who held this opinion y^t for a greater aduaūtage lying is not forbidden to couer their couetousnes: & to excuse their daily lying, they make thre sortes of lies, Ioco sum, perniciosum, officiosum, ges [...]ing lies, pernicious, & officious, of the which thei say two kindes to be lawful honest & cō ­mendable, bringing these examples. Nasica when he came to Ennius the Poets house to speak with him,Nasica. Ennius. Ennius hauing earnest busines, cōmaunded his maide to mete him at the dore, and to say that he was not within, who knowing that her maister had bidden her to say so be­cause of his busines, departed. Sone af­ter it fortuned y^t Ennius came to his hou­se, and knocking at y^e dore, enquired for him. Nasica hearing one knock and per­ceiuing out of a window that it was Ennius, answered with a loud voice that he was not at home. But Ennius knew his voyce and came in. Then nasica came vnto hym and sayd: you are impudent, [Page] for I beleued your maid that you were not at home, and wil not you beleue me my self? In this exāple be two lyes, one of Ennius mayd at her maisters cōmaū dement, the other of Nasica, in the way of iest and mirth, whiche both be defen­ded to be honest. But I tel you, al lying is forbidden.Sara. Gen. 18 Abraham. Gen. 12 Iacob. Gen. 20 Gen. 27 Sara also is alleged, who when she had laughed, denied it to thre men which came vnto Abraham: and he likewyse is brought in for calling hys wyfe, his sister. And Iacob the patriark through the sutteltie of lying, stoieaway his fathers blessing, and the title of enheritaunce, from his elder brother Esau, at the coūsel of his mother Rebecca. The scripture recordeth also,The mid­wiues. Exod. 1 that God delt wel with the midwifes of Egipt, & made them houses, because with a lie thei hin­dred the deuillish entent of cruell kyng Pharao, and preserued the babes of the Hebrues from death. How is it true thē that he destroieth all liyng lyps?Raab. Act. 5 Iosu. 2 Iosu. 6 Hebr. 11 Anani­as and Saphi [...]a his wife are slaine for lying, but Raab the harlot is rewarded, & numbred of S. Paul among the faith­full, because she by lying saued the mes­sengers or spies of the Israelites, from [Page 38] the pursuers of the kyng of Iericho. Iehu the kyng of Israel saying he had a great sacrifice to do vnto Baal,King Iehu Iosu. 2 Iosu. 6 4 Reg. 10 gathe­ring his priests from al the coasts of Is­rael into one temple, murdered them all thorow his lye, & is not reproued for the same: wherfore all lying is not forbiddē. We read of Christ himself how he fay­ned that he wold go further then y^e town of Emaus,Luk. 24 and the elect vessell S. Paul is not abashed to say he was a citizen of Rome and borne fre.Act. 2 [...] Act. 23 With these e [...]āples lying is mainteined, disceit and falshod alowed and named policie and prudēce. But I saye vnto you, ye abuse Gods word, ye rack it, ye make it a nose of wax ye open it not with the ryght key, but with a picklock: name not subtiltie pol­licie, nor lying ieste or dutie: all craftie schoffing, all profitable lying is damp­nable. You bring for the defence of your leasinges. Nasica, Sara, Abraham, Ia­cob, the midwifes of Egipt, Raab, Iehu, Paul and Christ. As for Nasica his say­ing was a ieste,The aunswer. a mery conceit and no lye. Iestes & mery conceites be no lies, for as much as they be vttered not to harme, noy, or hynder any man, but for [Page] myrth sake. A man may affirme y^t which is false,Abraham lyed not Genes. 12 and yet make no lye, for to ly, is to affirme an vntruth w^t a mynd to hurt, ēdamage, and deceiue som man therby. Abrahā said not to Abimilech, she is not my wyfe: but she is my sister which was true, for she was his sister by his father, but not by his mother, the daughter of Aran his brother and consequētly of his father, for asmoch as, filij siliorum dicun­tur etiam filii auorum, the sonne sonnes or daughters are called also the sonnes and daughters of the grandfathers. And so she was Abrahās sister, because she was his fathers daughter: and she was his fathers daughter, because she was his brothers daughter. Wherfore he spake nothynge that was false, but he kepte y^t close which was true: saiyng she was his sister, and not cōfessing her his wyfe: the which thing also his sonne Isaac did afterward.Genes. 26 But this was no liyng to hyde the truth, but to affirme that which is false. And otherwise Sara lied in dede, and her example is in that poynt to be eschued, for many thinges are wrytten, which are not to be folowed. The story of Iacob is no lye but a mistery, and the [Page 38] mistery proued true afterward.The sayi [...] of Iacob i [...] no ly, but [...] mistery [...]e Gene. 27. Luke. 13 When his father asked him: who art thou son? He answered, I am Esau thy eldest sōne wherby nothing els is meant and signe­fied then that which Chrest saith: ye shal se Abraham, and Isaach, and Icob, and all the Prophetes in the kyngdome of God, and your selues thrust out, & they shall come from the east, and weste, and north, and south, and sit in the kingdom of God: and behold, they be last, which shalbe fyrst, and they be fyrst, which shal be last. This thing nowe is com to passe, for we are his people,Rom [...]. 9▪ which wer not his people, and his beloued, which were not beloued. S. Paule nameth this a miste­ry:Roma. 1 [...] I would not this mistery shoulde be hidden from you brethren, lest ye should be wyse in youre owne conceites, for as­much as blindnes is partly happened in Israell, tyl the fulnes of the Gentyles be come in. Of these places it appeareth, that Iacobs saying, I am Esau thi eldest sonne, is as much to say, as the last shall be fyrst, and the first last, which is a true saying and no ly, because it is a mistery. For if we count misteries to be lyes, we must coūt likewise al parables and meta­phores, [Page] all tropes and fygures, to be no lesse,Apoca. 5 1. Cor. 10 Ihon. 11 Math. 13 Ihon. 15 Luke. 22 Hiere. 23 Psal. 143 Psal. 38. in which y^e meaning is to be cōside­red, and not the proper signification of y^e worde. Christ is called a Lion, a rocke, a dore, a Lambe: the children of the king­dome are called good seed, and the wyc­ked tares. The father of heauē is named a husbandman, & Gods word a sweard, a hamer, a key. Mannes lyfe is called a span, a shadowe &c. These maner of spea­ches be no lyes, but playne demonstrati­ons of hard matters, in easy & common termes. We be taught by y^e lion, rocke, and dore, which we know, what Christ is, whom we know not: and by the hus­bandman, we learne what God y^e father is. By the sword, the hammer, the strēg­th of Gods work: by the key, howe it is to be expounded: by the spanne, the sha­dowe, the shortnes of mans lyfe, which be frutefull matters. In sēblable maner, in this story we learn of Esau, the blind­nes of y^e Iewes, and of Iacob y^e yonger, the fulnes of y^e Gentiles. Now to speake of y^e midwyues of Egipt, and of Rahab, God dyd not reward them for their lye, but for their mercye, because they dealte kyndly wyth his people, for whych also [Page 40] he forgaue them their ly, wherein theye sinned vndoutedly, greuously.Exodus. 1. For the mouth which lyeth kylleth the soule. If those midwyues had ben perfect womē, they wold haue refused that office wher­unto Pharao apointed them, for it was to murder the infantes of the Israelites: and Rahab had don better, if she had not lyed, but answered: I know where they be, but because I feare God,Iosu. 2. [...] I wil neuer shewe it. They could haue lost nothing by this aunswer, although thei had suff­red death therfore. For blessed be y^e dead that dy in the Lord. By the other way, they gat them houses vpō the earth, but this way they might haue purchast that house, of whych it is wrytten: blessed be they, which dwell in thy house, they shal prayse the euermore. Stories make mentiō of one Firmius bishop of Tagasta who makyng this answer in such a case,Bishop Firmius. lost naught therby. Whē the Emperour sent his officers to search after a certeine man whome he had hidden, he beyng enquyred for him, said he would not de­ny but that he had hidden him, because of lying, but that he would neuer betray him: for which aunswere he was gre­uously [Page] pained, but no pain could cause him to disclose where the man was. The Emperour marueling at his stedfastnes deliuered him. Iehu in his lying is no more to be folowed, then in the sinne of Ieroboā the sonne of Nabat, which ma­de Israel sinne with the golden calfes in Bethel & Dan.4 Reg. 10 For it is written of him, that he forced not him self to walke in y^e law of the Lord God of Israell with all his heart. S. Paul made no lie, for he was in dead a citezin of Rome,how Paul was a citezen of Ro. because his father was fre: as at London the children of fre men be citezēs and fre. Nowe as concerning our sauiour Iesus Christ God forbid that we should say he lyed, in whose mouth no gyle could be found who speaketh of him self,Luke. 24 I am the way, the truth. His pretending to go further was no lying but a true meaning, for he went further afterward, when he ascen­ded vp into the heauē in the sight of his Apostles, which thing only was mēt by his p [...]etending to go further, for it is a mistery. No man therfore can affirme y^• Christ lyed, but he that denieth him to haue ascended: many false thinges are fained to signifie and teach true thinges [Page 41] which be no lies, for they be not spoken as thinges true, as thinges done, but to teach vs what we should do, as the nar­ration of Lazarus and the rich man,Luk. 16 Luk. 15 the parable of him which had two sonnes, of the whiche one abode at home wyth his father, the other went into far coun­tries, the parable of trees in the booke of Iudges which spake one to another,Iudi. 9 Math. 2 [...] Math. 25 Luk. 15 Luk. 18 Math. 13 Luke. 1 [...] the parable of the vineyard, of the virgins, of ten grotes, of the shepe, of the vnrigh­tuous iudge, of mustardsede, and of the Pharisie and the Publicane. If all these be lies, Christ is a great and notable her, who spake alwaies in parables to y^e people, the Prophetes are lyers, yea all the scripture is ful of lies, not only the scrip­ture but all heathen wryters vse this maner of teaching,Horatius▪ Esopus. as Horatius making the litle mouse to speake, and Esopus ge­uing language to foules, fishes and four foted beastes, and yet no any wyse man slaundred them at any time of lying. Thus it is euidēt that they which main­teine lying, rack the scripturs, and open them not with Peters key, but with a pielock, and that the examples brought for lying, ether be no lies, but iestes, as [Page] Nasica, or misteries as Iacobs, Christes or true sayings as Abrahams, Isaac, & Paul: or els if they be lies as Ennius mayd, Sara, the midwiues, Raab, Iehu, they are earnestly to be eschued,1. Ihon. 2 for no lie is of the truth, and whatsoeuer is not of y^e truth is naught, seing God is truth.

HE is also ful of mercy, letting the sunne shine vpō good and euil, & sending rain to both sortes. Thou most gracious Lord bringest forth grasse & herbes for cattel,Psa. 103 and fode out of the earth: thou geuest vs wine to make our harts glad, and oyl to chere our coūtenaūce, & bread to strengthē y^e hert, thou satisfiest al mēs desires w^t good things, & specially of those that be mercifull, as y^e only begotten sonne maketh proclamacion in y^e moun­tain: blessed are y^e merciful, for they shall receiue mercy.Math. 5 The erth is ful of thi mercies, & it (O lord) reacheth vnto y^e heauē, no place is empty of thy mercies.Psal. 32 The Origenistes defend that Gods mercie perceth into hel, & that al men, the deuils [Page 42] also shal at lēgth be saued, alledging this scripture: His mercy be vpon al his workes,Psal. 105 Psal. 144 Eccle. 18 and the mercy of God is vpon all flesh. They bring also Gods righteous­nes in iudgemēt, which thei deny to pu­nish sinne euerlastingly, for then the pu­nishment should be greater then y^e fault which is tēporal, and hath an end. This is a merciful heresie, but God sheweth no mercie against his truth. His truth saith: depart frō me ye cursed into euer­lasting fier,Math. 25. which is prepared for the de­uil & his aungels. No mā can here iustly say that euerlasting fier is taken for a long fier, albeit the latin word eternum, bee some tyme taken so, Prod [...]uturno, for the Greke is,Thanswe [...] [...] which word is neuer taken but for euer more world without end. As for their argument that the punishment must be no greater then the fault, I answer that our least fault deserueth euerlasting fier, be­cause it is committed against GOD, who is euerlasting, all be [...] the fault be begonne and ended in tyme, so that he is more to be considered against whose diuine wil it is done, then what is done. For the scriptur denieth him y^e kingdom [Page] of heauen,Math. 5 that breaketh one of the least cōmaūdements. Doth it not cry that in hel there is no redemptiō?Psalm. 6 And in death, who remēbreth thee? And who wil geue thee thankes in hell? And where the tree falleth there it shall lie. The continuance of hel fier is described notablie of Christ where he cōmaundeth vs to cut of our hand,Marke. 9 our fote, and to pluck out our eie, that is to prefer heauenly thinges to our fathers and mothers, & familiar frindes, saying: if thy hand offend thee, cut hym of. It is better for the to enter into lyfe maimed, then hauing two handes to go into hel, into fier vnquencheable, where their worm dieth not and the fier neuer goth out. What cā be more plainli, more vehemently spokē of the endles pain of the wycked, then these wordes, into fier vnquencheable, where their worm dieth not, and the fier neuer goeth out, whiche termes in y^e same place be repeated twise more afterward. If there be no redemp­tion in hell,An obiectiō how is it written in the boke of the kynges, our Lord bryngeth folke doune into hel and bryngeth thē again? we read also that Anania,1 Reg. 2 Dan. 3 Psal. 15 Azaria, and Misaell blessed the Lorde for delyue­ring [Page 43] them out of hel, and sauing from y^e power of death.Hel hath thre sign [...] ­cations. This worde hel in the first place doth not signifie that which is commenly ment therby, but a graue or pit that is digged, for the Hebrue worde is sheol. If any euill chaunce vnto my sonne Ben Iamin in the land whether you go,Gen. 2 [...] ▪ you shal bring down myne hore heares with sorow, vnto hel, that is into my graue. In Daniel it signifieth aduer­sitie, trouble and misery, as in many o­ther places.

This endles punishment of the wicked is no derogaciō to Gods great mercy, but rather a mirrour of his rightuousnes, for as he is merci­ful so is he rightuouse, as the mercy en­dureth for euer toward th [...] good, so his rightuousnes endureth no lesse time to­ward the euil. Dauid testifieth him to be iust in al his waies,Psal. 144▪ & holy in al his wor­kes. By his rightuousnes, he hated Ca­in, Esau, & the thief on the left hand: & by [Page] his mercy he loued Abel, Iacob, & hym that hong on y^e right hand: thorow these two happened the blindnes of y^e Iewes, and the fulnes of the Gentils. If he be vnrightuous, how shal he iudge y^e world His sainctes iudgements be rightuous:Roma. 3 he shutteth the vnrightuous out of hea­uen, he rewardeth right dealers, wher­fore he himself must nedes be a rightu­ous God. Thou wilt say: why thē doth he suffer the wicked to prosper, geuyng them riches honour and children? And why doth he punish the godly with po­uertie, sicknes, and al kind of misery? Why doth he suffer wicked Manasses to murder cruelly Esai? Why doth he let Ieremy be slaine of Apires, Zacharie of the hie priestes, Iohn Baptist of He­rode, Christ of Pilate? Why doth he suffer the Deuil to plage y^e pacient mā Iob with al kind of aduersitie? Why wyll he al good mē to bear a crosse in this world S. Paul telleth vs,1 Cor. 11 when we ar iudged, we are chastened of the Lord, lest we be damned with the world. And it is good for me (said Dauid) that I haue bene in trouble,Psal. 118 that I may learn thy statutes. Here two causes be rehearsed why God [Page 44] layeth affliction, trouble, and the crosse, vpon the shulders of his elect, that they may auoid dampnation, and learne to kepe his cōmaundemēts: for trouble ge­ueth vnderstanding. Lord (saith Esay) in trouble they cry vnto thee,Esay. 28 the aduersi­tie which they suffer is a lesson vnto thē. When the outward man perisheth,Esay. 26. the inward is renued day by day. Moreo­uer God hath set at the entring of the garden of pleasure,2. Cor. 4 Genesis. Cherubin with a fy­rie sweard, mouing in and out to kepe y^e way to the tree of life, to which there is no accesse, but by affliction, which is porter, as it is written: we must enter tho­row much trouble into the kingdom of heauen. Wherfore God loueth them whom he troubleth,Prouerb. [...] Hebre. 12 and he scourgeth e­uery sonne y^t he receiueth: they that are vnder no correctiō ar called bastards no sonnes. Cato when Pompey was ouer­throwen of valeaunt Iulius Ceasar, be­gan to be angry w^t God, thinking hym percial, but we christen m [...]n may not do so, knowing aduersitie to be a token of Gods fauour, an occasion of vnderstan­dīg, a cause of amēdmēt. These scripturs teach vs y^t God punisheth his elect, for [Page] their erudicion and cōmoditie, nor for a­ny vnrightuousnes, albeit y^e holiest man that euer was, deserueth a crosse in this life. His rigtuousnes enpouerisheth vs, plageth vs, and condempneth vs, & hys mercy enricheth vs, healeth vs, & crou­neth vs.An obiectiō Rom. 9 But it is written of Iacob & E­sau, that or they were borne, or they had done good or euil, God loued the one & hated the other, which was contrary to al true iudgement. S. Paul in the same place compareth God to a potter, and men to clay.The auns­wer. The potter hath power o­uer the clay, to make euen of one & the same lompe one vessel vnto honour, and another vnto dishonour. And hath not God power ouer vs, which be but clay, that is naught, the children of wrath, to condempne or to saue? The Latin worde here declareth more plainly what we be which is, Ex eodem luto. We be al becom durt by the faul of the first Adam. If he croune durt it is his mercy, thorowe the second Adam. If he cōdempne it, he ge­ueth right iudgement. Thou wilt say then,Rom. 9 why blameth he vs? For who can resist his wyl. He made thee not clay, that is the child of death, but after the [Page 45] Image of God & without sin: Thou art durt and clay thorow the sinne of Adam not because of thy creation: For God wold haue al mē saued.The caus [...] in vs not in God. And why be thei not? the cause is not in hym, but in vs, not that we be able to withstand his wil but bycause he will saue none against their wil: he wil saue al, that is al that wil take it when it is offred them, al that re­fuse not the saluation of their own souls, as the Israelites did.Math. 23 For Christ saieth vnto them, that he wold haue gathered them together as the hen gathereth hyr chickens vnder hir wynges, and they would not, suche be not saued, for God saueth no mā against his wil. Ther is thē no parcialitie, no vnrightuousnes with God, whose iudgemēts be vnsearchable but neuer against iustice: aboue our capacitie, but neuer against equitie. Who is able to discusse, why some die old, some yong, some in midle age? why some be poore, some rych, some gentlemen, some Lordes, some kinges, some of a base ston and other infinite diuersities. If these thinges were necessary to be knowen, God wold haue opened thē in his scriptures, but in that he speaketh not of thē, [Page] iudgeth thē vnprofitable for vs to know Let vs beleue that God worketh al these thinges and that therfore they must ne­des be right & iust bicause he is y^e work­mā, not searching things aboue our vnderstandings, but say with S. Paul: O the depenes of the riches, and wisdom, & knowledge of God? how vnsearcheable are his iudgements, and his waies vn­traceable? for who hath knowen y^e mind of the Lord, or who was his counceller?

HE is full of all goodnes, S. Iames witnessing of him y^t euery good gifte is from a­boue,Iacob. 1. & cometh down from the father of light, that is fa­ther of good mē, for thei are called light, Vos estis lux mundi, you are the light of y^e world.1. Cor. 3 What haue we that we haue not receiued? He is liberal, pacient, merciful, wise,Iacob. 1. strong, constant, equall, faithfull, magnifical, a [...]able, liberal, geuing to all mē indifferently, & casting no man in the teeth. Pacient, calling vs thorowe his long suffring vnto repentaunce.Roma. 2 Merci­ful, not dealing with vs after our sinnes,Psal. 102 [Page 46] nor rewardyng vs according to our wickednes. Wyse,Psal. 14 [...] for of his wysdome Da­uid saith: there is no number. Strong, for he is our buckeler, our shield, our strength and defence, the rock of our might, and castel of our health: Constāt,Psalm. 63. with whom no man can proue any va­riablenes. Equall, for there is no parcia­litie with God, there is no Iewe,Iames. 1 Roma. [...] nether gentile, nether bound nor free, nether man ne woman, but all be one in Christ Iesu. Faithfull, for he is a strong God and a faithfull, stable in all his wordes.Galath. 3 Deute. 7 Psal. 144 Psal. 101 Psal. 8. Magnificall, for the work of the Lord is great and worthy to be praysed, the hea­uens, the Sunne and the Starres, the waters and great fyshes therin, are the worck of thy fyngers. Affable exhorting vs continually to aske,Math. 7 knock and pray vnto hym, and talkyng with vs moste familiarly, first by holy Fathers, hys Prophets, and Patriarkes, afterwarde by his only begottē sonne Iesus Christ, walking hear vppon earth,Hebre. 1. to whome belongeth all power, maiestie, rule, and honor. We read of a certen ruler which called Christ good maister,Luke. 18 askynge him, what he should do to obtain euer­lasting [Page] lyfe, whome Christ rebuked say­ing, why callest thou me good? none is good saue God only. If God only be good, then all goodnes is in him.

HE is without beginning, without ending. How cā he haue any beginnyng, of whome al things take their originall? Howe can he haue anye end, who is of himselfe & by no other thing? Heauen and earth perisheth, and all y^t is in them shall fade awaye as grasse, and as the floure of the field, but oure God lyueth eternallye, who speaketh of himselfe: I am Alpha & Omega, Apcalip. 1 the beginning and y^e ending, which is, which was, and which is to come. Paul affirmeth the same vn­to his discipl [...] Timothe, geuing al honor and rule vnto God,1. Timo. 6. who only hath im­mortalitie. If only God haue immorta­litie,How God in ly is said to be im­mortall. why doth Christ forbyd vs to feare men, which slea the body, and cānot slea the soule? howe is man formed after the [Page 47] Image & similtude of God? Howe can the immortalitie of the mynd be defēded and of Angels?Aungels. truly mans soule is im­mortall, and yet only God is immortal, for this word (onely) doth not deny this priuilege to other things, as to mannes soul, to the Angels, but God is said only to be immortall, as he is said onely to be good, & only to forgeue sin.Mans soul is both mortal and im­mortal. Mans soule is immortal, but clean after an other sort then God, who only hath immoralitie. For the scripture testifieth of mans soul that it dieth, saying: suffer y^e dead to bu­ay their dead, that is to say: let the dead in soule, bury y^e dead in body.Math. [...] It is trou­bled with affections, with passions, and subiect to mutabilitie. But it so dieth thorow vice, that it ceaseth not to liue in his owne nature: It is so mortal, that it is also immortall. Wherfor God is only euerlasting, immortal euermore, who is only immutable. And if this interpreta­tion do not content the, heare an other, That is immortall properl [...] which is w^t ­out beginning, without ending.Immortal properly. Al crea­tures haue a begynnynge, of the which some neuerthelsse are called immortall, because they haue no endynge, as the [Page] angels, mans soul, but only God is pro­perly immortall, who speaketh of him­selfe,Apoca. 1 I am, which is, which was, which is to come. This belōgeth only to God and to none of his creatures, to none of the works of his fingers: of which som may truly say, that thei be & ar to come, but not that thei were, because once they were not.

IN the beginnig GOD made al things, wherfore he hath no beginning: & that which neuer had be­ginning, can not haue en­ding. When I say, God made all things,The world is y^e worke­manship of the whole Trinitie. Ihon. 1 Psalm. 32. I mean that the father, the son, and the holy spirite formed hea­uen & earth, angels & men, and all other creatures of nothing. For of the son it is writtē, al things were made by him, and of the holy comforter: by y^e word of the Lord, were the heauens made, and al the hostes of them by y^e breath of his mouth, wher the latin is, Spiritus. Yea in the be­ginnyng [Page 48] of the boke it is writtē of them both, that they be no creatures:Christ ma­ker therof. Genesis. 1 In the be­gynning. Ihon. 8 of y^e son in y^e beginning, God created heauē and earth, that is in Christ. For he answereth y^e Iewes askyng what he was, I am the beginnyng which speake vnto you, and in whose behalf Dauid speaketh:Psalm. 38. In the beginning of the boke it is writtē of me. Paule to the Hebrues repeteth the latter text and expoundeth it of Christ.Hebre. 1 [...] And Dixit Deus fiat lux. &c. God said, be ther light, be there a firmamēt: God said, the waters be gathered together, God said,Genesis. 1. God saide. be there lights in the firmament. This phrase and maner of speaking, is ioyned with the creation of euery thing. What did God say? what language did he spe­ake? Did he speake grek, latin, Italian, frēch, spanish, english, or hebrue? Mark, this was no audible voyce, no sounding or transitory noyse, commyng from the lightes, but God said be there light, fyr­mament. &c. that is to saye, God made these thinges by his saying▪ by his word by his voice, which is christ, as it is writ­tē: In y^e beginnīg was y^e word,Ihon. 1. that is in y^e father was christ, & al thīgs were made [Page] by it, and nothing was made without i [...] as Moises teacheth very wel, repeting these wordes Deus dixit, God sayd: in y^e creatiō of euery thīg.why Christ is named a word. And why is Christ called his fathers word? Truly bicause he is his image, and no man cometh to the knowledge of the father but by the sonne. And as we do open manifest, and declare our mindes one to another by our words and communication,Hebr. 1 so God is disclosed, opened, and discouered by Christ.Iohn. 1 No man hath sene God at any time, thonly begotten sonne, which is in the bosome of the father, he hath decla­red him, in his sermons he is sincerely published, and plainly painted and por­traied. For this cause he is surnamed y^e saying of God, and an audible and a trā sitory word, not properly, but by a meta­phore, and borowed spech. And this trā ­sitory word, made al thinges, vpholdeth al thinges, gouerneth al things. Nowe touching the holy spirit, we read in the first Chapter of generation, & spiritus domini ferebatur, The holy spirit is maker of y^e world. Gen. 1 the spirit of y^e Lord was born vpō the waters. Many do expoūd by the spirit in this text, the wynd, but it can not be taken so for many causes. [Page 49] First the wynd is the exhalatiō or spirit of the waters, this was y^e spirit of God, as the text doth say. Moreouer y^e wind then was vncreat, vnmade. For I think no man wil defend that the wind was made before the first day, which is made after these wordes.Born vpon the waters what it is. And others do read for ferebatur super aquas, fouebat, vel exclu debat aquas, the spirit did bring forth or hatch the waters, & so in dede the word signifieth in the Sirian tonge, wherfore was borne vpon the waters, is no blast of wind, but a metaphore of the hen, and a borowed speach. The hen is borne of her egs and sittteth vpon them, and so hatcheth her yong: and so the holy ghost was borne vpō the waters, sat vpon thē, brought forth and hatched all creatures which there are called waters. For as it is wrytten,Psal. 103 when thou lettest thy spirit go forth, they are made. Basil who for his great learning was surnamed mag­nus, expoundeth this text thus, & sayth:Basil. that his predecessors toke it so, and S. Austen is of the same mind,Austen. Melanch. and Philip Melancthō aloweth their interpretatiō. Thus it is euident y^t the vniuersal world is the workmāship of the whole trinitie, [Page] whose workes be inseperable: as they be inseperable, and one almighty, euerla­sting, inuisible, vnsercheable god, of one substaunce and nature, power and ma­iestie, who gathered the waters together as it werin a bottel, who maketh y^e clou­des his chariot, and goeth vpō the win­ges of the wind, and who spreadeth out heauen like vnto a curteyn. After that he had finished al his workes, he beheld thē and [...]o they were exceading good. Now there be many thinges not good, vnpro­fitable, vnfrutful, perilouse: for thornes and thistels prick vs, the gout greueth vs, the pocks, the canker consumeth vs, the sciatica payneth vs, spasmes, palsies, feuers noy vs, serpentes doe poysen vs, flies do bite vs, cats do scrat vs, flees do eat vs, moūtaines weary vs, snow doth let vs, thonders do fear vs, the cocodrils do kil our bodies, & the deuyl our souls. God made not these thinges, for al that he made was good: and if he made not these, he made not al thinges. The earth bringeth forth thornes and thistels,Sinne the cause of barenne. and other venemous herbes, not by nature, but thorow the synne of man, vnto whō God speaketh: Because thou hast obey­ed [Page 50] the voyce of thy wyfe, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commaunded the not to eat: Cursed be the earth in thy worke.Genes. 3 In sorow shalt thou eat therof al the daies of thy lyfe, and it shall beare thornes and thistels vnto thee, and thou shalt eat the herbes of the field, in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.Genesis. 1 Before sinne, we read not that the earth brought forth thistels, bushes, vnfruit­ful trees, but grene gras, fruitful trees, & herbes bearing holsome sedes.

The fal of Adam also caused al maner of griefs, panges, sicknes, disease,The cause of sickenes which then began to torment man, when God had said: In sorow shalt thou eat therof all the daies of thy life. By this word sorow, al such thinges be ment and signi­fied. If you aske me why God suffred the earth to bring forth thornes and vn­fruitful trees, my answer is,Why God curseth the earth. not to pain the earth with thē, which feleth no pain, but to admonish vs, of our synne, to put vs in remēbraunce of our fault, to be a warning vnto vs, as often as we se thē, to take hede that we synne no more. For if he punish the earth for our sinnes how much more will he punishe vs? [Page] Wherfore this memory shall continue vntyll the sting of death, which is sinne, be taken away, & vntil that be brought to passe that is written, death is consu­med into victory,1 Cor. 15 death where is thy sting? Hell where is thy victory? by vn­fruitful trees he warneth vs, y^t we be not vnfruitful. For as husbandmen forsake their trees not dōging not watring thē, when they be baren, but to burn them, euen so God ceaseth to poure his bles­singes vpon the vnfruitfull, for he is a husbandman: herken what his only son saith, whom we are cōmaunded to hear: I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandmā.Iohn. 15 He that abideth not in me, is cast forth as a braunch, and is widde­red, and men gather it and cast it into the fier, and it burneth: This fruit we may gather and learn of the vnfruitfull tree. By siknes partly he scurgeth vs for our sinne, partly he trieth vs, and lerneth vs his will as it is wrytten, the ouen pro­ueth the potters vessell,Eccl. 27 who made the serpēts flies, and other like. so doth tempta­tion of trouble, try rightuous mē. Now we are come to those, whiche demaund who made serpentes, Cocodriles, flies, wormes. &c. Of which much harm and [Page 51] no profite cōmeth. Verely he who made al thinges: Although they be hurtful vn­to vs for our disobedience, yet be they exceading good in their own nature, and profite vnto the furnishing of the whole world no lesse, then the other, which we recount more profitable and preciouse. If an ignoraunt man chaunce to go into a conning mans shop, and happen to see many [...]oles there that he knoweth not, he thinketh them either to be vnprofita­ble, or not necessary: Euen so we in al­mightie Gods shop, which is the world, do iudge many thinges to be naught, because we are ignoraunt. The Cocodrill, the litle flie, the small flee, haue their cō ­moditie, albeit we know it not: Our ig­noraunce doth not argue Gods worcks to be vnprofitable, yea Gods glory and wonderful power is more maruelous in making the litle flie to hear, to tast, and to fele, with a mouth, with legges, with wynges, a body, the stoma [...]k, the othe [...] inward partes, then in an Elephant: and more maruelous in a frog, then in a great Whale, and in a mouse then in a mightie horse. If thou come into a riche mans house and seest much stuffe, thou [Page] thinkest al to be to some purpose, and darest thou iudge y^t God in his house hath made any thing to no purpose? Al Gods creatures, ether be profitable, or hurtful, or not necessary: thanck him for the pro­fitable, take hede of the hurtful, and que­stion not, reason not of thinges not ne­cessary. For although thy capacitie can not perceiue it, yet God hath made all thinges in measure and number,Sapien. 11 who made [...]he Deuill. and weight: he made not y^e deuil, for he made him an aungel, and he made himself a deuil by sinning, when he fell from heauen as lightening. For the deuill is as much to say as an accuser,Luke. 10 and a seducer, of the Greke word Diaballi, whiche signifieth to accuse, to infame, to disceiue: God made man, but he made not man euil, so he made him an angel but not a deuil: he made many angels, but they made them selues euill, for no euil commeth of him, as it is written: he beheld many thinges yea al that he had made, and [...]o they wer exceading good.Genes. 1 But why did he make him an angel, knowing he wold become a deuil? why did he make other aungels innumerable? why many thousands of men, women, and children, which he forseeth [Page 52] shalbe dampned? Verely that he might declare himself to be rightuous in punishing the vngodly, as he is merci­ful in rewarding the godly: no man can blame him therfore, but rather magnifie his rightuousnes. He compelleth them not to sinne, for which thei ar dampned. Should God (because he forsawe they would be euill) absteine from creatinge them, which is good? Is it not lauful for him to do what him listeth with his own are their eies euyll bycause he is good?Math. 20 should he not do well in making them, because they would doe ill in offendyng him? Of this thing seke a further aun­swer, in the .xii. of the boke of wysdom:Sapien. 12 but let vs returne from whence we are straied, al beit these questions are annex­ed vnto our purpose. The smyth is not able to make any thing without Iron, nor the Carpenter without wood, nor the Tayler without cloth, nor the Sho­maker without leather, nor the Potter without clay, but God who is almigh­tie, made al thyngs of nothyng.All things were made of nothing together in six dayes. Before any thyng was, what could there be to make them of, except he would haue made them of hymself? Iesus the sonne [Page] of Sirach saith, Qui viuit in eternum creauit omnia simul. He that liueth for euer more made al thinges,Eccle. 18 simul, together, that is, God made first a confused heap, called in Greke Chaos, of nothing, and of that heap he formed all thinges, as it is written:Sap. 12 Qui fecisti mundum ex materia informi, who hast formed the world of a confused heape. He made this heap alto­gether, where he saith: in the beginning God treated all thynges,Gen. 1 heauen and earth, for the heap is called there heauē, and earth, as afterward also it is called the water: the spirit of y^e Lord was born vpon the waters. So far no time, no or­der of daies is mencioned: afterward, God of this heap in six daies, shapeth al thinges, so that both be true that God made the world in syx daies, and that he made all thinges together. This article of creation is necessary to be knowen, for as muche as some deny God to be the maker of the world, and geueth the glory therof to aungels, as the Menandrians, Satur­nians, Cerinthians, & al so the Nicolitanes, & it is y^e first article of our Crede.

OTher graunt God to be maker of al thinges, but they suppose, that as the shypwright whē he hath made the ship, leaueth it to y^e mariners & medleth no more therwith, & as the carpenter leaueth the house that he hath made: euen so God after he had formed all thinges, left al his creatures to their own gouer­naūce, or to the gouernaūce of y^e starres, not ruling the world after his prouidēce but liuīg in ease & quietnes as y^e Stoiks, Epicures, & diuers astrologers, because it is writtē y^t on the .vii. day God rested from al his workes. To these I aunswer with the prophet Dauid:Psal. 14 [...] God couereth the heauen with cloudes, prepareth rain for the earth, maketh the grasse to grow vpon the moūtains, geueth foder vnto the cattel, maketh fast y^e bars of y^e gates of Sion, blesseth y^e children within, ma­keth peace in our borders, filleth vs with the flour of wheat, geueth vs snow lyke wol, seatreth the hore fr [...]t like ashes,Psal. 144▪ ca­steth [Page] forth his ise like morsels, helpeth them to right that sustein wrong, loseth men out of pryson, geueth sight to the blind, raiseth vp them that are fallen, ca­reth for straungers, defendeth the fatherles, socoureth the widowe: wherfore he is not an idle God. For as the body ly­ueth thorow the lyfe of the soul, euen so the world continueth by Gods gouer­naunce, who ruleth it as y^e maister doth his seruaunt, without whom it per [...]sheth in the twinkling of an eie. All thynges wayte vpon him to receiue fode in due season,Psal. 103 when he geueth it them, they ga­ther it, when he openeth his hand, they are filled with good things, when he hi­deth his face, thei are sorowful, if he take away his breath, they die and are turned again to dust. The common wealth of y^e Israelites, teacheth vs how wōderfully God prouideth for thē,Gene. 33 Gene. 45 that he hath cho­sen. He preserued Iacob frō his brother Esau, he sēt Ioseph into Egipt, to make prouision against the .vii. dear yeares,Psal. 104 Exod. 10 Exod. 7 Psal. 78 Exod. 8 he sent darknes amongs the Egiptians, he turned their waters into bloud, and slue their fishe, their landes brought forth frogges, flies, lyse, grashoppers, caterpillers, [Page 54] yea euen in their kinges chambers, he brought them forth of the house of bondage and slauery with siluer & gold, he rebuked the sea and dried ti vp,Exod. 1 [...] Exod. 14 Exod. 13 Psal. 11 Exod. 1 [...] & he led them thorow the depe, as in the wil­dernes, he spred out a cloud to be a couering, and fire to geue light in the nyght season, at their desires came quailes, and he filled them with the bread of heauen, he opened the rock of stone, and the wa­ters flowed out, so that riuers came into the wildernes, he dried vp the waters of Iordan, that y^e people might passe ouer, he ouerthrew the walles of Iericho,Iosu. 3 Iosu. 6. and made the sunne to stand stil, and the day was lengthened, he s [...]ew mightie kings, Sehon king of the Amorites,Iosua. 1 [...] and Og king of [...]asan, and gaue away their lād for an heritage. Of which scriptures it doth consequently folow that he gouer­neth the world by his prouidence,Psal. 134▪ Nume. 21 Deuter. 3 Iosua. 12 & not by the whale of fortune, or by force of destinie, For if he gouerne [...] thē, he gouer­neth vs, seing the earth is the Lordes & al that is therin, the cōpasse of y^e world,Psal. 23 & al that dwel therin.

But some do say that he gouerned the Israelites,1. Peter. 2 the sede of Abraham the cho­sen [Page] generatiō, but not the refydne of the earth, which he gaue vp to their own gouernaunce. Verely God ruled all, as he is Lord of al.Actes. 14. Actes. 17 For Paule preacheth to the Athenians, that we liue, moue, and be in him. He gaue them also rain, light, corn, grasse, as he hymself teacheth Iob out of a storme, saying: Who deuideth the a­boūdaūce of waters into riuers?Iob. 38 or who maketh a way for y^t stormy wether? that it watereth and moystureth the dry and barren grounde, to make grasse grow wher no body dwelleth? Who is the fa­ther of rayne? Or who hath begottē the drops of our dewe, out of whose wombe came the yse? Who hath gendred y^e cold­nes of the ayer, y^t the waters are as hard as stones, and ly cōgeled aboue the depe? Did he not styr vp Pharao among y^e E­giptians?3. Reg. 20 Benhadad among y^e Sirians, Salmanasar amōg the Assirians, Nabu­chodonozer among y^• Babilonians, Da­rius among the Medes, Artaxarces a­mong the Parthians, Alexander among the Macedonians, and Vaspasian amōg the Romaines? In the boke of y^e Kinges Elias is cōmaunded to anoynt Hasaell king of Siria,3. Reg. 19 Iehu of Israell, & Eliseus [Page 55] to be Prophete in his roume. Wherby he teacheth vs, y^t he maketh Prophetes and Kings, and taketh away their king­domes, as it is written. Propter iniustiti­as, & iniurias, & diuersos dolos. &c. Eccle. 10 Be­cause of vnrighteouse dealing, wrong, & dyuers deceipts, kingdomes shalbe trā ­slated from one to another, for y^e power of the earth, is in the hand of God.An exhor­tation to Kynges. If kings wold earnestly beleue this which is Gods owne voice, & behold how ma­ny kings he deposed in y^e boke of kings, and for what causes, they wold be as earnest to set forth Gods glory, that is, to cause the gospell to be preached thorowe their dominiōs, and to relieue their pore brethren, which be members of the same body that they be, children of the same father, and heires of the same kingdome and that which is done to them, is done to Christ, as thei haue ben diligent, poli­tike, yea rather deceitfull, in encreasinge their reuenues, in filling their hutches w^t gold & siluer, thei wolde first seke for the kingdome of God, & then God wold be ther castle, & cast al other things vpō thē,Math. 6 or els he is vntrue of his promes. One being demaūded how a king might rule [Page] safely and assuredly, answered: if he d [...] ­uyse good lawes, and se them diligently practised. This is a necessary lesson for al princes, that wil lyue in quietnes, or that wil enioy their crounes with long conti­nuance, And a king aught to be a father to his subiects, not onli to the gentlemē, but rather to his pore cōmons, for they haue more nede. He is the head of them, as wel as of the other. What causeth vp­rores, & insurretiōs, soner then oppressiō of the pore? Or what prouoketh y^e wrath of God more against them? If I were demaunded how a king might not only pas his time safeli, but also al his posteritie & ofspyrng cōtinue in possessiō of the kingdome, I wold answer: if he seke the glory of God vnfaynedly, For if kyng­domes be translated for vnrightousnes, they ar preserued by rightousnes. If promotion come neyther from the east, nor from the west, but from the king of hea­uen, the wai to attein it, and to maintein and continue i [...] ▪ is to please the king of heauē, The pacient man Iob saith: that almightye God oftentimes for the wic­kednes and sinne of the people, suffereth an hipocrite to reigne ouer them. Nowe [Page 56] I thinke that ther was neuer more god­ly pretence, more outward shew of holy­nes, more dissimulation in Rulers, then now is, and this is Ipocrisy, and all the people be lyke the rulers I warant you. I wold wish that all kings wold diligēt­ly reade ouer, and earnestly beleue y^e cro­nicle of the kings, there thei should fynd that which is written:Prou. [...] by me kyngs do raigne. Cirus kyng of Persie, caused a proclamatiō to be made throughout his empyre,1. Esdr. [...] that the Lord God of heauē had geuen him al the kingdomes of y^e earth. Is God of lesse abillitie now to do these things thē he was? Or is he of les knowlege and vnderstāding? But to the mat­ter againe. If he do not gouerne y^• world by his prouidence, it is either because he cannot and he is not able, or that he will not, or that he is ignoraunt what is done here. But there is no ignoraunce with him to whome all thinges be naked and manifest, and he lacketh no cunning, for he is almighty, and nothing is impossi­ble to him, and he lacketh no will, for he is full of goodnes, mercy, & compassion, and promiseth plenty of all good things to the godly, and scarcitie to the euill. [Page] wherfore he ruleth al by his prouidence, he causeth thūder, lightning, haile, frost, snow, darknes, life & death, barennes & fruitfulnes, raine, & faire wether, wind, hunger, battel, peace, and pestilence, as it is written, prosperitie and aduersitie, lyfe and death, pouertie & riches, come of the Lord. God sendeth al these things partly to admonish vs of our frailnes, partly to punish the il, and partly to try the good, as I haue intreated before. I put case thou knewest not wherfore he ordeined many thinges, as thou art ig­noraunt why he formed thee a man and not a woman, an English man, and no Italian, were that a iust cause denie hys prouidence? Were it not a like thing, as if thou shouldest deny that I would be at London at the beginning of Michaelmas tearme, because thou knowest not my sute? We must think almighty God to forme al thinges to good purposes,God wor­keth all thinges to purposes. The dial al be it his workes surmount our capaci­ties. When y^u [...]okest vpon a dial, which declareth how the daie passeth away, thou art moued to thinke that it is made by art, and not by chaunce. If one wold carie a globe into Ireland,The globe whose dayly [Page 57] turnings would work thesame thing in sunne, the Mone, and the fiue mouable sterres, whiche is done in heauen euery day and euery night, which of thē wold thinke in y^t wild countrie the globe to be made without singuler conning? And do we think that God gouerneth the world the which comprehendeth both the dial and the globe and the makers of both, bi luck and fortune? Are the partes gouer­ned by reason framed by art, finished by conning, and not the whole? Or did Ar­chimides by art coūterfet the mouinges of heauen, and God not rule the same bi his prouidence? If God doe not rule it, there is some thing more mightier then he, which doth it. But he is almightie & none is able to cōpare w^t him. Townes cities, kingdoms, Empiers, be gouer­ned by counsell, much more the whole. The world is called of wisemen the citie of al creatures. Wherfore as Athens,Tounes. Cities. Realmes Lacedemon, Venise, Rome, Paris, London and Yorke, haue Mayres, Aldermen, Bailifes and Constables, to gouerne them after counsel: Euen so hath it, but who is able to be Maire or Constable therof but y^e hiest? therfor it is only ruled [Page] of him.An obiecti­on answe­red. Telamon. Regulus. Cinna. Marius. Dionisius Diogines. But you wil say, that citie is not wel gouerned, where vice is mainteined and vertue punished, as Telamon who denieth Gods prouidence, bicause good men be pained & euil fauoured: why was Regulus tormented of the Carthaginians? why did cruel Cinna kill so many noble men? Why did C. Marius sley the good quene Catulus? Why did Dionisius, Pisi­stratus & Phalaris, put so many to death? Diogenes Cinicus, was wont to say, that Harpalus a strong thefe vpon y^• seas bare witnes against God, that he was not mindful of vs bicause he cōtinued so lōg. Albeit this obiection be partly resolued before, yet I will touch it againe, that it may be plentifully confuted, taking an example of S. Paul who vnto y^e Philip­piās writeth, It greueth me not to write one thing oftentimes, for to you it is a sure thing. If Paul Gods chosen vessel, to whō he gaue no singular grace thou­ght it nedeful to write one thing oftenti­mes, how muche more must we thinke the same of our small vnderstandinges and [...]eble braines, whiche be lesse able to paint Gods secrets at one time? When thou seest one exceading riche & vnwor­thy [Page 58] of riches, thinke not him happie, cō ­demne not Gods prouidence, iudge not al things to go by luck and fortune. Re­member Lazarus and the rich glutten,Lazarus. y^e one was cruel, proud, vnmerciful, vnpi­tiful, and yet stored with al thinges: The other humble, meake, ful of pacience, ful of goodnes, and yet of notable pouertie and siknes, he did not accuse God, deny his prouidence, complaining with any such words as these: I haue not greatly sinned against God and yet I am hun­ger pined, pained with cold, & punished with sicknesse, but this euil man liueth in wealth, pleasur, ease and health: How can it be, that God is mindfull of vs? How it is true y^t he gouerneth y^e world? No truly, he toke it pacienly, he thought himself worthy of Gods rod.Luke. 10. Wherfore he was caried by Aungels into Abra­hams bosome, the riche man was con­dempned to hell torments. The prospe­ritie of the euil in this life encreseth their dampnation in the other,Why good men are a­flicted. and the good haue aduersitie in this world that thei be not dampned in the worlde to come. There is a comen saying: the end trieth y^e dede. Many theues in this life liue wel­thily, [Page] many aduoutrers, many extortio­ners, many Idolaters, many tenderlin, ges. &c. Is this a sufficient cause to deny Gods prouidce? No truly. If at the lat­ter day he condemne the good, & croune the euil, then say that he was vnmindful of vs: if not, say he is a righteous God, mindful of both good and il, for the end teacheth y^e no lesse. If therfore thou haue affliction in this lyfe, deny not Goddes prouidence, but cnumfort thy selfe with thexāple of Lazarus, of Paul, of Christ. Think that he punisheth sin in this lyfe, that thou be not dāned for it in thother. But nowe I will speake of euill rulers. God suffereth euill men to reygne ouer the people, because of their sinne and ab­hominable liuing, as the cōmon saying is,. Qualis populus, talis princeps. That is, lyke people, lyke prince. He scourgeth them w^t tyraunts, because they be a fro­ward,Iudic. 3 Iudic. 4 and ouerthwart generatiō, going a stray from him, and starting aside like a broken bow. The boke of the Iudges registreth, that God lefte to scourge Is­raell, fyue Lords of the Philistines, and all the Sidonites, & Heuites, that dwell in mounte Lybanon, he styrred against [Page 59] them when they synned, Chusan, Rasa­thaim king of Mesopotamia, & Eglon,Iudic. 19 Kyng of the Moabies, Iabin, Kyng of Canaan, & he suffred Abimelech, a cruell tyraunt to raigne ouer them. Wherfore was Israell so oft sold into the hands of the Egiptians, Chaldees, Assirians, but for ther wickednes? If God spared not his chosē generatiō, natural braunches, and his owne house, wil he forbeare the wyld oliues? Cinna and Marius, Dio­nisius and Phalaris, Pisistratus & Har­palus, wer rods and scourges, wherw^t he scourged the heathen for their Idola­try, shameful lusts and vnthākefulnesse as Chusan, Eglon, and the Philistines, were vnto the Israelytes. If they wolde haue forsaken their vicious liuing, and returned vnto [...]nd whome they knew of his workes, but were vnthankefull, not glorifiīg him as God, he wold haue deliuered them from those tirauntes, by good rulers and magistrates, as he de­liuered the Israelites from Chusan, Ra­sathaim kyng of Mesopotamia, by O­thoniell y^e son of Kenes,Iudic. 3 Iudic. 4. Iudic. 5 from Eglon by Ahud, & from Iabin king of Canaan, by Barak & Debora. Wherfore these exam­ples [Page] do not deny Gods prouidence, but proue vs to be sinners and declare his rightful iudgements both vpon y^• Iewe and gentil, yea rather they do establish & fortifie his gouernaunce, teaching hym to be mindful of al natiōs, in geuing thē good kinges for their vertue, or cruel ti­rauntes for their vice. Diagoras he that thought God to be vnmindful of men,Diagoras atheos. comming to Samothratia, a frend of his shewed him a table, wherin many were painted which through vowes had esca­ped shipwrack, and were come into the hauen, to whom he said: but they are not painted which vowed, and neuertheles wer drouned, ascribing their deliueraūce vnto the blindnes of fortune, and not vnto the goodnes of God. Doth Ionas so? Doth Paul so in the Actes,Actes. 27 when he and al that were with him were in ieoperdie of shipwrack? No truly he biddeth them be of good comfort, he taketh bread and geueth thankes vnto God who had promised him by an angel that an hear shuld not fall from the head of any of them. It chaunsed an other time Diagoras sayling vpon the sea, that a great slawe of wynd arose, the mariners thought that God [Page 60] had sent them a tempest bicause thei had taken him into the shyp, and agreed a­mong them selues to cast hym into the seas, thinking that then they would be quiet. But Diagoras desired thē to loke about and shewing them other ships in no lesse daunger, he asked them whether Diagoras was in those other shippes also meaning that tēpestes come not of gods prouidence, but by fortune & luck. How much wiser and more likely is the opinion of the noble clerk and most excellent Philosopher Cleanthes, who fortifieth Gods prouidence with four reasons.Cleanthes 4. reasons One is bicause he forseeth al thīgs. The second for as much as he geueth plentie, and scarsitie, cold and heat, corn, encrease of catel, and infinite other. The third, by­cause he feareth vs with thunderboltes, poureth down shoures, haile, snow, cau­seth plages, earthquakes, and blasing starres. The fourth and greatest, is the constant turnings of heauen, the marue­lous iourneis of the sun [...]e, the mone, & the starres, y^e glorious fairenes of them, the cōli order of al things. Who entring into a schole wher he seeth all thinges be done in order, wil not thinke it to be go­uerned [Page] by some wise scole master? if the scole cannot kepe a good order without a wyse scole master, much les the world which comprehendeth al scoles and sco­le masters. But who is able to be scole­master ouer al creatures but God only? Wherfore he ruleth them by his proui­dence,An induc­tion. A house. as the scolemaster doeth his sco­lers. Is not that house best gouerned, best stoored with all thynges necessary, which is ruled by counsaile?An armye is not y^e ar­my in better case, which hath a wise and polyke Captaine, then that which hath a rash and folish? The ship likewise, that hath a singuler cūning master,A Ship. goeth sa­fely and assuredlye. But nothing is bet­ter ruled then y^e world, in which y^e house, the army and ship, be contayned, which of the comely order & great beauty that is in it, is called of grekes [...], and of the latinistes Mundus. If we will search the holy scriptures, which beare witnes of God, we shall find that he gouerneth the whole wor [...]d, not as kyngs do their realmes, myndfull of weighty matters, and vnmindful of smal, but y^t he is mindfull both of great and small. The Rauen, the Storke, the Oule, the Pellicane, the [Page 61] Kyte, the Sparow, and the litle Wren, the Quayle, the Doue, the Swalow, all .iiii. foted beastes, are preserued by his prouidēce. Did not al maner of creaturs enter into the Arke by couples at his cō ­maundemēt,Genes. 7. and were saued from drou­ning? Doeth not he puruey meat for the Rauē, when his yong flicker about him: Did not thei at his cōmaundemēt bring bread and flesh to Elias beside the broke Karith?Iob. 38 Exod. 16 3. Reg. 17 Luke. 12 Fyue Sparowes are sold for a farthing, & yet none of them be forgottē of him. He fed his heritage with Quay­les. He geueth Pellicanes, Storks, Ky­tes, possession in the court of this world. He fedeth y^e lions whelps in their dēnes and lurking in their couches.Iob. 38 He shut their mouthes, that thei should not hurt his seruaunt Daniell. Yea,Daniel. 7 he numbreth the heares of our head, and clotheth the lilies of the field. I cannot here,Ma [...]h. 10 Agaīst fate destinie, or the inflēce of y^e stars. but som what rebuke such as curiously marketh their birth day, and birth star, as if their lyfe, and doings wer gouerned of nece­ssitie by y^e influēce, and mouing of y^e star­res. They teach that there is such a pith and efficacy in the signifier cyrcle, called of the Grekes, Zodiacos, that euery part [Page] therof hath a seueral, and vehement operation, the which vertue is sōdry and di­uers, through the seuen mouable stars. By it they wil al things to be ruled, and specially man: whose head (as the say) is gouerned by Aries, the neck by Taurus, the shulders by Gemini, and his fete by Pisces, which be signes in heauen, so na­med of the similitude of those thinges y^t they signifie in earth, supposing almigh­ty God as one tired w^t six daies labour, the seuent day to worke no more. And if one be borne vnder Aries, they promyse him that he shalbe rich and wealthy, bi­cause wethers be profitable beastes, ren­dring to their masters euery year a good fleshe. If thou were born vnder Taurus, they say thou shalt be a seruaunt, a slaue, a drudge, and an vnderling al thi life, for so much as this beast is yoked inplowes and cartes, and set to al drudgery. And if thou weee borne vnder Scorpius, thei tel thee thou shalt be a murtherer, a thief, a blasphemer▪ because y^e Scorpion is ful of dedly poisō, deducing y^e causes of gouernaūce in heauē, of y^e properties of beasts in earth. This opiniō hath caused much idolaty, and geuing the glory belonging [Page 62] only to God, to y^e works of his fingers. For when men perswaded their selues that al thinges were gouerned by stars, the worshipped the sunne, the mone, and the other mouable, & vnmouable stars: & thinking that riches come from them, they haue not praied vnto God, of whō only al good gifts are to be desired. The first of Genesis,Gene. 1 [...] witnesseth wherfore they are formed and created, not to rule mans life violently, not to gouerne vs, as the ryraunt doth his commons, but Vt sint in signa, & tempora, & dies, & an­ [...]os. &c. to be for signes & seasons, daies and yeares, to shine vpon the earth, and to deuide light from darknes. Many wold excuse their viciouse liuing by the influences, & vertue of y^e stars, saying y^t they constraine them vnto sinne, as the seruaunt of Zeno the Philosopher bla­med his maister for striking him bicause as he said, y^e stars cōpelled him to sinne. If our birth star cause vs to sinne, & to do that is honest, wherfore shuld we be bla­med when we do il, or praised whē we do wel, seing it is our nature & fatal destinie to do both, & not in our power to doe o­therwise? who blameth y^e sun, bicause he [Page] burneth the grasse of the feild, making it vnholsome for cattell, who prayseth the water for quēching of mens thyrst? Or the Sunne for warming them? Because thei cannot do otherwise, thei ar neither praysed, ne blamed: and shall we be bla­med or praysed, for y^t which is not in our power? If Christ the liuely image of the father,Luke. 10 Ihon. 1 Marke. 8 Ihon. 18 praysed Mary Magdalen iustly for chusing the better part, for pouring a box of preciouse ointment vpon him be­fore his burial, if he iustly reproued Pe­ter for coūselyng him not to come at Ie­rusalem, and for vsing the tēporal sword against the seruaunt of the high priestes, this is an vntrue doctrine, which taketh away both prayse dispraise. We reade in y^e scripture,Marke. 9 that God hath prepared vn­speakeable tormentes for such as breake his commaundements. Wherfore doth he so, if destiny compell them to sinne? If thou be accused before an officer of murder, and laiest for thy selfe that thou hast done it against thy wyll, if thou can proue it, thou art discharged. If y^e hang­man of Calice put a man to death at the commaundement of an officer, he is not blamed therfore. Yea, mine ennemye [Page 63] wil forgiue me, if I hurt him against my wyll. And wil almighty God punish vs so greuously, for breaking his cōmaun­dementes through fate and destiny? You Iustices, Shryues, Bayliffes, and Cunstables, why presume ye to punysh euill doers? if a thiefe come before you, he is not to be blamed, but his destiny: if an adultrer, an Idolatrer, an extortio­ner, you can laye nothynge to his char­ge, but to the starres which cause him to be naught, will he, nill he. No man esca­peth punishmēt, by laying of destiny for him, no officer will accept this aunswer of an euill doer, no master wil alowe his seruaunt laying this for him, nor the mi­stres her maide, nor the scolemaster, his dysciple, nor the marchantman his pren­tice: wherof it is euident, that all men condempne this dampnable opinion by naturall reason in their dedes, albeit the words of some, soūd to the contrary. If we think al thing to be gouerned by de­stini, we must nedes agre to y^e libertines, which make no differēce betwene good and bad, betwen right & wrong, betwen light and darkenes,Libertines but defēd all things to be lawful & honest, calling notable vi­ces, [Page] vocations cōmaunded of God. If they spy a theife thei blame him not, but exhort him to continue in his vocation. Thei bid the band, the strong whore, ap­ply their vocations, [...]. Cor. 6. for S. Paule saith: all thynges be lawfull vnto him, if vnto him, to vs. Thei ground this doctrine of the regeneration, the which they say is a full recoueraunce by Christe, of y^t which we loste by Adam. He, before his faule, knewe no difference betwene good and yll, but fel by knowldge of good and yll. Now they say that Chryst hath taken a­waye euill,Gene. 3 and therfore all that we do is good: [...]. Ihon. 2 for he that is born of him, sinneth not because his seed remaineth in him, & and he can not sin. Whosoeuer sinneth hath not sene him,Luke. 18 neither hath knowen him. Wherfore they that wil be the son­nes and childrē of God, must be like vn­to children, which neither know, nor do neither good nor yll. For the kingdome of God belongeth vnto such. Doth not fate and destinie teach y^e same?Math. 19 Nothing is good ne bad, except it be volūtary, no­thing is to be praisd or dispraisd, nothing is to be punished, or recōpēsed. It taketh awaye all lawes, statutes, actes, procla­matiōs, [Page 64] for all mē be borne to obey them or to breake them. If to obey them, they nede not, if to breake thē, thei profit not. But y^u wilt answere it is profitable, that actes be put forth, that such as be disobe­dient, escape not vnpunished. O cruell destinie, which both causeth vs to do euil & punisheth vs therfore: Is it not a lyke thing, as if a man shold throw the down hedlong from the top of Poules steple, and after finding y^e aliue, wold al to beat the therfore? I wold faine learn whether all men & women, in the time of the holy man Noe, and the host of Pharao which pursued the Israelites,Gene. 7. Exod. 14▪ had one fate and destinie. They were destroyed with one kynde of punyshment. I would knowe whether all the Sodomits and Gomor­rians wer born vnder one planet,Gene. 1 [...] which all at one time, and after one fashion wer consumed with fier falling from heauen.

The Idolatrers which worshipped the golden calfe, were slayne therfore.Exod. 32 The earth opened her mouth, and swalowed Chorce, Dathan,Num. 1 [...] and Abiram & all their adherents, for their rebellion and insur­rection againste Moyses their head and ruler. If all thinges were gouerned [Page] by y^e starres, these men should haue had diuers punishments, because their dest­inies were vnlyke. Who knoweth not that there haue bene dyuers excellent in many faculties and sciēces, & that many were borne at the same time with them, for at al times an infinit nūber are born, & yet we haue none like Homer in poe­try, like Samson in strength, like Aristotle in Philosophie, lyke Salomon in wisdome, like Appelles in painting, like Euclide in Geometrie, like Tully in e­loquence. Were none borne vnder the same instillation, that our sauiour Christ was? It is likely, that both some of those babes,Math. 2 whiche Herode murdered were borne at thesame time, and also diuerse in other regions. Stories make relatiō, that Anaxagoras a noble Philosopher was trussed in a foteball,Anaxagoras and spurned to death, at the commaundement of a cruel kyng, if it had bene his distenie, it would haue chaunsed as wel to other born vn­der the same starre.

But you wil say, if the starres do not gouerne vs,Why stars apeared at the birth of Christe. why did such a notable star appere when Christ was borne? A star gouerned his natiuitie, for the wysemen [Page 63] say: vidimus enim stellā eius in Oriēte. &c. We haue sene his star in y^e East. Truly that star was none o [...] the mouable or vnmouable starres, but a new star, in a new and maruei­lous case, neuer sene before ne afterward. As we reade in the Cronicles, of many wonders which happened commenly before great bat- and conquestes, as in the time of P. Crassus, and L. Sceuola, mylke rayned from heauen. In the time of L. Domicius, and C. Lelius, a mayde was borne with two heads, foure handes, and foure feete: And in the tyme of M. Anthonius, and P. Dolobella, there was seene a great blasyng starre, and thre Sun­nes: Euen so at Christes birth, whiche was wonderfull, appered this starre, who as tou­ching his diuinitie, had no mother, and con­cerning his humanitie, was borne without a father. The wyse men whiche moued by this starre, came to seke after Christ, signifie the wysdome of man, whiche in matters of Religion is folishnes. Wherfore God of his infinite mercie opened the incarnatiō of his sonne by this starre, and therwith stirred the wyse to offer vnto hym, Aurum, thus, & mirram, Gold, frankinsence, and mirre. By Gold is signified that he is a kyng,Math. 2 by Fran­kinsence that he is God, and by Myrre that he is man. If God had not opened it vnto them, they could neuer haue knowen his in­carnation, the whiche S. Paull calleth [Page] Misterium absconditum a seculis, a mistery hid since the world begon, and since the beginning of generations:Colloss. 1 but now it is opened to his saintes, to whom God would make kno­wen the glorious riches of his godnes. For this cause the starre appeared,Psal. 8 and not to go­uerne all the doinges of our sauiour Christ violently: All thinges be cast vnder his feete, and he made the starres: therfore he is not subiect to the starres. But bicause heauenly matters surmount our capacities, his com­ming into this world was declared vnto the Iewes by the Patriarkes, Prophetes, shep­herdes, and the holy word of God, and vnto the Gentils by this starre, and his Apostles: which s [...]ar went before the wyse and prudēt men, till it came & stode ouer the place where Christ was. What wyse man wyl impute al that Christ did afterward to this star, which after it had brought the wysemen vnto him, appered no more? Do our birth starres cease to appere after a certain space? Do they stand ouer the place where we be borne? Or do the [...] leaue their accustomed circuite? Wherfore it is euident that this starre was ordeined to preache Christ▪ and not for fate and destinie, to serue hym, and not to force hym, who can not be forced, for he worketh what he wyll in heauen and earth, and all the worlde is his workemanshyp. Many doubt whether thys starre were a true star, or an aungell, or the holy ghost. I leue euery man in this matter [Page 64] to his owne iudgement,Thre opi­nions tou­ching thys Starre. so that his verdite disagree not with the scripture, but edifie & instruct the hearer, neuertheles I wyll talke my simple phantasie therin.

If it were a very star, why did he leaue his accustomed progres? Or how could he be a guide vnto the wyse men betwene Bethle­em and Hierusalem, being placed with the other starres in the firmament of heauen? We read that the sunne stode vnder Iosue, and went backward vnder Esechias,Iosua. 10 4 Reg. 20. Angels ap­peare in d [...] uers shap [...] but ne­uer of no star that left his ordeined circuite, and wandred, as one that loseth his way. Peraduenture an aungell appered vnto the wyse men in the lykenes of a star, for they appere in diuers likenesses and shapes. At moūt Oreb an aungell spake vnto Moises out of a bush in the lykenes of fyre,Exod. 3 Iosua. 5 and at Galgall to Iosue the sonne of Nun, like a man of ar­mes. Helias is caried vp to heauen in a cha­ret of fyre, and with horses of fyre.4 Reg. 2 The cha­ret and the horse be the aungels of God, whiche be ministring spirits accomplishing all his commaundementes. The aungels ap­pere vnto Abraham and Lot,Gene. 1 like thre wayfa­ring men. Manne & his wyfe sawe an angel talking with them, as he had ben a Prophet.Iud. 13 So it may wel be that an aungel in the simi­litude of a star, was a guide to the wise men. For aungeles are called starres in the scrip­tures, as in the reuelation of Iohn: Stelle sep tem ecclesiarum angeli. Apoc. [...] The seuen starres [Page] are the aungels of the seuen congregations. Other thinke that this star was nether aun­gell, nor a materiall star, but the holy spirite, whiche opened the incarnatiō of Christ, both vnto the Iewes and to the Gentils: but vn­to the Iewes in the likenes of a Doue, & to the Gentils in the shape and similitude of a star, of whiche Balaam an Astronomer, pro­phecied long before, Orietur stella ex Iacob, there shall come a starre of Iacob,Num. 24. that is a shining light of the holy ghost, the which shal leade the Heathē to the knowledge of Christ in the likenes of a star, as he fell vpon the A­postles in the shape of fyre.Act. [...] Thus muche I haue spoken of the starre, that appered at the natiuitie of Christ, bicause many by it, wold proue fate and destinie. But what (say they) is fate and destinie? A stedfast and immuta­ble order of causes,What fate is. wherby all thynges are done of necessitie, called in Greke [...] True it is, nothing is done w^tout a cause, but yet many thīgs may seme to be done without any necessary cause: for some causes be perfit, & some in our iudgement again may seme to be vnperfit.Perfit causes. Unperfit. Fire causeth heat perfectly, and water cold, but surfiting causeth sicknes, a wound causeth death, study causeth learning vnperfectly: for a man may surfet, be woun­ded, and applie his study, and yet nether be sick, nedy, ne learned. If all causes were ne­cessary, but presuppose they were, yet I wold deny all things to be ruled by their necessitie, [Page 65] of fate and destinie: for almighty God wor­keth what he will in them of his good plea­sure.Exod. 2▪ He appered vnto Moises out of a bushe in a flame of fire, and yet the bush consumed not.Dan. 3 Gene. 17 Gene. 18 Luc. 1 Num. 17 Iosua. 10 Math. 1 Math. 8.9 He cōmaunded the fire not to hurt Ana­nias, Azarias, and Misael, and saued them harmeles from the hote burning ouen. Did necessitie of fate and destinie make Sara & Elizabeth, which were barren and past chyl­dren, fruitfull? Did destinie make Aarons rod bud, the sunne to go bakward, a maid to conceiue, the blynd to see, the deaf to heare, the dead to aryse? If almighty God then did al those thinges he leaueth not his creatures to be gouerned of causes which depēd one on another, but ruleth them at his pleasure.

Salomon witnesseth of GOD, that he doeth lengthen the lyfe of hys, and shorten the life of the wicked, saying.Prou. 10 The fear of the Lorde maketh a long life, but the yeares of y^e vngodly shalbe shortened. There be many ex­amples of this in the Bible. The Prophet Esay commaundeth kyng Esechias to put his houshold in an order,4 Reg. 20. because he shoulde die out of hand and not liue, and yet at his earnest request, God lengthned his life .xv. yeares. Thus we denie that the creatures are gouerned by stoicall destinie ether in their byrth, death or any of their actions, but only by the prouidence of God, as the examples of the Scriptures concerning the birth of Ia­cob and Esau, Phares and zara, do witnes.Iacob. Esau. Gene. 29 for the notable birth of Iacob & Esau doth [Page] confute destinie, and destroy the influence of the starres, for they were borne both at one tyme, in one place, of one woman, by one mā, and yet they were as vnlyke as fier and wa­ter, as lyght and darkenes, as blacke & white. So were Phares and zara, two twinnes also the chyldren of Iudas by his daugter Tha­mar.Gene. 38 These examples declare destinie & in­fluence of the starres, to be but a fable, yea they fortifie Gods prouidence, teachyng him to be a gyuer of dyuers graces, vnlyke for­tunes, and seuerall blessynges. I graunt that an Astronomer may tell, by the obseruation of the starres, to what occupation, to what estate of lyfe euery man is most feat, most ap [...] by nature: but that he can tell mans fortune by any of his arte or cunning, I deny vtter­ly: For our lyfe is not ruled by the mouynge of the starres, but by Gods prouidence, who worketh all thynges in heauen and earth.

How then is that true, whiche is wrytten in the boke of generation:Gene. 2. How God is sayde to haue rested the .7. day. Gene. 3. Compleuit Deus die septimo opus suum, & requieuit ab vni uerso opere. &c. He finished and he rested the seuenth day from all hys workes. God rested the seuenth day from the workes of creation, from formyng of newe creatures, but not from gouerning of them.

The Carpenter after he hath finyshed the the house, medleth no more therwith, if God should doe so, all creatures would peryshe. If [Page] mans body can lyue without quickenyng of the soule, the world may continue without his prouidence. For he is to the worlde, that the soule is to the body, and more necessary to y^e gouernaūce of it, then y^e soul to y^e gouer­naunce of the body, forasmuch as he is y^e maker both of soul & body: Thou must not ima­gin that God was wery with syxe dayes la­bour, because he is sayd to haue rested the se­uenth day, who made all thynges, and go­uerneth them without labour, and rested without werynes. For resting signifieth en­dyng. In the seuenth day God rested from al his workes, that is, he ended, he finished the creation of the world. Why then doeth not the scripture say, he ended all his workes, but that he rested from them? Truly not without an vrgent cause, for God is sayd to haue rested from all his workes, whiche he made exceadyng good, for because he wyll geue vs rest and quietnes from our trauayl, if we wyll doe all good workes, as he made all thynges exceading good. This phrase of speakyng is vsed muche in the scripture, as of the Apostle, we knowe not what to desyre as we ought. Spiritus intercedit pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilihus, bu [...] [...]he spirit maketh intercession mightely for vs with gro­ninges,Rom. 8. whiche can not be expressed wyth [...]ong. The holy ghost doth not grone, but maketh vs to grone and lamente our synnes, [Page] nor make intercession, but sturreth vs vnto prayer. Moyses vseth the same maner of spe­kyng vnto the Israelites, saying. The Lord your God tempteth you,Deut. 13 to knowe whether you loue hym. God doeth not tempt his to knowe any thynge therby, who knoweth all thynges, but to make them to knowe howe much they loue hym. He crieth vnto Abrahā, now I know that thou fearest God,Gene. 22 in that thou hast not spared thine only sonne for my sake, that is, I haue made thee to know. So he is said to haue rested, because he wil make vs to rest with hym in glory. If we endeuour our selues to folowe hym in goodnes, who made nothyng, but it was good. Wherfore this resting of God doth rather establish his prouidence then make against it, declaryng hym to be myndful of good men, and to haue prepared them a restinge place, where they shall beholde his glorious countenaunce euer more, for he is called in latin Deus, in Greke [...] (which worde signifieth to run) because he hasteth vnto euery place, to gouerne and order all creatures.

AS we sufficiently taught, that God is the worker of al things, [...]ap. 19. so if we searche the Scriptures, we shal finde that he only know­eth [Page 73] al thinges, and is ignoraunt of no­thing, as Iesus the sonne of Sirach wit­nesseth: The Lorde knoweth al science.Eccle. 4 [...] The knowledge of men is vnperfit, and encreaseth by diligence, for the mortal & corruptible body is heuy vnto the soul, & our earthly mancion kepeth down vn­derstāding,Sapi. 9 so that we can not perfectly iudge of earthly things, much les of he­uenly matters. Aungels haue a more plentiful knowledge then we, & yet they be ignoraunt of many thinges,Marke. 13 as of the last day and hour, which the father kno­weth only, but God knoweth al things perfitly, who is the Lord of knowledge, whose wysdom can tel thinges that are past, and discerne thinges to come.1. Reg. 2. Sapi. 8 Eccle. 42 The workes of al flesh are before him, & there is nothing hid from his eies, his wisdom knoweth the subteltie of words, and can expound darck sentences. He seketh out the ground of the heart, and vnderstan­deth al imagination. No thought may e­scape him, nether may any word be hyd frō him. He called vnto Adam & said vn­to him: Adam vbi es, wher art thou? not bicause he was ignoraunt,Gene. [...] but to teach him what he had lost, & to moue him vn­to [Page] earnest repentaunce for his syn. After like sort he asked Cain,Gene. 6 wher is Abel thy brother? not for to lerne y^t, he knew not, but for to punish and dismay him. The scriptur telleth that Penituit deum quod hominem fecisset in terra: How God is said to repent. Psal. 21 [...] Reg. 16 God repented y^t he had made man vpō the earth, & soro­wed in his heart, who repenteth also of making Saul king of the Israelites. He is said to repent, not that he is ignorant of thinges to come, who forsawe that Saul, & al mankind wold become abho­minable, but whē we chaūge & go astray from him, or returne to him, & are ether punished for our synne, or rewarded of his mercy. After the first sort he repented of making mankind, of making disobe­dient Saul king, & of the chusing of the Iewes, who once wer y^e people of God, and now the mēbers of Antichrist. After the other sort, the Heathen are become y^e worshippers of God through the fauourable regard of Iesus Christ, which once were the sonnes of wrath, and the shepe going astray: Through it the traytor Iudas lost his Apostleship & is iustly dampned in hel, and the thief after great rob­berie is deliuered from the crosse & mer­cifully [Page 74] crouned in paradise. This chaūge from good to il, or frō il to good, which is done by the secret and most rightfull iudgementes of almighty God, in the scripture is called his repentaunce, and the chaunge is in vs, and not in hym. Dauid a man according to Gods hertes desire, witnesseth of him saying:Psal. 21 The ge­neration which is to come shalbe told to the Lord, they shal tel his rightuousnes. He doth not say the Lord shalbe told to the generation, but the generation to the Lord: of whiche wordes we can not ga­ther, that any thing is told God, wher­of he is ignoraunt, that he may know it, but that he is told that which he know­eth already, as the aungels tel vnto him our praiers and almes deades, and as we shewe God our griefs and what we desire in our praiers. Raphael one of the seuen aungels, that stand before God sayth vnto Toby: I haue offered thy prayer before the Lord,Toby. 1 [...] wherby is ment that they be ministring spirits, for their sakes, which shall be heyres of saluaciō, not that God lerneth our nede by them,Hebr. 1 who knoweth what is necessary for vs, before we aske it of hym,Math. [...] neuertheles [Page] he willeth vs to aske that we may recei­ue,Math. 7 Luke. 11 as it is written: aske and it shalbe ge­uen you. Euery one y^t asketh receiueth, and he that seketh findeth, and to hym that knocketh, it shalbe opened.

After this sort S. Paul is to be taken, saying: Petitiones vestre innotescant apud deum, let your requests be knowen vnto God.Ph [...]lip. 4 Colloss. 4 Why dost thou maruel that God is shewed that he knoweth, seing y^e men oftentimes are told of other, that which they knew before. If thou mislike this exposition, hear another. These wordes, the generation to come shalbe told the Lord, be as much to say as the Lord shall be praised in it, for to tel vnto the Lord, is to praise knowledge and magnifie hym, as to liue vnto the Lord, to eat vnto the Lord.Roma. 14 S. Paul expoundeth eating to the Lord, to be geuing of thankes, and pray­sing him when thou eatest: saying, he y^t eateth doth it to the Lord, for he geueth God thākes. If doing to the Lord be ge­ueng of thankes, as S. Paul declareth, saying, he doth it to y^e Lord, for he giueth thankes, then of necessitie telling to the Lord, is thāking of him, forasmuch as al [...]elling is doing. We read of the sonne of [Page 75] God in the reuelation of Iohn,Apoca. 19. that he hath eies like the flame of fier, & on his head many crownes, & a name written, y^t none knew but he himself. If non knew it but he him self, the father knoweth it not: wherof followeth that God know­eth not al thinges. To this I answer, bi­cause the father and Christ be one, that y^e father knoweth it, for as much as Christ knoweth it,Ihon. 10 nor y^e text doth not exclude the father from the knowledge therof, saying none knoweth it, but he himself, for the lantin is, Nemo scit, that is no mā knoweth. Moreouer this saying, no mā knoweth it, but he himself, teacheth vs, that only his diuinitie knoweth it, not his humanitie, for y^t is excluded by these words, no man knoweth it. But Christs deuinitie is y^e fathers deuinitie, who both are al one by nature, not by persō: wher­fore, that which Christ knoweth, the fa­ther knoweth also. This text doth not diminish the fathers knowledge, but ra­ther establisheth, only God to know all things, saying that only he himself kno­weth this name: wherby these wordes (he himself) we are compelled to vnder­stand the deuinitie, the nature & maiestie of [Page] God, to know it only, and Christes hu­manitie to be ignoraunt of it, which also doth not know the last day.

HE is sayd also only to for­giue sinne, who driueth a­way our offences lyke the cloudes, and misdedes, as y^e mistes. The Lord saith: I am euen he only,Esay. 44 Esay. 43 y^t for mine own selues sake, do away thyne offences, and forget thy sins. The vnfaithful Iewes acknowledge this, laying blasphemy to our sa­uiour Christes charge, because he said to to one sick of the palsy:Marke. 2 Sonne, thy sins are forgeuen thee. Likewise, when he forgiueth many sinnes to Mary Magda­lene,Luke. 7 in the house of Simon, bicause she loued much, they aske who he is which forgeueth sinnes also. The stifnecked Iewes found fault w^t Christ, in forgeuing of sinnes, bicause they beleued not hym to be God, to whom that only belōgeth and to no creature. For who can forgiue sinnes, but God only? Thei shuld rather [Page 76] haue gathered him to be very God, then a blasphemer, forasmuch as he proueth this to belong vnto him vpon the earth, restoring strength & health vnto the sick man, to cary his bed home, whence he was brought of four mē. When he saith of Mary Magdalen washing his fete with teares,Mary magdalene. & wiping them w^t her hears Remittuntur ei peccata multa, quoniam di­lexit multum: Many sinnes are forgiuen her, bicause she loued much, we may not thinke that loue causeth remissiō of sins, but that remissiō of sinnes causeth loue. For that our loue foloweth, and goeth not before,Goddes remission goeth before our loue Christ declareth in thesame place, saying: He that hath much forgi­uen, loueth more, and to whom lesse is forgiuē, he loueth lesse. Doth not Christ here manifestly teach, that Gods forge­uing, engēdreth is vs much loue or litle? if we examin the circūstaūce of the place, and ponder it diligētly, we shal find it to be no otherwise. Simō, who bad Christ vnto his house, is offended that Mary Magdalen touched Christ, and maruei­leth that he wil suffre a mysse woman to be so homely with hym, as to washe his fete, & anoynt them. Christ therfore said [Page] vnto him: Many sinnes are forgeuē her bicause she loueth much: to whom lesse is forgeuen, he loueth les, as if he should say: Symon, thou art offended that I let a sinful woman touch me: be no more offended, she is no longer a sinful woman▪ for I haue forgeuen her many sinnes, & bicause many sinnes are forgiuē her, she loueth much. For he, to whom much is forgeuen, loueth more: wherfore maruel not that I let an honest woman, which hath her sinnes forgeuen her, & therfore loueth me gretly, touch me: maruel not that I let a penitēt womā wash my fete, wipe them w^t her hears & anoint y^e same.

I would the clergie and laitie would wash Christ. What is that? truly to be penitent for their il liuing,To wash Christ. to mourne, to wepe, to lament their couetousnes and gredy ambicion, their pluralites of per­sonages, non residences, ferming of bene­fices, totquots, necligence in their voca­tions, and absence from their cures. Ve mihi, quia tacu [...] ▪ Wo be vnto me for hol­ding my peace. Al men and women, yea kinges, quenes, lordes, & ladies, folowe good Mary Magdalene in this point, & cry not, cal not vnto her, prai for vs, prai [Page 77] for vs. But the deuil is crafty, he maketh vs omit to folow the saintes, for whiche their liues were writtē, and perswadeth vs by his ministers, which be heretikes, to pray vnto saintes, which can not help vs. This is the true meaning of these wordes, not that her loue went before to deserue, or to be a cause of remission of sinnes, but that she might honestly wash Christ, whō she loued much, for her sins pardoned. The parable of two detters, declareth this to be true, by which christ proueth vnto Simō, the great loue that she bare vnto him. For if y^e detter to whō the crediter forgeueth .ccccc. ducates, lo­ueth him, better then he to whom he forgeueth but fifty, thē Mary loued Christ hartely, who blotted out al her sinnes. Do not the detters loue the crediter, bi­cause of his liberalite: euē so Mary was not forgeuen through the merite of her loue, but she loued bicause she was forgi­uen. Christ witnesseth y^t the crediter for­gaue his detters, whē they had nothing to pay. What is this, but that almighty God pardoneth our sinnes, not for any crum of loue in vs, but of his tender and gracious fauour? For we are y^e detters, [Page] and he is y^e liberal crediter: but how shall we answer the phrase of scripture, which saith that many sinnes were forgeuē her because she loued much? Do we not vse to say, somer is nigh, bicause y^e trees blossom? and yet the blossoming of the trees doth not cause somer, but somer causeth them. So winter causeth cold, & not cold wynter, & yet we complain of wynter, bicause it is so cold, so we say the tree is good, bicause y^e fruit is good. But Christ teachīg his disciples to pray, willeth thē to aske pardon of God, as thei pardō o­ther:Math. 6 How we do forgeue one ano­ther. for if we forgeue other mē their trespasses, our heauenly father wil also for­geue vs. Wherfore, it is not a thing belō ging only to god. Mā is said to forgeue his neighbour, not by pardoning y^e euerlasting punishmēt, which is the reward of al sinne,Roma. 6 and is pardoned nether of thi neighbour ne yet of priest but of God alone, but by refraining his anger, by pacifying himself, by asswaging his fury. S. Paul she [...]eth what our forgeuing is saying:Ephesi. 5 let not the sunne go down vpon your wrath.Eccle. 28 He that seketh vengeaunce sayth the preacher, shal finde vengeaūce of the Lord. To seke vengeaūce is not to [Page 78] forgeue thy neighbour, but this venge­aunce is nothing but a displeasure in this lyfe, wherfore to forgeue, is to seke no vē geaunce in this life, we haue nothing a do with the other lyfe. After this sort Christ commaundeth the Iewes when they offer any gyft at the Altar,Math. 5. if they be out with their brethrē,Math. 1 [...] first to labour are cōciliation, & then to offer. After this sort S. Peter is charged to forgeue his bro­ther sinning againg him, not only seuen tymes, but seuenty tymes seuen times. This commaundement belongeth also vnto vs, for S. Peter asketh Christ in the name of the congregation.

God only forgeueth the punishment which is prepared for the deuill and his aungels, & for ill liuing men, as he only crouneth such as he forgeueth. Of whō is it spoken but of God only:1. Reg. [...] The Lord killeth and maketh aliue, bringeth doun to hel, and fetcheth vp again.Goddes remissiō goe­th before our pardo­ning. Some also reason of this place in the Lordes praier, that we must forgeue first, thā aske for­geuenes of God, peruerting y^e true meaning therof. Christ teaching vs to pray for pardon of our trespasses, as we for­geue them y^t trespas against vs, meaneth [Page] not that by forgeuing, we merit or deserue remission of our misdedes (for we be all detters vnto God, some of .vC. pēce, and some of .l. and haue nothing to pay) no rather he certifieth our weake fayth by these wordes, & biddeth vs to be well assured, that God forgeueth vs, as we be sure that we forgeue other, makyng our perdoning a signe, a token y^t God perdo­neth vs, and not a cause therof. For ex­cepte God forgeue vs first, and pour the dewe of his blessing vpon vs, our nature will not forgeue, but reuenge & punish. Thexample of the seruant whych ought his master .xM. talentes, who was first forgeuen the whole det, and after impri­soned because he forgaue not his felowe, maketh nothing against this interpreta­tion. For he was first released and par­doned, but afterward when he wold not pardon his felowe, he became a dettour vnto God againe, and was throune into prison. For when thou saist forgeue me, as I forgeue [...]hem that trespasse against me, thou makest a promes to God, if he be mercifull to the, to be mercifull vnto thi brother: the which thing if y^u do, aser­tein thy selfe, y^t God hath melted thy sin­nes, [Page 79] as the fier doth the wax, and let thy doing be a token vnto thi consciēce, that thou art in his fauour. This is the cause why Christ taught his to pray thus, not that our remission deserueth any thinge at Gods hand, who geueth vs al things thorow Christ, in whose name whatsoe­uer we aske, we shall haue it. He that as­keth forgeuenes of God, and cannot en­force his heart to forgeue his brother, let him thinke y^t he hath asked, but not rece­iued, because he asked amisse, & that he rather kindleth Gods wrath and indig­nation against him, then pacifie it. For he deserueth forgeuenes, as he for­geueth. If he cannot find in his heart to forgeue his felow, but laith hand on him and taketh him by the throte, & casteth [...] him into pryson, let hym thynke that God will deliuer him likewyse vnto the iayler for breaking his promise, till pay­ment be made: for sinne is called det in scripture, because a punish [...]ēt is due for it. For this cause we are commaūded to aske forgeuenesse as we forgeue, that it may be a seale vnto vs, a token & a certi­ficate of Gods mercy and fauoure, or of his displeasure and anger.

[Page]This I haue spoken partly constrayned by my matter, and partly because Ste­phē Winchester straineth this place for the iustificatiō of workes. As euery pri­uate man forgeueth his brother, so much more, the ministers of Gods word haue power to do y^e same, for to them belong­eth forgeuing & retayning,How minesters do forgeue and reteine sin▪ Math. 16 bynding and losing of y^e whole congregation, to them Christ gaue the keyes of y^e kingdome of heauen. Howe then doth God only for­geue sin? Truly they are only ministers of the forgeuenes, and preachers of his mercy or of his wrath. Their forgeuyng and losing, is to declare y^e swete and com­fortable promises, that ar made through Iesus Christ in Gods boke to such as be penitent, and their binding & reteining, is to preach y^e lawe, which causeth anger, to such as be vnpenitent. Or their losing is to declare before y^e congregation,Roma. 4 that God forgeueth the beleuing, & their bin­deng is to shewe, that God will not par­don the vnbeleuyng, because they are without purpose to amend and reforme their liuynges. The common sort suppose y^• God forgeueth them, as sone as the minister layth his handes vppon [Page 80] theyr heades, although they returne to their old liuing. Be not deceiued, except thou repent,Who is forgeuen and when. he hath no aucthoritie to forgeue y^e, for he is a minister of forgeuenes only to such as repent & will amend, his commissiō stretcheth no further. If thou from the bottome of thy heart, be sory for thy trespasse, if thou be without al de­sire to sinne, if thou earnestly mynd to a­mend, God forgeueth the before y^u come at the minister, who first clensed the man from leprosy, and after cōmaunded him to shew him to the priest,Math. 8 for a witnes to the congregation. So he raised Lazarus first,Luke. 5 and afterward bad his disciples lose his graue bondes. As the priest of y^e olde law made the leperies clean or vnclean:Ihon. 11 so byndeth and vnbyndeth, forgeueth & reteineth, curseth and blesseth, the mini­sters of the new lawe.

They put the name of God vpon the pe­ople, but he only doth blesse them,Nume. [...] they minister the sacramēt of forgeuenes, but he only doth forgeue: as S▪ Paule forti­fieth vnto the Corinthians, saiyng: nei­ther is he that planteth any thing, ney­ther he that watereth, but god which ge­ueth the increase.1. Cor. 3 As an enbssaadour ma­keth [Page] peace with a straunge king, to whō he is sent with a message, but thei which bear witnes of the peace make it not, no more do they forgeue sin, but be witnes­ses therof, that God pardoneth them through the ambassage of Iesus Christ,Actes. 1 Actes. 2. who is our high Ambassadour. Wher­fore Paul calleth the preaching of y^e glad tidinges of the gospel, ministration of y^e spirit, and rightuousnes, and he nameth the preaching of the law, ministration of death and dampnatiō: [...]. Cor. 3 by which two he meaneth nothing els but losing & byn­ding,1. Cor. 5. as he teacheth vs, binding and lo­sing him that held his fathers wife. The Anabaptists and Donatistes teach,Against y^e Anabapt. that euil ministers can not lose, bicause God saith that he heareth no sinners. I graūt that God heareth not their praiers,Ihon. 9 yet the sinne of y^e minister doth not disanull the swete promises whiche are made to such as repent and beleue Christ. Be he good or bad, God performeth y^e wordes spoken of him, not presuming beyond his commission. Doth Gods mercy de­pend of the goodnes of the minister? thē our faith can not be stedfast and sure, but wauering and vncertain, forasmuch as [Page 81] no man can deserne who is a good mi­nister: for he that semeth good, may be an hipocrite. The Scribes and Phari­seis were euil ministers,Math. 23 & yet wer we cō maunded to beleue theim, whatsoeuer they say, sitting in Moises seat: that is, as long as they teache Moises, and not their own inuentions. Sacramentes be seales. Doth not y^e seale make like print, whether it be of gold, siluer, or iron? If it seale deper or shalower, that which is sealed, is cause therof, not the stuffe: So the difference is in them, which come to the minister, and not in the ministration of good or euil, which both make one print for ministration is a seale. Why doeth Paul rebuke y^e Corinthians because one said he held of Paul, another said,1 Corin. [...] ▪ he was of Apollo: but because they thought the vertue of the sacramentes to hang of the worthines of the minister. If their mor­thines or vnworthines make the sacra­ments effectual, or not, thē of two good the more worthy, maketh thē more effectual, and it wer better to be christened of Iohn, than of Thomas of Inde, better to be sent of Cephas than of Timothe, better to receaue the cōmuniō at Pauls [Page] hand than of Apollo: but their ministra­tion differeth not, & we are forbidden to reioyce in men: for nether he that plan­teth is any thing, nether he that watreth wherfore al hāgeth of God, who giueth the increase, who only forgeueth sinne, & not of the worthines or vnworthines of the minister. The key which Christ pro­mised vnto Peter,What the keye is. Math. 16 saying: Tibi dabo cla­ues regni caelorum: To the I will giue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen (who answered in that behalf of al as all were asked) is Gods holy word, wherwith y^e minister bindeth and vnbindeth vs, as the keye doth shut & open the dore.Againste Peters primacie. The Papistes expound the keies to signifie a general authoritie & supremitie graūted vnto Peter, aboue the other Apostles, & al kinges, the whiche nowe they giue t [...] their great sire of [...]ome as to y^e only suc­cesser of Peter. To these I aunswer that Christ gaue non of his Apostles further authoritie then he had himself: for when he sendeth them he saith:Ihon. 20 Math. 20 As my father sent me, so I send you. Wherfore was he sent? Not to be ministred vnto, but to minister vnto other. The people wold haue made him their king & head,Luke. 22 but he refu­sed [Page 82] it,Ihon. 6 Math. 17 Roma. 1 [...] he paid tribute to Cesar at Caper­naum, he was a minister of circumcision many yeares, he saith vnto him, whiche desired part of his brothers inheritaūce: Who made me a iudge or deuider euer you?Luke. 12. Wherfore y^e keies be no tēporal au­thoritie. Hath y^e disciple a further autho­ritie then his maister? Or is the seruaunt aboue his Lord? Christ cōmaundeth Pe­ter to pay tribute vnto Cesar,Math. 10 Math. 17▪ Actes. 8 to put vp his swerd, who in the actes sendeth not other, but he himself is sent of the Apost­les to lay hands vpon them in Samaria which beleued through the preaching of Philip, & he is asked a count afterward, why he went and eat with the vncircumcised,Actes. 11 Actes. 1 he appointeth no mā in the roume of Iudas, but al the Apostles chose two indifferently, and cast lottes, beseching God to temper them, that the lot might fal on y^e most ablest. Wherfor he was not head of Apostles, kings & Emperours, but a felowe minister, as he witnesseth of himself, saying: I exhort y^e ministers among you,1. Peter. [...] which am their felow mini­ster. Albertus Pighius the Byshop of Romes chief Knyght in his controuer­sy of the Congregation, peruerteth [Page] the scripturs, to proue that Christ, at his departing, made him head of the church and general shepherd of his flock. First, touching the keyes, he saith, that the ci­uil lawyers, with y^e keyes, giue possessiō of house, burrow, town, and citie: As for an example, Kyng Henry the eight, of most famous memory, was made Lord of Bulloin, when they deliuered the ke­yes therof to his maiestie. Moreouer Christ commenly calleth hys churche Regnum, a kingdom or Monarchie. If it be a kingdom, saith Pigghius, one must be head therof,Math. 3.4.10. Luke. 10 not many: for that is a kingdom, where one gouerneth. If one must be head, who is that but he and his successours, that had y^e keies of the king­dom geuē him. These be reasons of de­ceitful vanitie, and after the ordinaunces of the world, & not after Christ, of which S. Paul warneth the Collossiās, to take hede.Collos. 2 Among lawyers, possessiō and do­minions is [...]euē by the key, but we must learne what the key is, of him that gaue it, and not of Lawyers, who telleth vs what the key is, saying: Wo be to you lawyers: For ye haue taken away that key of knowledge. Where no man can [Page 83] denie but that by the key of knowledge Gods word is ment & signified,Luke. 1 [...] whiche is the only key geuen to the Apostles. This is the key, wherwith the ministers are commaunded to lose and to bynd, to forgeue and to retaine, to blesse and to curse. The byshop of Rome, losing and iustifying men thorow traditiōs and ce­remonies, and not with the key of gods word, hath not Peters key but a pick­lock, of whiche he bosteth himself to be head of the churche. This key is the .ii. Testaments which Christ commaunded his Apostels to preach to al naciōs, and because there be two testaments he cal­leth them keyes. For euery Scribe of this kingdom bringeth forth of his trea­sure, thinges both newe and olde, newe thinges that is the swete tidinges of the gospel, to vnbynd vs,Math. 13 and olde thinges that is the olde Testament and Moises lawe to bind vs: and euery minister hath this key as wel as Peter. If Peter be head of the church bicause it is a kyng­dom, and scriptures ar to be expounded after the law and ordinaūces of y^e world, then Peters sonne shuld haue bene head after his father: or if he had no sonne, the [Page] next of his kinred, not the Pope: For in al kingdomes, the sonne or the next of y^e kinred is heire to the crown. But nether Peter, nor the pope be heads therof, nor no other vpon the earth: but the euerla­sting Iesus Christ, who nedeth no heir, who hath promysed to be present with his congregation vnto the worldes end, who nameth his congregation a king­dom,Math. 28 not that he made Peter Lord auer vs, or the Pope, but because he is Lorde, and we haue promised obedience vnto him. Peter calleth hym our chief shep­heard, and forbiddeth priestes to be lor­des ouer the parishes. The Pope sayth that Peter is the rock,1. Peter. 5 vpon which the congregacion is founded, and than he wil be Peters heire, because Peter was once at Rome.Math. 16 But the scriptures, which are the true touchstone to examine al in­terpretations by,Who is the rocke. teach vs that Christ is the rock, & not Peter, when he saith vn­to Christ, thou art the sonne of the liuing God, and is [...]unswered: Thou art Pe­ter, and vpon this rock I will build my congregation: These wordes, vpon this rock, are not to be vnderstand of Peter, who was so vnconstaunt, that he denied [Page 84] his maister thrise, but of Christ who is y^e sonne of the liuing God: as S. Paul teacheth vs saying, Petra autē erat Christus: That is, Christ was the rock, whom in another place he calleth our foundacion,1. Cor 1 [...] and saith: No man can lay another foun­dation. If no man can lay another foun­dation, then Peter is not the foundatiō. The scriptures vse to liken Christ and y^e congregation, to a bridgrome and hys wyfe: for he is called the bridgrome,1. Cor. 3 and the church is called his spouse. Wherfor S. Paul maketh matrimony a high mi­stery. The husband appointeth no other to be head ouer his wyfe, but he only is her head: for els she should be vnder two heades: no more doth Christ ouer the cō ­gregation to which he is only husband, & a gelouse husband. If Peter be general head,Ephe. 5. Ihon. 11 Ihon. 15 Ihon. 14▪ & the Pope after him y^e congrega­tion is maried to many husbands, & hath many heads, cōtrary to the order of ho­norable wedlock. Christ only is y^e dore, the way, the truth, & the li [...], y^e true vine: so he only is the rock & founda [...]ion, in whom euery building coupled together groweth vp to an holy temple in y^e Lord:Ephe. [...] as S. Peter wytnesseth, callyng hym a [Page] liuing and head corner stone, [...] Pet. 2 disalowed of mē, but chosen of God, refused of the bylders, & vpholding the buylding, that it fall not flat vpon the ground. In the same place, Peter calleth Christ the rock and not himself. If you loke for the self same word. But the papistes reply, that we all as liuing stones, are made a spiri­tual house by Christ. Why then say thei, may not Peter be the stone, [...] Pet. 2 whō Christ named Cephas, which is by interpreta­tion, a stone? This text graunteth other to be the stone as wel as Peter: for it is generally spoken of al christen men. If y^u be not a stone, thou hast no felowship w^t Christ. He named Peter Cephas, that is a stone, because when he beleued him to be Messias,Iohn. 1 he became a stone of y^e con­gregation: As he gaue Bonargus to name which is y^e sonnes of thūder,Why Pe­ter was named Ce­phas, a ston to Iames & Ihon: not that they were to be thūdred & preached, but y^t thei shuld be ernest prea­chers of Gods word. Andrew bringeth him to christ, in whō he beleued through his preaching. Christ welcomed hym w^t most swete words, saying: thou art Sy­mō the sonne of Ionas, thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretaciō a [Page 85] stone. What meaneth Christ by these words but this: Simō, before y^u wast the son of Ionas that is, the son of death, as thi fathers was, thou shalt no more be so but a ston of my congregatiō, for which I am come to suffer, because y^u beleuest in me. This is Christes meaning, not y^t Peter is the stone, wheron we be buyl­ded, but a stone of the building, a shepe which is lost & recouered again, a mēber of his congregatiō, Christ only is y^e ston wheron the building is founded. We ar smal stones of y^e bilding foūded on him. he only is y^e rok which saueth his church from rain, flouds & the windes, from hel gates, frō syn & death, as he teacheth vs saying. He that heareth my word & doth therafter, is like a man that builded on a rock. Some may vnderstand this text otherwise,Math. 7 y^t Christ called Peter a stone not that he only is that, but in the behalf of the whole cōgregation. If Peter wer not head of the church why doth Christ aske him thrise: Petre amas me? whether he loued him,why Christ biddeth Peter thrise: Fede my shepe. & cōmaund him only thrise to fede his shepe? Lo, sayth the Roma­nistes, here is he made head of y^e church. Here Christ going to his father, cōmit­teth [Page] the congregation to his gouernaū ­ce. This place doth not establish Peters supremicie, but rather deny it, for as much as Christ giueth him no cōmaun­dement, no aucthoritie, but such as belō ­geth to al y^e Apostels, bidding him shew his loue in feding his flock, & preaching him. For no mā wil preach him whō he loueth not.Ihon. 21 Doth not he geue like com­maundement to al the Apostles, saying: Go and preach throughout al the world and to al creatures.Marke. 16 Then why doth he aske Peter only thrise, and commaunde him thrise, and not the other? He asked him thrise, because he denied him thrise, that his thre nayes might be recompen­sed with thre confessions S. Augustin saith vpon this place:Austen. Thre confessions are required for thre naies: That the tōg might do as much for loue, as it had don for fear.Cyrilli. And Cyrillus sayth the same. They expound it thus, not for Peters primacie. But I will speake this more plainly: Christ did aske and commaund Peter thrise, for two causes: the one was that by his confessiō, the rest of the Apo­stles shuld know, that he was restored into fauour again, from whiche he had fal­len: [Page 86] The other is, y^t al men might learne by Peter,What is most neces [...] ary in a Preacher▪ 1. Cor. 4▪ what thing is most nessary in a preacher, which is, that he loue him entirely and hertely, whom he preacheth. Paul speaking of ministers saith: it is required of them that they be found faith­ful. But who is faithful to hym, whome he loueth not? Moreouer, diligence is required in a preacher: as S. Paul tea­cheth his beloued sonne Timot. Preach thou the word: be feruent,2. Timo. [...] be it in ceason or out of ceason: improue, control, exhort with al long suffring, & doctrine. What thyng causeth diligēce so much as loue? thorow loue shed abrode in our heartes, by the holy ghost, all thynges are made easy and swete vnto vs, whiche before were both hard & vnplesaunt. For loue suffereth al thinges, beleueth al thinges,1. Cor. 13 hopeth al thinges, endureth al thinges. There is a commen saying, that nothing is hard to him, whiche loueth. Loue ma­keth labour, trauail & pain, light & sweet to the hunter, yea, in snow and foule we­ther, in cold and frost, at al seasons. But they which loue not the pastime, nether wil, ne can abide such pains, as to runne thorow thick and thin, to leape hedges, [Page] and ditches.Rom. 5 &c. Through loue, Christ was sent of his father and humbled him­selfe to our nature, and was whipt, scor­ned, woūded and slaine for our sinnes, as it is written: God setteth forth his loue towardes vs, forasmuche as whyle we wer yet sīners,Act. 5. Christ died for vs. These things were swete & plesaūt vnto Christ. Through loue, the Apostles reioice that they are beaten, in the Actes. Through loue, S. Paule was beaten w^t rods, was often in hunger, [...] Cor. 11 in watching, in thirst, in labour, in coulde, in nakidnesse, often in perils of robberi, in perils of wildernes, in perils of y^e sea, in perils of false brethrē. Through loue,Heb. 11 mani holy men haue ben burnt for y^e truth, racked, stoned, hewen in sonder, slayne with swerdes, hunger-pyned, and drowned. Fier and water is not more necessary for the preseruatiō of this terrenal life, then loue in a preacher, which is the mother of faithfulnesse, of diligence, of patience, and of all vertue We read in Mathue,Math. 16 how Christ before he sent his disciples to preach, examined them what they thought of him, saying, whome say ye y^t I am? not that he was ignoraunt therof, from whome nothing [Page 87] is hidden,1 Tim. [...] but to geue an example to our bishops, to lay handes sodenly vpon no man, & to trie their doctryne, to examine their learnings, for lerning also is a qua­litie most necessary in a preacher. So in this place he examineth Peter whether he loue him, because loue is so necessary. I wold wish y^t our magistrates, and the ouerseers of Israel would set this exāple of our sauiour Christ before their eies, & diligently folow it. The captain going to battel mustreth, gathering many together, and choseth out the most ablest to serue his Prince. What marchaunt mā wil take any to be his prentise, onles he haue certen qualities, necessary for his occupatiō. Colligeners in their electiōs pose their scholers, assaie their wits, trie their learnings, aske their conditions, before they chose them.Bishops. If bishops applied their vocations as diligētly as other do their occupations, the heritage of y^e Lord should be in much better case, his vine­yarde should not be roted vp, & destroied with beastes of the field, The hil of Sion wold wax grene and beutiful.Demos [...]nes. The No­ble Orator Demostenes was wōt to say that he was greatly ashamed of his smal [Page] study, when he considered the great pai­nes, which artificers toke at Athens to get mony, and y^t he was moued to more earnest studie therby. Haue not y^e ouer­seers of the house of Israell much more cause to be abashed for their great necli­gēce? They folow not the Noble captay­ne, which mustereth before he goeth to war, and chuseth out taul and able men, but they send al y^t come, and refuse none, they esteme preaching often & diligently to be against their honour and dignitie, thei allure learned men from their cures and make them stewares of their lands. They geue them benefice vpon benefice, but they will not suffer them to come at their parishes to preach, to exhort to in­struct. And this practise is custumable, not only in them, but in the most part of great men and women. For commonly thei take benefised men to be ther Chap­laynes, and cause them to lye from their benefices, the which whē thei haue done a good whyll in theyr seruice, then they geue them another benefice for ther pay­nes, and then cause them to ly from two benefices, and after from thre, and then from foure, and to put holy water swin­gers [Page 88] in ther roumes and cures. I speake not this against al Lordes and Bishops, but against vnpreaching prelates, & coui­touse Lords, which find their chaplaines at the costes of pore parishes, and not of their owne lands. Well, the bloud of all soules y^t perish for lacke of instructiō (my lords) shall fall on your heads, beware & amend betimes. Geue your chaplaynes sufficient wages, and pil not pore parish­es. I accuse no man, euery mans cō [...]ciēce at the last day, befor the bar of y^e terrible iudge, shall eyther deliuer & quit, or con­dempne & cast him. But Pigghius repli­eth further for Peters supremitie, becau­se Christ sheweth him that Sathan desy­red to sifte al the Apostles,Luke. 22 & biddeth him strengthen them, saying: Simon Simon, behold Sathan hath desyred to sifte you as it were wheat, but I haue prayed for the, that thy faith faile not, when thou art conuerted, strengthen thy brethren.

Before trouble, Christ vseth to geue his Disciples warnyng, that they be not dis­maied, mated, or discoraged, but armed with patience, as in telling them that he must go to Ierusalem,Math. 1 [...] and be slayne of the high priests and lawyers, in shewing [Page] them the destruction of Salomons temple and tokens of the latter daies.Math. 24. And wherfore he shewed them, he teacheth saying, but se that ye be not troubled & take hede, I haue told you before. In the mount Oliuet, he shewed them that all they shalbe offended by him the night folowing, as it was written: I wil smite y^e shepeherd, and the shepe of the flock shal be scattred abrode. That which was said to them all in mount Oliuet,Math. 26 [...]cha. 13 is spoken now seuerally vnto Peter, because he had more nede of warning then the rest, because he offended more, because he trusted much in himself. Therfore Christ sayth, Simon, Simon, behold Sathan hath desired to sift you, but I haue praid for thee. The meaning of which wordes is: the deuil shal busely tempt you all at the time of my passion, and specially the Peter more then the rest, he shal not pre­uail, for I haue praied for thee, trust not in thine own strength but in my praier, onles I had praied, thou shouldest haue bene the sonne of dampnation, and not haue repented. For it is writtē, the Lord tourned back and loked vpon Peter, & then he went out and wept bitterly.Luke. 22 He [Page 89] denied hym once and wept not, for the Lord had not loked vpō him. He denied him again and wept not: for Christ dyd not yet loke vpon him. When he denied him the third time,How christ loked vpon Peter, cor­porally or spiritually Christes loke moued him to lament his offence with abundāt teares. But there riseth a question, whe­ther Christ loked vpon him with corpo­ral eies, and admonished him visibly or not? If we read the Gospell diligently, we shal find, that Christ was in a cham­ber within, and many about hym which spat in his face, & buffeted him with their fistes, and that the Apostle Peter was without in the haull, some time sitting, sometime standing at the fire with the seruauntes, as al the Euangelistes agre. Wherfore, Christ did not loke on hym with corporall eies: but as he loked vpō the lowe degre of his hand maid, that is to say: He did helpe him with his mercy, secretly: He touched his heart:Luke. [...]. he visited him with his inward grace which cau­sed him to poure forth outward teares. He biddeth him strengthē his brethren, when he is conuerted, not as head of thē but as a labourer in his vineyard: For these wordes, strengthē thy brethren, be [Page] as much to say, as fede my shepe, preach y^e glad tidings of y^e gospel, which strēgthneth the sick soule as it is written: Man shal not liue by bread only,Math. 4 but by euery word that cometh out of the mouth of God. Dauid witnesseth, & experiēce tea­cheth vs, that bread cōforteth, & strēgth­neth the heart of man,Psal. 103 and yet the lyfe is more worth then bread, & the body more of value then any meat.Math. 6 Wherfore these wordes giue no authoritie to him aboue the rest of the Apostles, but rather be a narration of his fal, thorow presumpciō, and of his rising again only by Christ. If Peter were head of the church, yet y^t doth not stablish the Popes supremite, vnlesse he can shew Peters last wil, and lawful testament, wherin this is geuen him. I haue spoken this of the prima [...]y, partly bicause the Papistes, with subtil and crafty reasoning, and wrong leaue­ning of the scriptures, allure the consciē ­ces of many into this damnable opiniō, partly also being occasioned of my mat­ter, for he hath presumed many years to forgyue the synnes of such as wold giue hym money, to lose and to blesse them, & to curse and hold the synnes of them, [Page 90] which were against his mind, according to S. Paules prophecying, he shal sit in the temple of God, and shew himself as God:2. Thess. [...] What is to sit in the tēple of God and boast him self as God: but to reigne in the consciences of men, and to take vpon him that which belongeth only to God? Now to make a brief rehearsa [...]l of this matter, there be four thinges neces­sary to be knowen concerning remiss [...]d of sinnes. Who forgyueth the synne, wherfore or for whō, by whom, to whō. The scripture answereth these four que­stions. We learne who forgiueth synne of it, saiyng: Who can forgiue synne, but God only.Marke. 2 And for whom we are pardoned our misdedes, S. Paul teacheth vs, writing to his countreymen of Christ: For this cause is he mediatour of the new Testament, that through death, which chaunsed for redempcion of those transgressions that were in the first Te­stament, they which were called,Hebre. [...] myght receaue the promise of eternall inheri­taunce. And to the Romains: He which spared not his own sonne, but gaue him for vs al:Roma. 8 how will he not w^t him giue vs al things also. If God giue vs al things [Page] for Christes sake, we haue remission of our sinnes, also by him. By whō god for geueth, Christ telleth vs, saying: whose sinnes ye forgeue shalbe forgeuen, and whose ye holde shalbe holden,Ihon. 20 whiche words be spokē to ministers. Somtime he doth forgeue without the certificat of the minister, for he is not bound to his sacramentes, but worketh what he will & how he will.Actes. 9. Paul after he had heard Christ speak, was sent to a minister, yet he was lightened frō aboue before Ana­nias,Luke. 23 who layd handes on hym, knewe therof. The thief which hung on y^e right hand, was straight caried into Paradise without any ceremony of ministration, which God hath ordeined for our infir­mities, not that it is a necessary mean vnto him. Now he promiseth forgeue­nes to all those which repent and intend to lead a new conuersation, and to make their bodies a liuely, holy, and accepta­ble sacrifice [...]nto him, as the cōming of Iohn the christener before our sauiour Christ teacheth vs, who began his prea­ching at repentaunce,Luke. 3. saiyng: repent, for the kingdom of heauen is at hand. He baptised many in Bethabara beyōd Iordan, [Page 89] but they confessed their sinnes first. He reuiled the Phariseis and Saduces, and bad them do fruites worthy repen­taunce. Christ also whē it was told hym that Herod had laid hands on Iohn, co­ming to the coasts of Zabulon,Marke. [...] & Nep­thalem begāne with thesame, & not only that, but he commaundeth his Apostles to begin with it, when he doth auctorise them to preach. He sendeth by and by af­ter them other seuēty to preach thesame.Marke. 6 Math. 1 [...] Luke. 9 Luke. 10 I would our magistrates were as dili­gent in sending forth preachers: but they haue no leasure to muse of the common wealth, they ar so gredy of priuat welth. In the acts many being pricked in their hearts through Peters preaching,Actes. 2 aske him and the other Apostles, what they should do to achiue and get remission of their sinnes, and Peter aunswereth thē, saying: Repēt and be baptised euery one of you in the name of Iesus Christ, for remission of synnes. Of whiche textes & examples it is euident that God doeth not forgiue our synnes, pardon our tres­passes, and wype out our misdedes and offences, vnlesse we haue an earnest pur­pose & feruent mynd to crucifie our old [Page] man, and to become new dowe & sweet bread, albeit the minister lay handes on vs an C. times. for he regardeth the hert, not the ceremony of ministration, sear­ching the botome and ground of it, and trying the reines, rewarding euery man according to the fruit of his counsels.

THe next propertie belon­ging to the maiestie of the Godhead, is that he is almighty, and can do what him list in heauen & earth as the booke of wisdome telleth vs: Vnto thy almighty hand, that made the world of nought, or as other translate of a confused heape, it was not vnpossible to send among them a heape of beares or wood lions, or cruel beastes of a straunge kynd,Sapi. 11 such as ar vnknow­en, spouting fire, or casting out of a smo­king breath, and shoting horrible spar­kes out of their eyes, whiche might not only destroy them with hurting, but all so kyl them with their horrible lokyng. Lyke as the smal thing, that the balaūce wayeth, so is the world before him, ye [...] [...] [Page 92] as a drop of the morning dewe, that fal­leth down vpon the earth, for he hath power of al thinges. The glorious and fa­mous deliueraunce of Israel shewe hys hand to be almighty,Exod. 9 Roma. 9 Sapi. 16 Exod. 7. Exod. 8.9 Exo. 10.14 Exod. 16 Sapi. 16 his arm to be strōg and infinite, who raised vp Pharao for this only purpose, to shew his might on him, & that his name which his power & rightousnes might be declared through out al the world. He punished the vngodly, that woulde not knowe hym, with straūge waters, hailes, raines, frogges, lice, flies, moren sores, grashoppers, thik darkenes. He drouned Pharao in the reed sea, and led his people through the middel therof, he fed them with aungels fode, and sent them bread from heauen. He toke away the heritage of kinges & gaue it them.Luke. [...] We read that the aungell answered the holy virgin Mary asking how she could conceiue, sithen she knew no mā, that y^e powre of the highest shuld ouershadowe her, and that by the same power her cosin Elizabeth should haue a sonne in her age, for with God can no­thing be vnpossible. Christ sayth it is ea­sier for a great Came [...] to go through the eie of a nedel▪ Marke. 1 [...] then for a rich man to enter [Page] into the kingdom of heauen, notwithstā ding many riche mē haue entred thither as Abraham, Isaac and Iacob, king Da­uid, the pacient man Iob, in the old Te­stamēt: and Mathue, Zacheus and Ioseph of Aramathie in the new. We may gather them, that God can easely cause a mighty camel to go thorow the eye of a fine nedle, wherfore al thinges be pos­sible to him, as Iesus teacheth his disci­ples, that with men to be impossible, but not with God, for with him all thinges are possible. Some deny him to be al­mighty,Whether God can sin, or lye, or not. for he can not sinne, he can not lie, he can not be disceiued, he can not die. Ye rather he is almighty, because these thinges haue no stroke in him, which be infirmities not powers, & include a cer­tain wekenes & feblenes, and no omnipotencie. If he could ether sinne or die, or be deluded and lie, he wer not almighty, for he that sinneth, becommeth the ser­uaunt of sinne. Remembre ye not sayth Paul that to whomsoeuer ye commit your selues as seruauntes to obey,Roma. 6 his seruauntes ye ar to whom ye obey, whether it be of sinne vnto death, or of obe­dience vnto rightuousnes? Christ also [Page 91] answereth the Iewes denying that they were bond: but Abrahams sede:Ihon. [...] verely I say vnto you, whosoeuer cōmitteth syn, is the seruaunt of sinne. S. Augustin a noble member of the christian congregation saith:Austen. Magna dei potentia est non posse mētiri, It is a great power of God, y^t he can not lie. The same may be sayd of de­ceauing, of al sinne, of dying, the which can not be in God, because he is almighty. Other reply that we can doe many thinges, whiche the deitie can not: As walke, speake, eate, and drinke, to which I aunswer, that albeit God by himself, do not these thinges, yet he worketh thē al in his creatures: For he maketh them to walke, speake, eate, and drinke. If he should do these thinges in his owne na­ture, he should be lyke vnto man, and so not almighty. Christ telleth a mā, whose sonne was vexed with a domme spirit, y^t al thinges are possible to hym that bele­ueth: much more al thinges are possible vnto God. But thou wilt say: If I be­leue, nothing is impossible vnto me, thē only God is not almighty.Marke. [...] Nothing is impossible vnto beleuers, notwithstan­ding they be not almighty, because they [Page] can do nothing of themselues, which [...] an infirmitie, and no almightines, but liue, moue, and be in him S. Paul in his letter vnto the Philip.Philip. 4 saieth that he can both cast doun himself, & excede, be hun­gry, & suffre nede, yea, y^t he cā do al thing but thorow y^e help of Christ, which strē ­theneth him without whō we can do nothing. Wherfore, Christ is almighty, & therfore God by nature, not by nūcupation only,Ihon. 15 We read in Paul to the Heb. Impossibile est eos qui semel. &c. Hebr. 6 That it is impossible, y^t thei which wer once light­ned, & haue tasted of y^e heuēly gift, & were become partakers of y^e holy ghost. &c. If they fal, shuld be renued again vnto repē tance, crucifiyng vnto thēselues again y^e son of God,Against y^e Anabapt. & making a mock of him. If this be impossible, wher is gods almighty hand & omnipotēt arme? Impossible, in this text is not to be taken for y^t which can not be or come to pas, but for that which seldome and very hardly is done: for Paul speaketh the very same thing again straight way in a similitude, that the earth, wh [...]ch drinketh in y^e raine that cometh oft vpon it, and bryngeth forth [...]earbs conuenient for them that dresse [Page 94] it, receiueth blessing of God, but that the ground which beareth thornes and bry­ers, is reproued, and nigh vnto cursing. The barren ground here whiche resem­bleth man, with thornes and thistles, re­sembling sinne, is not all ready accur­sed, but rebuked, and nigh vnto cursing▪ so the man which falleth after he is ligh­tened, is not without al possibilitie of a­mendement, but in great perill of dam­nation. For as the barren groūd bering thornes & thistles may become fruitful, so such one may be renued & rise againe. Me thīke Paul by this similitude which immediatly doth folow, sheweth what he meaneth by this worde impossible. Wey the similitude & the purpose why it is brought, & I thinke you wil not re­fuse this interpretatiō. The disciples vse the same word in effect vnto Christ, as­kyng him who can be saued? which is as much to say, as it is impossible for any to be saued. But he aunswereth thē, that with men it is impossible, but not with God: teaching vs y^e rich m [...]n haue hard accesse vnto heauen: & for these words,Marke. 1 [...] w^t men it is impossible, before he saith:Luke. 18 chil­dren how hard is it for them that trust in [Page] rychesse, to enter into the kingdome of God?Inpossible for harde. Wherfore it is not against the phrase of the scripture to cal y^e impossible which is hard, and seldom. The Noua­tians, Anabaptistes and Catharoi, abuse this place, to proue that all such as do fal after baptisme, can not rise again, but ar dampned, and not recouerable. I trust my exposition do more accord to y^e truth then this dampnable assertion, against which, I think it necessary somwhat to speake: for I haue heard say that ther be many of this opinion in Englande, and partly I doe beleue it. After the trium­phaunt deliueraūce of the Israelites out of Egipt, God ordeined two maner of offringes among them, one for synnes done of ignoraunce, an other for trespasses done willingly, promising forgeui­nes vnto both. If some Anabaptistes say that these were not done after baptisme, [...]euit. 5.6 for the Israelites lacked baptisme, Paul answered him, saying: Brethren, I wold not ye should be ignoraunt of this, how our fathers were all vnder a cloud, [...]. Cor. 10 and all passed through the sea, and were all baptised vnder Moises in the cloud, and in the sea. &c. Wherfore, after baptisme [Page 95] God forgeueth sinne, done both of igno­raunce, and also willingly. If he say that vnder the law suche might be restored, but not vnder grace, I would know of hym, whether the mercy of God be augmented or diminished through the com­ming of our sauiour Christ. Epiphanius, an auncient writer and of famouse me­mory telleth that one Meletius an arch­eretike,Epiph [...] ­nius. spread this opinion ouer a great part of Egipt and Siria, and preuailed against Peter byshop of Alexādria, who was slaine afterward of the cruel tiraūt Maximine. But thankes be to God, there be innumerable examples, whiche notably confute & vanish it, and among all none more worthy, then one in the history of S. Ihon the beloued Apostle. Eusebius in his third booke and .xxiii. Chap. writeth of him,Hist. Ecc [...]. L [...]. 3 ca. 2 [...] that he turned maruelously a certain yong man from stealing vnto Christ, whiche had fallen from Christ to stealing.Gene. 37 Gene. 35 Gene. 38 Nume. 27 2. Reg. 2 4. Reg. 2 [...] Luke. 22▪ In the old Te­stament the Patriarkes conspire the death of Ioseph and rise again. Ruben defileth his fathers bed, Iudas commit­teth fornicatiō, Moises displeaseth God at the waters of strife, Dauid falleth into [Page] aduoutrie,Actes. 8 2. cor. 2 Math. 28 Luke. 15 Manasses into Idolatrie, in the new, Peter denieth his master thrise, the Galathians folow another Gospell, and ar recouered by Paul, Peter exhor­teth Simon Magus vnto amendment, Paule desireth the Corrinthiās to recei­ue him againe whom he had excomuni­cate, Christ byddeth vs forgeue our bre­thren seuenty times seuen times, the an­gels in heauen reioyce at the conuersion of a sinner. These examples and authori­ties be very plaine against y^e blasphemy of the Nouatians & Anabaptistes, which wold bring men vnto desperation & infi­delitie. If they cleauing to this word im­possible, refuse to take it for that which is hard, as it doth signifie often in the scriptures, yet this place maketh nothing for their desperate opiniō, but rather destro­yeth & vanquisheth it,Another interpretatiō as y^e circumstaunce of it declareth. For Paule denieth that he which is baptised, can be rechristened, so that these wordes, it is impossible that they should be renued again, be the same in effect, which he hath in an other place:Ephe. 4 One Lord, one faith, one baptime. And that it is so, and no otherwise, I wil proue with .iii. manifest reasons. One is [Page 96] because as the words immediatly before do teach, he speaketh there,The first reason. of doctryne pertayning to y^e beginning of a Christen man, as the foundation of repentaunce from dead workes, and of fayth toward God, and of the doctrine of baptisme, of laying on of handes, of resurrection and iudgement, and mounteth afterward vnto perfection, that is, toucheth Christes euerlasting priesthod, his death, and the disanulling of the law. By which words he teacheth vs, that he speaketh not of repentaunce alone, but of the whole foun­datiō of a christen man, which is baptim, and those thinges whych he doeth anex vnto baptim. For in y^e primatiue church as this place & [...]ther sheweth, men fyrst were moued vnto repentaunce▪ then vn­to faith in Christ, then sealed with the sa­crament of baptisme, then confirmed w^t laying on of hands, and last of all cert [...]fi­ed of the resurrectiō and generall iudge­ment, and y^t al, at the time of their christe­ning. Nowe after y^t he hath declared this maner of christnīg, & begīning of a christ­en man, this form & fashiō of y^e primatiue church, he saith incontinēt, that it is im­possyble for such as fa [...]e after this ligh­tening, [Page] to be renued again vnto repen­taunce. Who doth not se, considering what goeth before, and whi these words be brought in, that he speaketh of the whole order and forme of Baptisme, & denieth that this forme and fashion can be Iterate?The secōd Reason. My next reason is that he must nedes mean so, because y^e text doth not say that it is impossible for such to repent, but Rursus renouari, to be renued vnto repentaunce, requiring a renuyng with the repentaunce. What is to be re­nued, then to be borne again, the whiche is done only by baptisme? We may re­pent without baptisme before and after, but renued vnto repentaūce, we can not be without this noble sacrament. Wherfore S. Paul in this place forbidth al iteration of baptisme, not of repentaunce. Thirdly it appereth to be so also of these wordes:The third. Rursum crucifigentes sibimet ipsis filium dei: Crucifying vnto them selues againg the sonne of God, and making a mock of him. For al such as wil be chri­stened more than once,Roma. [...] crucifie Christ a­gain in a figure, and scorne his death, as insufficient to take away their synnes. For baptisme is a figure of it, as s. Paul [Page 97] witnesseth, saying: Remēber ye not that al we which be baptised in the name of Iesus Christ, are baptised to die with Christ. Wherfor, as Christ died but once making ful satisfactiō for sins: so baptis­me is but once to be ministred, but they denie this also. If any man wold know the vse of the primatiue churche, in this poynt, Eusebius regestreth, that Alexander byshop of Alexandria,Hist. Eccl. li. 10. ca. 14▪ calling a coū ­sel of learned men, enacted that all those which Athanasius christened in the way of pastime, being chosen byshop,Athanas [...]. by a cō pany of laddes, and being but a boy him self, ought not to be rechristened. The A­nabaptistes alledge the .ix. of the Actes, where it is written, that Paul findyng certen disciples at Ephesus, whiche had not receiued the holy ghost, baptised thē again in the name of the Lord Iesu. Paules baptising in this place is nothīg but geuing the holy ghost by laying on of hands, as the text expoūdeth it self.Actes. 1 [...] For first Paul is said to baptise them in the name of Christ, and then these wordes according to the vse of scriptures be ex­pounded with them whiche folow, that is: Paul laid handes vpon them and the [Page] holy ghost came on them. If thou think that Baptisme can not be taken for ge­uing of the holy Ghost, harken what Iohn the Baptist sayth of our Sauiour Christ,Math [...] and him self: I baptise you in wa­ter in token of repentaunce, but he that commeth after me shal baptise you with the holy ghost and with fyre.Ihon. 4 Christ ne­v [...]r baptised any with water, and yet the scripture sayeth he baptised, because he gaue the holy ghost. In this significatiō Paul baptised them again in the name of Iesus Christ without all iteration of the sacrament. Melan [...]thon taketh this place vnto the Hebr. which the late No­uatians would wrest to maintein theyr opinion, to be of the synne against the holy ghost, out of which no man can rise for it is neuer forgeuen. Thou hast now gentle reader two interpretations of the terrible saying of S. Paul, folowe that which thou iudgest to be most true. But to retourne to our matter, may deny Gods om [...]ipotencie, because he can not reuoke that which is past. The Greek Poet saith.

Yes truly, God can do this if he wil, albeit we iudge contrary of his infinite might & power: but it shal neuer come so to passe, because it is to be supposed, that God neuer wyl that thing, to be vndon, which he hath once done. For he wor­keth al thinges, and that without repen­taunce. If he would that thing to be vn­done, which is gone & past, or that word to be vnspoken, which is spoken, repen­taunce shuld take place in him. Yet can he do it, albeit it be impossible vnto our vnderstanding. The infirmitie is in vs, which can not comprehēd such a power, such a maiestie, not in him. Through like infirmitie, the Heathen supposed there were many gods, because it semed to thē impossible for one to rule & gouerne all things. Therfore they deuided the gouernaunce of y^e world betwene [...]hre, geuing heauen & earth to Iupiter, y^e seas to Nep­tune, the low places & hel to Pluto. The [...] craued plenty of corn of Ceres, riches of Plutus, wine of Bacchꝰ, Luck in hūting [Page] of Diana, good fortune in woing of Ve­nus and Cupido, learning and vtteraūce of Mercury, and victory in battaile, of Minerua and Mars. Through like in­firmitie, the Papistes brought in pilgri­mages, dedicatiōs, praiyngs to saintes, thinking God ether not so able, or [...]ls not so wylling and merciful to hear our requestes and accomplishe them. Some because they will rather deny his omni­potencie, then confesse their own infir­mitie, say that he is called omnipotent, because he can do whatsoeuer he wyll, & not all thinges. I had rather acknow­ledge my infirmitie, then diminishe his omnipotencie.

THere be many other things also belonging only vnto y^e deitie mēcioned in the scrip­ture,Hebre. 6 as I am the Lorde thy God, whiche brought thee out of the land of Egipt, the house of bō ­dage and slauery,Deute. 5 & the name of the Lord is a strong castell, the rightuous flieth vnto it, and shalbe saued, and it is God that iustifieth. God worketh in vs both [Page 99] [...]he wyll and the dede,Prou. 18 Roma. 8 Philip. 2 Hebre. 13 1. Ihon. 1 1. Ihon. 4 Deut. 6.10 Math. 4 God is a consu­ming fier. God is light, God is charitie, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, & him only shalt thou serue, when I cal v­pon the Lord, he heareth me: for nothing is to be honoured, called vpon, nothing heareth our praiers, nothing is charitie, light, consuming fier, nothing iustifieth and saueth y^e rightuous, saue God only. The scriptur doth attribute these proper­ties to no maner of creature. Hitherto leuing all superfluous questions, whiche haue rather curiosite, then profit, I haue applied my kynd of wryting to the ca­pacities of the congregacion, of which y^e most part be lay, & declared what God is, out of his most sacred and holy word, which is the only way leading vs to the knowledge of him, the only light illumining our darknesse, the only fier and hā ­mer that breaketh the hard stone,A hammer that is vanquisheth il doctrine, and confoūdeth al heresies. They which seke him with­out it,Ierem. 23 not cōtent with y^e holsome words of our Lord Iesus Christ, nor with the doctrine of Godlinesse,1. Tim. 6 go out of theyr way, walke in darknes, ouerwhelm thē selues with reasons of mans wisdome▪ [Page] learn always, & neuer can get the know­ledge of hym, wast their braynes about vnprofitable questions & strife of words whe [...]of spring enuy,2. Tim. 3 railinges, euill sur­misings, vaine disputaciōs of men with corrupt myndes, & destitute of the truth. Wherfore,The Child as the child before he is born into the worlde, abideth in his mothers wombe, and taketh all nourishment of her, so we must learn what God is with in the boundes of his worde, not at ro­uers, vntil he mercifully deliuer vs from this bondage, and out of the dungion of the body, and graunt vs to behold hym face to face. Now gathering a summe of my sayinges, I wyll define what God is, not that any perfect definition can be made of him (for he is vnsercheable) but for the capacities of the laytie, for whose sakes I write this, that they may behold him in a glas, and a shadow, who cā not be sene in this life perfectly. God is a spirituall and pure substaunce or nature, immutable, inuisible, vnsearcheable, fyl­lyng heauen and earth, ful of vnderstanding, of truthe, and rightuousnesse, of mercy, of wysdom, of al maner of good­nes, without beginning, without en­ding, [Page 100] not create, not made, and maker of al thinges, subiect to nothing, and go­uerning al thinges, knowing al things, yea, euen the inward thoughtes, enten­tes and heartes of men, forgeuing sinne, only to be honoured, called vpon, only hearing, iustifying and sauing vs, of an almighty arme and maiestie, the father vnbegotten, the sonne b [...]gotten, the ho­ly spirit proceading from them both. I haue declared before, all these thinges to be attributed vnto God in hys holy worde, and the scripture doeth not only not deny but eftsones graunt the same al, and euery one vnto Iesus Christ our sauiour, and to the holy ghost our com­forter: as it shall appeare more euident­ly hereafter. Whervpon it must nedes folow that both Christ is God, and the almighty conforter also by nature, & not by name only as thei of whō it is writtē Ego dixi, dii estis: I haue spoken you are Gods.

NOw seyng that I haue shew­ed what God is, accordynge to the talent of my know­ledge, [Page] I thinke it conuenient vnto my matter, to declare what this word persō signifieth in this place, forasmuch as the signification therof is referred to diuerse things. And because many heretikes do mistake and wrongly expoūd this word in the glorious & blessed trinitie, as they know which haue read auncient chroni­cles of times past. I wil first shew what a person is not, the which is easier, and with thesame that there be thre persons in y^e supergloriouse deitie. For we must learne weightie & hard matters by fore­knowledge of easy thinges. This done I wil shew what the word persone doth signifie in the godhed, then I wil applie the definitiō therof to Christ, and then I wyl referre the same to the holy comfor­ter, I wil proue Christ to be a substaūce, and I wil fortifie the holy spirit to be a substaunce, and Christ to be vnconfoun­ded, and the holy spirit to be vnconfoun­ded. Finally I will portray & paint the thre persons, [...]hat is the trinitie by corporal similitudes, whose nature in it self is ineffable and vnsearcheable. And albeit these thinges be profound and high mi­steries, and as hard as they be necessary [Page 101] and vnknowen and neuer yet disclosed in our mothers tonge, yet I wil so shape and order my oration and speache after such a homely & perceiuable fashion, as shalbe most mete & agreing to the capa­citie of those that be simple.

THe Patripassiās & Sabelliās,Against y^e Patripassians. & after them Pho [...]i­nus, & of late Seruetus, define a person to be a certain cōdition & differēce of office, as whē we say, Ros­ [...]ius somtime susteined the persone of A­chilles, & somtime of Blisses, or y^t a king & a prophet be diuers persons. For as one man may represent y^e person of Achilles & Vlisses, & nothing letteth, but one mā may be a king & a prophet, as Dauid was: so thei say that y^e father is the son, & y^e holy spirit also, & that they be not thre seueral persons. The story of Christes christening banisheth this opiniō,Math. 3 wher we se a notable difference of the thre per­sons. The father soundeth these wordes: [Page] this is my beloued son. The son is sene stāding in Iordan, y^e holy ghost lighteth vpō him in y^e likenes of a doue. If the fa­ther, the son & the holy ghost, be thre na­mes, & one thing: as of this heretical de­finition of a person, it must nedes folow, then the father both soūdeth the forsayd words, was baptised of Ihō in y^e famous riuer of Iordan, & appeared also in y^e likenes of a doue. But this doctrine is con­trary to the truth of the gospel. Wherfor a persone is not a differēce of office. Furthermore, the Apostles are cōmaunded to christen, in the name of the father, the son,Math. 28 & the holy ghost. If the father be all thre, he is named thrife, & so it is Tautolo­gia ociosa, Roma. 1 a folish and vain repeticiō. And this of S. Paul likewise: Grace be with you,2. Cor. 1 & peace from God our father, & frō the Lorde Iesus Christ, who vseth this maner of salutatiō in al his Epistles,Philip. 1 the which is vain & superfluous, if we credit this dampnable opinion. Hearken what he saith in an other place:Colloss. 1 Vnto vs there is but one God, whiche is the father, of whom are al things, and we in him, and one Lord Iesus Christ.1. Cor. 8. By whom are al thinges, & we by him. Doth not he teach [Page 102] vs here, that there be two persons,Of whome By whom. one of the father, the other of the son, not con­foūded together, and that these two per­sons be but one God? Christ saith:Ihon. 7▪ My doctrine is not myne, but my fathers which sent me. Wherfore, he and his fa­ther be seueral persons, & not one thing. Isaac was a figure of Christ:Gene. 22 Isaac. [...] Christ. For as A­braham, at the cōmaundement of God, led him vnto his death: So Christ was sent of God, to be slayn for our sinnes. And Sampson likewise, & many others: but Abraham, Isaac, Manoad,Sampson Samp­son, were seueral persones: wherfore, the father and Christ be not all one thing. But I wil speake of al the thre persons, of the glorious Trinitie. And forsomuch as many hold opinion, that they of the old Testament nether worshipped, ne knew any Trinitie, but honoured only an vnitie, and sought no further.

I will fyrst begyn with the testimo­nies of the olde Testament▪ that it may appeare that this doctrine was prea­ched from the creation of the worlde. The begynning of the boke of genera­tion teacheth vs,Genes. [...] that there be three se­ueral persons, saying: In the begyn­ninge [Page] God created Heauen and earth: Where euidētlye by y^e name of God the father, and by the beginning his sonne, by whome he made all thinges, are to be vnderstand.Ihon. 8 For who is the beginning, but Christ? who answereth the Iewes? asking what he was: I am y^e beginning, which spake vnto you, and in whose be­halfe Dauid speaketh in y^e beginning of y^e boke,Psal. 35 it is writē of me. After these words of the father & the sonne it foloweth im­mediatly:Hebr. 10. The spirit of God was borne vpon the waters, the which is the thirde persō in y^e gloriouse trinitie. Some take the spirite here, for the wynd blowing v­pon the waters. If they examine the text diligently, they shall fynd y^e wynd was yet vnmade, and that y^e waters there do not signifie, that which we call water cō ­monly, but the confused heape, of which God formed all thinges. If God were not a trinitie, he wold not haue saide let vs make man to our similitude, & after our likenes▪ For these words (let vs, our similitude, our likenes) cannot be spoken of one person. Neither they which are spoken after the miserable captiuitie and faule of Adam: The Lord God saide lo, [Page 103] Adam is become as one of vs, in know­ledge of good and euill. But here thou wilt say,An obie [...] ­tiō answe­red. these Phrases proue not many personnes, for doth not the king say, we wil that this or that be done, and yet he is but one? Kinges and Emperours vse to say so, because they haue coūselloures commonly, whose prudent aduises they folowe: but of God, it is wrytten: Quis cognouit mentem Domini, aut quis illi fuit a consiliis? Who hath knowen the mind of the Lord? or who is his counselloure? And therfore he doth not say so, for lyke cōsideratiō,Pithag. but because y^t as Pithagoras saith: He is Ternarius numerus, The third numbre, which cōnteineth al other num­bres, both vnitie, euens, & oddes. Esayas teacheth vs the same,Esay. [...] where he saith that he saw the seraphins flacker from aboue and cry each one to other: Holy, Holy, Holy, is y^e Lord of Hostes. By this word holy, thrise repeted, we are taught that there be thre persons and [...]y the wordes folowing, the Lord of hostes not iterate, that there is but one Lord. I will proue the same, by the propertyes of the thre personnes. The Congregation con­fesseth the father to be vnbegotten,Unbegotē. and [Page] no heretyke can deny it, and the scriptu­re telleth vs, that the son is begotten, to whome y^e father saith: Thou art my son, this day I begat the:Begottē. Psal. 2 not that the father is elder then Christ: for as he was alwa­yes a father, so he was neuer without a son, but begat him without time: also of my wombe before the mornyng star be­gat I the.Psa. 109 God y^e father hath no wombe or corporal form: but by his wombe, we must vnderstand his substaūce: as if he said, of my substaūce, of my owne nature I begat thee. If God the father begat Christ of his owne substaunce, which is immutable, howe could of the same sub­staūce his mutable flesh be made, as our late Anabapt. defend? God begat God, and light begat light, as a man getteth a man, and a dog gettech a dog, for a man cannot get a dog. The holy ghost is ney­ther called vnbegotten nor gotten. For if we cal him vnbegotten, we bring in .ii. fathers. If we name him begotten, we make .ii. Christs. He is said to prosede e­qually from the father & from the son,Proceding as he is equally God, & equally almightye, to be honored equally and euery wheare equally. Peraduēture some wil requyre [Page 104] profe out of the scripture of y^e proseeding of the holy cōforter,Scriptur [...] prouing y^e proceding of the holy spirite. because we say that nothing is to be beleued vpon payne of dampdatiō, which is not in y^e scriptures. For many do allege this processiō of the holy spirite for vnwritten verities, ther­fore I say I wil proue it by certaine test­imonies, albeit I will not deny, but that many thinges be true verities, which be not in the scriptures, as it is true that I wrote this boke, & not written, it is true that king Edw. the .vi. God saue his no­ble grace, is King of Englād, & vnwrittē But marke good christen people, when we disalow vnwrittē verities, we except such, and do speake only of such thinges, as be nedefull & necessary for the sauing of our soules. All such things we say, be written in Gods boke.Unwrittē verities. For Ihon sayth these are written y^t ye myght beleue, and haue eternal life, if we obserue these thīgs we shal haue eternal life, & what cā we desire more. Al such necessari points be wri­tē. Away therfore w^t vnwrittē verities. But how proue ye y^e processiō of y^e holy spirite bi scripture? That he procedeth frō y^e father, christ techeth his disciples saing whē y^e cōforter is come whom I wil send [Page] vnto you from the father,Ihon. 15 he shall beare witnes of me. That he procedeth also of Christ, these. S. Paules wordes be a sufficient record. If there be any man that hath not the spirite of Christ,Roma. 8 the same is none of his. For he can not be Christes spirit not proceding of him. He is y^e ver­tue,Luke. 6 which went out of him, and healed y^e people of Ierusalem, of Tyre, and of Si­don. Further our Sauiour Christ after his victorious and gloriouse resurrectiō, to teach vs that the holy ghost procea­deth from him equally, as he doth from the father, breathed on his disciples and said,Ihon. 20 Luke. 24 receiue the holy ghost, and lo I send the promis of my father vpon you. If therfore the father be vnbegotten, y^e son begotten not made, the holy comforter proceding, there be thre person [...]s not cō ­founded together. The father is a spirit, and the sonne likewyse, and the father is holy, and the sonne likewise, but nother of both is the holy spirit, the holy ghost. He is an vnspeakeable communiō of the father and sonne also: therfore these two wordes be truly verified seuerally of thē both, but not together. If the holy ghost be the father, he sendeth him self that is he pro­ceadeth [Page 103] from himself. If he be the sonne, he is the son of the father, and of Christ also, for euery son is the son of twaine of the father & of the mother. But God forbid that we shuld imagin any such kind of thing in the father and Christ. If he be nether of both, he is a seueral person. No earthly man is able to discusse this natiuitie of Christ and procession of the holy ghost, after what maner both be done, for both be vnspeakeable as it is writtē: Who can declare his generatiō? Of the holy cōforter it may be said also,Esaie. 55 who can declare his proceding? wherfor we must eschue curious talking of these misteries, & stedfastly beleue because of y^e scriptures. Christ saith: the father is greater then I. If he be greater,Ihon. 14 ether they be two seueral persons, or els the father is greater thē himself. Dauid witnesseth y^t the father setteth Christ on his right hād The Lord sayd vnto my Lorde,Psal. 109 syt thou on my ryght hand, vntyll I make thyne ennemies thy fotestole. And that he syt­teth there, we learne of saint Paul, who exhorteth vs to seeke those thynges,Colloss. 3 whiche are aboue where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Then ether [Page] they be two persons or els the Father speaketh to hym selfe and sytteth on his owne ryght hand. The father heareth, and Christ prayeth,Iohn. xi. he blesseth & Christ geueth thankes, he commaundeth, and Christ obeyed,Iohn. xii. Iohn. xvii. Iohn xiiii. Iohn. vii. he teacheth and Christ learneth. For Christ recordeth thys of hymself, as my father taught me, so I speake. These properties learne vs that they be two persones vnconfounded, for so much as we can not apply or refer thē to one person.

Abrahams vision. A Glasse.The visiō which appered to Abraham in the oke groue of Mambre, declareth vnto vs a manifest distintion of the god­head, & yet not a Trinitie of Gods. For he sawe thre men, and yet he called them Lord, not Lordes. If that vision be pon­dred depely,Gene. 18 it is a glasse wherin we may behold the face of the glorious trinitie. The maiestie & nature of God himselfe, for as those thre men were thre seuerall persons, and yet were named but one Lord, so the father, the son, and the holy ghost, be thre persons & one God. Som wil replie that Abraham spake to one of the thre, when he sayd Lord, whom he acknowledged to be the chief, taking the [Page 104] other for his ministers and seruauntes. This is proued to be false of that which foloweth: and the Lord went his way, as sone as he had left talkyng with Abra­ham, and Abrahā returned to his place, and there went two aungels to Sodom at euen, and Lot sat at y^e gate of the city. Lot calleth these two men after they had brought him without the citie, cōmaun­ding him not to loke backward, Lorde not Lordes. Wherfore he whiche depar­ted was not chief, & their Lord. If he had bene chief,Gene. 19 the scripture wold not name the twain, remaining Lord which in cal­ling the twain Lord also, signifieth vnto vs, that there was no superiorite, no pre­heminence, no prerogatiue among thē, but equalitie, as in the trinitie, whiche is figured by these thre men. Some wyll say, that Lot speaketh not to both, but to one of them. Why then doth the scrip­ture say, Loth sayde vnto them, oh nay my Lord, behold for as much as thy ser­uaunt hath found grace in thy syght. &c. These two men signifie Christ and the holy Ghost, not the father, for so much as they saye that the Lorde sent them to destroy that place. For Christ and the [Page] holy comforter are sent, but the father is neuer sent, but sendeth: Notwithstāding he whiche departed before they came to Sodome, sending them twaine thyther, representeth the father of heauē, of whō Christ and the holy ghost both be sent. Now let vs se good christen people how this vision doth portrey or paint the Tri­nitie. As thre men appeared, so there be three persones: As these three persones are named one Lorde, so the Trinitie is one Lorde, one GOD: As the Father is vnsent, so one of these is not sent, and as the father sēdeth Christ and the holy ghost into this world, so here twayne be sent of one vnto Sodome and Gomor: as the twain which were sent are called one Lorde, so Christ and the holy ghost are but one god. Protogenes neuer painted Ialisus at Rodes so excellently, nor Appelles, Venus, nor Policletus, y^e ima­ge of Doriphorus, as this vision doth li­uely declare y^e properties of the glorious Trinitie,Roma. 11 of which, thorow whiche, & for which, al thinges are. But let vs serche how the scripture vseth to speake of the Trinitie.1. Ihon. 5 Iohn saith: Ther ar thre, which beare recorde on earth, the spirite, water and bloud, and these thre are one. The trinitie [Page 105] is signified by these thre.Spirite▪ The spirit is y^e father, for Christ calleth him so spea­king of the true worshipping: God is a spirit. And by y^e name of bloud, we may vnderstand Christ,Bloud. who for our sakes is become flesh, and bloud. By the name of water the holy ghost is ment,Water. whome our sauiour Christ calleth water, saying: If any man thirst, let him come vnto me [...] drink.Ihon. 4▪ He y^t beleueth on me (saith y^e scripture) out of his belly shal flow streames of water of life. This spake he,Iho [...]. 7 Ihon. 1 [...] 1. Cor. 1 [...] Christ. Dore. Rocke. Uyne. Bread. Brydegro­me. Kyng. Phisition. Ihon. 6 Luke. 11 Ihon. 3 Spirite. Fier. Finger. Math. 3 Exod. 8 Luke. 11 Hebre▪ [...] saith Ihō the Euāgelist, of y^e spirit, which they that beleued on him, should receiue. Wher­fore as a spirit is not bloud, ne water, no more is the father, the sonne, or the holy ghost; but a distinct person. Christ is na­med also a dore, a rocke, a vine, bread, a bridegrome, a kyng, a Phisicion, and his father a husbandman. If the father be Christ he is the dore, the rock, the vy­ne, yea rather as a husbandman and a vine be diuerse thinges, so Christ is not the father. The holy comforter is called fyer which all be diuers thynges from those often times, and the finger of God and the oyle of gladnes, and anoynting, that figuratly be spoken of the father. [Page] But my thinke I hear some suttell sear­ching and craftie witted man replie, that as Christ and the vine, the dore, the rock be diuers names of one thynge,1. Ihon. 2 and the holy ghost, and oyl▪ and fier, and annointing,An obiect. answered. that so y^e father, the son, and the ho­ly ghost, be thre names and one thyng, and that the father is called by these na­mes, as he is called afore by the name of a husbandman. This were somwhat, if we had euident Scripture [...] that the Fa­ther is Christ, or the holy Ghost, as we haue that he is a husbandman: And so we haue say they. For Christ sayeth: I and my father are one,Ihon. 10 Ihon. 14 and whosoeuer seeth me, seeth my father. These textes plucke vp thys opinion by the rootes: For in that he sayth (we are) he teacheth vs,We are that he and his father be not one persone. For as muche as (are) can not be spoken of one persone. And in that he sayth (one) he declareth that he is of the selfsame substaūce.One. O the depenesse and exceading power of Gods word, which with two sillables (are and one) confoū ­deth two heretikes,Howe the father is seen in Christ. the Arrian, and Pa­tripassion. The other text declaring the father to be sene in Christ, doth not pro­ue [Page 106] theim one persone, but rather twayn, teaching vs that whiche S. Paul wry­teth to his countreimen: that he is the brightnesse of the fathers glory, and ex­presse image of his substaunce.A glasse. Hebre. 1. When men loke in a glasse, & behold their own faces, they vse to say, that they see them selues, and they and that which they see, be not al one. When they se the picture of Christ in a painted cloth, they say thei se Christ. If we se Christ in his picture, if we se our selues in a glasse, much more the father is sene in Christ who is no coū terfet, but the bryghtnes of the euerla­sting lyght, the vndefiled mirrour of Gods maiestie, the liuely image of the fathers substaūce. And for asmuch as he is the image of the father,Sapien. 7 he is not one personne with hym, no more then the Image of your personne is your selfe, or the image of my father William Hutchynson is my father, or the Image of our noble kyng Edward the .vi. is the kyng. God graunt that vertue & know­ledge may mete in his roial heart, to the cōfusion of euil doers, & heretikes. They be .ii. persons, not .ii. gods. For y^e kinges Image is called the kyng, and yet they [Page] be not two kings S. Iohn speaketh af­ter the same maner of all thre together: there are thre which bear record in hea­uen,1. Ihon. 5 the father, the worde, and the holy ghost, & these thre are one. Doth he not teache vs plainly that God is a trinitie? Thus to conclude this chapter, if the fa­ther be both the sonne & the holy ghost, he toke our nature vpon hym, he was tempted of the deuil, he suffred hunger & thirst, he was buffeted and scourged of the Iewes, and put to death cruelly, and he also came downe in the lykenes of a doue, and in the similitude of fyrie ton­gues, he begat himself, he sent himself, he graunted himself a seate of the right hād of himself, he is an Image, he is greater then himself, he is God to himself. If he can not be these thinges, we may easely perceiue, that he and his sonne, and the spirit be distinct and vnconfounded per­sons, and that this worde persone in the glorious trinitie doth not signifie a diffe­rence of vocation.

[Page 017] THis word also is vsed for all suche thynges, as doe cause fauour, parcialitie, regard, and frendship, or anger, hatred, displeasur, enmitie, both in the old & new Testamēt, as for riches, authoritie, office, countrey, beautie and pouertie, bondage, scarcitie, deformitie. After this signification and acception, king Iosa­phat a worthy prince, an earnest promo­ter of godlines and learning, witnesseth that with God ther is no vnrightuous­nes, no regarding of persones.2. Para. 1 [...] S. Paul also telleth the Gallathians, that he loketh on no mans persone,Galath. 3 and that w^t out parcialitie he regardeth both Iewe and gentil, bond and fre, man & woman.Roma. 3 And Iames biddeth vs to auoid such cō ­sideration and regard.Iacob. 2 But in the glori­ouse trinitie a persone is nether any out­ward thing, nether any condition or dif­ference of vocation, but as we may ga­ther of the scriptures, & as mē learned in thē teach, a persone in the Trinitie is an vnconfounded substaūce,Parsone. or as other de­fine with many wordes: A persone is a singuler substaunce, indiuisible, not con­foūded, [Page] declaring vnto vs a distinctiō of the godhead,Why this word is v­sed in the Godhead. & not a trinitie of Gods. I suppose it necessary for y^e vnderstanding of this definitiō to declare for what cōsi­deration & skil the faithful congregation hath euermore vsed this word. For as much as y^e scripture teacheth vs & our belief telleth vs, y^t god is thre, thei thought it necessary to declare what thre God is, who is not thre fathers, for nether Christ is the father, nor y^e holy cōforter, nor thre sonnes, for y^e father is not the son, nor the holy ghoste, nor thre holy comforters. Then what thre is God? Hear an exam­ple, whē we sai Sydrack is not Mysak, nor Misack Abdenago, we graunt they be .iii. but if we wil know what .iii. they be, we must find out a more general word, that is .iii. men. Likewise Mary, our sauiour Christs mother, & Mary Magdalene, & Mary of Iames be .iii. & if we be further demaūded what thre they be, we answer with general word, that they be .iii. wo­men. Euen so y^e congregatiō answereth this questiō, what thre is God? with this general word person, to declare y^t ther is a destinctiō betwene Christ & his father, [...] the holy spirit. For a person is a gene­ral [Page 018] word belōging also vnto men, for as much as one man is a substaūce vncon­founded with another: as Abraham is not Isaac, & he is not Iacob, ne Iacob is Abrahā. But here we must [...]ote, that as Abrahā, Isaac, & Iacob ar one sustaunce touching mans nature, y^t so God albeit he be .iii. persōs, yet he is not .iii. substaū ­ces, but only one substaūce. If ther be .iii substaūces, ther be thre Gods. Som clat [...]er & prate y^t no such wordes as substaūce & persone, be found in gods boke, & ther­fore that thei be not to be vsed cōcerning God. What if I shew & find thē in gods boke, in the Bible boke, wilt thou then vse thē? I wil shew this first, after I wyl proue that the meaning of these wordes may be gatherd of infinit textes of scrip­ture. Thirdly & finally concerning this treatise, of a persone I wil paint the Tri­nitie by corporall similitude, whose na­ture it self is ineffable and vncomprehensible. We fynd the word substaunce spo­ken of God in Pauls letter to the Israelites:The word substaunce where he recordeth that our Saui­our Christ is a liuely image of y^e fathers substaunce.Hebre. 1 Also in his letters to the Co­rinthiās he witnesseth that to God only [Page] that belongeth,2. Cor. 1 which the Grecians call [...], the Latinistes est, saying: Non est in illo est & non, sed est in illo est. We may fynd in the same Apostle the word persō,The word person. in the foresaid cception and signification: for in his letter to the Collossiās, he wri­teth of Christ:Colloss. 2 [...], in him, in Christ dwelleth all the fulnesse of y^e god­hed corporally, or bodily, that is, Christe is a diuine person.Corporaly Personaly For corporally in this place is asmuch to say, as that we call in the gloriouse Trinitie, personally, as the Greke word [...] doth manifestly proue. We fynd also y^e word [...], spokē of the godhead in the boke of the second lawe,Deute. 4 otherwise named Deuteronomie. Moyses exhorting the people vnto obe­dience, and fulfilling the lawe, saith: The Lord spake vnto you out of fier, and you heard his voice, but you saw no Image. Where the latin texte of these words, ye sawe no Image, is Corpus non vidistis. For the Grecians, in whose language S. Paule did wryte this letter, at y^t time vsed this worde [...], for that which we call nowe a persone, and as we say there be thre personnes, so they acknowleged [Page 109] [...], thre bodies.3. Bodies. Therfore as [...] signifieth a person, so [...] must nedes signifie personally. But because many heretiks racked this word to pro­ue y^e thre persons to be of corporall form and shape, the successors of the Apostles, were constrayned to vse another worde for the same meaninge, and so they vsed for it [...], which word continued in vse many yeares. But nowe also this word is not vsed, for asmuch as some he­ritiks wold proue by it, that God is thre substaunces. For which considerations the Grecians of more latter time vse for it, the word persone, saying, there be [...] in the same meaning and vnderstanding, in which thei of more auncient time confessed: [...] or [...]: This is y^e doctrine of the Apstles, y^e cōfessiō of Martirs, y^e catholike churh, and generall faith of the congregation.

NOwe I wil proue, that the scripture graunteth vnto Christ, & to the holy ghoste y^e meaning of these words substaunce, & persone, that [Page] is that Christ is an vncōfoūded substāce, and the holy ghost likewyse: and fyrste I will proue that Christ is a substaunce, and afterward that they be vnconfoun­ded, and so it shalbe sufficiently declared that God is thre. For a persones an vn­cōfoūded substaūce: y^e worde or thought of man is no substaūce, but a transitory thing.Ihon. 1 But Ihon recordeth that Christe is the word of the father, howe then can he be a substaūce?Samosat. Tharch heretike Sa­mosaten made this argument, who also denieth the thre persons saying, that the father is Christ, and the holi ghost both. To him I make this answere: S. Ihon in the same place telleth vs, that Christe who is the word, is God, and that God is a substaunce. I haue proued before in my treatise, what God is: wherfor we must nedes graunt that Christ is a sub­staunce, or els deny him to be God. Tell me Samosaten what thou beleuest of the Father? Is the Father a substaū ­ce or not? Both Photine, and Seruete, thy adherēts graūt this. Thou sayst also that Christ is the father. Doest thou not confesse him to be a substaunce, in y^t thou saiest he is the father? Againe, in denieng [Page 110] him to be a substaūce, doest thou not de­ny him to be the father, for the father is a substaunce? Thy owne sayinges proue Christ to be a substaunce, and not to be y^e father. If he be the father as thou grauntest, then is he a substaunce. I graunt the somuch, but I deny that, of which thi as­sertion proueth him a substaūce. For no man is his word, no mā is his owne tho­ught: but Christ is the word & thought of the father,Gene. 4 [...] wherfore he is not y^e father nomore then the words of Ioseph to his brethren are Ioseph himselfe. S. Ihon witnesseth, that y^e word which is Christ, is not a transitory word, a soūding word comming from the lightes, but by a me­taphor. But an euerlasting word,Iohn. 1▪ by which all things were creat, things that are in heauen, and thinges y^t are in earth, thinges visible & inuisible, whether they be maiestie or lordship, either rule or po­wer, saying, all were made by it,Colloss. 1 and no­thing without it. He sayth also that this word is God. It vpholdeth things, dis­poseth all things, gouerneth all: wher­fore it is a substaūce, for these things can not be aplied to ani thīg which is no sub­staū [...]: & if so be it be substāce, thē christ is a substaūce, for christ is y^e word. Christ is figured [Page] in the scripture by diuers thinges.Fygure of Christ. Abra­ham and Isaac were figures of him, and the wether which was slaine for Isaac, y^e stone which Iacob anointed,Gene. 22 the ladder, Ioseph sold into Egipt, Moises rod, Iosue,Gene. 28 Sampson, the brasen serpēt, a cluster of grapes, be figures of him, which al be substaūces, & is he himself no substaūce? We read not in holy writ that substaū ­ces,Gene. 37 and no substaunces be likened and compared together. The scripture bea­reth record of him,Exod. 7 Nume. 21 Nume. 13 y^t he is no dead image of the father, for he is life and resurreciō: nether a dum image, for he is the fathers word: Nor insensible, for he is wisdome: nor counterfait,Ihon. 12 for he is truth, but a ly­uely and expresse image, & therfore a substaunce,Ihon. 1 forsomuch as all liuing thinges be substaūces. He answereth the Iewes reuiling him,Ihon. 14 that he said Abraham had sene his daies: Verely verely I say vnto you,Ihon. 8 er Abraham was borne, I am, by which wordes we learne not only that he is a substaūce, but also that he is both God and man. God, because nothing is saue only God, and man, forasmuch as in mans flesh he spake. Moises saith of him, he that is did send me vnto you: for [Page 111] the son sent him.Exod. 3 The son did shewe him self in the likenes of fier, the son went be­fore the Israelites, by day in a pyller of a cloude, and by nyght in a pyller of fyre. He caried them to the land of pro­mis, he appeared vnto them in many li­kenesses and similitudes, his workman­ship gouerned the world from the beginning, as his answer teacheth vs vnto the Iewes accusing hym for healing a cer­tain man on the sabboth day:Ihon. 5 my father worketh hitherto and I worke. As if he should say: why blame you me for wor­king on y^e saboth day, who neuer ceased to worke? If ye blame me, blame also mi father, who worketh hitherto. If ye can not iustly accuse hym, ye can not iustly blame me, for I and my father are one. Whatsoeuer he doth, that doth the son also,Ihon. 10 he ruleth al thinges from the beginning and so do I. He worketh hitherto & I worke hitherto. Our sauiour Christ teacheth vs here, that he is licensed to worke on the sabboth day by the exam­ple of his father, who worketh continu­ally, and that the commaundementes of the sabbatticall rest belonge nothing vn­to him working inseperably with his fa­ther: [Page] And also that he gouerneth all thinges with the father, and is not idle, condempning and cōtroulling the dam­nable opinion of the Arrians and Paul­lians. It is nedeles to speake any further of this thyng.

BVt touching the holy conforter many doubt whe­ther he be a substaunce or not. The Saduces and Libertines say,Against y^e libertines. that all the spirites and aungels are no substaunces, but inspirations, affec­tions, and qualities: That good angels, are good affections, Godly motions, which God worketh in vs, and that dy­uels and euil aungels are beastly affec­tions, euil thoughts coming of the flesh. Therfore I thynke it agreable vnto my matter, to proue y^e holy spirit to be a sub­staunce, for vnlesse he be so, he can not be the third person in the ouerglorious Trinitie.Sapien. 1 The boke of wisdom witnesseth, y^t [Page 112] the spirit of the Lord filleth the round cō pas of the world.The spirit is euery where. We can go no whither frō this spirit, we can not auoyd his pre­sence, we can not flie from him, but by flying vnto him, we can not escape his rightuousnes,Psal. 138 but by appealing to his mercy, for ther as he is not by his fauor and grace, he is by his wrath & displesur where he is not a bene factor he is a pu­nisher, wher he is not a dweller, he is an auenger. Who can deny him to be a sub­staūce, who filleth y^e world, & not y^e world only but Christ also the only sauiour of y^e world, of whō it was written:Luke. 4 Iesus full of the holy ghost returned from Iordā. If he fil the world, he is God, for this be­longeth only God as I haue proued be­fore. If he be God, thē is he a substaunce not an inspiraciō cōming from God as our english Saduces, & outlandish Libertins do teach.Esay. 63 The Prophet Esay recor­deth y^t he gouerned the cōgregatiō of the Israelits, y^t he was their deliuerer out of Egipt, their guid in y^e wildernes, y^e wor­ker of wonders saying: where is he,Gouerner of y^e world. who brought thē frō y^e water of y^e sea as a shepherd doth his flock? where is he which [...]ed Moises by the right hand w^t his glo­rious [Page] arme? Where is he that led them in the depe as an horse is led in the plain and he answereth: The spirit of the Lord led thē as a tame beast goeth in the field. He gouerneth also the present congregation,Ihon. 14 for Christ promiseth, that he would pray the father to send vs another com­forter to abide w^t vs for euer. And Paul testifieth that the spirit geueth to one vt­teraunce of wisdome,1. Cor. 12 to an other fayth, to an other giftes of healyng, to another power to doe miracles, to another pro­phecy, to another iudgement of spirites, to another diuerse tōgues, to another interpretacion, which be necessary offices in the congregation, so that the holy spi­rit may say also: The father worketh hy­therto & so do I, for he workth insepera­bly with the father and the son. Wher­of it must neades folow, that he is a sub­staunce, and that he is God, for the go­uernaunce of the world belongeth to the maiestie of the Godhead, as I haue proued before. If he were nothing but a Godly motion, a good affection, and in­spiration,Math. 3 he would not ne coulde haue shewed himselfe in the likenes of a doue, and in the similitude of fyrie tongues.Actes. 2 [Page 113] He is the fynger of God, he is fyre, oyle, anoynting, water, an aduocate, a cole,Exod. 8 Luke. 11 Hebre. [...] 1. Ihon. [...] for all these the scripture geueth hym. Wherfore he is a substaunce, forasmuch as al these be substaunces, not inspira­tions. For the scripture doth not lyken substaunces, to thinges that be no sub­staunces. He is also to be prayed vnto, to be called vpon, for what is baptisme:To be pra­yed vnto. Ihon. 8 but an inuocation of the father, the sonne, & the holy spirit, and therfore a substaūce. No man prayeth vnto an inspiration, no man crieth to an affection. Our praying vnto hym proueth hym to heare vs,Esay. 6 to be almighty God, to be euery where to know the thoughtes of all men, but no­thing heareth, nothing searcheth thou­ghtes, but a substaunce, then he can not be a thought, a motion comming from God, yea, rather these properties proue hym to be the third persone in the ouer gloriouse deite. That comforter sayeth Christ the holy ghost whom my father wyl send in my name,Ihon. 14 he shall teach you all. If he be a teacher, he must nedes be a substaunce. If he be an inspiration, he is the doctrine, which is taught, not the teacher therof.Luke. 9 He gaue Symon an auns­wer [Page] that he shuld not se death, before he had sene the lord Christ. He through the mouth of Dauid spake before of Iudas.Actes. 1 He at Antioche cōmaundeth to seperate Barnabas & Paul to the worck,Actes. 13 wherunto he had called them. He forbiddeth thē to preach Gods word in Asia.Actes. 16 S. Luke of the actes telleth that he monished Philip to ioyne himself to the chariot of the gel­ded man.Actes. 8 Do not these textes, proue him to gouerne the congregation? Doe they not witnes him to be mindfull of both, good and euil? Doe they not deny hym to be an inspiration coming from God? Do they not fortifie him to be a substāce to be y^e third persone, to be God? S. Pe­ter when he saith: holy mē of God spake by the inspiration of the holy ghost, put­teth a plain difference betwene him & an inspiration, for he is not the inspiration, but the worker therof, the sender of it. Wherfore as the worckman is not hys worck, as Protogenes is not Ialysus, Appelles is not Venus,2. Peter. 1 the carpenter is not the house, no more is the holy spirite an inspiration.The spirit forgeueth sinne. He also forgeueth synne, maketh vs the sonnes of God, for we ar christened in his name, & that we should [Page 114] beleue that y^e holy spirit worketh in bap­tisme, it pleased the almighty Trinitie y^t he shuld notably appere at Christes baptising.Math. 3 For this cōsideration the holy cō forter at that time shewed himself in the likenes of a doue. Doth any aungel for­geue sinne, or Archaungel? No truly this belongeth to the father only, the sonne only, the holy ghost only. But me thin­keth one replieth. Seraphin speketh vn­to the Prophet Esay: Behold,Esay. 6 this hath touched thy mouth, and thine vnrightu­ousnes is taken away, & thy sinne forgi­uen. He saith not, I haue taken it away, but this, speaking of a hote cole taken from the alter with the tōgues, not ch [...]r­coale, not seacoale, but the cole of the ho­ly ghost, who may be wel called a coale, for he is fire.Iob. 26 The pacient man Iob tel­leth vs, that almighty God garnished y^e heauens with his spirit, & with his hand wounded the rebellious serpent, w^t whō Dauid agreeth saying: By the word of the Lord were the heauens made,Psal. 31 and all the hostes of them, by the spirite of his mouth. Wherfore in y^e worke of creatiō, Moises maketh relation of him,Gene. 1 telling vs that the spirit of God was born vpō [Page] the waters. Basyl who for his great learning was surnamed Magnus, expoun­deth this place of the holy ghost, & saith, that his predecessours toke it so: for the word spirit can not signifie wynd there, which was then not made. Was borne vpon the waters is no blowyng, but as much to say as he sat on the waters, for as the Hen sytting on her egs, hatcheth her yōg ones, so the holy ghost hatched al creatures, whiche there are called wa­ters, as it is wrytten, when thou lettest thy spirit go fourth they are made, so y^u renuest the face of the earth. Is the gar­nisher of the heauens, maker of y^e world, forgeuer of synnes, myndfull of the con­gregation, no substaunce but a phanta­sie, an imagination? And here I suppose it be agreable vnto my matter, to speake somwhat of al good aungels in general, and euyl spirites: for if I can proue them to be no motiōs, but substaunces, much more the holy comforter is a substaūce. But if it be beside our purpose, yet it shal be a profitable & necessary digression, for there be many late Libertines and late English Saduces, which wold teach out of scripture, that there is nether place of [Page 115] rest, ne paine after this life, that hel is nothing els, but a tormenting and desperat conscience, and that a ioyful, quiet & me­ry conscience is heauen, and that deuils ar euil thoughtes, & good aungels good thoughtes. First if this doctrine be true, we beleue in vaine the resurrectiō of our bodies, which is groūded of scripture,Resurrec­tion. & nothing els: so y^t if you beleue scripture, this is a false, pretensed, & damnable doc­trine. If our bodies shal not ryse, then is Christ not risen, saith Paul,1. Cor. 15 & al preachīg is vanitie: but our bodies be dead throu­gh y^e syn of Adā, & shalbe raised through the rightuousnes of Christ Iesus. By a man came death of soul & body, and by a man cometh resurrection of soul & body. Were not many christen men baptysed ouer dead mens graues in the primatiue church, in token that the dead should rise againe? S. Paul in his .xv. Chapter to the Corinthians, the first letter, doth no­thing els but confute this damnable opinion of the Saduces denying the resur­rection, which now the Libertines begin to renew. But our Saduces graūt the resurrection, they say we must rise frō syn, if we wil come to heaue, which is a mery [Page] and ioyful conscience.2. sorts of resurrectiō from sinne from death There be two sor­tes of resurrections expressed in Gods word, of which it is written: Lykewise as Christ was raised vp frō death by y^e glo­ry of the father: Euen so we also should walke in a new life. This new life is re­surrection from sinne:Roma. 6 Christes raising is the other resurrection that is of the body,Roma. 8 which began in Christ, the first fruits of the dead. For Paul saith: He that ray­sed vp Christ from death,1. Cor. 15 shal quickē our mortal bodies: & in another place: it shall rise a spiritual body. Our Saduces, be­cause they ether wil not, or can not per­ceaue the difference betwene these two sortes of resurrection, which both are in scripture, graūt in words, & deny in dede both heauen & hel, both good aungels & il, defending al resurrection to be from sinne to vertue, frō vice to godlines, frō vnclennes to sanctifitation. Resurrection from sinne is but a figure of the other re­surreccion. For Paul saith: Christ being once raised from death (not from synne,Roma. 6 who neuer sinned) dieth no more. Like­wyse imagen ye also, that ye are dead cō cerning sinne, but are aliue to God. Thē it disanulleth not resurrection of bodies, [Page 116] but fortifieth the same, forasmuche as if there be a shadow, there must nedes be a body. Now let vs search what the scri­pture teacheth vs of good aungels & be­leue them.Angels. For a scripture geuē by inspi­ration of God, is profitable to teache, to control, to amend: and it is truth.2. Tim. 3 No mā can deny aungels to be creaturs, and al­mighty Gods workmanship,Ihon. 17▪ as Paul witnesseth: He maketh his aungels spi­rites, and his ministers flames of fyre.Hebre. 1 How then are they inspirations? Luke regestreth that at Christes birth a multitude of heauenly souldiours (which wer angels) song glory to God on high,Luke. 2 Luke. 1 and peace in earth, and reioysing to men. Therfore they be no inspirations. Did an inspiration appeare to priest Zacha­rie burning incēse in the temple? Did an inspiration shew him that Elizabeth his wife shuld beare him a sonne? Did an in­spiration make him specheles? No truly, for the aungel telleth what he is saying: I am Gabriel that standeth in the syght of God, and am sent to speak vnto thee. In y^t he saith I stand & I am sent, he declareth that he is a substaūce. And if Gabri­el be a substance, y^e rest be also substāces. [Page] They reioyse ouer euery sinner y^• repen­teth,Luke. 15 Math. 18 Psal. 91 Luke. 16 Math. 4 they behold the face of the father in heauen, they assist & beare vs vp in their hands, thei cari Lazarus into Abrahams bosome, they minister vnto Christ after his temptation, they deliuered y^e law vn­to the Israelites,Actes. 7 Math. 25 thei shal come to the generall Iudgement with Christ, and after the resurrectiō, they shalbe made like vn­to them.Math. 22 If they be inspirations, tell me how, speaking, singing, stāding, sēding, ioye, seing, punishing, handes, helpe, and infinite other things, which the scripture geueth to Angels, can be in an inspiratiō and without a substaunce.

Me thinke this assercion hath affinitie with the doating opinion of transubstā ­tiation. For our Romanistes, although they more stubburnely, then truely, and more obstinately, then deuoutly defend, that no bread remaineth after the conse­cration, yet they cannot deny, but that many accidents remaine, as the culloure of bread, the tast of bread, bredth, length, and other, the which cannot be in y^e com­fortable and swete flesh of Christ, wher­fore either the substaūce of bread remay­neth, or els we must sai with the papists, [Page 117] that these things be without a substaūce, the which is as if we should say, there is sickenes, and there is helth, there is cold and heat, moisture & drith, but ther is no such thing as a body. An angel of y^e Lord comforteth Agar y^e Egiptian,Gene. 24 besyde the well of Seer, and commaūdeth her to re­turne to her mistris. Abraham promiseth his seruaunt, that an Angel shall ayd and further him in his iourney. Iacob when he blesseth Ephraim & Manasses,Gene. 24 Gene. 4 [...] pray­eth y^t the Angel of y^e Lord, which had ben his succour at all times, might blesse and multiplie them. We read that an Angell gouerneth y^e hostes of the Israelites, an Angel of the Lord killeth thousāds of the Assyrianes, Angelles certifie women of Christes resurrectiō,4. Reg. 19 Luke. 24 Actes. 1 Hebre. [...] and the disciples of his glorious returne. Wheafore they be no inspiratiōs, no mociōs cūming from God, but spiritual substaūces, and mini­string spirites, sent to minister for their sakes, which shalbe heyr [...]s of saluation. Now as I haue spoken of good Angels, so I thinke it no lesse nedefull somwhat to speake of euil Angels. For ther be ma­ny late borne Saduces, which haue per­swaded theyr owne wauering myndes, [Page] and allure the consciences of others to y^• to the foresaid opinion, that the deuill is nothing but Nolitum, or a filthy affecton of the flesh, and swaruing from honesty, vertue and godlines. I thinke such haue either already said in their harts: ther is no God, or y^t they may as easely be bro­ught thervnto, as Cherea was vnto Pamphila. Cherea durst not ieopard in his owne apparell, but fained himself to be ano­teer. Euen so our late Saduces & Liber­tines, will not reason these thinges stifly for disturbing y^e cōmonwelth, or rather for losing their lyues. But it is to be fea­red, that vnder the coloure of christians, they say they reason in the way of dispu­tation, when they speake from y^e bottom of their hearts. If any man winch at my wryting, he declareth y^t he is a Saducie. If there be a God, as we most stedfastly must beleue, verely ther is a deuill also, & if ther be a deuill, there is no surer argu­ment, no stronger profe, no playner eui­dence, that ther is a God. Be not al euill angels spirits? Then ar they not sensual motiōs, but spiritual substaūces. But I will leaue argumēts, & call truth to wyt­nesse, let vs aske the scripture what the [Page 118] deuill is, let vs enquire of Peter & Paul, let the Prophets & the Euangelists testifie. S. Peter saith,1. Peter. [...] that our aduersari the deuil walketh about like a roaring lion, seking whome he mak deuour. He com­pareth him to a Lion, he walketh, he see­keth. And the chosen vessell Paule,Eyhes. 6 war­neth vs to put on y^e armour of God, that we may stand stedfast against the crafty assaults of y^e deuil, forasmuch as we wres­tle noe against flesh & bloud, but against rule, against power, against worldly ru­lere of the darkenesse of this world, aga­inst spirituall wickednesse for heauenlye things. He maketh a difference betwene the deuill & his assaults, which be beastly affectiōs, saieng: against y^e crafty assalts of the deuill, and he calleth them rulers, powers, wherfore thei be no fleshly mo­tions. But you will say he calleth them spirituall wickednesses,Ihon. 1 a wickednesse is no substaūce. So Terence calleth Dauus, Scelus: Tully calleth Cateline Pestis, so the scripture caleth God loue, truth, and light, & il men darknes.Iob▪ 1 We read in y^e sto­ry of Iob, y^t whē y^e seruaūts of god came & stode before the Lord, Satan came also among them, & God talketh w^t him, and he [Page] aunswereth that he had walked through the land, and craueth of God to suffer him to scourge Iob, without whose lea­ue he could do nothing. After he rayseth the Sabees against Iob, he kylleth his seruaunts, he slayeth his childrē, he smi­teth him with marueilous sore byles, frō the sole of his fote vnto his croune, so y^t he scraped away the filth of them with a potsherd. Did an affection worck these things, or a spiritual rule and substaūce? To deceiue wycked king Achab, he pro­miseth that he wil be a liyng spirit,3. Reg. 22 in the mouth of .iiii.C. prophets, he vexeth kīg Saul,Reg. 16. Christ seeth him as lightning, fal­ling doun from heauen, he blyndeth all those that beleue not the Gospel, he worketh al iniquitie,Luke. 10 he seduced Adam and Eue, he is y^e enemy which soweth tares to destroy the sede of euerlasting life,Math. 13 y^t is, of Gods worde, he is the strong har­nessed man, and spirituall Pharao ouer­comē of our sauiour Christ,Luke. 11 he is the go­uernour that ruleth in the aier, and king of this world,Ephes. 1 he setteth Christ on the pi­nacle of the temple, and on a high mountain, sheweth hym the glory of y^e world, he buffeteth S. Paul,Math. 4 le [...]t he should be [Page 119] exalted out of measure,2. Cor. 12 Iudas. 1 through the abū ­daunce of reuelations, he striueth w^t Mighel the Archaungell, & disputeth about the body of Moises, he shal cast the faithful congregation into pryson for .x. days he is the dragon cast out of heauē by the bloud of the lambe,Apoc. 2 and pursuing the woman. Then he is no fleshly motiō, vnles our sauiour Christ had such beastly mo­tions, vnlesse also heauē were ful of such which was ful of traiterous angels. In the countrey of the Gargasites two de­uils seing christ, cried out, what haue we to do with thee. O Iesu son of God?Math. 8 art thou come hether to torment vs before y^e time? And they besech him of leue to go into the herd of swine. Do affections cry talke, kil, smite, fall from heauen, tempt Christ, pursue the church? Christ telleth vs they shalbe punished in the fyre with the wicked, saying:Math. 2 [...] depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fyre which is prepared for the deuyll and hys aungels. S. Peter sayeth that God spared not hys aungels that synned, but cast them downe into hell and delyuered them in to chaynes of darkenes,Peter. 2 to be kept vnto dampnation. Paull commaunded the [Page] Corinthians to deliuer him which helde his fathers wife to Satā, [...]. Cor. 1 for the destruc­tiō of the flesh. He meaneth not that thei should giue him ouer to the lustes of the flesh, & suffer him to abide in vaine plea­sures. Wherfore deuels ar no fleshly lu­stes, carnal motions, sensuall affections. Deuels beleue & tremble saith Iames. They confesse Christ to be the sonne of God,Iacob. 2 Math. 8 as in the Euāgelists we may read more thē once or twise. But I think our Saduces wilbe edified more by a coniu­rer, thē by the words of godlines, wher­fore I send thē to cōiurers, sorcerers, en­chaūters, charmers, witches, which wyl learn and perswade thē that there be de­uils, and that they be not lustes of the flesh, but spirituall substaunces, & spirits created for vengeaunce, which now in y^e end of the world shall powre out theyr strength,Eccle. 38 to plucke the Lambe of God out of the myndes of al men. If therfore al angels both good and euil be substaū ­ces, and not Godly or beastly lustes, much more God the holy ghost maker of al spirites, knower of thoughtes, go­uernour of the church, forgeuer of syns, hatcher of y^e creaturs, filler of al places, is a [Page 120] spiritual substaunce & no inspiration.

NOw albeit both Christ be a substaunce and the holy ghost also, yet it doeth not folow, that thei be two persons in the supergloriouse trinitie, for they may be both one, as the Sabellians do teache. Wherfore now I wil proue that they be vnconfounded, y^t which being proued, no man can doub [...]e hereafter, but thei be two persones: for a persone is an vnconfounded substaunce. We may learne out of Gods boke, that nether the father, nor the holy comforter toke mans nature vpō them, but Christ only. For as through a natural man we were banyshed out of paradise,Whichrist became mā made the children of euerlasting damnation, so it pleased the almightie trinitie nether by [Page] an aungel or Archaungel, but by a natu­ral man to restore vs againe, & make vs heires to saluation,1. Cor. 15 as Paul witnesseth: by a man came death, & by a man com­meth resurrection of the dead. For as by Adam al die, euē so by Christ al be made aliue. And the will of God was that he shuld be born of a woman. God sent his son.Math. 1 Galat. 4 Why hee was borne of a womā Factum ex muliere, borne or made of a woman. But why was Christ born of a woman? Truly because syn & death o­uerflowed the world through y^e first wo­man, he worketh the misterie of life and rightuousnes by an other woman, y^t the blame of sinne should not be imputed to his creature, which is good, but to y^e will by which Eue sinned. For seing he is a sauiour both of men and women, he be­cōmeth man, forsomuch as mā is the better kind, yet he is borne of a womā, y^t we shuld beleue him to be a sauiour of wo­men also, so that his birth of a woman, & his becomming mā, declareth him to be mindful of both kindes. But here we must note that Christ toke mans nature vpon him, not by the turning of his godhead into his manhead, but by assump­ting of manhead vnto his godhead, not [Page 121] by confusiō or mixture of substaūce, but by vnitie of person. For as the reasona­ble soul & the fleshly body, is one man: so y^• deitie & humanitie is one Christ. Whē I say Christ toke our nature vpō him,Christ toke both soule and bodye. I meane not y^t he toke flesh only, as some heretikes haue thought, but the soull of man also, forsomuch as he is no halfe sa­uiour, but a redemer of both. For he witnesseth of himself: Tristis est anima mea, Marke. 14▪ Ihon. 10 my soull is sad vnto death: & I haue po­wer to put my soul from me, & I haue power to take it again, no mā taketh it frō me. Dauid speaketh also in his behalfe, thou shalt not leue my soul in hel,Psalm. 1 [...] nether shalt thou suffer thy saint to se corruptiō. Some are moued to thinke that Christ toke not mans soull vpon hym,An obiecti [...]on aunswered. but the body only, because his beloued disciple sayth, Verbum caro factum est, the worde was made flesh, makyng no mencion of a soul. S. Iohn sayeth,Ihon. 1 the word was made flesh, as Paul recordeth, that by the deades of the lawe no fleshe shall be iustified:Roma. 3 Galat. 3 The whiche in another place he sayth more plainly, through the lawe no man shall be iustified, vnderstanding by the worde fleshe, not the body only, [Page] but the hole man both body & soul. This maner of speaking is often in the scrip­ture,Psal. 64 for Dauid saith: thou hearest y^e prai­er, therfore al flesh cōmeth vnto thee, all flesh for al men. And note here a vehe­mencie in the wordes (thou hearest) as if he shuld say: We pray to thee, for we do know that thou dost hear, but of other we know not that they hear, and therfor we only call on thy name. Thus did the olde Patriarkes, this was their fayth. We neuer read that they praied to any creature.Hiere. 7 And Ieremy curseth him that maketh flesh his arm, that is putteth his trust in man. And Iohn Baptist testifi­fieth that al flesh shall se the sauiour sent of God. So Ihon the Euangelist saith, the worde was made fleshe,Luke. 3 as if he had said the word was made man, toke mās flesh and nature, which worde is Christ. I haue declared before,Againste y^e late Anab. whi he is named a word, and what maner of word he is. But wherof was he made fleshe? Of what matter and stuffe was his huma­nitie shapen? or did he bring it out of heauen?Gene. 2 No truly. The first Adās flesh was formed of the earth, as it is writtē: then the Lord God shaped man of the mould [Page 122] of the earth. And wherof the second A­dams flesh was made the blessed apostle S. Paul telleth, saing: When the fulnes of time was expired, God sent his sonne Factum ex muliere, Galat. [...] ▪ made or born of a wo­man. He did not passe thorow her as water gusheth thorow a pipe or condite, but toke part of her substaunce and nature. Wherfore y^e Prophet Esay nameth him a flower or blossome cōming out of the rote of Iesse.Esay. 40 Canti. 2 Salomon nameth hym a Lily, & a Rose among thornes. Doth not euery floure take his nature of the body and stok, out of which it groweth? Doth not the Lily & Rose likewise? Are grapes gathered of thornes, or fygges of appell trees? Besides this it was nedefull, that thesame flesh shuld be punished on y^e tre, which offended in eating of the fruit of the tree, that the same flesh shold be iusti­fied & ryse in rightousnes, which died in synne and vnrightuousnes. For by a man, sayth Paul, came de [...]h,1. Cor. 1 [...] and by a man cometh resurreccion of the dead. And as by the disobedience of one man, many became dead: so by the obediēce of one man many be made aliue. W [...]y & cō sider the cōparison that Paul maketh betwene [Page] the first Adam & the second Adam in the .v. to the Romains,Roma. 5 and it destroy­eth this opinion vtterly. Besides, S. Paul saith that we be flesh of his flesh, & bones of his bones, speaking of Christ: Mēbra sumus de corpore eius, Ephesi. 5 de carne eius & de ossibus eius: We are mēbers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. But how are we (good christen people) flesh of Christs flesh, except he be flesh of Maries flesh, and bones of Maries bones? Besides, he did suck his mother, & toke his norishment out of her swete brestes. For we read, that a certain womā came vnto him & said: Beatus venter qui te por­tauit, Luke. 11 & vbera que suxisti: Happy is the wombe that bare the & the paps whiche gaue y^e suck. Nether Christ, who is truth, doth not reproue her as a lyer: wherfore we must neds graūt that he toke his na­ture, substaunce, manhod & flesh of her. I do touche this matter, because not lōg sith, I communed with a certain womā which denied this point, and when I & M. Whytehead, Thomas Leuer and others, alleadged this text against her o­pinion: Semen mulieris conteret caput ser­pentis: The sede of the woman shal grind [Page 123] or breack the Serpentes head. She aun­swered: I deny not that Christ is Ma­ries sede or the womans sede, nor I de­ny him not to be a man,An obiect [...]. but Mary had two sedes, one sede of her faith, and ano­ther sede of her flesh and in her body. There is a naturall and a corporall sede, and there is a spirituall and an heauenly sede, as we may gather of S. Ihō, wher he sayth: The sede of God remayneth in him, and he can not synne: And Christ is her sede,1. Ihon. 2 but he is become man of the sede of her faith and belief, of spirituall seede, not of naturall seede: for her sede and flesh was synful, as the flesh & sede of others.Thaūswe [...] The sede which is promised vnto Adam is named to be Semen mulie­ris, the sede of a woman, the same is the sede of Eue, the self same afterwarde is called the sede of Abraham, of Iacob, the sede of Dauid, and of the blessed Virgin. But the sede that S. Ihon speaketh of, is Semen Dei, the sede of God, that is, y^e holy spirit, not Abrahams sede, Dauids sede, or Maries sede. How cā it be their sede which toke no substaunce of them? Further, thesame promise is renued vn­to Abraham, Iacob, Dauid, and others [Page] with al these special words,Gene. 22 Gene. 26 2. Reg. 7 1. Para. 2 Psal. 122 that of their wombes, of their bodies, of their fruit, of their bellies, of their loynes, of theyr flesh, the sauiour of y^e world shalbe born, not of their fayth, of their belief. Wher­fore it must nedes be a fleshly, a natural, and a corporal sede, of which Christ was made man, maugre the head of the deuil & al heretykes. He toke not, sayth Paul, on hym the angels, but the sede of Abra­ham taketh he on him.Hebre. 2 Now y^e spirituall sede is in aungels more plentifully, then in men, for so much as thei be not depres­sed with the grosse lompe of the body. And that we shuld firmly beleue & sted­fastly credit, Ex quibus Christus est secun­dum carnem, Roma. 9 that he is of the fathers con­cerning the flesh, S. Mathew & S. Luke reken his kinred fetch his stock and ge­neration,Math. 1 Luke. 3 from Adam, Enok, Noe, Abra­ham, Dauid, Salomon, Roboam, Zo­robabel. &c. Moreouer, Christ came not only to dye f [...]r our synnes, but also to be an ensample vnto vs, and a perfect pa­tern of good lyuing, as shalbe declared afterward. Forsomuch thē as we be partakers of flesh & bloud, he also Participa­uit eisdem, Hebre. 2 toke part with vs. If he toke [Page 124] other flesh, not made of his mother, but of what matter it pleased him, he toke no part with vs, nether doeth his ensample belong vnto vs. He is our brother. For S. Paul saith, he is not ashamed to call thē brethrē, saying: I wil declare thy na­me vnto my brethren. Now brethren be of one nature & substaūce touching their flesh and body. Therfor she that denieth Christ to haue taken his flesh of his mo­ther, is not the sister of Christ, but the el­dest & first borne doughter of Antichrist. Yet she pretended that she beleued that Christ was a true & natural man, but in dede she denieth his māhod: for if he had any manhod or humanitie (as no doubt he had) he had it vndoubtedly of his mother, or els he was no man. If he had it not of his mother, define & shew frō whē ce he had it. Yea, they say it is vnknowē and vndefined in the scripturs. How thē can we warrant Christes humanitie a­gainst heretikes, if we make it vncertain wherof he toke it, and if it be vnknowen wherof it was shapen: But albeit he to­ke fleshe of his mother, yet it was holy flesh, not synful flesh that he toke, for so much as it was cōceiued, and wrought [Page] by the ouer shadowing of y^e holy ghost.Why he was borne of a virgin Al be it the seed and flesh of other be sin­full, yet hers was not so, but sanctified bi the holy spirite & most cleane: for to her it was said: Benedicta tu inter mulieres: Blessed art thou amongst women. He is Lapis de monte excisus sine manibus, com­minuens. &c. The stone of which Daniell recordeth,Daniel. 2 that was cut out of y^e hil with­out hands, which hath & shal breake into pouder the goldē, siluer, brasen, and yron kingd [...]mes, that is the .iiii. Monarchies and Empyres of the Caldies, and Babi­lonians, of the Medies, and Persies, of the Macedonians & Grekes, and of he Romains. The hill out of the which this stone is taken, is the tribe & house of Iu­da, which dwelt & was situate vpō moūt Sion in Ierusalem: and by the wordes (without hands) is ment that this stone, without mans seed, mans help & nature, came out of y^e foresaid hil, in that he toke his flesh on no earthly father, but onelie of the substaunce of Marye his mother, of whose breastes the said flesh was nou­rished afterward.

Christ was conceaued of the holy ghost, not the father, who touching his huma­nitie [Page 125] hath no father vpon earth,Luke. 1 Math. 1 as con­cerning his diuinitie he hath no mother in heauen. Further, he was borne of a Virgin, for somuch as Virginitie is a far more honorable thing then wedlocke. The blessed Virgin Credendo, non concum bendo grauida facta est, Esay. 7 was made fruitful by faith, not bi mans help, by the spirite, not by lechery. For it was seeming that the vnspotted lambe Iesus Christ,Math. 1 who shoulde blot oute our sinnes, as the fyer melteth the waxe, that he should be born without all originall sinne.Whye hee was borne of a virgin espoused & maried. Math. 1 Notwithstā ­ding was borne Ex Virgine desponsata, of a Virgin handfasted and maried, partly y^t the yong Virgin shuld not be destitute of a helper, a keper, a nourysher in her aduersitie and trauayle, & her progresse into Egipte, partly also that none shuld recount wedlocke vnelean, or matrimo­nie vn pure, forsomuch as he vouchsafed to be borne therin. Neither is it any dis­honor, any defacing to y^e diuine nature, that Christ who filleth all y^e world, filled the wōbe of y^e blessed virgin, no not if her flesh had bene sinful & vnsanctified.The God­hed, is vn­defilea [...]le. For his diuinitie is not defiled therbi no mo­re then y^e son shining vpō carrein & filthy [Page] [...]akes is dishonoured or defyled through their stinking sents, or rather much lesse for he made the sun. For the diuinitie is said to be vndefilable, not because it tou­cheth no thing vnclean, but because it cō tinueth cleane, whatsoeuer it toucheth. Wherfore, he was not defyled with the Virgins womb, but sāctified it, halowed it with his presence, & made it most clean and chose himselfe a mother in earth, be­cause before he had a father in heauē. If ani man think, because Christ was borne of the holy ghost,Christ is not the ho­ly ghostes sonne. that he is y^e holy ghost sonne, let him not be deceaued: for it is no sure reason, if any thing be born of an other, to make it straight the son therof, as for example:Ihon. 3 We are borne of water, and yet we are not the sonnes of water: we are borne of the holy ghost, & yet we are not the sonnes of the holy ghost, but the sonnes of our heauenly father. Also lice, heares, & lumbrykes are bred & gen­dred of man▪ & yet no body calleth them the sonnes of man. Likewise many ar called the sons of some, and yet they cannot be said to be born of them, as Eschinus is son to Mitio, and yet not borne of him. And y^e scripture calleth them, [...]. Reg. 10 Filios Mor­tis, [Page 126] the sonnes of death,2. Reg. 1 [...]. Iudi. 19 1. Reg. 2 Ihon. 17 the sonnes Belli­all, the children of the deuill, the children of sin & perdition, the sōnes of wrath, the sōnes of hel, which wer neuer born of it, but made vnto ignominie, and Filios di­lectionis, y^e sōnes of loue, y^e sōnes of light,Psal. 8 [...] of promise, of strength, of the kingdome, not borne of it, but such as shalbe felowe heyres with Christ, & are prepared for y^e kingdom. So our sauiour Christ is said to be conceaued of y^e holy comforter, and borne of him, & yet he is not his sōne, but thonli sōne of God y^e father, vnto whom we be also sonnes:Colloss. 1 Ephes. 5 but we be the sons of promise, he is y^e sōne begottē, we be sons through adoption, Christ is the sonne of God by nature, for asmuch as the scrip­ture is, that he was cōceaued of the holy ghost, who being God became man. We cānot gather therof,Roma. 9 2. Reg. 2▪ Math. 8 y^t he is Christes father: for touching his humane nature he was borne without a father, as touching his other nature he lacke [...] a mother: but rather we may reason that he is his mother, for y^e mother cōceaueth, not the father, and so he shall haue .ii. mothers, the whiche is vnpossible, wherfore he is the onlie sonne of God the father.

[Page] Math. 2But why is he borne a babe, & a litell one, not an able man as Adam was? A­dam was made an able man, because he was made after the image of God, not in sinful flesh through any sinne of man. But his posteritie and of spring ar born babes,Why al mē be borne babes, nat [...]able men. forasmuche as they are borne in sinful flesh, as Dauid witnesseth, saying: Ecce enim in iniquitatibus. &c. Beholde, saith Dauid, I was born in wickednes, and my mother conceaued me in synne. Vnreasonable beastes, as the calf the lit­tle lambe, the whelpe, as sone as they ar borne can go, runne, fynde out their mo­thers teates, and sucke them without a­ny helpe of other: only man when he is borne, can nether ocupy his tongue in speaking, nor fete in going, nor his hāds to fynd, and except his mother or nourse thrust her breast vnto his lyps, he know­eth not where they are, nor what to do, and would crie for hunger, yea, famyshe before he [...]ould suck of his own accord. This infirmitie is in our bodies, when we be young, because Adam and Eue sinned when thei were old: forasmuch as then our mindes also be weake & blynd through thesame sinne, that the feblenes [Page 125] of the body might be agreable to the ig­noraunce of the minde.Gene. 3 For as both bo­dy and soul sinned in eating the apple, y^e mynd in lusting, the body in taking, so both are punished, the body with infir­mitie, the mind with ignoraunce. Nowe our Sauiour Christ albeit he were not borne in sinful flesh, yet because he was not borne in the likenes of this synfull flesh, he was borne a babe, not of perfect bygnes, like Adam:Roma. [...] his flesh was not sin ful in dede, but holy and vndefiled, yet it semeth sinful in that he toke both this, & al other humane infirmities, as hunger,Gala. 4 thirst, cold, heate, pouertie, death vpon hym, which ouerflowed the world tho­row sin. Misit deus filium suum, God sent his sonne. His comming is his incarna­tion, and his sending lykewise. The fa­ther is not sayd to come, or to be sent, be­cause he was not incarnate. That the co­myng and sending of Christ is to be ta­ken of his incarnation,Christes cū ming or sē ding, wha [...] it is. we may perceiue by this. For who cometh there wher he is alredy? Or who is sent thether? But Christ is euery wher touching his diuinitie, for he is the wisdome of the father, which reacheth from one end to another [Page] mightily,Sapien. 8 and ordreth all thinges louingly. Seing therfore he is euery where, how cometh he where he was not, by appearing in his humanitie? But it is a great question why God sent his sonne, Cum venit plenitudo temporis, in the ful­nes of time, [...]alat. 4 why he came no soner, but in the endes of the world. If he had com long before, many had ben saued which haue perished. For sith his incarnation many mo haue beleued him, then did in tyme past▪ for he is the light▪ shining in darknes.Whichrist came in the [...]nd of the worlde. Truly he came, when he sawe his coming should be moste profitable, not being moued therunto through the consideration of our merites, but of his own voluntary goodnes: for our deser­uinges did not constraine him to come. Wherfore we can not blame him for the losse before his in carnation: for it was not vndeserued, it was a iust losse. Cain y^e thief blame the iudge for condēpninge him according to the law? Or is the Phisition to be blamed coming of his own accord to heale the paciēt, if he tary lōg? He came therfore when it pleased hym, whē he knew he shuld be most welcom. If thou help one before his nede, he doth [Page 126] not take it so thankefully as when thou succourest him in great nede. The hun­gry mā who hath nede of meat, wil thāk the more for it, then he which hath plen­ty. The poore wil giue the more habun­daunt thankes for thy money then the rych. Before y^e time of Christes coming, men were not nedy, they were not hun­gry, but thought themselues rightuous, rich in al good workes, true kepers of y^e lawe. Wherfore it was necessary,Roma. [...] that y^e preching of the law should go before his coming, by whiche men should learne, that they had nede of a Phisicion.Math. 3 For by the law cometh knowledge of sinne. The lawe is, Sicuris ad arborem posita. The law [...] is an axe. The axe which shal hewe down al those that bring not forth good fruites. The lawe is a glasse wherin we may beholde our nakednesse, our vnclean thoughtes, our filthy liuing. Lex subintrauit. The lawe sayth Paul entred in,Roma. 3 that synne should encrese: where aboundaunce of sin is, there as he recordeth also, is more plentuousnes of grace of the part of the giuer,Roma. 5 and more thanke of the part of the pacient, for asmuch as the sicke thāketh the Phisicion, not the hole man. [Page] Wherfore Christ the Phisition of our soules, wou [...] not come but to helpe the wounded man, to cal sinners vnto repē ­taunce,Luke. 10 to seke the shepe which was lost. For this cause God the sonne of God, equall with his father, in the ende of the world,Math. 9 Math. 18 humbled himself to our nature, to deliuer vs from the bondage of the spi­tual Pharao the deuil, who held vs pri­soners perforce vntil Christ entred into his house, which is the world, and boūd him & [...] him of his goodes. This is the fulnesse of tyme, of which Paul speaketh, saying: When the fulnesse of time was come, God sent his son borne of a woman. The warriour which wyll deceiue his ennemies, putteth away his own apparell, and clotheth him selfe in their apparel, that he may safely go into their region, and behold all their proui­sion, and afterward easely ouercom thē: so our sauiour Iesus Christ, in the later end of the world did deck and cloth him self with our nature, to deceaue and con­quere the deuyll, who had seduced and conquered mankinde in the likenes of a serpent: which policie is figured long before in Iacob,Gene. 27 who stealeth away the [Page 127] blessing frō his brother Esau in his bro­thers raiment. Did the father and the holy ghost take our nature vppon them? were they borne of a woman? were they conceaued of the holy ghost? were they borne litle babes? Did they vse this poli­cy to deceaue the deuil? If not, then is Christ vnconfounded with them. Christ also was baptised, not the father, nor the holy ghost.Math. 3 For the father sounded these wordes at his baptisme: This is my be­loued sonne in whom is my delite: and y^e holy ghost descendeth like a doue, & sit­teth vpō him. Wherfore is he christened? not for any spot of sinne,Whi christ was baptized. any crom of vnclennes in him, but for our eruditiō and ensamble. For if he came to be baptised of Iohn his seruaunt, how necessary is baptisme for vs which be his seruaunts, and defiled with original & actual trespa­ces: If he required baptisme of him, dis­daine not thou to be christened of thi in­ferior, dispise not baptisme be thou ne­uer so holy, neuer so perfit, haue no light opinion of it. If it were a light thinge, Christ wold not haue required it for our exāple. Christ also fasted after baptisme, and was tempted of the deuill, he fasted [Page] for our example, and was tēpted for our victory.Why tēp­ted Mat. 4 He was tempted in al sinne and ouercommeth, teaching vs by his exam­ple how to ouercome. The deuil tēpteth him with the lustes of the flesh, with lust of the eies, and with the desyre of world­ly promocion: with lust of the flesh, say­ing: If thou be the sonne of God, speake that these stones be made bread.Deut. 8 But Christ answereth, teaching vs to fight in like case: Man shal not liue by bread on­ly, but by euery word that cōmeth out of the mouth of God.Sapi. 16 He tēpteth him, bid­ding him cast himself down from the pinnacle, because it was written that angels had charge ouer him. Christ answereth: thou shalt not tempt thy Lord thy Ged.Psal. 90 He tempteth him with desire of promo­tion with the lustes of the eies carying him into the mountain, & promising him the glory of y^e world.Deute. 6 But he who made al the world, refused worldly honor, and teacheth vs that God only is to be wor­shipped. Al sinne is conteined in the de­uils thre temptacions, and al vertue in Christes aunswers. The deuil with thre proposicions wold inuegle Christ in all heresies, but Christ confuteth him with [Page 128] thre scriptures. And that thou shouldest not thinke that Christ is the holy ghost, touching his incarnation, he is sayde to be cōceiued of the holy ghost, and in his baptising the holy comforter descendeth vpon him, and when he is tempted, the spirit leadeth him into wildernes: wherfore he is vncōfounded with y^e holy gost.

Christ also suffreth death to deliuer vs from the tiranny of death, not the father nor the holy ghost, for he offred his flesh, an odoriferous, and swete smelling sacrifice to the father.Why he suffred death. The cause why he humbled him self vnto death, is forasmuch as our first parentes lost Gods fauour through pride, for it was said vnto them: taste, and ye shal be as Gods: For this cause it pleaseth Christ to ouercome the deuil by humilitie,Gene. [...] who through pryde entised vs from God, and we also must ouercome by humilitie, recouer Gods fauour by humilitie, enter into the king­dom of heauē through humilitie. Doun therfore proud stomack, down peacocks fethers, down hygh mountaine, and be­come a lowe valley:Prou. 15 The Lord wil breake down the house of the proude, & he that humbleth himselfe, shall be exalted, as [Page] we may learne of the Publicane and the Pharisey.Luke. 14 We must returne to paradise by humilitie,Luke. 18 which we lost by pride. Hu­militie is the porter of heauen gates, F [...] ­ctus est obediens vsque ad mortem crucis. Philip. 2 He became obedient to the death of the crosse. But why is Christ crucified for our sinnes?Why he died on the crosse. Why did he chose this kind of death before other? Truly because this kind of death is accursed, and al that die of it, as it is written: cursed is euery one that hangeth on tree. For so it commeth to passe that Christ was accursed for vs to deliuer vs from Gods curse,Gala. 3 as Paul saith: Christ hath deliuered vs from the curse of law, in that he was made accur­sed for vs.Actes. 1 Only he rose from death to lyfe, only he ascended into heauen in the sight of his disciples, not the father, nor the holy ghost. Some searching wittes demaunde whether Christ could not de­liuer vs, but by assumpting our nature, by suffring moste cruell tormentes. He could,Why he toke our nature. but he would not. He toke our nature, because he came to deliuer our na­ture, that nether kind shulde thinke they are dispised: he became man, & was born of a woman, that the serpent which seduced [Page 129] both man and woman, might be o­uercome through both.To del [...] ­uer vs. Moreouer he came not only to deliuer vs, but also to be an example of good liuing.For exam­ple. We be desirous of riches, he preferred pouertie, we hunt for promotion, he would not be a king, we are careful to make heires, to leaue many children after vs, he dispised such fashion, we disdaine to suffer wrōg, he suffred al wrong, we can not abide to be reuiled, he held his tong, we hate our ennemies, we ar vnpainful in doing our duties, he was scourged, and whipped of his own wil for vs, we be sore afrayd of death, he died for vs. He was sent also to heale our infirmities by well doyng,To heal v [...] which came through sinne. How cā our couetousnes he healed but by his pouer­tie? How can our furiousnes be cured, but by his pacience? How can our vn­kindnes be recompēsed, but by his loue? How can our tim [...]rousnes be boldened, but by his resurrection? Further, howe could he more set forth his exceading lo­ue toward vs thē in dieng for vs. A grea­ter loue then this hath no man, then to bestowe his life (saith Christ) speaking of his own death.Ihon. 1 [...] The deitie suffreth no in­firmitie, [Page] which is impossible, wherfore it was necessary that he should take our nature vpō him, who came to heale our infirmities, and to teach vs to cure them through wel doing. If he had takē them in any other nature, thē we might think that he dispised our nature, that he loued vs not, that the example of his life belongeth nothing vnto vs. For if he had ben tempted in another nature, or died, how could we learn to withstand the deuil, to ouercome tēptacions, to dispise death of him?Sapi. 8 Wherfore there was no way, lyke this to redeme mā. He is wisdom, wher­fore he toke the most wysest way.

NOw that I haue proued Christ to be vncōfounded, mine order requireth to fortifie thesame thing of the most glorious and holy cō forter, the which is done partly already: for in that we haue proued that Christ is not the holy ghost, the blessed & almigh­ty comforter is vncōfounded with him. [Page 130] He is vncōfounded also with the father, in that he procedeth of the father, in that he leadeth Christ into the wildernesse,Ihon. 14▪ in that he is sent of the father, as Christ sai­eth: Whē the comforter shal come, whō the father shal sende in my name,Math. 4 and in that he is sent of Christ also, as it is writ­ten: When the comforter shal come whō I wyll sende in my fathers name. For Christ sendeth him, the father sendeth both him and the almighty comforter, but he himselfe is vnsent. That he sent Christ, the Apostle testifieth: When the time was ful come,Gala. 4 God sent his sonne borne of a woman, and made bonde to the lawe, the which must be vnderstand of the father, because he sayth:Ihon. 16 God sent his sonne. Wherfore Christ himself say­eth: I went out from the father, and came into the worlde. His sendyng, and his comming is hys incarnation, as I haue proued before. So the almyghtie comforter is sayde to be sent, bycause he appeared in visible formes as in the ly­kenes of a Doue, and Fyre, not that he became a Doue and Fyre, as Christe became very man, but that it pleased hym to worke his graces and benefites [Page] [...] [Page 130] [...] [Page] by a doue and fier,Why y^e holy ghost appeared. that our harts might beleue his presēce, and know his power through those outward and sensyble ap­paritiōs. He became not a doue as Christ became man, for asmuch as he came not to deliuer doues, as Chri [...] came to deli­uer man. God the father, [...]cause he ne­uer came to shewe him [...]elfe i [...] any visi [...]le shape, ne yet toke any nature [...]on him, therfore he is said to be [...] [...]he Lord saith Moises,Deut. 4 s [...]ake vnto [...], out of the fier in Horeb, & you heard his voice, but ye sawe no Image. Wherfore he is ney­ther the sonne, nor the holy ghost, which both wer sent, and both appeared in ma­ny visible formes, For we read I say, of the holy ghost, that he apeared, sicut co­lumba, Math. 3 in the lykenesse of a doue. Why doth he appeare in y^e lykenesse of a doue? This notable apparitiō, was don for ma­ny causes. One is, that we should beleue y^e holy ghost to be a worker in baptisme, to wash vs, to purify vs, to regenerate vs, to make vs Gods childrē, and heires of saluatiō, and therfore the disciples are cōmaūded to christen in his name, as in the name of the father and the sonne,Math. 28 for all be notified here in Christes baptising▪ [Page 131] Pater in voce, Filius iu homine, Spiritus sanctus in columba. The father is notified in the voice which soūdeth, the sonne in mannes nature, the almightie comforter in y^e doue. For as al thre be present here, so they [...] worke inseperablie, in euery mans ch [...]ening. The next cause is, for­asmuch as a doue of al creatures, is most innocent, and noyeth no beast, not y^e litle worm: most chast, for thei neuer breake wedlocke, once begun, but kepe it vnde­fyled to the end of their lyues, for if so be the male or female, through vnchastloue haunt the cōpany of any other, then thei flock & gather together, & rend y^e aduou­terer, and aduoutres in pieces: voyde of anger for they haue no gall, louers of a­mitie & frendshippe. And this apparition was shadowed and figured, by the doue which Noe sent out of the arke in y^e time of the generall floude.Gene. [...] For as that doue retourned in the euentide, with a leafe of an Oliue tree in her mouth, signifyinge peace, so y^e holy ghost geueth peace, cau­seth all frendshippe, engendreth all loue.

And why? Verely as he is an ineffable cōmunion of the father & the sōne, as he ioyneth & knitteth them together with a [Page] fast, sure, & vnlosable knot, so he glueth, and coupleth our harts, vpon which cō ­sideratiō, he properli is called charitie or loue. As the doue also mourneth in his loue, so the holy ghost maketh vs to be­wayle our sinnes, and lament our misde­des, as it is written: The spirite helpeth our infirmities, for we knowe not what to desire as we ought,Roma. 8 but the spirite maketh intercession mightelye for vs, with gronings which cānot be expressed. The holy ghost doth not grone, but is said to grone, as we call a mery day which ma­keth vs mery, and a sad day, which cau­seth sadnesse, and as cold is called pigrum because it maketh vs slowe. But blessed be they that mourne lyke the doue,Math. 5 and in the loue of God, for they shall be com­forted. Such as grone for pouertie, and ar dismaid, discouraged, & mated throgh enprisonment, or any kind of persicutiō, be rauens, not doues, be wethercocks & worldlinges. For y^e rauen retourned not againe to the arke, which is the church. The doue maketh his nest in som holow and high rocke: So let vs set our minds and desires vpō y^e rocke, which is Christ. The doue cherysheth the yong of other, [Page 132] as well as her owne, the which is a lessō vnto vs to loue our neighboures. The doue also wil not eat of al maner of grain but chuseth out y^e most fine & pure, teach­ing such as hunger & long for the truth, to feed of Gods word, & to beware they fal not vpō euery carion. The doue with al diligēce & kindnes cherisheth his mate whē she hath yong ones. Wherfore the alknowing comforter appeareth lyke a doue, who cōmaundeth his to be doues, that is is to say, chast, paciēt, kind, mour­ners for their sinnes, faithfull & diligent to ther wiues, ernest beleuers in y^e rock, readers of Gods word, and louers of all men. This is the innocēcie which Christ inspired with the doue, commaundeth, saying: Be ye wyse as serpents,Math. 10 & inno­cent like doues. The almightie & alkno­wing cōforter is vncōfounded also with the father, in that Christ was concaued of him, not of the father, of whome Esay prophesieth:Esay. 11 there shall come a rod forth of the rote of Iesse, & a blossom or floure shal rise out of y^e roote. The root of Iesse is y^e kinred of y^e Iewes, y^e rod is y^e blessed virgin Mary, y^e blossom or floure of Mary is Chryst, as he witnesseth of himself: [Page] Ego flos campi, Canti. 2 & lilium connallium. &c. I am the flour of the field, the lilie of the valeis,How christ is a floure [...] a rose. and the rose among thornes. The rose plucked & taken out of the garden loseth not his smel, & stilled with the fyre, smelleth sweter then euer it did, pouring forth an odoriferous water, no lesse hol­some for many thinges then pleasaunt. Euen so Christ being taken out of the garden of this word, florished more then all the floures therin, grew in a further authoritie, then all the holy Patriar [...]es and Prophets, cast an odiferous sauour ouer al the world,Ihon. 12 which drew al men to him, and being digged in the side with a speare of the cruell Iewes which are the thornes, poured forth a water healing al infirmities. This blossom or floure was conceiued of the holy comforter, not of the father. Moreouer the almighty comforter is the gift of God, for the Lorde sayth vnto Moises: I wil take the spirit which is vpon thee,Nume. 11 and geue it them, & Christ also as it is written, who spared not his own sonne,Roma. 8 but gaue him for vs al, how shal he not with him geue vs all things. Wherfore the fath [...] Christ, and the holy ghost be distinct a [...] [...]undry per­sons. [Page 133] The comforter is vnconfounded also, in that he was borne vpō the waters,Gene. 1 Actes. 8 in that he cōmaundeth Philip the Euā ­gelist to ioyne himself to the chariot of y^e gelded man, in that he cōmaundeth Pe­ter to arise and go with Cornelius ser­uauntes, in that he cōmaundeth to sepe­rate Paul and Barnabas, in that he is y^e finger of God, in that Christ breathing on his disciples gaue him, saiyng:Actes. 1 [...] recei­ue the holy ghost. He also descēdeth vpō the disciples in likenes of fyre,Ihon. 20 teachyng them to speake al languages, because y^e Gospel should be preached to al naciōs. And Dauid recordeth, there is nether speche ne language, but their voices are heard among them. Their sound is gon out into all landes,Psal. 18 and their wordes to the ende of the world. The Romaine do­minion hath reached [...]arre, but the prea­ching of the swete tidinges of the Gos­pel shal go further. For those nacions which the sharpenes of swerd could not ouercome, shalbe vanquished by hym, y^t fighteth not with swerd, but w^t wood & word. Christ gaue not the father by breathing, he descended not in the likenes of a doue, or fire, he cōmaūdeth not Peter [Page] to go with Cornelius seruaūtes, he was not born vpō the waters, he is not his own finger, wherfore he is not the holy ghost. But albeit nether Christ, nor the almighty comforter be confoūded with y^e father, yet they ar of one & the selfsame substaunce with him. For the scriptures teach Christ to be the hand of God, & the holy ghost to be his finger. The body, y^e hand, & finger, ar one substaūce, & yet the finger is not the hand, nor the hand the body, nor the finger the body. If therfor the scripture do graunt to Christ, to y^e ho­ly ghost, to the father, y^e meaning of the word person: that is to say, that y^e father is a substaunce, Christ is a substaunce, y^e holy ghost is a substaunce, and that the father is vnconfoūded, Christ vnconfoū ded, the holy ghost vnconfounded, as I haue proued, it must nedes folow y^t they be thre persones, for a person is an vncō ­founded substaunce. This is the catholi­que faith, the confession of martirs, the doctrine of the Prophets, Apostles, & E­uangelists.

[Page 134] NOw gentle reader, seing I ha­ue declared what a persone is out of the boke of holy scrip­tures, and also proued with infinite authorities, that there be three per­sons, that is thre vncōfounded, & distinct in propertie, I wil disclose the diuine & blessed nature of the almighty Trinitie, by corporal & earthly similitudes, that y^u mayst behold as it were in a glasse, and with a paire of spectacles those thinges which exceade & surmoūt the capacities of all creatures. The inuisible thinges of God saith Paul that is y^e eternal power & Godhead are vnderstand, sene, & lear­ned of his workes from the creation of the world.Roma. [...] As long as we cōtinue in this tabernacle and mortalitie, we shal neuer haue perfit vnderstanding of the eternal God, forasmuch as the heartes of al mē and women be vncleane.Math. [...] Blessed be the clean hearted sayth Christ, for they shall se God. Our life is a warfar, a night, & a purifiyng of our hearts from synne and ignoraunce, through charite and faith. We walke in faith saith y^e Apostle and se not,2. Cor. [...] with this only ladder we ascende to the intelligence of the secretes of God, [Page] thinges supernatural can not be percei­ued with natural light. Cherubin & Se­raphin and al the blessed company of aū gels are ignoraūt of the maiestie of God for they knowe not the day of Christes glorious returne,Math. 24 & yet they haue more plētiful knowledge, then we, forasmuch as they be pure mindes, and were neuer nether blinded through sin, ne hindred through any earthly mansion and cor­ruptible body. Scrutator maiestatis, oppri­metur a gloria. Prou. 25 Whosoeuer is an ensear­cher of Gods maiestie, is oppressed of y^e glory. No man is able fully and perfitly to know the nature of a gnat or a litle spider. Be not displeased then, if I shew the the Trinitie in his visible creatures, as it were in a glasse, but glorifie God, and be not vnthankeful to him which hath ope­ned him self in them to thy capacitie, fe­ding the with mylke, because thou art not able to disgest strōg meates. And be­cause no man shal be offended with this maner of teaching, I wyl make no simi­litudes of the Trinitie, but out of the plē ­tiful storehowses of the scriptures. The best and most liuely glasse that euer I beheld the Trinitie in, is the vision whiche [Page 135] appeared to Abraham in the oke groue of Mamre.Abraham [...] vision. Gene. 1 [...] For as there thre waifaring men shew them selues vnto Abraham, so God is three persones, and as these thre men are called one Lord, not Lords, so the thre persones are one God, one Lord, one substaunce. And as Christ and the almightie comforter ar sent of the fa­ther. So here one sēdeth twain vnto So­dom and Gomorre, and as the father is vnsent so he is not sent, but sendeth. And as the twaine whiche are sent to destroy Sodom are called one Lord of Lot,Gene. 1 [...] so the faithful congregation confesse & beleue Christ & the alknowing comforter to be one God. I touched this similitude be­fore, & because it is so notable, I thought it not vnworthy to be rehearsed again. Ther be many similitudes declaring certein properties of the trinitie, and some agreable in one point, and some in ano­ther: but none doth so paint and portray it before our eies, as this vision doeth. We may find an image of the trinitie in the sun,Sapi. 5 How God is named y^e son of vn­derstāding for God is called by the name of the sun in the boke of wisdom: Sol iusticie & intelligencie non est ortus nobis. The sun of rightuousnes & vnderstanding arose [Page] not vpon vs. There is but one sun only not many, so there is but one God. The sun shineth vpon both good & euill men, so the liberalitie of almighty God, mainteineth both. The mone & al the sterres haue not their light of themselues, but of the sun: so the congregation, & godly mē which are called by the name of y^e mone, and starres in y^e scripturs, haue no light, no crom of vertue, no goodnes of them selues, but by participatiō of the deuine nature. They whiche gase vpon the sun, ar blinded with his clear light, so al searchers of Gods glory beyond the scrip­tures, are ouerwhelmed with the maie­stie therof. The presence of the sun che­reth al thinges, when he is absent nyght cometh, and darkenes, & nothing would growe if he did not ryse on thē. So whē God hydeth his face, they are sorowfull and die, when he loketh on them, they wax yong, [...]sal. 103 Democrit and lusty like an Egle. And as Democritus, and other Philosophers holde opinion that the sun is infinite, so al things be infinite in God. He is of an infinite arme, of infinite maiestie, of infi­nite wisdom. As the sun is the fountain, out of which cometh both the light, and [Page 136] the heat, so is the father the fountain out of which issueth the sonne & holy ghost. And as nether the lyght nor y^e heat doth send the sun, but the sun send them, so y^e father is sent nether of Christ, nor of the holy ghost, but he sendeth them. And as of the sunne and of the beames both to­gether cometh the heate or warmnes, so from the father and the sunne both together procedeth the al [...]nowing comfor­ter. But as the sun light by diuision is in mani places, so the blessed trinitie filleth places without diuision, nether contey­ned in place, nether moued in tyme. Now if the sunne were without begyn­nyng and ending, eternal beames wold come out of hym, and euerlasting heat, wold procede out of y^e sun, & his beames. Wherfore in asmuch as God the father is immortal, Christ his sonne also must nedes be immortall, forasmuch as the fa­ther is lykened to the sunne, and Christ to the clear and bright beames,Sapien. [...] for he is the bryghtnes of the euerlasting light. I would know of the Paulians & Arrians whether the father in tyme begon to be a father, or was a father euermore with­out tyme. If they graunt that he was a [Page] father euer the which thei can not denie, then it must nedest folow, that the sonne was euermore. For he was not a father before he had a sonne, but he was called a father of the sonne, and he that is al­waies a father, hath euermore & alwaies a son. If Christ was not euermore, then time was before him, & the Apostle lieth, calling him,Colloss. 1 Primogenitum omnis creatu­re, first begotten of al creatures, for time is a creatur, & was before him. But time was made by Christ, for all thinges wer made by him,Ihon. 1 as y^e beloued disciple wit­nesseth. If he wer the maker of time, thē he was before all time, and that whiche was before al time, is not moued in time but is without time, without beginning & immortal. Wherfore Christ is immor­tal, and then he is God, for only God is immortal after this sort. Likewise the al­knowyng cōforter was euermore, who is cōpared to the heat, for an euerlasting heat must nedes procede out an euerla­sting sunne, and euerlasting beames. He is, digitus dei, the finger of god. If I cast out deuils in the fynger of God.Luke. 11 &c. For where Luke sayth in the finger of God, it is in Matthew. I cast out deuils in the [Page 137] spirit of God.Math. 1 [...] Then ether we must con­fesse him to be without beginning, and of the substaunce of God, or els graunt that God once lacked a fynger, and de­nie the same to be of the substaūce of the body. Like reason may be made of christ who is the hand and the arme of God: for God was neuer without his fynger,Ierem. 3 [...] hand, ne arme, and then al thre be of the same nature with the body. And for so much as Gods finger is almyghty, and his hand and arme likewise, both Christ is almighty, and the blessed cōforter al­so, and Christ is God by nature, and the holy comforter also. For nothing is al­mighty and of the nature of God, but God only. But the Arians reply that y^e father is elder thē the sonne, and that he which begetteth is before him that is be­gotten. Ego hodie genui te. An obiect [...] answered. This day be­gat I thee. This is true in fathers vpon earth, but not in an euerlasting father, who must nedes haue an euerlastynge sonne. Nether doth this reason holde in al earthly thinges, for fire gendreth light and heate procedeth from it, and yet the fire gendring, and light gendred, & heat proceding be Coena, not one before the oother: [Page] Therfor it is against reason that y^e father begetting, and Christ begotten, & the holy ghost proceding should be coe­terne, coimmortal, & not one before the other in time, but eche one of them before al time. And wel may the trinitie be like­ned to fyre and his heat, & light, for God in the scripture is called fyre. Dominus deus tuus ignis consumens est. How God is fier and light. Deut. 4 Ihon. 1 The Lorde thy God saith Moises is a consumyng fire. And Ihon calleth him also light, sai­yng: Deus lux est, God is light, & in him is no darkenes at al. And Christ witnes­seth of him self that he is light, saying: I am the light of the world, who is Lumen de lumine, light of light. For as the fyre ministreth light to a multitude,Ihon. 1 & yet is not minished or cōsumed therbi, so God bestoweth innumerable benefites vpon vs, and yet his liberalitie is not hindred therw^t. Likewise also in a cādel, of which many other candels be light, the light is not therby in any wise diminished or hurt at al. One supper doth not refreshe or suffise many as wel as few, but y^e voice of one preacher teacheth as wel a hūdred as one. The sound of one bell is neuer­thelesse when it is heard of many: Euen [Page 138] so he who preserued the smal porcion of meal & oyl for the wydowe and her son,3. Reg. 17 Math. 14 Marke. 6 Luke. 9 that was not diminished, who with a very few loaues, & a certein fishes, refres­shed a great multitude, so y^t those things were not diminished but increased, kno­weth how to employ his benefites with out any losse or detriment to his liberalitie. Moreouer as fire sēdeth forth both heat & light, but nether heat ne light sen­deth fire, so y^e father sendeth both Christ and the alknowing comforter, & he is vnsent. And as both the light & the heat are of y^e fire, so Christ & y^e holy ghost both ar of the father, the one begotten, the other proceding, and the father only is of him self, & of no other. And as fire is not be­fore heat, & light, no more is the father before the sonne and the holy Ghost. But in that place which I rehearsed out of Deuter. God is called fyre, because he melteth the synnes of those that wyll amend,Deut. 4 as the fyre melteth war and pu­nisheth the sinnes of disobediēt persones with vnquencheable fire: and Iohn cal­leth him light for the same cause.1. Ihon. [...]

For light putteth away darknes, and is contrary to it. For these properties and [Page] diuers other, the scriptures cal God the sun of rightousnes, fier, and light. If we ponder thē diligently, we shal fynde also the Image of the blessed Trinitie in our selues, in our owne natures. For it is written:Gene. 1 God made man after his Ima­ge, after y^e Image of god formed he him. This Image is in our soules, not in our bodies, as I haue proued in my cōfuta­tiō of the Anthropomorphites,A glasse to se God in. or huma­niformiās. Mānes soul is a liuely Ima­ge of God. The soul is a spirit, almigh­tie God is a spirite, the soule quikneth, & ruleth the body, the Trinitie gouerneth the maruelouse frame of this world. Re­ason, will, and memory are thre, but one and the same soule. So y^e father, the son, and y^e holy ghost, are thre distinct in pro­pertie, and one God. Whatsoeuer thing the soule doth, these thre be the workers therof. Reason cannot discern good and euill, truth, falshed, plainnes and craft, profe & sophisticatiō, without either will or memory. Neither will chuseth what him lyketh, without the other: nor me­mory remēbreth not things gone with­out reason and wil. These actions & wor­kes, which are sayd properly to belonge [Page 139] only to memory, and only to reason and will, in very dede ar done by the worke­manship of all thre. So the father, y^e son, and the holy ghost,The wor­kes of y^e. 3. persons be vnseperab. worke all things vn­separablie, not that each of them is vna­ble to worke by him selfe, but that they all thre are one God, one spirite one na­ture, as reason, wil, memory, ar one soul. The sonne worketh alwayes wyth the father, for whatsoeuer the father doth,Ihon. 5 y^• doth the sōne also, and Christ recordeth, that as his father worketh hytherto, so he worketh▪ The almightie cōforter can not be absent from their works, for he is the spirite of them both, and fylleth the round compasse of the world.Sapien. [...] If I wold gather all the workes of [...]ch person into an induction, I could manifestlye proue this, to the capacitie of all men, but it is to long to speake of their workes. I will speake of the creation of the worlde, of Christes incarnatiō, of his miracles and resurrectiō, prouing al these to haue ben done by the workmanshippe of the thre persons. For if the Trinitie did worke inseperablye in these, no doubte it hath don likewise in all other. First touching the creatiō of the world, no man distrust­eth [Page] the fathers workimg, of whom that is supposed to be spoken: In the begin­ning God created heauen and earth. If thou doubt of Christ & the holy comfor­ter, herken what y^e prophet Dauid saith: by the word of the Lord were the heauēs made, and bi the word of his mouth, the glorious fairenes of them. Wherfore he­auen & earth be the workmanship of the thre persons. Was Christ conceaued in the wombe of Mary by the workeman­ship of the holy comforter, and is he not maker of the world? If the thre persons work euermore without seperatiō, why doth the scripture graunt certein works to one person,An obiect. answered. & certein to another? Tru­ly to teach vs, that ther be thre persons, that ther be thre distincte, thre vncōfoun­ded. Onely the person of the father soun­deth the voice in Christes baptisme, only the holy ghost appeareth lyke a doue, & only Christ is incarnate. Notwihstand­ing both the flesh of Christ, and y^e voice of the fathe [...] and the apparitiō of the al­knowing cōforter, be the workemāship of the whole Trinitie. I meane not that Christ & the holy ghost soūded the voice, but that thei were workers of the voice▪ [Page 140] the father only soūded it, not Christ, not the holy ghost. For they be distinct and vnconfounded, they be thre, not all one, thre persons not thre names. So the ho­ly ghost only shewed himselfe in y^e shape of a doue, not the father, not Chri [...]. Ne­uerthelesse the doue in which he apeared was the workemanshippe of al thre. So neither the father, ne yet the blessed comforter were incarnate, but Christ only. Neuertheles the flesh, & nature of Christ was the workemāship of the whole Tri­nitie, whose workes be [...]nseperable. This may be gathered of the wordes of the Angell to Mary.Luke. [...] Spiritus sanctus su­perueniet in te, & virtus altistimi abūbra­bit tibi. The holy ghost (saith Gabriell) shall come vppon the, and the power of the highest shall ouershadowe thee. By the highest the father is to be vnderstād, by these wordes, Virtus altistimi the ver, [...]ue or power of the highest, the sonne.

For so S. Paule calleth him to the Corrinthians, saying: we p [...]each Christ crucified vnto the Iewes an occasion of fallinge, to the Greekes folishnesse,1. Cor. [...] but vnto them which are called both of the Iewes and Grekes, we preach Christe [Page] the power and wisdome of God. The word virtus is trans [...]ated in english, ver­tue or power, the greke word is, Duna­mis, both in Paul, and in the aunswer of the aungel. Peraduēture some man wil denie that the father is ment by y^e word, Altissimus. Therfore I wil fortifie his o­peration with an other reason. Christes incarnatiō is his sending, as I haue pro­ued befor. For who is sent thither, wher he is already? But he is euery wher tou­ching his diuinitie: Wherfore he is sent thither, where he was not, [...]y appearing in his humanitie. And it is plain that the father sent him, wherfore the incarnatiō of Christ, is the workmanship of the ho­ly glorious Trinitie. The scripture tel­leth that our sauiour Christ also by his word and commaundement did cast out many deuils: but the same witnesseth y^t the father and the holy ghost did worke with him, lest thou shouldst thinke the works of the trinitie to be separable. For of his fathe [...] he himself sayth:Ihon. 14 The father that dwelleth in me is he which doth the workes. And of the aldoing comforter also: I cast out deuils in the scripture of God.Math. 12 Lyke profe may be brought of all [Page 141] his other miracles. So only Christ arose from death to life, and yet the holy Tri­nitie raysed him. For of the father it is wrytten, who raysed Christ from death:Gala. 4 And of himself he testifieth, saying to the Iewes asking a token: Destroy this tē ­ple, and in thre dayes I shall rayse it vp again. And that y^e holy ghost raised him,Ihon. 2 Paul is recorde and wytnes, saying: Wherfore if the spirit of him which ray­sed vp Iesu frō death dwel in you.Roma. 8 Ihon. 6 And Iohn also: y^e spirit quikneth. For it is not to be takē only of the quickening of our soules but of our bodies also, nether is it vnlike that the holy comforter did rayse hym, whome he formed in the virgins wombe. Like proue might be made of all the peculier workes of the alworking comforter, and of the father. Wherfore their workes be no more separable, then the workes of reason, wil, and memorie, namely seing they be one God, as the other thre be one soule.

[Page] NOw I haue almost decla­red al the contentes of this treatise that is, what God is, what persone signifieth and that there be thre per­sons in the glorious Trinitie. For the profe of my last matter, and content, I wil first teache with euident scriptures, that there is but one only God, and thē with reasons, not of phylosophy, but ga­thered out of them, for the scripture is profitable to teache, [...]. Tim. 3 to controll, and to instruct. Then I will proue that the same scripture graunteth al and eueri one of y^e partes of the definition made of God, to our sauiour Christ, and that done, I wyl fortifie also that al the partes of thesame definition are graūted to the alknowing and almighty comforter. The Christian congregation beleueth the father, y^e son, and the holy gost to be one God, not by nuncupation only, but by vnitie of na­ture. For if the multitude of thē that be­leued were Cor vnum, & anima vna, one heart and one soul,Actes. 4 if he which is ioyned vnto the Lord, is one spirit, if man & wife be one flesh, one body, as y^e Apostle wit­nesseth,1. Cor. 6 if al men be one substaunce tou­ching [Page 142] ther nature, if the scriptures testify that in humaine thinges many be one▪ how much more are the father, the sonne and y^e holy ghost one God, which differ not in nature & substaunce? for it is writ­ten, there are thre which beare record in heauen: the father, the word,1. Ihon. 5 & the holy ghost, & these thre are one. The vnitie of their nature proueth them not to be thre Gods but one God. The damnable se [...]t of y^e Arrians expoūdeth this text:Ari [...]s in­terpretati­on cōfuted Hij tres vnum sunt, these thre are one, that thei be one in wil, in assent, & consent, and not in their substaunce, nature, and diuinitie: to which I make answer, that in al the scripture they can not finde vnum sunt, spokē of thinges which differ in substaūce and nature. Wherfore spoken of the thre persons, thei proue thē to haue no diuersitie in ther nature: & if that be true, thei must graūt of necessitie y^t they be one God by nature. S. Paul saith y^t he y^t plāteth, & he y^t watreth, vnū sunt, are one▪ Are they of diuers substaūce & nature? no verely:1. Cor. 3 for both of thē were men. He speaketh these wordes of himself, & of Apollo (for the cō gregation reioysed in them) forbidding the Corinthians to reioyse in men, [Page] and teaching them to reioyce in God only. Wherfore these words, Vnum sunt, in this place are not spokē of things which differ in substaunce. Let vs ponder other textes. The same Paul vnto the Gala­thians, saith: Al you Vnum estis in Christo Iesu, Gala. 3 are one in Christ Iesu. He speaketh this of the Gala. whiche al were of one nature, of one lompe, and substaūce. For they al were men, of men. Here thou se­est also reader, that these wordes vnum sunt, are not spoken of thinges which differ in substaunce. But the Arrians reply that y^e Apostle witnesseth, that he which is ioyned vnto the Lorde,1. Cor. [...] is one spirit, & yet he is not of the same substaunce that the body is. The latin there is not vnum sunt, An obiect. answered. are one of which I doe speake, but Qui adheret domino, vnus spiritus est, he y^t is ioyned to the Lorde, is vnus spiritus, one spirit. For vnus ioyned with ano­ther word, as with spiritus, may be spokē of thinges which are of discrepant na­ture, as i [...] is here: but vnum sunt, is neuer so spoken. Search al the Bible through out, and thou shalt find this to be true. I graunt that the wordes vnum sunt, be spoken often of assent in wil, but only in [Page 143] those thinges which differ not in nature and substaunce. And truly the father, the son, & the holy ghost vnum sunt voluntate are one in wil and assent, but also of one substaūce, nature, & diuinitie, forasmuch as vnum sunt, are one, is neuer spoken of things which differ in substaūce.An other obiiection answered. The Arrians replie further, y^t Christ praied for his elect, vt sint unum, that they may be­come one, as he & his father were one. He doth not pray that they & he, & the fa­ther may be one, but that thei be one, as he and his father be one, both in nature and wil, as it foloweth in thesame texte. Vt omnes vnum sint, sicut [...]u pater in me & ego in te & ipsi in nobis vnum sint. Ihon. 17 That they al may be one, as thou father art in me, & I in thee, that thei also may be one in vs. For mortal men can not be of the same substaunce that God is, they may be one in God, but not with God, they may be one as the father & Christ be, but not of their nature: that is the thre per­sons of the glorious trinitie are one in wyl & assent, & substaunce also, so the chosen after this life, as they are now of one substaunce, so shal they be then also, not with God, but in God, of one assent, cō ­sent [Page] & wil, & not squaring one with ano­ther, for thei shalbe al one in Iesus christ & Christ shalbe al thinges in al, and God shalbe all thynges in al, whiche proueth Christ God.Colloss. 3 [...]. Cor. 15 vnum sunt is spoken here of the elect which differ not in substāce, for they be men. Therfore the father, y^e son, & the holy ghost, ar of one substaūce & diuinitie: and if they be of one substaunce & diuinitie, they ar not thre Gods, but one God, as it is written. Harken Israel, the Lord thy god is one God.Deut. 6 He saith vnto Israel by Moises, where are their gods wherin they trusted? the fat of whose sa­crifices thei eat,Deut. 32 and dranke the wyne of their vessels. Let thē arise vp & help you, and be your shild. Se now how I am a­lone, & that there is no God but I. I can kil, & make aliue, & what I haue smitten, that can I heale, I wil lifte vp my hand to heauen and say, I liue euer. If ther be many Gods, their kingdom is deuided: but the kingdom of God is euerlasting, wherfore it is not deuided, for euery kīg­dom deuided shalbe destroied.Marke. 12 The he­brue word for God,Elohim. is Elohim, whiche is not of the singuler number, but of y^e plu­rel. For there be thre persones, but it is [Page 144] alway ioyned with a verb singuler, lest y^t we shuld thinke there were many gods. Moises vseth this word for the englishe which is God: when he saith: in the be­ginning god created heauē & earth, wherfore we may learne, that the world is the workmāship of y^e hole trinie. This word is vsed cōmonly for god, to signifie that whatsoeuer is done, is the worke of the thre persones, for as they be not sepera­ble, so they work vnseparablie.The Hea­then opinion cōfuted The hea­then supposed there were many Gods, because it semed to them impossible for one to rule and gouerne all thinges, yet they deuided the gouernance therof be­twene thre: geuing heauen and earth to Iupiter, the seas to Neptune, the lowe partes and hell to Pluto. But the scrip­tures, which is truth & cānot lye, testifi­eth that the thre persons without deui­sion, without labour or payne, without tyme, gouerne al thynges, for their wor­kes be vnseperable. If so [...] there be ma­ny Gods then is there somwhat, where in one of them doth differ from another. Now if that be any good thing, he is no God that lacketh, or wāteth any thing y^t good is. For as he that nameth a kyng [Page] doth in this one word comprehend ma­ny excellent thinges, so he that nameth God doth comprehend in this word an infinite sum of al good things. We read of a certain ruler, whiche called Christe good maister, asking him what he shuld do to get and atchiue eternal life, whom Christ rebuked, saying: why callest thou me good?Luke. 19 None is good but God only. If God only be good, thē al goodnes is in him, as I haue proued in my first matter. He is life, is truth, he is light, he is strength, he is health, he is, Thassos aga­thon, that is a treasure & heape of al goodnes. And if that thing wherin they differ be an euil thing, that can not be God y^t hath any euil thing in him: for he wil [...]eth no wickednes. The Heathen which worship many Gods, did & do think no euill to come by thē by y^e light which thei had of nature, & iudged thē to reuenge & pu­nish al that thei toke to be sinne. Nowe if God be a rightuous punisher of vice, he must be void of the same. Wherfore na­turall reason teacheth that there is but one God. Doth not the noble and wor­thy Phylosopher Aristotle teacheth vs this,Aristotle. prouing that there is but, vnum pri­mum [Page 145] mobile, one first mouer, who mo­ueth al the heauenly spheres. The Ma­nicheis make two Gods, which thei cal,Against the Mani­chees. Duo principia contraria, two principles, one contrary to another. For they say y^e one is an euill God, maker of visible things, the other a good God, maker of inuisible thinges, and they say also that both of them be vnbegottē, vncreat, & of them selues. Then are they immortall. But if they be immortal, there is no god that only hath immortalitie, & Paul lieth who saith that God,1. Tim. 6 not Gods hath im­mortalitie. And al the prophets, euange­listes & Apostles be liers, teaching w^t one assent y^t God only forgeueth sin, y^t God only knoweth al thinges. For if ther be two Gods, both of thē must haue these properties. If ether of thē know not all thinges, then is he ignoraunt, & then no God. If both knowe all thinges, then is ther no God whiche only knoweth all thinges. Both also must forgeue syn, the good because he is merciful, the euill be­cause he is y^e cause of al sin, & then is ther no God, which only pardoneth synne. Moreouer, if both the Manicheis gods be immortal, if both pardō sinne, if both [Page] know al science, thei be not contrary, for knowledge is not cōtrary to knowlege but ignorance, & vnmercifulnes is cōtra­ry to mercy, & forgeuing, & death to im­mortalitie. Wherfore ther be not two cō trary principles, but one principle, & one God. The christian cōgregation confes­seth that the father is, Principiū, a princi­ple or beginning, for so the beloued disci­ple calleth him, saing: In principio erat verbum. Ihon. 1 In the beginning was the word in the father was Christ. Thei acknowe­ledge Christ also to be Principium, Ihon. 8 who answereth the cruel Iewes demaūding who he was, saying: y^e beginning which spake vnto you. But the father is prici­pium non de principio, Christ is principiū de principio. They confesse the almighty cōforter also to be principium, forasmuch as he with the father & the sonne made all thinges, and gouerneth them as I haue proued before. Notwithstandinge there be no [...] thre beginnings, but one beginning only, as there be not thre gods, but one God. The papistes also bring in many gods,Agaīst prai [...]ng to sain [...]es. but couertly & priuely. Thei teach the people to pray vnto saintes, to Saint Luke for the oxe, to Iob for the [Page 146] pox, to Rocke for the pestilence, to Sith for thinges lost, to Christopher for cōti­nual health, to the Quene of heauen for women with child, to Clement for good beere, yea they entise the people also to worship & honor their images.The fyrst [...] reason. If thei be to be praied vnto for these thinges, they be gods, for in praying vnto thē, we ac­knowlege them to hear vs, to be almig­hty, to be euery where, to know y^e thou­ghtes of al men, to be a strong castel vn­to such as slie vnto thē, but these thinges belong only to God, as I haue proued before: Wherfore thei make them gods.

O crafty deuil, O suttel papistes, the Iewes are reproued by the voyce of the prophetes, for making many gods, in y^t they praied vnto Baall, Astaroth, Mo­loch, and the Quene of heauen for ayde & soccour. Why do we not aske al good thinges of him,Thessa. 2 which is the author & ge­uer of al good thinges, both to his enne­mies and frindes, both to the heathen, & to the congregation. Is his hand smittē of that it can not healp?Esay. 50 and .59. Haue we percey­ued at any tyme crudelitie or vnkind­nes in hym? Are hys eares stopped that he can not heare? Or his eies so dimme [Page] that they cannot se?Psal. 85 He planted theare, he made the [...], wherfore he both hear­eth most easely, and seeth most perfitely. And because he is the [...]oūtaine of al mer­cy, he graūteth our requestes most mer­c [...]fully. He is not lyke an earthly kinge▪ who setteth porters at his gates, he is not hard to speak with, for he is the gate himselfe, as he telleth vs, Ego sum via, veritas & vita. Ihon. 14 Ihon. 10 I am the way, the truth and life, and Ego sum ostium, I am the doore. There is but one way, on [...] doore, and he that entreth in by the doore, fyndeth pa­sture, he that entreth in, not by the dore, he is a thiefe, a robber. And why? For he robbeth God of the glory belonging only to him, geuing it to his creatures. They which sly vnto saints, depart, ma­ke many wayes, many dores and many Gods. If they are to be prayed vnto, we must beleue on them. For the Apostle saith? Quomodo inuocabunt in quē non cre­diderunt. How shal they cal on him, pray to him,The thyrd Roma. 12 on whom they beleue not. If we must beleue on them, then let vs be chri­stened in their names. But holy baptis­me is cōmaunded not to be ministred in their names, but In nomine, in one name [Page 147] of the father, the son, [...]nd the holy ghost. Wherfore, as they are not to be beleued vpon, so are they not to be called vpon, but God onli whose highnes disdeineth y^e felowship of any creature. Let vs ther­fore praye vnto him,Ieremi. 2 for he is the well of water of life, let vs not dig vyle and bro­ken pittes which hould no water, let vs take hede of the stretes of Egipt, and of the wayes of Assiria. God is no wilder­nes to his people, nor lād without light, but a mercifull and a liberal God. Such a [...] make flesh their arme, are accursed.Psal. 39 Ierem. 32

Let vs make Christ our arme, for he is the arme of God, who in al things beca­me lyke vnto his brethren, that he might be a mercifull and a faithful bishoppe,Hebre. 2 in thinges concerning God, to pourge the peoples sinnes. God only knoweth our nede, scartheth aur thoughts and intēts, graūteth our desires, blesseth and crow­neth vs, and ther be no more Gods, no more hearers, no more iudgers of thoughts beside him. He saith by his Prophet:Esa. 44. and .45 I am the first and the last, and beside me is ther no God. Haue not I y^e Lord done it, withoute whome there is none other God? the tru God and sauiour, and ther [Page] is els none but I, and therfore turne vn­to me all ye endes of the earth, so shal ye be saued. For I am God, and ther is els none. If ther be many Gods, the diuine power, gouernaūce and rule, is deuyded betwene them, and then it is not an euerlasting power, but mortall, for whatsoe­uer is deuyded, is mortall. But naturall reason, denyeth God to be corruptible, and his power to decaye. Wherfore it protesteth y^t there is but one God, which ruleth all. Moreouer the diuine power, is a perfit power, & a general authoritie, for God is almighty and general gouer­nor. If ther be many Gods, ech of them hath a certeine portion to rule. But they which haue but portions, are no Gods, for the power of God is a perfit power, & a perfit power, cōprehēdeth all power. If there be many Gods, they haue seue­rall dominions, & euery one of them lac­keth so much, as the other Gods haue, & so the mo Gods they be in number, the lesse is their power & authoritie. As for example, y^e king is most mighty who hath all the world vnder him, for al things are his, y^e riches of al men belong vnto him. If there be many kings, they are of lesse [Page 148] power, ther is no such authoritie among thē, no such power, for eueri one of them hath his dominion, his portion to rule, & presumeth not beyond his owne bonds: Euen so if ther be many Gods, they are of lesse power, but reason geueth God a perfit, and an absolute power. Wherfore ther is but one God only, for asmuch as perfit power cannot be in many. Also it ther be many, howe do they knowe that they shal cōtinue of one mynd and will? If thei do not as it is like, for it is a com­mon saying: Tot capita tot sensus, as ma­ny myndes as heades, then this diuersi­tie wil prouoke them to battail, as we re­ad in Homer, who bryngeth in y^e Gods fighting one with another: some of thē takyng parte with the Troyanes, some with y^e Grekes, for diuersitie in will cau­seth warre. The heathē graūt that God hath a generall aucthoritie and a perfite power, but they saye that he hath many Gods of lesse power, which ar called mi­nores dij, to gouern the world vnder him. But thei lie, for thei be no gods, because thei be ministers vnder him, nomore thē y^e officers vnder the king, as chaūcelers, maires, presidēts, iudges, shriues, bailies [Page] and Constables, are kinges. God is not like a man, he worketh all thynges without handes, without any werinees or payne, nether doth tyme measure his workes,Psal. 148 with whom it is, Dixit & facta sunt, he spake the word and it was done. Whēfore he nether hath nede to rule vnder him, nether can any such be Gods, wherof it must nedes folow, y^t the world is gouerned by one God. No citie is wel ordred but of one Mayre, no host of mē but of one general captaine. Wherfore the Grekes sayling vnto the famous ci­tie of Troye, chose Agamenon to be king of kinges, and wylled all to be obedient vnto hym. If in one host there be so ma­ny chief captains, as there be thousands if euery haue his captain, whom he must only obey, no order, no aray can be kept for euery captaine will be with his men where hym lysteth, and euery one of thē wyl refuse to endaunger hymselfe and his men, and wyl passe the ieopardie to hym that is next. Euen so except by one God the whole worlde be gouerned, all thynges wyl decay, and peryshe. If it be true which is comenly sayd among mē, Omnis potestas impatiens est consortis, that [Page 149] power receiueth no felowship, howe much more is it true in that ineffable po­wer which apperteineth to God, whose highnes receiueth no felowship of any other. What a king is to his realme, that God is in y^e world, one realme hath but one, so one world hath but on God. For this cause and other the scriptures vse to call him a king. No ship is well gouer­ned of many maisters, no flock of mani shepeherdes, no schole of many schole­maisters, no citie of many Mayres, no hoste of many captaines, no kyngdome of many kinges, all thinges stande and are preserued by an vnitie. And Virgill recordeth this thing saying:

The Poet Virgil beareth record that there is but one God, for one body hath but one mynd, and God is the mynd of [Page] the world, wherfore as there is but one world, so there is but one God. And that no man shoulde mis [...]me this spirit and mynde of whiche he speakith, not to be God, he expoundeth these wordes in another place, saiyng:

[...]uide also in his boke called Meta­morphosis, witnesseth that one God formed al thinges of a confused heape. I do not cal poetes to witnesse, that I thinke any credite to be geuen to their wordes, but to shewe that this thing is so mani­fest a truth, that they which were blynd did se it. But as I haue spoken of poets, so wyl I speake of the Phylosophers. Thales Mil [...]sius, one of y^e seuen famous wise men,Thales. held opinion that water is the stuffe & matter of which al thinges were made, and that God formed them ther­of, graūting both one God to be maker of al thinges, & also telling wherof. For [Page 150] the scriptures call the confused heape, of which al things were made bi the name of water, as it is writtē.Gene. 1 The spirit of god was born vpon y^e waters. Pitagoras al­so defineth god to be a mynd, filling,Pitha­goras. & ruling al the porcions of y^e world. And one body hath but one minde, wherfore the world hath but one God. For God is a mind, & the world is the body. He also said that the nūber of thre, was the beginning of al things, teaching the people of his time that god is a trinitie, in a riddle & obscure speach, because it wold not be born openly. If ther were many worlds as some thinke, it wer some probabilitie to say ther were many gods.Parmeni­des. Parmeni­des thinketh y^t there is but vnū ens. The noble & worthy philosopher Aristotle de partīg out of this life,Aristotel praied vnto y^e same ens, saiyng: ens entium miserere mei. And wel may god be called ens, who only is of himself, & al things haue their being of him. Plato also saith,Plato. y^t the [...]ouernāce of this world is a Monarchie, & that God only both made & ruleth it.Hermes. Hermes tris­magist. teacheth thesame thing, & that he is vnsearchable. Marcus Tullius the fa­mouse orator agreeth with them,Tullius. who [Page] teacheth that God is, Mens soluta qued [...] & libera & segregata ab omni concrecione mortali, omnia sentiens, & omnia mouens, that is to witte: God is a simple mynde, nether being made of matter & form, ne­ther mingled with accidēts, knowing all thinges, and ordryng them.

The Sibilles also taught the same in old time, which were womē that did prophecie before the cōming of our sauiour Christ, so called because they did disclose many of Gods secrets.

For the Aeolians cal the gods, Sions ▪ not Theous, & counsel or secrets, not Bou­len, but Bullen, and there were ten of thē, The most famous of them, which was called Erithrea, saith thus of God.

Who is called also for the same skil, ame­tor, and apator, motherles, and fatherles. She witnesseth also that this god made heauen, and garnished it with lightes, made earth and the waters, saying:

And that he is only to be honored and none other thing.

And she bringeth a reason why, for as muche as he is gouernour of the world, and only without beginning & ending. An other Sibille also crieth that this is the voice of God.

Appollo also, whom the folysh people for his wisdom supposed to be god,Apollo. wor­shipping him as God after his death, when he was demaunded what God was, made this aunswer.

Be not discontent (genle reader) that I myngle the sayinges of Philosophers and Poetes, with the veritie of the scrip­tures. For Paul citeth Poetes to fortify Gods prouidēce,Actes. 17 saying: In him we liue moue, and haue our beyng, as certein of your owne Poetes saye, for we are also his generatiō, the Prophetes also make relation of Giantes, and of the valley of Titans. Esay telleth of the maremaides and of the doughters of sparowes, and Ieremy saith of Babilō, that the dough­ters of Marmaydes shal dwel in it. The wyseman also speaketh of thē. Ezechiell mencioneth the destruction of Gog and Magod, which all be spoken of much in [Page 152] Poetes. The scriptures also vse to teach vs truth by fables, as y^e parable of trees in the boke of Iudges wytnesseth, and many other. But to turne to our matter there is but one God, forasmuch as all men confesse hym to be a father,God is a fat [...]er. both be­cause he is the fountaine of all thinges, and also geueth al necessaries to men as a father. But it is against nature for any man to haue many fathers, wherfore it is against natur to worship many gods. He is a Lord also and a Maister, for to hym belongeth to auenge and punyshe. But no man can serue two Maisters. Wherfor if God be to be honored,Luke. 1 [...] he is one god not many. If ther be many, ther can be no God which only is to be ho­nored. But how can the father, the son, & the holy ghost being thre, be one God? Truly because thei ar one mind,How y^e fa [...]ther Christ and the holy spirit▪ be one God. one spi­rit, one substance, & can not be seperate. The father is as it were a plētiful spring or fountain, the sonne is a riuer gushing out of it. The father is the sunne, Christ is the beame issuing out of it. The beam can not be seperat from the Sunne, nor the Riuer from the spryng. Christ also is the hād of God, and the holy comforter [Page] is his finger, the hand and finger are not seperat from the body. I wil declare this with a familier example. If a father haue a sonne, whom he loueth so muche that he maketh him ruler of his house, yet y^e house is said to be gouerned by one mai­ster and ruler, not many. So the worlde is the house of one God, & the father and the sonne, because they disagre nether in nature, ne in will are one God. The kin­ges image is called the king, & Christes image Christ, and yet they be not two kinges, nor two Christes: so the father & Christ are one God, for Christ is the fa­thers image, no dead image, for he is life and resurrection, nor counterfait, for he is truth, nor dumme, for he is the word. But the Arrians reply that as I say, Dauid,An obiect. and Salomon ar of one substaunce, and yet they be thre men, not one man, y^t so albeit the father, the sonne, and the holy ghost be one in substaunce, yet they are not one God. I aunswer, that Isay, Dauid,Thāswer. and Salomon, are called thre mē not one man, because euery one of them, although they be of one substaunce, hath a diuersitie in time, in knowledge, in bignes, in place. For there can be no vnitie, [Page 135] where there is diuersitie. But the father, the son, and the holy ghost, are one god, forasmuch as ther is no diuersitie amōg them. They are al thre immortal, of like knowledge & maiestie, & not conteined in place, but fillers of al places. Many also are called by the name of mā, as the lord is my helper, I care not what man may do vnto me, & it is better to trust in God then in man. But in men there is vnitie of certein thinges only, as of nature,Psal. 117 or loue or faith. General vnitie belongeth only to the father, the sonne, & the holy ghost: wherfore they be one God. Fur­ther that the father and Christ are one God, the prophet Esay teacheth, saying: the lord hath said moreouer, the occupi­ers of Egipt, the marchaūtes of the Morians & Sabees shall come vnto thee w^t tribute, thei shalbe thine, thei shal folow thee, & go with cheines vpon their fete. They shal fal down before thee, & make supplicatiō vnto thee, for god is in thee,Esay. 45 & ther is no other God beside thee. God the father speketh these words to Christ who is one God with the father, for y^e fa­ther is in him, & saith that ther is no god beside him. If thou deny them to be one [Page] God, thou deniest the diuinitie of the fa­ther, who saith to Christ, God is in thee, & ther is no God beside thee, because he is in his son,Ihon. 14 for it is written: The father that dwelleth in me, is he that doeth the workes, & I am in the father, & the father in me, ther is no God beside him, becau­se thei both ar one God. God is in god, & yet ther be not two Gods, & the Lord is in y^e Lord, & yet thei be not two Lords for we are forbidden to serue two Lords. Nemo potest duobus dominis seruire. Luke. 16. But both the father and Christ ar to be honored and serued. For of Christ it is writtē that the thre wyse men kneled doun,Math 2. and worshipped hym and opened their trea­sures and offered vnto him giftes, gold, frankensence and myrre. By gold con­fessing him to be a kyng, by frankensen­ce to be God, and by myrre, to be man, nether ar they blamed therfore. A womā of Cane worshipped him, and obteineth her re [...]uest.Math. 15 Roma. 1 Galat. 1 And Paul in the beginning of al his letters professeth him self to be y^e seauaunt of Iesu Christ, wherfore he is to be honored,Math. 4 & thē he is one God with the father, for it is writtē: Thou shalt worship the Lorde thy God,Ihon. 13 and hym only [Page 154] shalt thou serue. You cal me, saith Christ Lord and maister, and ye say well for so am I.Math. 23 And he warneth vs that we call not one another maister, for one is our maister. The Apostle also witnesseth y^t ther is but one diuinitie, one power and maiestie of Christ & the father, saying: al­though ther be y^t are called Gods, whe­ther in heauē or in earth (as ther be gods many, & Lordes many) yet vnto vs is ther but vnus deus, one God, which is y^e father, of whom are all thinges, & we in him, and vnus dominus, 1. Cor. 8 one Lorde Iesus Chri [...]st, by whom are al thinges, & we by him. For as in that he saith, that ther is but one Lord Iesus Christ, the father is not denied to be Lord, so these wordes vnto vs ther is but one God, which is y^e father, denie not Christ to be God. He numbreth not him emong those whiche are Gods by nuncupation, but ioyneth & coupleth him with the father, frō whō he is vnseperable.Baruch. [...] The Prophet Baruch saith of him: he is our God, and there is none other able to be cōpared vnto him. Wherfore ether we must graunt him to be one God with the father, or els make the father vnderlyng to hys sonne, for [Page] none is to be compared to him. That the Prophet speaketh these words of Christ the same text folowing sheweth: it is he that hath found out al wisdom, and hath geuen her vnto Iacob his seruaunt, and to Israell his beloued. Afterward did he shewe himselfe vpon earth, and dwelt a­mong men. This text declareth also that Christ gouerned the congregatiō of the Israelits, in that it sayth, he foūd out all wisdome, and gaue her vnto Iacob and Israell. Read that Chapter, & thou shalt fynd y^t he prepared y^e earth at the begin­ning, & filled it with all maner of foules, and beastes, and that he gouerneth the same, and that he wotteth al things, that he is great and hath no end, high, & vn­measurable, which things, all proue him one God with the father, as he testifieth of himselfe, saying to his father: Hec est vita eterna. &c. This is life euerlasting, that they might know thonly tru God,Ihon. 17 and whome thou hast sent Iesus Christ, that is, that they might knowe the, and Iesus Christ to be thonly true God. Neither doth (only) here deny the holy ghoste to be one God with them, foras­much as he is of the same essēce that they [Page 155] be, for he procedeth of them both, nomore then y^e father is excluded by the same word and the sonne, where it is written: The thinges of God, knoweth none but the spirit of God.1. Cor. [...] The father and Christ are not excluded from that knowledge, which is said here to apperteine only to the holy ghost. So whē soeuer they two are said to be the only true God, the al­mightie cōforter is not denied to be god also with them. We read in the reuela­tion of S. Ihon, of a name which none knewe but he only, who had it written, that is Christ, & yet both y^e father knewe it, who knoweth al sciēce, & the almightie cōforter also, for he searcheth al thinges, yea the botome of Gods secretes. Wherfore whē Moises crieth:Apoca. 19 Harken Israell, the Lorde thy God is one God, when all the Prophets preach that there be no more Goddes but one,Eccle. 42 1. Cor. 2 the diuine nature and essēce is not denied to Christ and to the almightie comforter, nomore then dominion and Lordshippe is denied to the father, because Paule saith, to vs is but one Lord Iesus Christ. So God is said onli to haue immortalitie,1 [...] and yet nether Christ is immortal, who saith vn­to [Page] the rebelliouse Iewes:Ihon. 8 Verely verely I say vnto you, if a man kepe my word, he shall neuer se death. For if the keping of Christes worde lead vs to immortali­tie, howe much more is he himselfe im­mortal, without beginning or end? Nei­ther y^e holy comforter, for of him Paule writeth: If the bloud of oxen, and of go­ates, and the ashes of an heyfer, when it was spryncled, purified the vncleane, as touching the purifieng of y^e fleshe:Hebre. 9 how much more shal y^e bloud of Christ, which through the eternal spirit offered himself withoute spotte vnto God, pourge your consciences from dead workes, to serue the liuing God.Luke. 7 1. Tim. 1 1. Tim. 7 Luke. 18 So God is said only to forgeue sinne, only to be wise, only to be mightie, only to be good, which textes and sayinges, are spokē of the gloriouse Trinitie. If they were spoken of the fa­ther only, as the Arrians teach, then the euangelist wold haue said, who can for­geue sinnes, but the father only, & none is God sa [...]e the father only. Paule also sayth▪ not vnto the father wyse only, but vnto God, king euerlasting, immortal, inuisible, and wyse oniy, that is to the blessed Trinitie be honoure and prayse [Page 156] for euer and euer. For if we take him o­therwise, we make him a lier, who graū ­teth power, immortalitie, and wisdome, in diuerse and sundry places, both to Christ our sauiour, and to the spirite the comforter. And these thinges do on­lye apperteyne and belong to them thre, neither are they attribute to any other. Wherupon it muste nedes folowe, that they be one God. Nothing proueth this more plainly then the hebrue text, wher­soeuer the scripture cryeth vnto vs, that ther is but one god. Moses saith vnto y^e Israelits, Iehoua Elohenou, Iehoua Ecadh, Deut. [...] that is, the Lord our God, is one God or one Lord▪ This text can not be spoken of the father onlye, for the hebrue word for God is Elohim, of the plurell nūber, not of the singuler, to teach vs that there be thre vnconfounded, which neuerthelesse are declared to be one God, and of one essence, maiestie and power, for so much as they are, Iehoua Ecadh. For Iehoua, is the peculier, special, honorab [...], and most blessed name of God, for which the Ie­wes dyd vse to reade Adonai, not that it could not be expressed in their language but for a more reuerence to Gods name. [Page] Moises also saith in another place,Deut. 4 vnto the it was shewed, that y^u mightst know that the Lord is God, & that ther is none but he, wheras for god, the english he v­seth Elohim, so for the Lord, he vseth Ieho­ua. Esay. 44 and .45 Esay the Prophet doth likewise, spe­king of one God, and reiecting al other.

Wherfore the Trinitie is one euerlast­ing & the only immutable, inuisible, and almighty God. I will proue this to be true in these foure wordes, power, name light, vertue, for the father is almighty as it is written: I am the Lord almighty And the sonne also is almighty,Gene. 17 for the wyseman calleth him y^e almighty hand, and the almighty word of God.Sapi. 11 and .17 The holy comforter also is almighty forasmuch as he is the finger of God, wherfore thei are one God. They haue also one name, for the Apostles are commaunde to chri­sten al nations in the name of the father of the sonne,They haue one name. and of the holy ghost. Note here that the scripture sayeth in y^e name not in the names,Math. 28 and to teache vs that there is one diuinitie, one maiestie, and one name of the thre persones, the scrip­ture telleth that Christ, & the holy ghost, come not in diuers and sondry names,Ihon. 5 [Page 157] but in one name Christ saith: I come in my fathers name and ye receiue me not. This name of y^e father, is Christes name also, for the Lord sayth in the boke of de­parture to him. Ego anticedo in nomine meo, & vocabo te nomine meo domini in cō spectu tuo. That is, I wyl go before thee in my name, and I wyll call thee by my name Lord in thi presence. Thou learnest here that Christ, and his father haue one name, learne also that the almighty, and alknowing comforter hath the selfsame name, in that he cometh in the name of Christ, as it is writtē: that comforter the holy ghost whom the father wyl send in my name. He is sent in Christes name,Ihon. 14 wherfore he hath one name with hym & the father.Actes. [...] This is the name of y^e blessed trinitie, of which it is wrytten: ther is no other name vnder heauen in whiche we must be saued, wherfore they haue but one diuinite. I wil proue y^e same of those thinges which the scripture saith of god. God is light sayth Iohn, & in him is no darkenes. Christ also is light,1. Ihon. [...] Ihon. [...] for of Ihō the baptist it is writē: he was not y^e light, but to bear witnes of y^e light which ligh­teth al men coming into the world.

• [Page]God is light. 1 Iohn. 1.
• Christ is the true lyght. Iohn. 1.
• Ergo Christ is the true God.

Of the almightie comforter also it is written:Psal. 4 Signatum est super nos lumen, the lyght of thy countenaunce, O Lorde, is sealed vpon vs, but who is the light sea­led? who is the seale? that is y^e holy ghost, of whom Paul writeth:Ephesi. 1 ye are sealed w^t the holy spirit of promes, whiche is the earnest of our inheritaunce. Note also y^t he is not another light but thesame light that the father is, for he is the light of his countenaunce, wherfore he is the same God, and one God with the father and the sonne. But some felowe wil aske me where I find the father to be lyght: tru­ly in Paul, who calleth Christ the brightnes of euerlasting lyght, where by euer­lasting lyght the father is ment. Christ also is vertue,Hebre. 1 God is vertue. 1. Cor. 1 for Paul calleth hym, Dei virtutem atque sapienciam, the vertue & wisdome o [...] God.

We read also that the father is ver­tue, where it is written: Videbitis filium hominis ad dexteram virtutis, ye shall see Christ,Math. 26 ye shal se the sonne of man on the right hand of the vertue or power. And [Page 158] that the holy ghost is vertue Christ wit­nesseth saying: Accipietis virtutem adue­ [...]ientem in vos, spiritus sancti, you shal re­ceiue vertue or power of the holy ghost.Actes. 1 Luke also speaketh this of the holy gost, Virtus exibat de eo, vertue gushed out of him, wherfore thei be one God.Luke. 6 God is lif [...] Ihon. 14 The son is life who saith: I am the way, truth, & life. So the father also is life, as Ihō wit­nesseth, saying: that which was from the beginning, which we haue heard, which we haue sene with our eies, whiche we haue loked vpon, and our handes haue handled of the word of lyfe, for the lyfe appeared, and we haue sene & beare wit­nes, and shew vnto you that eternal life, which was with the father.1. Ihon. 1 Here he na­med our sauiour Christ the word of life, and eternal life. But what meaneth he bi calling him the word of life, then that he is the word of the father? wherfore the father also is lyfe. And if so be the Apostle call Christ lyfe, why is not the alknow­yng comforter lyfe, who is the spyrite of lyfe, as it is wrytten: The spirite of lyfe was in the wheles. Note here rea­der that Christ is not another lyfe, but thesame life that the father is,Ezechi. [...] in asmuch [Page] as he is that eternal lyfe, whiche was with the father. For if he be one life with the father, thē must he nedes be one god with him. The father also is a flud, as he recordeth of himself:God is a floud or streame. Esay. 66 I will flowe vpon you like a water flud of peace, and like a flowyng streame. And Christ caleth y^e almigtie comforter a fludde, saying, out of his belly shal flowe riuers of water of life. This spake he of the spirit. Wherfor the holy ghost is a flud or streame,Ihon. 7 and that a mighty and great flud, washyng and clensing the heauenly citie of Hieru­salem from al filth and vnclennes as Dauid winesseth, there is a flud, which with his riuers reioyseth the citie of God, the holy dwelling of the hyghest, no other stream can wash, purifie & clense vs, but this. God graunt that this flud may o­uerflow the bankes of Englande, God send it into the court, & into the kinges chamber, into his heart, & into his coun­sels chamber, and into the middest of the parliamēt house, to wash & banish away all couetousnes, in spiritual thinges, as ferming of benefices, pluralities of pre­bendes & personages, absence frō cures, from colledges, improperations, first [Page 159] fruites. &c. and parcialitie, and the gredy wolfe of ambicion, pride, vnmercifulnes and oppression out of the hearts of nobilitie. God send it into the hearts of By­shops that they may once againe yet be preaching prelates, and al priestes, that they may power forth clean & pure doc­trine as diligently as they haue powred holy water many a day. The holy spirite is the true holy water, the true flud was­shing away our sinnes, not the vnprofi­table ceremonies of the syre of Rome. Wherfor our sauiour Christ must nedes be a flud also, for out of him gushe these streames of eternal life. They haue also one operation,They haue one grace. & thei do worke al things vnseperabli, as I haue proued in y^e chap. before, wher I declared mans soull to be the image of God, wherfore they haue one diuitie. Moreouer it is writtē: grace with you and peace frō God the father,Galat. 1 and our Lord Iesus Christ. Behold thou seest here that one grace commeth from the father and the sonne, & one peace ly­kewise, thesame also come from the holy ghost, for of peace it is writtē:Galat. [...] the fruit of the spirit is loue, ioy, peace, long suffring & Zachary calleth him y^e spirit of grace. [Page] God hath promised to poure vpon Hie­rusalem the spirit of grace and mercy, & Peter saith to those that were pricked in their hearts through his preaching,Actes. 2 Ac­cipietis graciā spiritus sancti, you shall re­ceiue the grace of the holy ghost.One cha­ritie. They haue also one charitie & one loue, for of y^e father & the son it is written: who loueth me, shal be loued of my father, & I wil loue him:Ihon. 14 & of the holy cōforter, y^e fruit of y^e spirit is loue. Through this loue of al the thre persons Christ suffred death y^t we might liue,Ihon. 3 for of the father it is written: God so loued y^e world, y^t he gaue his on­ly begotten son, & of Christ, I liue by the faith of the sonne of God which loued me,Gala. 2 & gaue himself for me. The spirit also gaue him, for Paul saith of Christ, which through the eternal spirit offred himself without spot vnto God.Hebre. 9 They haue also one counsel, for Esay calleth y^e holy gost, the spirit of coūsel & strength, & Christ is called, Ange [...]s magni consilij, an angel of great coūsel,Esay. 11 because he is the wisdom of God, they are of one wil, they cōmaund & forbid one thing,One coūcel their calling is not diuers, but one. And as the father is called Lord, so is the holy cōforter, so is Christ.

[Page 160]We reade that the spirit of the Lorde came vpon Sampson, whom he calleth also his strength, saying: if my hear were cut of, my strength would go from me.Iudic. 14 But after that his seuen lockes were cut awai, the scripture saith, that the Lord de­parted from him,Iudi [...]. 16 calling the spirit which gouerned him, Lord. If thei haue one nature, one kingdom, one power, one counsel, one operation, one name, one vertue, one life, one peace, one grace, one cōmaū dement, one vocation, one wyll, and se­yng they be one light, one charitie, one streame, and one Lord, how can they be diuers Gods. There is a generall vnitie of al things in them, wherfore thei must nedes be one God also.

I trust now it be sufficiently fortified, and established, that ther is but one god of heauen & earth, who gouerneth & or­dreth al thinges. Natural reason proclai­meth this, as it were out of some highe place, vnto al creatures. His almighty & euerlasting power proueth y^e same. The Poets confesse and graunt him to be a­lone, the Philosophers cōdiscend to thē, the Sibilles magnifie and acknowledge him, y^e false gods of y^e Pagans thēselues [Page] confesse him the Prophetes of the true God euermore taught this, the Euāge­listes and Apostles fortifie the same, na­ture preacheth one God, which acknowledgeth one world, faith telleth vs the sa­me, for there is but one fayth of both te­staments, as the Apostle witnesseth, and baptisme also, for there is but one bath of holy baptisme, whiche is ministred in y^e name of the trinitie. The glorious death of many thousandes of ma [...]t [...]rs, both of men, children, women, & virgins, which by no maner of tormentes could be pluc­ked away from this faith, haue sealed it, and the constant and stedfast consent, a­grement, and conspiration of all tymes and nacions with one minde and accord hath enacted this, so that the gates of hel shal not preuaile against it.

AS I haue spoken of al iii. persones of the blessed trinitie together, so now for a more euident profe of my last content, I wyll fortifie out of the stoore [Page 161] house of y^e scriptures, y^t al the parts of my definitiō made of y^e only king of kinges, immortal, & almighty God, do belong & appertein also both vnto Christ, & to the alknowing & most blessed cōforter. The first persel of my difinitiō was:Christ is a substaunce God is a spiritual substance. That Christ is a sub­stance, no mā wil deny, for he is no acci­dent. Read my .xxiiii. chap. & there y^u shalt find this thing proued. But how cā you proue y^t he is a spiritual substaunce? The prophet Ieremy saith:Threno. [...] Spiritus ante faciē nostram Christus dominus, that is y^e spirit before vs, Christ y^e lord. Note y^t he calleth him both a spirit & lord. If ther be no spi­rit he can not be God, for god is a spirit: and inasmuch as he is a spirit & a substāce he is a spiritual substaunce,Christ is [...] spirit. not touching his humanitie, but touching y^t nature, in which he is lord, as the prophet declareth very wel, saying: y^e spirit before vs Christ the lord, meaning that he is Lord in that he is a spirit, for y^e Lord is a spirit. Pure nature foloweth in the difinitiō. By the word pure, is ment, that God is one,2. Cor. 3 A single nature, & not mixte. & a singuler substaunce, not myxt, not com­post. Ether Christ is suche a substaunce, or els he is a creature. If he be a creatur, [Page] thē is he subdued to vanitie, not willing­ly, for the Apostle witnesseth. Quippe va­nitati creatura subiacet non volens. Roma. 10

• Euery creature is subdued to vanitie,
• Christ is not subdued to vanitie,
• Ergo Christ is no creature.

That Christ is not subdued to vanitie, I proue thus.Ihon. 14

• The ruler of this world came and founde nothing in him.
• Ergo he is not subdued to vanitie.

But some Arrians wil say, y^t he was subdued vnto vanitie, in y^t he toke our natur vpō him to restore vs, when we wer for­lorn: for the preacher crieth of all things vnder heauen:Ecclesi. 1 al is but vanitie, al is but plain vanitie. Albeit this were truly spo­ken, yet can not S. Pauls saying be verified of Christ, who saith: euery creature is subdued vnto vanitie, not willingly. Christ toke our nature willingly, restord vs willingly by his precious death & passion, as he himself doth testifie: no man doth take my life fro me, but I put it a­way my self, wherfore he is no creature. Ergo he is a pure, simple, & single nature, without al mixture or composicion. Im­mutable: Paul telleth vs that he is im­mutable, [Page 162] for in his letter to his countreymen, he witnesseth that the father spea­keth these wordes of the .ci. Psalm. vnto Christ:Aebre. 1 Psal. 110 Thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heauens are the workes of thy handes, they shall perishe, but thou shalt endure. They shal wax old as doth a garment, & as a vesture shalt thou chaunge them, & they shalbe chaunged, but thou art the same, that is, vnchaūgeable, & thy years shal not faile, Lo y^e father witnesseth that Christ is immutable. We read also,Hebre. 13 Iesus Christus heri & hodie idem est, etiam in se­cula. Iesus Christ yesterday and to day, and the same continueth for euer. This propertie belonging to no creature, pro­ueth him God. For,

• God only is immutable,
• Iesus Christ is immutable.
• Ergo Ieus Christ is God.

Inuisible: This is another propertie, whiche the scriptures geue vnto God. Christ is a spirit touching one nature▪ then if al spirites, if our soules be vnui­sible, how muche more is Christ vnuisi­ble, the maker of spirites and soules? Paul calleth hym touchynge this na­ture, [Page] vertutem dei, the vertue or power of God. Wherfore he is vnuisible, vnsear­chable: Paule in the same place calleth him the wisdome of God, & the wisdome of God is vnsearchable. There foloweth in the definition:He f [...]lleth heauē and earth. Sapi. 8 Filling heauē & earth. This also belongeth vnto Christ, for of him it is written: Wisdome reacheth from one end to another mightely, and ordreth all things louingly. Herken also what he saith vnto his disciples. Wheresoeuer two or thre be gathered together in my name,Math. 18 ther am I in the middest of them. This proueth him to be the true God, for no creature can be eueri where. Ful of vnderstāding: he is the wisdome of God.Sapien. 8 1. Cor. 1 Full of truth: I am the waye, truth, and lyfe. Full of righteousnesse, Pater non iudicat quemquam, sed omne iu­dicium dedit filio. Ihon. 14 Ihon. 15 The father iudgeth no man, but hath geuen al iudgement vnto Christ, who in the last day, shall appeare both vnto good men & euel, in that form in which he suffred, not in his diuine na­ture. The father is said to iudge no man, because neither he nor his son, in his di­uinitie shall be sene in iudgemēt, for their diuinitie is all one. Then Christ is full of [Page 163] rightousnesse, for asmuch as he shall iud­ge y^e world in his humanitie, vnto who­me the father saith:Psal. 44 Hebre. 1 God thy feare shall be for euer and euer. The scepter of thy kingdome is a right scepter. Thou haste loued righteousnesse, and hated wicked­nes. Full of mercie.Iacob. [...] Philip. 2 The wisdome from aboue is full of mercie. When he was e­quall with God, he made himselfe of no reputation, and toke vpon him the shape of a seruaunt for our sakes, which were his ennemies. Ful of wisdome: in Christ are hid all treasures of wisdom & know­ledge. Full of all maner of goodnesse:Colloss. 2 for in him dwelleth all the fulnesse of the God head bodely,Colloss. 1 and of his fulnes haue all we receiued grace for grace.Ihon. 1 Iacob. 3 Iames also witnesseth: that the wisdome from aboue is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, ful of mercy, & good frutes. The next propertie of God is to be eter­nall. This belongeth to Christ, for he is the beginning of all thinges, he is the progresse or middle course, and he is the end and pricke. The beginning and end­ing, for he saith: I am Alpha & Omega, Ihon. 14 y^e beginning & the ending. And he is the middle course, in that he saith, I am the [Page] way. He promiseth lyfe without end to such as kepe his worde,Ihon. 8 saying: Verely verely I say vnto you, if a man kepe my worde, he shall neuer se death. Therfore he himselfe must nedes be immortall.

• Nothing is without end and begynnyng saue God onely.
• Chrst is without beginning and end. Er­go Christ is God.

There foloweth in the definitiō of God, maker of all thinges: that Christ made all thinges Paule recordeth,Coliss. 1 saying: for by him were all thinges created, things that are in heauen, and thinges that are in earth, things visible, and things inui­sible, whether thei be maiestie or lordship either rule or power.

• He that made all thinges is God. hebr. 3.
• Iesus Christ made all thinges. Coloss. 1.
• Ergo Christ is GOD.

Then it foloweth in y^e same discription: Subiecte to nothing,Ihon. 3 and gouerning all things. He is subiect to nothing, for we read of him, he that cōmeth from heauen is aboue al. He gouerneth al thinges, for he saith:Ihon. 5 whatsoeuer y^e father doth, that doth the son also, and my father worketh hitherto, and I worke. Whatsoeuer we [Page 164] aske the father in his name, he will do it, and without him we can do do nothing. This declareth him to be god by nature, not by nuncupatiō only, as they of who­me it is written: Ego dixj dij estis. Psal. 8 [...] I haue said you ar Gods. It foloweth: Know­ing al things: Nothing hath this know­ledge but God, as I haue proued before. But we read y^t Christ knew the inward thoughts and intents of men.Ihon. 2 Iesus did not put himselfe in their hands, because he knew al men,Math. 26 and neded not that any shuld testifie of them, for he knewe what was in man. He knewe the houre of his death, he knew that al his disciples shuld be offended in him that tyme, he knewe that Peter wold fall and ryse agayne, he knew what would become of Iudas, he opened the myndes of his disciples, that thei might vnderstād the scriptures, and the Disciples confesse him to knowe all thinges, saying:Luk [...]. 14 Ihon. 1 [...] Nowe we knowe that thou knowest all things, and nedest not to aske any question.

The nexte thing appetteyning onlye to God, is forgeuing of sin: for I haue pro­ued before, that no creature can do this: but we read that Christ forgeueth sinne,Marke. 2 [Page] and is reuiled of the Phariseis therfore,Luke. 7 Apoca. 22 Math. 2.15 and .28 who also forgeueth many sinnes to Mary Magdalene, because she loued much. To be honored: Ihon would haue wor­shipped an aungel, but the aungel forbiddeth him, the wyse men, the Cananite, Mary Magdalene, Ioanna, Mary of Iames and other worshipped Christ, & were not blamed therfore. And Paul in his epistles cōfesseth himself the seruaūt not of any aungel or archaungel,Roma. 1 Philip. 1 but of Iesus Christ. Wherfore he is one God with the father,Math. 4 for one God only is to be worshipped. There foloweth in the definition of God, to be called vpō, and that he pōdreth our desires. That Christ is to be praied vnto for al maner of thīgs the Prophet Esay teacheth vs,Esay. 11 Ictes. 7 saying: The rote of Iesse shal be set vp for a tokē the Heathen shall pray vnto him. Saint Steuen crieth vnto him:Actes. 9 Lord Iesu receiue my spirit. Paul asketh him, lord, lord what shal I do? and he is taught. Paul also praieth vnto him, & the father toge­ther,1. Thess. 3 saying: God himself our father, & our Lord Iesus Christ, guyd our iournei vnto you. [...]. Thess. 2 And again [...] our lord Iesu christ himself, and God our father which hath [Page 165] loued vs, and hath geuen vs euerlas [...]ng consolation, & good hope through grace, comfort your hertes and stablish you in all doctine and good doing. The Apostle sheweth that he is one God with the fa­ther, and of equal power, in that he offe­reth one praier to them both, and in that he putteth otherwhiles y^e father formost, and otherwhiles our sauiour Christ. Iu­stifiyng and sauing vs:1. Ihon. 1 Roma. 10 who iustifieth & saueth vs, but he who is our sauiour, our raunsom, our spokesmā, our mercy stok, the end of the law to al beleuers, of whō Iere. saith:Ierem. 3 [...] This is the name that they shal cal him, the Lord our iustifier. Almi­ghty foloweth and endeth the definitiō. If it be true which Paul saith:Philip▪ [...] I can doe al thinges through the helpe of Christe which strēgthneth me, how much more is Christ almighty himselfe, of whome Iohn writeth, Dicit dominus omnipot [...] ▪ Apoca. 1 the Lord almighti saith. And the wisemā calleth him the almighty h [...]nd,Sa [...] 1 [...]8 the almi­ghty arme, the almighty word of God. Seing therfore the scripturs do continu­ally preach one God, and the same doe graunt al thinges belonging to the ma­iestie of the God head vnto Iesus Christ [Page] ether we must denie the father to be the almignty & only inuisible god, or els we must confesse his sonne by veritie & vni­tie of nature to be one God with hym.

THe alknowyng comfor­ter also is one God with them both, for asmuch as it cānot be denied, but y^t all and euery one of the same thinges doe apper­teine vnto him. For a plaine and euidēt profe of this, I will course ouer the difi­nition, or rather descriptiō of God once again prouing the same to be the defini­tion of the holy comforter. God is a spi­ritual substaunce: so is the holy comfor­ter. That he is a spirit no man wyl deny: that he is a substaunce, not a godly mo­cion or cōcitation, not an accidēt, I haue proued in my .xxiii. Chap. He is also a pure nature, vnmixed, vncompost, vncreate, for he is no creature: whiche all and euery one are bonde and seruauntes vn­to, their maker, not fre, nor at their liber­tie, [Page 166] as it is written: Vniuersa seruiunt tibi, Psal. 11 [...] al thinges serue the. The holy spirit spe­keth this by Dauid. He saith not serui­mus, we serue the, but seruiunt, thei serue Paul also saith: Creatura liberabitur a seruitute corruptionis. Roma. 8 The creature shalbe deliuered from the bōdage of corruptiō. But of the holy ghost it is written: vbi spiritus domini, ibi libertas, 2. Cor. 3 where is the spirit of the Lord, there is fredome. We read also of him,1. Cor. 12 that he deuideth to eue­ry man seueral giftes as he wil. 1 Cor. 12

• All creatures do serue. Psalm. 118.
• The holy ghost is at libertie, 2 Cor. 3
• Ergo the holy ghost is no creature.

And if he be no creature, he is a singuler & pure nature, void of all cōposition and mixture. Immutable, what soeuer is immutable, is a creatur: Inuisible, al spirits be inuisible, but not immutable: for to be both immutable & inuisible apperteineth only to the maiestie of God. Wherfore the holy ghost is God. Filling heauen & erth foloweth in y^e diffiniciō, which thing truly belōgeth only to y^e diuine & blessed nature as y^e Psalmograph witnesseth: domini est terra & plenitudo eius. Psal. [...]3 The earth & the fulnes therof is y^e Lords, & he sayth [Page] by Ierem. I fil heauen and earth.Ierem. 23 Sapi. 1 Now that the blessed cōforter doth so, y^e booke of wisdom telleth, saying: The spirite of the Lord filleth the round compas of the world:Psal. 138 and Dauid teacheth thesame, say­ing: whether shal I go thē from thy spi­rit? whether shal I go from thy presence? If I clime vp into heauen. &c. What an­gel, what archaungel, what rule, what power, what creature is sayde to fill the world, the whiche the holy comforter doth? Yea & more then the whole world, for he fylled the sauiour of the world,Luke. 4 as it is written: Christ ful of the holy ghost, returned from Iordan.

• God only is euery where,
• The holy ghost is euery where,
• Ergo the holy ghost is God.

Vnsearchable: no man can comprehend what maner of thing his own spirit and soul is, and the mynd, which almost iud­geth and discusseth al thinges is not able to discusse it self, much more the spirit of the almighty God surmounteth our vn­derstandinges, and not only ours, but also of angels, and archangels, for of the spirit,Psal. 64 Dauid writeth: God which is thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of [Page 167] gladnes, aboue thy felowes. The holy ghost is this oyl and anointmēt,Actes. 10 Why the spirit is n [...] med oyle. for Pe­ter witnesseth that Christ was anointed with the holy ghost. And wel is the holy ghost named the o [...]l of gladnes, lest thou shouldest suppose him to be a creature. For the nature of oyl is such, that it wyl not be mingled with any moist creatur, but heaueth aloft, & kepeth aboue, when other naturs descend to the botom. Ful of vnderstanding: for he is the spirite of vnderstanding. Ful of troth:Esay. 11 Sapi. 7 Ihon. 14 and. 15 for he is y^e spirit of troth, which the world can not receiue, and which procedeth frō the fa­ther, & of him it is wrytten: he shal teach you al truth. Ful of rightuousnes: for as the sonne is our iudge, so iudgement be­longeth to the holy cōforter, as it is writ­ten: when I depart,Ihon. 1 [...] I wyl send the com­forter vnto you: when he is come, he shal iudge the world of synne, of rightuous­nes, and of iudgemēt. This text thacheth him to be a punisher of sinne, an auēger of vnrightuousnes, & wrong iudgemēts. Noble king Salomon through his inspiration gaue rightfull iudgement of the two infantes.Salomon. Daniel except he had bene inspired by him, could neuer haue disclo­sed [Page] the lie of lechery.Susanna. 1 When Susanna was condempned vnto death through y^e false accusation of y^e elders, she cried with a loude voyce vnto God, and obteined remedy. When she was led forth vnto death, it is regestred that the Lord raised vp the spirit of a yong child whose name was daniel. &c. Also the spirit of Moises was deuided among .lxx. of the elders of Israel,Nume. 11 that they might iudge the people according to right. Wherfore the holy ghost, who both teacheth other to iudge aright, and is a iudge himselfe, must ne­des be ful of al righteousnes. Ful of mercy: He is ful of mercy, forasmuche as he sent Christ to restore vs, when we were forlorne, as the Prophet telleth vs in Christes person.Esay. 48 Misit me dominus & spi­ritus eius, the Lord sent me and his spirit. His sending is his incarnatiō, as I haue proued before. Full of wisdom, for he is the spirit of counsel and wisdom. Full of al maner of goodnes:Ezech. 1 Esay. 11 Ihon. 15 Roma. 1 Esay. 4 Roma. 8 Ephesi. 1 He is the spirit of life, the spirit of knowledge, wisdom, and vnderstanding, counsel, strength, of the fear of God, of truth, of sanctification, of iudgement, of adopcion, of promes, of grace, and loue, ioye, peace, long suffe­ryng, [Page 168] gentlenes, & goodnes it selfe,Hebre. [...] Galat. 5 faith­fulnesse, mekenesse, temperauncie, be the fruites, and giftes of the holy spirit.

Eternal: many things be euerlasting, which had their beginning, as aungels, as the soule of man and other: but they are not eternal, for that apperteineth on­ly to the maiestie of the deitie. That the holy and almyghty comforter is eternal the Apostle witnesseth, saieng: How mu­che more shal the bloud of Christr, who through the eternall spirite offered hym self without spot to God,Hebre. [...] purge your cō sciences. He is not content to call hym eternall, but telleth vs also, that Christ through the spirit offered himselfe a slain sacrifice for our synnes. And we reade that Christ,Ephesi. [...] before the foundacion of the world chose vs.

Wherfore the holy comforter who was the worke maister therof, was be­fore the foundation of the worlde, and for as muche as as he was before all, he hath no ende. For that whiche is with out all begynnyng, is also without en­dyng.

• [Page]God only is eternall,
• The holy ghost is eternall,
• Ergo the holy ghost is God.

Maker of al thinges: Iob telleth that God with his spirite garnished the hea­uens,Iob. 26 Psal. 31 vnto whō Dauid agreeth saying: the spirit of his mouth formed al the ho­stes of them. Wherfore in the worke of creacion,Gene. 1 Moises maketh relatiō of him, shewyng vs that the spirit of God was borne vpon the waters. Basyl, who for his great learning was surnamed Magnus, expoūdeth this text of y^e holy ghost, and saith that his predecessors toke it so, and S. Austen is of thesame mind, & Philip Melancthon aloweth their interpre­tacion, as I declared before. For truly y^e word spirit can not signifie wynd in that place, the which when these wo [...]ds were spoken, was vncreat. What is ment thē by these worde [...] (Borne vpon the waters) Verely no blast of wynd, but that he sate on the waters, for as the hen sitting on her egs hatcheth her yōgones, so the ho­ly ghost hatcheth al creaturs, which ther are called waters, as it is written: when thou lettest thy spirit go forth, they are made,Psal. 103 so thou renuest y^e face of thy earth.

• [Page 169]He that made all things is God. Heb. iij.
• The holy ghost made al thinges,
• Ergo the holy ghost is god.

Iob also saith of him: Spiritus diuinus qui fecit me, the diuine spirit who made me, confessing him both diuine,Psal. 21 and his ma­ker. And as when we read: Opera manuū tuarum sunt celi. Psal. 8 The heauēs are the wor­kes of thi hand, we acknowledge Christ the maker of the worlde,Psal. 1 [...] who is Gods hand, so when we read, Videbo celos tuos opera digitorum tuorum, [...]unam & stellas que tu fundasti. That is, I wil behold the heauens the workmāship of thi fingers, the mone & the starres whiche thou hast made. Let vs acknowledge also the holy ghost Gods finger to be our maker, for as much as thesame works in other pla­ces are called the workes of God. For as when the hand worketh, the fingers worke also, so the hole trinitie formed al thinges of a confused heap, whose wor­kes be vnseperable as I haue proued be­fore. Gouernour of al thinges: The can­ticle of Moises recordeth that he gouer­ned the congregation of the Israelites. For when they had passed ouer the sea,Exod. 16 they gaue herty thankes for their deliueraunce [Page] to al the thre persons: to y^e father and the sonne in these wordes. Thi right hand O Lord, is glorious in power, thy right hand hath also dashed the enemies: and to the holy ghost, saiyng with y^e spi­rit of thine anger the water gathered to­gether as a rock. For Christ is Gods right hand, and by the word spirit the holy ghost is ment, & in that he saith Lord, he signifieth the father. Wherfore their deliueraunce is the workmanship of the whole trinitie, which worketh al things in heauen and earth. But the Prophet Esay protesteth the gouernaunce of the holy ghost more plainly,Esay. 63 saying: Where is he who brought them from the water of the sea, as a shepeheard doth his flok? Where is he whiche led Moises by the right hād, with his glorious arm? Wher is he that led thē in the depe, as an horse is led in the plain? and he answereth: The spirit of the Lord led thē as a tame beast goeth in the field. [...]. cor. 12 The same spirit gouer­neth the present congregation, geuyng to one vtteraunce of wisdome, to ano­ther fayth, to another giftes of healyng, to another power to do miracles, to another prophecie, to another iudgement of [Page 170] spirits, to another diuerse tongues, to an other interpretation, as the Apostle wit­nesseth, which be necessary offices in the church.

Who gaue Simeon an aunswer that he shuld not se death,Luke. [...] ▪ before he had sene our spokesman Iesus Christ? The holy ghost. Who leadeth the congregation in to al truth? who teacheth vs al veritie? y^e holy ghost. Who cōmaundeth to sepe­rate Paul and Barnabas to the worke wherunto he had called them, that is to preach the swete tidinges of the gospel to the gentyles? The holy ghost.Actes. [...] Who for­byddeth them to preache in Asia? who cō maundeth Peter to aryse and get hym down and go with Cornelius seruaun­tes?Actes. 10 who sent those seruauntes vnto Si­mon the Tannars house for Peter? The holy ghost. Who monysheth Philp the Deacon to ioyne hym selfe to the chari­ot of the gelded man,Actes. 8 which was cham­berlein to Candace Quene of the Ethiopians? The holy ghost. Do not these tex­tes proue hym to gouerne the congregation? to be myndfull of both good and euyl? Do they not denie him to be a crea­ture? do they not fortify him to be y^e third [Page] person in the gloriouse Trinitie, and to be God? Yes verelye.

• All thynges are gouerned by God,
• The Holy ghost gouerneth all thinges,
• Ergo, the Holy ghost is God.

Knowing al things foloweth, the which belongeth to the alknowyng comforter, for asmuch as he is the spirite of knowe­lege.Esay. 11 The Apostle witnesseth that man neither by the helpe of his outward sen­ses, nor through the gift of reason, can at­teine to the vnderstāding of those things which are prepared for the chosen.1. Cor. 2 He denieth this knowdlege to the senses, say­ing: Oculus non videt, ne (que) auris audiuit, the eye hath not seene, and the eare hath not heard, for these be the two principall powers: and to all mannes reason and wisdom, by these words folowing: Ne­que in cor, nethre hath entred into y^e heart of man the thinges.Marke. 13 &c. for the heart is the place of vnderstanding. Angels also are ignoraunt of some thinges, as of the last day and houre, which the father kno­weth only. But of the holy comforter it is written: the spirit searcheth al things, yea the bottome of Gods secretes.1. Cor. 2 Paule is not content only to say this of [Page 171] the spirite, but he addeth two argumen­tes prouing the same. The one is a simi­litude, that as the spirit of man knoweth the thinges of man: so the spirite of God knoweth y^e things of God, & al things be his, Ergo he knoweth al things. His oth­er reasō is, that y^e spiritual man, through his inspiration discusseth all thinges.

• He who knoweth all thinges is GOD,
• The Holy ghost knoweth all thinges.
• Ergo the Holy ghost is GOD.

The next propertie in my definition belōging to God only, is to forgeue sin. How proue you that the holy ghost can do this? Harken what Chryste our mer­cy stocke saith? Receyue the holy ghost: whose sinnes ye remit,Ihon. 2 [...] thei are remitted vnto them. Note that the holy ghost par­donth sinne. No man can remit sin, they do onli minister forgeuenes, in the name of the father, of the sōne, and of the holy ghost: they pray, God pardoneth, they employ their seruice, rem [...]ssion and mer­cy cōmeth from aboue, as I haue decla­red and proued in my Chapt. that God onely forgeueth sinne.1. Cor. [...]

Furthermore, ye are washed saith S. Paule, ye are sanctified, ye are iustified [Page] by the name of the Lord Iesu, and by the spirite of oure God: Ergo the spirite for­geueth sinne. The Prophet Esay telleth, that one of the Seraphins with a hot co­ale taken from the aulter wyth tongues touched his mouth,Esay. 6 and his sin was mol­ten away. He meaneth neither charcole, nor sea cole, but the cole of the holy ghost who maye be well called a cole, for he is fier: wherfore the holy ghoste doth for­geue sinne. No man can deny, but that in baptisme sinnes be forgeuen. The holy ghost by baptisme doth regenerate vs, & make vs Gods children. For that we should beleue him to be a worker in bap­tisme, with the father and the sonne, the bath of holy baptisme, is commaunded to be ministred in this name also. And for the same skill it pleased the glo­riouse Trinitie,Math. 28 he should appeare nota­bly at Christes baptisinge, in the likensse of a Doue. And as for Christ, he was not baptized for any wrincle of sinne, but for our example and only erudition. Seing then the Holye ghoste was a worker in Christes baptisme, much more he is worker at our christeninges, which proueth him to forgeue sinnes.

• [Page 172]God only forgeueth sinne:
• The Holy ghoste forgeueth sinne,
• Ergo the Holy ghoste is GOD.

To be called vpon and prayed vnto. The holy ghost is to be praied vnto, for what is baptisme,Math. 28 but an inuocation of the fa­ther, the sonne, and the holy ghost? as all thre be named, so they all thre heare the prayer of the minister, forgeue the sinnes of him which is christned, and make him of the child of dampnation, the heyre of saluation. That we should fastly & firm­ly beleue this workmanship of the who­le Trinitie in our christeninges, that thre persons euery one wer presēt at Christes baptising, who had no nede of baptisme, I say,Math. [...] but only for our erudition and en­sample. The father notifieth himselfe in the voyce which soūded, the son, in man­nes nature, the aldoing cōforter appea­red notably in y^e likenes of a doue, Why in the likenes of a doue, rather then of a­ny other bird, ie declared before. More­ouer y^e holy ghost both heareth our prai­ers, for he is euery where,Roma. [...] and he helpeth our infirmities, as y^e Apostle witnesseth: Ergo he is to be praied vnto. Again faith is his gifte, prophecie is his gifte, vtte­raunce, [Page] miracles, [...]. Cor. 12 iudgemēt, tonges, hea­ling be his gifts. And truth, for he is the spirit of truth,Esay. 11 Roma. 1 Ezech. 1 and wisdom, counsel, sanc­tification, life by thesame reason, & loue ioie, peace, pacience, gentelnes, goodnes fidelitie, mekenes, temperauncie be his graces and fruites,Galat. 5 as is proued before: which proueth that he is to be praied vn­to. For the scripture vseth this reason to moue vs to pray vnto God, that he is y^e geuer of those thinges that are asked, as the Apostle Iames, saying: if any of you lack wisdom,Iacob. 1 Ephesi. 3 let him aske of God which geueth. And Paul he is able to do abun­dantly aboue al that we aske or thinke. And Christ vseth thesame reasō,Ihon. 14 saying: what soeuer ye aske in my fathers name he wil geue it you. If the Papistes can shew, that S. Paul and the blessed vir­gin, & other now being with Christ tou­ching their souls, & in the earth touching their bodies doe nowe geue giftes and graces vnto vs, truly I wold pray vnto them to geue me some. But who is able to proue this out of the scriptures. The spirit knoweth al thinges, yea the botō of Gods secretes, much more the botom of our hearts, ergo he is to be praied vn­to. [Page 173] Doth not he hear our prayers, which commaunded to seperate Paul and Barnabas vnto the worke, wherunto he had called them?

• Paul was called an Apostle by God,
• The holy ghost called Paul,
• Ergo the holy ghost is God.

It is no trifle to preache,Preaching is a worke but an earnest worke and labour, and the labourer and workman is worthy of his wages. The worke and office of saluaciō is vnrewar­ded in England, and thought not [...]eces­sary, which mus [...] nedes bryng in the vn­cleane spirit of ignoraunce again. Ther­fore let vs pray to the holy spirite to a­mend it, & to seperate mo Pauls to this honorable work and office. It is a com [...] saying, Honos alit artes, rewardes norish a [...]tes, and Magistrates are ordeined of God to maintein knowledge, to destroy ignoraunce and sinne. I wold wysh that preachers were sent abrode into the coū ­trey, as wel as to cities, and great tounes for they are the shop of Christ as well as others. And that as Christ disputed in y^e temple, and Steuen with the Libertines and Alexandrines. And Paul when he went a preaching,Luke. [...] Actes▪ [...] disputed in the audiēce [Page] of the people, against those that would not hear the truth, at Athens with Phy­losophers, and at Ephesus and other places: that so now euery preacher which is knowen to be groundly learned and se­perat to this office,Actes. 17 whē he cometh to a­ny parish which hath a popish person or curat, that he shuld haue authoritie to ex­amen them in the sacramentes,Actes. 18 & other principal matters, & that they ether ac­knowledge y^e truth before their parishes or els be cōpelled to say their conscience and knowledge in open disputatiō with the preacher: so that the church wardens of euery parish be ouerseers of thesame for auoiding of tumult & disturbāce. By this meanes papistes & others shuld best be won, and ouercome, and the people shuld learne more of one disputation, thē in ten sermons. Further, if there be any suspected to be an Anabaptist in the sayd parishes, I would to God well learned preachers were authorised to compell & cal such to render accompt of their faith before the whole parishe, and if it were found Anabaptisticall, that the preacher enter disputation with hym, and openly conuict hym, by the scriptures and elder [Page 174] fathers, & if he remain obstinat, thesame preacher to excomunitate him, and then to midle no further with hym, but geue knowledge therof to the temporall ma­gistrates, which for ciuile consideratiōs may punishe hym with enprisonment, death or otherwise, as their wisdōs shall iudge most mete for a ciuile quietnes, & a godly order. Now both papistes, & Anabaptistes complain that they are put to scilence, & the people haue more a [...]aūce in their scilence, then in the preachers, & do thinke that they could perswade and proue their matters, if they might be suf­fered. But if this way were takē, it wold apeare most euidēt that al their doctrine wer builded on the sand, not on the rock. There be many discrete & sober wel learned preachers both in al y^e elder fathers, and in the scriptures, whiche if this way were taken or another like, would con­found al heretikes, and beat down papi­strie, and discourage the best learned of them, and perswade the people after another sort then is done yet. Thus did y^e A­postles, thus did y^e elder fathers, as Am­brose, Iero. Aug. & others, as apereth of their works, which be ether sermōs to y^e [Page] people, lessons, homelies, or disputatiōs agaīst heretiks. Now if a preacher come and preache in a parishe in the countrey, if the person, vicar, or curat, be of a cor­rupt iudgement, as the most deale be, by reason of the dayly company and fami­liaritie that they haue with their parysh, thei do discredit the preacher when he is gone, and marre all that he hath done, which they nether could, ne durst iusti­fi [...] before his face. Therfore I would it were remedied this way or some other: namely if they be maried men, then they wil sclaunder them, rayle on thē, frump them: yea some noble and spiritual lords had rather receiue idle sodomites, & dum priests to their chapplains, then maried preachers. They thinke it vnmete y^t such should be colligeners, nay it is vnmete y^t your chapplains should be prebendaries in cathedral colleges, Deanes, Archdea­cons, suffraganes, and liue so idly as thei do: and yo [...] which kepe them be gilty of their negligence, do oppres and rob the people of the word of God, & find your seruauntes of their costes. It is vnmete for the kinges chappleins, and Amners to [...]e absent from these colleges, out of [Page 175] which they haue great liuinges, & to do no good in the countrey about. It is not vnmete for maried priestes, present in y^e colleges, and doing their duties to haue their liuings. I wold the k [...]ngs maiestie wold geue his chapleine sufficiēt wages and bind them to read [...] of diuinitie euery day, or thrise [...] in his [...]al: it were a noble order for a kinges house to be a schole of diuinitie, & godly exāple to al lordes spiritual and temporall, then they should be as Esay calleth thē,Esay▪ 4 [...] true nourses of religion. If such as be maried were alowed their wages and com [...]s to their own houses, & bound by some sta­tutes to preach on holy days in the countrey about, it wer much better thē it hath ben or is, & yet neuerthelesse suche as be single might kepe a comē table, & a comē haull, for al will not mary no more then thei do out of colleges. They should not liue idly as they haue done and do [...], for Pauls rule is y^t he which laboureth not, ought not to eate, & saint Augustin in his boke entitled De opera monachorū, Augustine crieth out against idle coligeners. Were not this a better reformatiō, then to suppres and put down colleges? O liuing God, [Page] this is a straūg kind of surgery, a straūg reformation, to swepe thinges away, to make that priuat which was commen. Wel, Dauid saith that God will make them like to Sisera and Iabin,Psal. 83 Iudic. 7 lyke vn­to Ored & Zeb, whiche haue the houses of God in possessiō, he wil rote out their generation: euen to the pysser against y^e wal. I speake not this of y^e vniuersities, but of cathedrall colleges and other, in which be sufficient liuings to mainteine maried men. But to returne to our mat­ter: like silogismes mai be made of other matters as that.

• God deliuered the childrē of Israell from the Egipticall bondage. Deu. 5
• The holy ghost was their deliuerer.Esay. 30.
• Ergo the holy ghost is God.

If we ponder the circumstance diligētly we shal find that Peter praied vnto the holy ghost when he fell into a traunce & sawe heauen open in Simō the tanners house.P [...]ter praieth to y^t holy spirite. He praieth to him y^t sayeth: what God hath clensed, make thou not comē: For it is written: there came a voyce to Peter. Arise, kil & eat, & he said: God for­bid Lord. But the holy ghost is he who [Page 176] clensed, for he fel sodeinly vpon the gen­tils to clense them, & he is called water, & a [...]loud for the same skil: Ergo he prayd to the holy ghost. It is to be supposed, that Peter praid vnto him who answereth, & commaūdeth him in that traunce, to go to Cornelius: but it is written, that y^e spi­rit cōmaundeth him, Ergo he praied to y^e spirit. Also the spirit sent Cornelius ser­uaūts vnto Peter, for he saith vnto him, go w^t thē, & doubt not for I haue sen [...] thē. Wherfore it is probable y^t Cor. also praied vnto y^e spirit, albeit he knew him not wel for his requestes were graunted of him.

Moreouer the holy comforter hath a temple, not of stone ne of wood, but far more honorable, the bodies of the [...] and chosen, for whiche Christ died as it is wrytten: your bodies are the temple of the holy ghost which is in you, whom ye haue of God,1. Cor▪ [...] & ye are not your o [...]ne for ye ar derely bought, therfore glorify God in your bodies. Lo he both geueth him a temple, and calleth him God, and is he not to be praied vnto and honor [...] ▪ That the holy gost is the true God, vnto whom temples are erected and builded, the Actes of the Apostles declare with [Page] plain wordes Ananias (quod Peter) how is it that Sathan hath filled thine hert to lie vnto the holy ghost? and he addeth, th [...] hast not lyed vnto men, but vnto God. [...]o the holy ghost is God, so Ihon calleth Christ the true God. Hic est ve­rus deus, & vita eterna. He is very God, and euerlasting life. And seing there is but one God, the thre persons are that one God, which is only to be praied vn­to, to be worshipped, & to whō we shuld dedicate, both the temple of our bodies, and al temples of wood,Temples [...] to be dedicate to God onl [...]. stone, or other stuf, and to no saintes departed, to no aū gels or archaungels, for then we honour them which is idolatry and robery.

• God only hath a temple,
• The holy ghost ha [...]h a temple,
• Ergo the holy ghost is God.

To be honored: Nothing is to be hono­red but God only, for it is writtē: Seruie rūt cr [...]a [...]ure potius quā creatori, Roma. 1 qui est deus benedictu [...] in secula. They worshipped & serued the creature, more thē the maker, which is God blessed for euermore. He bo [...]h monysheth vs to serue God only, and reproueth such as honour creaturs. Now that the holy ghost is to be serued [Page 177] and honored,Philip. 3 y^e same Apostle witnesseth saying: beware of dogges, beware of e­uil workers, beware of dissenciō, for we are circumci [...]ion, seruing y^e spirit which is God. Lo Paul confesseth hym selfe to be the seruaunt of the spirite. Some doe read here, spiritu deum colentes, seruyng God in spirit, but y^e greke text discusseth that interpretacion to be false, whiche is, [...], that is to say worshipping y^e spirit, which spirit is god. If Paul had ment, Quod spiritu deum cole bant, that they in spirit serued God, he wold haue sayd, [...], as he sayd in the same place, [...], reioysing in Christ, and not trusting in flesh. For that the holy ghost is to be worshipped, he declareth also, saying: if all do prophecie, and there come in one that beleueth not, or one vnlearned, he is rebuked of all men, and is iudged of euery man, and the secretes of his heart are opened, & he falleth downe on his face & worshippeth God, saying that God is in you in dede. But he who spake in thē was the holy ghost,1. Cor. 14 of whō prophecie cometh, & of whom it is writ­ten: Non estis vos qui loquimini, sed spiri­tus [Page] patris qui loquitur in vobis. [...]. Cor. 9 It is not you which speake, but the spirit of my father which speaketh in you. Wherfore whē thei fal down & worship him which is in them, they worship the holy ghost. If the swete fleshe of our sauiour Christ be to be honored, as we are cōmaunded, adorate scabellum pedum meorum, Psal. 98 Christes flesh is to be worshi­ped. Luke. 1 Esay. 66 worship the fotestole of my fete, the which is ioy­ned in vnitie of person to the diuine na­ture, and promoted to the company and felowship of the deitie, without al doubt the alknowyng conforter is to be hono­red, of whom this flesh was conceiued. For by the fotestole, earth is vnderstād, as it is written. Heauen is my seat, & the earth is the stole of my fete: and by the erth, Christes flesh is ment. To worship any other earth,An Obiec. is Idolatry: and well may his flesh be called so, for all flesh is earth. The Arrians deny that the holy ghost is to be serued,Ihon. 4▪ because Iohn wri­teth: The hour now is, when true wor­shippers shal [...] honour the father in spirit and truthe, for suche the father seketh to worship him. God is a spirit, & they that worship him,Thāswer. must worship him in spirit & in truth. If thei deny the holy ghost to be [Page 178] honored, because the Euāgelist doth not say, the spirit is to be honored, but God must be honored in spirit, thei must deny likewise, y^t Crist is to be honored, because he saith that God must be worshipped in truth, for Christ saith, I am truth.Ihon. 1 [...]

• God only is to be serued,
• The holy ghost is to be serued,
• Ergo the holy ghost is God.

Iustifying vs: Paul proueth the spirite to be a iustifier, saying: ye are washed, ye are sanctifietd,1. cor. [...] ye are iustified by y^e name of the Lord, and by the spirit of our god. Almighty: this belongeth to the com [...]or­ter, for he is the finger of God, or els the finger of God is weake, then is some impotencie in his hande, in Christe, for whatsoeuer the hand doth, that doth the fynger also. But Salomon [...]al [...]eth the holy gost, [...], that is, omnipotentē & omniscium, almighty, and alknowing. He is the Lord of na­ture, and therfore he can doe what hym ly [...]t, as Christ and the father can.

• God only is almighty,
• The holy ghost is almighty,
• Ergo the holy ghost is God.

These silogismusses and brief argumen­tes [Page] may be profitable helpers for thun-learned, as it were with a [...] dagger to dispatch and sl [...]a [...]he b [...]sphemouse heresie of the Arrians▪ I could dilate thease thinges into a long volume if I would, but my purpose is not at this present to write a defence of God, but an Image. I do enstruct a beginner not a diuine, I do arme a yong soldiour to faith and beleif, not an ould worne champion to battaile and fight. Hereafter when I shal [...] s [...] oc­casion, I will put forth a defence with a confutation and answer to contrary rea­sons. Now I haue proued out of the sto­rehouse of the scripture, that there is but one definition of the father, of the sonne, and of the holy ghoste, whereof it muste nedes folow, that thei are but one God.

• All thinges that agre in definition, a­gre in essence and nature,
• The father, the son, and the holy ghost haue one definition,
• Ergo they haue one essēce and nature.

This doctrine destroieth all the doctrine of the Arrians, and proueth them cōsub­stanciall. But me thinke I heare some Patripassian replie, that if they agree in the definition, they are confounded, and [Page 179] are one person. They agre in the defini­tion of God, not in the finition of pater­nitie, or of a sonne, or of a holy ghost, for neyther Christe is the father, nor the al­mightye, and alknowynge comforter is Christe, they be thre vnconfounded and yet one God and Lorde

O God of our fathers, and Lord of mer­cies,Sapi. [...] thou that hast made all things with thy word, and ordeyned man through thy wisdome,, that he should haue domi­nion and lordshippe ouer thy creatures, which thou haste made, and haste willed thy angels to minister vnto him, that he shoulde order the worlde according to e­quitie & righteousnesse, and execute iud­gement with a true heart, geue to all thy people wisdom, which is euer about thy seat, endue them with the spirit of know­ledge, of councel, and vnderstanding, as thou didest promise by thy swete sonne,Esay. 1 [...] Ihon. 14 that he should leade them into all truth, for we are thy seruauntes and thy hand­maidens, the workes of thy fingers.

O send him out of thy holy heauens, and from the throne of thy maiestie, that he may gouerne vs, that we may know what is acceptable in thy sight. For he [Page] knoweth and vnderstandeth al thinges, and can lead vs soberly in all our works, and preserue and continue vs in his po­wer, so shall our workes be acceptable.

For what man is he, that may knowe the councell of God? or who can thinke what the will of God is? The thoughts of mortall men are miserable, and oure forecastes are but vncerteine. And why? our vnderstanding and spirite is depres­sed with the grosse lumpe and dongion of the corruptible bodie: our time is but a space and shorte, very hardlye can we discerne the thinges that are vpon earth, and greate laboure haue we, or we can fynd thinges which are before our eyes. Who will then, seke out the grounde of the thinges that are done in heauen? Oh Lorde, who can haue knowledge of thy vnderstanding and meaning, except thou geue wisdome, and send thy holy ghoste from aboue, to reforme and re­dresse the waies of them which are vpon earth, that men maie learne the thinges that are pleasaunt vnto the, and to lyue louingly one with another, euery man being content with his owne vocation, and folowe y^e same, be preserued through [Page 180] wisedome. Graunt this GOD for thy sonnes sake Iesus Christe oure spokes­man and aduocate, to whome with the and the holie spirite, be all praise, dominion, honoure, rule and thankesgeuing now in our daies and euer. So be it.