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A
THE WORKS
ROGER HUTCHINSON.
Cfte iiarftet ^ocittv*
.9n0tttuteti ^.m. im.zsi^ree.jriL.
iFor tt)e i^utUcation of tlje Siaiorfes of tl|c dFatfjcM
anD <!?arlp ffl^aritere of tt)e lacformeU
fobncuLji
THE
3
WORKS
ROGER HUTCHINSON,
FELL()W OF ST JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
AND AFTERWARDS OF ETON COLLEGE, A.D. 1550.
EDITED FOR
mt Jiarlfeer ^otUti^f
JOHN BRUCE, Ese. F.S.A.
^^, Bs-Oo-
CAMBRIDGE:
rRINTll> AT
THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
M.DCCC.XLII.
OUVWVVWwO^
SI23
H?7
CONTENTS.
PACK
Biographical Notice of Roger Hutchinson i
The Image of God or Layman's Book 1
Three Sermons on the Lord's Supper 20!)
•Two Sermons on Oppression, Affliction and Patience 280
Index, containing also a Glossary of obsolete and peculiar words
and phrases 341
* Now first published.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE
OP
ROGER HUTCHINSON.
Few incidents in the life of the author of the following
pages have been recorded. Some peculiar words which occur
in his works' would have led to the inference that he was
one of the many champions for religious truth which, at the
period of the Reformation, were sent forth by the northern
counties of England ; and that inference would have been a
little strengthened by the circumstance that one of the wit-
nesses to his will is, " John Hutchenson at Roklyf •/' but
Bale has stated", that he was a native of Hertfordshire.
Bale however gives no authority, and as our author was
connected with Rickmansworth in that county at one period
of his life, that circumstance may have led to Bale's state-
ment. He himself has told us, that his father's name was
William Hutchinson^; but where he resided, or when, or
where, our author was born, does not appear.
He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, " the
chief nursery in those times of the favourers of true re-
ligion and solid learning^" and was contemporary there with
Cheke, Ascham, Cecill, Lever, Grindal, Sandys, Pilkington,
and other eminent men. He was admitted a fellow of St
John's on the 14th of March, 1543^ and a senior on the
28th of March, 1547''; and in October of the latter year
was associated with his "well-beloved friend Thomas Lever'"
' These and other peculiav and obsolete words are noticed in the gh)s-
sary which is jirinted with the Index. - lUust. Script, ix. cent. Ixxxv.
'•' Post, 1). 12B. ' Strype's I'arkcr, i. 421.
' Addl. iMS. Brit. AIus. .-ieoo/fol. a'3.5. '' Addl. MS. SSoO, Ibl. n.17.
' Post, p. 14(1. It is observable that the words "I and my well-
})clovcd friend Thomas Lever and others," from which I here quote,
were altered in the second edition of The Image to "I, Master "W'hyte-
head, Tliomas Lever, and others." Lever and ^Vhitchead were men
of ('(|nal celebrity and very similar lives. Both were warm support-
ers of fli(> Kcformatiun, botii preachers of great eminence, botji exiles
a
[lIUTCHINSO.V.J
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE
in a disputation held in the college chapel upon the question
then uppermost in every man's mind, " Whether the mass
was the same thing as the Lord's supper, or not V Roger
Ascham, who was present at the disputation, mentions it
in a letter to Cecill, then Master of Requests to the Pro-
tector Somerset, in terms which are highly creditable to those
engaged in it. "The question was handled," he says, "with
great erudition by Thomas Lever and Roger Hutchinson,
whom I suppose you knew. They are both learned men';"
or, as he expresses it in another letter, written by him for
the college upon the same subject, " men learned, grave,
and pious ^.'''' Hutchinson's conjunction with a man so dis-
tinguished as Lever to maintain a disputation upon a point
so momentous, indicates the consideration in v.'hich he was
held by his college ; and such was the attention attracted by
their arguments, that it was proposed to have the question
debated more openly in the public schools : but some per-
sons less zealous than the men with whom this movement
originated, took alarm at the proposal, and procured it to
be stopped by authority"'.
Hutchinson may next be traced in connexion with a
subject which engaged the attention, and has in some de-
gree sullied the reputation, of the leaders of the Reforma-
tion in the reign of Edward VL — the heresy and punish-
ment of .Joan Bocher, otherwise named Joan of Kent. It
was the opinion of this unfortunate woman, that our blessed
Saviour did not take his body from the Virgin Marj-, but
passed through her as light through glass. For holding that
opinion slie was summoned before the primate and certain
other commissioners appointed to inquire concerning here-
sies , and by them was committed to prison, where she was
under Mary, and, under Elizabeth, both were ultimately deprived for
non-conformity. Wliitehead, wlio was a little the senior, died in 1571,
Lever in l.">77.
' Strypc's ('raiimer, App. xxxvii. Ascliam'.s Epist. p. 287. Edit.
(Jxon. 170a. - Ascliam's Kpist. p. 335,
" Strype's (Jranmer, Lib, 11. p. vi. App. xxxvn. ■» Ilymer's Feed, x v. 1 81 .
OF ROGER HUTCHINSON'. lU
kept more than twelve months, " in hope of conversion^".
To that end she was also visited at various times by Cran-
mer, Ridley, Goodrich, bishop of Ely, Latimer, and, as it
now appears in the following pages% by Lever, Whitehead,
and Hutchinson ; and all these eminent men made strenuous
but ineffectual endeavours to bring her to a more accurate
belief. Hutchinson states an argument which he heard
Lever adduce to her, and her acute reply to it. It appears
from the accounts of Latimer" and Hutchinson, and from
the entry in the Archbishop's Register", that she professed
a belief in Christ's humanity, asserting only that he did
not take it from the virgin, but received it in some man-
ner "unknown and undefined in the scriptures:'" and for that
opinion, maintained with subtle reasonings, and occasion-
ally with sharp and bitter words, she was led to the stake
in Smithfield, and in accordance with the barbarous prac-
tice of several centuries, was consigned to the flames on the
2nd of May, 1550. Hutchinson's Image of God was first pub-
lished in the same year, and his prefatory epistle is dated on
the 26tli of June; but the passages which relate to this un-
happy woman were evidently written before her execution.
However miserable her fate, and pitiable and humbling the
consideration that the eyes of such men as Cranmer, Rid-
ley, Latimer, Lever and Hutchinson, were not sufficiently
opened to perceive the antichristian character of the pro-
ceedings against her, it should be remarked that the new
circumstance in the narrative of her treatment, which is
here brought to light, affords an additional proof of the
earnestness with which the Reformers entleavoured to bring
her to a better mind.
And here, although but indirectly connected with our
present author, it may bo allowable to remark, how much
undeserved odium has been thrown upon Archbishop Cranmer
'' Kdw. VI. Journal, May 2, 15.50. Burnet's Reform, u. Pt. ii.
" See p. 145. ' Sermon on St John the evangelist's day.
" Burnet, Vol. n. Pt. ii. No. xxxa.
a — i.'
IV BIOGRAPHICAL NOTirE
in connexion with this case of Joan Bocher, in consequence
of an erroneous statement of Foxe the martyrologist, re-
specting the importunity with which he urged, if not forced,
the young king into the signature of the death-warrant upon
which she suffered. All classes of objectors to the Reforma-
tion have availed themselves of this presumed fact, to magnify
the clemency of the king by way of contrast to the primate^s
"importunity for blood ^^ Cranmer's advocates have ap-
parently felt this passage in his life to be one extremely diffi-
cult, if not incapable, of defence. Thoy have mostly coif^
tented themselves with alleging that it was contrary to the
general tenour of his life, and with bringing forward the
entry in the privy-council book to prove that he was not
present when her fate was finally determined, and may there-
fore be presumed to have exhibited but little of the eager
eph-it of a persecutor. The last writer of the history of
the Reformation - has gone a little farther, and has ventured
to impugn the authority of this particular passage in Foxe,
on the ground of the silence not merely of the king"'s journal,
but also of the Romanist libellers of the primate, respect-
ing the alleged interview, Nothing is more likely than that
if the king's feeling had been such as Foxe represents, the
entry in his journal would have been different from the
one we find there ^; whilst, if such an interview had really
taken place, Sanders, and other writers of that class,
would have been deliglited to a\ail themselves of it against
Cranmer; but it is unfortunate that Ci-anmer's defenders
have not produced the whole entry in the privy-council
book, instead of merely referring to it, in proof of the
single fact of Cranmer"'s absence. Had that been done,
it would long ago have occurred to some one, that it con-
' Haywai'd's Ed. VI. p. 10. Kd. in-SO, - Soamcs, iii. .'>-J4.
^ "Joan IJoclicr, otlu-rways called Joan of Kent, was burnt for
holdinfj: Tliat Christ was nut incarnate of" the virgin Mary: ])oin;^
condemned the year I)el'ore, but kept in liope of conversion ; and the
noth of April the bishop of London, and the l)isli(i|> of Ely were to
j)erswade her, but she -withstood them, and icvilcd the preacher that
preached at lier death."
OF ROGER HUTCHIXSOX. V
tains evidenco that Foxe's story, for which ho does not
assign any authority, could not be true. Amongst the
minutes of the business transacted by the council (\\ho, be it
remembered, under the will of Henry VIII. were the actual
governors of the kingdom during the minority of Edward
VI.) on the 27th April looO, is the following entry; —
" A warrant to the L. Chaunccllor to make out
a writt to the Shireff of London for the execu^on of
Johan of Kent, condempned to be burned for certein
detestable opinions of heresie."
It appears from these words, that, in conformity with
the ordinary legal practice of the period, Joan Bocher was
executed upon a writ de liceretico coniburendo^ addressed to
the Sheriff of London, and issued out of Chancery, upon
the authority of a warrant signed, not by the king, but by
the council. It would have been contrary to constitutional
custom for the king to have signed any such document ; it
is quite clear, from the entry quoted, that, in point of fact,
he did not sign it; and the narrative which the worthy
martyrologist was misled into inserting, and Cranmer''s dif-
ficulty to cause the king to " put to his hand," and the tears
by which subsequent wTiters have declared that his sub-
mission to the stern pleading of his spiritual father were
accompanied, all vanish'.
But to return to our author. '• The Image of God "
* Tliat no doubt may rciiiain upon the subject I will add, i. That it
was not customary for tlio kiny; to attend the meetings of the council,
ii. 'I'liat wlioncvci- the council desired that the king should he consulted,
01- communicated witli, an entry was made upon the council hook similar
to the following whicli occurs on the same day as the preceding: '* It
was agreed by the whole counsaill, that the king's majestic should be
moved for the restitution of the duke of Somersett unto all his goods, his
dcbtes, and liis leases yet ungivcn." iii. That the persons present on
the day referred to were: "The Lorde Cliauncellur, The L. High Thrca-
sorer, The L. P. h^eale, The L. tircat C'liamlicrlaine, 'I'he L. Chamber-
laine, The L. Pagett, 'I'lie Russliopp of Kly, Mr Threasorcr, .Mr ('nni])-
trollcr, Mr of the Horse, Mr Viccchamberlaine, Sir Kauf tNidlcr, Sir
Edward Northe."
VI BIOGRAl'HICAr, NOTICE
was first published in 1550, with a title of which a fac-similc
is presented in this edition, and with the following colo-
phon : " Imprinted at London by Jlion Daie, dwelling ouer
Aldersgate and Wylliam Seres dwelling in Peter CoUedge.
The yere of our Lorde God MDL. the twenty and eight
day of June. Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum."
Although described on the title page as of Cambridge, it
would seem that Hutchinson had left the University before
the publication, as he dated his prefatory epistle from Lon-
don. His object in his work was not merely to explain the
doctrine of the ever-blessed Trinity, but to do it in such a
manner as to refute the more glaring errors of the church of
Rome ; to direct attention to some extraordinary assertions
of Albertus Pighius, a great champion of that church ; to
controvert the errors of the Arians, Anabaptists, and other
sectaries, by whom the morning of the Reformation was
clouded ; and to press home upon all classes of the people
the necessity for a personal as well as an ecclesiastical refor-
mation. His book was indeed designed to be, as the second
title expresses, a " Layman''s Book," a manual of religious
instruction for the laity, based upon that which he con-
tended for as " the only touchstone to examine and try all
doctrine," the holy scripture.
"The Image of God" was reprinted in 1560, after
the author''s death, with occasional variations from the pre-
vious edition, some of which were derived from a corrected
copy given by the author to Day the printer. By the favour
of St John's College, Cambridge, the present editor has
been permitted to use a copy of the first edition, which is in
the library of that college, — the only copy we know of —
and has thus been enabled to exhibit in foot-notes the most
material variations between the two editions.
In the year of the first publication of "The Image"
Hutchinson was appointed a fellow of Eton College', and
there the five sermons which form the remaining contents of
1 Addl. MS. Brit. Mus. 4843. fo. 194.
OF ROGER HUTCHINSON.
this volume were preached. The author gave a copy of the
first three to Day the printer, before the decease of Edward
VL, but that event silenced Day"'s press, and delayed their
publication until 1560, when they were appended, with a
distinct title page, to the second edition of " The Image."
These sermons are here reprinted from the edition of 1560.
The other two sermons are now published for the first
time from a MS. preserved in the collection of MSS. which
formerly belonged to the Royal Library in St James's Palace,
and is now in the British Museum. This ^IS. is con-
temporary with the author : it contains corrections perhaps
made by himself, and was not improbably presented to the
Royal Library by Sir Henry Sidney, a personal friend of
Edward VL, to whom the sermons are dedicated. Manv
passages of these sermons are founded upon writings of
Chrs'sostom besides those directly quoted ; and, in follow-
ing that eloquent father, our author has been led into one
or two statements respecting the atoning efficacy of afflic-
tion, which, had he seen them in print, he probabl}- would
have a little modified. These statements should be taken
in connection with our author's opinions upon the same
subject expressed in chapter xi. of " The Image," and
certainly should not be understood as if meant by him
to interfere with the one great atonement, which he so often
and so clearly upholds.
In other passages of these sermons it seems, as if the
vices of the times and the ill-health of the kmg, forewarned
the writer to anticipate the darkness which was about to
overshadow the land. When that time of affliction arrived,
and some, as he says had before been the case, " were
thrown into the Fleet, some into the Marshalsca, some were
inclosed up into the Tower, some were racked, some scourged,
other some burned, other some were defaced, slandered,
and persecuted with venomous and lying tongues," ho wjis
probably deprived', as a married priest, of his fellowship at
=> Addl. MS. Brit. iMus. 4843. fo. 194.
Vm BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE
Eton, and, if he had lived, would have been called upon
to take a further share in the sorrow^s of that melancholy
period. The last glimpse we catch of him is pleasing
and characteristic. After the persecution had begun, in
his last illness, when confined to his bed, he contrived to
convey to Day the printer, then a fellow-prisoner in Newgate
with the Marian proto-martyr Rogers', a message full of
hopeful anticipation for the future. " Lying on his death-
bed,"" says Day, " he sent to me in my trouble, desiring me
that whensoever Almighty God of his own mere mercy and
goodness would look no more upon our wretchedness, but
wipe away our sinnes, and hide them in the precious wounds
of his Son Jesus Christ, and turn once again his merciful
countenance towards us, and lighten our hearts with the
bright beams of his most glorious gospel, that I would
not only put these sermons of his in print, but also his
other book, called The Image of God, the which he him-
self had newly corrected^."
He did not live to behold the realization of his anti-
cipations, nor, indeed, to witness the worst troubles of the
Reformers, being released from the miseries of that dread-
ful time, between the 23rd May, 1555, which is the date
of his will, and the succeeding loth June, when it was
proved. From that document we learn that he was mar-
ried, and had three children ; and besides his wife Agnes,
and his children, Thomas, Anne, and Elizabeth, he makes
mention of his uncle Serle, and his cousin William Box
the younger; to the last of whom he bequeathed his copy
of Xenoplion in Greek, in small volumes ; probably the
edition published at Halle in 1540, in S vols. 8vo.
The " leases of Saynt Elleyns, and his advowson of Rick-
mansworth," which he leaves with his other property to his
wife, seem to connect him with Bishop Ridley ; for the
priory of St Helen's, I^ishf)pgate, and the advowson of Rick-
mansworth, were given to that prelate in right of his see
' Foxe ji. 1356. '^ Sec p. 213.
OF ROUER HL'TCHINSON. IX
by separate gi'ants from Edward VI., dated on the 1st and
22nd April, 1550\ Hutchinson's leases were, no doubt,
granted to him by Ridle}', and were two of those which
formed the subject of the martyrs last earthly thoughts
and petitions. Upon Bonners restoration Ridley's leases
were called in question, and 'many poor persons who had
paid fines for renewals were threatened to be turned out
of possession. This harsh proceeding was a source of great
affliction to Ridley : his last letter was addressed to the
queen in their behalf, and his last words before the fire
was kindled were these, addressed to Lord Williams: "There
is nothing in all the world that troublcth my conscience,
I praise God, this only excepted. AVliilst I was in the
see of London, divers poor men took leases of me, and
agreed with me for the same. Now I hear say, the bishop
that now occupieth the same room will not allow my grants
unto them made, but, contrary unto all law and conscience,
hath taken from them their livings, and will not suffer them
to enjoy the same. I beseech you, my lord, be a mean for
them : you shall do a good deed, and God will reward
you'*."" What became of the leases to Hutchinson, has not
been discovered ; but considerable litigation ensued in re-
spect of some which stood upon a similar footing, and those
tenants who held out appear finally to have prevailed''.
Of Hutchinson's personal character we know little. The
only evidence respecting it is found in a letter of Roger
Aschani's, which contains some passages relating to a dis-
pute at St John's, in which Hutchinson was involved, but
upon the merits of which it is difficult to form a judg-
ment. He represents him as of a hasty temper, but asks,
" what wise man would not readily overlook such a fault
when it is compensated by so many virtues V — and draws a
character of him which nuiy suitably close this brief notice :
" If I am at all able to judge, ho is a man of profound under-
^ Clutterbuck's Hertf. i. 180. Ncwcourt's Ri-pcit. i. '-M'A.
* Ridley's Works, 297, 427. ^ Strype's Mem. iv. S»l.
X KIOGIiAl'HlCAL NOTICK OF ilOGEK HUTCHINSON.
standing, of singular learning, and yields scarcely to any one
in strictness of life, and clear judgment in religion : he is
true-hearted, and is most strenuously averse from popery ^''''
The following is a copy of his will :
Will of Roger Hutchinson.
In the name of God, Amen. The 23rd day of May,
in the year of our Lord a thousand five hundredth fifty
and five. I, Roger Hutchinson, being of perfect mind and
sick in body, make ray last will in form and manner fol-
lowing. First, commending ray soul into the hands of
Almighty God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, and
my body to be buried at my friends' discretion ; T bequeath
Thomas Hutchenson, my son, twenty pounds ; and unto
my daughter Anne, and to my daughter Elizabeth, to
each of them ten pounds, to be paid out of my goods.
The xx/i. to be paid unto my son Thomas when he cometh
to twenty years of age ; and my daughters to receive their
portions at the day of their man'iage ; and if it fortune
any of them to die before they receive their parts, then
such money as is due unto him or them that die to be
parted equally among my children that remain and live.
Item, I bequeath to my cousin "Wilham Box the younger,
my Zenophon's works in Greek, in small volumes. All the
rest of ray goods, with ray leases of Seynt EUyns and my
advowson of E,ickmansworth, my debts paid and my lega-
cies performed, I bequeath unto Agnes my wife, whom I
make my sole executrix, and also T make mine uncle Serle
the overseer of ray will, and bequeath unto him for his
pains 65. 86?. Witnesses of this my will, Thomas Fawden ;
Masteres Anno Phillip ; Avys More ; Roger Laker ; By me,
John Hutchenson at Roklyf.
Proved before the Dean and Chapter of Canterburj',
sede vacante, loth June, 1555, by the oath of Thomas
Willett, proctor of Agnes, the rehct and executrix.
' Ascham's Epiat. 11(3. Edit. Oxon. 1703.
THE
IMAGE OF GOD,
LAYMAN' S BOOK.
of a^otif or laic ma$
Ijooftf, in tolDprtl t\}t
rpgfjt fenotulftjgc of
©oti 10 0i0ClO0cl)i» antJ
triuerec Iroutce tiespDfe
t!)e principal mat=
ttr. i^ftDlpmaHe
out of t)oU U3rit
tip Uogtt f^ttt
cljpneon
of Clamfirptjgc.
^nno tro. fH.
(turn prtuikgto ati intpti:
mcntrum 0Olum.
THE
CONTENTS AND CHAPTERS.
WHAT GOD IS.
riMP. PAGF
I. We must learn Avhat God is of God's word, and not
of man's wisdom 11
II. God is of himself IG
III. God is a spirit, and how the scriptures do grant unto
him a head, eyes, hands, feet, and all other parts
of man's hody ; he is a bird, a shooter, a husband-
man; Christ is his image, and man also 18
IV. God is immutable, and how he is otherwhiles angry,
otherwhiles pleased, sometime asleep, sometime
awake, sometime forgetful, standing, sitting, walk-
ing, &c 25
V. God is uasearchable 28
VI. God is invisible, and how the faithful of the old tes-
tament saw him divers times 29
VII. God is every where, and how Christ is in the sacrament .31
VIII, God is full of understanding 4.J
IX. God is truth, and whether it be lawful to lie for any
consideration ^1
X. God is full of compassion 50
XI. God is full of righteousness: and of the prosperity of
evil, and the affliction of good men 57
XII. God is full of all goodness CO
Xni. God only is immortal: and of the immortality of souls
and angels Gl
Xl\'. God is tlie maker of all things; whereof he made
tlicm, by wlioni, and who made the devil, and of
tbo beginning of sin and evil G2
XV. God rulcth the world after his providence, and how
he rested the seventh day Gi»
XVI. God only knoweth all things 8t)
XVII. (Jod only forgiveth sin; our pardoning, what it is; of
lijosing and binding ^-
.W'lll. IJod only is Alniighty ; and whether he can sin, die,
or lie, witli other properties H^^
.\l\. (lod is dehucd by the scripture H^
XIV
CONTENTS.
CHAP.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
WHAT A PERSON IS.
PACE
In what order he will \vY\te of a person 120
A person is not a difference of vocation and office ; and
that the fathers of the old testament Avorshipped a
Trinity 121
A person is no outward thing; and why the churcli
hath used this word 129
THAT THERE BE THREE PERSONS.
XXIII. Christ is a substance 132
XXIV. The Holy Spirit is not a godly inspiration ; is governor
of the world; to be prayed unto ; a forgiver of sin ... 134
XXV. Christ is unconfounded ; why he became man, and
why he came so long after Adam's fall 143
XXVI. The Holy Comforter is unconfounded; why he de-
scended in the likeness of a doA'e 155
XXVII. Corporal similitudes of God 159
THAT ALL THREE ARE BUT ONE GOD.
XXVIII. The deity of Christ and the Spirit deny not a unity 167
XXIX. All the parts of the definition made of God are proved
to agree unto Christ 187
XXX. All the parts of the same definition are proved to agree
to the Almighty Comforter and Spirit 193
HERESIES CONFUTED IN THIS BOOK.
VII. Against the heresy of transubstantiation, and corporal,
or local, presence 33
III. Against the Authropomorphites, otherwise named Hu-
maniformians, which suppose God to be of coi-poral
form and shape 24
VIIL Against ])opish, and outward, priesthood, and the
sacrifice of the mass 4G
IX. Against the Priscillianists, which think that, for some
consideration, sometime lying is not forbidden 51
X. Against the Origenists, which say that all men and
women, and devils also, at length shall be saved... 56
COXTEN'TS.
XV
CHAP. PACE
XV. Against the late Epicures, which think that God so
rested the seventh day from all his works that now
he worketh no more 88
XY. Against astrologers, that think all things are govei-ned
by fate and destiny, and by the influence and moving
of the stars 77
XVII. Against such as think that we through love, or for-
giving other, deserve remission of our misdeeds ... 95
XVII. Against our late Anabaptists and Donatists, which
teach that evU ministers cannot christen, loose, and
bind 97
XVII. Against Peter's primacy 98
XVIII. Against the late Anabaptists and Novatians, which
deny those that fall after baptism to be recoverable 113
XXI. Against the Patripassians and Sabellians, which con-
found the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, saying
that they be three names and one thing 121
Against un^vrittcn verities 124
XXIV. Against our late English Sadducees and Libertines,
which deny the almighty' Comforter to be a sub-
.stance, and hold that he is a godly insi^iratiou 134
XXI^^ Against the same Libertines and Sadducees, which
make the unlearned people believe that good angels
are nothing else than good motion.s, and that hell is
nothing but a tormenting conscience, and that a
joyful, quiet and merry conscience is heaven 1VA
Against the damnable opmion that the devil is nothing
but a filthy affection commg of the flesh, and that
all evil spirits are carnal motions and sensual lusts 140
XXV. Against the assertion of the Arians that Christ took
upon him our flesh, but not a soul also 144
Against the damnable opinion of the late Anabaptist,
which denied that Clirist took his humanity of the
blessed Virgin 1 45
XXVIII. Against the Arians, that deny the Father, Christ, and
the Holy Spirit to be of one substance and essence ... 168
Against the multitude of Gods 170
Against the JNIanichees, which make two Gods, calling
them two contrary principles 170
Against the heresy of praying to saints 171
THE EPISTLE.
To THE Most Reve-
rend FATHER, Lord Thomas Craxmer.
Archbishop of CANTERerRY,
Primate of all England, and
^Metropolitan, his most
humble Roger Hut-
cHixsox wisheth
peace, welfare,
and eternal
feheity.
PdBLius Scipio, he that was first siirnamed African, rcicero de
oificiis, 111).
right honourable father, was wont to say. that he was never iiic.i.j
less idle than when he was idle; meaning thereby, forsomuch
as he was a magistrate, that he most earnestly thought and
mused of commonwealth matters, when he seemed to others
least occupied. A worthy saying for so noble a man, and
to bo embraced of all rulers, namely in these troublous
days, in which so many things be disoi'dered and need re-
formation. So, albeit 1 am no magistrate, as noble Scipio
was, but a private person, yet I have thought it my bounden
duty to see such hours in which I might have been un-
occupied (which some spend in banquetting, rioting, and
gaming) bestowed neither unthriftily ne idly, but to the
profit of the commonwealth ; to teach the lay people under-
standing and science t<» the utmost' extent of my small
power.
Understanding is a seed that God sowetli in man's
soul, and among all his gifts knowledge is tiie chiefest. It
[' ntniost, 1."<.")0; utti'vmost. l.'>(i().3
1
[nuTcniNsoN.]
THE KPISTLE
Wisd. xiii.
Rom. i.
1 John i.
John xiv.
Luke xviii.
Ecclus.xxiv.
[24.]
Mark x.
John xvii.
2 Tim. iii.
ordereth the mind, governeth the body, directeth all our
works and affairs, teaching us what ought to be done, and
what is to be left undone ; without which neither a king can
rule his subjects, nor the captain guide his array, nor a bishop
instruct his flock, ne any man of science, or craftsman, shew
forth and practise his art or occupation. Now, if we re-
count other things to be of great price and value, your wis-
dom knoweth, that the knowledge of God surmounteth so
far all other sciences as God himself excelleth all other
creatures. And the same, without denay, is most profitable
and necessary both unto kings, dukes, earls, and lords, as
appeareth Psalm ii., Deute. xvii., Esay xlix. where they be
named " the nurses of religion ;" and also unto gentlemen,
merchantmen, yeomen, husbandmen ; to all degrees spiritual
and temporal. " Vain are all men which have not the
knowledge of God," saith the wise man : and Paul testifieth,
that, " because it seemed to them not good to have the
knowledge of God, God gave them up into a lewd mind, to
their own hearts'* lust, and to all uncleanness." For, if he
be light, such as know not him do stumble in darkness : if
he be the way, they that be ignorant have lost their way :
if he be the truth, all such as have no acquaintance with
him be blinded and deceived : if he only be good, we
must borrow and crave all good things of him alone : if all
science be the Lord's, we must be OeoSiSuKToi, " God's
scholars :" if he only be almighty, all our power, strength,
and ability cometh from him : if he be life, the end of
such as be ignorant, and will not seek to know the Lord,
shall be eternal death. For our Saviour and Mercy-stock
saith, that this knowledge is eternal life : " This is eternal
life, to know thee and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent,
to be the true God." But we nmst fetch the right know-
ledge and true description of him out of holy WTit, which, as
the apostle telleth, is profitable to teach, to control, to
amend, and to instruct in all righteousness. I have made
TO ARCHHISHOP CRAXMER.
this treatise of him out of the same; and forasmuch as my
intent and matter herein is to portray and paint our Saviour
Christ, who is the brightness of the everlasting hght, the Heb. i.
undefiled glass and lively image of the divine majesty, I do wisd.vii.
call it, The Image op God : or else, because such things
be here opened and discovered which be necessary to be
believed and known of the lay and unlearned people (I
would not have them utterly lack images) name it, if ye
will. The Layman's Book; for images were Avont to be
named Libri Laicorum^ "the books of the laity." I am
not the first that hath painted Christ : Paul pamted him
long sith to the Galatians, as he witnesseth, " I have Gai. m:
painted Jesus Christ before your eyes, and have crucified
him amongst you ;" and all the other apostles, evangelists,
and prophets, were painters. ]My mind is, not to portray
any new, strange, or unknown Image, but to renew, and
repair again, the old Image that Paul made, which hath
been so darkened with glosses, and is so bespotted with
colours of man"'s wit, so stained through shameful covetous-
ness, liberty, and greedy ambition, that marvel it is to see
men so unreverent towards the majesty of God their
maker.
Seneca, a Avise and sage philosopher, willeth that meet
gifts be not unmeetly given to unmeet persons, as armour
to women, nets to students, wives to boys; and Christ, the
wisdom of God, commandeth, " Give not that which is Jiatt. vii.
holy to dogs, neither cast ye pearls before swine;" mean-
ing thereby, that all kind of gifts ought to be agreeable
and answerable to their degrees and vocations to whom
they are given. Now, what thing could be devised niore
agrc(\able to your gracious estate than his Image, wliose
glory and honour you have always sought to advance, not
without gi'oat danger of your goods and life? — for which
you are bound to render liini most hearty thanks, that he
chose your grace for a blessed instrument to sweep clean
4 TIIK F.PISTI.F
his house and church, to redress all abuses, and to restore
.^ -r-er-y*'^- again his fallen and decayed glory, maugre the head of
ff*^' S^rt^^^4 all enemies. Therefore I do present and dedicate this
As A'^ ^'^ Image, honourable father, unto your grace, both for the
worthiness of the matter, which is incomparable ; for the
meetness of your person ; for a perpetual monument of my
good will towards your lordship ; and also, for a testimony,
token, and declaration, of my zeal and benevolence to my
countrymen. If I shall see it to be profitable to them, I
shall be encouraged to take mo fruitful matters in hand,
in which I desire continually to occupy myself, but the world
is so evil, so unkind, so unthankful to students, that poverty
causeth them to remit and slack their studies, and to seek
the world to maintain their necessities. Abundance and
wealth dwelleth only with those which have God''s houses
in possession, which eat up his people like bread, and are
not content to live upon their own sweat, but do live upon
other men's goods and labours, upon the church goods,
which are the poor's, I do mean all such as, in the papist-
ical time, were wont to live of their lands, to keep good
hospitality, to maintain schools and houses of alms; and
now they be purchasers and sellers-away of the same,
usurers, rent-raisers, graziers, and farrii-mongers, whereby
hospitality, tillage, and many good houses, be decayed in
England, and the realm is unpeopled and disfurnished. Be-
sides, some be beer-brewers, some farmers of benefices, some
persons, some vicars, buyers of impropriations, some deans
of colleges, some prebendaries, and officers also in the king's
house. Again, priests, which should be preachers and dis-
tributers of the holy sacraments, bo lawyers, commissaries,
chancellors, officials, proctors, receivers, stewards : the office
of salvation is unregarded through covetousness. And law-
yers, which be no [)riests, be parsons', vicars, prebendaries,
against the ordinance of God, of which St Paul rccordeth,
[' Persons, 3550; parsons, ^'>60^\
TO AKCfllUSHOP CKAXMICK. O
" Even so did the Lord ordain, that they uhieh preach ^ '^^'^'- '""•
the gospel should live of the gospel,'' and no other, neither
king, lord, gentleman, ne lawyer. And yet this mingle-
mangle of spiritual and temporal regiment and offices is
suffered, as if there were neither God, ne magistrate or-
dained of God, to redress such abuses. What marvel is it
if man's ordinances and statutes be broken, where the ordi-
nance of God is plainly resisted, and not received I
Other some, that pretend they be true preachers of
God's word, and are counted holy and discreet men, re-
tained the king's chaplains, and ^\■ith other lords both
spiritual and temporal, be indeed benefice-mongers, pre-
bend-mongers, have many archdeaeonships, deaneries, and
they do not the office of one of their vocations: some once
a year, or twice peradventure, doth preach a sermon before
the king, or at the Spittle", or at Paul's cross, to delude and
paint the world, and to uphold their good names ; but
in the countr}', where is most need, and where their livings
lie, they preach not at all ; the most part never preach.
Idle chaplains many years possess and withhold wrongfully
preachers' livings. Is not the ordinance of God broken
herein; Is not his proclamation disobeyed, which he pro-
claimeth by the mouth of St Paul, "He who laboureth - ti'-'ss- »'•
not ought not to eat" ? Had Eleazar and Abiather so Abiathar,
many livings "i Did Hely, Achimelech, and Sadoc, dispend zadock.
so much of tlic costs of parishes, and do nothing there-
fore i Did temporal men amongst the Jews, in the old
testament, thus live of the altar as they do now of the
gospel I Look on their examples : behold the apostles ; nesV^"*'
behold Timothe, and Tite ; and if we do allow the doc-
trine of the primitive and apostolical church, let us follow
[/ The well known Spital Sermons were originally preached at
a pulpit-cross erected in the churchyard of " the Spittle", or Hos-
pital of St Mary, in the parish of St Botolph, Bishopsgatc. Stow's
London. Strypc's Ed. Book ii. 1)8.]
0 THK EPISTLE
the example of the same. Behold the elder fathers, Origen,
Cyprian, Ambrose, Jerome, Austin, Chrysostom, and others,
which spent all their lives in preaching God's word to the
people, as appeareth plain in their works, which be either
sermons, lessons, homilies to the people, or else disputa-
fathers were tions and confutations of heresies in their times. Their
preachina^
prelates, trade was to preach and expound the scriptures to the
people on the holydays, and on some workdays ; and then
they procured their expositions and sermons to be written
in Latin or Greek, for the erudition of them which fol-
lowed. Some begin to renew this trade now in England :
1 beseech Almighty God to prosper them. I am sure that
the best learned of them is not able to prove that it ought
to be otherwise, or that the scriptures do allow these plu-
ralities of livings, dispensations, tot-quots of promotions,
non-residences, impropriations, and this mingle-mangle. Paul
commandeth every man to exercise that vocation where-
1 Cor. vii. ^j^Iq he j|g called. He alloweth every man one vocation,
one office and occupation, not many ; for he saith, in
vocatione, " in his vocation," not " in his vocations."
I hear say an ecclesiastical law, which I have long de-
sired, shall come forth shortly': I trust therefore that all spiri-
tual abuses shall be redressed speedily, without any consider-
ation of private lucre to any man, high or low, spiritual or
temporal, and according to the counsel of which David speak-
eth, saying, " The word of God is my counsellor." Truly,
unless these things be reformed, Enghsh service, homilies,
P By tlic statute -^rd and 4th Edward VI. cap. xi., passed early in
the year 15.50, the kinj^ was empowered to authorise thirty-two persons
to compile a new code of ecclesiastical law. This authority was not
acted upon ; but on the 11th November, 1.551, a commission was directed
to archljishop (^ranmor and seven other persons, l)y Avhich they were
empowered to prepare a code of ecclesiastical law, for the consideration
of the commissioners wliom it was dcsif^nod to appoint in conformity with
the act of parliament. The code comjtilcd by tlie eiffht commissioners
was published in 1571, by Foxc, with the concurrence of archbishop
Parker, under the title of Reformatio Lcgum Ecclcduiiticarum.~^
TO ARCHBISHOP CKANiMEK. 7
and the right use of the sacraments, do not make us
christian men : we differ from the Turks but in outward
rites and ceremonies, not in the substance of our faith, which
is upright conversation and good life. But they which
should reform others, some be entangled with the same
vices themselves. Dicing and carding are forbidden, but
dicing and carding-houses are upholden ; some in their own
houses, and in the king's majesty's court (God save his
noble gi*ace, and grant that virtue and knowledge may
meet in his royal heart !) give ensample to his subjects to
break his statutes and laws. Prisons in London, where
men lie for debt, be dicing-houses ; places of correction
and punishment be dens and schools of unthriftiness ; open
drunkards have no punishment; adultery is recounted but
a light matter; chaplains are found of the costs of poor
parishes, through which disorder many thousands here in
England be deprived of the sweet milk of God's word, and
lack teachers to declare them their duties toward God
and their king. This is not only my lamentation, but the
lamenting of all true-hearted Christians, the voice of the
commonalty, the decay of the commonwealth ; and a joyful
hearing, glad and pleasant ne\^s, to our enemies, that
gape and look for the end of these matters, which will be
destruction and ruin, if this darnel of covetousness and
liberty, every man to do what him list, be not weeded
out, and God's wrath pacified by some redress and amend-
ment. For, seeing the head is so sick and diseased, what
marvel is it if the body be so froward, so disobedient, and
so desperate^? If thou wilt heal the body, thou must begin
with the head ; for his health cometh thence : I would
say, the next way to make obedient and godly people is
the godly ensample of magistrates. It is written : Secundum
{^' In tliesc and sonic sul>siM|u(nt allusions to the unquictncss of the
tinu'S, Ilutchinson p;lanc('s at the insurroi-tions in Noifolk, Cormvall,
and iitlior parts of England, which occurred in the year 1548.3
8 T}1E EPISTLK
Kccius. X. judicem popitli, sic, t^c '• as the rulers of the pe()])le be,
such are their subjects.'' They arc named of God " the
heads of the people,"" of others " the bellies of the common-
wealth/' As the head is troubled when the hand, the
leg, yea, the little finger, suffereth anguish, and the belly
sendeth sustenance to all the parts of the body ; so rulers,
in that they are called heads and bellies, are admonished of
their office to regard the need and oppression of their
subjects, and to care for the whole body of the common-
wealth, lest, if they tender one part and oppress another,
it breed and gender division, strife, rebellion, and parties, as
it hath done. And they likewise are admonished to be
obedient, tractable, and lowly of service. Nothing is more
safeguard to a prince than the love and heart of his com-
mons, and nothing is more dangerous, more slippery, than
to be feared; for, as father Ennius said,
Ennius *'• Quem metuunt oderunt :
Eduf Hes-^ Quem quisque odit, periisse expetit."
sel. Amster. . i i
i707,p.29s.j "Whom men do fear, him do they hate withal;
And Avhom they, hate, they wish and seek his fall."
Eccius. X. And Jesus, the son of Sirach, saith : " An unwise prince
iKinjs^.ii. spoileth his people." Look on the ensample of Roboam,
and upon the good counsel that his young minions gave their
kino; : 1 think he rewarded them for it afterward, as de-
sirers of division and parties. They that will be feared of
many, must needs be afraid of many. The glory of a king
is the welfare of his subjects. '" It was a merry world,"
quod the papist, " before the bible came forth in English ;
all things were good cheap, and plentiful."" Xay, nay, if
these things were reformed, and every man, both spiritual
and temporal, were compelled by some law and statute to
serve but in one vocation and one office, we should have
a golden world ; England would become a paradise ; God
would bless us, as he hath ])romised, both heavenly and
bodily. The redress and amendment of enormities in the
TO ARCHBISHOP CRAXMER. \)
commonweal nuust come from the magistrates, not by rebels;
for they are powers exalted and ordained of God for the
same intent, who healeth the body by the policy of the
head, not of the feet. If not, we shall, instead of the com-
fortable promises of God, be destroyed and overwhelmed
with terrible plagues, which he threateneth to the breakers Ueut.xwiii.
of his law, as dearth, war, dissension, uproars, insurrections,
pestilence, strange diseases, &c. We have a taste of these
curses already; God hath bent his bow and let slip some of
his arrows, which be his plagues, long sith among us: we
may perceive by that which hath chanced what touch he
will keep with us hereafter, and what is like to follow.
O eternal God, spare thy servants. Let not the enemies
of the truth have such cause to rejoice. Suffer not hogs',
filthy and covetous men, to root and tread down thy vineyard
any longer, but hold up the staff of thine inheritance. Let
not the preaching of thy sweet Son increase the damnation
of thy people, but do thou draw and turn them, work their
amendment, who boldest in thy hands the hearts of rulers
and all men. All these enormities be the fruits of evil
hearts : make them, 0 God, clean-hearted, that they may
pour forth good fruits by the operation of thy Holy Spirit ;
who preserve your grace in good health,
and make your government
prosperous to you,
to this realm,
and to the
church of
God.
So be it.
At London the xxvi. of June.
[' Gods, 1550; hogs, 1500.]
MASTER DOCTOR BYLL^
Images arc made to put us in mind
Of that which is dead, or far absent;
But God is neither, as we do find,
But aye living, and each where present.
Images are cursed, graven by man's wit,
In place that are set for any religion;
But an Image made out of holy writ
Is not forbidden, in mine opinion.
An Image is painted here, in this book.
Neither with false colours nor man's inventions ;
But out of God's book set out to all folk.
Fruitful and necessary to all true Christians.
Hutchinson shope it for good men to regard;
With thanks his costs, with praise his pains reward.
P Dr ^V'illiam Bill, a hearty favourer of the reformation, was
successively master of St John's and Trinity Colleges in Cambridge,
almoner to queen Elizabeth, provost of Eton, and dean of "W^cstmin-
ster. He died July 15, 1561, and Avas buried in Westminster abbey.
Harl. MS. 7028. fo. 139.]
THE
IMAGE OFGOD;
THE FIRST CHAPTER.
We must learn what God w, of God's word, and not of man's wisdom.
The first point and cliief profession of a true christian
man is, most stedfastly to believe that there be three per-
sons, and one God ; as we are taught in baptism, which
is commanded to be ministered in the name of the Father, ^latt.x.wiii.
of the Son, and of^ the Holy Spirit. For in that bath
of holy baptism we are regenerate, washed, purified, and
made the childi'en of God, by the workmanship of the three
persons, which formed also heaven and earth, and all the
glorious fairness of them ; they brought the children of
Israel out of the house of bond,i;ge ; they preserved them
from the tyi'anny and oppression of the heathen ; they
gave also unto the heathen prosperity and adversity,
peace and war, poverty and riches ; they govern the uni-
versal church ; whose works be unseparable. AVherefore,
I think it necessary to declare what God is, and what
a i)erson signifieth in the Deity ; forasmuch as the common
sort of ]>eople are ignorant of their maker and governor,
and the signification of a i)erson is applied to diverse things.
And because these two points be dark and hidden mysteries,
and no less necessary to be known of all men than hard
to teach, I will shape my speech after such a jiorceivabie
fashion, that I may, by God's help, make an Image of
God for the capacity of the simple and unlearned. God
spake to tin; Israelites out of the firo in the mount Oreb,
and it is written, that they " heard a voice, but they saw p*^"'- '^■•
no image," because they should make none aftei- it. For
it is a dishonour to Tlod, a derogation and defaiiiiiig of
[■•' Ami the, 15o(); uiul of the, ]5(iO.]
12
IIF, I.MAfJK Ol- flOO,
['
Ecclcs. i.
Isai. xlv.
Simoiiidoii.
[Cicero de
•iiatura Deo
rum, Lib. i
c. 22.]
1 Ccr. ii.
John vi.
Lib. X.Hi
Tripar. c.
tlio divine nature, to make any .similitude thereof, eitlier
of gold, silver, stone, wood, or in thought and mind. W^o
must hear his voice, we must learn what God is, out of
God's book, not of man's wisdom. For, if " all things
which be under the sun be too hard for man," as the wise
man telleth. how much more be the secrets of God's nature
hid from his eyes ! of the which Esay wTiteth, " Tinily,
Lord, thou art hidden from us ;" counting himself one of
the ignorant. Simonides, a famous clerk among the hea-
then, teacheth us how feeble man's wit is in declaring this
mystery; who, when he was inquired of king Hiero, what
a thing God was, he asked a day respite, and the next
day, when he was inquired again, he asked two days more,
and when they were expired, he asked more, not ceasing
to double his days, until Hiero required of him why he
did so^ "For because," saith' Simonides, "the more I
consider it, the darker it is unto me." And no manel ;
for as no man knoweth what is in man but the spirit of
man, so all men be ignorant what God is, except they be
taught of the Spirit of God. For, seeing Paul saith, " The
eye hath not seen, nor the ear hath not heard, ne yet have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him;" how much more doth
he himself surmount our capacities ! But it followeth,
" God hath opened them unto us by his Spirit ; for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the bottom of God's secrets."
And this Spirit speaketh and breatheth on us in the scrip-
tures ; as it is written, " My words are Spirit and life."
Experience doth teach us, and the Apostle warneth
us, how fantastical our heads be in searching God's mys-
teries. For some imagine God to be a corporal thing, and
of man's shape and form, because the scripture doth grant,
in diverse places, unto God hands, feet, ears, eyes, mouth
and tongue; called commonly Anthropomorphites. Read the
'l[ tenth book of the Tripartite History, seventh chapter',
and there you shall find a great contention concerning this
matter between the monks of Egypt and Theophilus bishop
of Alexandria ; albeit the sect of the Epicures^ held this
[1 Saith, 1.5.50; saifl, 1560.]
\y In the Auctorcs Ecclcs. Tliistoria', p. 5-10. Basil, lo.j.j.]
[^^ Epicures, 15.50; Kpicuvus, 1500.]
I.] OR layman's book. 13
assertion long before, as it appeareth in the first book of
TuUy, De natura Deorum, where this opinion is elo(piently ['"• 23.]
confuted by Cotta, a senator of Rome.
Other rob Clod of his glory, and give it unto his erea- Rom. i.
tures, worshipping the sun, the moon, the fire, yea, and
mortal men, for the immortal God; and unreasonable beasts,
for the author of all reason, wisdom, and understanding.
And some dishonour him by honouring of dead saints, and
worshipping of bread and wine, Avithout any commandment
of the scripture, any example in the old or new testament,
any authority of the doctors. I will not stand in rehearsing
the sundry fantasies of men as touching God. AVhat is
the cause of all these fansies and diversities, but that
for which Isaiah controleth us, saying, " The ox knoweth u^^. i.
his lord, and the ass his master's stall, but we know not
God" ? Come, therefore, good christian people, and hearken
to the words of the Lord ; and I will shew you, in them,
the majesty of God himself, his face and countenance,
his magnificence and highness, which cannot abide the
fellowship of any creatures. Paul unto the Hebrues warneth
us, that we " be not carried away with diverse and strange iieii. xiii.
doctrine;'' which is as much to say, as if he should com- nine, what
mand us to fly man's doctrine. For men be the strangers, '
whose doctrine he biddeth us fly, as Peter witnesseth :
" Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, 1 r<'t. n.
Sec." Paul also expoundeth himself, saying, that Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, "confessed themselves to be strangers [Heb. \i.]
and pilgrims u])on the earth, dwelling in tents." And
Christ saith, that his sheep hear not the voice of strangers ; Joim x.
that is, the doctrine of men, the which in the eighth of ^'^'"'^ ^''''•
Mark is called "the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod." The leavi-n
Tin r- -p 1 ot'tbo llw-
Wheretore, it we be sheep of his pasture, and ])eople of i'-**'^''-
his hands, let us follow his counsel, (for he is our shep-
herd, our head, and the truth,) and of his apostles, (for
they are his labourers and workmen;) remembering that
David saith, "Understanding is good to them that doiNai. fvi.
after it." j^'or he that knoweth his master's will, and will i<.K.\ii.
not follow it, he shall be more grievously imnisheil. Christ
saith unto .-i woman of Samaria, at Jacob's well, besides
Sicliar, that she; and Ikt people worshipped tlicy Knewjoimiv.
not what; for thev Icaiu'd to custoui and fatlirrs. rather Siniiaritmis.
14
TIIK IMAGR OF GOD,
[C„.
Jews.
2 Cor. X.
Scripture is
the power
of God.
Rom.i.
A sworil.
Ephes. i.
2'fhess. ii.
Matt. iv.
Matt.xii.[3
-5.]
Matt. xxii.
Lantern.
Psal. cxix.
2 Peter i.
To be
studied of
all men.
Jobvii. [1.]
God's word
is a sword.
than to the text of God's word, saying, " Our fathers wor-
shipped in this mountain ;" but the Jews, cleaving unto
God's word, and worshipping in the temple, knew what
they worshipped. The which was written for our instruc-
tion, that we should repair unto the scriptures in all doubts
and controversies, the which is the only touch-stone to
examine and try all doctrine, the forged, pretensed, and
false, from the sincere, germane, and true. " The weapons
of our war," saith Paul, " are not carnal things, but the
pov/er of God to cast do\Mi strong holds, to overthrow
inventions," that is, to vanquish heresy, to destroy all ill
doctrine. Verily the gospel is that " power of God," for
so Paul termeth it, " unto salvation to all them that be-
lieve." The gospel is the spiritual sword that shall pre-
vail against Sathan, much more against heretics, and his
members : this sword shall overcome antichrist, whom God
shall slay with the breath of his mouth ; with this sword
Christ confounded the devil ; maintained his disciples,
slandered of the Pharisees as sabbath-breakers ; proved
the resurrection against the Sadducees ; taught a certain
young man the way to heaven ; contented the Pharisees
touching marriage : \\ith this sword the apostles in divers
assemblies confuted the Jews after Christ's ascension, as
in their Acts is registered.
The papists reply, that the scriptures are not sufficient
and able to confound heretics, but their interpretations and
glosses upon them ; because they be not plain and evident but
dark and hard, and may be wrested to many purposes. How
did Christ confute the deviH with scripture, or expounding the
scriptures 'I Again, God's word is a lantern, a light ; it turneth
the soul, it giveth wisdom even unto babes, it rejoiceth the
heart, it lighteneth the eyes, it is a candle shining in a dark
place, and therefore not hard nor dark, but easy and plain,
and to be studied of all men, high and low, poor and rich,
spiritual and lay. For the holy and patient man Job saith,
that the life of man is nothing else than a very warfare upon
the earth, full of misery and trouble, set about with a great
multitude of mortal enemies, the devil, the world, and the
flesh. Wherefore, the sword of God's word is very neces-
sary unto all that be in this warfare. For who goeth to
battle without a swords Doth not ho that taketh away
I.] OR LAYMAX''s BOOK. 15
thy sword betray thee unto thine adversaries ■ Christ saith,
" He that hath no sword, let him sell his coat and buy him Luke xxii,
one;" and the papists seek all means possible to spoil the peo-
ple of their sword, which is God's word, saying it will make
them heretics : for, Litera occidit, spirifus est qui ticijicaf,
" The letter killeth, and the spirit quickeneth/"' Is God's 2 cor. iii.
word the letter ? Then we must not read it, lest it kill
us; lest it make us heretics. But hearken what Master
Doctor of all verity saith, Sermo turn Veritas est, " Thy word John xvii.
is truth." And Peter calleth the self-same "immortal seed, ^ P<^t"'-
by which we are born anew, and which lasteth and liveth for
ever." Doth immortal seed kill us I Doth truth make us immortal
heretics ■ Christ declareth the operation of this seed, say- ^
ing, ''Now you are clean by my word;" and Paul saith, Joimxv.
Fides ex auditu, that faith cometh thereof, not heresy. Rom.x.
These fruits this seed engendereth, where it is sown, truth,
cleanness of life, regeneration, and faith. He that talketh
with wise men becometh wiser by their communication; and
shall not he that talketh with God, the author of all wisdom,
in his scriptures, be edified thereby i Then what is Litera 2 cor. iii.
occidms, " the murdering letter" ? Truly, the law, which Sfer.'whft
causeth anger, by which cometh knowledge of sin, w hich Roni. iv.
is a schoolmaster unto Clirist. The law first killeth, that Ga"'iii'.''
Christ may make alive ; it condemneth, that Christ may
justify ; it sheweth sin, he healeth sin. The gospel is a
sermon of God's mercy, that he hath blotted out our sins
by faith only in Clirist's blood ; it maketh no heretics ;
twelve men, by preaching of it, made the unfaithful, and
heretics, faithful and true Christians. This candle was not .Matt. v.
light to be put under a bushel, but to be set in the can-
dlestick, to give light to them that be in God's house. For
Christ crioth, '• AVoe worth them, that take away the key Luke xi.
of knowledge, neither entering themselves, ne yet suffering
other to enter." Tlie kev of know ledffe is God's holv f-"''"^ "ord
•^ '^ • till' kev, the
testament and word, that which before we called the touch- touchstone.
stone to discern good doctrine from evil. AVhen they had
taken the touehstoiK- from us, they made us believe that
pewter was silver, and they sold us copper for gold, making
the scriptures a nose of wax and a tennis-ball, wresting
them unto every purpose. Thus we sec from whence wo
must fetch the knowledge of Crod : verily, out of God's word,
16 Tin: iMAfii': of con, [ch.
which is tlie truth, and not out of the questionists, or school-
isai. xxxiii. men, or other hke. For he saith bv his apostle, " I will
1 Cor. I. , . * .
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will cast away the
understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise i where
is the scribe i where is the searcher of this world ? Hath
,/ not God made the wisdom of this woi-ld foolishness f As
God is known only of himself, so we must only learn of
him, what he is. As for man, he knoweth no more what
God is, than the unreasonable beasts kn(jw what man is;
yea, and so much less, as there is more difference between
God and man, than between man and the beasts.
AVherefore, all leaven, all strange doctrine and man's
wisdom, set apart, I will see what the scriptures teach us
concerning God : nor I will not disdain to ask, where I shall
see cause, nor be ashamed to learn, where I am ignorant :
desiring him that readeth this treatise, where the scripture
is plain, to believe, for, except we believe, we shall not
understand ; where it is doubtful, to search with me ; where
he seetli himself out of the way, to revoke his opinion ;
where he seeth me in an error, to inform me, and I will
be glad to learn ; and so we shall follow the rule of cha-
rity, searching both after God, [of] whom it is written,
Tsai. cv. "Seek the Lord and his strength: seek his face ever-
more."'
THE SECOND CHAPTER.
God onlti is of himself.
When- Moses desired the Lord to shew him his name,
Exod. iii. |]jf. Lord said unto him, "I am that I a.m.'" That is
to wit, " I am of myself, I am only. Nothing is of itself
without creation, without corruption, save only I, which am
that 1 am." W^hich understanding God himself doth de-
clare, speaking further unto Moses: "This shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, He that is, did send me unto
II.] OR layman's book. 17
you ;" for nothing is, save only God, forasmuch as they
stand not by their proper strength, but by the power and
goodness of him. The heavens, the waters, the earth,
the hills would fall, unless he measured the heaven with iHii.>.i.
his span, held the waters in his fist, comprehended the
whole earth in three fingers, weighed the mountains and
hills in a balance : by which phrases is meant, that he
governeth, ordereth, and disposeth them as he listeth.
Neither the sun could give light, ne yet the fire heat,
all things would decay and perish, unless he did rule
them, as the soul doth man's body. Unto whom only that
belongeth and appertaineth which the Greeks call on, the
Latinists est, as witnesseth the apostle: Non est in illo2Cov.i.[2o.
KST et NON, sed est in illo est.
Of all other things non may be said, for once they
were not ; but not of God, because he was always : he is,
and he is to come ; all things have their being of him,
and he of himself. Except we understand this saying,
" He that is, sent me unto you," after this sort, it maketh
no difference between God and his creatures. For albeit
they have not their beginning of themselves, but of him,
yet it is truly said of them, that they are. Moreover, what
could the Israelites have thought Moses to have meant by
these words, " he that is," than a certain man sent him
unto them? If they had taken Moses so, they would not
have left Egypt and followed him into the wilderness ; but
they took these words, " he that is," for God himself, and
therefore followed him : the which, throughout the bible,
be lievcr spoken of any creature, but only of him that made
all creatures. The name of God also declarcth this sense
to bo true, which is Ihih, of four letters in all tongues;
in Greek, Theos ; in Latin, Dfitis ; in English and Dutch,
jGrOD ; in the French, Dxeu ; in Spanish, Diok ; in the
Almaines' tono;ue, Gott ; and therefore called Tetraqram-
maton, and in Latin, Qiiadrilitfcrum ; derived of Essendu,
or rather that word that signiiieth Esse in the Hebrew
is derived of it. The Jews read for that word Anoxvr,
not that it cannot be expressed in their tongue, but for a
reverence to God's name, the which, as they thought, was
not once to be named.
[lIUTCIIlNSON.]
18
THE IMAGE OP GOD,
THE THIRD CHAPTER.
God is a spirit, and how the scriptures do grant unto him a head, eyes,
hands, feet, and all other parts of man's hody. God is a bird, a
shooter, a husbandman ; Christ is his image, and man also.
We read also in the scriptures, that God is a spirit, and
John iv. no corporal thing : " God is a spirit, and they that worship
him must worship him in spirit and truth ^^ The Lord
2Cor. iii. no doubt is a spirit; but you will say, "If God be a spirit,
how is it that the prophet affirraeth him to measure heaven
with his span, to hold the waters with his fist, and the earth
in three fingers?" David also saith : "The eyes of the Lord
rsai. xxxiv. are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their
prayers," and " the hand of the Lord hath driven out
Psai. xiiv. i\^Q heathen." Hath a spirit fingers, hands, eyes, and ears ?
Wheresoever scripture doth attribute unto God a head, ears,
eyes, eyelids, nose, mouth, lips, tongue, heart, womb, hands
right or left, fingers or a finger, an arm, hinder parts, feet,
it is not to be vmderstand literally, but a spiritual sense is
to be gathered of such words. Because our understandings
be weak, and not able to perceive God, if he should use
such words as become his majesty, he borroweth common
and plain words to declare a difficult matter unto us : and
even as mothers, before they can teach their young babes
to speak, are fain as it were to lisp, stammer, and stut
with them ; so God, to teach our capacities, useth these
familiar manner of speeches.
hlaifis^"'^''^ When thou readest that God hath a head, thou must
understand his divine nature, which was before all things.
His hairs, and unto it all things be obedient. His hairs signify
his angels and the whole multitude of the chosen. Dan.
vii : " His clothing was as white as snow, the hair of his
head like pure wool ;" where the head of God is his deity
and godhead, his clothing and his hairs bo his angels and
elect, which be like white snow and pure wool. God is
Eyes. said to have eyes, because he seeth all things, and nothing
P Anil ICoO; and truth, 1.500.]
III.] OR layman's book. 19
is hid from him ; " in whose sight,"" as the apostle telleth, [Heb. iv.
" no creature is invisible, for all things be naked and open
unto his eyes." His eyes also sometimes be taken for
his favour : " The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous." ^^^^- ^^^^''
His eyelids be taken for his secret judgments : " His eye- ^^.^1;^^-
lids behold the childreTi of men." He is said to have ears, e^^s-
because he heareth all things : " The ear of the jealous wisdom i,
heareth all things, and the noise of the grudgings shall not
be hid." His nose doth signify his inspirations in the ^*^^^'
hearts of the faithful: "Smoke went out of his nostrils." 2 sam. xxii.
The face of God is the knowledge of his divine nature, of His face.
the which it is written -, "Shew us the light of thy conn- Psai. ixx.
tenance and we shall be whole;" that is, "grant us to know
thee." Othermse God"'s face signifieth the invisible nature
of Christ's divinity^ as Exodus doth declare : " You shall ^-^od-^-^^"'-
see my hinder parts, but my face you cannot see ;" that is,
"thou shalt see Christ's humanity, but his divinity cannot
be seen." God's mouth is taken for the Son of God the ^i^uth.
Father : " We have provoked his mouth unto wrath ; " or
his commandment : " The mouth of the Lord hath spoken isai. iviii.
it." God's tongue is the Holy Ghost: " JSIy tongue is ^o"^-;"^*;-^..
the pen of a ready writer," His arm signifieth Christ, Arm.
of whom Jeremy writeth : " Thou hast brought thy people Jer. xxxii.
of Israel out of the land of Egypt with an almighty hand,
with a stretched out arm." Where also Christ is called
the hand of God ; for he is both his arm and his hand. "^'.-st.
Moreover, God's hand is taken sometime for his power : '^""■'^'■*
" Behold, ye house of Israel, ye are in my hand, even as Jer. xviii.
the clay in the potter's hand ;" some time for his scourge* : scourge.
" I will stretch forth my hand over Juda and Hieru- ^ep''- >•
salcm, and I will root out the remnant of Baal." Of the
which scourge Job saith : "The hand of the Lord hath J"^ -'''^•'
touched me." Furthermore, Christ is called God's right i^'S^^t hand.
hand: "The right hand of the Lord hath done marvels,
the right hand of the Lord hath gotten the victory." It
is used also for the glory of the Father, concerning which ,^iJyy^ ^
ho saith to his Son: "Sit on my right hand." And in Psai. cxviii.
some places, for everlasting joy and life : " And he shall Matt. xx.
['^ It is, 1.550; is, l.-JOO.]
[' Exodus xxxiii. lo.W; as Exo. doth dcdaiv, l.^OO.]
[' Scouvgf, I, 1C60; scourge, saith ho, I, 15G0.]
2— i2
20 TIIR IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
sot the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on the left
hand ; " wliere, as his riglit hand is taken for everlasting
Ltfthaiui. j^j^,^ gQ j^jg j^^'^ hand signifieth the torments of the wicked.
Luke xi. God's finger is the Holy Ghost : " If I cast out devils in
the finger of God, fcc."" For where Luke saith, " In the
Matt. xii. finger of God," it is in Matthew, " If I cast out devils in
His faigtr. the Spirit of God." God's finger therefore is his Holy Com-
forter. For as the hand, finger, and arm, are three, and
yet but one body ; so the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, are three persons, and one substance, one God.
The heart of rpj^^ j^^^^^^.^ ^^^ g^^ ^j^^ Father siguifieth the secret
of his wisdom, of which he begat his Word, that is, his
Psai. .\iv. g^j^^ without beginning, without any passion : " My heart is
Womb. inditing a good matter." His womb is used in the same
sa . t.\. L3.J gjgnjf^Qation : " Of my womb, before the morning star, I
begat thee." God is said also to have shoulders, because
i^aK^xci.^' ^^6 beareth up all things as it were upon his shoulders ; for
mni" ^^^ things stand by him. The hinder parts of God is
Christ's humanity, the which he took upon him in the end
of the world, that we miglit live without end ; which is called
Feet. also God's feet. For as his head signifieth his divinity,
so his feet signify Christ's humanity, the which is subject
unto God's deity, as our feet are unto our heads : " Thou
Psai.viii. liast put all things in subjection under his feet." In some
ueut.xxxiii. places preachers of God's word be meant by his feet': "They
that draw nigh his feet shall taste of his doctrine."
tloifto"*^'"' ^ou swearers and blasphemers, which use to swear by
sweartrs-. QQ(j'g Jjeart, amis, nails, bowels^, legs, and hands, learn what
these things signify, and leave your abominable oaths. For
when thou swearcst by God's heart, thou swearest by God's
wisdom ; when thou swearest by God's arms, thou swearest by
Christ ; when thou swearest [by his] hands or* legs, thou
swearest by his humanity; when thou swearest by his tongue
and finger, thou swearest by the Holy Ghost ; and swearing
by his head, thou swearcst by his divine and blessed na-
ture ; and swearing by his hairs, thou abusest his creatures,
by which thou art forbidden to swear. When an oath is
[' Fete, as in Doute. xxxiii, l.'5.50; fete. In, l^OO.]
1^^ 'An exhortation to swearers' does not occur in the edition of 10.50.]
P Tills word is substituted for one of a very rci)ulsive cliaracter.]
[' Hands or legs, 1550; hands, legs, ICGO.]
III.] on layman's book. 21
necessary, we are bound to swear by God only, unto whom all ^'^^ '^'l"-
/ ' •/ ^ '' ^ noured by
honour is due ; for wo honour that thing whereby we swear, swearing.
It is naught to swear by the mass, a profanation of Christ's
supper, and a patched creature of the bishop of Rome, which
was longer in patching then Salomon's great temple in build-
intr. Neither is it lawful to swear by any saints, as judges and p"[' ""'>' '^
o ^ J J ^ ^ J Ci to be SHoin
stewards make the simple people do at sessions and courts ; ^y-
for if they be to be sworn by, they are to be prayed unto,
and to be honoured. David saith : " All they that swear by psai. ixiii.
him shall be commended." And Paul unto the Hebrews
speaketh thus, that God, " because he had no greater thing Heb. vi.
to swear by, swore by himself;"'"' whereby we must gather,
that we must swear by God only. They that swear by his
creatures, or by the mass, be idolaters. But some will
say, if we honour that thing whereby we swear, let us swear
by God, that we may honour him. Brother, be not de-
ceived : God is honoured by swearing, but how ? Truly,
when thou swearest by him in a weighty matter of life and
death, before an officer, or in any other matters of import-
ance, thou dost him honour and homage : but if in every
trifle thou call him to witness, thou dishonourest him, and
brcakest his commandment, which saith : Non assumes
nomen Domini^ &c. "Thou shalt not take the name of
thy Lord God in vain."'"' Swear therefore by God, as God
hath commaded thee, and thou honourest him. I trust
now it is evident, that God, notwithstanding all these fore-
said parts and members, is a spirit, and no bodily, no cor-
poral, no sensible thing. If there be any that think other-
wise, I would fain learn h(f\v they set the scriptures together,
whicli cannot bo contrary one to another ; for scripture is John xvii.
truth, and truth can by no means be contrary to truth''.
If they will prove of the places before that God is
like man, I will prove also, because the scripture saith,
" Who is this that cometh from Edom with stained red is^'- 1'''"-
clothes of Bosra, which is so costly,"" that God goeth in
a red coat ; which if it bo true, he must needs have a
tailor, or else make it himself, for those words are spoken
of God, as the place shcweth. But if we weigh the place ^y."* , .
diligently, wo shall find, that YaXowx is the earth, and ^!';"'«»>c-
the stained red clothes are Chri8t"'8 blood, which he did
C To truth, 1550; to the truth, 15C0.]
90
THE IMAGR OF GOD, |cH.
shed upon earth for our sins. And they which demand
who he is, be his creatures, which shall marvel at the
wisdom of God in delivering mankind from the bondage
of the spiritual Pharao by blood, by death, by the cross.
I will prove also that he hath shoes ; for he saith by
Psai. ix. David : " Over Edom will I stretch out my shoe." And
What God's theu lie must needs have a shoemaker, or else make shoes
himself. But Edom is the earth, the apostles' feet be his
johnx'. shoes; for it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of
them which bring glad tidings of peace." He stretched
his shoo over the earth, when he sent them to preach to
Psai. xix. all creatures : for " their sound went into all lands, their
Psai. xvii. words to the ends of the world." I may prove also, with
like arofumcnts unto these, because God's word doth attri-
bute wings unto God, that he is a bird ; and so, if he be
like a man and a bird both, he is a monster : and because
Psai. vii. it doth attribute unto him bow, shafts, and quiver, that
Matt. iii. he usetli shooting; because it granteth to him a fan, a
floor, wheat and chafi", that he occupieth husbandi-y. David
saith, " Defend me under the shadow of thy wings," likening
God to a bird, forasmuch as he is no less careful for his
chosen than the hen is for her chickens, as Christ declareth
Matt, xxiii. very well, crying : " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would
I have gathered thy children together, as the hen gatheroth^
her chickens under her wings, and ye would not." And it
Hnw God is orranteth God bow and shafts and a quiver, to signify him
said to be a * ^ i p i
shooter. to be a pumslier of the ungodly, and a rewarder oi the
godly ; forasmuch as men minister help or vengeance one to
another oftentimes through bows and shafts, and one prince
Psai. vii. aideth another with archers. " He hath bent his bow,"
saith David, " and made it ready, he hath prepared weapons
of death, and ordained arrows to destroy ;" that is, he will
avenge evil men, he will reward them for their oppression,
he will punish them for their ungracious devices, except
they amend; ho hath " whet his sword." And well may God
be compared to a shooter. For as the shooter, the less or
more ho draweth his shaft, his stroke is thereafter, and if
he draw it far and uj) to the iron, then it payeth home, as
they say, then it givutli a mighty stroke ; so God sometime
Q This sliouM probably be Iloin. x. 15.]
\^ Gathcrcth, 1550; gathered, ISGO.]
III.] OR LAYiMAN's BOOK.
9fi
differreth to punish men for their sins, and therefore, ex-
cept they amend when he punisheth, he will draw his
shaft to the head, and strike most grievously. Remember,
man, that God is a shooter; heap not his wrath against
thee ; prolong not the time ; despise not " the riches of his Rom. li.
goodness, which leadeth thee to repentance." Likewise the
scripture calleth liim a husbandman, for many causes. Pa~ How God is
ter mens agricola est, " My father is a husbandman," saith h»sijand-
Christ. The husbandman dungeth his land, tilleth and Joimxv.
dresseth it, that it may bring forth good corn : so Almighty
God tilleth and cleanseth the hearts of his people, the which
be prone unto evil, that they may bring forth good works,
not tares. For we are his husbandry, as Paul witnesseth,
speaking of the congregation : " We are God's labourers, i cor. iii.
ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." The hus-
bandman diggeth up all unfruitful trees, pareth off all rot-
ten boughs, weedeth out cockle and tares, and casteth them
into the fire : so God will serve them that he shall find
empty of good works, and without oil in their lamps. The Matt. vw.
husbandman appointeth his servants to purge his floor, and
Avith the fan he separeth the good seed from the chaflP:
even so God shall send his angels to his floor, that is,
into this world, and they shall carry the good seed into
everlasting barns, but the chafP and dross shall be tlirown
into a furnace of fire, where is waUing and gnashing of .^latt. w.
teeth : for they are God's reapers, and the end of the world
is a harvest, as one of the reapers tellcth us, saying, "Thrust Rcv.xiv.
in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come to reap, and
the corn of the earth is ripe." Who doth not sec that
these things are to be taken figurally in God ? If the parts
of man be verily in God, he hath a marvellous fist that
holdeth all the waters; his little finger is bigger than St
Christopher's great '^ too', for ho comprehcndcth the whole
P Greater, 1550; great, 15G0.]
[* The hupc l)ulk of Saint Christopher is commemorated by the
writers of the legendary lives of saints current during the middle ages.
In his life, in the collection of lives of saints in the celebrated V'ornon
MS. in the Jiodleian Library, he is thus described : I modernise the or-
thography and quote from Wartou's History of English Poetry, Vol. i.
p. 10. Edit. 1824:
" Four and twenty feet he was lonij, and tliick and broad enow ;
"Such a man, but he were strong, mctliinketh it were woe!"]
24
THE IMAGE OF GOD,
b
The imae
of the
Father is
an idol.
John xiv.
Heb. i.
How man
was made
after tlio
itnau-e of
God.
rion. i.
Priscillia-
nists.
world in three fingers ; he liath a wonderful hand which
carrieth so many people out of Egypt ; to be short, all his
parts be high, large, and big, for he lilleth heaven and
earth, and he must have also the use of the same mem-
bers ; which is filthy to imagine in God.
" But was not man made after the similitude and like-
ness of God V Yea, truly, but in soul, in mind, in the in-
ward man, not touching his body. AVherefore Augustine,
a man most expert in God's word, crieth out against the
image of the Trinity, calling it Sacrile^iu7n, a staining of
God's honour, and an idol, because the glory of the im-
mortal God is changed into the similitude and image of
mortal man ; forbidding such an image, not only in the
church, but also in thought and mind*. I suppose that the
Anthropomorphites erected this image. When Philip desired
Christ to shew him the Father, he rebuked him, and an-
swered : " He that seeth me, seeth the Father ;'" for he is
the only image of the Father, as Paul writeth ; not a dumb
image, for he is his Word; not a dead image, for he is
life and resurrection ; nor^ counterfeit, for he is truth. God
is a spirit, not flesh ; a soul, not a body. The soul of man
is said to be made ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei,
" after the image of God," because it is a spiritual crea-
ture, invisible, incorruptible ; not of the substance of God,
as the ]\Ianichees and the Priscillianists do falsely defend,
but made of nothing. For then it should know all things,
as God knoweth, and be ignorant of nothing : it should be
void of all affections, mutability, and inconstancy. There
is in man's soul reason, discerning good from evil, truth
from falsehood ; there is memoiy, by the which he re-
membereth things past ; there is will, by the which he
Q Nee ideo tamen quasi liumana forma cireumscriptum esse Deuni
patrem arbitrandura est, ut de i!lo eogitantibus, dextrum aut sinistinim
latus animo oecurrat : aut idipsum, quod scdere Pater dicitur, flexis
poplitibus fieri putandum est ; lie in illud incidamus sacrilegium, in quo
exsccratur apostolus cos qui coniinutaverunt gloriam incorruptibilis Dei
in similitudinem corruptibilis liominis. Talc cnim simulacrum Deo ncfas
est christiano in tcmplo collocare; multo magis in corde ncfarium est,
ubi vere est templuni Dei, si a tcrrcna cupiditatc atque crrore munde-
tur." August. De Fide et Symbolo, Opera, vi. 157. Edit. Paris. 1G79 —
1700.]
\y Nor, 1550; not, 15G0.]
III.] OH layman'^ hook. 25
chooseth what him Uketh. Besides this, our first parents
were made without spot, void of sin, clean, righteous, holy,
replenished with all flowers of virtues and knowledge. In ^cn. i.
these things man was formed after the likeness of God : in
these we be like the angels : our body^ we have common
with the brute beasts ; it was made of the mould of the
earth, as Moses telleth, before there was any similitude,
likeness, or image of God in man. St Paul also declareth
this to be true, saying : " Be ye renewed in the spirit of Eph. iv,
your minds, and put on that new man, which after the
image of God is shapen in righteousness and true holiness ;"
and in another place : " Lie not one to another, after that Coi. iii.
ye have put off the old man with his works, and put on the
new, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him
that made him."
These testimonies teach, that we lost the image of God
by the fall of Adam, whereby our reason was blinded, our
will wounded ; and that we recover it again by Christ, who
in this life amendeth reason by faith, and free will by
charity, and in the life to come, with perfect vision of his
glory. Hitherto it appeareth that God is a spiritual sub-
stance or nature, not of corporal shape ne form, as the Hu-
maniformians would make us believe.
THE FOURTH CHAPTER.
God h- a pure nature and immutable, and how he is otherwhilcs angry,
otherwhilcs pleased, sometime asleep, sometime awake, sometime for-
getful, standing, sitting, walking, i^c.
Goo is also a pure nature, forsomuch as ho is not
mixt nor compound. For, wlicn no composition can bo
without change, James affirmeth of God: "With whom Jnmcs i.
there is no variableness, neither is ho changed, &c." Ho
[^ Hodios, 15')0 and 15f50.]
26
THE IMAGE OF GOD,
[CH.
Tsal. cii.
How anjjcr
is in God.
rsal. ii.
Jonah iii.
Joel ii.
Jer. xviii.
How God
doth laugh.
Prov. iii.
How he is
said to
sleep.
[Jer. xxxi.
26.]
Psal. xliv.
To awake.
cliangetli all things as a vesture, but he himself is immu-
table, unchangeable.
But some will say, " We read him oftentimes changed
in his word. He is sometime angry, otherwhiles pleased,
sometime awake, sometime asleep ; sometime he forgetteth,
sometime he remembereth ; otherwhiles he sitteth, goeth,
he walketh, he standeth." God is said to be angry, ("kiss
the Son lest the Lord be angry,") when we break his
commandments, despise his threatenings, set light by his
promises, and follow our own corrupt appetites ; and so
we are changed, not he; we be mutable, he is immu-
table : as the clear sun to sore eyes is painful, to good
and whole pleasant and comfortable, and yet the diversity
is in the eyes, not in the light. He is said to be paci-
fied, when we forsake our naughty living, returning unto
him, as did the good Ninivites. " Who can tell," saith
the king of the Ninivites, " whether God will turn, and
repent, and pacify his ^^Tath, and preserve us V — where his
repentance, pacifying, and turning, is all one thing. And
he is said to laugh and scorn, as in the second Psalm :
Qui habitat in coelis irridebit eos, et Dominus subsannahit eos,
" He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh them to scorn,
the Lord shall have them in derision." And in another
place : "As for the scornful, he shall laugh them to scorn."
God is not of such affection as man^ is, to be moved with
mockage and laughter ; for he rejoiceth not in the hurt of
man, but at his amendment : and it is written, Ahomi-
natio Domini omnis illusot\ " God abhorretli scornful per-
sons :" but as that man which laugheth at other men is
farthest from a mind to help them, and to remedy their
griefs, so is God to such as despise his commandments,
set light by his threatenings, and are not moved with his
promises : this is God's laughter and scorning. He is said
to sleep, when Christ lay dead in his grave, whose death is
called a sweet sleep of Hieremy ; or else when he is slow to
help his elect out of trouble, as in the psalm xliii. : "Arise,
wherefore dost thou sleep, O Lord ? " And contrariwise,
he is said to awake when ho doth straightway, without any
tarrying, succour them, help them, and deliver them. He
[' Jhon, 1550; Jonas, 1560.]
[^ Man, 1550; a man, 1560.]
IV.] OK layman's dook. 27
is said to forget us, when ho taketh his mercy from us, Forget.
forgetting^ his statutes, ordinances, and commandments ;
and to remember us, when we change, not he. Jesus Remember.
Christ, that is God yesterday and to-day, continueth the
same for ever. He sitteth not after human manner, but sit.
after another sort. To reign and to sit be one thing in
God, and of one signification and meaning. " God reign- Psai. xivii.
eth over the heathen, God sitteth in his holy seat." He
sitteth over cherubim, which is, by interpretation, fulness
of knowledge, by which word "angels" be meant, and "the
minds of good men," for in them God sitteth and reigneth,
as Salomon testifieth : " The soul of the righteous is the wisd. vii.
seat of wisdom." And scripture also attributeth standing to stand.
unto God for long-sufferance, wherewith he calleth us to re-
pentance ; who is said also to go, and to walk, not by chang- ^p.
ing of place, for he filleth all places, but by occupying the
minds of the faithful, as in the prophet : " I will dwell 2^co/^vi
among them, and walk among them, and be their God,"
where dwelling, walking, and to be their God, mean one.
When these things be spoken of God, the change is to
be understanded in us, and not in him ; as if you and I should
drink both of one drink, and I should like it, and you
mislike it, the diversity is not in the drink, but in us :
even so God, after the' divers conditions of men, is said
to be pleased with one and discontented with another, to
remember some and forget other : not that the very pas-
sions of anger, of mercy, of remembrance, of forgetfulness,
take place in him, in whom is no affection, no passion ;
but the scripture usetli these speeches for our weak un-
derstandings, feeding us with milk, because we are not able i cor. lii.
to digest stronger moat. As long as we be in this life,
we must learn God' of such terms; for our life is a sha-
dow, our knowledge is imperfect, wo see in a glass, in a
dark speaking, with a corrupt eye. Nothing can bo pro-
perly spoken of God ; for then ho should not be uns})cak-
able. Who cannot see better in the clear light than in
a shadow ? without a glass than in it ? Wo see in this life,
as it wore with a pair of spectacles ; but when the spec-
P Forgetting, lo.'iO; for forgetting-, ].5(!0.]]
L' Tlic clivers, ir>r,{) ; divers, 1500.]
P God of, 1550 ; of (Jod, 15G0.]
28 THE I.MAGE OF GOD, [cH.
tacles shall be taken away, wc shall see clearly God face
to face ; who was never seen yet with bodily eyes. Then
shadows, glasses, dark speeches, spectacles, milk, and the
corrupt eye, shall be taken away, according to the voice
of the trumpeter, " When that which is perfect cometh, that
which is imperfect shall be done away."
THE FIFTH CHAPTER.
God is unsearchable.
The scriptures teach him also to be ineffable in all
tongues, unsearchable in thought, nothing can attain unto
Rom. xi. him ; insomuch that Paul crieth out, " O the deepness of
the righteousness, and wisdom, and knowledge of God ! How
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways untraceable!"
If his judgments surmount our capacities, much more he
Logic. himself; and if Paul's, much more ours. Logic, the science
of reason, discussing all doubts and controversies, confuting
all men's wisdom, beholding the beams and brightness of
God's glorious visage, faileth in searching what he is, and
becometh foolishness. I speak not this, judging logic to be
unprofitable to the reader of God's word ; no, I think ra-
ther such as jangle against it to be void of all reason, for-
asmuch as they speak against the art of reason. Logic is
an excellent gift of God, not to be despised, or discom-
mended, lest we be unthankful unto God, but to be dili-
gently learned and commended. INIany clatter and prate
that Peter and Paul never learnt logic, philosophy, and
such dregs, which I deny : for Christ said, he would send
them the Comforter, who should " teach them all things."
If the Holy Ghost taught them " all things," he taught
them also logic. There you have that the apostles learned
logic. But you will reply, that the Holy Ghost taught
them all things necessary for a preacher. Paul also de-
v.] OR layman''s book. 29
clareth that logic is necessary for a preacher, when ho saith,
that a bishop must be ^iSoktikos, that is, apt to teach, i Tim. iii.
Christ and his apostles, in their sermons, disputations, and
letters, use all forms of arginnents, all sorts of reasonings,
all ways and means of invention", as I would prove if I
thought it needful to stand in this matter. That which
Paul writeth to the Colossians, Videte ne quis, Sec. " Be- ^'ijI''-
ware lest any man come and spoil you through philosophy
and deceitful vanity," maketli for philosophy, not against it.
For Paul there biddeth them take heed of such men that
with their philosophy went about to hinder the gospel, to
stop the prosperous success of God"'s word, abusing God's
gift to the destruction of themself and other; rebuking the /rtj^<>yi-
ill conditions of men, and not dispraising the art ; for he
himself was a great philosopher. Now, if philosophy did set
forth a false and untrue matter, that it confounded the faith
of many, how much more is it able to set forth the truth I
THE SIXTH CHAPTER.
God is ■invhibk, and how nothwithntanding thefaitlifut of the old
testament saw him divers times.
But to return unto our matter : as ho is unsearchable,
so he is invisible, as Paul recordeth unto Timothy : "• To i Tim. i.
the invisible God, and wise only, bo lionour and praise for
ever and ever." There bo some things invisible, wliich not-
withst.'inding be subject to mutability, as man's thought,
memory, will, and all spiritual creatures : and whatsoever
also is visible, is also mutal)le. God is said only to be in-
visible, because he is void of all mut.-ibility. He saith unto
Moses : " No man shall see mo and live :" by John Baj)- r.\o(i.\x\iii.
tist, "No man hath seen God at any time." If no ni;in .'oim i.
hatli seen God, how did the faitliful of tlie old testament
see liim? The pcrij)ture i^-aith, that the Lord spake unto
L' Invention, 1550 ; invi-ntioiis, 15G0.]
30 THE IMAGE 01^ GOD, [cH.
Exod.xxxiii. Mosos " facG to faco, as a man ppeaketli unto liis friend :"
xx'^i'"^^' and Micheas affirmctli unto king Achab the wicked, " I saw
the Lord sit on his seat, and all the company of heaven
standing about him." Stephen also, the first martyr that
Actsvii. we read of in the new testament, "looking up steadfastly
with his eyes unto heaven, sa\y the glory of God, and Jesus
How Moses, standing on his right hand." To these I answer, Moses
Micaiah, , . .
and Stephen saw not God with his bodily eyes, who is a spirit, nor thou
saw God ^J J ^ 1 ' ^
who is in- caunot gather any such thing of the text which saith that
" God spake unto him face to faco, as a man unto his
friend," that is, " God talked familiarly with him ;" not
that he saw him in that place, albeit we read oftentimes
that God appeared unto him and to all the Israelites, but
not in his own nature and substance, but in his creatures\
Exod.xxxiii. and visible forms : for Moses desireth God afterward, " If
I have found favour in thy sight, shew me thyself mani-
festly ;" wherefore he did not see him manifestly before, but
only talked with him. And as for Micheas and Stephen,
2 Cor. xii. they saw God as Paul did, when he was carried up into
the third heaven, with the eyes of their belief ~, of their
mind, not of their body. As long as we continue in this
life, we shall never see the divine and blessed nature, be-
Matt. V. cause our hearts be unclean : " Blessed be the pure in
heart," saith Christ, "for they shall see God." This life
is a Avarfare, and a purifying of our hearts by faith from
sin. As long as the warfare endureth, there is no per-
fect victory of sin, for victory maketh an end of war : the
victory of sin is the perfect vision of God's glory, which
is gotten by faith, as John the beloved disciple testifieth'^:
1 John V. " This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believoth that Jesus is the Son of God V Of these it
appeareth, that God is a pure nature, unchangeable, un-
searchable, invisible.
[^ The reference in both editions is 3 Reg. xxxiii."]
[" Beleue, 1550; belefc, 15(;0.]
[=* Tcstifieth, 1550; testified, 16G0.]
OK layiMan''s book. 31
'11.]
THE SEVENTH CHAPTER
God is every where, and how Christ is in the sacrament.
He is also every where by nature, not by grace, accord-
ing to which he saith by Jeremy: "Heaven and earth Jer. xxiii.
do I fill." For the heavens be his seat, and the earth
is his footstool. This thing belongeth only unto God, and
to no creature, neither spiritual nor corporal. A certain
christian man, being demanded of a philosopher where God
was, inquired of him, where he was not. Wherefore the
Son and the Holy Ghost be no creatures; for of the Son
it [is] said, "Wisdom reacheth from one end unto an- AVisa. viii.
other mightily, and ordereth all things lovingly;" and of
the Holy Comforter likewise, "The Spirit of the Lord wisd. i.
fiUeth the round compass of the world, and upholdeth all
thino-s," There is a great difference between man s soul
and\is body, but exceeding more difference between God
and his creatures, who made both the soul and the body.
He is not said to fulfil the world as the water, the air,
the sun-light, which by division be in many places : he is
in all places', without division, wholly, and contained m
no place. But as a sound or noise is heard more of some
and less of other some, being of equal distance from it,
as they be of quick or dull hearing ; so, albeit God bo pre-
sent with all things, yet he is in some more plentifully,
in some less, not with partiahty, but according to the di-
versity' of their capacities. If God be in all places, how
is it true that wisdom doth not enter into a froward soul wi^a. i.
ne dwell in a body subdued unto sin ^ Surely sin doth
separate us from God; for what company hath light with
darkness 'i What concord hath Christ with BeliaH What •-' c-r. v..
fellowship hath truth with falsehood ? I answer, God is said
to dwell, to enter, where he favoureth, where he loveth;
after which sort he is not in the wicked, but after another
[' riacc, 1550; i.laces, 15(j0.]
[* Diversity, 1550; diversities, 1500.]
32 THE IMAGE or GOD, [f'll.
sort he is in them : for where he is not by liis favour
and grace, lie is by his righteousness ; where he is not
a benefactor, he is a punisher ; where he is not a dweller,
John \iv. he is an avenger. But Christ saitli, if a man love him,
that his Father and he will come to him : if they will
come to him, they were not with him before, and so God
is not in all places. This text sheweth how all such things
are to be understanded in God. The words expound one
another, which be these : " If a man love me, he will keep
my word ; and my Father also will love him, and we will
come unto him, and dwell with him." Where the coming
of God the Father, and dwelling, is the same that goeth
immediately before, " my Father also will love him." These
words be a good commentary to the other words before:
we will come to him, we will dwell with him. Whereof
it is manifest that all such phrases, dark speeches, and
riddles, make nothing against the presence of God in all
places, but rather fortify and establish it : we can go no
c'xxxix whither from his Spirit, we can fly no where from his face :
if we climb up unto heaven, he is there : if we go down
unto hell, he is also there.
We must not imagine him to be contained in place,
and yet ho is all thing in all. He is to all men as he
findeth them : he is good in them that he findeth good,
and ill to them that be ill: he is a helper in them that
be good, and a punisher in them that be evil. If thou
lookest for any succour, help, or aid, at God"'s hand, for-
wickc,hic-;s gjj^|,(3 ^jjj^^ jg g^ji j^j^fj follow that is good. When thou
f pvctc'-li the ' o
^'■"'''^- stealest, or goest about advoutry [adultery], thou tarriest for
tlic dark, thou lovest the night, because thy works be of
darkness, lest thou shouldst be seen and shamed, lest thou
shouldst bo taken and hanged. Thou goest unto the king's
highway, and takest a standing; thou goest to thy neigh-
bour's house, and robbost him ; thou ridest up to London
ciod sccth to sue thv neifdibour, to rob him of his right : call to re-
evcrj where, membrance that God is with thee everywhere: he is with
thee going, ho is with thee by the way, he is with thee
when thou art doing thy devilish purpose : he standeth
by and looketh on, writing thy fact as it wore in a pair
of tables, and at the l:ist day he will make it known unto
all men to thy utter confusion, shame, and condenmation.
VII.] OR layman's book. 33
If thou be afraid of men that destroy the body, fear him abo^.g^a,^.
that hath pov.er to throw both thy body and soul head-
long into hell, into the lake that burneth \\ith fire and
brimstone, which is the second death. Thou mayest es-
cape the punishment of man, but thou canst not escape ^ve cannot
A i . , , escape
God's hand, who punisheth more grievously than man, God's hand.
Whither wilt thou fly from God ? Surely thou canst not
fly from him, but by flying unto him : thou canst not
escape his wrath, which is his righteousness, but by ap-
pealing unto his mercy. David compareth' God to a man
that draweth a bow : the farther he draweth his shaft,
which is his punishment, the greater is the stroke thereof.
There is a great altercation now-a-days, whether God be ^o^poraV'""
in the sacrament or not : he must needs be there, for he presence.
is in all places. But whether is he there bv his divinity, Christ is not
. ■ • 'i 1 in the sa-
or humanity ? Christ warneth us, that in the latter age crament
. 1 rt 1 7 • • touching his
there shall arise many false prophets, and Fseiido-christi, humanity.
that is, false anointed, (which be the bishop of Rome's
greased butchers and sacrificers,) which shall say, Lo, here Mark xiii.
is Christ, and there is Christ. These Pseudo-christs be not
they of whom they speak afterward in the same chapters,
" Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ," but Jiatt. xxiv.
another sort ; for these shall not challenge this to themselves,
but direct men- to other : and of these false anointed, that
shall point us to other, he saith, KoUte credere^ "Believe
them not C and therefore I dare not say that he is there
after his humanity, lest I be a false prophet ; for this is
spoken of his humanity, not of his divinity. Touching
his divinity, I say unto you, good people, Lo, here is Christ,
and there is Christ ; for it is here, there, in the town,
in the city, in the chapel, in the church, and wilderness,
and every where, as I have declared. The papists say, that An oi.jec-
this place maketh not against the presence of Christ's body
upon earth, but against false prophets, which should preach
in the last ago false doctrine. True it is, Clirist speaketh '^^he answer.
here against such : but what false doctrine shall they teach i
Shall tliero come two at one time, in one age, of which false
pr(>l)h('ts shall say, "he is Christ," and anotlicr shall say,
"no, this is Christ," pointing to some other i Tlierc were
[' (^oinparoth, 15.50; comparod, 1.560.]
[' Men, 15.50; man, 15(!0.]
s
[ HUTCHINSON. J
34
THE IMAGE OK GOD,
[CH.
never yet two in one age, which botli were said to bo Christs
of any false prophets, nor the scriptures do not mention or
register any such thing to come; for the verity saith, that
many such shall come. Now, we never read that many
have reported and said, " here is Christ, and there," un-
less we take it to be spoken of the papists, which shew
Christ unto us in many places at once, in every chapel,
and on every altar. Alany shall say of themselves that they
are Christ ; but these be other doctors. Compare their
words together, and thou shalt find that I say true. The
one text doth not expomid the other, but they be two
diverse prophecies of two diverse things. This false doc-
trine, then, is nothing else but to teach Christ's body after
his ascension to be upon the earth, visibly or invisibly.
Pighius, who calleth God's word "a nose of wax V' wresteth
this text to another purpose, taking Christ here for his
church. " Lo, here is Christ, and there is Christ," saith
Pighius, " that is, heretics shall say, here is the church,
and there is the church-." O wise exposition ! shall heretics
say that Christ is here and there, touching liis members
Mark xiii. and churcli 1 No, verily, this is no heresy : for Christ's
Matt. xxiv. church is in many places, in deserts and other. If Christ
Pighius's
interpreta
tion.
P Seel quoniam nullus scripturse locus ita planus est aut apertus,
qui ab haereticorum, scripturas adulterantium, torquentium, et ad suum
sensum depravantium, vi et injuria se prorsus vindicet. Sunt enim illae
(ut non minus verc, quam festive dixit quidam) velut nasus cereus, qui
se horsuni, illorsum, et in quam volueris partem, trahi, retrahi, fingique
facile permittit: et tanquam plumbea qusedam Lesbise sedificationis
regula, quam non sit difficile accommodare ad quidvis volueris. Pighius,
Hierarch. Eccles. Assertio, Lib. iii. cap. 3. fol. 80. Edit. 1538.]
\^^ Si quis dixerit tibi, Ecce hie est Cliristus, ecce illic, ccce apud
nos est vera ecclesia Christi, vera proinde salus, quse expectatur a
Christo, nostriE sententise, nostrse fidei et doctrinae consortibus; nolite,
inquit, credere, nolite seduci, nolite exire ab illo corpore. Illius enim
soUus corporis caput, vita, et salus Christus est. Ego, inquit, vobiscum
sum omnibus diebus, usque ad consummationem sieculi. Itaque ab iUo
coqiore quisciuis te seducere conatur in dcsertum Judaismum, in angulos
domorum et penetralia, hoc est, in novas et singulares aliquas opiniones,
a communi sensu illius corjtoris extraneas, ct i)Ugnantes cum doctrina
catliolicie ecclcsiie, agnosce, juxta salvatoris nostri doctrinam, pseudojjro-
phctam ex operibus suis; agnosce lu])um ol)toctum volleribus ovium, ct
cave credas, cave exeas. Pighius, Hierarch. Eccles. Assertio, Lib. i.
tap. 5. fol. 16 b. Edit. 1538.]
VII.] OR layman's book. 35
must be taken for his church in this text, then we are
compelled also to imderstand the church by him in the
text which immediately folio weth, where he saith, " Be-
lieve them not ; Christ," that is, the church, " shall come
as lightning :" we must take Christ for the same through-
out the chapter. Read diligently ; examine the circumstance
which is chiefly to be regarded in the exposition of doubtful
places ; open the scripture with the key, not with the pick- ^gpf^lj:.
lock ; that is, expound it by itself, not by private inter- '*''^'^'
pretation ; and thou shalt find that Christ there is taken
for Christ, not for the church, as Pighius would strain the
place, making of the scriptures " a nose of wax."
You will ask me then, whether we receive Christ's cl'^.fs^t^f ^®
body ? Yea, truly, from heaven, from the right hand of the {heaven™'"
Father; not out of the bread, nor in the bread. For,
unless we eat his flesh, and drink his blood, we shall not
dwell in him ; we shall not arise at the last day ; we
shall not have eternal life. Christ's humanity is the mean
whereby we must obtain all things ; the way by which we
must climb up to heaven ; the ladder that Jacob saw,
going unto Mesopotamia, reaching up to heaven, with angels
ascending and descending upon it. Christ teachetli this ;
using not only his word and commandment in raising the
dead, as God, but also his flesh as a help and mean to the
same. In raising the daughter of one of the chief of the ^^'att. jx.
synagogue, he took her by the hand and raised her. When Matt. viii.
he cured one full of the leprosy, he stretched out his
hand and touched him. When he entered into the city
of Nairn, meeting a dead man carried out, the only son Luke vii.
of a widow, having compassion on her, ho touched the
bier, and raised him from dead. There bo infinite places
of scripture which teach us, that Christ's flesh giveth life,
dclivereth from death, oxpcllcth vice ; but this is notable,
forasmuch as this widow signifieth the chui'ch, and her dead
son represcntoth mankind, dead through the sin of Adam.
Christ is a vine, and wo are the branches, as he witncsscth
hiins(.'lf : Ego sum vitis vera, S^c. " I am the true vine, and joimxv.
my Father is a hus1)andinan," et vos estis palmites. The;
branches cannot live, unless they take nourishment of the
substance of the vine and his'' juice : even so the soul of
[•' His, lo50; of his, ir)(;0.]
3—2
36 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
a christian man must needs be fed with the sweet flesh
and comfortable blood of Jesus Christ. If we be branches,
we be nourished of the vine. I would learn whether he
be the vine after his humanity, or by his divinity. He
is not the vine touching his divine nature ; for the vine
is not equal with the husbandman, but at his command-
v/nefouch!^ mcut. Christ, touching his divinity, is the husbandman, and
iiiR his flesh, equal with his Father. Mark, he is the vine therefore
concerning that nature in which he is inferior to his Father,
which is, his humanity. If then Christ be the vine, not
by his divinity but by his humanity, and we the branches ;
then wo must be refreshed of the vine, that is, of his
humanity.
This metaphor hath been abused to many evil pur-
poses, as to prove Christ not to be God, because he is
"I am the the viue : it hath been racked also to prove that these
vine," and, ^
'*^bd^''" ^'O''*^^' -^^^^ ^^^ corpus meum, "This is my body," is a like
are diverse phrasc, a like spccch, as when Christ saith, Eqo sum vitis,
phrases. '■ . . ' •?
" I am the vine." They be no like phrases, but far dif-
ferent and diverse : for the vine is no sacrament, neither
body"ex™^^^i6 door, nor the way, be no sacraments. The bread of
pounded, 'which Christ said, "This is my body," is a sacrament,
not a bare and naked metaphor ; the rock was a sacrament ;
Matt, wc'vi. the brasen serpent ^s•as a sacrament ; not metaphors only.
Markxiv. ^yj^^^ (.j^j,jg^ ^^j^^ ,, rpj^j^ j^ ^^^ ^^^^„ j^^ ordained a
sacrament, that is, he gave the name of the thing to the
sign ; so that, notwithstanding, the matter, nature, and sub-
The sub- stance of the sign remaineth : unless this substance remain,
stance ot _ ~ '
bread re- the bread is no sacrament. For sacraments, saith St Au-
maineth.
gustine, are so called of the similitude of those things to
which they be sacraments'. Take away the matter, the sub-
P Which, 1.550; the which, 15G0.]
[^ Nonne semel immolatus est Christus in seipso, et tanien in
Sacramento non solum per omnes Paschae solemnitates, sed omni die
populis immolatur, nee utique mentitur, qui intcrrogatus cum respon-
dent innnolari? Si enim sacramenta quanidani similitudineiu earum
reruni, rjuarum saciamenta sunt, nun liahcront, oninino sacramenta non
essent. Ex hac antcm similitudinc plcrum(|iie etiam ipsaruin rcrum
nomina accipiunt. Sicut ergo secundum qucmdam modum sacramentum
corporis Christi corpus Christi est, sacramentum sanguinis Cliristi sanguis
Christi est, ita sacramentum fidei fides est. Nihil est autem aliud cre-
dere, quam fidem habere. Ac per hoc cum_ rcspondctur parvulus credere,
VII.] OR LAYMA\"'s BOOK. 37
stance, and natui-e of bread and wine ; and there remaineth
no more similitude.
Now all the fathers that were before Gregory do con-
fess, and" the scriptures do ^\^tness, that there must be Tiiree simi-
..,.,.,. ..,.,„ litudes in
three smiilitudes m this sacrament : a similitude oi nour- *''«■ sacra-
ishing, a similitude of unity, and a similitude of conver-
sion. The similitude of nourishing is this, that, as bread of nourish-
and wine do nourish our bodies* and comfort our outward
man, so the body and blood of Christ be the meat and
food of our souls, and do comfort our inward man. And of unity.
the similitude of unity is this, that, as the loaf of which
we eat was made of many corns of wheat, by the liquor
of water knoden into dough, and yet is but one loaf, and
as the wine was made of the juice of divers grapes, and
yet is but one cup of wine ; so all they that eat Christ's
body, and drink his blood, being many, are made one
body and one flesh by the liquor of charity and love ; the
mystical body of our Saviour Christ, which is his church,
not his natural body : for the bread is a sacrament not
only of Christ's natural body, but also of the congrega-
tion and mystical body : and therefore Paul saith, that, i Cor. x.
albeit we be^ many, yet notwithstanding we are Unus
panis, unum corpus, " one loaf and one body." What a loaf
are we? Verily, even Triticeiis panis, "a wheaten loaf," by
the similitude of unity which I have declared. The simi-
litude of conversion is this, that, as the bread and wine ofconver-
is turned into the substance of our bodies, so, by the re-
ceiving of Christ's body and blood, we are turned into the
nature of them ; we are changed and made bones of his
bones, and flesh of his'' flesh. "He that eateth my flesh,"
qui fidei nondum habet alFectum, respondetur fidem habere propter fidei
sacramentum, et convertere se ad Deum propter conversionis sacra-
mentuni, quia et ipsa responsio ad celebrationem pertinet sacramenti.
Sicut de ipso baptismo Apostolus, ' Consepulti/ inquit, ' sumus Christo
per baptismuin in luortein.' Non ait, sepulturam significavimus : sed
prorsus ait, 'Consepulti sunius.' Sacrameutuiu ergo tiuitiu rei nonnisi
ejusdein rei voeal>ulo nuncupavit. Augustini Epist. ad Bonii'aeiuin,
Opera, ii. 2(57. Edit. Paris. lOT!)— 1700.]
[' And, l.^.'iO; that, 1500.]
[' Bodies, IS-W; body, 15U0.]
['' We, 1550; be, 1500.]
[" Of flesh, 1550; of his flesh, 1500.]
38 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [CH.
saith Christ, " and drinketli my blood, he ahldeth in me,
and I in him ;" tliat is to say, wc Lc made one flesh and
one blood, and the same nature that my flesh and my
blood hath, the same getteth he that eateth me. These
similitudes must be in the bread and wine, or else they
be no sacraments. Now take away the substance, matter,
and nature of them, and what similitude remaineth either
of nourishing, or of unity, or of conversion? These simi-
litudes be in the very substance and inward nature of bread
and wine, not in the outward shew of accidents, which do
neither nourish, neither are they changed, neither have any
similitude of any unity.
Here percase, gentle reader, thou wilt demand of me,
seeing I teach the substance of bread and wine to remain
after the consecration, what I do answer to the doctors
and fathers, which oftentimes do say that the nature and
substance of bread and wine is altered, is turned into the
cffina^o^^ body and blood of our Saviour Christ, as Cyprian \ in his
■"'"'• treatise which he writeth De coena Domini, " of the Lord's
supper," saith, Panis non effigie sed natura mutatiis, "this
bread is changed, not in the outward shew, but in the
nature and substance;" and Ignatius saith the same, and
Cyril, and Ambrose, and Jerome, and Augustine, and Chry-
sostom, whose doctrines we do follow, and we do allow
and embrace them.
Sectors do ^^ ^^^^ deceived, good people ; they are nothing against
substan'ce'^ this doctrine, but the pillars and maintainers thereof, if
chan*^ed'^ their writings be truly understand: mark their" phrases,
compare their sayings together one with another ; and you
shall find, that many do falsely slander them, and that they
which boast and prate most of the doctors and old fathers,
[} Panis iste quern Dominus discipulis porrigebat, non effigie sed
natura mutatus, omnipotentia vcrbi factus est caro : et sicut in persona
Christi humanitas vidobatur, et latcl)at divinitas ; ita sacramento visibili
ineff'abiliter divina so infudit essentia, ut esset religioni circa sacra-
menta dcvotio, et ad veritatem, cujus cori^us et sanguis sacramenta sunt,
sincerior pateret accessus, usque ad participationem spiiitxis ; non quod
usque ad consubstantialitatem Christi, sed usque ad societatem germa-
nissimam ejus, ha.'c unitas pervenisset. Cypriani Opera, cxi. Ed. Parisiis,
1720. The treatise Dc Cuniu Domini was formerly attributed, but
erroneously, to Cyprian.]
[•- Thcr, 15.50; the, 1-500.]
VII.] OR layman's book. 39
understand not the old fathers. So they say, that EHseus 2 Kino:s vi.
chang-ed and altered the nature of iron, when he made it
to swim above the water ^ so they say, that Elias changed J^^^^ings
the nature of fire, when through his prayer it fell from
heaven and consumed his sacrifice of wood, stones and dust. ^^^^^^J^
The nature of fire was changed, (no man can deny it,) at ^'^^
what time God appeared unto Moses out of a bush in a Exod. iii.
flame; for the bush was not consumed. He commanded
the fire not to hurt his faithful servants, Sidrach, Misak, Dan. iii.
and Abednago, and preserved them harmless from the hot
burninof oven. There again nature was altered.
Elias and Eliseus did not turn, alter, or change the very
substance and inward essence, or matter, either of iron or
of the fire, into any other substance, or nature, but the
natural property of them ; making the iron which is heavy ^r^fatwlf
to hove above the waters, and causing the fire which is property.
light to descend do\vnward. Even so the doctors and old
fathers, which we allow and follow, say, that the substance
of bread and wine is changed, that is, the natural property
of them ; so that whereas before they were only the meat
of the body, now, after the words rehearsed, they are the
food of the soul also, for so much as they deliver unto us
Christ's sweet flesh and comfortable blood : before it was
common bread and wine, now it is holy and sanctified;
before it was no sacrament, now it is a sacrament of the
blessed body and honourable blood of our Saviour Jesus
Christ.
But, for a more manifest proof that the old fathers
believed the substance of bread to remain after the conse-
cration, I will allege some of them. Iren£eus^ saith, that irenams.
P Ceciderat ferrum scouris in aquas, quasi ferrum sua consuetudiue
demersum est: misit lignuui Elisicus, statim ferrum elevatum est, ct
aquis Hupernatavit : utiquu contra consuctudinem forri ; est enini matorics
gravior, ([uain aquaruui est clcmcntuni. Anibrosius de Sacranientis,
Opera, ii. 370. Edit. Paris. lOtK).]
['' 'Qs yap diro 717? apTot TrpoaXanjiavofktvo^ tijv eKKXtiaiv tov
Hcov, ouKETt Kotuut apTOi ecTii/, aW evyupKtTiu, tx cvo -npny-
HUTusv (TvvcartjKvui, eirtytlov re Kfti ovpav'iov' (>i/t(<)<; Kai ra (TWfxaTu
tjuwti fifTuXafijidvovTa t»/<; ev^apiarricK:, ptjKert eii'ui </)('«^>t(j, Tr;i'
fXtrioa ri]v ch ftiaii/«<j iivaffTaaew; 6')(^ovta. Ironivus, advorsus
Ila'n-scs, lib. iv. cai.. 04. p. 32". Kd. Oxon. 1702.]
40 THE IMAGE OP GOD, [cH.
every sacrament is made of two natures, of a heavenly
nature, and of a terrenal or earthly nature. Now, take
away the substance of bread, and what earthly nature or
substance remaineth in this holy sacrament? The papists
Anobjec- gay, that the earthly nature is Christ's body, which he took
of the earth when he was born of the blessed virgin
Tiie answer. Mary : for she was earth, and all men be earth. To
this I answer, that Christ's body is earth in very deed, yet
it is not the earthly and terrenal nature of this sacra-
ment, which must have three similitudes, of unity, of nu-
trition, and of conversion, as is declared before, which si-
militudes cannot be in Chrisfs body. Moreover, hear what
Ongen. Origeu ^ saith : Fanis sanctificatus vadit in mntrem, " The
sacramental bread entereth into the belly." Wherefore en-
tereth it thither, but to nourish our bodies, to feed them,
to be the meat of the flesh? Wherefore the substance
thereof is not turned, not changed, not altered, but re-
maineth and continueth : for accidents do neither feed nor
Augustine, nourish. St Augustine- also subscribeth unto them, say-
ing, Accedat verbum elemento, et Jit sacramentiim : he saith
not succedat, but accedat, which is this much to say : " Let
the word be added to the element, and then it is made a
sacrament." Thus it is evident that the bread and wine,
Q-* Udv TO elcnropevofxevov ek to crTOjxa eh KotX'iau yutpei, kui clt
acpecpmua eKpaAAerai* Kat to ajia(^on£voi/ ppwfxa cut \ojov Qeov
Kat ei/rei/^eto?, kut uvto fxev to vXikuv, ei? Triv Koi\iui> yiopei, kch
ei<; ncpecpuiva eKfSaWeTCti' kutu ce Trji/ eTn^/ivonevtjv avrm ev^r]i/,
KUTu Ttji' avaXojluv Ttji TriffTew? u><pe\ifxov jivcTai, Kctt t»/? tov
vov a'iTiov ciapXe'^eiia';, opwi/To? etri to wcpeXovv, kui ovy ij iiXt] tov
upTuv, u\\ o eTT avTU) elptjuevo^ \oyo<; ecrTtu o axpeXuv tov fiij
avu^lui^ TOV Kvp'iov i<rdioi/Ta avTov. Origeii. in Mattli. Comment.
Opera, iii. 499. Edit. Paris. 1738.]
P Quare non ait, Mundi estis propter baptismuni quo loti estis, sed
ait, ' Propter verbum quod locutus sum vobis,' nisi quia et in aqua
verbuni mundat? Detrahe verbum, et quid est aqua nisi aqiui? Accedit
verbum ad elementum, et fit sacramentum, etiani ipsum tamquam
visibilo verbum. Nam et hoc utique dixerat, quando pedes discipulis
lavit, ' Qui lotus est, non indiget nisi ut pedes lavct, sed est mundus totus.'
Unde ista tanta virtus aqua;, ut corpus tangat et cor abluat, nisi faciente
verbo ; non quia dieitur, sed quia creditur? Nam et in ipso verbo
aliud est sonus transiens, aliud virtus manens. Augustin. in Johan.
Evang. Opera, iii. 708. Edit. Paris. 1079— 1700.]
VII.] OK layman's book. 41
which is the element, remaineth, and is not transubstan-
tiate, both by authentical scriptures, which do allow three
similitudes, and also by the consent of all the doctors
and elder fathers : for out of doubt Athanasius, Basil,
Nazianzen, Jerome, Chrysostom, and other, both Latinists
and Greeks, do not disagree with these. Moreover, the
rock was a sacrament of Chrisfs blood, and yet not tran-
substantiate. They and we drink one spiritual drink, as ^ f-or- x.
Paul recordeth. Likewise manna was a sacrament of his
body, without any such mutation. You will ask me then. How our
•' '' ' sacraments
whether our sacraments be better than the sacraments of are better
the old testament ? Yea truly, but not of their own sacraments
11 (»/~iii iif>i of the old
nature, but through the grace ot Uod, through tlie fulness testament.
of time, because in this testament the face of Christ is
more clearly discovered and known, and not through any
transubstantiation. These bo the days which the patri-
archs and prophets desired to come, the days of salvation,
and the acceptable time.
I have opened the true meaning of Christ's words,
" This is my body ;"" and declared the necessity, the use,
the fruit, the mary and sweetness of the holy communion,
which fruit is incomparable. For if all they which did ^^^^^- ^^•
but touch the hem of Christ's garment, received their per-
fect health, how much more shall we be made strong and
comforted, if we have Christ in us ! This holy communion
giveth life, destroyeth death, quickeneth our bodies, light-
eneth our souls, banisheth sin, and increaseth virtue. For
as a little wax poured upon other wax is made all one with
it, even so they that receive this sacrament worthily abide
in Christ, and Christ in them. A little leaven soureth a
whoh; batch ; but the seldom receiving of this sacrament,
if (1 say) it be received worthily, bringeth remission of sins,
purgeth our souls, maketh clean our hearts, amendeth our
understandings : but the oftener, the better. All you that
approach unto this table, and desire to be branches of the
vine, and to be sealed into the fellowship of the congrega-
tion, forsake your sinful living, intend to lead a new conver-
sation from the bottom of your hearts, i)ur<re out the old '"V' '"'" '•'*
•' ' I O not receive
leaven, and become new dough, bury all affections and live j,^j''''''
unto virtiU! : otherwise ye neither eat Clu-ist's flesli, nor
drink his ))looil. lie that eateth Chrisfs Hesh hath eter- J^^'"' vi.
42 THE IMAGE OF OOD, [cH.
The first nal life. " Yea, marry/"' saith the papists, " if he eat it
reason. ^ j ' i i _ _
dipne, worthily," adding unto the text, or else makmg it
false, " but he may receive it unworthily, as Judas did," Ex-
amine this exposition with the touchstone, open the scripture
with the key, not with the picklock ; and thou shalt find, that
Christ's flesh is not received unworthily : in all the scrip-
The second tures this word indiane, " unworthily," is but once read con-
reason. ./ ' ./ '
cerning this sacrament ; and there, mark, the bread and the
wine is said to be received unworthily, not Christ\'? most
comfortable flesh and blood. Quicunque manducaterit par
1 Cor. xi. nem Imnc, etc. " He that eateth of this bread, and drink-
eth of this cup," saith Paul, " unworthily, he shall be guilty
of the body and blood of Christ," Lo, he saith, " He that
eateth of this bread unworthily, and drinketh of this cup,"
not of the body and blood of Christ, which always be re-
ceived unto health.
Choose now, gentle reader, whether thou wilt believe the
papists, which teach that Christ's flesh is received of evil
men unworthily, or Paul, which saith, " He that eateth of
this bread," that is, not common bread, not daily bread, but
sacramental bread, that is meant by the word, " this." If
they can shew in any place of scripture, where this word "un-
worthily" is joined with the body of Christ, as I have shewed
where it is coupled with bread, I will be of their opinion.
?^alon '^'^ Christ's flesh is meat, according to his own saying, Garo
John vi. ff^iQQ^ q^^fQ ^gf cibus, Sfc. " My flesh is very meat and my blood
is very drink." Now meat doth hurt, where it findeth a
belly corrupt with naughty humours. Even so this spiritual
food, if it find a man defiled vath sin, increaseth his dam-
nation, bringeth him unto destruction, not of the nature of
it, but through the default of him that receiveth it. Yea,
if we be defiled with corrupt humours, we be no partakers
of these dainties.
But peradventure the papists will reply, If it be meat,
then is it received both of good and evil men ; for neither of
An objec- |^oth sorts cau live without meat. To this I answer, it is the
tion answer- i i i i i- t i> ^
fd- meat of the soul, not of the body ; the tood ot the spmt, not
of the flesh ; and therefore it is not received of evil persons,
because the meat is good, and they be evil. So that this is
a strong argument : Christ's flesh and blood is meat ; ergo
it is not received of evil men.
VII.] OR LAYMAN'S BOOK. 43
Moreover, Christ's flesh and blood is the vine, as I have Tiie fourth
reason.
proved before, and we be the branches.
Only the branches be fed of the vine : a syllogism.
Evil men be not branches of the vine :
Ergo, evil men be not partakers of the vine, which is
Christ's flesh and blood.
Therefore let no Judas, no Simon ^Magus, no man with
a cloked mind, think that he is fed with these dainties. If
it were not lawful for the uucircumcised in flesh to eat the
figurative paschal lamb, how much more is it unlawful for
the uucircumcised and unclean in heart to taste of these
dainties ! " If he that despised Moses' law was condemned,
without any mercy, unto death under two or three wit-
nesses, how more grievously shall he be punished, which
treadeth under foot the Son of God, and counteth the blood
of the new testament as an unholy thing, wherewith he is
sanctified !" Purge out the old leaven, or else thou mayest
not, nor thou canst not, eat this sweet bread. Paul testi-
fieth, that many among the Corinthians, for the abusing of
this sacrament, were punished ^ith weakness, with sickness,
yea, and many stricken with death ; the which he wrote for
our instruction. Against the comino- of our friend we make
clean our houses, and look diligently that all things be trim :
and are we negligent in purifying of our minds against the
coming of the great King, who hath promised to dwell with
us after the receiving; of this holv meat I I would wish that Thanks
^ - . , . ousrht to
men would give thanks more customablv, immediately after be Vven for
. . ^ ' ' '. the death
the receiving thereof, unto God, for the redemption of of Christ.
mankind, and for all his benefits, saying* the hundredth
psalm, " O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands, serve the
Lord in gladness, and come before his presence with a
song;" and the p.salm that beginneth, "O come, let us Fsai.xcv.-
sing unto the Lord, let us heartily I'ojoice in the strength
of our salvation ; let us come befoi'o his presence with thanks-
giving :" with the hundred and third psalm, " Praise the
Lord, O my soul." For who cometh to tlio table of any
man, and departeth without any thanksgiving ? It is called
also a sacrament of thanksgiving. I would men would as
diligently dispose themselves to receive this sacrament, as
[' Siiying, 1550; singing, 15fK).]
Q* This reference is not in the margin of the edition of lo50."l
44 THE IMAGE OF OOD, fcH.
they do eftsoons delight to talk of it : if they would pre-
pare themselves to receive it more oft, the Holy Ghost
would instruct them and become their schoolmaster ; for
wisdom entereth not unto a soul subdued into sin.
mentaTre- ^^^^ ^ ^^^^^ souic say, I wiU uot comc to reccive the
nece'si^'v sacramcut, for I can, and do, receive the body and blood of
Christ at home, in the field, and in the church, yea, every-
where, without the sacrament, believing upon his passion.
Truly, if thou be godly-minded, and do call his death for
thee' to remembrance, trusting to have pardon of thy sins
by the effusion of his blood, thou dost eat his body and drink
his blood. But thou art not godly-minded, but carnal, the
servant of sin, if thou despise the ordinance of God, and his
commandment, who biddeth thee take and eat : and carnal
and ungodly men do not receive the body of Christ, but the
spiritual and godly.
hJtiou of'the Tliou maycst say likewise, I will not come at the mi-
minister. nister for remission of my sins, and for absolution, for God
is not bound to his sacraments, he pardoneth without the
ceremony of ministration, as he^ did the thief, Mary Mag-
dalene, and other. Sure it is, God forgiveth thy sins before
thou come to the priest, if thou have earnest repentance
and true intent of amendment ; for he saith. In quacumque
/io)-a, Sfc. " In what hour soever the unrighteous man doth
repent, &c." and yet nevertheless he himself commandeth
thee to come to them, for he hath given them authority
to loose and to bind, and to bless and curse. Now, what
their loosing, blessing, and absolution is, shall be declared
hereafter, in the seventeenth chapter. So, albeit Christ's
body be received in faith without the sacrament, yet thou
must come unto the sacrament, because thou art command-
ed, or else thou art an evil man.
It is not enough to receive it spiritually, we must re-
ceive it also sacramentally ; yea, he that will not receive it
sacramentally, neither doth he, neither can he, receive it in
faith spiritually : for I have proved before that evil men do
not eat these dainties.
v
[1 Death for the to, 1550; doatli to, ISGO."!
[- He as, 1550; as he, 15G0.]
nil.] OR layman's book. 45
THE EIGHTH CHAPTER.
God is fii II of understanding.
God is also full of understanding. If any man lack
wisdom, James biddeth him " ask it of God, which giveth Jnmes i.
to all men indifferently, and casteth no man in the teeth ;
and it shall be given him, if he ask it without wavering,
without mistrust." David, asking with a sure faith, ob-
tained his request ; in so much that he had more under-
standing than all his teachers, and was wiser than the aged ;
but what foUoweth ? " for because I keep thy command- Psa'- c>>>x-
ments.*" Thou askest not in faith, without keeping of God's
commandments. Ostende mihi fidem tuam ex operihis, "shew
me thy faith," saith James, " of thy works." Keep them, Psai. xcix.
and he will give thee understanding. His testimonies are Psai. xix.
a lantern, and give light even unto the babes. He gave
Salomon an understanding heart to judge his people, and ^ '^'"^^ "'•
to discern between good and bad ; so that there was none
like him, neither afore nor after : he gave him also ho-
nour and riches, and long life ; which be his gifts. He L""^^ ^^^'^'•
opened the minds of his disciples, that they might under-
stand the scriptures. He took Paul up into the third hea- 2 cor. \n.
ven, and taught him things which cannot be uttered. He
filled Besalicl and Ahahab with the Spirit of God, with ^m''- ^'"^'
wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, to find out curious
works, to work in gold and silver and brass, to carve in
wood, to grave in stone, to make the tabernacle of witness,
the ark, the mercy seat, the tabic, the pure candlesticks,
the altar of incense, vestimonts to minister in, and the holy
garments for Aaron the priest. AVhereforc ho himself
nuist needs be full of all wisdom and all understanding.
Hut those things, as thoy were connnandod to them of the
old law, so wo of the now law arc not bounil to them,
because we have no conmiandmont ; for, as Paul writoth ii<i' ^'m-
unto liis nation, '' we hav<' an alt;ir, whereof th(>y may not
eat which servo in the tabernacle." The priosthooil of the
46
THE IMAGE OF GOD,
[cn.
Malaclii
iriakcth
iiiitliiiiLc for
llic sacrifice
of the mass
or popish
priesthood.
Pigjhius's
arsriiment.
Lcvites, their sacrifices, and their laws, be disannulled.
Christ's everlasting priesthood hath made an end of all the
Levites"* priesthood ; yea, and of all other priesthood, save
only that which belongeth to all christian men. The ob-
lation of his body once for all upon the altar of the cross,
which was a slain sacrifice for our sins, abolisheth all other ;
and the law of his gospel hath blotted out the law of
the carnal commandment.
But our Romans allege the prophet Malachy for the de-
fence of the sacrifice of their mass, and for their popish
priesthood ; by whom God saith : "I have no pleasure in
you ; and as for an offering, I will not accept it at your
hands. For from the rising of the sun unto the going
down of the same, my name is great amongst the gentiles ;
yea, in every place shall there sacrifice be done, and a clean
offering offered up in my name." Albertus Pighius\ one
of the bishop of Rome's chief knights, laboureth to prove
that this text is meant of the oblation of the mass ; whose
reasons be these : first, that it cannot be taken for the
oblation of Christ's body on the cross, for God promised
[^ Audis primum denunciari veteris illius, quod secundum ordinem
Aaron erat, sacerdotii abolitionem, succedente novo (de quo apostolus)
secundum ordinem Melchisedec. Non est, inquit, mihi voluntas per-
petua in vobis, vobis, inquam, Aaroniticis sacerdotibus, nee ultra susci-
piam munus aut sacrificia de manibus vestris. Quid ita? Quoniam
non tantum in uno hoc populo Israel, cui serviebat illud vetus sacer-
dotium, sed in omnibus gentibus, ab ortu solis usque ad occasum, mag-
num erit nomcu meum. Neque ex una hac familia Aaron, sed ex
omnibus gentibus novos mihi sacerdotes deligam, novo ordine, abrogato
veteri. Nee Vetera ilia vobis constituta et in uno loco ofFerenda sacrificia
amplius de manu vestra suscipiam : sed in omni orbis loco sacrificabitur,
ct offeretur nomini meo oblatio munda: propheta enim de i'uturo, ob
certitudinem, ut solent, in prtEsenti loquitur: non sacrificia multa, sed
una ct sola munda oblatio. Quid enim, ut Augustini verbis dicam,
tam mxuidum pro mundanis vitiis mortalium, quam sine uUa contagione
carnalis concu])isccntiie caro nata in utcro ct ex utero virginali? Et
quid tam grate offerri et suscipi posset, quam caro sacrificii nostri,
corpus efFectum sacerdotis nostri? Nullam imaginari est oblationem
mundam aliam, qua; per ccclesiam offertur in omni orbis loco, quam in
cucharistiic sacramcnto caro ct sanguis agni immaculati. Nam jejunia,
cleemosyntc, orationcs, sacrificium cordis oontriti, brcviter universie justi-
tiic nostnc, sunt veluti paimus' mcnstruatic. Pighius, Ilicrarch. Ecdes.
Assertio, Lib. ii. cap. 5. fol. rA. Edit. 1538.]
viii.] OK layman's book. 47
here such a sacrifice that should be offered in all places,
and of the heathen ; that was offered in one place, in Jewry
only, and of the Jews, Moreover, it cannot be such a sa-
crifice as David commended ; that a troubled spirit, a Psai. u.
broken and a contrite heart, is a sacrifice unto God ; for
the prophet speaketh here of a clean sacrifice unto God :
all that we offer unto God, is spotted, unclean and defiled,
as the clothes stained with the flowers of a woman. The isai. ixiv.
prophet also speaketh of a new sacrifice, that was not be-
fore, but should be used among the heathen, and offered
only of the priests ; but we have the sacrifice that David
praiseth, common with them of the old law, and it is to
be offered of all christian men and women : wherefore it
must needs be spoken of the mass.
This is Pighius's reason, yea, the principal argument of The answer.
all the papists ; unto which, I beseech you hear patiently
my answer. I intend to write a commentary to Malachy,
but I will take it out of God's word, and I will open scrip-
ture with the key. I defend, that Malachy meaneth none
other sacrifice, than an oblation of a pure and contrite
heart ; and I prove it thus : first, Malachy speaketh of Ti'e sacri-
such a sacrifice as shall be offered in all places unto God ; thanks is
^ ottered in
as, undoubtedly, this hath been, and shall be to the world's aii places.
end. He speaketh also of a clean sacrifice. Is not the sacrifice.
oblation of a contrite heart a clean sacrifice ? Yea, truly ;
or else it were not to be offered up unto God, to whom
no unclean thing is to be presented. Paul, s[)caking of
this sacrifice, calleth it a holy and an acceptable sacrifice,
saying, " I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies Rom. xii.
of God, that you make your bodies a quick sacrifice, holy
and acceptable unto God," &c. He meaneth not, that we
should kill our bodies, slay ourselves ; but kill all our car-
nal lusts, unlawful desires, evil affections in the body ;
which is a sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart. And
whereas Pighius affirmeth against this, that our hearts bo
unclean, I deny it not : but, nevertheless, God acceptoth
them as clean, and calleth them so in his word, as by
David, saying, " Make me a clean heart, and r(>now a ivai. ii.
right spirit within me ; " and by Christ, " Blessed be the Matt. v.
pure in heart, or clean-heai'ted, for tliey shall see God."
We read in the Acts, when Peter w.us a-hungred at Cor- Acts xi.
48 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
nclius's house, that the heavens opened, and certain vessels
came down to liim, as it had been a jrreat sheet knit at
four corners, wherein were all manner of four-looted beasts,
and that he was bidden to arise and kill : but he would
not, saying he did never eat no unclean things : but he
was answered, and commanded, not to esteem any thing
unclean which God hath cleansed. Even so I say unto
Pighius, that seeing Paul, David, and Christ, call it a clean
sacrifice, and that God hath purified our hearts, it bc-
cometh not him to name it otherwise. For a good man,
Matt. vii. -i good trcc, out of thc good treasure of his heart bring-
eth out good fruit.
Anewsacri- gut the papists Say, that this is no new sacrifice. I
2Cor. V. affirm that it is; for as much as God saith, "Behold I
make all things new." If all things be new, then this is
a new sacrifice, albeit we have it common with the fathers
of the old testament. The scripture useth to call things
new, when they be commanded anew ; as Christ, command-
ing his disciples to love one another, before his passion,
John xiii. saith, " I give you a new^ commandment that ye love one
iJohnii. another;'''' and John likewise, "Again, a new command-
ment I write to you.''' Not that these commandments were
not mentioned before ; but that they were so necessary,
that it pleased God to renew them again. In which sig-
nification, the oblation of a contrite heart may also be
called a new sacrifice, and that after the phrase of the holy
scripture, although Pighius spurn against it ; who, not
knowing, or not remembering, this acception of newness,
doth falsely affirm, that the sacrifice that Malachy en-
treateth, only appertaineth unto priests. I trust I have
sufficiently declared, by the testimonies of God''s word, that
a contrite heart is that clean and new sacrifice offered in
all places, of which JNIalachy speaketh.
That the Lord''s supper, which men call the mass, is not
a sacrifice for sin, St Paul declareth plainly, saying : Sine
sanguinis efusione, Sfc. " that without shedding of blood no
The first • sacrificc cau blot out sin.'"' If Christ be sacrificed or offered
in his supper, for the expiation of sin, his ]irccious and
most comfortal)lc blood is shed again, is poured forth again ;
Utb. ix. " f^^jj. ^vithout bloodshed is no remission."" It nmst be a
bloody sacrifice, not a dry sacrifice, for which sin is par-
VIII.] OR LAYMAx"'s BOOK. 49
doned. " Christ, (saith Paul,) by his own blood entered
once for all into the holy place, and found eternal redemp-
tion :" so that all sin, both that is past, and that which is
to come, in the chosen, is and shall be pardoned by his
eternal sacrifice, which was offered once for all on the cross.
And sin beingr forffiven, as the apostle telletli, by the virtue of The second
"- .r> n • •>■> \ J. 1 reason.
it, " there remaineth no more sacriface tor sm, but only a Heb. x.
commemoration and a memorial. For the love of God, and
of our own souls, let us keep and use this sacrament and
other in the church, as Christ the author of all sacraments
commandeth. He mentioneth no such use, or rather abuse The third
. ^ , . reason.
and profanation. That is a sacrament, in whicli (.Tod certi-
fieth us, by some outward and sensible sign, that he giveth
unto us somewhat : as, for an example, in baptism there is
water, which preacheth unto us remission of sins by Christ s
blood. Now a sacrifice is another thing ; for in a sacrifice ^^J^^l'';
we give, dedicate, and present some thing unto liim. Where- sacrifice.
fore the supper of the Lord is no sacrifice for sin, forasmuch
as it is a sacrament. Mark this difference, brethren, and be
no longer deceived. The parable of the thieves teacheth us, Tiie fourth
o A I'll reason.
that Christ's commg hath disannulled all such priesthood as
is called sacerdotium ; but preshyteriim remaineth. The priests Luke x.
and Levites pass bv, and leave the wounded man, which was wounded
robbed going from Hierusalem to Jericho, unholpen, unpro-
vided for. Is not he succoured only of the Samaritan? The
wounded man signifieth all mankind, who descended from
Hierusalem to Jericho, when he was expulsed out of paradise
into this miserable world. For Hierusalem is as much to Jerusalem.
say as, xisio pads, or, rislo perfecta, " a peaceable vision of
God," which man had in paradise. The thieves that robbed Thieves.
and wounded him were the devils, that enticed him to eaf-
of concupiscence, and robbed him of his understanding, of
free will, of dominion and lordship over all creatures, of the
image of God after which he was made ; and made him after
th(! image of the devil himself. The priests, the Levites,
were not able to help liiin, but only the Samaritan ; that is,
Christ healeth him, and restored him to the image of God
again. Head over tlu; four, five, seven, nine, and ten, to the T'je finn
Hebrews, and thou shalt find, that tin? mark that St Paul
I'' Kat of till' tree dt' conciiiMscoiU'i', l">(i'I.J
4
[iM'TCIIINSON.]
/)0
TIIF IMAGE OP OOD,
CII.
The sixth
reason.
Ministers
have no
common
with the
laity.
shooteth at in these chapters is only to fortify, that all such
outward priesthood is taken away.
Moreover, mark what I say unto thee. Read over all
the new testament, and thou shalt not find once this word,
sacerdos, " priest," applied or spoken of any one sort of
ministers (as the common sort do use it), but when it is
referred to the Pharisees, and to such as do appertain with-
out all doubt to the old testament. It is referred always
to all christian people, which all be sacerdotes through
Christ : and ministers have no manner of sacrifice, but
common '^"^ common with the laity, both men and women ; that is to
say, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and the quick and lively
oblation of their own bodies. The new testament requir-
eth no other sacrifice. I do not mean, that every man,
or woman, may christen, man-y, purify women, may loose
and bind consciences, may distribute the holy sacrament :
but I mean, that popish and outward priesthood is crept
into the church of God against the word of God; and
I do believe and confess no mo orders of ministers but
three, that is, deacons, and presbyters, and bishops. These
three the scriptures alloweth, and shewed the manner of
their creation, and declareth their ofiices and duties. There
be mo ministrations, I will not denay; but they may be re-
duced all to these three. The papists make seven orders;
ostiaries or porters, readers, acolites, exorcists, subdeacons,
deacons, and priests ; but neither of the names of five of
them, nor that which is meant by the names, nor their crea-
tion, nor their offices, be expressed in the scriptures. And
if I M^ould recite the offices that they themselves assign, and
their form of creation, I think mo would laugh at them than
allow them. Some of the doctors write, that there were
some so called in the church at their days ; but that their
offices were such as they describe, they cannot shew out of
any doctor. They have kept the names, and changed the
duties and offices, and have appointed them other duties ; as
it is plain, namely, in the office of a deacon ; and so they do
not only rack the scriptures, but also deprave and corrupt
the doctors, to maintain their dreams and fantasies; and
by the name of antiquity and fathers they lead us from our
Father in heaven.
Three
orders of
ministers
only.
Seven
orders
IX.] OR layman''s book. 51
THE NINTH CHAPTER.
God is truth : and, whether it he lawful or honest to lie for any
consideration.
God is also full of truth and mercy ; of whom David
witnesseth, that all his ways, or paths, are mercy and truth. Psaj. xxv.
He destroy eth all those that forge lies, and delighteth inJohnxiv.
such as be true, for he is truth itself. Salomon, among Prov.vi.
seven things which God hateth, reckoneth lying twice, as
that which God most abhorreth ; affirming also in another
place, that a false witness and lying lips shall not escape prov. xix.
punishment. There be that think it lawful to lie ; as the
merchantman, to sell his wares with more advantage ; and ^^an!^^"^^"
the Priscillianists, who held this opinion, that for a greater
advantage lying is not forbidden: to cover their covetous-
ness, and to excuse their daily lying, they make three sorts
of lies, jocosum, jperniciosum, officiosum, "jesting lies,"" "per-
nicious," and " officious C of the which they say two kinds
to be lawful, honest, and commendable, bringing these ex-
amples : Nasica, when he came to Ennius the poefs house xasica.
to speak with him, Ennius, having earnest business, com- [cicerode
manded his maid to meet him at the door, and to say that {i.\. Isl]
he was not within : who, knowing that her master had bid-
den her to say so because of his business, departed. Soon
after, it fortuned that l^nnius came to his house, and, knock-
ing at the door, incpiired for him. Nasica, hearing one
knock, and perceiving out of a window that it was En-
nius, answered with a loud voice, that he was not at home.
But Ennius knew his voice, and came in. Then Nasica
came unto him, and said, You aro impudent ; for I believed
your maid that you were not at home, and will not you
bflievo me myself^ In this example bo two lies; one of
Ennius's maid, at her masters commandment; the other of
Nasica, in the way of jest and mirth ; which both bo de-
fended to be houest. liut I tell you all lying is forbidden.
Sara also is alletred ; who, when she had laughed, denied ^^^^\...
c5 ' '-^ , uCll. Will.
it to three men which came unto Abraham : and ho hkewise
4 j>
52 THE IMAGE OP OOD, [ciI.
Gen'xH"' '^ l>i"ouglit ill, for Calling his wife his sister. And Jacob, the
jifcob''^" p'ltriarch, through the subtlety of lying, stole away his father's
Gen. xxvii. blessing, and the title of inheritance, from his elder brother,
Esau, at the counsel of his mother Rebecca. The scripture
The mid- recordeth also, that God dealt well with the midwives of
Exoci. i. Egypt, and made them houses, because with a lie they hin-
dered the devilish intent of cruel king Pharao, and pre-
served the babes of the Hebrues from death. How is it
^yjy\ true then, that he destroyeth all lying lips ? Ananias and
Josh. vi. Sapphira his wife are slain for lying; but Rahab the harlot
Heb. XI. jj, regarded, and numbered of St Paul among the faithful,
because she by lying saved the messengers or spies of the
*^in.? Jei>"- Israelites from the pursuers of the king of Jericho. Jehu,
the king of Israel, saying he had a great sacrifice to do unto
Baal, gathering his priests from all the coasts of Israel into
one temple, murdered them all through his lie, and is not
reproved for the same. Wherefore all lying is not forbidden.
Lukexxiv. ^Ve i-gj^fi Qf Christ himself, how he feigned that he would
go further than the town of Emaus ; and the elect vessel,
ActsxxiiV. ^^ Paul, is not abashed to say he was a citizen of Rome,
and born free.
With these examples lying is maintained, deceit and
falsehood allowed, and named policy and prudence. But I
say unto you, ye abuse God's word, ye rack it, ye make it
a nose of wax, ye open it not with the right key, but with a
picklock. Name not subtlety policy, nor lying jest, or duty.
All crafty scoffing, all profitable lying, is damnable.
You bring, for the defence of your leasings, Nasica,
Sara, Abraham, Jacob, the midwives of Egypt, Rahab, Jehu,
The answer. Paul, and Christ. As for Nasica, his saying was a jest, a
merry conceit, and no lie. Jests and merry conceits be
no lies, forasmuch as they be uttered not to harm, noy, or
hinder any man, but for mirth sake. A man may affirm
that which is false, and yet make no lie : for to lie is to
affirm an untruth with a mind to hurt, endamage, and
deceive, some man thereby.
Abraiiam Abraham said not to Abimilech, " She is not my wife,"
lied not. 111-. ./ '
Gen. XX. but, "She IS my sister:" the' which was true, for she was
his sister by his father, but not by his mother ; the daughter
of Aran his brother, and consequently of his father ; foras-
[' The which, 1550; wliich, loOO.]
IX
.] OR layman''&- book. 53
much hs flii flwrum dicuntur etiam Jilii avoriim^ "the son-
sons, or daughters, are called also the sons and daughters
of the grandfathers-." And so she was Abraham's sister,
because she was his father's daughter ; and she was his
father's daughter, because she was his brother's daughter.
Wherefore he spake nothing that was false, but he kept
that close which was true; saying she was his sister, and not
confessing her his wife : the which thing also his son Isaac Gen. xxvi.
did afterward. But this was no lying, to hide the truth,
but to affirm that which is false. And otherwise, Sara lied
indeed, and her example is in that point to be eschewed;
for many things are written which are not to be followed.
The story of Jacob is no lie, but a mystery ; and the The sayinir
•' ' J J ■' of Jacob is
mystery proved true afterward. When his father asked "o He, but
*" fc* J. jj^ iiivstcrv.
him, " Who art thou, son V he answered, " I am Esau, Gen. x-wh'.
thy eldest son :" whereby nothing else is meant and signified,
than that which Christ saith, "Ye shall see Abraham, Luke xui.
and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom
of God, and yourselves thrust out. And they shall come
from the east, and west, and north, and south, and sit in
the kingdom of God. And, behold, they be last which
shall be first ; and they be first which shall be last." This
thing now is come to pass; for we are "his people, which Rom. ix.
were not his people, and his beloved, which were not be-
loved." St Paul nameth this a mystery : " I would not this ^^o'"- ^'•
mystery should be hidden from you, brethren, lest ye should
be wise in your own conceits ; forasmuch as blindness is
partly happened in Israel, till the fulness of the gentiles be
come in." Of these places it appeareth, that Jacob's say-
ing, " I am Esau, thy eldest son," is as much to say as,
" The last shall be first, and the first last ;" which is a true
saying and no lie, because it is a mystery. For if we count
mysteries to be lies, we must count likewise all parables and
metaphors, all tropes and figures, to bo no less ; in which
the meaning is to be considered, and not the proper signi-
fication of the word. Christ is called a lion, a rock, a rov. v.
door, a lamb. The children of the kingdom are called .T,.imx.'
good seed ; and the wicked, tares. The father of heaven joimxV!''
is named a husbandman ; and God's word a sword, a. ham- .)'", '"xxii!!'
mer, a key. Man's life is called a span, a shadow, ^-c. i-saUxxxLv.
[■•^ Grandialhcr, l').5n; gmndfathcrs, loGO.]
54 THR IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
These manner of speeches be no Hcs, but plain demonstra-
tions of hard matters, in easy and common terms. We bo
taught by the Hon, rock, and door, which we kno\\-, what
Christ is, whom we know not ; and by the husbandman, we
learn what God the Father is; by the sword, the hammer,
the strength of God's word ; by the key, how it is to be ex-
pounded ; by the span, the shadow, the shortness of man's
life : which be fruitful matters. In semblable manner, in
this story we learn of Esau tlie blindness of the Jews ; and
of Jacob, the younger, the fulness of the gentiles.
Now, to speak of the midwives of Egyj^t and of Rahab :
God did not reward them for their lie, but for their mercy,
because they dealt kindly with his people ; for which also
he forgave them their lie, wherein they sinned undoubtedly
grievously : for the mouth which lietli killeth the soul.
Exod. i. If those midwives had been perfect women, they would have
refused that office whereunto Pharao appointed them ; for
Josh. ii. vi. it was to murder the infants of the Israelites. And Rahab
had done better, if she had not lied, but answered, " I know
where they be, but, because I fear God, I will never shew
it." They could have lost nothing by this answer, although
they had suffered death therefore. For "blessed be the
dead that die in the Lord." By the other way they gat
them houses upon the earth ; but this way they might have
purchased that house, of which it is written : " Blessed be
they which dwell in thy house, they shall praise thee ever-
mhJs°^^"^" luore." Stories make mention of one Firmius, bishop of
feVliradal Tagasta, who, making this answer in such a case, lost nought
23°' 0%'ra'^' t-hereby. When the emperor sent his officers to search after
Pari's*'i67y-' ^ Certain man whom he had hidden, he, being inquired
1700.] for him, said, he would not deny but that he had hidden
him, because of lying ; but that he would never betray him.
For which answer he was grievously pained : but no pain
could cause him to disclose where the man was. The em-
peror, marvelling at his stedfastness, delivered him.
Jehu in his lying is no more to be followed, than in
2 Kings X. the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, which made Israel
sin with the golden calves in Bethel and Dan. For it is
written of him, that " he forced not himself to walk in
the law of the Lord CJod of Israel with all his heart."
St Paul made no lie; for he was indeed a citizen of
X,] OR layman's; book. 55
Rome, because his father was free ; as at London, the ^^o^^' p.^m'
' _ ^ ' was a citizen
children of freemen be citizens and free. otRome.
Now, as concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ, God for-
bid that we shoukl say he Hed, in whose mouth no guile
could be found ; who speaketh of himself, " I am the way,
the truth." His pretending to go further was no lying, Luke xxiv.
but a true meaning ; for he went further afterward, when
he ascended up into the heaven in the sight of his apo-
stles ; which thing only was meant, by his pretending to
go further : for it is a mystery. No man therefore can
affirm that Christ lied, but he that denieth him to have
ascended.
Many false things are feigned, to signify and teach
true things : which be no lies ; for they be not spoken as
things true, as things done, but to teach us what we should
do : as the narration of Lazarus and the rich man ; the Luke xvi.
parable of him which had two sons, of the which one
abode at home with his father, the other went into far
countries ; the parable of trees in the book of Judges, Judsr. ix.
which speak ' one to another ; the parable of the vineyard. Matt. xxv.
of the virgins, of ten groats, of the sheep, of the unright- Luke xvjii.
eous judge, of mustard seed, and of the Pharisee and the Luke xviii.
Publican. If all these be lies, Christ is a great and no-
table liar, who spake always in parables to the people; the
prophets are liars ; yea, all the scripture is full of lies.
Not only the scripture, but all heathen writers use this man-
ner of teaching ; as Horace, making the little mouse to Horace,
speak ; and Esop, giving language to fowls, fishes, and four- vi. so.]
footed beasts : and yet not any wise man slandered them
at any time of lying. Thus it is evident, that they which
maintain lying rack the scriptures, and open them not with
Peter's key, but with a picklock; and that the examples
brought for lying cither be no lies, but jests, as Nasica ;
or mysteries, as Jacob''s, Christ's ; or true sayings, as Abra-
ham's, Isaac, and Paul ; or else, if they be lies, as Ennius'
maid, Sara, the midwivcs, Rahab, Jehu, they are earnestly
to bo eschewed : for no lie is of the truth ; and whatso- i joim li.
ever is not of the truth, is naught, seeing God is truth.
' [} Speak, 1560; spake, 15G0.]
56 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
THE TENTH CHAPTER.
God in full of compassion.
He is also full of mercy ; letting the sun shine upon
Psai. civ. good and evil, and sending rain to both sorts. '' Thou,
most gracious Lord, bringest forth grass and herbs for cattle,
and food out of the earth ; thou givest us wine to make
our hearts glad, and oil to cheer our countenance, and bread
to strengthen the heart ; thou satisfiest all men's desires with
good things," and specially of those that be merciful ; as
the only-begotten Son maketh proclamation in the moun-
Matt. V. tain : " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive
Psai. xxxiii. mcrcy." " The earth is full of thy mercies : and it, O Lord,
reacheth unto the heaven." No place is empty of thy mer-
cies.
The Origenists defend, that God's mercy pierceth into
hell, and that all men, the devils also, shall at length be
Psai, cv. saved, alleging this scripture, " His mercy be upon all
Eccius.xviii. his works," and, " The mercy of God is upon all flesh."
They bring also God's righteousness in judgment, which they
deny to punish sin everlastingly ; for then the punishment
should be greater than the fault, which is temporal, and hath
an end. This is a merciful heresy : but God sheweth no
Matt. XXV. mercy against his truth. His truth saith : " Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which is prepared for
the devil and his angels." No man can here justly say,
that everlasting fire is taken for a long fire ; albeit the Latin
word, leternum, be sometime taken so, pro d'mturno ; for the
Greek is, et? to irvp to alwi'tor, which word is never taken
The answer, but for cvermore, world without end. As for their argu-
ment, that the punishment must be no greater than the
fault : I answer, that our least fault deserveth everlasting
fire, because it is committed against God, who is everlast-
ing, albeit the fault be begun and ended in time : so that
he is more to be considered against who!<e divine will it
is done, than what is done. For the scripture denieth him
Matt. V. the kingdom of heaven, that breaketh one of the least com-
X.] OR layman's book. 57
mandnients. Doth it not cry, that "in hell there is no
redemption:" and, "In death who remembereth thee? and ps^^'-^'-
who will give thee thanks in hell V and, " Where the tree
falleth, there it shall lie." The continuance of hell fire is
described notably of Christ, where he commandeth us to
cut off our hand, our foot, and to pluck out our eye ; that ^^^^^ *"•
is, to prefer heavenly things to our fathers, and mothers,
and familiar friends ; saying, " If thy hand offend thee, cut
him off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed,
than having two hands to go into hell, into fire unquench-
able ; where their worm dieth not, and the fire never goeth
out," What can be more plainly, more vehemently spoken,
of the endless pain of the wicked, than these words, " Into
fire unquenchable ; where their worm dieth not and the
fire never goeth out f which terms, in the same place, be re-
peated twice more afterward.
If there be no redemption in hell, how is it written in ^"n°'''^*^'
the book of the Kings, " Our Lord bringeth folk down into [jan"-;;""
hell, and bringeth them again ?" We read also, that Ana-
nia, Azaria, and Misael, blessed the Lord for delivering
them out of hell, and 'saving them from the power of death.
This word, " hell," in the first place, doth not signifv that P'^"'- ^'V
' ' '■ . ' . Hell natli
which is commonly meant thereby, but a grave or pit that is tiireesi^ni-
digged : for the Hebrew word is s/ieol. " If any evil chance Gen. xiii.
unto my son Benjamin in the land whither you go, you
shall bring down mine hoar hairs with sorrow unto hell,"
that is, into my grave. In Daniel it signifieth adversity,
trouble, and misery ; as in many other places.
THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER.
CrW is full of rightcoit.snrss : miff, of the prnaprritij nfrvil men, nud the
affliction of good vieii.
This endless punishment of the wicked is no derogation
to God's great mercy ; but rather a mirror of his righteous-
[' Siivinp: tlicm from, 15.50; saving from, 1.560.]
58 TJIK IMAGK OF GOD, [CH.
ness. For as he is merciful, so is ho righteous : as tho
mercy enduroth for ever toward the good, so his right-
eousness endureth no less time toward the evil, David
Psai. cxiv. testifieth him to be "just in all his ways, and holy in all
his works." By his righteousness he hated Cain, Esau,
and the thief on the left hand ; and by his mercy he loved
Abel, Jacob, and him that hung on the right hand. Through
these two happened the blindness of the Jews, and the ful-
Rom. iii. ness of the gentiles. If he be unrighteous, how shall ho
judge the world I His saints' judgments be righteous: he
shutteth the unrighteous out of heaven: ho rewardeth right
dealers : wherefore he himself must needs be a righteous
God.
Thou wilt say : " Why then doth he suffer the wicked
to prosper ; giving them riches, honour, and children ? And
why doth he punish the godly with poverty, sickness, and
all kind of misery 1 Why doth he suffer wicked Manasses
to murder cruelly Esay? Why doth he let Jeremy be
slain of Apries, Zachary of the high priests, John Bap-
tist of Herode, Christ of Pilate? Why doth he suffer the
devil to plague the patient man Job with all kind of ad-
versity ? Why will he all good men to bear a cross in
1 Cor. xi. this world V St Paul telleth us, " When we are judged, we
are chastened of the Lord, lest we be damned with the
Psai. cxix. world.''"' And, "It is good for me," said David, " that
I have been in trouble, that I may learn thy statutes."
Here two causes be rehearsed, why God layeth affliction,
trouble, and the cross, upon the shoulders of his elect ; that
they may avoid damnation, and learn to keep his command-
ments ; for trouble giveth understanding. " Lord," saith
isai. xxviii. Esav, "in troublo they cry unto thee." The adversity which
Isai. xxvi. j •/ ^i
2 Cor. iv. they suffer is a lesson unto them. " When the outward
man perisheth, the inward is renewed day by day." More-
Gcii.iii. over, "God hath set at the entering of the garden of plea-
sure cherubim, with a fiery sword, moving in and out, to
keep the way to the tree of life ;" to which there is no
access but by affliction, which is porter : as it is written,
" We must enter through much troublo into the kinfjdom of
Prov. iii. hcavon." Wherefore, "God lovetli them whom he troubleth ;
Heb.xii. and ho scourgeth every son that he receivoth." "They
that are under no correction, are called bastards, no sons."
XI.] OK layman"'s book. 59^^
Cato, when Pompey was overthrown of vaHant JuHus Csesar,
began to be angry with God, thinking him partial : but we
christian men may not do so, knowing adversity to be a
token of God''s favour, an occasion of understanding, a cause
of amendment. These scriptures teach us, that God punish-
eth his elect for their erudition and commodity, not^ for
any unrighteousness ; albeit, the holiest man that ever was
deserveth a cross in tliis life. His righteousness impover-
isheth us, plagueth us, and condemneth us: and his mercy
enricheth us, healeth us, and crownetli us.
But it is written of .Jacob and Esau, that "or they were ^"n!^"'^'^'
born, or they had done good or evil, God loved the one, and
hated the other ;" which was contrary to all true judgment.
St Paul, in the same place, compareth God to a potter, and
men to clay. "The potter hath power over the clay, to THe answer.
make, even of one and the same lump, one vessel unto
honour and another unto dishonour." And hath not God
power over us, which be but clay, that is naught, the children
of wrath, to condemn or to save i The Latin word here
declareth more plainly what we be, which is, Ux eodem luto.
We be all become dirt by the fall of the first Adam. If
he crown dirt, it is his mercy through the second Adam.
If he condemn it, he giveth right judgment. Thou wilt
say then, " Why blameth he us I For who can resist his Rom. ix.
will?" He made thee not clay, that is, the child of death;
but after the image of God, and without sin. Thou art
dirt and clay through the sin of Adam, not because of thy
creation; for God would have all men saved. And why The cause
be they not ? The cause is not in him, but in us : not God-.
that wc be able to withstand his will, but because he will
save none against their will. He ^vill save all ; that is, all
that will take it when it is offered them ; all that refuse
not the salvation of their own souls, as the Israelites did.
For Christ saith unto them, that " he would have gathered '^'""' ^^"'
them together, as the hen gathercth her chickens under
her wings, and they would not." Such be not saved ; for
God saveth no man against his will. There is, then, no
partiality, no unrighteousness with God, whose judgments
bo unsearchable, but never against justice; above our ca-
ll' Not, 1550; nor 1 SCO.;]
P This passage is not in tlic edition of 1550.'|
Tsal. ciii.
I'sal. Ixii.
60 THK IMAGE OK GOI>, [cll.
pacity, bift never against equity. Wlio is able to discuss,
why some die old, some young, some in middle age? why
some be poor, some rich, some gentlemen, some lords, some
kincrs, some of a base stock, and other infinite diversities?
If these things were necessary to be known, God would
have opened them in his scriptures : but, in that he speak-
eth not of them, he judgeth them unprofitable for us to
know. Let us believe, that God worketh all these things,
and that therefore they must needs be right and just, be-
cause he is the workman ; not searching things above our
understandings ; but say, with St Paul, " O the deepness
of the riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of God ! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways untraceable!
for who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or who was
his counsellor?"
THE TWELFTH CHAPTER.
God is full of compassion.
He is full of all goodness, St James witnessing of him,
James i. that " cvery good gift is from above, and cometh down from
the father of light;" that is, father of good men; for they
Matt. V. are called light. Vos estis lux mundi, "you are the light
] Cor. iv. of the world." " What have we, that we have not received V
He is liberal, patient, merciful, wise, strong, constant, equal,
James i. faithful, magnifical, affiible. Liberal, "giving to all men in-
differently, and casting no man in the teeth;" patient, "call-
Rom. ii. ing us through his long suffering unto repentance ;" merciful,
"not dealing with us after our sins, nor rewarding us accord-
ing to our wickedness;" wise, for "of his wisdom," David
rsai.rxivii. saith, "there is no number;" strong, for "he is our buckler,
our shield, our strength and defence, the rock of our might,
and castle of our health;" constant, "with whom no man
uom. ii. can prove any variableness;" equal, for "there is no parti-
alitv with God;" "there is no Jew neither Gentile, neither
Ga
XII.] OR layman\s book. 61
bond nor free, neither man ne woman, but all be one in
Christ Jesu;" faithful, for "ho is a strong God and a faith- i^^^*- ^■"•
ful ; stable in all his words ;" magnifical, for " the work of Psai. cxiv.
the Lord is great, and worthy to be praised;" "the hea- Psai. viii.
vens, the sun, and the stars, the waters, and great fishes
therein, are the work of thy fingers;" affable, exhorting ^la"- vii.
us continually to ask, knock, and pray unto him; and talking
with us most familiarly, first by holy fathers, his prophets
and patriarchs ; afterward by his only begotten Son, Jesus Heb. i.
Christ, walking here upon earth, to whom belongeth all
power, majesty, rule, and honour. We read of a certain Luke xviii.
ruler, which called Christ *' Good master ;" asking him what
he should do to obtain everlasting life : whom Christ re-
buked, saying, " Why callest thou me good? None is good,
save God only." If God only be good, then all goodness is
in him.
THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER.
God only i.v immortal ; and yet, nevertheless!, the minds of men and
angels be immortal.
He is without beginning, without ending. How can he
have any beginning, of whom all things take their original J
How can ho luive any end, who is of himself, and by no
other thing i Heaven and earth perisheth ; and all that is
in them shall fade away as grass, and as the flower of the
field: but our God liveth eternally; who speaketh of him-
self, " I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the Rfv. i-
ending ; which is, which was, and which is to come." Paul ^ '*"'■"■ ^'•
affirmeth the same unto his disciple Timothe ; giving all
honour and rult! unto (Jod, "who only hath immortality."
If only God have immortality, why doth Christ forbid us now only'
•' J-' J ^^^,^^ ,^ said
to fear men, which slay the body, and cannot slay the soul : tube im-
How is man fonm-d after the image and snnihtude ot Uodi
How can the immortality of the mind be defended, ami <»f
I ' Only {.ukI, l.WO; Hod only, loCO.j
f)2
THE IMAGE OF GOD,
ClI.
Matt. viii.
Angels. angels? Truly man's soul is immortal, and yet only God
is immortal : for this word, " only," doth not deny this pri-
vilege to other things, as to man's soul, to the angels ; but
God is said only to be immortal, as he is said only to be
Man's soul good, and only to forgive sin. Man's soul is immortal ; but
mortal and clean after another sort than God, who only hath immorta-
iinmortal. _ _ . l, . . ,
lity. For the scripture testifieth of man''s soul, that it dieth,
saying, " Suffer the dead to bury their dead ;" that is to
say, let the dead in soul bury the dead in body. It is
troubled with affections, with passions, and subject to mu-
tability. But it so dieth through vice, that it ceaseth not
to live in his own nature. It is so mortal, that it is also
immortal. Wherefore God is only everlasting, immortal,
evermore, wlio is only immutable. And if this interpreta-
tion do not content thee, hear another. That is immortal
properly, which is without beginning, without ending. All
creatures have a beginning ; of the which some nevertheless
are called immortal, because they have no ending ; as, the
angels, man's soul : but only God is properly immortal, who
speak eth of himself, " I am, which is, which was, which is
to come." This belongeth only to God; and to none of
his creatures, to none of the works of his fingers : of which,
some may truly say, that they be, and are to come ; but
not, that they were ; because once they were not.
Immortal
properly.
Rev.
THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER.
God is the maker of all things : whereof he made them, hy whom, and who
made the devil: and, of the beginning of sin, and all^ evil.
In the beginning God made all things : wherefore he
hath no beginning; and that which never had beginning,
Tiie world cannot have ending. When I say, God made all things, I
nianshTp^of" nicau, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, formed
Tdi^ty.^ heaven and earth, angels and men, and all other creatures.
John i. of nothing.
For of the Son it is written, '■' All things were
P All cvU, 1660; evU, 1560.]
XIV.] OR layman's book. 6S
made by him;"' and of the holy Comforter, " By the word Psai. xxxiii.
of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hosts of
them by the breath of his mouth :" where the Latin is
Spiritus. Yea, in the beginning of the book it is written
of them both, that they be no creatures. Of the Son : "In Christ
the beginning God created heaven and earth :" that is, in thereof.
Christ. For he answereth the Jews, asking what he was,
" I am the beginning which speak unto you ;"" and in whose inthebe-
behalf David speak eth, " In the beginning of the book it Johnvfii.
is written of me."" Paul to the Hebrews repeateth the latter Heb! n."
text, and expoundeth it of Christ. And, Dixit Deus, fiat
lux, &CC. " God said. Be there light :" " Be there a firma- Gen. i.
God said
ment:" "God said. The waters be gathered together:" "God
said, Be there lights in the firmament." This phrase and
manner of speaking is joined \\Ai\\ the creation of ever}' thing.
What did God say ? What language did he speak I Did he
speak Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, English, or
Hebrew? Mark, this was no audible voice, no sounding or
transitory noise, coming from the lights ; but God said. Be
there light, firmament, &c. : that is to say, God made these
things by his saying, by his word, by his voice; which is
Christ, as it is written, " In the beginning was the Word ;" John i.
that is, " In the Father was Christ ;" and all things were
made by it, and nothing was made without it ; as Moses
teacheth very well, repeating these words, Deus dixit, "God
said," in the creation of every thing. And why is Christ
called his Father's Word ? Truly, because he is his image ; >vhy Christ
and no man cometh to the knowledge of the Father, but by ^^''^n\.
. . "^ Heb. i.
the Son. And as we do open, manifest, and declare our minds
one to another by our words and communication ; so God is
disclosed, opened, and discovered by Christ. " No man hath J°''" '•
seen (iod at any time : the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." In his sermons
he is sincerely published, and plainly painted and portrayed.
Foi- this cause ho is surnamed the saying of (lod, and an
audible and a transitory Word : not pi'operly ; but by a nic-
t;iphor and borrowed speech. And this transitory ^Vord made
all things, upholdeth all things, governeth all things.
Now, touching the Holy Spirit, we read in the first chap- The Hoiy
ivA' of (ieneration, Et Spiritus Doniini ferehatur, " the Spirit l.!!ikli'or
L" John viii. 2.'). Tt}v (.ip\t]i' o n koi \rt\ia iz/iTi/.] Gen. i.
G4 TIIR IMAGE OF GOD, [cU.
of the Lord was borne upon the waters." Many do expound
by the Spirit, in this text, the wind ; but it cannot be taken
so, for many causes. First, the wind is the exhalation, or
spirit, of the waters; this was the Spirit of Ood, as the text
doth say. Moreover, the wind then was uncreate, unmade.
For I think no man will defend, that the wind was made
before the first day, which is made after these words. And
tl« waters" others do read, for ferehatur super aquas, — -fovehat, rel ex-
v,hat it is. cUidehat, aquas, " the Spirit did bi"ing forth or hatch the
waters ;" and so indeed the word signifieth in the Syrian
tongue. ^Vherefore, " was borne upon the waters," is no
blast of wind, but a metaphor of the hen, and a borrowed
speech. The hen is borne of her eggs, and sitteth upon them,
and so hatcheth her young : and so the Holy Ghost was
borne upon the waters ; sat upon them ; brought forth and
hatched all creatures, which there are called waters. For, as
Psa!. civ. it is written, " When thou lettest thy Spirit go forth, they
Basil. are made." Basil', who for his great learning was surnamed
\_ Ei'7'e TOUTO Aeyfj to Trvev/ui tov afuo<i ttjv yvcrtv, Ce^ai tu
/ifpt] TOV Ko<Tfxov KaTapidfXovuTa (TOi TOV (Tvyypa(pia, gtl eiroUjcrev
0 Geo? ovpavov, yrjv, i'Cwp, depa, tovtou -^eopevov I'jCr] kui peovTW
e'iTe, o KUt jxaXiaTa dXtjdecrTepou ecrTi Kat to?? irpo tjfxiov eyKpidef,
irvevjxa Qeov to uyiov elptiTUi {cia to TeTt]pt](rOai tovto IctaQjv-
Tco? K«i efaipeTw? t»;? ToiavTt]^ nvijjjir]^ vtto Trji jpa(pr](; d^iovcfvat,
Ku\ fxriccv dWo TrveZfxa Geou 17 to uyiov to Tr]<: de'ta^; kcii /uaxa-
p'la^ Toift'co? (TVfXTrXfjpwTiKoi/ ovofxd^ecrdai), kui tuvti}v irpoace^aixc-
1/0? Ti]v ctdvoiav, fxell'ova ttjv utt ctVTti<; a)0eA€(ai/ evptjcrei^. Oo)?
ovv eiretpepeTo eTravta tov i/C«to? ; epm crot ovk e/xavTov Xoyov,
aWa ^ufjov avcpo'; craipia^ K-ocr/xiKj/? TuaouTou acpeaTtjKOTo'^, ixruv
6771/? i]v Trj's Tiov a\t]div(Di/ CTrifrTfj/jo;?. ' EAe7C Toii/vu t>/i' twi/
"^uptov (pusvi]v EfxcpaTiKioTepav Te elvai, koi cia Ttji' nrpo's t»;i/ 'VL^ua-
'iCa yeiTvia<ni> fxaWon ttw? t»/ efvoia twi/ ypatpmv irpocTeyyi(jEiv'
eivai ovv Trjv CMDoiav tov ptjTov ToiavTrjv. 10 VjirecpepeTO, (pricriv,
e^rjyovvTdi, uvt\ tov ^vvtvaXire kui etusoyovei ti]v twv vcaTUii/
<pv<Tiu, KUTa Tt]v t'lKova T>/? eTTwa^oi/trfjQ opmdov, kui ^uotik^u Tiva
Cvvajxiv evieicTt]^ toT(; viroQaXirofxevoi^. 1 oiovtov tivci (ptjan/ vtto t»jc
(pu)vfj<; TitvTt]<; irupdctjXovadui tov vow, w? eTricpcpo/xevov tov irvev-
fxuTO^' TOVTeiTTi TToo? ^(ooyov'tuv Ttjv TOV vcaTO<; (pvcriv 7rnp(t(TKevd-
CovTO<i. wtTTC jKCivw? CK TouTou TO TTapu Tivwv eiri^iiTovixcvov
detKvvadai, oti ovct t>/s ctj/xiovpyiKtiv evcpycia^; to irvev/xn to uyiov
diToXeiiTiTai. Basil, in Ilexam. Iloinil. ii. Opera, i. 21. Edit. Par. 1GD8.]
XIV.] ou layman's book. 65
magmts, expoundeth this text thus, and saith that his pre-
decessors took it so ; and St Austin- is of the same mind ; Augustine.
and PhiHp Melanethon^ alloweth their interpretation. Thus Meianc-
1 1 • 1 1 1 • p thon.
it is evident, that the universal world is the workmanship ot
the whole Trinity, whose works be inseparable, as they be
inseparable, and one almighty, everlasting, invisible, unsearch-
able God, of one substance and nature, power and majesty,
who Q-athered the waters tog-ether as it were in a bottle,
who maketh the clouds his chariot and goeth upon the wings
of the wind, and who spreadeth out heaven like unto a cur-
tain.
After that he had finished all his works, he beheld them ;
and, lo, they were exceeding good. Now there be many
things not good, unprofitable, unfruitful, perilous; for thorns
and thistles prick us ; the gout grieveth us ; the pocks, the
canker consumethus; the sciatica paineth us; spasms, palsies,
fevers, noy us ; serpents do poison us ; files do bite us ; cats
do scrat us ; fleas do eat us ; mountains weary us ; snow
doth let us; thunders do fear us; the cocodriles do kill our
bodies, and the devil our souls.
God made not these things, for all that he made was
good ; and if he made not these, he made not all things. The
earth bringeth forth thorns and thistles, and other venomous
[]^ Non ita superferebatur sicut oleum aqute, vel aqua terrae, id est
quasi contineretur ; scd, si ad lioc de visibilibus exempla capicnda sunt,
sicut superfeitur lux ista solis aut luntE his corporibus, qua? illununat m
terra : non enim continotur illis ; sod cum coelo contineatur, istis super-
fertur. Item cavendum est, no quasi locorum spatiis Dei Spiritum super-
feni materia? putemus, sed vi quadam effectoria et fiibrieatoria, ut illud
cui supeifertur efficiatur ct fabricetur; sicut supeifertur voluntas artificis
ligno, vel cuiquc rei subjoctic ad opevandum, vel etiam ipsis membiis
corporis sui, qu;e ad operandum movet. Et lia?c similitudo cum jam sit
omni corpore excellentior, parva est tamen, et propc niliil ad intelli-
gendara supcrlationem Spiiitus Dei, subjecta sibi ad operandum mundi
materia : sed non invenimus evidentiorem similitudinem et propinquioreni
rei, de qua loquimur, in iis rebus qua? ab liominibus quomodocuncjue capi
possunt. August, de (Jenes. ()|iera, iii. 015. edit. Paris, 1G79 — 1700.]
Q'' Spiritus Dei in scrij)turis Spiritum sanctum signifieat : ideo non
t'xjtonemus de aen-, nam aer aqua est ; et pro forhutitr, J'ovvhat legunt
Basilius, Ambrosius, et Hieronimus, et Syrum quendam testem eitat
liasilius. Atquc ita idem hie doeetur, quod supra: cimservationcm a(|ua'
non natura; esse, sed Spiritus sancti incul)antis aquie. Milanethoii, in
(Jencsii), cap. i. Opera, ii. :!00. edit. >\'itol)erg;e, KJOl. |
5
I iiirrciiiNsoN.]
Of)
THE IMAGR or GOD,
CH.
Sin the
cause of
barren-
ness'.
Uen. iii.
Gen. i.
Tlie cause
of sickness,
Why God
cursed^ the
earth.
1 Cor. XV.
John XV.
Ecclus.
xxvii.
herbs, not by nature, but through the sin of man : unto whom
God spoaketh, " Because thou hast obeyed the voice of thy
wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee
not to cat, cursed be the earth in thy work ; in sorrow shalt
thou eat thereof all the days of thy life ; and it shall bear
thorns and thistles unto thee ; and thou shalt eat the herbs
of the field ; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."
Before sin, we read not that the earth brought forth thistles,
bushes, unfruitful trees ; but green grass, fruitful trees, and
herbs bearing wholesome seeds.
The fall of Adam also caused all manner of gi-iefs, pangs,
sickness, disease ; which then began to torment man, when
God had said, " In sorrow shalt thou eat thereof all the
days of thy life." By this word, " sorrow," all such things
be meant and signified. If you ask me, why God suffered
the earth to bring forth thorns and unfruitful trees? my an-
swer is, not to pain the earth with them, which feeleth no
pain ; but to admonish us of our sin ; to put us in remem-
brance of our fault ; to be a warning unto us, as often as
we see them, to take heed that we sin no more. For if he
punish the earth for our sins, how much more will he punish
us ! Wherefore this memory shall continue until the sting of
death, which is sin, be taken away; and until that be brought
to pass that is written, " Death is consumed into victory.
Death, where is thy sting ? Hell, where is thy victory V By
unfruitful trees, he warneth us that we be not unfruitful.
For as husbandmen forsake their trees, not dunging, not
watering them, when they be barren, but do'^ burn them ;
even so God ceaseth to pour his blessings upon the unfruit-
ful ; for he is a husbandman. Hearken what his only Son
saith, whom we are commanded to hear : " I am the true
vino, and my father is the husbandman:" "He that abideth
not in me, is cast forth as a branch, and is withered ; and
men gather it, and cast it into the fire, and it burneth." This
fruit we may gather and learn of the unfruitful tree. By
sickness, partly he scourgeth us for our sin ; partly he
tryeth us, and learneth us his will; as it is written: "The
oven proveth the potter''s vessel; so doth temptation of
trouble try righteous men."
[} Barrenness, 1550; barren, 15G0,]]
P Cursed, 1550; curscth, 1560.]
P Do, 1550; to, 1660.]
XIV.] OR layman's book. 67
Now we are come to those which demand, who made who made
serpents, cocodriles, flies, worms, &c. ; of which much harm pents, flies,
and no profit cometh ? Verily, he who made all things. Al- \^e.
though they be hurtful unto us for our disobedience, yet be
they exceeding good in their own nature, and profit unto
the furnishing of the whole world; no less than the other,
which we recount more profitable and precious. If an ig-
norant man chance to go into a cunning man's shop, and
happen to see many tools there that he knoweth not, he
thinketh them either to be unprofitable or not necessary.
Even so we, in Almighty God's shop, which is the world,
do judge many things to be naught, because we are ignorant.
The cocodrile, the little fly, the small flea, have their com-
modity, albeit we know it not. Our ignorance doth not
argue God's works to be unprofitable. Yea, God's glory and
wonderful power is more marvellous in making the little fly
to hear, to taste, and to feel, with a mouth, with legs, with
wings, a body, the stomach, the other inward parts, than
in an elephant ; and more marvellous in a frog, than in a
great whale; and in a mouse, than in a mighty horse. If
thou come into a rich man's house, and seest much stuff",
thou thinkest all to be to some purpose; and darest thou
judge, that God in his house hath made any thing to no
purpose? All God's creatures either be profitable, or
hurtful, or not necessaiy : thank him for the profitable, take
heed of the hurtful, and question not, reason not, of things
not necessary. For although thy capacity cannot perceive
it, yet God hath made all things in measure, and number, wisd. xi.
and weiffht. He made not the devil, for he made him an >yiio made
angel ; and he made himself a devil by snnung, when he tell
from heaven as lightning. For the devil is as much to say Lukox.
as an accuser and a seducer ; of the Greek word diaballo,
which signifieth to accuse, to infame, to deceive. God made
man, but he made not man evil : so he made him an angel,
but not a devil. He made many angels, but they made
themselves evil ; for no evil cometh of him, as it is written :
" Ho beheld many things, yea, all that ho had made ; and, ^''"- '•
lo, they were exceeding good." But why did he malu;
him an angel, knowing he would become a devil i ^N hy
did ho make other angels innumerable i Why many thou-
sands of men, women, and children, which he foresceth
C>S THE IMAGE OF GOD^ [cil.
shall be damned? Verily, that he might declare himself
to be righteous in punishing the ungodly, as he is merciful
in rewarding the godly. No man can blame him there-
fore, but rather magnify his righteousness. He compelleth
them not to sin, for which they are damned. Should God,
because he foresaw they would be evil, abstain from creating
them, which is good? Is it not lawful for him to do what
Matt. XX. i^jj^^ listeth with his own ? Are their eyes evil because he is
good ? Should he not do well in making them, because they
would do ill in offending him ? Of this thing seek a further
wisd. xii. answer in the twelfth of the book of Wisdom. But let us
return from whence we are strayed, albeit these questions
are annexed unto our purpose.
The smith is not able to make any thing without iron, nor
the carpenter without wood, nor the tailor without cloth, nor
All thinsrs the shoemaker without leather, nor the potter without clay :
of nothing but God, wlio is almighty, made all things of nothinsr. Be-
toi^ether, . O J' O to
and' in six forc any thing was, what could there be to make them of,
except he would have made them of himself ? Jesus, the son
Eccius.xviii. of Sirach, saith: Qui vivit in ceternum creaxit omnia simul, "He
that liveth for evermore made all things, simul, together:"
that is, God made, first, a confused heap, called in Greek
chaos, of nothing; and of that heap he formed all things: as it
Wisd. xi. is written, Qulfecisti miindum ex materia informi, "Who hast
formed the world of a confused heap." He made this heap
Gen. i. altogether, where he saith, " In the beginning God created
all things, heaven and earth ;" for the heap is called there
heaven and earth, as afterward also it is called the water ;
" The spirit of the Lord was borne upon the waters." So
far no time, no order of days, is mentioned. Afterward
God, of this heap, in six days, shapeth all things. So that
both be true, that God made the world in six days, and
that he made all things together. This article of creation
is necessary to be known ; forasmuch as some deny God to
be the maker of the world, and giveth the glory thereof to
angels ; as the Menandrians, Saturnians, Cerinthians, and
also the Nicolaitans ; and it is the first article of our creed.
[} Together and in, 1550 ; toscthcr in, 15G0.]
XV.]
OR LAYMAN S BOOK.
THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER.
69
God riikth the world after his providence: and how he rested the
seventh day.
Other grant God to be maker of all things : but they
suppose that, as the shipwright, when he hath made the
ship, leaveth it to the mariners, and meddleth no more
therewith ; and as the carpenter leaveth the house that he
hath made ; even so God, after he had formed all things,
left all his creatures to their own governance, or to the
governance of the stars ; not ruling the world after his
providence, but living in ease and quietness, as the Stoics,
Epicures, and divers astrologers ; because it is written, that
on the seventh day God rested from all his works.
To these I answer, with the prophet David: " God P^ai. cxiv,,.
covereth the heaven with clouds, prepareth rain for the
earth, maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, giveth
fodder unto the cattle, maketh fast the bars of the gates
of Sion, blesseth the children within, maketh peace in our
borders, fiUoth us with the flour of wheat, giveth us snow
like wool, Bcattereth the hoar frost like ashes, casteth forth
his ice like morsels, hclpeth them to right that sustain wrong, r.ai. cxivi.
looseth men out of prison, giveth sight to the blind, raiseth
up them that are fallen, careth for strangers, defendeth the
fatherless, succourcth the widow :" wherefore he is not an
idle God. For as the body livcth through the life of the
soul, even so the world continueth by God's governance,
who rulcth it as the master doth his servant ; without whom
it pcrishcth in the twinkling of an eye. " All things wait r^»'- '^'^•
upon him to receive food in due season. AMicn he giveth
it them, they gather it ; when he o])cncth his hand, they
are filled with good things : when he hideth his face, they
arc sorrowful ; if ho take away his breath, they die, and
are turned again to dust."" The commonwealth of the Is-
raelites tcachcth us, how wonderfully God jirovidcth for
them that he hath chosen. He preser\'ed Jacob from his [j^l'/.^Yv";*"'
brother Esau; he sent Joseph into Egypt, to make pro- I'^ai.cv.
To THE IMAGE OF GOD, [CH.
Exod. X. vision against the seven dear years. Ho sent darkness
Exod. vii. amongst the Egyptians; he turned their waters into blood,
Psai.ixxyiii. and slew their fish. Their lands brought forth frogs, flies,
lice, grasshoppers, caterpillars, yea, even in their king's cham-
Exod. xii. bers. He brought them forth of the house of bondage and
Exod. xiv. slavery with silver and gold. He rebuked the sea, and dried
it up, and he led them through the deep as in the wilder-
Exod. xiii. noss. He spread out a cloud to be a covering, and fire
Psal cv « • •
Exod. xvi. to give light in the night season. At their desires came
quails, and he filled them with the bread of heaven. He
opened the rock of stone, and the waters flowed out, so
Josh.iii. that rivers came into the wilderness. He dried up the
waters of Jordan, that the people might pass over. He
Josh. vi. overthrew the walls of Jericho, and made the sun to stand
Psai."cxxxv. still, and the day was lengthened. He slew mighty kings,
Deut.'iii. ' Sehon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Basan, and
gave away their land for an heritage. Of which scriptures
it doth consequently follow, that he governeth the world
by his providence, and not by the wheel of fortune, or by
force of destiny. For if he governed them, he governeth
Psal. xxiv. us ; seeing the earth is the Lord's, and all that is therein,
the compass of the world, and all that dwell therein.
But some do say, that he governed the Israelites, the
1 Pet. ii. seed of Abraham, the chosen generation ; but not the re-
sidue of the earth, which he gave up to their own govern-
ance. Verily God ruled all, as he is Lord of all. For
Acts xiv. Paul preacheth to the Athenians, that " we live, move, and
Actsxvii. be in him,"" He gave them also rain, light, corn, gi-ass;
jobxxxviii. as he himself teacheth Job out of a storm, saying: "Who
divideth the abundance of waters into rivers? Or who maketh
a way for the stormy weather, that it watereth and moist-
ureth the dry and barren ground, to make grass grow where
nobody dwelleth 1 Who is the father of rain ; Or who
hath begotten the drops of our dew ? Out of whose womb
came the ice ? Who hath gendered the coldness of the air,
that the waters are as hard as stones, and lie congealed
above the deep ?" Did he not stir up Pharao among
1 Kinps XX. the Egyptians, Benhadad among the Syrians, Salraanasar
among the Assyrians, Nabuchodonozer among the Babylo-
nians, Darius among the Medes, Artaxarces among the
Parthians, Alexander among the Macedonians, and Ves-
XV.] OB layman's book. 71
pasiaii among the Romans i In the book of the Kings,
Ehas is commanded to anoint Hasael king of Syria ; Jehu, i Kin^s xix.
of Israel ; and Eliseus to be prophet in his room. Whereby
he teacheth us, that he maketh prophets and kings, and
taketh away their kingdoms; as it is written, Propter in-
justitias, et injurias, et diversos dolos, <Sfc. " Because of eccIus. x.
unrighteous deahng, wrong, and divers deceits, kingdoms
shall be translated from one to another; for the power of
the earth is in the hand of God.""
If kings would earnestly believe this, which is God's An exhorta-
111111 !• 1 1 !• 1 ^'"" *"
own voice, and behold how many kmgs he deposed in the kings.'
book of Kings, and for what causes, they would be as earnest
to set forth God's glory, that is, to cause the gospel to be
preached through their dominions, and to relieve their poor
brethren, which be members of the same body that they be,
children of the same father, and heirs of the same kingdom,
and that which is done to them is done to Christ, as they
have been diligent, politic, yea, rather deceitful, in increasing
their revenues, in filling their hutches with gold and silver:
they would first seek for the kingdom of God, and then Matt. vi.
God would be their castle, and cast all other things upon
them, or else he is untrue of his promise. One being
demanded, how a king might rule safely and assuredly, an-
swered : If he devise good laws, and see them diligently
practised. This is a necessary lesson for all princes that
will live in quietness, or that will enjoy their crowns with
long continuance. And a king ought to be a father to his
subjects ; not only to the gentlemen, but rather to his
poor commons, for they have more need : ho is the head
of them as well as of the other. What causeth uproars
and insurrections sooner than oppression of the poor? or
what provokcth the wrath of God more against them? If
I were demanded, how a king might not only pass his time
safely, but also all Ins posterity and offspring continue in
possession of the kingdom, I would answer: If he seek the
glory of God unfeignedly. For if kingdoms be translated
for iniriglitoousness, they are preserved by righteousness :
if ])romotion come neither from the east nor I'rom the west,
but from the king of heaven, tho way to attain it, and to
maintain and continue it, is to please tho king of heaven.
P This passacfc was added in tho edition of ir)(!0,3
72 THE IMAGK OK GOD, [cH.
The patient man, Job, saith, that Almiglity God oftentimes,
for the wickedness and sin of the people, suffereth an hy-
pocrite to reign over them. Now I think, that there was
never more godly pretence, more outward shew of holiness,
more dissimulation in rulers, than now is ; and this is hy-
pocrisy; and all the people be like the rulers, I warrant
you. I would wish that all kings would diligently read
over, and earnestly believe, the Chronicle of the kings.
Prov. viii. There they should find that which is written : " By me
kings do reign." Cyrus, king of Persie, caused a procla-
Ezrai. matiou to be made throughout his empire, that the Lord
God of heaven had mxen him all the kinj^doms of the earth.
Is God of less ability now to do these things, than he was I
or is he of less knowledge and understanding?
But to the matter again: if he do not govern the world
by his providence, it is either because he cannot and he is
not able, or that he will not, or that he is ignorant what is
d(me here. But there is no ignorance with him, to whom
all things be naked and manifest ; and he lacketh no cun-
ning, for he is almighty, and nothing is impossible to him;
and he lacketh no will, for he is full of goodness, mercy
and compassion, and promiseth plenty of all good things
to the godly, and scarcity to the evil. Wherefore he
ruleth all by his providence. He causeth thunder, light-
ning, hail, frost, snow, darkness, life and death, barrenness
and fruitfulness, rain and fair weather, wind, hunger, battle,
[Erdus. M. peace, and pestilence ; as it is written, " Prosperity and
adversity, life and death, poverty and riches, come of the
Lord." God sendeth all these things, partly to admonish
us of our frailness, partly to punish the ill, and partly to
try the good ; as I have entreated before. I put case,
thou knewest not wherefore he ordained many things ; as
thou art ignorant why he formed thee a man, and not a
wom;in ; an Englishman, and no Italian ; were that a just
causi^ deny his providence ! Were it not a like thing, as if
thou shouldest deny that I would be at London at the be-
ginning of Michaelmas term, because thou knowest not my
Gmi«ork- suit 2 Wo must think Ahnifflity God to form all things
fth all . . , .^
thiiiRsto to good purposes, albeit his works surmount our capacities.
The dial. When thou lookest u[)on a dial, which declareth how the day
passeth away, thou art moved to think that it is made by art,
XV.] OR layman's oook. 73^
and not by chance. If one would carry a globe into Ireland, Tiie giobc.
whose daily turnings would work the same thing in sun, the
moon, and the five moveable stars, which is done in heaven
every day and every night ; which of them would think, in
that wild country, the globe to be made without singular cun-
ning ? And do we think, that God governeth the world, the
which comprehendeth both the dial and the globe, and the
makers of both, by luck and fortune? Are the parts go-
verned by reason, framed by art, finished by cunning, and
not the whole ? Or did Archimedes bv art counterfeit the [Cicero,
" 1 1 • Tusc.
movmgs of heaven, and God not rule the same by his pro- Qu»st.
vidence ? If God do not rule it, there is something more
mightier than he, which doth it. But he is almighty, and
none is able to compare with him. Towns, cities, kingdoms. Towns.
empires, be governed by counsel ; much more the whole. Realms.
The world is called of wise men the city of all creatures.
Wherefore, as Athens, Lacedemon, Venice, Rome, Paris,
London, and York, have mayors, aldermen, bailiffs, and con-
stables, to govern them after counsel, even so hath it. But
who is able to be mayor or constable thereof, but the high-
est ? Therefore it is only ruled of him.
But, vou will say, that city is not well governed where ^n oi>jer.
' ' »" _ •' _ '^ tion an-
vice is maintained, and virtue punished; as Telamon, who de- .^,"f f''-
_' ^ . , lelanion.
nieth God's providence because good men be pained, and evil
favoured. Why was Regulus tormented of the Carthaginians? Res"i"s.
Why did cruel Cinna kill so many noble men ? Why did C. cinua.
Marius slay the good Quint.' Catulus ^ Why did Dionysius, ^J"'"^-
, , ^ ^ '' . Dionysius.
Pisistratus, and Phalaris, put so many to death ? Diogenes niogems.
Cynicus was wont to say, that Harpalus, a strong thief upon [ciroro, »e
the seas, bare witness against God that he was not mindful i)pormii,
of us, because he continued so long. Albeit this objection cap! 32—34.]
bo partly resolved before, yet I will touch it again, that it
may be plentifully confuted ; taking an example of St Paul,
who unto the Philippians writeth : " It grieveth me not to
[^ In l)oth editions of Hutcliin?on the word here printed "Quint."
stands *' (lucne." It nuiy admit of question whether this is not tlie old
KhKlisli word "queue," in the sense of " eolle.ij^ue ;" l)ut more prohaMy
it is merely a misju-iut. The instanees here cited hy Ilutehinson were
nil derived frouv the ])assnp;c of Cieero nd'erred to in the nuir2;in, and
tlicrc we read, "cur oninium periidiosissimua C. Marius (^. ("atuluni,
Iiricstantissinia dignitute virum, mori ] otuit jubcrc?"J
74 THE IMAGK OF GOD, [cH.
write one thing oftentimes, for to you it is a sure tiling." If
Paul, GofVs chosen vessel, to whom he gave fto singular grace,
thought it needful to write one thing oftentimes ; how much
more must we think the same of our small understandings
and feeble brains, which be less able to paint God's secrets
at one time !
When thou seest one exceeding rich, and unworthy of
riches, think not him happy, condenni not God's providence,
judge not all things to go by luck and fortune. Remember
Lazarus. Lazarus and the rich glutton. The one was cruel, proud,
unmerciful, unpitiful, and yet stored with all things : the
other humble, meek, full of patience, full of goodness, and
yet of notable poverty and sickness. He did not accuse
God, deny his providence, complaining with any such words
as these : " I have not greatly sinned against God, and yet
I am. hunger-pined, pained with cold, and punished with
sickness ; but this evil man liveth in wealth, pleasure, ease
and health : how can it be, that God is mindful of us ?
how is it true, that he governeth the world V No, truly ; he
took it patiently : he thought himself worthy of God's rod.
Lukexvi. Wherefore, he was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom.
The rich man was condemned to hell torments. The pros-
perity of the evil in this life increaseth their damnation in
Why grood the other : and the good have adversity in this world, that
men are ' o rrn •
afflicted. they be not damned in the world to come. There is a com-
mon saying, " The end trieth the deed." Many thieves in
this life live wealthily; many advoutrers, many extortioners,
many idolaters, many tenderlings, &c. Is this a sufficient
cause to deny God's providence ? No, truly. If at the latter
day he condemn the good and crown the evil, then say that
he was unmindful of us : if not, say he is a righteous God,
mindful of both good and ill : for the end tcacheth thee no
less. If, therefore, thou have affliction in this life, deny not
God's providence ; but comfort thyself with the example of
Lazarus, of Paul, of Christ. Think, that he punisheth sin in
this life, that thou be not damned for it in the other.
But now I will speak of evil rulers. God suffereth evil
men to reign over the people, because of their sin and abomi-
nable living : as the common saying is. Quails popidus, talis
princeps^ that is, " like people, like prince." He scourgeth
them with tyrants, because they be a froward and overthwart
XV.] OR layman's book. 75
generation, going astray from him, and starting aside like a
broken bow. The book of the Judges registereth, that God ^^^s- m-
left, to scom-ge Israel, five lords of the Philistines, and all the
Sidonites and Hevites that dwell in mount Lybanon. He
stirred against them, when they sinned, Chusan-rasathaim,
king of Mesopotamia, and Eglon king of the Moabies, Jabin
king of Canaan ; and he suffered Abimelech, a cruel tyrant, Judg. iv.
to reign over them. Wherefore was Israel so oft sold into Juds:. ix.
the hands of the Egyptians, Chaldees, Assyrians, but for
their A\ickedness ? If God spared not his chosen generation,
natural branches, and his o^vn house, will he forbear the wild
olives ? Cinna and Marius, Dionysius and Phalaris, Pisis-
tratus and Harpalus, were rods and scourges, wherewith he
scourged the heathen for their idolatry, shameful lusts, and
unthankfulness : as Chusan, Eglon, and the Philistines were
unto the Israelites. If they would have forsaken their
vicious living, and returned unto God, whom they knew of
his works, but were unthankful, not glorifying him as God ;
he would have delivered them from those tyrants by good
rulers and magistrates, as he delivered the Israelites from
Chusan-rasathaim, king of Mesopotamia, by Othoniel, the Judsr. iii.
son of Kenes ; from Eglon, by Ahud ; and from Jabin, Judq:. iv.
king of Canaan, by Barak and Debora. Wherefore these Jud?:. v.
examples do not deny God's providence ; but prove us to be
sinners, and declare his rightful judgments both upon the Jew
and gentile. Yea, rather, they do establish and fortify his
governance ; teaching him to bo mindful of all nations, in
giving them good kings for their virtue, or cruel tyrants for
their vice.
Diagoras, he that thought God to be unmindful of men, i>ia?oras
coming to Samothracia, a friend of his shewed him a table, [ri<ero dt-
wherein many w(^re painted, which through vows had escaped ncoiuin.
shipwreck, and were come into the haven ; to whom he said : cap. 37.]
But they are not painted which vowed, and nevertheless
were drowned ; ascribing their deliverance unto the blind-
ness of fortune, and not unto the goodness of God. Doth
Jonas so ? Doth Paul so in the Acts, when he and all that
were with him were in jeopardy of shipwreck ? No, truly. He
biddeth th(!m be of good comfort. He takoth bread, and Acts x.wii.
giveth thanks unto God, who had promised him by an angel,
that an hair should not fall from the head of any of them.
76 THK IMAfJI': OF GOT), [cil.
It chanced another time, Diagoras sailing upon the sea, that a
great flawe of wind arose. The mariners thought that God
had sent them a tempest, because they had taken him into tho
ship ; and agreed among themselves to cast him into the seas,
thinking that then they would be quiet. But Diagoras de-
sired them to look about ; and shewing them other ships in
no less danger, he asked them, whether Diagoras was in those
other ships also : meaning, that tempests come not of God*'8
providence, but by fortune and luck. How much wiser, and
more likely, is the opinion of the noble clerk and most ex-
foiu'rea^^''* cellcut philosopher Cleanthes, who fortifieth God's providence
sons. ^m^ fou^ reasons ! One is, because he foreseeth all things.
^^tfiDeor. The second, forasmuch as he giveth plenty and scarcity, cold
lib. 11. c. 5.] ^^^ heat, corn, increase of cattle, and infinite other. The
third, because he feareth us with thunder bolts ; poureth
down showers, hail, snow ; causeth plagues, earthquakes, and
blazing stars. The fourth, and greatest, is the constant turn-
ings of heaven ; the marvellous journeys of the sun, the moon,
and the stars ; the glorious fairness of them ; the comely
order of all things,
AVho, entering into a school where he seeth all things be
done in order, will not think it to be governed by some wise
schoolmaster i If the school cannot keep a good order with-
out a wise schoolmaster, much less the world, which com-
prehendeth all schools and schoolmasters. But who is able
to be schoolmaster over all creatures, but God only ? AVhere-
An indue- foj-g^ Jie rulctli them by his providence, as the schoolmaster
A iiouse. cloth his scholars. Is not that house best governed, best
stored with all things necessary, which is ruled by counsel ?
An ainiy, jg j^^^ ^^^^^ army in better case, which hath a wise and politic
A ship. captain, than that which hath a rash and foolish 2 The ship
likewise, that hath a singular cunning master, goeth safely
and assuredly. But nothing is better ruled than the world,
in which the house, the army, and ship, be contained ; which,
of the comely order and great beauty that is in it, is called of
Greeks Koo-acos, and of the Latinists Munclus. If we will
search the holy scriptures, which bear witness of God, we
shall find that he governeth the whole world ; not as kings
do their realms, mindful of weighty matters, and unmindful
of small; but, that he is mindful both of great and small. The
raven, the stork, the owl, the pelican, the kite, the sparrow,
XV.] on layman's book. 77
the^ little wren, the quail, the dove, the swallow, all four-
footed beasts, are preserved by his providence. Did not all ^^"- ^■"•
manner of creatures enter into the ark by couples, at his
commandment, and were saved from drowning? " Doth not Job xx.wiii.
he purvey meat for the raven, when his young flicker about
himf Did not they, at his commandment, "bring bread and i Kings xvii.
flesh to Elias beside the brook Kerith V " Five sparrows are Luke xii.
sold for a farthing ; and yet none of them be forgotten of
him."" He fed his heritage with quails. He giveth pelicans, Exod. xvi.
storks, kites, possession in the court of this world. He feedeth ^°^ xxxviii.
the lions'" whelps in their dens, and lurking in their couches.
He shut their mouths that they should not hurt his servant ^an. vi.
Daniel. Yea, he numbereth the hairs of our head, and Matt. x.
clotheth the lilies of the field.
1 cannot here but somewhat rebuke such as curiously ^ff jg'g.
marketh their birth-day and birth-star ; as if their life and ^'''y- °^ *'"1.
•' _ iiiniieiice ot
doings were governed of necessity by the influence and moving *''e ***'"*•
of the stars. They teach, that there is such a pith and efficacy
in the signifier circle, called of the Greeks Zodiacos, that
every part thereof hath a several and vehement operation ; the
which virtue is sundry and divers through the seven moveable
stars. By it they will all things to be ruled, and specially
man, whose head, as they- say, is governed by Aries, the neck
by Taurus, the shoulders by Gemini, and his feet by Fiscet^ ;
which be signs in heaven, so named of the similitude of those
things that they signify in earth : supposing Almighty God,
as one tired with six days' labour, the seventh day to work no
more. And if one be born under Aries, they promise him that
he shall be rich and wealthy ; because wethers be profitable
beasts, rendering to their masters every year a good fleece".
If thou were born under Taurus, they say thou shalt be a
servant, a slave, a drudge, and an underling, all thy life ; for
so nuich as this beast is yoked in ploughs and carts, and set
to all drudgery. And if thou wert born under Scorpius, they
tell thee thou shalt be a murderer, a thief, a blasphemer ;
because the scorpion is full of deadly poison ; deducing ihi;
causes of governance in heaven of the properties of beasts in
earth. This opinion hath caused much idolatry, and giving
f The, IMO; and tlio, l.OnO.J
f- They, l.WOj tlio, l.^no.]
[' Fk'eec, |.'>50; llesli, loOO.]
78 THE IMAGE OP GOD, [CH.
the glory, belonging only to God, to the works of his fingers.
For when men persuaded theirselves that all things were go-
verned by stars, they worshipped the sun, the moon, and the
other moveable and unmoveable stars : and thinking that
riches come from them, they have not prayed unto God, of
whom only all good gifts are to be desired. The first chapter^
of Genesis witnesseth, wherefore they are formed and created :
not to rule man's life violently ; not to govern us, as the ty-
rant doth his conmions ; but, Ut sint in sicfna, et tempora, et
Gen. i. dies^ et annos, Sj-c. "To be for signs, and seasons, days, and
years ; to shine upon the earth, and to divide light from
darkness."
^ Many would excuse their vicious living by the influences
and virtue of the stars, saying that they constrain them
unto sin ; as the servant of Zeno the philosopher blamed
his master for striking him, because, as he said, the stars
compelled him to sin. If our birth-star cause us to sin,
and to do that is honest, wherefore should we be blamed
when we do ill, or praised when we do well ; seeing it is
our nature and fatal destiny to do both, and not in our
power to do otherwise ? Who blameth the sun, because he
burnetii the grass of the field, making it unwholesome for
cattle ? Who praiseth the water for quenching of men's
thirst, or the sun for warming them 1 Because they cannot do
otherwise, they are neither^ praised ne blamed. And shall we
be blamed, or praised, for that which is not in our power ?
Lukex. If Christ, the lively image of the Father, praised Mary Mag-
jo!m xi. dalene justly for choosing the better part, for pouring a box
of precious ointment upon him before his burial ; if he
Mark viii. justly reprovcd Peter for counselling him not to come at Je-
joiin xviii. rusalem, and for using the temporal sword against the servant
of the high priest's ; this is an untrue doctrine, which taketh
away both praise and dispraise. We read in the scripture,
Mark ix. that God hath prepared unspeakable torments for such as
break his conmiandments. Wherefore doth he so, if destiny
compel them to sin ? If thou be accused before an officer of
murder, and layest for thyself that thou hast done it against
thy will, if thou can prove it, thou art discharged. If the
hangman of Calais })ut a man to death at the commandment
[1 First chapter of, 1560; first of 15G0.]
[- Nothcr, 1550 ; neither, 1600.]
XV.] OR layman's book. *79
of an officer, he is not blamed therefore. Yea, mine enemy
will forgive me, if I hurt him against my will. And will
Almighty God punish us so grievously, for breaking his com-
mandments through fate and destiny ?
You justices, sheriffs, bailiffs, and constables, why pre-
sume ye to punish evil doers ? If a thief come before you,
he is not to be blamed, but his destiny. If an adulterer,
an idolator, an extortioner, you can lay nothing to his charge,
but to the stars, which cause him to be naught, will he,
nill he. No man escapeth punishment by laying of des-
tiny for him. No officer will accept^ this answer of an
evil doer. No master will allow his servant laying this for
him, nor the mistress her maid, nor the schoolmaster his
disciple, nor the merchantman his prentice. Whereof it is
evident, that all men condemn this damnable opinion, by
natural reason, in their deeds, albeit the words of some
sound to the contrary.
If we think all thing to be governed by destiny, we must
needs agree to the Libertines, which make no difference be- Libertines.
tween good and bad, between right and wrong, between light
and darkness ; but defend all things to be lawful and honest,
calHng notable vices vocations commanded of God : if they
spy a thief, they blame him not, but exhort him to continue
in his vocation : they bid the bawd, the strong whore, apply
their vocations : for St Paul saith, all things be lawful unto i cor. vi.
him ; if unto him, to us. They ground this doctrine of the
regeneration ; the which, they say, is a full recoverance by
Christ of that which we lost by Adam. He before his fall
Icnew no difference between good and ill ; but fell by know- Gen. iii.
ledge of good and evil '. Now, they say, that Christ hath taken
away evil; and, therefore, all that we do is good. For "he Uoimiii.
that is born of him sinneth not, because his seed remaineth
in him, and he cannot sin. Whosoever sinneth, hatii not seen
liim, neither hath known him." Wherefore, they that will
be the sons and childivn of God, must bo like unto childnMi,
which neither know nor do neither good nor ill: for the Lukt-xviii.
kingdom of God belongeth unto such. Doth not fate and des- Matt. xix.
tiny teacli the same? Nothing is good n(^ bad, except it bo
voluntary ; nothing is to be praised or dispraised, nothing is
P Except, 15i50; iUTopt, 15(;0.]
I' Evil, 15.50; ill, lOUO.J
so THR IMAGE 01' COD, [cH.
to bo punished or recompensed. It taketli away all laws,
statutes, acts, proclamations ; for all men be born to obey
them or to break them : if to obey them, they need not ; if
to break them, they profit not. liut thou wilt answer: It is
profitable that acts be put forth, that such as be disobedient
escape not unpunished. O cruel destiny! which both causeth
us to do evil, and punisheth us therefore. Is it not a like
thing, as if a man should throw thee down headlong from
the top of PauFs steeple, and, after finding thee alive, would
all-to beat thee therefore 1 I would fain learn, whether all
Gen. vii. men and women in the time of the holy man Noe, and
Exod. xiv. the host of Pharao which pursued the Israelites, had one
fate and destiny. They were destroyed with one kind of
Gen. xix. punishment. I would know, whether all the Sodomits and
Gomorrians were born under one planet, which all at one
time, and after one fashion, were consumed with fire falling
from heaven.
Exod. xxxii. The idolatrers, which worshipped the golden calf, were
slain therefore. The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed
Num. xvi. Chore', Dathan, and Abiram, and all their adherents, for
their rebellion and insurrection against Moses, their head and
ruler. If all things were governed by the stars, these men
should have had divers punishments, because their destinies
were unlike. Who knoweth not, that there have been divers
excellent in many faculties and sciences, and that many were
born at the same time with them 1 For at all times an in-
finite number are born, and yet we have none like Homer, in
]ioetry ; like Samson, in strength ; like Aristotle, in philo-
sophy; like Salomon, in wisdom; like Apelles, in painting;
like Euclid, in geometry; like Tully, in eloquence. Were none
born under the same constellation' that our Saviour Christ
Matt. ii. was? It is likely, that both some of those babes which Herode
inurdered were born at the same time, and also divers in
Anaxago- other regions. Stories make relation, that Anaxagoras,' a
noble philosopher, was trussed in a football and spurned to
death, at the commandment of a cruel king. If it had been
[^ Swallowed Dathan, ].5">0; swallowed, Choree, Dathan, 15G0.]
Q- Instillation, in lioth editions.]]
Q'* This shonld probahly he Anaxarchus, instead of Anaxagoras.
Vide Cieero dc Nat. Dcor. Lib. in. cap. 03. Tusc. Qusst. Lib. ii.
eap. 21.]
ras
XV,] OR LWMAx's ROOK. 81
his destiny, it would have chanced as well to other born
under the same star.
But you will sav: If the stars do not srovern us, why ^^''^>' ^ ^*^'"'
1 1 1 ' 1 /-^i • 1 appeared at
did such a notable star appear when Christ was bom ? A t'le wrth of
star governed his nativity; for the wise men say, Vidiimis
enim stellam ejus in oriente, &c. " AVe have seen his star^^""-"-
in the east." Truly, that star was none of the moveable
or unmoveable stars ; but a new star, in a new and mar-
vellous case, never seen before ne afterward. As we read
in the chronicles of many wonders which happened, com-
monly before great battles and conquests, as in the time
of P. Crassus and L. Scsevola, milk rained from heaven ; [("jcero. iie
in the time of L. Domitius and C. Lselius [Coelius], a maid
was born with two heads, four hands, and four feet ; and in
the time of M. Antony, and P. Dolabella. there was seen a
great blazing star and a trinity of' suns ; even so at Christ^s
birth, which was wonderful, appeared this star : who, as
touching his divinity, had no mother ; and, concerning his
humanity, was born without a father. The wise men which,
moved by this star, came to seek after Christ, signify the
wisdom of man ; which in matters of religion is foolish-
ness. Wherefore God, of his infinite mercy, opened the
incarnation of his Son by this star ; and therewith stirred
the wise to offer unto him aurum, thus, et myrrham, " gold, Matt. li.
frankincense, and myrrh."' By gold, is signified that he is
a king ; by frankincense, that he is Clod ; and by myrrh,
that he is man. If God had not opened it unto them,
they could never have known his incarnation : the which
St Paul calleth mysterium, ahsconditum a seculis, " a mys- Coi. i.
tery hid since the world begun, and since the beginning of
generations ; but now it is opened to his saints, to whom
God would make known the glorious riches of his goodness."'
For this cause the star appeared, and not to govern all
the doings of our Saviour Christ violently. All things be ps. viii.
cast under his feet, and he made the stars ; therefore he
is not subject to the stars. But because heavenly matters
surmount our capacities, his coming into this world was
declared unto the Jt'ws by the patriarchs, prophets, shep-
herds, ;ind the holv word of God, and unto the gentiles
e>"
[_* A star, l.'j.'iO; stars, l.'iCO.]
[' A trinity of, LVIft; tlircc, loCO.]
[HUTCniNSON.]
82
rUE IMAGK or GOD,
[CH.
Three
opinions
touchins^
tliis star.
Josli.x.
2 Kings xx.
Angels
appear in
divers
sliapes.
Exod. iii.
Josh. V.
2 Kino's ii.
Gen. xviii.
Judsr. xiii.
Rev. i.
by this star and his apostles : which star went before the
wise and prudent men, till it came and stood over the place
where Christ was. What wise man will impute all that
Christ did afterward to this star? which, after it had brought
the wise men unto him, appeared no more. Do our birth-
stars cease to appear after a certain space 2 Do they stand
over the place where we be born, or do they leave their ac-
customed circuit? Wherefore it is evident, that this star
was ordained to preach Christ, and not for fate and des-
tiny ; to sene him, and not to force him who cannot be
forced ; for he worketh what he will in heaven and earth,
and all the world is his workmanship. Many doubt whe-
ther this star were a true star, or an angel, or the Holy
Ghost. I leave every man in this matter to his own judg-
ment, so that his verdict disagree not with the scripture,
but edify and instruct the hearer. Nevertheless, I will talk
my simple phantasy therein.
If it were a very star, why did he leave his accusijomed
progress? Or how could he be a guide unto the wise
men between Bethleem and Hiei-usalem, being placed with
the other stars in the firmament of heaven ? We read, that
the sun stood under Josue, and went backward under Ese-
chias ; but never of no star that left his ordained circuit,
and wandered as one that loseth his way. Peradventure
an angel appeared unto the wise men, in the likeness of
a star ; for they appear in divers likenesses and shapes.
At mount Oreb an angel spake unto JNIoses out of a bush,
in the likeness of fire ; and at Galgal, to Josue the son
of Nun, like a man of arms. Helias is carried up to heaven
in a chariot of fire, and with horses of fire. The chariot
and the horse be the angels of God ; which be minister-
ing spirits, accomplishing all his commandments. The angels
appear unto Abraham and Lot like three wayfaring men.
Manue and his wife saw an angel talking with them, as
he had been a prophet. So it may well be, that an angel,
in the similitude of a star, was a guide to the wise men.
For angels are called stars in the scriptures, as in the Re-
velation of Jolm, Sfdlcv sepfem eccleslarain anr/d!, " The
seven stars are the angels of the seven congregations."
Other think, that this star was neither angel, nor a mate-
rial star, but the Holy Spirit, which opened the incarna-
XV.] OR layman's book. 8S
tion of Christ both unto the Jews and to the gentiles ;
but unto the Jews in the likeness of a dove, and to the
gentiles in the shape and similitude of a star ; of which
Balaam, an astronomer, prophesied long before, Orietur
Stella ex Jacobs " There shall come a star of Jacob ;" that ^^''m. xxiv.
is, a shining light of the Holy Ghost, the which shall lead
the heathen to the knowledge of Christ in the likeness of
a star, as he fell upon the apostles in the shape of fire. Actsii.
This^ much I have spoken of the star that appeared at
the nativity of Christ, because many by it woidd prove fate
and destinv. But what" is fate and destiny? A stedfast wi'^t fate
IS.
and immutable order of causes, whereby all things chance^
of necessity ; called in Greek eluapfxevrj. True it is, no
thing is done ^\ ithout a cause ; but yet many things are
done* without any necessary cause. For some causes be Perfect
p . 1 . , . p r. TT 1 causes.
perfect, and some agam be unperiect^. rire causeth heat
perfectly, and water cold. But surfeiting causeth sickness, imperfect.
a wound causeth death, study causeth learning, imperfectly :
for a man may surfeit, be wounde.d, and apply his study,
and yet neither be sick, needy, ne" learned. If all causes /ii- i^y^
were necessary, if' they were, yet I would deny all things to
be ruled by necessity, by fate" and destiny; for Almighty
God worketh what he will in them**. He appeared unto
Moses out of a bush in a flame of fire, and yet the bush Exod. iii.
consumed not. He commanded the fire not to hurt Ana- Dan. iii.
nias, Azarias, and Misael ; and saved them harmless from
the hot burning oven. Did necessity, or^ fate and destiny,
make Sara and Elizabeth, which were barren and past Gen. xvii. &
chudren, fniitful ? Did destiny make Aaron's rod bud, the Lu^^e i.
' . -^ , . ' Num. XVII.
sun to ffo backward, a maid to conceive, the blind to see, Josh.x.
* Matt.i.
the deaf to hear, the dead to arise? If Almighty God'" did
[} This, 1550; thus^ 1500.]
[^ WhaX is, 1550; Avliat, say they, is, ]5()0.]
[•* Chance, 1550; are dune, 15G0.]
[^ Are done, 1550; may seem to he done, 15G0.]
Q' So 1550; some in our judgment again may seem to he, 1500.^
[" If, 1550; hut presuppose, 15(;0.]
[] So 1550; l)y tlieir necessity of fate, ]5()(».]
I^' Of liis good ph'usure, adde<l in 1500.]
[" Or, 1650; of, 1500.^
['" Vun\ did, 15.-0; r.od (hen did. l.-.GO.]
G— •-'
•c
84 TiiF iMAf.i; or uoD, [cm.
Matt. viii.& .ill those thino:8, he leavetli not his creatures to iheir own
governance', but rnleth them at his pleasure.
Whether a Jf yy^^ he ffoverued bv destiny, our Hfe cannot be lenertli-
maii may o « » ' o
shorten h?s ^"®^^ "^ shortened ; for destiny is immutable^. _ Salomon
own life. witnesseth of God, that he doth lengthen the life of his, and
prov.x. .shorten the life of the wicked, saying, "The fear of the
Lord maketh a long life, but the years of the ungodly shall
be shortened.'"' There be many examples of this in the bible.
2 Kings XX. The prophet Esay commandeth king E.sechias to "put his
hou.'^ehold in an order, because he should die out of hand,
and not live :'' and yet, at his earnest request, God length-
2Kin^siv. ened his life fifteen years. TWe read how Eliseus the pro-
phet lengthened the years of the son of a Sunammite, a rich
Lukpvii. woman, restoring him to life. Our Saviour Christ length-
ened the life of the only begotten son of a widow, at the city
Acts'xx Nairn; lik(?wise of Jairus's daugliter, [and] of Lazarus. Peter
lengthened the life of Dorcas, and Paul of Eutychus. Away
therefore with destiny, unless we will deny the resurrection
of many. Yea, the physician lengtheneth the life of the
patient, whiles he healeth his infirmity. Did not Christ
lengthen the days of many, which he made whole from all
disease '.
But thou wilt say, I myself cannot lengthen my days.
Matt. xix. If thou can honour thy father and mother, thou mayest
lengthen thy life ; for that causeth long life ; as it is
written, '■ Honour thy father and mother, that thou mayest
live long upon the earth."" If thou canst keep the command-
Prov. iii. ments of Almighty God, thou mayest increase thy days ; for
they prolong the days and years of thy life, and bring
peace. If thou can.st find wisdom, thou mayest prolong
thy life; for "upon her right hand is long life, and upon her
left hand is riches and honour."" Thou wilt deny that we be
able to do tliese things. We be able by God, by his help and
\^ To tlu'ir oM-u jjjoveniiinct', 1.5.'>0; to be govfrncd of cau.scs wliidi
dopcnrl one on another, 1.500.3
L^ The preceding- sentence is omitted in the edition of 1560.]]
I;' The passaso witliin brackets, commencing at this place and
endiiiir at y. }i7, is all omitted in the edition of 1.5t;o, and its place sup-
|>licd thus: "Thus we d(>iiy that the creatures are governed by stoical
destiny, either in their birth, death, or any of their actions, bnt only
by the providence of fJod; as the examples of the scriptures concerning
ihe birth of Jacol* and Ksau, Phare/. anil Zara, do witness; for — "]
XV.] OR layman's book. So
gi'Hce, by pri\iIego, not by our own strength and nature ; who
.sent his Son unto us, to make us able to acconiphj^h his com-
mandments. Is it in the physician to lengthen our lives, and
not in us i Thou wilt not deny but that we may shorten our
time ; for it is in our own power to do that is ill, which
maketh short life, as David witnesseth, Viri sanrininum ct ''*• iv.
impii non dimidlahunt dies suob\ " The blood-thirsty and un-
godly shall not live half their days." I ask thee, whether the
ungodly may become good, and keepers of God's command-
ments. If they cannot, why are they punished i If they can,
they can prolong their time. For the keeping of his com-
mandments giveth long life, as is proved before sufficiently.
T heard a man once move this question, whether a man
might kill himself : of whom 1 asked, whether a man might
do evil. If he might do evil. I said, he might do that.
Rut Job saith, " The days of man be short. The number Jobxiv.
of his months are known only unto thee.'' If he know the num-
ber of our months, we cannot go beyond them, nor shorten
them ; for God is not deceived. He knew likewise that Abel
would be his servant, and that Cain w ould be a murderer ;
that Paul would be a faithful minister, and that Judas
Iscariot would prove a false traitor. And yet they might
have been otherwise. For a vessel of gold may become a
vessel of wood, a vessel of silver may become a vessel of earth,
a vessel of honour may be a vessel unto dishonour, 'i'he first
Adam was made a vessel unto honour, and all his offspring
in him : but after he had tasted of the apple that was for-
bidden him, he was no longer a vessel unto honour, but the
child of death, that is, a vessel of God's wrath anil of dis-
honour; and all his posterity likewise, for they sinned in him.
But the second Adam hath made us all a<rain vessels of
holiness, of sanctification ; washing our sins with hyssop, that
is, with his precious blood, and offering his most sweet flesh
upon the altar of the cross onc(; for all. Wherefore St Paul
cricth. Si tj/(ls einiindarerit ac ah istin^ erit vas in hvaorem^ "if jT.m. n.
a m;in purge himself from such, that is, from sin, he shall bo
a \('sscl sauctiHcd unto honour, meet for the Lord, and \>yc-
pared unt(» all <'ood works." (Jod, I sav, kn(>w bciorc. wliat <••^'''^/"'■'•■
Abel and Cain, what Paul and Judas, what all ni.mkind 's,>'o.«--'iim-
ot tliiii|;s.
would do; and yet they might have done otluTwisc- : ior
else he could not reward the godly, nor punish the ungodly.
86 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
Even so he Ibreseoth the time of our life ; and yet we may
prolong and shorten the same. I put a case : I know that
thou wilt dine to morrow in St John's college at Cambridge,
and that thou wilt sup the next day at Rickmansworth ;
albeit I know this before, I am not the cause thereof. Even
so God's foreknowledge causeth neither long life no short,
albeit nothing be unknown to him. The saying of Job, of
which they gather that he hath appointed us our bounds, and
that we cannot go beyond them, maketh nothing for the
contrary, if it be truly taken. For without God we cannot
Actsxvii. lengthen our time; forsomuch as " we live, move, and be in
him," and long life is his gift : but by his help we may,
Hezekiah. by whom many have prolonged their days. Ezechias by
sai.xxwiii. gg^j.jjgg^ prayer obtained fifteen years, but at the hand of
Almighty God, who is the giver of all good gifts, and with-
out whom we can enjoy no good thing. He would not be-
heve that he should recover, because the Lord had spoken it
that he should die straight wavs ; wherefore God used a mar-
2 Kings XX. vellous sign to persuade him. " He brought the shadow ten
degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of
Achas." This sign was given, not only for him, but for as
many as bear like opinion, thinking that their life cannot be
shortened ne prolonged. If there be not a certain time
appointed, you will ask me why our Saviour Christ saith,
John vi'ii " Mine hour is not yet come ;" and, " There be twelve hours
John XI. jj-j ^]^g day." Christ meaneth not an hour prefixed by fate
and destiny, but an hour of his own will, in which he suffered
himself to be betrayed and robbed of his life ; as he wit-
j^hn X. nesseth of himself : " No man taketh it from me, but I put it
away of myself. I have power to put it from me, and have
power to take it again.""
What thing is more contrary to God, than fate and des-
isai. i. tiny 'i God saith : " If you will, you shall hearken unto me,
you shall cat the fruits of the earth ; but if you will not, nor
hear me, the sword shall devour you : the mouth of the Lord
speaketh thus." God leaveth in our power to will and to
nill, to take and to forsake. But destiny saith : " Thou
LiK-iiosis. canst not avoid Lachesis, thou canst not disappoint Clotho,
albeit thou would never so earnestly, albeit thou strive con-
Ecciiis. XV. tinually." God saith: "I have set before thee fire and water,
life and death ; stretch thy hand to which thou wilt." But
XV.] OR layman's book. 87
destiny saith : *' It is not in thee to !<tretcli forth thy hand ;
for thou art governed, thou art led, and forced by the in-
fluence of the stars." Experience doth teach us that this is
false ; for destiny doth not change, and yet many things are
changed. Abraham first was an idolater ; but afterward, Abraham,
being justified by faith, he became the servant of God. Zac- zaccheus.
cheus also forsook his sinful living, and walked after the
spirit. St Paul first was a cruel enemy to God's word ; but Paul,
after he became a chosen vessel, and an earnest preacher
of the same. If these things chanced by destiny, then des-
tiny was altered ; and destiny is not destiny which is im- [fiiu- Hist.
mutable. Among the ancient Romans women were for- xiv.'c. 13'.]
bidden to drink wine ; but now they gull it in continually.
Is destiny changed i Many cities banish astronomers, and Astrono-
•111 • Tc • n iiiers ba-
punish such as teach necessity, n necessity govern all nished.
things, it causeth also this. If it do so, then destiny is
against itself. We read that Crassus was called Agelastus, crassus.
because he laughed but once in all his life. Junius was xat. Lib.\ii.
named Brutus, because he feigned folly for the safeguard of Brutus.
his life. In the time of Constantino, one Samatius feigned Haiicar.
himself to be a fool thirty year, to be in the presence of the Lii.."iv. °"''
emperor. What rule beareth destiny, when every man did s'ama'tius.
what he would i Truly, free will denieth that she hath any
thing ado with man. If she govern man, why have twins un- Twins.
like fortune ? Procles and Eurysthenes, two kings of the Lace- Procies.
demonians, were born both at one burthen, and yet they had nes.'
several fortunes ; for Procles was both of shorter life, and of
more famous memory. If thou dehght in examples of scrip-
ture,] the notable birth of Jacob and Esau doth confute Gen. xxv.
destiny, and destroy the influence of the stars ; for they were
born both at one time, in one place, of one woman, by one
man ; and yet they were as unlike as fire and water, as light
and darkness, as black and white. So were Pharcz and Gen.xxxviii.
Zara, two twins ; also the children of Judas by his daughter
Thamar. These examples declare destiny, and the influence '
of the stars, to be but a fable. Yea, they fortify God's ]wo-
vidcnce ; teaching him to be a giver of divers graces, unlike
fortunes, and several blessings. T grant, that an astronomer
may tell, by the observation of the stars, to what occupation,
to what estate of life, eveiy man is most feat, most apt by
Q' The influence, 1550; and influoncc, 15G0.]
88 THK IMAGIv OF GOD. [cH.
nature. But thiit ho can tell man's fortune by any of his
art or cunning:, I denv utterly. For our life is not luled
by the moving of the stars, but by God's providence, who
worketh all things in heaven and earth.
How then is that trae, which is written in the book of
Gpii.ii. Generation, Completit Deus die septimo opus .suuni, et requi-
saidtohave evit ah universo opere, &c. "He finished and he rested the
rested the "^
seventh day. seventh day from all his works"? God rested the seventh day
Gen. ii- ,. , , ,. .,.,../.
Irom the works ot creation ; irom tormnig oi new creatures,
but not from governing of them.
The carpenter, after he hath finished the house, meddleth
no more therewith. If God should do so, all creatures would
perish. If man's body can live without quickening of the
soul, the world may continue without his providence. For he
is that to • the world that the soul is to the body ; and more
necessary to the governance of it, than the soul to the go-
vernance of the body ; forasmuch as he is the maker both of
soul and body. Thou must not imagine that God was weary
with six days' labour, because he is said to have rested the
seventh day ; who made all things, and governeth them with-
out labour, and rested without weariness. For resting signi-
fieth ending. In the seventh day God rested from all his
works : that is, he ended, he finished the creation of the
world. Why then doth not the scripture say he ended all
his works, but that he rested from them ? Truly, not with-
out an urgent cause. For God is said to have rested from
all his works, which he made exceeding good ; for because he
will give us rest and quietness from our travail, if we will do
all good works, as he made all things exceeding good. This
phrase of speaking is used much in the scripture ; as of the
Rom. viii. apostlc : " We know not what to desire as we ought ;" Spi-
ritus intercedlt pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibiis, "but the
Spirit maketli intercession mightily for us, with groanings
which cannot be expressed with tongue." The Holy Ghost
doth not groan, but maketh us to groan, and lament our
sins ; nor make intercession, but stirreth us unto prayer.
Moses uscth the same manner of speaking unto the Israelites,
Deut. .Mil. saying : " The Lord your God tempteth you, to know whe-
ther you love him." God doth not tempt his, to know any
thing thereby, who knoweth all things ; but to make them
[' That to, 1.550; is to, l.'>()0.]
XV. 1 OR LAYMA\''s BOOK. 89
to know how much they love him. He crieth unto Abruliam,
" Now I know that thou fearest God, in that thou hast not Ocu. ^xii.
spared thine only son for my sake :" that is, I have made
thee to know. So he is said to have rested, because he will
make us to rest with him in glory, if we endeavour ourselves
to follow him in goodness, who n\adc nothing but it was good.
Wherefore this resting of God doth rather establish his pro-
vidence, than make against it ; declaring him to be mindful
of good men, and to have prepared them a resting place
where they shall behold his glorious countenance evermore.
For he is called in Latin Dea^^ in Greek 9eo?, otto tov
Qeeiv, which word signifieth to run; because he hasteth unto
every place, to govern and order all creatures.
THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER.
God only knoweth all tlnntjK.
As we be sufficiently taught, that God is the worker of wi^d. xix.
all things; so, if we search the scriptures, we shall find
that he only knoweth all things, and is ignorant of nothing;
as Jesus the Son of Sirach witnesseth, " The Lord knoweth Eccius.xiiii.
all science." " The knowledge of men is imperfect, and in- wis-j. \s.
creaseth by diligence ; for the mortal and coiTuptiblo body
is heavy unto the soul, and our earthly mansion keepeth
down understanding; so that we cannot perfectly judge of
earthly things, nmch less of heavenly matters." Angels have
a more plentiful knowledge than we, and yet they be igno- Mark xiii.
rant of many things, as of the last day and hour, which the
Father knoweth only. But God knoweth all things per- i King., ii.
fectly; who is th(^ Lord of knowledge; "whose wisdom can wis.i. Mii.
tell things that are past, and discern things to come." Tli«'
works of all flesh are before him. and there is nothing hid
Ironi his eyes. " His wisdom Knoweth the subtlety of words, ix.ius. xi„.
and can expound dark sentences." '* He seeketh out tlie
ground of the heart, and understandrth all imagination.
eS.
.')() THE I.MAGI': 01' OOU, [cil.
No thought may escape him, neither may any word be hid
from him." He called unto Adam, and said unto him,
Gen. iii. Adcwi, iiU es, " whoro art thou C — not because he was igno-
rant, but to teach him what he had lost, and to move him
unto earnest repentance for his sin. After like sort he
Gen. iv. askoth' Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?" — not for to
learn that he knew not, but for to punish and dismay him.
The scripture telleth, that penituit Deum quod honiinem fe-
How God is cisset 1)1 terra : ' ' God repented that he had made man upon
pent." ^^' the earth, and sorrowed in his heart ;" who repenteth also
isani.^xv! of making Saul king of the Israelites. He is said to re-
pent, not that he is ignorant of things to come, who fore-
saw that Saul and all mankind would become abominable ;
but, when w^e change and go astray from him, or return to
him, and are either punished for our sin, or rewarded of
his mercy. After the first sort, he repented of making man-
kind ; of making disobedient Saul king ; and of the choosing
of the Jews, who once were the people of God, and now
the members of antichrist. After the other sort, the hea-
Psai. xxii. then are become the worshippers of God, through the fa-
vourable regard of Jesus Christ ; which once were the sons
of wrath, and the sheep going astray. Through it, the
traitor Judas lost his apostleship, and is justly damned in
hell ; and the thief, after great robbery, is delivered from
the cross, and mercifully crowned in paradise. This change
from good to ill, or from ill to good, which is done by the
secret and most rightful judgments of Almighty God, in
the scripture is called his repentance ; and the change is in
us, and not in him. David, a man according to God's heart's
Psai. wii. desire, witnesseth of him, saying : " The generation which is
to come shall be told to the Lord, they shall tell his right-
eousness." He doth not say : The Lord shall be told to the
generation ; but, " the generation to the Lord." Of which
words we cannot gather that anything is told God Avhere-
of he is ignorant, that he may know it ; but that he is
told that which ho knoweth already ; as the angels tell unto
him our prayers and alms deeds, and as we shew God our
griefs, and what we desire, in our prayers. Raphael, one
of the seven angels that stand before God, saith unto
Tobitxii. Toby, "I have offered thy prayer before the Lord:"
[1 Asketli, 1650; asked, L5G0.]
I
XVI.] on layman's book, 91
whereby is meant, that they be ministering spirits for their H'^''- i-
sakes which shall ■ be heirs of salvation ; not, that God
learneth our need by them, who knoweth what is necessary -^latt.vi.
for lis, before we ask it of him. Nevertheless, he willeth
us to ask, that we may receive; as it is written, " Ask, -^ia«-vii.
and it shall be given you. Every one that asketh, receiveth ;
and he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that knocketh, it
shall be opened,"
After this sort St Paul is to be taken, saying, Feti-
tiones mstrce innotescant apud Deiuu, " Let your requests be ^''.''■•V'
known unto God." Why dost thou marvel, that God is
shewed that he knoweth ; seeing that men oftentimes are
told of other, that which they knew before ? If thou mis-
like this exposition, hear another. These words, "• The ge-
neration to come shall be told the Lord," be as much to say
as, " The Lord shall be praised in it." For, " To tell unto
the Lord," is to praise, knowledge, and magnify him; as, " To
live unto the Lord," " To eat unto the Lord." St Paul ex-
poundeth " eating to the Lord," to be giving of thanks, and
praising him when thou eatest, saying : " He that eateth, ^'""' ^"'•
doth it to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks." If doing to
the Lord be giving of thanks, as St Paul declareth, saying,
" He doth it to the Lord, for he giveth thanks ;" then of
necessity, telling to the Lord is thanking of him, forasmuch
as all telling is doing.
We read of the Son of God, in the Revelation of John,
that " He hath eyes like the flame of lire, and on his head i^<-'^'- ^'x-
many crowns, and a name written, that none knew but he
himself." If none knew it but he himself, the Father know-
eth it not : wliereof followoth, that God knoweth not all
things. To this I answer, because the Father and Christ J^im x.
be one, that the Father knoweth it, forasmuch as Christ
knoweth it. Nor the text doth not exclude the Father
from the knowledge thereof, saying, " None know^ it but
he himself;" for the Latin is, Nemo self, that is, " No man
knoweth." Moreov(!r, this saying, " No man knoweth it,
but he himself," teacheth us, that only his divinity know-
eth it, not his humanity ; for that is excluded l)y these
words, " No man knoweth it." But Christ's divinity is
the Father's divinity, who both are all one by natin-e, not
[^ Know, l.WO; knvwotli, 15G0.]
O'l THE lAIAGE OF GOD, [<\l.
by person : nhorefore, that which Christ knoweth, the Fa-
ther knowcth also. This text doth not diminish the Father's
knowledge ; but rather establishcth only God to know all
things, saying, that only he himself knoweth this name.
AVhero by tlu'se words, " he himself," we are compelled to
understand the divinity, the nature, and majesty of God, to
know it only ; and Christ's humanity to be ignorant of it,
which also doth not know the last dav.
THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER.
God only Jhrgivcth .fin : our pardonuKj, witut it iv : the housing and
bindinfj of ministers.
isai. xiiv. He is said also only to forgive sin : '• who drivetli away
our offences like the clouds, and misdeeds as the mists." The
isai. xiiii. XjQi'd saith : " I am even he only, that for mine own selfs
sake do away thine offences, and forget thy sins." The un-
faithful Jews acknowledge this ; laying blasphemy to our
Saviour Christ's charge, because he said to one sick of the
Mark ii. palsy, " Sou, thy sins are forgiven thee." Likewise, when he
Lukevii. forgivctli many sins to Maiy Magdalene in the house of
Simon, because she loved much, they ask " who he is, which
forgiveth sins also." The stiffnecked Jews found fault with
Christ in forgiving of sins, because they believed not him
to be God; to whom that only belongeth, and to no creature.
" For who can forgive sins, but God only f They should
rather have gathered him to be very God, than a blas-
phemer ; forasmuch as he proveth this to belong unto him
upon the earth, restoring strength and health unto the sick
inan, to carry his bed home, whence he was brought of four
^^arv Ma;:- mcu. When he saith of Mary Magdalene washing his feet
with tears, and wiping them with her hairs, Hetnittunttir ci
2)cccata iimlta, quoiiiam dllexit "iaultwiii^ " Many sins are for-
given her, because she loved much," we may not think that
love causeth remission of sins, but that remission of sins
causeth love. For that our love followeth, and goeth not
dalenc
OR layman's rook. 93
(Jod's re-
ni'ssioii
before, Christ declareth in the same place, saying, '' He
that hath much forgiven, loveth more ; and to whom less o°f love/'"^^
is foroiven, he loveth less." Doth not Christ here mani-
festly teach, that God's forgiving engendereth in us much
love, or little ? If we examine the circumstance of the place,
and ponder it diligently, we shall find it to be no otherwise.
Simon, who bade Christ unto his house, is offended that
Man' Magdalene touched Christ; and marvelleth that he will
suffer a miss-woman to be so homely with him, as to wash
his feet and anoint them. Christ therefore said unto him,
'• Many sins are forgiven her, because she loveth much : to
whom less is forgiven, he loveth less." As if he should say :
" Simon, thou art offended, that I let a sinful woman touch
me. Be no more offended. She is no longer a sinful wo-
man ; for I have forgiven her many sins ; and because many
sins are forgiven her, she loveth nuich. " For he, to whoni
much is forgiven, loveth more.' AV^herefore marvel not that
I let an honest woman, which hath her sins forgiven her,
and therefore loveth me greatly, touch me : marvel not that
I let a penitent woman wash my feet, wipe them with her
hairs, and anoint the same."
I would the clergy and laity would wash Christ. What chrifi*'*
is that ? Truly, to be penitent for their ill living, to mourn,
to weep, to lament their covetousness and greedy ambition,
their pluralities of personages, non-residences, farming of
benefices, tot-quots, negligence in their vocations, and ab-
sence from theii" cures. Vce mihl, quia tacni : '' Woe be
unto me for holding my peace." All men and women, yea
kings, queens, lords, and ladies, follow good Mary Magdalene
in this point ; and cry not, call not luito her, '' Pray for us,
pray for us." But the devil is crafty. He maketh us omit
to follow the saints, for which their lives were written ; and
porsuadeth us by his ministers, which be heretics, to pray
unto saints, whicli cannot help us. This is the true meaning
of these words ; not that her love went before, to deserve,
or to be a cause of, remission of sins ; but that she might
honestly wash Christ, whom she loved much for her sins par-
doned. The parable of two debtors declareth this to be
true; by which Christ proveth unto Simon the great love
that she bare unto him. For if the debtor, to whom the
iM-ediior fiM'jjfivclh li\c huii(b-('<l (hir.-its, lov<'th him ]>et(<'r
94 THE IMAGR OF GOT), [cil,
than ho to whom he forgiveth but fifty ; then ]\Iary loved
Christ heartily, who blotted out all her sins. Do not the
debtors love the creditor because of his liberality ? Even so,
Mary was not forgiven through the merit of her love ; but
she loved, because she was forgiven. Christ witnesseth, that
the creditor forgave his debtors, when they had nothing to
pay. What is this, but that Almighty God pardoneth our
sins, not for any crumb of love in us, but of his tender and
gracious favour ? For we are the debtors, and he is the li-
beral creditor.
But how shall wo answer the phrase of scripture which
saith, that " many sins were forgiven her, because she loved
much r' Do we not use to say. Summer is nigh, because
the trees blossom ;' And yet the blossoming of the trees
doth not cause summer, but summer causeth them. So
winter causeth cold, and not cold winter : and yet we com-
plain of winter, because it is so cold. So we say, the tree is
good, because the fruit is good. But Christ, teaching his
.Matt. vi. disciples to pray, willeth them to ask pardon of God as
for2:iveone they pardou other. For if we forgive other men their tres-
Roiii. vi'. passes, our heavenly Father \\ill also forgive us. Wherefore
it is not a thing belonging only to God. Man is said to for-
give his neighbour; not by pardoning the everlasting punish-
ment, which is the reward of all sin, and is pardoned neither
of thy neighbour, ne yet of priest, but of God alone ; but
by refraining his anger, by pacifying himself, by assuaging
his fury. St Paul slieweth what our forgiving is, saying :
Eph. iv. '<. j_^qi j^q^ i\^Q guji gQ down upon your wrath." " He that
Eccius. seeketh vengeance," saith the preacher, "shall find vengeance
xxviii* -
of the Lord." To seek vengeance is not to forgive thy
neighbour. But this vengeance is nothing but a displeasure
in this life : wherefore, to forgive is to seek no vengeance in
this life. We have nothing ado with the other life. After
Matt. V. this sort Christ commandeth the Jews, when they offer any
gift at the altar, if they be out with their brethren, first to
labour a reconciliation ; and then to offer. After this sort
Matt, xviii. 3t Peter is charged to forgive his brother, sinning against
him, not only seven times, but seventy times seven times.
This commandment belongeth also unto us ; for St Peter
askoth Christ in the name of the congregation. God only
forgiveth the ])unishment which is prepared for the devil and
XVII.] OR LAYiMAn''s r.OOK. 95
his angels, and for ill-living men ; as he only crowneth such
as he forgiveth. Of whom is it spoken, but of God only,
*'The Lordkilleth, and maketh alive; bringeth down to hell, i^am.ii.
and fetcheth up again" ?
Some also reason of this place in the Lord's prayer, that ni^^sfoif'
we must forgive first, and then ask forgiveness of God ; per- s°r^pardon-^
verting the true meaning thereof. Christ, teaching us to '"=•
pray for pardon of our trespasses, as we forgive them that
trespass against us, meaneth not, that by forgiving we merit
or deserve remission of our misdeeds, for we be all debtors
unto God, some of five hundred pence, and some of fifty,
and have nothing to pay. No : rather he certifieth our
weak faith by these words, and biddeth us to be as^ well
assured that God forgiveth us, as we be sure that we for-
give other'; making our pardoning a sign, a token, that God
pardoneth us, and not a cause thereof. For except God
forgive us first, and pour the dew of his blessing upon us,
our nature will not forgive, but revenge and punish. The
example of the servant which ought his master ten thousand
talents, who was first forgiven the whole debt, and after im-
prisoned because he forgave not his fellow, maketh nothing
against this interpretation. For he was first released and
pardoned ; but afterward, when he would not pardon his
fellow, he became a debtor unto God again, and was thrown
into prison. For when thou sayest, " Forgive me, as I
forgive them that trespass against me," thou makest a pro-
mise to God, if he be merciful to thee, to be merciful unto
thy brother. The which thing if thou do, ascertain thy-
self, that God hath melted thy sins, as the fire doth the
wax ; and let thy doing be a token unto thy conscience,
that thou art in his favour. This is the cause why Christ
t^j-r taught liis to pray thus ; not that our remission descrveth
any thing at God''s hand, who giveth us all things through
Christ, in whoso name whatsoever wo ask, we shall have it.
lie that asketh forgiveness of God, and cannot enfoj'co his
heart to forgive his brother, let him think that he Jiatli
asked, but not received, because he asked amiss ; and that
he rather kindleth (lod's wrath and indignation against liini,
than pacify it. /(> t\, (^'/•^%.,,^lii. ^ a- .
For he desorvoth forgiveness, .-is he forgiveth. H' lie
C He as wtII, ]r,r,(»; l)c well, ir.fio.]
.00 rriF. imaof; or ood, [cii.
cannot find in his heart to foi-give liis fellow, but layeth
hand on him, and taketh him by the throat, and casteth
him into prison, let him think that God will deliver him
likewise unto the jailer for breaking his promise, till pay-
ment be made. For sin is called debt in scripture, be-
cause a punishment is due for it. For this cause we are
commanded to ask forgiveness, as wo forgive ; that it may
be a seal unto us, a token, and a certificate, of God's mercy
and favour, or of his displeasure and anger. This I have
spoken, partly constrained by my matter, and partly, be-
cause Stephen ^^'inchester straineth this place for the justifi-
cation of works.
How minis- As cvcrv private man foroiveth his brother, so much more
ters do , . . "^ ' , ^ , , ,
fors-ive and the mmistcrs of God s word have power to do the same, for to
retain sin. , . . .
them belongeth forgiving and retaining, binding and loosing
Matt. wi. of tijg whole congregation. To them Christ gave the keys of
the kingdom of heaven. How then doth God only forgive
sin ? Truly, they are only ministers of the forgiveness, and
preachers of his mercy, or of his wrath. Their forgiving and
loosing is to declare the sweet and comfortable promises that
are made through Jesus Christ in God's book to such as be
penitent ; and their binding and retaining is to preach the'
Rom. iv. law, which causeth anger to such as be impenitent. Or, their
loosing is to declare before the congregation, that God forgiv-
etli the believing ; and their binding is to shew, that God will
not pardon the unbelieving, because they are without purpose
to amend and reform their livings. The common sort sup-
pose, that God forgiveth them, as soon as the minister layeth
in's hands upon their heads, although they return to their
old living. Be not deceived. Except thou repent, he hath
no authority to forgive thee ; for he is a minister of forgive-
whoisfor- ness only to such as repent and will amend. His com-
given, and . . ' \ r -i > i i
when.' mission stretclieth no further. If thou, from the bottom of
thy heart, be sorry for thy trespass, if thou be without all
desire to sin, if thou earnestly mind to amend, God for-
giveth thee before thou come at the minister ; who first
Matt. viii. cleausod the man from leprosy, and after commanded him
l-uke V. . . .
to shew him to the priest, for a witness to the congregation.
So he raised Lazarus first, and afterward bade his disciples
Johnxi. loose his gra.ve-bonds. As the priest of the old law made
[' 'I'his is not in the Piflition of 1 ">.")0.]
xvir.] OR layman's book. 97
the lepers clean or unclean ; so bindetli and unbindetli, for-
giveth and retaineth, curseth and blessetli, tlie ministers of
the new law. They put the name of God upon the people, Num. vi.
but he only doth bless them : they minister the sacrament of
forgiveness, but he only doth forgive ; as St Paul fortifieth
unto the Corinthians, saying : " Neither is he that planteth i Cor. iii.
any thing, neither he that watereth; but God which giveth
the increase." As an ambassador maketh peace with a
strange king, to whom he is sent with a message, but they
which bear witness of the peace make it not ; no more do
they forgive sin, but be witnesses thereof, that God par- Acts i.
doneth them through the ambassage of Jesus Christ, who is
our high ambassador. Wherefore Paul calleth the preach-
ing of the glad tidings of the gospel, ministration of tlie2Cor.iii.
spirit and righteousness ; and he nameth the preaching of
the law, ministration of death and damnation : by which
two he meaneth nothing else but loosing and binding ; as he
teacheth us, binding and loosing him that held his father's i Cor. v.
wife.
The Anabaptists and Donatists teach, that evil ministers A?«'nst
cannot loose, because God saith that he heareth no sinners, baptists.
. John i.\.
I grant, that God heareth not their pr?.yers. i et the sm
of the minister doth not disannul the sweet promises, which
are made to such as repent and believe Christ. Be he good
or bad, God performeth the words spoken of him, not -pre-
suming beyond his commission. Doth God's mercy depend
of the goodness of the minister^ Then our faith cannot be
stedfast and sure, but wavering and uncertain ; forasmuch
as no man can discern who is a good minister ; for he that
seemeth good may bo an hypocrite. The scribes and Pha-
risees were evil ministers ; and yet were we connnandod
to believe them, " whatsoever they say, sitting in Moses' Matt. \\\\\
seat ;" that is, ' as long as they teach jNIoses, and not
their own inventions.' Sacraments be seals. Doth not the
seal make like print, whether it be of gold, silver, or iron ?
If it seal deeper or shallower, that which is scaled is cause
thereof, not the stuff. So the difference is in them which
come to the minister, and not in the ministration of good
or (;vil, which both make; one jirint ; for ministration is a
seal. Why doth Paul rebuke the Corinthians, because one uor.iii.
said he held of Paul, another said h(.' was of .\ polio, but
7
[llUTCHINHON.]
: / yC
98 ■ Tiir: image of ood, [cii.
because they thought the virtue of the sacraments to liang
of the worthiness of the minister? If their worthiness or
unworthiness make the Sacraments effectual or not, then, of
two good, th^., more worthy raaketh them more effectual :
and it were better to be christened of John, than of Thomas
of Ind ; better to be sent of Cephas, than of Timothe ;
better to receive the connnunion at Paul's hand, than of
Apollo. But their ministration differeth not. And we are
forbidden to rejoice in men; for "neither he that planteth
is any thing, neither he that watereth," Wherefore all
hangeth of God, who giveth the increase, who only for-
giveth sin ; and not of the worthiness or unworthiness of the
minister..
Wiat the Tile key, which Christ promised unto Peter, saying, Tili
Matt.xvi. daho dates regni coilorum, " To thee I will give the keys of
the kingdom of heaven," (who answered in that behalf of all,
as all were asked,) is God's holy word, wherewith the minister
bindeth and unbindeth us, as the key doth shut and open the
Against door. The papists expound the keys to signify a general
supremacy, authority and supremity, granted unto Peter above the other
apostles and all kings ; the which now they give to their great
sire of Rome, as to the only successor of Peter. To these I
answer, that Christ gave none of his apostles further autho-
rity than he had himself. Por when he sendeth them, he
John XX. saith : " As my father sent me, so I send you." Wherefore
Matt. XX. was he sent! "Not to be ministered unto, but to minister"
John vi. unto otlier. The people would have made him their king and
Matt. xvii. head, but he refused it. He paid tribute to Csesar at Caper-
Ro:n. XV. nauui. He was a minister of circumcision many years. He
saith unto him whicb desired part of his brother's inherit-
Lukexii. ance, "Who made me a judge or divider over you?" Where-
Matt, x. fore the keys be no temporal authority. Hath the disciple a
further authority than his master ? Or is the servant above
iiatt. xvii. his lord ? Christ commandeth Peter to pay tribute unto
Acts viii. Cajsar ; to put up his sword : who, in the Acts, sendeth not
other, but he himself is sent of the apostles, to lay hands
upon them in Samaria which believed through the preaching
Acts xi. of PJiilip ; and he is asked account afterward, why he went
Acts i. and cat with the uncircumciscd. He appointeth no man in
the room of Judas, but all the apostles chose two indifferently,
and cast lots, beseeching God to temper them, that the lot
XVIT.] Oil LAYM.\\''s HOOK. 99
mierlit fall on the most ablest. Wherefore lie was not head
of apostles, kings, and emperors, but a fellow mmister ; as
he witnesseth of hhnself, saymg, "I exhort the ministers i Pet. v.
among you, which am their fellow minister."
Albertus Pighius\ the bishop of Rorne's chief knight in
his controversy of the congregation, perverteth the scriptures
to prove that Christ, at his departing, made him head of the
church and general shepherd of his flock. First, touching the
keys, he saith that the civil lawyers with the keys give pos-
session of house, borough, town, and city. As, for an example,
king Henry the eighth, of most famous memory, was made
lord of Bulloin, when they delivered the keys thereof to
his majesty. Moreover, Christ commonly calleth his church
rec/num, " a kingdom or monarchy." ' If M be a kingdom,' j^iatt. m.
saith Pighius, ' one must be head thereof, not many : for that Luke x.
is a kingdom, where one governeth. If one must be head,
who is that but he and his successors, that had the keys of .
the kingdom given him?' These be reasons of deceitful
vanity, and after the ordinances of the world, and not after
Christ ; of which St Paul warneth the Colossians to take coi. ii.
[} Et tibi, inc|uit, dabo claves regni ccelorum. Quod regnum coelo-
ruiu hoc loco intelligat ecclesiain suaui, indubitatum est, ut quara bis
decies in evangelio regnum ccelorum ajipellat. Porro in clavium tradi-
tionc, ex more civili, traditur domus, castri, aut civitatis gaibernands
authoritas: et qui vcl ecclesise alicujus, vel dori'ius, castri, civitatis, pos-
sessione et . gubernandi eandem authoritate investiuntur, ut hoc cum
clavium traditioue acceptioneque fiat, etiam in hodicrnum diem usus
retinet. Hoc est ergo, quod illis verbis Christus. sub omnium apos-
toloi-um pr«sentia significavit, uni I'etro se traditurum authoritatem
gubernandi suum regnum aut ecclesiam ; quam ubique regnum dicens,
etiam hoc innuit, variis officiorum magistratuufliquc ordinibus ad unum
rcctorom ncccssario orduuitam eandem esse oporterc, (juod pei-ficicndum
suis apostoHs reH(|uit. lias claves, banc authoritatem, <juam hie promisit,
Ru])ernandi regimm suum et ecclesiam, post resurrectionem suam,
janijam ascensurus ad patrem, tunc dedit Petro, cun\ eidem tenia, ut
diximus, commissione ejusdem curam mandavit et regimen. Qua;
autem hujus ijjsius authoritatis esset energia et efficacia, consequenter
oxidicare pergens, Quodcuii(|ue, iiKjuit, in hoc regno ineo super tervam
ligaveris pnecciitiouuiii tuanim vinciilis, lioc ipsum ita alligatum liabe-
bitur a Deo et in ccelis ; et (jUodciiiKjue solveris, solutum. Nihil dis-
tingiiit, nihil excipit omnium j sed (jutxhuiunie ilhid I'lieiit, quod IVtro,
aut (jui ejus inter nos gerit officium et k)cum tenet, videbitur li^are aut
constituere, ad lioc ii)sum obligatos nos ille aflirmat coram Deo. Pighius, ^
Controvers. Pnccipuar. Kxplicatio, fol. OU b. Kdit. Paris. 1549.3
7—2
100 THE IMAOE OF jfJOT), [fH.
hoed. Among lawyers, possession and dominions is given
by the key. But we must learn what the key is, of him that
gave it, and not of lawyers ; who telleth us what the key is,
Luke xi. saying, " Woe be to you lawyers ; for ye have taken away
that key of knowledge." Where no man can deny, but
that by the key of knowledge God's word is meant and sig-
nified ; which is the only key given to the apostles. This is
the key wherewith the ministers are commanded to loose and
to bind, to forgive and retain', to bless and to curse. The
bishop of Rome, loosing and justifying men through tradi-
tions and ceremonies, and not with the key of God's word,
hath not Peter's key, but a picklock ; of which he boasteth
himself to be head of the church. This key is the two tes-
taments, which Christ commanded his apostles to preach to
all nations. And because there be two testaments, he call-
Matt, xiii. eth them ' keys.' " For every scribe of this kingdom bringeth
forth of his treasure things both new and old." New things;
that is, the sweet tidings of the gospel, to unbind us: and old
things; that is, the old testament and Moses' law, to bind
us. And every minister hath this key, as well as Peter.
If Peter be head of the church because it is a kingdom,
and scriptures ai-e to be expounded after the law and ordi-
nances of the world, then Peter's son should have been head
after his father ; or, if he had no son, the next of his kindred,
not the pope : for in all kingdoms the son, or the next of the
kindred, is heir to the crown. But neither Peter, nor the
pope, be heads thereof, nor no other upon the earth ; but
the everlasting Jesus Christ, who needeth no heir, who hath
Matt, xxviii. promised to be present with his congTegation unto the world's
end ; who nameth his congregation a kingdom, not that he
made Peter lord over us, or the pope, but because he is Lord,
and we have promised obedience unto him. Peter calleth him
iPet. V. our chief shepherd, and forbiddeth priests to be lords over
the parishes. The pope saith, that Peter is the rock upon
which the congregation is founded ; and then he will bo
Peter's heir, because Peter was once at Rome. But the
scriptures, which are the true touchstone to examine all in-
Whoisthe terprotatious by, t(;ach us that Christ is the rock, and not
Peter, when ho saith imto Christ, " Thou art the Son of the
living God," and is answered, " Thou art looter, and upon
[' And retain, 1550; and to retain, 15G0.]
XVII.] ou layman''s book. 101
this rock I will build my congregation."" These words, " upon
this rock," are not to be understand of Peter, who was so in-
constant that he denied his master thrice, but of Christ, who
is the Son of the living God : as St Paul teacheth us, saying,
Petra autem erat Christns, that is, "Christ was the rock;'' icor-x.
whom in another place he calleth our foundation, and saith,
" No man can lay another foundation." If no man can lay i Cor.iii.
another foundation, then Peter is not the foundation. The
scriptures use to liken Christ and the congregation to a
bridegroom and his wife : for he is called the bridegroom, and
the church is called his spouse. Wherefore St Paul maketh Eph. v.
matrimony a high mystery. The husband appointeth no
other to be head over his wife, but he only is her head ; for
else she should be under two heads. No more doth Christ
over the congregation ; to which he is only husband, and a
jealous husband. If Peter be general head, and the pope
after him, the congregation is married to many husbands,
and hath many heads, contrary to the order of honourable
wedlock.
Christ onlv is the door, the wav, the truth, and the life ; John x.
the true vine. So he only is the rock and foundation, m whom John xv.
every building coupled together groweth up to an holy tem- Eph.ii.
pie in the Lord : as St Peter witnesseth, calling him a living i Pet.ii.
and head corner-stone, disallowed of men, but chosen of God;
refused of the builders, and upholding the building that it fall
not flat upon the ground. In the same place Peter calleth
Christ the rock, and not himself; if you look for the self
same word. But the papists reply, that we all, as living i Pet.ii.
stones, are made a spiritual house by Christ. Why then,
say they, may not Peter be the stone whom Christ named John i.
Cephas ; which is, by interpretation, a stone ? This text
granteth other to bo the stone, as well as Peter : for it is
generally spoken of all christian men. If thou bo not a
stone, thou hast no fellowship with Christ. He named Peter
Cephas, that is, " a stone," because M'lien he believed him to win Vetcr
be Messias, ho became a stone of the congregation : as ho ci phas, a
gave Doaner'fjes to name, which is, " Tho sons of thunder," to
.1 .•lines and John; not that they were to be thundered and
pn-aclu'd, but that they should be earnest preachers of
God's word. Andrew bringeth him to Christ, in wJioin he
believed through his preaching. Christ welcomed him with
102 TllIO I.MAGE 01' GOP, [ciI.
most sweet words, saying : " Thou art Simon, the son of
Jonas ; thou shalt he called Cephas^ which is, hy interpre-
tation, a stone." ^V^hat meaneth Christ hy these words but
this I " Simon, before thou wast the son of Jonas,"" that is,
" the son of death, as thy father' was; thou shalt no more be
so, but a stone of my congregation, for whicli I am come to
suffer, because thou believest in me." This is Christ ""s mean-
ing ; not that Peter is the stone whereon we be builded, but
a stone of the building, a sheep which is lost and recovered
again, a member of his congregation. Ciu'ist only is the
stone whereon the building -is founded. We are small stones
of the building founded on him. He only is the rock, which
saveth his church from rain, floods, and the winds, from hell
gates, from sin and death ; as he teacheth us, saying, " Ho
Matt. vii. that heareth my word, and doth thereafter, is like a man that
buildeth ^ on a rock." Some may understand this text other-
wise ; that Christ called Peter a stone, not that he only is
that, but in the behalf of the whole congregation.
Why Christ If Peter were not head of the church, why doth Christ
biddeth , _ .
Peter thrice, ask liim tlirice, Petre. amas me ? ' whether he loved him \?
" Feed my . ' . . . -+-
sheep." and command liim only thrice to feed his sheep ? Lo, saith
John XXI. . -i-^ . —
the Romanists, here is he made head of the church : here
y*.?>
..<a.V-
^S/
, . , Christ, going to his Father, committeth the congregation
^?^ '''^. ' to his governance. This place doth not establish Peter's
/.;"" 1^' supremacy, but rather deny it; forasmuch as Christ giveth
him no commandment, no authority, but such as belongeth
to all the apostles ; bidding him shew his love in feeding
his flock, and preaching him: for no man will preach
him whom he loveth not. Doth not he give like com-
Mark xvi. maudment to all the apostles, saying, " Go and preach
throughout all the world, and to all creatures V Then
why doth he ask Peter only thrice, and command him
thrice, and not the other ? He asked him thrice, because
he denied him thrice ; that his three nays might be recom-
Angustinc. penscd witli three confessions. St Augustine saith '^ upon
P Fatlior, 15.50; fathers, 1560.]
[- Buildeth, 1550; huildcd, 15()0.]
P Sed prius Domiims (jiiod sciehat intoiTopat, ncc scmel, sed itevum
ac tertio, utruiii I'etrus euiu diligat; nee aliud totiens audit a Petro,
quam se diligi; nee aliud totiens commendat Petro, quam suas oves
pasci. Rcdditur ucgutioni trintc trina confessio, no minus aniori lingua
XVII.] OR layman's book. 103
this place, " Three confessions are required for three nays ;
that the tongue might do as much for love, as it had done
for fear." And Cyril * saitli the same. They expound it cyrii.
thus ; not for Peter's primacy.
But I will speak this more plainly. Christ did ask
and command Peter thrice, for two causes : the one was,
that by his confession the rest of the apostles should know what is
that he was restored into favour again, from which he had sary in a
fallen : the other is, that all men might learn by Peter,
what thing is most necessary in a preacher ; which is, that
he love him entirely and heartily whom he preacheth. Paul,
speaking of ministers, saith, "It is required of them that^cor. iv.
they be found faithful :" but who is faithful to him whom
serviat quam timori, et plus vocis elicuisse videatur mors imminens,
quam vita praesens. Sit amoris officium, pascere Doininicum grcgem ;
si fuit timoris indicium, negare pastorem. Qui hoc animo pascunt
eves Christi, ut suas velint esse, non Christi, se convincuntur amare,
non Christum; vel gloriandi, vel dominandi, vel adquirendi cupiditate,
non obediendi et subveniendi ct Deo placendi caritate. Augustin. in
Johan. Evang. Tract, cxxiii. Opera in, 817. Edit. Paris. 1070 — 1700.]
\^ 0(/jiaj C6 eywje {j^^y^vai •yap oivtm? <pt]iXL kui Trju KeKpvufxem^v
ei/ TOVToi<; hiep(vvrj(rai ciavoiav) ova eiKt] jeypaipdcii kui tovtu,
wOivei de ti iraKiv o Xoyo';, kui tmv -TrpoKeifxevuiv o vovi e'^ei rt
Tra'i/Tw? TO evooixvyovv. 'H jap ovk ipel Ti? evXojw^, ixovov epwTn
Tov ^IjXdova, na'iTOL Ttoi/ uWuiv irapecrTwrwv nadfjTwi/, Ota "Ko'iav
aiTiav I Ti o' aV (iov\oiTO otjXovu to " Bo(tk6 tci apv'ia /.toi'," Kai Ta
TovToi^ ucc\(pa ; ^-l^ajxev ovv, oti KeyeipoTovrjTo /xev ijcrj ttoo? Tf/i/
deiav d'no<T'To\i]v ojxov to?? CTepot? ixad)]T.aT<! 6 ^ecrTremo? Ylerpo';.
AJtoc yap auTOK? o Kvpi(><; tjisuv Irjaov; o \pt(TTO<; airoo'ToXov';
tovoixaac Kara to yeypajx/ievov. FjTreiCrj Oe Trpa'^dtjuni crvfxpepijKe tci
Tt]^ 'louoaiwi' €7rif3ov\r]^, kui ti p-era^v Ci€7rTai<r6ri, koi yeyovev, (aKoa-
To) yap CieifxaTi KUTaXtjipdct^ o dc<rire<Tio<; OeTpo? tipntja-aTO Tpi? tov
Kilpioi/,) depavevei to Tr€7rovOo<;, Kai avTaiTatTcT ttoikiAw? Ttjv eh Tp'iTOv
OjioXoy'iav, uvTi<TTadpov watrep eKe'ivto tovto Ttvci^, Kfti avTinpoirov
TO?? iTTatcrixan-iv e^apTviov Ttjv eTravopSuxTiv. To yap Xoyio CiaTTTaicr-
V6V Kai 61/ \|/iAf>Ts hyov prjixam twv eyKXti/xuTwu Tt]\> cvvaniv, Kara tov
'ktov Cioirj Ti<r ai/ avoXveadai Tpovov. iJvKOvv Cia plv t»;? ck Tp'iTov
oiioXoyiat; tov paKapiov rieTpou to ev TpnrXw ycyovo^ ch (XTrapiitjatii
KdTtjpytjOt] TrXrinneXtJUa. Aia ct tov (pdvai tov \\vpiov, " Ro'trMC Ta
apvia pov, ' avaveu><Ti<; wairep tk t/;? rjdtj 6o0cicni<i ctTroaTnXtjv avT(o
ycvcfrvai voeiTai, tov pcTnpv Xvovaa tuv irTaianciTtov oveictrrfidv, Ka't
Tt]v CK Tr]<: avOpoifrivr]'; n(T0evcin<: piKpo\j/vyiav c^(H[ynut'('ov(Tn. Cyril.
Comment, in Joan. Evang. Lib. xn. Opera iv. 1118. Kilit. Paris. 1638.]
•H-/j 9--^
104- THK IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
he lovcth not \ Moreover, diligence is required in a preacher,
2Tiin. iv. ;is St Pjiul tcachcth. his beloved Bon Timothe : "Preach
thou the word ; be fervent, be it in season or out of season ;
improve, control, exhort with all long suffering and doc-
trine.'''' AVhat thing causeth diligence, so much as love?
Through love, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost,
all things are made easy and sweet unto us, which before
1 Cor. xiii. wore botli hard and unpleasant. For " lovfe suffereth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things." There is a common saying, that nothing is hard
to him which loveth. Love maketh labour, travail, and
pain, light and sweet to the hunter, yea, in snow and foul
weather, in cold and frost, at all seasons. But they which
love not the pastime, neither will ne can abide such pains,
as to run through thick and thin, to leap hedges and ditches,
&c. Through love, Christ was sent of his Father, and hum-
bled himself to our nature, and was whipped, scorned,
Rom. V. wounded, and slain, for our sins ; as it is written : " God
setteth forth his love towards us, forasmuch as while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us." These things were sweet and
Acts V. pleasant unto Christ. Through love, the apostles rejoice that
2 Cor. .\i. they are beaten, in the Acts. Through love, St Paul " was
beaten with rods, was often in hunger, in watching, in thirst,
in labour, in cold, in nakedness ; often in perils of robbery,
in perils of wilderness, in perils of the sea, in perils of false
brethren." Through love, many holy men have been burnt
Heb. xi. for the truth, racked, stoned, he\vn in sunder, slain with
swords, hunger-pined, and drowned. Fire and water is not
more necessary for the preservation of this terrenal life, than
love in a preacher ; which is the mother of faithfulness, of di-
ligence, of patience, and of all virtue. We read in Matthew,
how Christ, before he sent his disciples to preach, examined
Matt. xvi. them what they thought of him, saying, " Whom say ye
that I am T — not that he was ignorant thereof, from whom
nothing is hidden ; but to give an example to our bishops to
1 Tim. V. "lay hands suddenly upon no man," and to try their doctrine,
to examine their learnings ; for learning also is a quality most
necessary in a pi'oacher. So in this place he examineth
Peter whether he love him, l)ecause love is so necessary.
I would wish that our magistrates, and the overseers of
Isi-ael, would set this example of our Saviour Christ before
xv'ii.] OR layman's book. 105
their eyes, and diligently follow it. The captain going to
battle mustereth, gathering many together; and chooseth out
the most ablest to serve his prince. What merchantman will
take any to be his prentice, unless he have certain qualities
necessary for his occupation? Colligeners in their election?
,pose their scholars, assay their wits, try their learnings, ask
of their ^ conditions, before they choose them. If bishops ap- Bishops.
plied their vocations as diligently as other do their occupa-
tions, the heritage of the Lord should be in much better case :
his vineyard should not be rooted up and destroyed with
beasts of the field : the hill of Sion would wax green and
beautiful. The noble orator, Demosthenes, was wont to sav, ^g^^ .
that he was greatly ashamed of his small study, when he con- fcke^r*'
sidered the great pains which artificers took at Athens to get J"**^-
money ; and that he was moved to more earnest study '^''- '^'•
thereby. Have not the overseers of the house of Israel much
more cause to be abashed for their great negligence? Thev
follow not the noble captain, which mustereth before he goetli
to war, and chooseth out tall and able men ; but they send
all that come, and refuse none. They esteem preachino-
often and diligently, to be against their honour and dignity.
They allure learned men from their cures, and make them
stewards of their lands. They give them benefice upon bene-
fice, but they will not suffer them to come at their parishes,
to preach, to exhort, to instruct. And this practice is cus-
tomable, not only in them, but in the most part of great men
and women. For commonly they take beneficed men to be
their chaplains, and cause them to lie from their benefices :
the which when they have done a good while in their service,
then they give them another benefice for their pains, and
then cause them to lie from two benefices, and after from
three, and then from four; and to put holy- water-swingers
in their rooms and cures. I speak not this against all lords
and bishops ; but against unpreaching prelates and covetous
lords, which find their chaplains at the costs of poor parislies,
and not of their own lands. Well, the blood of all souls that
perish for lack of instruction, my lords, shall fall on your
heads. Beware, and amend Ijctimes. Give your chajilains
sufficient wagos, and [»ill not poor parishes. I accuse no man.
Every man's conscience, at the last day, bcfon; the liar of the
P Ask oftlieir, looO; ask their, loiJO.]
106 TJIK IMAGK OF flOD, [ciI.
torriblo judge, shall either deliver and <|uit, or condemn and
cast him.
But Pighius^ replieth lurthcr for Peter's supremity,
because Christ sheweth him that Sathan desired to sift all
the apostles, and biddcth him strengthen them, saying,
Luke xxii. " Simon, Simon, behold, Sathan hath desired to sift you, as
it were wheat ; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith
fail not : when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."
Before trouble Christ useth to give his disciples warning,
that they be not dismayed, mated, or discouraged, but armed
Matt. xvi. with patience : as in telling them that he must go to Jeru-
salem, and be slain of the high priests and lawyers ; in shew-
ing them the destmction of Salomon's temple, and tokens of
the latter days. And wherefore he shewed them, he teacheth.
Matt. xxiv. saying : " But see that ye be not troubled, and take heed ;
I have told you before."" In the mount Olivet he sheweth^
them, that all they shall be offended by hira the night fol-
[} Ad haec, di^dn8e assistentise singularem prEcrogativam et inde-
fectibilis fidei privilegium, regni Christi aut ecclesise pastori prorsus
necessarium, .... idem ille nobis comraendavit, et de eadcm secures
reddidit, cum de pro^latura contendentibus apostolis, post pleraque multa,
quibus camalem adhuc ambitionem eorum benigne repressit, uni Simoni
commune fratrum et totius ecclesis periculum, ut ejus pastori et rectori,
eumicians, adjungit rogasse pro eodem, ne ejus fides deficeret, ut cujus
esset fratres confirmare in fide. Simon, inquit, ecce Satanas expetivit
vos, ut cribraret, sicut triticum. Non dicit te, sed vos: confratres ejus,
universamque ecclesiam, una significans. Quid tum denique ? Ego autem
rogavi, inquit, pro te, ut non deficiat fides tua. Omnes expetitos a
Satana uni Petro denunciavit singulariter ; et Uli, et aliis, prssentibus et
postcris, significans, omnium curam ad ipsum praecipue pertinere. Pro-
inde et pro uno ipso, velut omnium pastore, singulariter rogavit, ne ejus
fides deficeret. Et exauditus pro sua reverentia, uni ecclesiasticae hierar-
chiac pracsidi, ad formam et modum, quem etiam in veteri synagoga ex-
presserat, impctravit indefectibilis fidei privilegium. Sabjungens proinde,
cujus esset, in subortis ejusmodi haeretici turbinis fluctibus ac agitationi-
bus, confii-mare fluctuantes fratres in fide. Et tu, inquit, aliquando con-
versus, confinna fratres tuos. Omnia haec in illud tempus retulit, cum
post Domini sui (quam liic adhuc futuram subinnucbat) abnegationem,
post convcrsioncm rur.sus ad eundem, ab codem jamjam ascensuro ad
cnelum commissionem acccjiit pascendi rcgcndi(|ue grcgis sui; ut in
cadem et inclusa et data intclligantur universa, quainvis ante explicata,
((ueecunqiie ad hoc ipsum ei-ant neccssaria. Pighius, Contx'ovcrsiar. Prae-
cipuar. Explicatio, fol. 09 h, Edit. Paris. 1549.]
[^ Sheweth, 1550; shewed, 15G0.]
XVII.] OR LAYMA\\s BOOK. 107
lowing, as it was written, " I will smite the shepliercL and }J^^^- ^-^Y'-
^ . Zech. xiii.
the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.'"' That
which was said to them all in mount Olivet is spoken now
severally unto Peter ; because he had more need of warning
than the rest, because he offended more, because he trusted
much in himself. Therefore Christ saith : " Simon, Simon,
behold, Sathan hath desired to sift you; but I have prayed
for thee." The meaning of which v/ords is : 'The devil shall
busily tempt you all at the time of my passion ; and spe-
cially thee, Peter, more than the rest. He shall not prevail ;
for I have prayed for thee. Trust not in thine own strength,
but in my prayer. Unless I had prayed, thou shouldest
have been the son of damnation, and not have repented."*
For it is written, " The Lord turned back, and looked Luke xxii.
upon Peter ; and then he went out, and wept bitterly."'"'
He denied him once, and wept not ; for the Lord had not
looked upon him. He denied him again, and wept not ;
for Christ did not yet look upon him. When he denied
him the third time, Christ's look moved him to lament his
offence with abundant tears.
But there riseth a question, whether Christ looked upon P"'^ c'"***
^ ' i looked upon
him with corporal eyes, and admonished him visibly, or not. P'^t'^f,' '^°^'-
X ./ :> J ■> porallv or
If we read the gospel diligently, we sliali find that Christ spiritually.
was in a chamber within, and many about him which spat
in his face, and buffeted him with their fists ; and that the
apostle Peter was without in the hall, sometime sitting,
sometime standing at the fire with the servants ; as all the
evangelists agree. AVhcrcfore Christ did not look on him
with corporal eyes, but as he looked upon the low degree ^uke i.
of his handmaid : that is to say, he did help him with his
mercy secretly ; ho touched his heart ; he visited him with
his inward grace, which caused him to pour forth outward
tears. Ho biddoth him strengthen his brethren, when he is
converted ; not as head of them, but as a labourer in his
vineyard : for these words, " Strengthen thy brctln-cn," bo
as much to say as, ' Feed my sheep, preach the glad ti<lings
of the gospel, which strengthcnoth the sick soul ;"" as it is Matt. iv.
writt<;n, " Man shall not live by bread only, but by every
word that conicth out of the mouth of God."''' David wit- Psai. civ.
ncss(!th, and oxporicnco teacheth us, that bread comfortoth
and strengthcneth tlic heai-t of man : and yet, '' the life is Matt. vi.
108
THE IMAGE OF GOO,
[CH.
2 Tliess. ii.
Mark ii.
Hpb. i.
Roin. viii.
Joliii xx.
more worth than bread, and the body more of value than
any meat."" Wherefore, these words give no authority to
him above the rest of the apostles ; but rather be a narra-
tion of his fall through presumption, and of his rising again
only by Christ.
If Peter were head of the church, yet that doth not
stablish the pope's supremity ; unless he can shew Peter's
last will and lawful testament, wherein this is given him. I
have spoken this of the primacy ; partly because the papists,
with subtle and crafty reasoning, and wrong leavening of the
scriptures, allure the consciences of many into this damnable
opinion ; partly also being occasioned of my matter : for he
hath presumed, many years, to forgive the sins of such as
would give him money to loose and to bless them ; and to
curse, and hold the sins of them which were against his mind.
According to St PauFs prophesying, "He shall sit in the
temple of God, and shew himself as God." What is, to
" sit in the temple of God, and boast himself as God,"" but
to reign in the consciences of men, and to take upon him
that which belongeth only to God?
Now, to make a brief rehearsal of this matter, there
be four things necessary to be known concerning remission
of sins. Who forgiveth the sin ? wherefore, or for whom ?
by whom I to whom ? The scripture answereth these four
questions. We learn who forgiveth sin of it, saying :
" Who can forgive sin, but God only f And for whom
we are pardoned our misdeeds, St Paul teacheth lis,
writing to his countrymen of Christ : '• For this cause is
he mediator of the new testament ; that through death,
which chanced for redemption of those transgressions that
were in the first testament, they which were called might
receive the promise of eternal inheritance." And to the
Komans : " He which spared not his own Son. but gave
him for us all, how will he not with him give us all
things also V If God give us all things for Christ's sake,
we have remission of our sins also by him. By whom God
forgiveth, Christ telleth us, saying, " Whose sins ye forgive,
shall be forgiven ; and whose ye hold, shall be holden :"
which words be sj)oken to ministers. Sometime he doth
forgive without tlie certificate of tlie minister; for he is
not bound to his sacraments, but worketli what he will, and
XVII.] OR LAYMAN^S ROOK. 109
liow he will. Paul, after he had heard Christ speak, was Acts ix.
sent to a minister ; yet he was lightened from above, before
Ananias, who laid hands on him, knew thereof. The thief ^^^^ •'"''''•
which hung on the right hand, was straight carried into
paradise, without any ceremony of ministration ; which God
hath ordained for our infirmities, not that it is a necessary
mean unto him. Now he promiseth forgiveness to all those
which repent, and intend to lead a new conversation, and
to make their bodies a lively, holy, and acceptable sacrifice
unto him ; as the coming of John the christener, before our
Saviour Christ, teacheth us ; who began his preaching at
repentance, saying, "Repent; for the kingdom of heaven Luke iii.
is at hand." He baptized many in Bethabara beyond
Jordan ; but they confessed their sins first. He reviled the
Pharisees and Sadducees, and bade them do fruits worthy
repentance. Christ also, when it was told him that Herod
had laid hands on John, coming to the coasts of Zabulon ^^"^ '•
and Nepthalem, began with the same : and not only that,
but he commandeth his apostles to begin with it, when he
doth authorise them to preach. He sendeth bv and bv ^^^'^'^ ^■'•
'■ ^ J Matt. x.
after them other seventy, to ijreach the same. I would Luke ix.
,.,. . ,. „ Lukex.
our magistrates were as diligent m sending forth preachers.
But they have no leisure to muse of the commonwealth,
they are so greedy of private wealth. In the Acts many, Acts ii.
being pricked in their hearts through Peter's preaching, ask
him and the other apostles, what they should do to achieve
and get remission of their sins : and Peter answereth them,
saying, " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ, for remission of sins." Of which texts
and examples it is evident, that God doth not forgive our
sins, pardon our trespasses, and wipe out our misdeeds and
offences, unless we have an earnest purpose and fervent mind
to crucify our old man, and to become new dough and sweet
bread, albeit the minister lay hands on us an hundred times :
for ho regardeth the heart, not the ceremony of ministra-
tion, searching the bottom and ground of it, and trying the
reins ; rewarding every man according to the fruit of his
counsels.
110 THE IMAGE OT GOT), [fit.
THE EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER.
God only is Almiglity : and whether he can sin, die, or lie : with othei-
mo p7-opertie.s.
The next projserty belonging to the majesty of the god-
head is, tliat he is almighty, and can do what him list in
Wisd. xi. heaven and earth ; as the book of "Wisdom telleth us : " Unto
thy almighty hand, that made the world of nought," or as
other translate, "of a confused heap, it was not impossible to
send among them a heap of bears, or wood lions, or cruel
beasts of a strange kind, such as are unknown, spouting fire,
or casting out^ a smoking breath, and shooting horrible
sparks out of their eyes ; which might not only destroy them
with hurting, but also kill them with their horrible looking.
Like as the small thing that the balance weigheth, so is the
world before him ; yea, as a drop of the morning dew, that
falleth down upon the earth: for he hath power of all things.""
The glorious and famous deliverance of Israel shew his hand
Rom.'i'x.' tt> be almighty, his arm to be strong and infinite : who
Exod! vii'.' 1'S.ised up Pliarao for this only purpose, to shev»- his might
Exod. viu. ^jjj j^jj^ . g^j^^i ^-^^^ Yiis name, which is his power and right-
ExodixvL^* ^*^^^^"6^^5 might be declared throughout all the world. He
AVisd. XVI. punished the ungodly, that would not know him, with strange
waters, hails, rains, frogs, lice, flies, murrain, sores, gi*ass-
hoppers, thick darkness. He drowned Pharao in the Red
Sea, and led his people through the middle thereof. He fed
them with angels' food, and sent them bread from heaven.
He took away the heritage of kings, and gave it them. We
Lukei. read, that the angel answered the holy virgin Mary, asking
how she could conceive sithen she knew no man, that "the
power of the Highest should overshadow her," and that by
the same power " her cousin Elizabeth should have a son in
her age ; for with God can nothing be impossible." Christ
Jiarii X. saith : " It is easier for a great camel to go through the
eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the king-
dom of heaven :" notwithstanding, many rich men have en-
Q Casting out a, looO: casting-out of a, 15G0.]
XVITI.] OR LAYMAX'S BOOK. Ill
tered thither, as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, king David,
the patient man Job, in the old testament ; and Matthew,
Zaccheus, and Joseph of Arimathie, in the new. We may
gather, then, that God can easily cause a mighty camel to
go through the eye of a fine needle : wherefore all things be
possible to him ; as Jesus teacheth his disciples, that with
men to be impossible, but not with God; for with him all
things are possible.
Some deny him to be almighty ; for he cannot sin, he ^^^letllel•
cannot lie, he cannot be deceived, he cannot die. Yea sin or iie,
rather, he is almighty, because these things have no stroke
in him; Avhich be infirmities, not powers, and include a
certain weakness and feebleness, and no omnipotency. If
he could either sin, or die, or be deluded and lie, he were
not almighty ; for he that sinneth becometh the servant of
sin. " Remember ye not,'" saith Paul, " that to whomsoever Rom. vi.
ye commit yourselves as servants to obey, his servants ye are
to whom ye obey ; whether it be of sin unto death, or of
obedience unto righteousness f Christ also answereth the
Jews, denying that they were bond, but Abraham's seed :
" Verily I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the John viii.
servant of sin." St Augustine, a noble member of the chris-
tian congregation, saith : Magna Dei potentia est non posse
mentirv, "It is a great power of God, that he cannot he."
The same may be said of deceiving, of all sin, of dying ; the
which cannot bo in God, because he is almighty.
Other reply, that we can do many things which the Deity
cannot ; as walk, speak, oat and drink. To which I answer,
that albeit God, by himself, do not these things, yet he work-
eth them all in his creatures: for he makctli them to walk,
[^ These words have not been found; but similar i)assiiges are of
frequent occuncncc in the works of St Augustine ; as, in De Civ. Dei,
Lib. xxii. cap. 25. Si volunt invenire quod onniipotcns non potest,
liabent prorsus, ego dicam: mentiri non potest. Op. vii. 093. And
Tn Iraditioue Sipnboli, Senn. 2. ()ninipotcns...non jiotest niori, non
potest peccare, non potest mentiri, non jiotest falli. 'I'anta non potest:
quii- si posset, non esset omnipotens. Op. v. 1)39. And in his sermon
ad Cutcchmnenos, de Symbolo, cap. 1. Deus omnipotens est; et cum sit
onnii]»otens, mori non potest, falli non potest, mentiri non potest; et,
(|Uod ait apostolus, ' negare so ii)siim \wn potest.' Quaui nuilta non
jiotcst, et omnipotens est: et ideo ouuiipotcus est, quia ista non potest.
Op. VI. 517.]
112 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
speak, cat and drink. If he should do these things in his
own nature, he should be like unto man, and so not almighty.
Christ telleth a man whoso son was vexed with a dumb
.Mark ix. spirit, that all things are possible to him that believeth: much
more, all things are possible unto God. But thou wilt say,
If I believe, nothing is impossible unto me : then, only God is
not almighty. Nothing is impossible unto believers, notwith-
standing they be not almighty, because they can do nothing
of themselves, which is an infirmity, and no almightiness ; but
live, move, and be, in him. St Paul, in his letter unto the
Phil. iv. Philippians, saith, that he can both cast down himself and
exceed, be hungry and suffer need ; yea, that he can do all
things ; but through the help of Christ, which strengtheneth
John XV. him, without whom we can do nothing. Wherefore Christ
is almighty; and therefore God, by nature, not by nuncu-
pation only.
Heb.vi. We read, in Paul to the Hebrews, Impossilile est eos
qui semel, t^'C. that "it is impossible that they which were
once lightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and
were become partakers of the Holy Ghost, &c., if they
fall, should be renewed again unto repentance, crucifying
Against uuto tlicmselves aorain the Son of God, and making; a mock
the Ana- ' o
baptists. of him." If this be impossible, where is God's almighty
hand and omnipotent arm I ' Impossible,' in this text, is not
to be taken for that which cannot be or come to pass ; but
for that which seldom and very hardly is done. For Paul
speaketh the very same thing again straightway in a simili-
tude, that "the earth, which drinketh in the rain that cometh
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs convenient for them
that dress it, receiveth blessing of God ; but that the ground,
which beareth thorns and briars, is reproved, and nigh unto
cursing." The barren ground here, which resembleth man,
with thorns and thistles resembling sin, is not already ac-
cursed, but rebuked, and nigh unto cursing : so the man
which falleth after he is lightened, is not without all possi-
bility of amendment, but in great peril of damnation. For
as the barren ground, bearing thorns and thistles, may be-
come fruitful ; so such one may be renewed, and rise again.
Methink Paul by this similitude, which immediately doth
follow, sheweth what he meaneth by this word ' impossible.''
Weigh the similitude, and the purpose why it is brought,
-Win.] OR layman's book. 11,3
and I think you will not refuse this interpretation. The dis-
ciples use the same word, in effect, unto Christ, asking him
who can be saved ; which is as much to say as, ' It is im-
possible for any to be saved.' But he answereth them, that
"with men it is impossible, but not with God:" teaching us, -^larkx.
that rich men have hard access unto heaven. And for
these words, " with men it is impossible," before he saith,
"Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches Luke xviii.
to enter into the kingdom of God !" Wherefore it is not impossible
against the phrase of the scripture, to call that impossible, "'
which is hard and seldom.
The Novatians, Anabaptists, and Catharoi, abuse this
place, to prove, that all such as do fall after baptism can-
not rise again, but are damned and not recoverable. I
trust my exposition do more accord to the truth, than this
damnable assertion, against which I think it necessary
somewhat to speak ; for I have heard say, that there be
many of this opinion in England, and partly I do believe
it. After the triumphant deliverance of the Israelites out
o^ Egypt, God ordained two manner of offerino-s amontr
them : one, for sins done of ignorance ; another, for tres- Levit. v.
passes done willingly : promising forgiveness unto both. If Le.it. vi.
some Anabaptist say, that these were not done after bap-
tism, for the Israelites lacked baptism, Paul answered him,
saying, '• Brethren, I would not ye should be ignorant of i ^^^- ^■
this, how our fathers were all under a cloud, and all passed
through the sea, and were all baptized under Moses in the
cloud and in the sea, &c." Wherefore after baptism God
forgiveth sin, done both of ignorance and also willinglv. If
he say, that under the law such might be restored, but not
under grace ; I would know of him, whether the mercy of
God be augmented or diminished through the coming of
our Saviour Christ. Kpipluinius, an ancient writer and of KpipiiaiUus.
f 111. f* 'Ultra
tamous memory, telleth that one Meletius, an arch heretic, ^{^'[{"'^^
spread this opinion over a o-reat part of Eo-vnt and Svria, <-s"'n'"'«*-.'
„, 1 ., , . T» ^ ' ' '^ • llasil. IJCO,
and prevailed against Peter, bishop of Alexandria; wlK)'i-32i.]
was slain afterward of tli(> cruel tyrant Maximin. But
thanks bo to God, there be innumerable examples wiiich
notably confute and vanish it; and among all, none more
worthy than one in the history of St John, the beloved apo-
sth'. Eusebius, in his third book and twenty-third chai)ter,
.S
[HUTCHINSON. J "^ fA^a^.
114
THE IMAGE OF GOD,
b
Hist.Eccles
lib. iii. cap.
23. [p. 113.
Edit. Can-
tab. 1720.]
Gen. xxxvii,
Gen. XXXV.
Gen. xxxvii!
Num. xxvii.
2 Sam. .xi.
2 Kings xxi
Luke xxii.
Acts viii.
2Cor.ii.
ilatt. xviii.
Luke .\v.
Another
interpreta-
tion.
Eph. iv.
The first
reason.
• writeth of him, that he turned marvellously a certain young
man from stealing unto Christ, which had fallen from Christ
to stealing. In the old testament, the patriarchs conspire
the death of Joseph, and rise again ; Reuben defileth his fa-
ther's bed; Judas committeth Ibrnication ; Moses displeascth
God at the waters of strife; David falleth into advoutery;
• Manasses into idolatry. In the new, Peter denieth his master
thrice ; the Galatians follow another gospel, and are recovered
by Paul; Peter exhorteth Simon Magus unto amendment;
Paul desireth the Corinthians to receive him again whom he
had excommunicate ; Christ biddeth us forgive our brethren
seventy times seven times ; the angels in heaven rejoice at
the conversion of a sinner. These examples and authorities
be very plain against the blasphemy of the Novatians and
Anabaptists, which would bring men unto desperation and
infidelity.
If they, cleaving to this word ' impossible,** refuse to
take it for ' that which is hard,' as it doth signify often in
the scriptures; yet this place maketh nothing for their de-
sperate opinion, but rather destroyeth and vanquisheth it ; as
the circumstance of it declareth. For Paul denieth, that he
which is baptized can be re-christened ; so that these words,
" It is impossible that they should be renewed again," be the
same in effect which he hath in another place, " One Lord,
one faith, one baptism."' And that it is so, and no other-
wise, I will prove with three manifest reasons. One is, be-
cause, as the words immediately before do teach, he speaketh
there of doctrine pertaining to the beginning of a christian
man ; as "the foundation of repentance from dead w'orks, and
of faith toward God, and of the doctrine of baptism, of lay-
ing on of hands, of resurrection and judgment;" and mounteth
afterward unto perfection ; that is, toucheth Christ's ever-
lasting priesthood, his death, and the disannulling of the law.
By wliicli words he teachoth us, that he speaketh not of re-
pentance alone ; but of the w'hole foundation of a christian
man; which is baptism, and those things which he doth annex
unto baptism. For in the primitive church, as this place and
other sheweth, men first were moved imto repentance; then
unto faith in Christ ; then sealed with the sacrament of bap-
tism ; then confirmed with laying on of hands ; and last of
all, certified of the resurrection and general judgment : and
XVIII. J OR LAYilAx's BOOK. 11©
that all at the time of their christening. Now, after that he
hath declared this manner of christening, and beginning of a
christian man, this form and fashion of the primitive church,
he saith incontinent, that '• it is impossible for such, as fall
after this lightening, to be renewed again unto repentance.''
Who doth not see, considering what goeth before and why
these words be brought in, that he speaketh of the whole
order and form of baptism ; and denieth that this form and
fashion can be iterate ? My ne.Kt reason is, that he mui?t The second
needs mean so, because the text doth not say, that it is im-
possible for such to repent ; but rursus renovari, " to be
renewed unto repentance ;" requiring a renewing with the
repentance. What is "to be renewed" then? "To be born
again ;"''' the which is done only by baptism. We may repent
without baptism, before and after ; but renewed unto repent-
ance we cannot be, without this noble sacrament. Where-
fore St Paul, in this place, forbiddeth all iteration of bap-
tism, not of repentance. Thirdly, it appeareth to be so also The third.
of these words : Rursum crucijigentes sibimetipsis Filium Dei,
" Crucifvinn; unto themselves again the Son of God, and
making a mock of him." For all such as will be christ-
ened more than once, crucify Christ again in a figure, and
scorn his death, as insufficient to take away their sins. For
baptism is a figure of it; as St Paul witnesseth, saying, Rom. vi.
" Remember ye not, that all we, which be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ, are baptized to die with Christ?"
Wherefore, as Christ died but once, making full satisfaction
for sins, so baptism is but once to be ministered. But they
deny this also. If any man would know the use of the pri-
mitive church in this point, Eusebius ' registereth, that "^^^^^^^p **•
14.
[^ Tempore quo apud Alcxandriam Petri martj'ris diem Alexander
episcopus agebat, cum post cxplcta solennia conventuros ad convivium
suum clerieos expectarct in loco niari vicino, videt eininus puerorum
supra Oram maris ludum, imitantium, ut fieri solet, episcopum. atque
ca qutc in ecdcsiis geri mos est. Scd cum intcntius diutine pueros
inspectarct, videt ab his geri quicdam etiam secretiora ct mystica. Per-
turbatus illico, vocari ad se dcricos jubct, atque eis quid eminus ipse
vidcret, ostendit. Turn abire eos, ct comprehcnsos ad se perducere
omncs pueros imperat. Cumquc adesscnt, cjuis eis ludus, et quid egis-
scnt, vol quomodo, percunctatur. Illi, ut talis Imbet actns, pavidi, uegare
primo, deindc rem gestam per ordincm pandunt, et baptizatos a se esse
quosdam catcchumenos confitcntur per Athanasium, qvii ludi illius
S— 2
116 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
Alexander, bishoi) of Alexandria, calling a council of learned
Atiianasius. ^^qj^^ enacted, that all those which Athanasius christened
in the way of pastime, being chosen bishoj) by a company
of lads, and being but a boy himself, ought not to be re-
Acts xix. christened. The Anabaptists allege the ninth ^ of the Acts,
where it is written, that Paul, finding certain disciples at
Ephesus which had not received the Holy Ghost, baptized
them again in the name of the Lord Jesu. Paul's bap-
tizing in this place is nothing but giving the Holy Ghost
by laying on of hands, as the text expoundeth itself. For
first, Paul is said to baptize them in the name of Christ, and
then these words, according to the use of scriptures, be ex-
pounded with them which follow : that is, Paul laid hands
upon them, and the Holy Ghost came on them. If thou
think, that baptism cannot be taken for giving of the Holy
Ghost, hearken what John the Baptist saith of our Saviour
Matt. iii. Christ and himself: "I baptize you in water, in token of
repentance ; but he that cometh after me, shall baptize you
John iv. with the Holy Ghost, and w ith fire." Christ never baptized
any with water ; and yet the scripture saith he baptized,
because he gave the Holy Ghost. In this signification, Paul
baptized them again in the name of Jesus Christ, without
all iteration of the sacrament. Melancthon'- taketh this
puorilis episcopus fuerat simulatus. Turn ille diligentcr inquirens ab
his qui haptizati dicebantur, quid interrogati fuerint, quidve rcspon-
doriiit, simul et ab eo qui interrogaverat, ul>i videt secundum religionis
uostrce ritiim cuncta constare, conlocutus cum concilio clericorum, sta-
tuisse traditur, illis, quibus integris interrogationibus et rcsponsionibus
aqua fuerat infiisa, iterari baptismum non debere, sed adimpleri ea quae
a sacerdotibus mos est. Athanasium vero, atque eos quos Indus ille
vol pi-esbyteros habere visus fuerat vel ministros, convocatis parentibus,
sub Dei obtestatione tradit ecclesije sute nutriendos. Parvo autem tem-
pore, cum a Notario integre, et a Grammatico sufficienter Athanasius
fuisset instructus, continue tanquam fidelc Domini commendatum, a pa-
rentibus rcbtituitur sacerdoti, ac velut Samuel quidam in templo Domini
nutritur, ct ab eo pergente ad patres in senectute bona, ad portandum
post se cphod sacerdotale deligitur. Aiitores Hist. Eccl. Ed. Basil. 1535.
p. 2.'](). This ])assagc was not written by Eusebius, but by Ruffinus,
the translator and continuator of Euseliius's history.]
[' Tliis is ninth, instead oi nineteenth, in botli Editions.]
Q^ Sed Novatiani duos locos ex Epistola ad Hebra-os objiciunt. Hebr.G.
' Inipossil)ile est cos, qui semel illuminati sunt, rcvocari ad pa>nitentiam,
&c.' Quamlibet durus videtur hie locus, tamen si conscientia communita
xviii.] OR layman's dook. 117
place unto the Hebrews, which the late Novatians would
wrest to maintain their opinion, to be of the sin against the
Holy Ghost ; out of which no man can rise, for it is never
forgiven. Thou hast now, gentle reader, two interpretations
of the terrible saying of St Paul : follow that which thou
judgest to be most true.
But to return to our matter: many deny (iod''s om-
nipotency, because he cannot revoke that which is past.
The Greek poet saith,
C Moi/ou yap avTov kui ^eo? aTCpiaKeTcu, r
' Ayevt]Ta -rrotciv, ocrcr av »; Tre-Trpaynei'a, ) ^
" The power of God doth fail in nought, save this ;
To make undone, that thing that once done is."
Yes, truly, God can do this, if he will ; albeit we judge
contrary of his infinite might and pow-er : but it shall never
come so to pass ; because it is to be supposed, that God
never will that thing to be undone, which he hath once done :
for he worketh all things ; and that without repentance.
If he would that thing to be undone which is gone and past,
or that word to be unspoken which is spoken, repentance
should take place in him. Yet can he do it ; albeit it be
impossible unto our understanding. The infirmity is in us,
which cannot comprehend such a power, such a majesty, not
in him. Through like infirmity the heathen supposed there
were many gods, because it seemed to them impossible for
est veris testimoniis supra titatis, uou potest hoc loco perturhavi. Sed
postquam ex supcrioribus testimoniis certo constat, lapsis non negandam
esse veniam, facile judicari potest, non posse hie rctineri to pijTuv, scd
addendam esse commodain interpvetationem. Alii aliter mitigant hunc
locum, ut fit in ohscuris et anibiguis; (iricce non sonat usque adoo incom-
mode. Ait enim: Non est possihilc renovari cos ([ui Cliristuni crucifi-
gunt, et ludibrio habent. Hoc shnidicissimc intclligo in hanc scntontiam.
Tales non possunt renovari, qui non auscultant amplius evangelio, scd
contemnunt, nee ilia initia pietatis, de quibus dixit, retincre student,
scilicet baptismi et prenitentiic doctririam. Htec est, ut mihi quidem
vidctur, gcnnana ejus loci sentcntia, ct nihil hubet incommodi: tantis-
pcr non jiossunt renovari, dum non auscultant evangelio, sed crucifigunt
(Jhristum, et ludibrio liabcnt. Fatcnduni est etiam esse ali(iuod irrcmis-
8il)ile jMiccatum, ((uia id cxpresse atbrmat Cliristus. Ad id accomuio-
dctur et hie locus Kpiatolic ad Hcbncos. Mclancthon, Dc Pecnitentia,
Opera i. 24.5. Edit. AVitcbcrg. 1001.] ^ C^^^r
118 TIIK IMAGE OF GOD, [CH.
one to rule and govern all things. Therefore they divided
the governance of the world between three; giving heaven
and earth to Jupiter, the seas to Neptune, the low places and
hell to Pluto. They craved plenty of corn of Ceres, riches
of Plutus, wine of Bacchus, luck in hunting of Diana, good
fortune in wooing of Venus and Cupido, learning and utter-
ance of Mercury, and victory in battle of Minerva and Mars.
Through like infirmity the papists brought in pilgrimages,
dedications, prayings to saints ; thinking God either not so
able, or else not so willing and merciful, to hear our requests
and accomplish them. Some, because they will rather deny
his omnipotency than confess their own infirmity, say, that
he is called omnipotent, because he can do whatsoever he
will, and not all things. 1 had rather acknowledge my infir-
mity, than diminish his omnipotency.
THE NINETEENTH CHAPTER.
God is defined out of his scriptures.
Heb.vi. There be many other things also, belonging only unto
Deut. V. the Deity, mentioned in the scripture ; as, " I am the Lord
thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, the
Prov. xviii. house of bondage and slavery;" and, "The name of the
Lord is a strong castle : the righteous flieth unto it and
Rom. viii. jsiiall be saved ;" and, " It is God that justifieth." "• God
Phil. ii. worketh in us both the will and the deed ;" " God is a con-
ijohni. suminsc fire;" "God is light; "God is chanty;' "Thou
1 John iv. ^ , o ^ ^ .' '
Deut.vi. shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
Matt.'iv. serve;" " When I call upon the Lord, he heareth me." For
nothing is to be honoured, called upon ; nothing heareth our
prayers; nothing is charity, light, consuming fire; nothing
justificth and saveth the righteous, save God only. The
scripture doth attribute these properties to no manner of
creature.
Hitherto, leaving all superfluous questions which have
rather curiosity than profit, I have applied my kind of
XIX.] OR layman's book,, 119
writing to the capacities of the congi*egation, of which the
most part be lay ; and declared what God is, out of his most
sacred and holy word ; which is the only way leading us to
the knowledge of him, the only light illumining our darkness,
the only " fire and hammer that breaketh the hard stone;" a hammer.
that is, vanquisheth ill doctrine, and confoundeth all heresies.
They which seek him without it, not content with " the whole- 1 Tim. vi.
some words of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor with the doctrine
of godliness," go out of their way, walk in darkness, overwhelm
themselves with reasons of man's wisdom, learn always and
never can get the knowledge of him, waste their brains about
" unprofitable questions and strife of words ; whereof spring 2Tim. ii.
envy, railings, evil surmisings, vain disputations of men with
corrupt minds and destitute of the truth." Wherefore as
the child, before he is bom into the world, abideth in his The child.
mother's womb and taketh all nourishment of her; so we
must learn what God is within the bounds of his word, not
at rovers ; until he mercifully deliver us from this bondage,
and out of the dungeon of the body, and grant us to behold
him face to face. Now, gathering a sum of my sayings, I
will define what God is : not that any perfect definition can
be made of him, for he is unsearchable ; but for the capa-
cities of the laity, for whose sakes I \rate this, that they may
behold him in a glass and a shadow, who cannot be seen in
this life perfectly.
God is a spiritual and pure substance or nature; im-
mutable, invisible, unsearchable ; filling heaven and earth ;
full of understanding, of truth and righteousness, of mercy,
of wisdom, of all manner of goodness ; without beginning,
without ending ; not create, not made, and maker of all
things ; subject to nothing, and governing all things ; know-
ing all things, yea, even the inward thoughts, intents, and
hearts of men ; forgiving sin ; only to bo honoured, called
upon ; only hearing, justifying, and saving us ; of an al-
mighty arm and majesty ; the Father unbegotten, the Son
begotten, the Holy Spirit proceeding from them both. I
have declared before all these things to bo attributed unto
God in his holy word. And the scripture doth not only not
deny, but' eftsoons grant the same, all and every one, unto
JosuR Christ our Saviour, and to the Holy Ghost our Com-
forter : as it shall appear more evidently hereafter. A\'here-
120 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [c».
upon it must needs follow, that Ijoth Christ is God, and
the almighty Comforter also, by nature, and not by name
only ; as they of whom it is written, Eyo dixi, Dii estis;
" I have spoken. You are gods."
THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER.
1)1 what order he v-ill write of a person.
Now, seeing that I have shewed what God is, accord-
ing to the talent of my knowledge, I think it convenient
unto my matter to declare, what this word person signi-
fieth in this place ; forasmuch as the signification thereof is
referred to diverse things. And because many heretics do
mistake, and wrongly expound this word, in the glorious and
blessed Trinity, as they know which have read ancient
chronicles of times past ; I will first shew what a person
is not, the which is easier ; and with the same, that there be
three persons in the superglorious Deity. For we must
learn weighty and hard matters by foreknowledge of easy
things. This done, I will shew what the word person doth
signify in the Godhead : then I will apply the definition
thereof to Christ ; and then I will refer the same to the
Holy Comforter. I will prove Christ to be a substance, and
I will fortify the Holy Spirit to be a substance ; and Christ
to be unconfounded, and the Holy Spirit to be unconfounded.
Finally, I will portray and paint the three persons, that is,
the Trinity, by corporal similitudes ; whose nature in itself
is ineffable and unsearchable. And albeit these things be
profound and high mysteries, and as hard as they be neces-
sary, and unknown, and never yet disclosed in our mother s
tongue; yet I will so shape and order my oration and speech
after such a homely and perceivable fashion, as shall be most
meet and agreeing to the capacity of those that be simple.
XXI.] OR layman's book. 121
THE TWENTY-FIRST CHAPTER.
A per/son is not a difference of vocation and office: and that the fathers
of the old testament worshipped a Trinity.
Against the
ripas-
sians.
The Patripassians and Sabellians, and after them Photi- pft
nus', and of late Servetus,- define a person to be a certain
condition and difference of office: as when we say, Roscius
sometime sustained the person of Achilles, and sometime of
Ulysses ; or, that a king and a prophet be divers persons.
For as one man may represent the person of Achilles and
Ulysses, and nothing letteth but one man may be a king
and a prophet, as David was ; so they say, that the Father
is the Son, and the Holy Spirit also, and that they be not
three several persons. The story of Christ's christening '^'a'*- "
banisheth this opinion; where we see a notable difference of
the three persons. The Father soundeth these words, " This
is my beloved Son :" the Son is seen standing in Jordan :
the Holy Ghost lighteth upon him in the likeness of a dove.
If the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be three names
and one thing, as of this heretical definition of a person it
P OvKuvv ■Kpuiro'; 3!a/9c'A,\jo9 6 Ai/dv; irdptj-^^dw. l i ovv ovtw;
<pt]<Tiv', vTi TO irctTtip, KOI ui'o?, Kai (tjiov irvevjxa, ovojxaTu eaTi y\/i\u
KdO evo<i irnuauyTTov Kftnera. jMoom/wc Ce o FIoi'tiko? (ptjcnv, oti
o 0eu<; o TTuvTci (TvrrTijcrafXti'o^ ovk cTTir ayuOo<;, ovCe traTtfp tou
uyaOav Xnt(TTov, uA/V ercpu'; Ti<r c'ikuiov, kui GopKU ovk aveXuj^ti'
virep f/'/iwi/ o i;(*o<r. MaoKtWo"; C6 kui (l>wTf(i'OT Kctt ^wcppovto^; tov
\oyov cvtpyfuiv ilvu'i (p(tm, -rrji' ce tvepyciav t(«dti/i' tvoiKt](Tai t(o 6k
mrfpna-To^ Aat/ir, ovk ovcrutv evviroaTCtTov. ChlTSOstoill. Ill Epist.
a<l Philiiip. Hoiiiil. VI. Opera xi. 204. Ed. Paris. 171»— 17.38.]
(^'^ Scri]>turis item ea est de persona loquendi ratio, ut una res di-
ratiir gcrcre personam alterius ; ad quem modum socii Job, sumi)ta Dei
persona, quasi ipsi esscnt Dii, volebant lo(iui et judicare. Angehis in
])Ci*soua Dei tota lege loquitur. Pseudoapostoli in pei-sona apostolorum
loquebantur. Satanas in persona boni angeli loquitur, cum sc trans-
figurat in angelum lucis. Sapientia ipsa, angehis, David, et alii piojilietie
in persona ('bristi sirpe loquuntnr. Ad luinc moduni, Verlnim illud
in persona (bristi oHm fuisse I-'ilium dicinms, et Cbristuin liuiu- ojim in
persona ^'erbi apud Patrcm fuisse. De Trinit. Divina, lib. iii. p. \yi.~\
122
THE IMAGE 01' GOD.
[CH.
Rom. i.
a Cor. i.
Pliil.i.
Col. i.
1 Cor. viii.
Of whom.
By whom.
John vii.
Isaac.
Gen. xxii.
Christ.
Sampsun.
Gen. i.
Jolm \iii.
Psal. xl.
must needs follow ; then the Father both soundeth the fore-
said words, was baptized of John in the famous river of Jor-
dan, and appeared also in the likeness of a dove. But this
doctrine is contrary to the truth of the gospel. AVherefore,
a person is not a difference of office. Furthermore, the
. apostles are commanded to christen in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. If the Father be all
three, he is named thrice, and so it is tautologia otiosa. " a
foolish and vain repetition." And this of St Paul likewise :
" Grace be with you and peace from God our Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ ;" who useth this manner of sa-
lutation in all his epistles : the which is vain and superfluous,
if we credit this damnable opinion. Hearken what he saith
in another place : *•' Unto us there is but one God, which is
the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him ; and one
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
Doth not he teach us here, that there be two persons, one of
the Father, the other of the Son, not confounded together ;
and that these two persons be but one God ? Christ saith :
" My doctrine is not mine, but my Father's which sent me."
Wherefore he and his Father be several persons, and not
one thing. Isaac was a figure of Christ. For as Abraham,
at the commandment of God, led him unto his death ; so
Chi'ist was sent of God, to be slain for our sins. And
Sampson likewise, and many others. But Abraham, Isaac,
Manoad, Sampson, were several persons : wherefore the Fa-
ther and Christ be not all one thing.
But I will speak of all the three persons of the glorious
Trinity : and forsomuch as many hold opinion, that they of
the old testament neither worshipped ne knew any Trinity,
but honoured only an unity, and sought no further; I will
first begin with the testimonies of the old testament ; that it
may appear that this doctrine was preached from the creation
of the world. The beginning of the book of Generation teach-
eth us, that there be three several persons, saying: "In the
beginning God created heaven and earth." Where evidently,
by the name of ' God,' the Father, and by ' the beginning,'
his Son, by whom he made all things, are to bo understand.
For who is ' the beginning,' but Christ, who answereth the
Jews, asking what he was, " I am the beginning, which
s])akc unto you ;" and in whose behalf David speaketh, " In
XXI.] OR layman's book*. 123
the beginning of the book it is ^vi-itten of me ?" After these Heb. x. "
words of the Father and the Son, it followeth immediately,
" The Spirit of God was borne upon the waters :" the which Gen. i.
is the third person in the glorious Trinity. Some take the
Spirit here for the wind blowing upon the waters. If they
examine the text diligently, they shall find that wind was
yet unmade; and that the waters there do not signify
that which we call ■water commonly, but the confused heap
of which God formed all things. If God were not a Trinity,
he would not have said, " Let us make man to our simili-
tude, and after our likeness." For these words Met us,'
' our similitude,' "' our likeness,' cannot be spoken of one
person. Neither they, which are spoken after the miserable
captivity and fall of Adam, "The Lord God said, Lo, Adam
is become as one of us, in knowledge of good and evil."
But here thou wilt say: These phrases do not prove ^ An objection
many persons. For doth not the king use to say^ ' We ^°''''^'""^'
will that this or that be done,' and yet he is but one?
Kings and emperors use to say so, because they have coun-
sellors commonly, whose prudent advices they follow. But of
God it is written, Quis cognovit mentem Domini, aut qiiis illi
fait a consiliis, " Who hath known the mind of the Lord, or
who is his counsellor f And therefore, he doth not say so for
like consideration, but because that, as Pythagoras saith, he Pjthagoras.
is ternariiis Humerus, ' the third number ;' which containeth
all other numbers, both unity, evens, and odds. Esayas teach- isai. vi. ■
eth us the same, where he saith, that he saw the seraphins
flacker from above, and cry each one to other, " Holy, Holy,
Holy, is the Lord of hosts." By this word « Holy' thrice
repeated we are taught that there be three persons ; and
by the words following, ' the Lord of hosts' not iterate, that
there is but one Lord.
I will prove the same by the properties of the three
persons. The congregation confesseth the Father to be un- Unbegottcn.
begotten ; and no heretic can deny it. And the scripture
telleth us, that the Son is begotten; to whom the Father nojottm.
saith, "Thou art my Son, this day I begat thee." Not that *''"'■"•
the Father is elder than Christ ; for as he was always a
Father, so he was never without a Son, but begat him
C Do not prove, 1550 ; prove not, I.MIO.^
[" King use to say, 1550; king say, 15G0.]
124 THE IMAGE Or GOD, [cH.
Psni. ex. without time : "Also of my womb, before the morning star,
begat I thee'."'"' God tlio Father hath no womb, or corporal
form: but by liis womb we mu^t understand his i«ubstance;
as if he said, ' Of my substance, of my own nature, T begat
thee.'' ]f God the Father l)ogat Christ of his own substance,
which is immutable, how could <^)f the same substance his
mutable flesh be made, as our late Anabaptists defend i God
begat God, and light begat light ; as a man getteth a man,
and a dog getteth a dog ; for a man cannot get a dog. The
Holy Ghost is neither called unbegotten, nor gotten. For
if we call him unbegotten, we bring in two Fathers ; if we
Proceeding. ly^i^y^Q liim gotten", we make two Christs, He is said to
proceed equally from the Father and from the Son; as he is
equally God, and equally almighty, to be honoured equally,
and everywhere equally.
pronn"'thc Pcradventure some will require proof out of scripture,
of tiirHoiv ^^ ^^^ proceeding of the Holy Comforter ; because we say,
Spirit. ^Ij.^^ nothing is to be believed upon pain of damnation, which
is not in the scriptures. For many do allege this procession
of the Holy Spirit for unwritten verities : therefore I say, I
Avill prove it by certain testimonies ; albeit I will not deny
but that many things be true verities, which be not in the
scriptures : as it is true that I wrote this book, and not
v,ritten ; it is true that king Edward the sixth, (God save
his noble grace !) is king of England, and unwritten. But
verities?" mark, good christian people. When we disallow unwritten
verities, we except such, and do speak only of such things
as be needful and necessary for the saving of our souls.
All such things, we say, be written in God's book. For
John saith, " These are written, that ye might believe,
and have eternal life.'*' If we observe these things, we
shall have eternal life; and what can we desire more: All
such necessary points be written. Away therefore with
unwritten verities.
" But how prove ye the procession of the Iloly Spirit
by scripture T' That he proceedeth from the Father, Christ
John XV. teacheth his disciples, saying : " When the Comforter is
come, whom I will send imto you from the Father, he shall
bear witness of me." That he proceedeth also of Christ,
[' Vs. ex. 3. Sept. tK yocttowv tt^o twacj^opov tjevvija-a (Tt.J
f/ Gotten, 15.50; 1 ego t ten, 15G0.]
XXI.] OK LAYiIAN\s BOOK. 125
these St Paul's words be a sufficient record : " If there be iiom. viii.
any man that hath not the Spirit of Christ, the same is
none of his." For he cannot be Christ's Spirit, not pro-
ceeding of him. He is the virtue, which went out of him, Luke vi.
and healed the people of Jerusalem, of Tyre, and of Sidon.
Further, our Saviour Christ, after his victorious and glorious
resurrection, to teach us that the Holy Ghost proceedeth
from him equally as he doth from the Father, breathed on
his disciples, and said, "Receive the Holy Ghost;" and, John xx.
" Lo, I send the promise of my Father upon you." Luke xxiv.
If therefore the Father be unbegotten ; the Son be-
gotten, not made; the Holy Comforter proceeding; there be
three persons not confounded together. The Father is a
spirit, and the Son likewise ; and the Father is holy, and the
Son likewise ; but neither of both is the Holy Spirit, the
Holy Ghost. He is an unspeakable communion of the Fa-
ther and Son also : therefore these two words be truly veri-
fied severally of them I^oth, but not together. If the Holy
Ghost be the Father, he sendeth himself; that is, he pro-
ceedeth from himself. If he be the Son, he is the Son of the
Father, and of Christ also: for every son is the son of twain,
of the father and of the mother. But God forbid that we
should imagine any such kind of thing in the Father and
Christ. If he be neither of both, he is a several person. No
earthly man is able to discuss this nativity of Christ, and
procession of the Holy Ghost, after what manner both be
done ; for both be unspeakable, as it is written, "• AVho can i^ai. liii,
declare his generation C Of the Holy Comforter it may be
said also : ' Who can declare his proceeding V AMierefore we
must eschew curious talking of these mysteries; and sted-
fastly believe, because of the scriptures. Christ saith : '' The John xiv.
Father is greater than I." If he be greater, either they be
two several persons, or else the Father is greater than him-
self. David witnesseth, that the Father setteth Christ on
his right hand : " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou Psai.cx.
on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.""
And that ho sitteth there, we learn of St Paul, who exhort-
etli us to "seek those things which are above, where Clirist Coi. iii.
sitteth on the right hand of God." Then, either they be two
]icrsons, or else the Father speaketh to himself, and sitteth
on his own right hand. The Father hearcth, and Christ John xi.
126 * THE IMAGR OF GOD, [CU.
joim xii. prayeth ; he blesseth, and Clirist ffivetli thanks ; he com-
John xvii. 1 »' ' ' & '
John xiv. mandeth, and Christ obeyed ; he teaeheth, and Christ learn-
John vii. eth : for Christ rccordeth tliis of himself, " As my Father
taught me, so I speak." These properties learn us, that they
be two persons unconfbunded, forsomuch as we cannot ap-
ply or refer them to one person.
The vision which appeared to Abraham in the oak grove
^islon""^'^ of Mambre, declareth unto us a manifest distinction of the
Gen. xviii. godhead, and yet not a trinity of Gods. For he saw three
men, and yet he called them Lord, not lords. If that vision
be pondered deeply, it is a glass, wherein we may behold the
A glass. fa^gg QJ- i\^Q glorious Trinity, the majesty and nature of God
himself. For as those three men were three several persons,
and yet were named but one Lord; so the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost be three persons, and one God. Some
will reply, that Abraham spake to one of the three, when he
said "Lord;" whom he acknowledged to be the chief, taking
the other for his ministers and servants. This is proved to be
false, of that which followeth : "And the Lord went his way,
as soon as he had left talking with Abraham ; and Abraham
returned to his place. And there went two angels to Sodom
at even ; and Lot sat at the gate of the city.*" Lot calleth
these two men, after they had brought him without the city,
commanding him not to look backward, "Lord," not "lords."
Wherefore he which departed was not chief, and their lord.
If he had been chief, the scripture would not name the
Gen. xi.\. twain remaining Lord ; which, in calling the twain Lord also,
signifieth unto us, that there was no superiority, no pre-
eminence, no prerogative among them ; but equality, as in the
Trinity, which is figured by these three men. Some will say,
that Lot speaketh not to both, but to one of them. Why
then doth the scripture say, "Loth said unto them. Oh! nay,
my Lord, behold, forasmuch as thy servant hath found grace
in thy sight, &c?" These two men signify Christ and the
Holy Ghost, not the Father; forsomuch as they say, that
" the Lord sent them to destroy that place." For Christ
and the Holy Comforter are sent ; but the Father is never
sent, but sendeth. Notwithstanding, he which departed,
before they came to Sodome, sending them twain thither,
rcpresentcth the Father of heaven ; of w honi Christ and the
Holy Ghost both be sent.
xxi.] OR layman's book. 127
Now, let us see, good christian people, how this vision
doth portray or paint the Trinity. As three men appeared,
80 there be three persons. As these three persons are
named one Lord, so the Trinity is one Lord, one God. As
the Father is unsent, so one of these is not sent. And as
the Father sendeth Christ and the Holy Ghost into this
world, so here twain be sent of one unto Sodome and Go-
morrah. As the twain which were sent are called one
Lord, so Christ and the Holy Ghost are but one God. Pro-
togenes never painted Lalysus at Rhodes so excellently ; nor
Apelles Venus ; nor Polycletus the image of Doryphorus ;
as this vision doth lively declare the properties of the glo-
rious Trinity, of which, through which, and for which, all ^^°™- ^•
things are.
But let us search how the scripture useth to speak of the
Trinity. John saith: "There are three which bear record ' •'^^^^'^ ^■
on earth, tlie spirit, water, and blood ; and these three are
one." The Trinity is signified by these three. The spirit Sp""'^-
is the Father, for Christ calleth him so, speaking of the
true worshipping : " God is a spirit." And by the name of
blood we may understand Christ ; who for our sakes is Biood.
become flesh and blood. By the name of water the Holy ^'^ter.
Ghost is meant; whom our Saviour Christ calleth water,
saying, " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and •'°^^ ^^'■
drink." '■ He that believeth on me, saith the scripture, out •'''^^'" ^"''•
of his belly shall flow streams of water of life." " This spake
he," saith John the evangelist, " of the Spirit, which they
that believed on him should receive." AVherofore, as a spirit Jo'm x-
is not blood no water, no more is the Father, the Son, or i cor. x.
the Holy Ghost, but a distinct person. Christ is named also n'oo?'
a door, a rock, a vine, bread, a bridegroom, a king, a physi- xfne'
cian ; and his Father a husbandman. If the Father be j]|.|;|j-
Christ, he is the door, the rock, the vine. Yea, rather, as a ^'j°°J"-
husbandman and a vine be diverse things, so Christ is not the 1',',',-pv'''""
Father. The Holy Comforter is called fire, and tlie finL'er ''"''^'^•^^
ot (rod, and the oil of gladness, and anointing ; which all be j;P!^;''-
divers things from those oftentimes that figurately be spoken •''"r^T-,.
/• ii Ti 1 . n J I .Matt. in.
01 the batiier'. IaoiI. viii.
I -like xi.
n 'I'l • "''''• '•
|_ I Ills sentence stands, in Ix.tli eilitions, as I'oUuws: "Tlie Holy ' •'o''" ''•
Comforter is eallcd iirc, which all be divers things from tliosc ofteu
times, and the linger of God. nnd tlie oil of gladness, and anointing, that
128
THE IMAGE OF GOD,
[cii.
An
iilijertion
answered.
John X.
John xiv.
We are.
One.
How the
Father is
seen in
Christ.
Heb. i.
A glass.
Wisd. vii.
But methink I hear some subtle, searching, and crafty-
\vitte<l man reply, that as Christ and the vine, the door,
the rock, be divers names of one thing ; and the Holy
Ghost, and oil, and fire, and anointing ; that so the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be three names and one
thing : and that the Father is called by these names, as he
is called afore by the name of a husbandman. This were
somewhat, if we had evident scripture that the Father is
Christ, or the Holy Ghost ; as we have that he is a hus-
bandman. "And so we have", say they; "for Christ saith,
' I and my Father are one ;' and, ' Whosoever seeth me,
seeth my Father"."" These texts pluck up this opinion by the
roots. For in that he saith ' we are,' he teacheth us, that
he and his Father be not one person ; forasmuch as ' are*
cannot be spoken of one person. And in that he saith ' one,'
he declareth that he is of the self-same substance. O the
deepness and exceeding power of God's word ; which with
two syllables, ' are' and ' one,' confoundeth two heretics, the
Arian and Patripassian ! The other text, declaring the Fa-
ther to be seen in Christ, doth not prove them one person,
but rather twain ; teaching us that which St Paul writeth to
his countrymen, that " he is the brightness of the Father's
glory, and express image of his substance." When men look
in a glass, and behold their own faces, they use to say that
they see themselves ; and they, and that which they see, be
not all one. When they see the picture of Christ in a painted
cloth, they say they see Christ. If we see Christ in his
picture, if we see ourselves in a glass, much more the Father
is seen in Christ ; who is no counterfeit, but "the brightness
of the everlasting light, the undefiled mirror of God's ma-
jesty, the lively image of the Father's substance." And for-
asnmch as he is the image of the Father, he is not one
person with him ; no more than tlie image of your person is
yourself; or the image of my father, William Hutchinson, is
my father ; or the image of our noble king, Edward the
sixth, is the king. God grant that virtue and knowledge
may meet in his royal heart, to the confusion of evil doers
and heretics ! They be two persons, not two gods. For the
king's image is called the king, and yet they be not two kings.
figurately l)e spoken of the Father." The above transposition, by which
tlie s.uise is restored, seems necessary and satisfuetory.J
XXI.] OR LAYMA^'b* BOOK. 129
St John speaketh after the same manner, of all three to-
gether: " There are three which bear record in heaven, the Uoimv.
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are
one." Doth he not teach us plainly, that God is a Trinity ?
Thus, to conclude this chapter : If the Father be both the
Son and the Holy Ghost, he took our nature upon him, he
was tempted of the devil, he suffered hunger and thirst, he
was buffeted and scourged of the Jews, and put to death
cruelly ; and he also came down in the likeness of a dove,
and in the similitude of fiery tongues ; he begat himself, he
sent himself, he granted himself a seat of the right hand of
himself, he is an image, he is greater than himself, he is God
to himself. If he cannot be these things, we may easily per-
ceive that he, and his Son, and the Spirit, be distinct and
unconfounded persons ; and that this word ' person,' in the
glorious Trinity, doth not signify a difference of vocation.
THE TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER.
A person is no outward thiny : and what a person in in tlie 'jodhead :
and why the church hath used this word concerning God.
This word also is used for all such things as do cause
favour, partiality, regard and friendship ; or anger, hatred,
displeasure, enmity ; both in the old and new testament :
as, for rich(.'S, authority, office, country, beauty ; and poverty,
bondage, scarcity, deformity. After this signification and
acception king Josaphat, a worthy prince, an earnest pro- 2 curon.
moter of godliness and learning, witiu'sseth, that " with (Jod
there is no unrighteousness, no regarding of persons." St
Paul also telleth the Galatians, that "ho looketh on norjai.ii.
man's person ; " and that without j)artiality ho regardeth '^'""' '"'
both Jew and (Icntile, bond and free, man and woman. And
James biddeth us to avoid such consideration and I'egard. jnmcs ii.
Put in the glorious Trinity a person is neither any out-
ward thing, neither any c(mdition, or difference of vocation ;
but, as we may gather of the scriptures, and as men learned
I)
[lIUTCHlNSO.N.]
130 THE IMAGE OK GOD, [cH.
in them teach, a person in the Trinity is an unconfounded
Ferson. substancc : or, as other define with many words, a person
is a singidar substance, indivisible, not confounded, declar-
ing unto us a distinction of the godhead, and not a Trinity of
gods.
Why tiiis X suppose it necessary, for the understanding of this defi-
word IS used '■ ^ " . , . .
in tiie god- nitiou, to declare for what consideration and skill the faith-
ful conorrecration hatli evermore used this word. Forasmuch
as the scripture teachcth us, and our belief telleth us, that
God is three, they thought it necessaiy to declare what three
God is : who is not three Fathers ; for neither Christ is
the Father, nor the Holy Comforter : nor three Sons ; for
the Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Ghost : nor three
Holy Comforters. Then, what three is God I Hear an ex-
ample. When we say, Sidrack is not Misack, nor Mi-
sack Abednago, we grant they be three. But if we will
know what three they be, we must find out a more general
word ; that is, three men. Likewise Marv', our Saviour
Christ's mother, and Mary Magdalene, and Mary of James,
be three : and if we be further demanded what three they
be, we answer with general word, that they be three w'omen.
Even so the congregation answereth this question, what
three is God? with this general word 'person,' to declare
that there is a distinction between Christ, and his Father,
and the Holy Spirit. For a person is a general word, be-
longrino; also unto men, forasmuch as one man is a substance
of? '
unconfounded with another : as Abraham is not Isaac, and
he is not Jacob, ne Jacob is Abraham. But here we must
note, that as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are one substance,
touching man's nature, that so God, albeit he be three per-
sons, yet he is not three substances, but only one substance.
If there be three substances, there be three Gods.
Some clatter and prate, that no such words as 'substance,'
and 'person,' be found in God's book ; and therefore that
they be not to be used concerning God. What, if I shew
and find them in God's book, in the bible-book, wilt thou
then use them 'i I will shew this first ; after, I will prove,
that the meaning of these words may be gatliered of infinite
texts of scripture ; thirdly, and finally concerning this treatise
of a person, I will paint the Trinity by corporal similitude,
whose nature itself is ineffable and incomprehensible. Vtc
XXII.] OR layman's book. 131
find the word substance, spoken of God, in Paul's letter to The word
. /- 1 . sul)stance.
the Israelites ; where he recordeth, that " our Saviour Christ Heb. i.
is a lively image of the Fathers substance."" Also, in his
letters to the Corinthians, he witnesseth, that to God only 2 cor. i.
that belongeth which the Grecians call on, the Latinists est ;
saying, Non est in illo est ct xox, sed est in illo est. AVe
mav find in the same apostle the word ' i^erson' in the fore- Tiie word
. . . . , . , person.
said acception and signification. For m his letter to the
Colossians he writeth of Christ: 'Ei/ avT(Z Karoinei irav toI^^"'*""^
TrXt'ipwfxa TJ/s deoTtjTo^ awnuTiKm, " In him, m Christ,
dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead corporally, or bodily:"
that is, Christ is a divine person. For corporally in this Corporally.
place is as much to say, as that we call in the glorious and
blessed Trinity^ personally : as the Greek word, awixaTiKm, Personally.
doth manifestly prove. We find also the word, awfxa, spoken
of the godhead in the book of the second law, otherwise
named Deuteronomio. Moses, exhorting the people unto
obedience and fulfilling the law, saith : " The Lord spake Deut. iv.
unto you out of fire ; and you heard his voice, but you saw
no image." Where the Latin text of these words, "Ye saw
no image," is Corptis non vidistis. For the Grecians, in whose
language St Paul did write this letter, at that time used this
word, cTwixa, for that which we call now a person : and as
we say there be three persons, so they acknowledged Tpla
awaaTa, " three bodies." Therefore, as awaa signifieth a Three
^ ' •(- 11 Ti bodies.
person, so awfiaTiKw^ must needs signify personally, liut
because many heretics racked this word, to prove the three
persons to be of corporal form and shape, the successors of
the apostles were constrained to use another word for the
same meaning ; and so they used for it vTroaTaai^, which
word continued in use many years. I-Jut now also this word
is not used; forasmuch as some heretics would prove by it
that God is three substances. For which considerations, the
(irccians of more latter time use for it the word person;
saying, there be Tpia irpoawTra, in the same meaning and un-
derstanding in which they of more ancient time confessed
Tp'ia (Tco/uuTa, or roets' VTroaruaei^'. This is the doctrine of
the apostles, the confession of martyrs, the catholic church,
and general faith of the congregation.
[' (Jlovious iind bk-^sid 'i'linilv, l.J.M); glorious Trinity. loOC]
132 THE IMAGE OF GOD,
THE TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER.
cii.
That Christ is a substance.
Now I will prove, that the scripture granteth unto Christ,
and to the Holy Ghost, the meaning of these words, 'sub-
stance', and 'person': that is, that Christ is an unconfounded
substance, and the Holy Ghost likewise. And first I will
prove, that Christ is a substance ; and afterward, that they
be unconfounded ; and so it shall be sufficiently declared, that
God is three. For a ' person"" is an unconfounded substance.
The word, or thought of man, is no substance, but a tran-
John i. sitory thing. But John recordeth, that Christ is the Word
of the Father : how then can he be a substance ? The arch-
Samosaten. heretic Samosaten^ made this argument ; who also denieth the
three persons, saying, that the Father is Christ and the Holy
Ghost both. To him I make this answer : St John in the
same place telleth us, that Christ, who is the Word, is God ;
and that God is a substance. I have proved before in my
treatise, what God is : wherefore we must needs grant, that
Christ is a substance, or else deny him to be God.
Tell me, Samosaten, what thou believest of the Father.
Is the Father a substance, or not ? Both Photinus and Ser-
vetus, thy adherents, grant this. Thou say est also that Christ
is the Father. Dost thou not confess him to be a substance,
in that thou sayest he is the Father ? Again, in denying him
to be a substance, dost thou not deny hmi to be the Father ?
P Samosatensis, i. e. Paul of Samosata. Quod vei'o ad ejus irapia
improbataque ab omnibus dogmata pertinet ; vidctur aliqua ex parte a
Sabellio Paulus mutuatus esse venenum, dum nuUam admittens in
divinitatis substantia personarum distinctionem, scd sicut unum Deum,
ita pariter xmam jiersonam in divinis statuens, totum S. Ecclesia; traditum
cultumatque doctrinam sanctissima; Trinitatispenitusauferebat: sapiebat
hffic namquc Paulus cum Sabellio atquc Judicis, scd a Sabellio discrepabat
in eo, quod illc, cum unam tantum aflivmurct divinam esse personam,
hac asstnn])ta pvopositionc mendacii, illiid falsissimum sequeretur, Pa-
trem simul et Splritum sanctum cuin Filio carnem lunnanam sumpsisse,
ac etiam crucifixes esse; Paulus vero, omnem i)rorsus auferens divinae
natura? cum humana conjunctioncm, Christum hominem tantum, sed
justitia prseditum fuisse, impudciitissime diceret. Baronius, Annales
Eccles. A.D. 26.5. Vol. ii. p. 007. Kdit. l-')97.]
XXIII.] OR LAYMAN'S BOOK. 133
for the Father is a substance. Thy owti sayings prove Christ
to be a substance, and not to be the Father. If he be the
Father, as thou grantest, then is he a substance. I grant thee
so much : but I deny that, of which thy assertion proveth him
a substance. For no man is his word, no man is his o\mi
thought ; but Christ is the Word and Thought of the Father;
wherefore he is not the Father, no more than the words of
Joseph to his brethren are Joseph himself. St John witness- Gen. xiii.
eth, that the Word, which is Christ, is not a transitory word, John i.
a sounding word coming from the lights, but by a metaphor ;
but an everlasting A\'ord. by which all things were create,
things that are in heaven, and things that are in earth, things
visible and invisible, whether they be majesty, or lordship,
either rule, or power ; saying, " all were made by it, and no- coi- ».
thing without it.'' He saith also, that this Word is God. It
upholdeth things, disposeth all things, governeth all : where-
fore it is a substance ; for these things cannot be applied to
any thing which is no substance. And if so be it be a sub-
stance^, then Christ is a substance ; for Christ is the AVord.
Christ is figured in the scripture by divers things. Abra- ch^st.°^
ham and Isaac were figures of him, and the wether which was ^^"' ^"*
slain for Isaac ; the stone which Jacob anointed, the ladder, Gen. xx\iii.
Joseph sold into Egypt, Moses' rod, Josue, Sampson, the |^"j^'^^^"''*
brazen serpent, a cluster of o-rapes, be figures of him ; which ^!"'"- xxi.
all be substances: and is he himself no substance? We read
not in holy writ, that substances and no substances be likened
and compared together. The scripture beareth record of him,
that he is no dead image of the Father, for " he is life and John x\.
o ' John i.
resurrection;"" neither a dumb image, for he is the Father's
Word ; nor insensible, for he is wisdom ; nor counterfeit, for
he is truth : but a lively and express image, and therefore a john xi\ .
substance, forsonuich as all living things be substances. Ho
answereth the Jews, reviluig him that he said, "Abraham had John vui.
seen his days," "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ere Abraham
was born, I am.'' By which words we learn, not only that
ho is a substance, but also that he is both God and man :
God, because nothing is, save only God; and man, forasmuch
as in man's flosh h(> s])ake. Moses saith of him, "He that E«>.i.iii.
is, did send mo unto you :" for the Son sent him. Tiie Son
did show himself in the likeness of fire. The Son went before
['^ Bo a substance, 1-550 ; be substance, l/JOO.]
134 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [CH.
the Israelites, by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a
pillar of lire. He carried them to the land of promise. He
appeared unto them in many likenesses and similitudes. His
workmanship governed the world from the beginning ; as his
answer teacheth us, unto the Jews accusing him for healing a
John V. certain man on the sabbath-day, " My Father worketh hither-
to, and I work.'' As if he should say : ' Why blame you
me for working on the sabbath-day, who never ceased to work?
If ye blame me, blame also my Father who worketh hitherto.
If ye cannot justly accuse him, ye cannot justly blame me ; for
John X. J ^^^ j-j-jy pother are one. Whatsoever he doth, that doth
the Son also. He ruleth all things from the beginning, and
so do I. He worketh hitherto, and I work hitherto.' Our
Saviour Christ teacheth us here, that he is licensed to work on
the sabbath-day by the example of his Father, who worketh
continually; and that the commandments of the sabbatical
rest belong nothing unto him, working inseparably with his
Father; and also, that he govemeth all things with the Father,
and is not idle ; condemning and controlling the damnable opi-
nion of the Arians and Paulians. It is needless to speak any
further of this thing.
THE TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER.
That the Holy Spirit is a substance, not a godly inspiration : he is
every where: governor of the world: to be prayed vnto : a fur giver
of sin.
LuferUnes^ BuT touchiug the holy Comforter, many doubt whether
he be a substance or not. The Sadducees and Libertines say
that all spirits* and angels are no substances, but inspira-
tions, affections, and qualities : that good angels are good
affections, godly motions, which God worketh in us; and
that devils and evil angels are beastly aff(,'ctions, evil thoughts,
coming of the flesh. Therefore I think it agreeable unto
[' All spirits, Ur>0; all tlio spirits. l-'ifiO.]
XXIV.] OR layman's book. 135
mv matter, to prove the Holy Spirit to be a substance ; for
unless he be so, he cannot be the third person in the ever
glorious Trinity.
The book of Wisdom witnesseth, that "the Spirit of^pK^j^
the Lord filleth the round compass of the world." We |^;>iy^«:h^[^;
can go no whither from this Spirit ; we cannot avoid his
presence, we cannot fly from him, but by flying unto him ;
we cannot escape his righteousness, but by appealing to his
mercy; for there, as he is not by his favour and grace, he is
by his wrath and displeasure ; where he is not a benefactor,
he is a punisher ; where he is not a dweller, he is an avenger.
Who can deny him to be a substance, who filleth the world ;
and not the world only, but Christ also, the only Saviour of
the world, of whom it is- written, "Jesus, full of the Holy Luke iv.
Ghost, returned from Jordan V If he fill the world, he is
God; for this belongeth only to God, as I have proved
before. If he be God, then is he a substance ; not an inspi-
ration coming from God, as our English Sadducees and
outlandish Libertines do teach.
The prophet Esay recordeth, that he governed the con- isai. uiii.
gregation of the Israelites, that he was their deliverer out
of Egypt, their guide in the wilderness, the worker of won- the worw."
ders ; saying, " Where is he who brought them from the
water of the sea, as a shepherd doth his flock? Where is
he which led Moses by the right hand with his glorious
arm? Where is he that led them in the deep, as an horse
is led in the plain?" And he answereth: "The Spirit of
the Lord led them, as a tame beast goeth in the field."
He governeth also the present congregation: for Christ pro-
miseth that "he would pray the Father to send us another John xiv.
Comforter, to abide with us for ever." And Paul testifieth,
that '• the Spirit giveth to one utterance of wisdom, to i Cor. xii.
another faith, to another gifts of healing, to another power
to do miracles, to another prophecy, to another judgment of
spirits, to another diverse tongues, to another interpretation ;"
which be necessary ofiices in the congregation : so that the
Holy Si)irit may say also, " The Father workoth hitherto,
;ind so do I ;■" for he workoth inseparably with the Father
and the Son. Whereof it must needs follow, that he is a
substance, and that he is God. Kor the governance of the
C It )H, l.Or.O; it was, ].5G0.]
isn
TFir: IMAGE OF GOD,
[CH.
iMatt. iii.
Acts ii.
Exod. viii.
Luke xi.
Heb. i.
1 John ii.
John vii.
Isai. vi.
To be
prayed
unto.
John xiv.
Luke ii.
Acts i.
Acts xiii.
Acts xvi.
Acts viii.
2Pet.i.
world bclongoth to the majesty of the godhead, as I have
proved before.
Tf he were nothing but a godly motion, a good affec-
tion, and inspiration ; he would not, no could, have shewed
himself in the likeness of a dove, and in the similitude of
fiery tongues. He is the finger of God. He is fire, oil,
anointing, water, an advocate, a coal ; for all these the scrip-
ture giveth him. Wherefore ho is a substance ; forasmuch
as all these be substances, not inspirations : for the scrip-
ture doth not liken substances to things that be no substances.
He is also to be prayed unto, to be called upon : for what is
baptism, but an invocation of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit? and therefore a substance. No man prayeth
unto an inspiration ; no man crieth to an affection. Our
praying unto him proveth him to hear us, to be Almighty
God, to be everywhere, to know the thoughts of all men.
But nothing heareth, nothing searcheth thoughts, but a sub-
stance. Then he cannot be a thought, a motion, coming
from God. Yea, rather, these properties prove him to be
the third person in the ever-glorious Deity. " That Com-
forter,"" saith Christ, " the Holy Ghost, whom my Father will
send in my name, he shall teach you all." If he be a teacher,
he must needs be a substance. If he be an inspiration^ he
is the doctrine which is taught, not the teacher thereof. He
gave Symon an answer, that he should not sec death, before
he had seen the Lord Christ. He, through the mouth of
David, spake before of Judas. He at Antioch commandeth
to separate Barnabas and Paul to the work whereunto he
had called them. He forbiddeth them to preach God's word
in Asia. St Luke, eighth of the Acts, telleth that he mo-
nished Philip to join himself to the chariot of the eunuch'.
Do not these texts prove him to govern the congregation ?
Do they not witness him to be mindful of both good and
evil ? Do they not deny him to be an inspiration coming
from God ? Do they not fortify him to bo a substance, to
be the third person, to be God ? St Peter, when he saith,
" Holy men of God spake by the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost/' puttetli a plain difference between him and an inspi-
ration : for he is not the inspiration, but the worker thereof,
[} This word is substitutcil for a synonymous expression used by
Hutchinson.^
XXIV.] OR layman's book. 137
the sender of it. Wherefore, as the workman is not his
work, as Protogenes is not lalysus, Apelles is not Venus,
the carpenter is not the house ; no more is the Holy Spirit
an inspiration.
He also forgiveth sin, maketh us the sons of Cod ; for J^Jj:^f^g'^*
we are christened in his name. And, that we should believe sin.
that the Holy Spirit worketh in baptism, it pleased the
almighty Trinity that he should notably appear at Chrisfs Matt. iii.
baptizing. For this consideration the holy Comforter at
that time shewed himself in the likeness of a dove. Doth any
angel forgive sin, or archangel ? No, truly. This belongeth
to the Father only, the Son only, the Holy Ghost only. But
methinketh one replieth : ' Seraphin speaketh unto the pro- isai. vi.
phet Esay, "Behold, this hath touched thy mouth, and thine
unrighteousness is taken away, and thy sin forgiven." ' He
saith not, ' I have taken it away;' but 'this', speaking of a
hot coal taken from the altar with the tongs ; not charcoal,
not seacoal, but the coal of the Holy Ghost; who may be well
called a coal, for he is fire. The patient man Job telleth us,
that "Almighty God garnished the heavens with his Spirit, Jobxxvi.
and with his hand wounded the rebellious serpent:"" with whom
David agreeth, saying, " By the Word of the Lord were the Psai. xxxii
heavens made, and all the hosts of them by the Spirit of his
mouth." Wherefore in the work of creation Moses maketh
relation of him, telling us, that " the Spirit of God was borne Gen. i.
upon the waters." BasiP, who for his great learning was
surnamod magmis^ expoundetli this place of the Holy Ghost ;
and saith that his predecessors took it so : for the word
* spirit' cannot signify wind there, which was then not made.
" Was borne upon the waters," is no blowing ; but as nuich to
say as, ' he sat on the waters.' For as the hen, sitting on
her eggs, hatcheth her young ones ; so the Holy Ghost hatched
all creatures, which there arc called waters, as it is written:
" When thou lettest thy Spirit go forth, they are made ; so
thou renewcst the face of the earth." Is the garnishcr of the
lieavens, maker of thr^ world, forgiver of sins, mindful of the
congregation, no substance, but a phantasy, an imagination ?
And hero T suppose it be agreeable unto my niatt(M-, to
speak somewhat of all good angels in general, and evil spirits;
foi- if I can i)rovo them to be no motions, but substances,
[* Hoc note at p. 04.]
138 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
much more the holy Comforter is a substance. But if it be
beside our purpose, yet it shall be a profitable and necessary
digression. For there be many late Libertines, and late
English Sadducees, which would teach out of scripture, that
there is neither place of rest ne pain after this life ; that hell
is nothing else but a tormenting and desperate conscience ;
and that a joyful, quiet, and merry conscience is heaven; and
that devils are evil thoughts, and good angels good thoughts.
Resurrec First, if this doctrine be true, we believe in vain the resur-
rection of our bodies ; which is grounded of scripture, and
nothing else. So that if you believe scripture, this is a false,
1 Cor. XV. pretensed, and damnable doctrine. " If our bodies shall not
rise, then is Christ not risen," saith Paul, " and all preaching
is vanity. But our bodies be dead through the sin of Adam,
and shall be raised through the righteousness of Christ Jesus.
By a man came death of soul and body, and by a man cometh
resurrection of soul and body." Were not many christian men
baptized over dead men's graves in the primitive church, in
token that the dead should rise again ? St Paul, in his fif-
teenth chapter to the Corinthians, the first letter, doth nothing
else but confute this damnable opinion of the Sadducees deny-
ing the resurrection; which now the Libertines begin to renew.
But our Sadducees grant the resurrection. They say, ' We
must rise from sin, if we will come to heaven, which is a merry
Two sorts of and ioyful conscience.'' There be two sorts of resurrections
resurrec- .
tion, from expressed in God's word, of which it is written : '• Likewise as
sin, from •■ _ _ '
death. Christ was raised up from death by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in a new life." This new life is
resurrection from sin. Christ's raising is the other resur-
rection ; that is, of the body, which began in Christ, the first-
Rom, viii. fruits of the dead. For Paul saith, " He that raised up
Christ from death, shall quicken our mortal bodies :" and in
1 Cor. XV. another place, " It shall rise a spiritual body." Our Saddu-
cees, because they either will not, or cannot perceive the dif-
ference between these two sorts of resurrection, which both
are in scripture, grant in words and deny in deed both heaven
and hell, both good angels and ill ; defending all resurrection
to be from sin to virtue, from vice to godliness, from unclean-
ness to sanctification. Resurrection from sin is but a figure
Rora.vi. of the other resurrection. For Paul saith : " Christ being
once raised from death," not from sin, who never sinned.
XXIV.] OR layman''s book, 139
"dieth no more.... Likewise imagine ye also, that ye are dead
concerning sin, but are alive to God."" Then it disannulleth
not resurrection of bodies, but fortifieth the same; forasmuch
as if there be a shadow, there must needs be a body.
Now let us search what the scripture teacheth us of
good angels, and believe them. For all scripture, sfiven bv ^ngeis.
... , r T n J 2 1 im. iii.
mspiration of God, is profitable to teach, to control, to amend;
and it is truth. No man can deny angels to be creatures, and ^°^^ "^'i-
Almighty God's workmanship, as Paul witnesseth: "He mak- Heb.i.
eth his angels spirits, and his ministers flames of fire." How
then are they inspirations ! Luke registereth, that at Christ's Luke ii.
birth a multitude of heavenly soldiers, which were angels,
sung, " Glory to God on high ; and peace in earth, and re-
joicing to men." Therefore they be no inspirations. Did an
inspiration appear to priest Zacharie, burning incense in ^^^^ '•
the temple ? Did an inspiration shew him that Elizabeth his
wife should bear him a son l Did an inspiration make him
speechless ? No, truly ; for the angel telleth what he is, say-
ing, " I am Gabriel, that standeth in the sight of God, and
am sent to speak unto thee." In that he saith ' I stand,'
and ' I am sent,' he declareth that he is a substance. And
if Gabriel be a substance, the rest be also substances. They Luke xv.
rejoice over every sinner that repenteth, they behold the face Matt, xviii.
of tlie Father in heaven, they assist and bear us up in their Psai. xci.
hands, they carry Lazarus into Abraham's bosom, thev minis- Luke wi.
tcr unto Christ after his temptation, they delivered the law Acts Vii.'
unto the Lsraelites, they shall come to the general judgment ^'^tt. xxv.
with Christ ; and after the resurrection we' shall be made like ^J""- ^^'^'^^
unto them. If thoy be inspirations, tell me how speakino-,
singing, standing, sending, joy, seeing, punishing, hands, help,
and infinite other things which the scripture giveth to angels,
can be in an inspiration, and without a substance.
Methinketh^ this assertion hath affinity with the doat-
ing opinion of transubstantiation. For our Romanists, al-
though they mori' stubbornly than truly, and more obstinately
than devoutly, defend that no bread remaineth after the
consecration ; yet they cannot deny but tliat many accidi^nts
remain ; as tlie colour of broad, tiie taste of bread, breadth,
length, and other; the which cannot be in the comfortable
[• We, 1.550; tliey, 1.5G0.]
[■- Thinketh, LSoO; think, 1500.]
J 40 THE IMAGE OP non, [en.
and sweet flesh of Christ. Wherefore eltlier the substance
of bread reniaineth, or else wo must say with the papists,
that these things be without a substance. The which is, as
if we should say, ' There is sickness, and there is health ;
there is cold and heat, moisture and drith; but there is no
Ge7i. xvi. such thing as a body."* An angel of the Lord comforteth
Agar, the Egyptian, beside the well of the Seer\ and com-
mandeth her to return to her mistress. Abraham promiseth
Gen.xxiv. his Servant, that an angel. shall aid and further him in his
journey. Jacob, when he blesseth Ephraim and ISIanasses,
Gen. xiviii. prayetli that the angel of the Lord, which had been his suc-
cour at all times, might bless and multiply them. We read
that an angel governeth the hosts of the Israelites ; an angel
2 Kings xix. of the Lord killeth thousands of the Assyrians; angels certify
Luke xxiv. women of Chrisfs resurrection, and the cUsciples of his glo-
rious return. Wherefore they be no inspirations, no mo-
tions, coming from God ; but spiritual substances and "minis-
Heb. i, tering spirits, sent to minister for their sakes which shall be
heirs of salvation."
Now, as I have spoken of good angels, so I think it
no less needful somewhat to speak of evil angels. For
there be many late-born Sadducees, which have persuaded
their own wavering minds, and allure the consciences of
others to the foresaid opinion, that the devil is nothing
but nolitum, or a filthy affection coming of" the flesh, and
swerving from honesty, vh'tue and godliness. I think such
have either already said in their hearts, "There is no God;"
or that they may as easily bo brought thereunto, as Cherea
SIfnuch ^^''•'^ "^^^o Pamphila. Cherea durst not jeopard in his own
Act. ii.sc.3.] apparel, but feigned himself to be another. Even so our
late Sadducees and Libertines will not reason these things
stifily for disturbing the commonwealth, or rather for losing
their lives : but it is to be feared, that under the colour
of Christians they say they reason in the way of disputation,
when they speak from the bottom of their hearts. If any
man wince at my writing, he declareth that he is a Saddu-
cee. If there bo a God, as we most stedfastly must believe,
verily there is a devil also ; and if there be a devil, there is
no surer argument, no stronger proof, no plainer evidence,
[^ Of the seer, ir>-,0 ; of Seer, loO<».]
\y Affection eommg of, 15o0; affection of, loCO.]
XXIV.] OK LAYMAx'ts BOOK. 141
that there is a God. Be not all evil angeLs spirits? Then
are they not sensual motions, but spiritual substances. But
I will leave arguments, and call truth to witness. Let us
ask the scripture what the devil is : let us inquire of Peter
and Paul : let the prophets and the evangelists testify. St
Peter saith, that "our adversary the devil walketh about like ^ ^^t. t.
a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."" He compareth
him to a lion; he walketh, he seeketh. And the chosen Eph.Ti.
vessel, Paul, warnetli us to " put on the armour of God, that
we may stand stedfast against the crafty assaults of the devil :
forasmuch as wo wrestle, noe against flesh and blood, but
against rule, against power, against worldly ruler of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness for hea-
venly things." He maketh a difference between the devil and
his assaults, which be beastly affections, saying, "Against the
crafty assaults of the devil f and he calleth them rulers,
powers ; wherefore they be no fleshy motions.
But you will say: 'He calleth them spiritual wickednesses; [-^"^rja-
. ' Act. m. sc.
a wickedness is no substance."* So Terence calleth Davus ?-J
> 7 m . > [Orat. in
scelus; Tully calleth CviiixXme pestis ; so the scripture calleth catiiin.i. 5.]
God love, truth, and light ; and ill men darkness. We read ^^^ *•
in the story of Job, that when the servants of God came
and stood before the Lord, Satan came also among them:
and God talketh with him, and he answereth, that he had
walked through the land; and craveth of God to suffer him
to scourge Job; without whose leave he could do nothing.
After, he raiseth the Sabees against Job ; he killeth his ser-
vants ; he slayeth his children ; he smiteth him with marvel-
lous sore boils from the solo of his foot unto his crown, so that
he scraped away the fllth of them with a potsherd. Did an
affection work these things, or a spiritual rule and substance ?
To deceive wicked king Achab, he promiscth that ho will be 1 Kings xxii.
a lying spirit in the mouth of four hundred prophets ; he
vcxcth king Saul ; Christ seoth him as liohtnin<>: fallintr down 1 sam. xvi.
from heaven; ho 1)lindeth all those that believe not the gos-
pel ; ho worketh all iniquity ; he seduced Adam and Eve ;
ho is the enomy which sowoth tares to destroy the seed of ^'"*'- '''"•
everlasting life, tiiat is, of (iod's word; he is the strong Luke xi.
harnessed man, and spiritual Pharao, overcome of our Sa-
viour Christ; ho is the governor that ruletli in the air. and i'-i>''-ii.
king of this world ; ho scttcth Christ on the pmnadc of the ^i*"- '>'•
142 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
tomplc, and on a high mountain shcwcth liini the glory of
2Cor.xii. the world; ho buff'eteth St Paul, lest ho should bo exalted
out of measure through the abundance of revelations ; ho
Judc it striveth with Mighel the archangel, and disputeth about the
body of Moses ; he shall cast the faithful congregation into
Rev. ii. prison for ten days ; he is the dragon cast out of heaven by
[Rev. xii.] the blood of the lamb, and pursuing the woman. Then he is
no fleshly motion, unless our Saviour Christ had such beastly
motions ; unless also heaven were full of such, which was full
of traitorous angels. In the country of the Gargasites two
Matt. viii. devils, seeing Christ, cried out, " What have we to do with
thee, O Jesu, Son of God I art thou come hither to torment
us before the time T and they beseech him of leave to go
into the herd of swine. Do affections cry, talk, kill, smite,
fall from heaven, tempt Christ, pursue the church I Christ
telleth us they shall be punished in the fire with the wicked.
Matt. XXV. saying : "■ Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
which is prepared for the devil and his angels." St Peter
2rct. ii. saith, that "God spared not his angels that sinned, but cast
them down into hell, and delivered them into chains of
darkness to be kept unto damnation." Paul commanded
1 Cor. V. the Corinthians, to " deliver him which held his father"'s wife
to Satan, for the destraction of the flesh." He meaneth not
that they should give him over to the lusts of the flesh, and
suffer him to abide in vain pleasures. Wherefore devils are
Jameb ii. uo flcshly lusts. Carnal motions, sensual affections. " Devils
Matt. viii. bclieve and tremble," saith James. They confess Christ to
be the Son of God ; as in the evangelists we may read more
than once or twice. But I think our Sadducees will be edi-
fied more by a conjurer, than by the words of godliness.
Wherefore I send them to conjurers, sorcerers, enchanters,
charmers, witches ; which will learn and persuade them that
there be devils, and that they be not lusts of the flesh, but
Eccius. spiritual substances and spirits created for vengeance ; which
now, in the end of the world, shall pour out their strength,
to pluck the Lamb of God out of the minds of all men. If
therefore all angels, both good and evil, be substances, and
not godly or beastly lusts ; much more God the Holy Ghost,
maker of all spirits, knower of thoughts, governor of the
church, forgiver of sins, hatcher of the creatures, filler of all
places, is a spiritual substance, and no inspiration.
XXXVlll.
XXV. J OR layman's book. 143
THE TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER.
Christ is uncovfoitnded : ivhy he became man : v-hy he was born nfu woman ■
he took both the soul and body of man : why he chose a virgin to be born
of, and why a virgin hand-fasted and married : why he was a babe at
his beginning, not an able man, as Adam was at his first creation : why
he came so long after Adam's fall: why he was baptized, tempted,
crucified, S^c.
Now, albeit both Christ be a substance, and the Holy
Ghost also, yet it doth not follow that they be two persons
in the superglorious Trinity : for they may be both one, as
the Sabellians do teach. Wherefore now I will prove that
they be unconfounded : the which being proved, no man can
doubt hereafter but they be two persons ; for a person is an
unconfounded substance. We may learn out of God's book,
that neither the Father, nor the Holy Comforter, took man s ^g!.'^^g''"^*
nature upon them ; but Christ only. For as through a man.
natural man we were banished out of paradise, made the
children of everlasting damnation, so it pleased the almighty
Trinity, neither by an angel, or archangel, but by a natural
man, to restore us again, and make us heirs of salvation ; as i cor. xv.
Paul witnesseth : " By a man came death, and by a man
Cometh resurrection of the dead. For as by Adam all die,
even so by Christ all be made alive." And the will of Matt. i.
God was, that he should be born of a woman. God sent his Gai.iv.
Son, factum ex imdiere, "born, or made, of a woman." But why he was
why was Christ born oi a woman. Iruly, because sm and woman,
death overflowed tbe world through the first woman, he
worketh the mystery of life and righteousness by another
woman ; that the blame of sin should not be imputed to his
creature, which is good, but to the will by which Eve sinned.
For seeing he is a Saviour both of men and women, he be-
cometh man, forsorauch as man is the better kind ; yet he is
born of a woman, that we should believe him to be a Saviour
of women also ; so that his birtii of a woman, and his be-
[' Of, l.j.50; to, 15!J0.]
144 TIIK IMAGIO 01' GOD, [cH.
coming man, declaretli him to be mindful of both kinds.
But here we must note, that Christ took man''s nature upon
liim, not by the turnin<^- of his godhead into his manhead,
but by assumpting of manhead unto his godhead ; not by
confusion or mixture of substance, but by unity of person.
"For as the reasonable soul and the fleshly body is one man,
so the deity and humanity is one Christ."
When I say, 'Christ took our nature upon him,"' I mean
botirso*ui°^ not, that he took flesh only, as some heretics have thought,
and body, j^^j^ ^-^q g^^^j q£ ^^^^i also ; forsomucli as he is no half Saviour,
but a Redeemer of both. For he witnesseth of himself, Tristis
Mork XIV. ^gf anima tnea, " My soul is sad unto death f and, " I have
John X. "> J ' ' ^
power to put my soul from me, and I have power to take it
again; no man taketh it from me." David speaketh also in his
psai. xvi. behalf: '• Thou shalt not leave my soul in hell, neither shalt
A." .. thou suffer thy saint to see corruption." Some are moved to
objection »' '-
answered, think, that Clu'ist took not man's soul upon him, but the
body only, because his beloved disciple saith, Verhum caro
joiin I. factum est, " The Word was made flesh," making no mention
of a soul. St John saith, " The Word was made fle.sli ;" as
Rnin. iii. Paul rccordetli, that '" by the deeds of the law no flesh shall
be justified." The which in another place he saith more
Gal. iii. plainly : " Through the law no man shall be justified ;" under-
standing by the word flesh, not the body only, but the
whole man, both body and soul. This manner of speaking is
Psai.ixv. often in the scripture; for David saith, "Thou hearest the
prayer, therefore all flesh cometh unto thee :" *• all flesh,"' for
*• all men.*' And note here a vehemency in the words, ' thou
hearest;*' as if he should say: 'We pray to thee, for we do
know that thou dost hear ; but of other we know not that
they hear ; and therefore we only call on thy name.' Thus
did the old patriarchs. This was their faith. We never read
that they prayed to any creature. And Jeremy curseth
Jer. xvii. hi^i " that maketh flesh his arm," that is, "putteth his trust
in man." And John Baptist tostifieth, that " all flesh shall
Luke iii. soe the Saviour sent of God." So John the evangelist saitli,
"The Word was made flesh ;" as if he had said, 'The Word
was made man, took man's flesh and nature ; which Word is
Against tiie Christ.*' I havo declared before why he is named a Word,
late Ana- t»t i i • "
baptists, and what manner of \ v ord he is.
But whereof wa.s he made flesh i Of what matter and
XXV.] OR layman's book. 145
stuff was his humanity shapen ? Or did he bring it out of
heaven I No, truly. The first Adam's flesh was formed of the
earth, as it is written : " Then the Lord God shaped man of Gen. ii.
the mould of the earth." And whereof the second Adam's
flesh was made, the blessed apostle St Paul telleth, saying : Gai. iv.
"When the fulness of time was expired, God sent his Son,
factum ex muUerc, made or born of a woman." He did not
pass through her, as water gusheth through a pipe or con-
duit ; but took part of her substance and nature. Wherefore
the prophet Esay namethhim a " flower," or blossom, coming isai. xi.
out of the root of Jesse. Salomon nameth him "a lily," and t;ant. li.
"a rose among thorns." Doth not every flower take his
nature of the body and stock out of which it groweth?
Doth not the lily and rose likewise ? Are grapes gathered
of thorns, or figs of apple trees 2 Besides this, it was need-
ful that the same flesh should be punished on the tree,
which offended in eating of the fruit of the tree ; that the
same flesh should be justified and rise in righteousness, which
died in sin and unrighteousness. "For by a man," saith Paul, i cor. xv.
" came death, and by a man cometli resurrection of the
dead. And as by the disobedience of one man many became
dead, so by the obedience of one man many be made alive."
\V'eigh and consider the comparison that Paul maketh be- Rom. r.
tween the first Adam and the second Adam, in the fifth to
the Romans, and it destroyeth this opinion utterly. Besides,
St Paul saith, that we be " flesh of his flesh, and bones of
liis bones," speaking of Christ: Membra sumus de corpore ejus,
de came ejns, et de ossihus ejus, "We are members of hisEph. v.
body, of his flesh, and of his bones." But how are we, good
christian people, " flesh of Christ's flesh," except he be flesh
of Mary's flesh, and bones of Mary's bones ? Besides, ho did
suck his mother, and took his nourishment out of her sweet
breasts : for we read that a certain woman came unto
him, and sai<l, Heatas renter qui te portatit, et libera (jnw
suaisti ; "Happy is the womb that bare thee, and the papsi^"kexi.
wliich gave thee suck." Neither Christ, who is truth,
dotii not reprove her as a liar. Wherefore we imist needs
grant, that he took his nature, substance, manhood, and
flesh, of her.
I do touch this matter, because, not long sitli, 1 com-
muned witii a certain woman which denied this ]»oiiit. And
10
[llIITcUlNSON.]
146 THE IMAGE OP GOD, [ciI.
when I and my well-beloved friend Thomas Lever^ and others,
alleged this text against her opinion, tSemen mulieris conteret
caput serpentis, " The seed of the woman shall grind or break
the serpent's head," she answered : " I deny not that Christ
is Mary's seed, or the woman's seed ; nor I deny him not to
uon"^''^'^" b^ ^ "^^" ' ^^* Mary had two seeds, one seed of her faith,
and another seed of her flesh and in her body. There is a
natural and a corporal seed, and there is a spiritual and an
heavenly seed, as we may gather of St John, where he saith,
1 Joiin lii. u rj^Yie seed of God remaineth in him, and he cannot sin."
And Christ is her seed ; but he is become man of the seed
of her faith and belief ; of spiritual seed, not of natural seed ;
for her seed and flesh was sinful, as the flesh and seed of
The answer, others." The seed which is promised unto Adam is named
to be semen mulieris, "the seed of a woman :" the same is
the seed of Eve ; the selfsame afterward is called the seed
of Abraham, of Jacob, the seed of David, and of the blessed
virgin. But the seed that St John speaketh of is semen
Del, the seed of God ; that is, the Holy Spirit ; not Abra-
ham's seed, David's seed, or Mary's seed. How can it be
their seed, which took no substance of them ? Further, the
eln-'x^vV.^ same promise is renewed unto Abraham, Jacob, David, and
1 chroJ^i" others, with all these special words, that of their wombs, of
Psai. cxvxii. their bodies, of their fruit, of then- bellies, of their loins, of
their flesh, the Saviour of the world shall be born ; not of
their faith, of their belief. Wherefore it must needs be a
fleshly, a natural, and a corporal seed, of which Christ was
made man, maugre the head of the devil and all heretics.
Heb.ii. "He took uot," saitli Paul, "on him the angels; but the
seed of Abraham taketh he on him." Now the spiritual seed
is in angels more plentifully than in men ; forsomuch as they
be not depressed with the gross lump of the body. And that
we should firmly believe and stedfastly credit, ex quibus
iioin. ix. Chridus est secundum carnem, " that he is of the fathers con-
Jiatt. i. cerning the flesh," St Matthew and St Luke reckon his
kindred, fetch his stock and generation, from Adam, Enok,
Noe, Abraham, David, Salomon, Roboam, Zorobabel, «fec.
p I and my well-beloved friend Thomas Lcvci* and others, 1550; I
and Master Wliy tchcad, Thomas Lever and others, ] 5f)0.3
P In the edition of 1550, this and the four following references are
inserted in the text as well as in the margin.]
Luke iii.
XXV.] OR layiMan's book. 147
Moreover, Christ came, not only to die for our sins, but also
to be an ensample unto us, and a perfect pattern of good
living ; as shall be declared afterward. " Forsomuch, then, Heb. ii.
as we be partakers of flesh and blood, he also participavit
eisckin, took part with us." If he took other flesh, not made
of his mother, but of what matter it pleased him, he took no
part with us, neither doth his ensample belong unto us. He
is our brother: for St Paul saith, "He is not ashamed to
call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto
my brethren."" Now brethren be of one nature and sub-
stance, touching their flesh and body. Therefore she that
denieth Christ to have taken his flesh of his mother, is not
the sister of Christ, but the eldest and firstborn daughter of
antichrist. Yet she pretended that she believed that Christ
was a true and natural man: but indeed she denieth his
manliood. For if he had any manhood or humanity, as no
doubt he had, he had it undoubtedly of his mother ; or else
he was no man. If he had it not of his mother, define and
shew from whence he had it. Yea, they say, it is unknown
and undefined in the scriptures. How then can we warrant
Chrisfs humanity against heretics, if we make it uncertain
whereof he took it, and if it be unknown whereof it was
shapen ?
But albeit he took flesh of his mother, yet it was holy wiiy lie was
flesh, not sinful flesh, that he took ; forsomuch as it was virgin.
conceived and wrought by the overshadowing of the Holy
Ghost. Albeit the seed and flesh of other be sinful, yet hers
was not so ; but sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and most
clean. For to her it was said, Benedicta tu inter tmdieres,
"Blessed art thou amongst women." He is lajyis de moide^^^i^-H-
excisus sine manibus, comminuens, ^"c. the stone of which
Daniel recordeth, that was " cut out of the hill without
hands," which hath and shall break into powder the golden,
.silver, brazen, and iron kingdoms ; that is, the four mon-
archies and empires, of the Chaldies and Babylonians, of the
Medics and Persies, of the ^Macedonians and (J reeks, and of
the Romans. The hill out of which this stone is taken, is
the tribe and house of Juda, which dwelt and was situate
upon mount Sion in Jcrusiilcui : and by the words, " without
hands," is meant, that this stone, without man's seed, man's
helj) and nature, came out of the foresaid hill ; in that he
10 — 2
Matt. i.
148 THE IMAGE OP GOP, [ciI.
took his flesh on no earthly father, but only of the substance
of ]Mary his mother, of whose breasts the said flesh was nou-
rished afterward. Christ was conceived of the Holy Ghost,
not the Father : who, touching his humanity, hath no father
Matt.i'. upon earth ; as concerning his divinity, ho hath no mother
isai. vii. jj-j iieaven. Further, he was born of a virgin ; forsomuch as
virginity is a far more honourable thing than wedlock. The
blessed virgin, credendo^ oion concumlendo, gravida facta est,
' was made fruitful by faith, not by man's help ;"* by the
Spirit, not by lechery. For it was seeming that the un-
spotted lamb Jesus Christ, w'ho should blot out our sins as
the fire melteth the wax, that he should be born \\ithout all
original sin.
born of a^^^ Notwithstanding he was bom ex virgim desjyonsata, 'of
poifsed'^and a virgin liandfasted and manned ;' partly that the young
Mattll' virgin should not be destitute of a helper, a keeper, a
nourisher, in her adversity and travail, and her progress
to^ Egypt ; partly also, that none should recount wedlock
unclean, or matrimony unpure, forsomuch as he vouchsafed
to be born therein. Neither is it any dishonour, any de-
facing to the divine nature, that Christ, who filleth all the
world, filled the womb of the blessed virgin : no, not if her
head^s*^ flesli had been sinful and unsanctified. For his divinity is not
undefiiabie. defiled thereby, no more than the sun shining upon carrion
and filthy jakes is dishonoured or defiled through their stink-
ing scents ; or rather, much less, for he made the sun. For
the divinity is said to be undefiiabie, not because it toucheth
nothing unclean, but because it continueth clean, whatsoever
it toucheth. Wherefore he was not defiled with the virgin's
womb, but sanctified it, hallowed it with his presence, and
made it most clean ; and chose himself a mother in earth,
because before he had a Father in heaven.
the Holy "° If any man think, because Christ was born of the Holy
Ghost, that he is the Holy Ghosfs son, let him not be
deceived; for it is no sure reason, if any thing be born of
another, to make it straight the son thereof ; as for example,
we are born of water, and yet we arc not the sons of water;
we are born of the Holy Ghost, and yet we are not the sons
of the Holy Ghost, but the sons of our heavenly Father. Also
lice, hairs, and lumbrikes, are bred and gendered of man, and
[' To, 1.550; into. 1.5G0.]
Ghost's son.
John iii.
XXV.] OR layman's liOOK. 149
yet nobody calloth them the sons of man. Likewise many
are called the sons of some, and yet they cannot be said to
be born of them ; as ^Eschinus is son to Micio, and yet not [Terent.
born of him. And the scripture calleth them filios mortis, i- sc 2.]
"the sons of death," the sons fofl Bellial, the children of the 1 sam.x.
2 Stini \ii
devil, the children of sin and perdition, the sons of WTath, the Judg. xix.
sons of hell, which were never born of it, but made unto John. xvu.
ignominy ; and filios dilecfionis, " the sons of love," the sons Psai.
of light, of promise, of strength, of the kingdom ; not born of
it, but such as shall be fellow-heirs with Christ, and are pre-
pared for the kingdom. So our Saviour Christ is said to be
conceived of the holy Comforter, and born of him ; and yet
he is not his son, but the only Son of God the Father ; unto
whom we be also sons, but we be the sons of promise ; he coioss. i.
is the son begotten, we be sons through adoption. Christ Eph. v.
is the Son of God by nature ; forasmuch as the scripture is,
that he was conceived of the Holy Ghost ; who, being God, Rom.Lx.
became man. We cannot gather thereof, that he is Christ''s Matt. Vui.
Father ; for touching his human nature, he was born without
a Father, as touching his other nature, he lacked a mother ;
but rather we may reason, that he is his mother ; for the
mother conceiveth, not the father ; and so he shall have two
mothers, the which is impossible. Wherefore he is the only
Son of God the Father.
But why is he born a babe, and a little one, not an able Matt.ii.
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 sin of man. But his posterity and offspring are \viiyanmen
bom babes, forasmuch as they are born in sinful flesh, as babes, not
David witnesseth, saying : JScce enim in iniquitatibus, &c. ^
" Behold," saith David, " I was born in wickedness, and my
mother conceived mc in sin." Unreasonable beasts, as the
calf, the little lamb, the whelp, as soon as they are born, can
go, run, find out thoir mother's teats and suck them, without
any help of other. Only man, when ho is born, can neither
occupy liis tongue in speaking, nor feet in going, nor his
hands to find ; and except his mother, or nurse, thrust her
breast imto his lips, ho knowoth not whore they are, nor what
to do ; and would cry for hunger, yea, famish, before he would
suck of his own accord. This infirmity is in our bodies when
we be young, because Adam and Eve sinned when they were
150 TIIK IMAGE OF GOD, [cil.
old ; forasmuch as then our minds also be weak and blind
through the same sin, that the feebleness of the body might
be agreeable to the ignorance of the mind. For as both
Gen. iii. body and soul sinned in eating the apple, the mind in lusting,
the body in taking ; so both are punished, the body with in-
firmity, the mind with ignorance. Now our Saviour Clirist,
albeit he were not born in sinful flesh, yet, because he was
Rom. viii. bom ' in the likeness of this sinful flesh, he was born a babe ;
not of perfect bigness, like Adam. His flesh was not sinful
indeed, but holy and undefiled ; yet it seemeth sinful in that
he took both this and all other human infinnities, as hunger,
thirst, cold, heat, poverty, death, upon him, which overflowed
Gal. iv. the world through sin. Misit Deus Filiiim suum, " God sent
his Son." His coming is his incarnation, and his sending
likewise. The Father is not said to come, or to be sent,
comfnXr '^©causo he was not incarnate. That the coming and sending
what'i'fis *^'^ Chrivst is to be taken of his incarnation, we may perceive
by tins. For who cometli there, where he is already? or
who is sent thither I But Christ is everywhere touching
his divinity; for he is the wisdom of the Father, which reacli-
cth from oi^ end to another mightily, and ordereth all things
wisd. viii. lovingly. Seeing, therefore, he is everywhere, how cometh he
where he was not, but by^ appearing in his humanity!
But it is a great question, why God sent his Son, cum
Gal. IV. xiQnit plenitudo femporis, "in the fulness of time ;" why he came
no sooner, but in the ends of the world. If he had come
long before, many had been saved which have perished. For
sith his incarnation, many mo have believed him than did
in time past ; for he is " the light shining in darkness."
canie^n the Truly, he came when he saw his coming should be most pro-
worid'^*^'' fitable ; not being moved thereunto through the consideration
of our merits, but of his o\vn voluntary goodness ; for our
deservings did not constrain him to come. Wherefore we
cannot blame him for the loss before his incarnation ; for it
was not undeserved, it was a just loss. Can the thief blame
the judge for condemning him according to the law 1 Or is
the physician to be blamed, coming of his own accord to heal
the patient, if he tarry long 1 He came therefore, when it
pleased him, when he knew he shoiild be most welcome. If
[} Was bom, 1.550 ; was not bora, 15G0.]
[f Not, but by, 1550; not by, 15G0.]
XXV.] OR layman's book. ]51
thou help one before his need, he doth not take it so thank-
fully as when thou succourest him in great need. The hun-
gry man, who hath need of meat, will thank thee more for it
than he which hath plenty. The poor will give thee more
abundant thanks for thy money than the rich. Before the
time of Christ's coming men were not needy, they were not
hungiy ; but thought themselves righteous, rich in all good Rom.ii.
Avorks, true keepers of the law. Wherefore it was necessary
that the preaching of the law should go before his coming ;
by which men should learn that they had need of a physi-
cian : " For by the law cometh knowledge of sin." The Rom. iii.
law is, securis ad arborem posita, " the axe which shall hew ^^^\- "'•.
down all those that brmg not forth good fruits. The law is an axe.
a glass, wherein we may behold our nakedness, our imclean
thoughts, our filthy living. Lex subintravit, " The law," Rom. v.
saith Paul, "entered in, that sin should increase." " Where
abundance of sin is, there," as ho recordeth, " also is more
plenteousness of grace" of the part of the giver, and more
thank of the part of the patient ; forasmuch as the sick
thanketh the physician, not the whole man. Wherefore
Christ, the physician of our souls, would not come but to '^^^^^ ^■
help the wounded man, to call sinners unto repentance, to ^}^f|- ^^^.^^^_
seek the sheep which was lost. For this cause God, the Son
of God, equal with his Father, in the end of the world hum-
bled himself to our nature, to deliver us from the bondage of
the spiritual Pharao, the devil ; who held us prisoners per-
force, until Christ entered into his house, which is the world,
and bound him, and bereaved him of his goods. This is the
fulness of time of which Paul speaketh, saying : " When the
fulness of time was come, God sent his Son, born of a wo-
man." The warrior which will deceive his enemies, putteth
away his own apparel, and clotheth himself in their apparel,
that ho may safely go into their region, and behold all their
provision, and afterward easily overcome them : so our Sa-
viour Jesus Christ, in the latter end of the world, did d(>ck
and clotho himself with our nature, to deceive and conquer
the devil, wlio had seduced and conquered mankind in the
likeness of a serpent : which policy is figured long before in
Jacob, who stcaleth away the blessing from his brother I'lsau Gen. xxvii.
in his brother's raiment. Did tlu' Father and the Holy
Ghost take our nature upon them I Were they born of a wo-
152 Tfiii; iMAdE oi- f;or), [cii.
man ? Wore tlicy concoivcd of the Holy (ihost ( AVcrc they
born little babes! Did they use this policy to deceive the
devil? If not, then is Christ unconfounded with them.
Christ also was baptized ; not the Father, nor the Holy
Ghost. For the Father soundeth ' these words at his bap-
Matt, lii. tism, " This is my beloved Son, in whom is my delight ;" and
" the Holy Ghost descendeth like a dove, and sitteth upon
him."
Why Christ Wherefore is he christened ! Not for any spot of sin,
was nap- , .
tized. any crumb of vmcleanness in him ; Init for our erudition and
ensample. For if he came to be baptized of John his ser-
vant, how necessary is baptism for us which be his servants,
and defiled with original and actual trespasses ! If he re-
quired baptism of him, disdain not thou to be christened of
thy inferior ; despise not baptism, be thou never so holy, never
so perfect ; have no light opinion of it. If it were a light
thing, Christ would not have required it for our example.
Christ also fasted after baptism, and was tempted of
Why the devil. He fasted for our example, and was tempted for
"^""^ " our victory. He was tempted in all sin, and overcometh,
Matt. iv. teaching us by his example how to overcome. The devil
tempteth him with the lusts of the flesh, with lust of the
eyes, and mth the desire of worldly promotion. "With lust
of the flesh, saying, " If thou be the Son of God, speak that
these stones be made bread." But Christ answereth, teach-
Deut. viii. jjig yg iq fight in like case, " INIan shall not live by bread
only, but by every word that cometh out of the mouth of
God." He tempteth him with the lust of the eyes'", bidding
him cast himself down from the pinnacle, because it was WTit-
Psai. xci. ten that angels had charge over him. Christ answereth :
Deut. vi. " Thou shalt not tempt thy Lord God'\" He tempteth him
with desire of promotion, carrying him unto* the moun-
tain, and promising him the glory of the world. But he
who made all the world, refused worldly honour ; and teach-
eth us that God only is to be worshipped. All sin is con-
tained in the devil's three temptations, and all virtue in
[} Soundeth, 1.5.50; sounded, 1560.]
P With the hist of tlie eyes, 1.550. These Avords arc omitted in
the edition of 1.5G0, and are inserted four lines below after proi)io(io)ir\
[•• Thy Lord Ciod, 15.50; thy Lord thy God, 1560.]
[* Unto, 1550; into, 1560.]
XXV.] OK layman's book. 153
Christ's unswei's. The devil with three propositions would
inveigle Christ in all heresies ; hut Christ confuteth him with
three scriptures. And, that thou shouldest not think that
Christ is the Holy Ghost, touching his incarnation he is said
to be conceived of the Holy Ghost ; and in his baptizing the
holy Comforter descendeth upon him ; and when he is
tempted, the spirit leadeth him into the wilderness. Where-
fore he is unconfounded with the Holy Ghost.
Christ also suffereth death, to deliver us from the ty-
ranny of death ; not the Father, nor the Holy Ghost ; for
he offered his flesh, an odoriferous and sweet-smelling sacri-
fice to the Father. The cause why he humbled himself }^'''v ''^ ^ii''-
-' fered death.
unto death, is, forasmuch as our first parents lost God's
favour through pride; for it was said unto them, "• Taste, Gen. in.
and ye shall be as gods."" For this cause it pleaseth Christ
to overcome the devil by humility, who through pride en-
ticed us from God. And we also must overcome by humility,
recover God's favour by humility, enter into the kingdom of
heaven through humility. Down therefore, proud stomach ;
-^ down, peacock's Jeathers ; down, high mountain, and become
a low valley. The Lord ^vill break down the house of the Prov. w.
proud, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted ; as Luke xiv.
1 r' 1 IT 11 T-»i • -WT Luke xviii.
we may learn of the publican and the Fiiarisee. \Ve must
return to paradise by humility, which we lost by pride. Hu-
mility is the porter of heaven gates. Factus est ohediens
usque ad mortem crucis, "• He became obedient to the death miiip. ii.
of the cross." But why is Christ crucified for our sins i win he died
Why did he choose this kind of death before other ? Truly,
because this kind of death is accursed, and all that die of it,
as it is written : " Cursed is every one that hangeth on tree."
For so it Cometh to pass that Christ was accursed for us,
to deliver vls from God's curse, as l^aul saith : '• Christ hath Gai. iii.
delivered us from the curse of the law, in that ho was '
made accursed for us." Only he rose from death to life ;
only he ascended into heaven in the sight of his disciples ;
not the Fath(u-, nor the Holy Ghost.
Some searching wits (h^nand, whether Christ could not
deliver Ui^, but by assum])ting our nature, by sufleriiig most
cruel torments. He could, but he would not. lie took our ^^q,yi,pto(,ij
nature, because he came to deliver our nature. That neither ""'"""*""'•
kind should think they are despised, he becanie man, and was
154 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [
cn.
born of a woman ; that the serpent, whicli seduced both man
To deliver jind woman, might be ovei'como through both. Moreover he
For ex- camc, not only to deHver us, but also to bo an example of
good living. We bo desirous of riches, he preferred poverty ;
we hunt for promotion, he would not be a king; we are careful
to make heirs, to leave many children after us, he despised such
fashion; we disdain to suffer wrong, he suffered all wrong;
we cannot abide to be reviled, he held his tongue ; we hate
our enemies, we are unpainful in doing our duties, he was
scourged and whipped of his omti will for us ; we be sore
To heal us. afraid of death, he died for us. He was sent also to heal
our infirmities by well-doing, which came through sin. How
can our covetousness be healed, but by his poverty ? How
can our furiousness be cured, but by his patience I How
can our unkindness be recompensed, but by his love ? How
can our timorousness be boldened, but by his resurrection l
Further, how could he more set forth his exceeding love
John xv. toward us, than in dying for us ? " A greater love than
this hath no man, than to bestow his life," saith Christ,
speaking of his own death. The Deity suffereth no infir-
mity, which is impossible. Wherefore it was necessary
that he should take our nature upon him, who came to heal
our infirmities, and to teach us to cure them through well-
doing. If he had taken them in any other nature, then we
might think that he despised our nature, that he loved us
not, that the example of his life belongeth nothing unto us.
For if he had been tempted in another nature, or died,
how could we learn to withstand the devil, to overcome
temptations, to despise death, of him^ Wherefore, there
wisd. viii. was no way like this to redeem man. He is wisdom ;
wherefore he took the most wisest wav.
XXVI.] OR I/Ayman's book. 155
THE TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER.
The Holy Comforter is unconfounded : how, and why, ho, descended in the
likeness of a dove, rather than of ami other bird. .
Now that I have proved Christ to be unconfounded,
mine order requireth to fortify the same thing of the most
glorious and lioly Comforter : the which is done partly
already ; for in that we have proved that Christ is not the
Holy Ghost, the blessed and almighty Comforter is un-
confounded with him. He is unconfounded also with the Fa- Joim xiv.
ther, in that he proceedeth of the Father, in that he leadeth
Christ into the wilderness, in that he is sent of the Father ; ^i^"- "•
as Christ saith, " When the Comforter shall come, whom
the Father shall send in my name ;" and in that he is sent
of Christ also, as it is written, " When the Comforter shall
come, whom I will send in my Father's name."" For Christ
sendcth him ; the Father sendeth both him and the al-
mighty Comforter : but he himself is unsent. That he sent
Christ, the apostle testifieth: "When the time was full come, cai. iv.
God sent his Son, born of a woman, and made bond to the
law ;" the which must be understand of the Father, because
he saith, "God sent his Son." Wherefore Christ himself saith: Jo''" ^'^'^•
"I went out from the Father, and came into the world." His
sending, and his coming, is his incarnation; as I have proved
before. So the almighty Comforter is said to be sent, be-
cause he appeared in visible forms ; as in the likeness of a
dove, and of fire : not that ho became a dovo and fire,
as Christ became very man ; but that it pleased him to
work his graces and benefits by a dove and fire ; that our win- tho
1 _A • 1 i 1 1- !-• J 1 1- Holy Ghost
hearts might bencvo his presetice, and know his power, apinarni.
through those outward and sensible apparitions. He be-
came not a dove, as Christ became man ; forasmuch as ho
came not to deliver doves, as Christ came to deliver man.
God the Father, because he never shewed himself" in any
visible shape, ne yet took any nature upon him, therefore
lie is said to bo unsent. " The Lord," saith INIoscs, " spake r>f""t- 'v.
Q' Shewed himself, 1550; came to shew himself, 15()0.J
lof) IIIK l.MAGK or (100.
rn.
unto you out of tho fire in Horcb ; and you heard his
voice, hut ye saw no image." Wherefore he is neither
the Son, nor tho Holy Ghost ; which both were sent, and
both appeared in many visible forms. For we read, I say,
Matt. iii. of the Holy Ghost, that he appeared sicut columba, " in the
likeness of a dove."
Why doth he appear in the likeness of a dove? This
notable apparition was done for many causes. One is, that
we should believe the Holy Ghost to be a worker in baptism,
to wash us, to purify us, to regenerate us, to make us God's
children and heirs of salvation: and therefore the disciples
are commanded to chri^en in his name, as in the name of
Matt, xxviii. the Father and the Son ; for all be notified here in Christ's
baptizing. Pater in voce, Films in homine, Spiritus Sanctus
in columha, " The Father is notified in the voice which
soundeth, the Son in man's nature, the almighty Comforter
in the dove." For as all three be present here, so they do
work inseparably in every man's christening. The next cause
is, forasmuch as a dove of all creatures is most innocent,
and noyeth no beast, not the little worm ; most chaste, for
they never break wedlock once begun, but keep it undefiled
to the end of their lives, (for if so be the male or female,
through unchaste love, haunt the company of any other,
then they flock and gather together, and rend the ad-
vouterer and advoutress in pieces;) void of anger, for they
have no gall ; lovers of amity and friendship.
And this apparition was shadowed and figured by the
Gen. viii. dove, wliicli Noc Sent out of the ark in the time of the general
flood. For as that dove returned in the eventide with a leaf
of an olive tree in her mouth, signifying peace ; so the Holy
Ghost giveth peace, causetli all friendship, engendereth all
love. And why ? Verily, as he is an ineffable communion of
the Father and the Son; as ho joineth and knitteth them to-
gether, with a fast, sure, and unlooseablc knot ; so he glueth
and couplcth our hearts ; upon which consideration he pro-
perly is called charity, or love. As the dove also mourneth
in his hnx', so the Holy Ghost maketh us to bewail our sins
Rom. viii. and lament our misdeeds ; as it is written, " The Spirit
helpeth our infirmities ; for we know not what to desire as
we ought ; but the Spirit maketh intercession mightily for
us with groanings which cannot be expressed." The Holy
XXVI.]
OR LAYMAN S HOOK.
157
Ghost doth not groan ; but is said to groan, as we call a
merry day which maketh us merry, and a sad day which
causeth sadness ; and as cold is called picfrim, because it
maketh us slow. But, " blessed be they that mourn," like Matt. v.
the dove, and in the love of God, "for they shall be con>
forted." Such as groan for poverty, and are chsmayed, dis-
couraged, and mated, through imprisonment or any kind of
persecution, be ravens, not doves; be weathercocks and
worldlino-s. For the raven returned not again to the ark,
which is the church. The dove maketh his nest in some
hollow and high rock ; so let us set our minds and desires
upon the rock, which is Christ. The dove cherisheth the
young of other as well as her own ; the which is a lesson
unto us to love our neighbours. The dove also will not eat
of all manner of grain, but chooseth out the most fine and
pure; teaching such as hunger and long for the truth, to
feed of God's word, and to beware they fall not upon every
carrion. The dove with all diligence and kindness cherisheth
his mate, when she hath young ones. Wherefore the all-
kno^\ing Comforter appeareth like a dove who commandeth
his to be doves: that is to say, chaste, patient, kind,
mourners for their sins, faithful and diligent to their wives,
earnest believers in the rock, readers of God's word, and
lovers of all men. This is the innocency which Christ, in-
spired with the dove, commandeth, saying: "Be ye wise as Matt. x.
serpents, and innocent like doves."
The almighty and all-knowing Comforter is uncon-
founded also with the Father, in that Christ was conceived
of him, not of the Father; of whom Esay prophesieth,
" There shall come a rod forth of the root of Jesse, and a isai. xi.
blossom or flower shall rise out of the root." The root
of Jesse is the kindred of the Jews, the rod is the blessed
vh'gin Mar}', the blossom or flower of Mary is Christ ; as
he witnesseth of himself. Ego fos campi, et lilium conral- ^^'''"*- "•
Hum, &c. " I am the flower of the held, the lily of the J^7,c>'^'//
valleys, and the rose among thorns." The rose, plucked "»• '' 'osf.
and taken out of the garden, loscth not his smell ; and
stilled with the fire, smelleth sweeter than ever it did.
pouring forth an odoriferous water no less whoh'some for
many things than pleasant. Even so Christ, being taken
out of the jiarden of this world, flourished more tliMii all
158 THE IMAGE OF GOD, fcH.
the flowers therein ; grew in a further authority than all
the holy patriarchs and prophets ; cast an odoriferous sa-
john xii. vour ovcr all the world, which drew all men to him ; and,
being digged in the side with a spear of the cruel Jews,
which are the thorns, poured forth a water healing all in-
firmities. This blossom or flower was conceived of the holy
Comforter, not of the Father. Moreover the almighty
Comforter is the gift of God ; for the Lord saith unto
Num. xi. JMoses, " I wiU take the Spirit which is upon thee, and give
Uoiii. viii. it them :" and Christ also ; as it is written : " Who spared
not his own Son, but gave him for us all, how shall he not
with him give us all things V Wherefore the Father, Christ,
and the Holy Ghost, be distinct and sundry persons.
The Comforter is unconfounded also, in that he was
Gen.i. bome upon the waters, in that he commandeth Philip the
Acts viii. evangelist to join himself to the chariot of the eunuch ^ ;
Acts X. in that he commandeth Peter to arise and go with Cornelius"*
servants ; in that he commandeth to separate Paul and Bar-
nabas ; in that he is the finger of God ; in that Christ,
joiiii XX. breathing on his disciples, gave him, saying, " Receive the
Holy Ghost."" He also descendeth upon the disciples in
likeness of fire, teaching them to speak all languages, because
the gospel should be preached to all nations. And David
Psai. xix. recordeth: "There is neither speech ne language, but their
voices are heard among them. Their sound is gone out
into all lands, and their words to the end of the world."'"'
The Roman dominion hath reached far, but the preaching of
the sweet tidings of the gospel shall go further. For those
nations which the sharpness of sword could not overcome,
shall be vanquished by him that fighteth not with sword,
r ff but with wood and word. Christ gave not the Father by
/" breathing ; he descended not in the likeness of a dove or
fire ; he commandeth not Peter to go with Cornelius' ser-
vants ; he was not borne upon the waters ; he is not his
own finger ; wherefore he is not the Holy Ghost.
But albeit neither Christ nor the almighty Comforter be
confounded with the Father, yet they are of one and the
selfsame substance with him. For the scriptures teach
Christ to be the hand of God, and the Holy Ghost to be his
[^ This word is substituted for a synonymous expression, as in a
former instance, p. 13G.]]
XXVI.] OR layman''s book. 159
finger. The body, the hand, and finger are one substance ;
and yet the finger is not the hand, nor the hand the body,
nor the finger the body. If therefore the scripture do
grant to Christ, to the Holy Ghost, to the Father, the
meaning of the word 'person;' that is to say, that the Father
is a substance, Christ is a substance, the Holy Ghost is a
substance; and that the Father is unconfounded, Christ
unconfounded, the Holy Ghost unconfounded, as I have
proved ; it must needs follow that they be three persons ;
for a person is an unconfounded substance. This is the
catholic faith ; the confession of martyrs ; the doctrine of
the prophets, apostles and evangelists.
THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER.
Corporal similitudes of God made in the scriptures : why he is named light,
fire, the sun, S^t. : the image of God in man's soul.
Now, gentle reader, seeing I have declared what a
person is, out of the book of holy scriptures ; and also
proved, with infinite authorities, that there be three per-
sons, that is, three unconfounded and distinct in property;
I will disclose the divine and blessed nature of the al-
mighty Trinity by corporal and earthly similitudes; that
thou mayest behold, as it were in a glass and with a pair
of spectacles, those things which exceed and surmount the
capacities of all creatures. '* The invisible things of God," «<>'"• '■
saith Paul, "that is, the eternal power and godiicad, are
understand, seen, and learned of his works, from the creation
of the world." As lonji as we continue in this tabernacle
and mortality, wo shall never have perfect understanding of
the eternal God ; forasnmch as the hearts of all men and
women be unclean. " Blessed be the clean-hearted," saith *'«"• ^'•
Christ, "for they shall sec God." Our life is a warfare,
a niglit, and a purifying of our hearts from sin and igno-
160 TIIK IMAGK OF GOD, [OH.
2 Cor. V. ranee through charity and faith. " We walk in faith," saith
the apostle, " and see not." With this only ladder we
ascend to the intelligence of the secrets of God. Things
supernatural cannot be perceived with natural light. Che-
rubin and seraphin, and all the blessed comjmny of angels,
Matt. xxiv. are ignorant of the majesty of God ; for they know not the
day of Christ's glorious return : and yet they have more
plentiful knowledge than we ; forasmuch as they be pure
minds, and were never neither blinded through sin, ne hin-
dered through any earthly mansion and corruptible body.
Prov. .\xv. Scrutator majestatis opprimetiir a ffloria : " Whosoever is an
enseareher of God's majesty is oppressed of the glory." No
man is able fully and perfectly to know the nature of a
gnat, or a little spider. Be not displeased then, if I shew
thee the Trinity in his visible creatures, as it were in a
glass ; but glorify God and be not unthankful to him, which
hath opened himself in them to thy capacity, feeding thee
with milk because thou art not able to digest strong meats.
And because no man shall be offended with this manner
of teaching, I will make no similitudes of the Trinity but
out of the plentiful storehouses of the scriptures.
The best and most lively glass that ever I beheld the
Abraham'.s Trinity in, is the vision which appeared to Abraham in the
Gen. xviii. oak-grove of JSlamre. For as there three wayfaring men
shew themselves unto Abraham, so God is three persons : and
as these three men are called one Lord, not Lords, so the
three persons are one God, one Lord, one substance. And as
Christ and the almighty Comforter are sent of the Father,
so here one sendeth twain unto Sodom and Gomorre; and
as the Father is unsent, so he is not sent, but sendeth.
Gen. xix. And as the twain which are sent to destroy Sodom are
called one Lord of Lot, so the faithful congregation con-
fess and believe Christ and the all-knowing Comforter to be
one God. I touched this similitude before ; and because
it is so notable, 1 thought it not unworthy to be rehearsed
again.
There be many similitudes declaring certain properties
of the Trinity, and some agreeable in one point and some
in another ; but none doth so paint and pourtray it before
our eyes, as this vision doth. Wo may find an image of
the Trinitv in the sun; for God is called by the name of
XXVI!,] OR LAYiMAN^* BOOK. 161
the sun in the book of Wisdom: Sol just itico ct mtelligentue^\''\s.A.\.
non est ortiis iiohis. "The sun of righteousness and under- How God is
„ ° . , named the
standinor arose not upon us. ihere is but one sun only, sun of un-
not many ; so there is but one God. The sun shineth ing.
upon both good and evil men ; so the HberaHty of Almighty
God maintaineth both. The moon and all the stars have
not their light of themselves, but of the sun ; so the con-
gregation and godly men, which are called by the name
of the moon and stars in the scriptures, have no light,
no crumb of virtue, no goodness of themselves, but by
participation of the divine nature. They which gaze upon
the sun are blinded with his clear light ; so all searchers
of God's glory beyond the scriptures are overwhelmed with
the majesty thereof. The presence of the sun cheereth all
things ; when he is absent, night cometh and darkness ;
and nothino; would grow if he did not rise on them : so
when God hideth his face, they are sorrowful, and die ; Psai. civ.
when he looketh on them, they wax young and lusty like
an eade. And as Democritus and other philosophers hold Democritus.
,,:.,.„. [Cicero De
opinion that the sun is infinite, so all thmgs be infinite rjnibus, i.
in God. He is of an infinite arm, of infinite majesty, of
infinite wisdom. As the sun is the fountain out of which
cometh both the light and the heat; so is the Father the
fountain, out of which issueth the Son and Holy Ghost.
And as neither the light nor the heat doth send the sun,
but the sun send them ; so the Father is sent neither of
Christ nor of the Holy Ghost, but he sendeth them. And
as of the sun and of the beams, both together, cometh the
lieat or warmness ; so from the Father and the Son, both
together, proceedeth the all-knowing Comforter. But as
the sun-light, by division, is in many places, so the blessed
Trinity filleth all places without division ; neither contained
in place, neither moved in time. Now, if the sun were
without beginning and ending, eternal beams would come
out of him, and everlasting heat would proceed out of the
sun and his beams. Wherefore inasmuch as God the Father
is immortal, Christ his Son also must needs be immortal,
forasmuch as the Father is likened to the sun, and Christ
to the clear and bright beams ; for he is " the brightness wisd. vii.
of the evci-Jasting light.'''
I would know of the Paulians and Arians, whether the
11
[nUTCIlINSON.]
162 THE l.MAGK 01 (.iOl), [cil.
Father in time began to bo a Father, or was a Father
everraorc without time. If they grant that he was a Father
ever, the which they cannot deny, then it must needs follow
that the Son was evermore. For he was not a Father
before he had a Son, but he was called a Father of the
Son ; and he that is always a Father, hath evermore and
always a Son. If Christ was not evermore, then time was
before him ; and then the apostle lieth, calling him Primo-
^°^- '• f/eniturn omnis creaturw, " first begotten of all creatures ;"
for time is a creature and was before him. But time was
Joiiiii. made by Christ; for "all things were made by him," as the
beloved disciple witnesseth. If he were the maker of time,
then he was before all time ; and that which was before
all time is not moved in time, but is without time, with-
out beginning, and immortal. Wherefore Christ is immor-
tal, and then he is God ; for only God is immortal after
this sort. Likewise the all-knowing Comforter was ever-
more, who is compared to the heat ; for an everlasting
heat must needs proceed out of an everlasting sun and
everlasting beams. He is digitus JDei^ " the finger of God."
Matt. XII. vvhere Luke saith, " In the finger of God," it is in jNIatthew,
" I cast out devils in the Spirit of God." Then either we
must confess him to be without beginning, and of the sub-
stance of God ; or else grant that God once lacked a finger,
and deny the same to be of the substance of the body,
er. .v\xii. j^-jjg reason may be made of Christ, who is the hand and
the arm of God ; for God was never without his finger, hand,
ne arm ; and then all three be of the same nature with
the body. And forsomuch as God's finger is almighty,
and his hand and arm likewise, both Christ is almighty,
and the blessed Comforter also ; and Christ is God by
nature, and the holy Comforter also. For nothing is al-
mighty and of the nature of God, but God only.
But the Arians reply, that the Father is elder than the
An objection Son, and that he which begetteth is before him that is
answered. ' o _
begotten : Ego hodie genui te ; " This day begat I thee."
This is true in fathers upon earth, but not in an everlasting
Father, who must needs have an everlasting Son. Neither
[^ This reference is introduced into tlic text as well as inserted in the
margin of the edition of 1550.]]
XXVll.] OH LAYMAx'iS BOOK. 1 6S
(loth this reason hold in all earthly things : for fire gendereth
light, and heat proceedeth from it ; and yet the fire gen-
dering, and light gendered, and heat proceeding, be coceva,
not one before the other. Therefore it is against reason,
that the Father begetting, and Christ begotten, and the
Holy Ghost proceeding, shonld bo co-eterne, co-immortal,
and not one before the other in time, but each one of
them before all time.
And well may the Trinity be likened to fire, and his
heat, and light ; for God in the scripture is called fire :
Bominus Dens fims ipnis consumens est ; " The Lord thy ^°^^^"°^^
God," saith Moses, " is a consuming fire." And John ^I'^^j- j^.
calleth him alsoi ' light,"' saying, Deus lux est ; " God is ^ •'"''" '•
light, and in him is no darkness at all." And Christ wit-
nesseth of himself that he is light, saying, " I am the Joi>nviii.
light of the world ;" who is lumen de Iwinine, " light of
light." For as the fire ministereth light to a multitude,
and yet is not minished or consumed thereby, so God bc-
stoweth innumerable benefits upon us, and yet his liberality
is not hindered therewith. Likewise also in a candle, of
which many other candles be light, the light is not thereby
in any wise diminished or hurt at all. One supper doth
not refresh, or suffice, many as well as few ; but the voice of
one preacher teacheth as well a hundred as one. The sound
of one bell is never the less when it is hoard of many.
Even so he who preserved the small portion of meal and oil i^'"?*''^'"'
for the widow and her son, that was not diminished, who
with a very few loaves and a"certain fishes refreshed a ffreat ^latt, xiv.
multitude, so that those things were not dnnmished but Luke ix.
increased, knoweth how to employ his benefits without any
loss or detriment to his liberality. Moreover, as fire sendetli
forth both heat and light, but neither heat ne light sendeth
fire; so the Father sendeth both Christ and the all-know-
ing Comforter, and ho is unsent. And as both the light
and the heat are of the fire, so Christ and the Holy Ghost
both are of the l^^athcr, the one begotten, the other pro-
ceeding ; and the Father only is of himself, and of no
other. And as firo is not before heat and light, no more is
the Father before the Son and the Holy Ghost. But in
that place which T rehearsed out of Deuteronomy, God isDcut. iv.
called fire, because ho melteth the sins of those that will
164 THE IMAGE OK GOD, [CH.
uniend, as the firo mclteth wax, and punisheth the sin.s of
iJohiii. disobedient persons with unquenchable lire: and John calleth
him hght for the same cause ; for hght putteth away dark-
ness, and is contrary to it. For these properties, and divers
other, the scriptures call God the sun of righteousness, fire,
and light.
If we ponder them diligently, we shall find also the
image of the blessed Trinity in ourselves, in our own na-
^^"' '■ tures. For it is written : " God made man after his
image, after the image of God formed he him." This image
is in our souls, not in our bodies : as ] have proved in
^eeGod'in. "^Y Confutation of the Anthropomorphites, or humanifor-
mians. Man's soul is a lively image of God. The soul is
a spirit ; Almighty God is a spirit : the soul quickcneth
and ruleth the body ; the Trinity governeth the marvellous
frame of this world. Reason, will, and memory, are three,
but one and the same soul. !So the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, are three, distinct in property, and one God.
Whatsoever thing the soul doth, these three be the workers
thereof. Reason cannot discern good and evil, truth, false-
hood, plainness and craft, proof and sophistication, without
either will or memory. Neither will chooseth what him
liketh, without the other ; nor memory remembereth not
things gone, without reason and will. These actions and
works, which are said properly to belong only to memory,
and only to reason and will, in very deed are done by the
of the*th*rec workmausliip of all three. So the Father, the Son, and
nfseBara^^ the Holy Ghost, work all things inseparably ; not that each
^'^- of them is unable to work by himself, but that they all
three are one God, one spirit, one nature ; as reason, will,
memory, are one soul. The Son worketh always with the
•'°''"'* Father; for " whatsoever the Father doth, that doth the Son
also :" and Christ recordeth, that as his Father worketh
hitherto, so he worketh. The almighty Comforter cannot
wisd. I. jjg absent from their works; for he is the Spirit of them
both, and filleth the round compass of the world.
If I would gather all the works of each person into an
induction, I could manifestly prove this to the capacity of
all men ; but it is too long to speak of all ' their works. I
will speak of the creation of the world, of Christ's incar-
[' Of all their, 1550; of tlicir, 15G0.]
XXV
II.]| OR LAYMAX's BOOK. 1 6i
nation, of his miracles and resurrection ; proving all these
to have been done by the workmanship of the three per-
sons. For if the Trinity did work inseparably in these,
no doubt it hath done likewise in all other.
First, touching the creation of the world, no man dis-
trusteth the Fathers working, of whom that is supposed
to be spoken, " In the beginning God created heaven and
earth." If thou doubt of Christ and the holy Comforter,
hearken what the prophet David saith : " By the word of
the Lord were the heavens made, and by the word of his
mouth the glorious fairness of tliem." Wherefore heaven
and earth be the workmanship of the three persons.
Was Christ conceived in the womb of Mary by the
workmanship of the holy Comforter, and is he not ^laker
of the world ? If the three persons work evermore with- ^n^^'^^rea"^"
out separation, why doth the scripture grant certain works
to one person, and certain to another ; Truly, to teach
us that there be three persons ; that there be three dis-
tinct, three unconfounded. Only the person of the Father
soundeth the voice in Christ's baptism ; only the Holy
Ghost appeareth like a tlove ; and only Christ is incar-
nate. Notwithstanding, both the flesh of Christ, and the
voice of the Father, and the apparition of the all-knowing
Comforter, be the workmanship of the whole Trinity. I
mean not that Christ and the Holy Ghost sounded the
voice, but that they were workers of the voice ; the Father
only sounded it, not Christ, not the Holy Ghost. For they
be distinct and unconfoimded. They be three, not all one ;
three persons, not three names. So the Holy Ghost only
shewed himself in the shape of a dove ; not the Father,
not Christ. Nevertheless the dove in which he appeared,
was the workmanship of all three. So neither the Father,
nc yet the blessed Comforter, were incarnate, but Christ
only. Nevertheless the flesh and nature of Christ was the
workmanship of the whole Trinity, whose works be inse-
parable. This may be gathered of the words of tlu^ angel
to Mary : iSjii.rit^t.'f sonefiis fiujterreiiief in te, et rirtus Al/ix-
shiil obuinhmbit tibl, "'The Holy Ghost," saith Gabriel, Luke i.
'• shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee." By the Highest, th«' Father is to be
understand: by these words, r!rfii.< Ahiti.<ihii, "the virtue
KIG THR IMAflK OF GOD. [cH.
or power of the Highest," the Son. For so Paul' ealletli
1 Cor. i. hiiu to the Corinthians, saying : " We preach Christ cru-
cified; unto the Jews an occasion of faUing, to the Greeks
fooHshness ; Ijut unto them w'hich are called, both of the
Jews and Greeks, we preach Christ, the power and wis-
dom of God." The word tirtus is translated in English,
' virtue,' or ' power.' The Greek word is jDunamis, botJi
in Paul and in the answer of the angel. Peradventure
some man will deny that the Father is meant by the word
Altissimus. Therefore I will fortify his operation with an-
other reason. Christ's incarnation is his sending ; as I have
proved before. For who is sent thither where he is already ?
But he is eveiy where, touching his divinity. Wherefore he
is sent thither where he was not, by appearing in his human-
ity. And it is plain that the Father sent him. Wherefore
the incarnation of Christ is the workmanship of the holy,
glorious Trinity.
The scripture telleth, that our Saviour Christ also by
his word and commandment did cast out many devils.
But the same witnesseth, that the Father and the Holy
Ghost did work with him ; lest thou shouldst tliink the
works of the Trinity to be separable. For of his Father
Johnxiv. he himself saith : "The Father that dwelleth in me, is he
which doth the works." And of the all-doing Comforter
Matt. xii. also : " I cast out de\'ils in the Spirit" of God." Like proof
may be brought of all his other miracles.
So only Christ arose from death to life ; and yet the
holy Trinity raised him. For of the Father it is written,
1 Pet. i. " Who raised Christ from death :" and of himself he testi-
john ii. fieth, saying to the Jews asking a token, " Destroy this
temple, and in three days I shall *raise it up again :" and
Rom. viii. that the Holy Ghost raised him, Paul is record and witness,
saying, "Wherefore, if the Spirit of him which raised up
johhvi. Jesu from death dwell in you;" and John also, "the Spirit
quickeneth." For it is not to be taken only of the quicken-
ing of our souls, but of our bodies also : neither is it unlike,
that the holy Comforter did raise him whom he formed in
the virgin's womb. Like proof might be made of all the
[' Paul, 1550; St Paul, 1560.]
P Spirit, 1550; scripture, 1500.]
xwii.] OR layman's book, 167
peculiar works of the all-working Comforter and of the
Father. Wherefore their works be no more separable than
the works of reason, will, and memory : namely, seeing they
be one God, as the other three be one soul.
THE TWENTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER.
How tliere is hxtt one God only : the divinity of Christ, and the all-doing
Comforter, no^dthstanding this unity.
Now I have almost declared all the contents of this trea-
tise : that is, what God is ; wliafc a" person signifieth ; and
that there be three persons in the glorious Trinity. For the
proof of my last matter and content, I will first teach with
evident scriptures, that there is but one only God, and then
with reasons, not of philosophy, but gathered out of them ;
for " the scripture is profitable to teach, to control, and to 2 Tim. in.
instruct." Then I will prove, that the same scripture
granteth all and every one of the parts of the definition made
of God to our Saviour Christ : and that done, I will fortify
also, that all the parts of the same definition are granted to
the all-knowing and almighty Comforter. The christian
congregation believeth the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost to be one God ; not by nuncupation only, but by unity
of nature. For if the nmltitudc of them that believed were
cor umuih et anima ima, " one heart and one soul ;" if " ho
which is joined unto the Lord is one spirit ;" if man and wife -^•^''* '^■•
be " one flesh,''' one body, as the apostle witnesseth ; if all 1 cor. vi.
men bo one substance, touching their nature ; if the scrip-
tures testify that in human things many be one ; how nuich
more are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost one God,
which diff(M" not in nature* and substance ! For it is written,
'' There are three which bear record in heaven ; the Father, 1 Joii" v.
[.■' What a person, h'>'>0: what ik'tsou, LIOO.")
y . ^ ■ / , a/ . tX
r/. Y
1- / 1
- /
/c^.
1 G8 THR IMAGE OF GOD, [ciI.
the Word, and the Holy Crhost ; and these three are one."
The unity of their nature proveth them not to be three
gods, but one God.
Arians' in- The damnable sect of the Arians expoundeth this text,
terpretation ^ I '
confuted. Jii tres luium sunt, " these three are one," that they be one in
will, in assent, and consent, and not in their substance, na-
ture, and divinity. To which I make answer, that in all the
scripture they cannot find unum sunt spoken of things which
differ in substance and nature. Wherefore, spoken of the
three persons, they prove them to have no diversity in their
nature. And if that be true, they must grant of necessity
1 Cor. iii. that they be one God by nature. St Paul saith, that " he
that planteth, and he that watereth, ^mum sunt, are one."
Are they of diverse substance and nature I No, verily ; for
both of them were men. He speaketh these words of him-
self and of Apollo (for the congregation rejoiced in them) ;
forbidding the Corinthians to rejoice in men, and teaching
them to rejoice in God only. Wherefore these words, umi7n
sunt, in this place are not spoken of things which differ in
substance. Let us ponder other texts. The same Paul unto
Gal. iii. the Galatians saith : "All you unum estis hi Christo Jesu, are
one in Christ Jesu." He speaketh this of the Galatians,
which all were of one nature, of one lump and substance.
For they all were men, of men. Here thou seest also,
reader, that these words, vnum sunt, are not sjtoken of things
which differ in substance.
But the Arians reply, that the apostle witnesseth, that
icor. vi. 'ijie which is joined unto the Lord is one spirit;" and yet
he is not of the same substance that the body is. The
Latin there is not umtm sunt, "are one," of which I do
ans"wired."" spcak, but cjui aclhwret Domino unus splritus est, " he that
is joined to the Lord is unus spii-ittts, one spirit." For
unus, joined with another word, as with spiritus, may be
spoken of things which are of discrepant nature, as it is here :
but imuni sunt is never so spoken. Search all the bible
throughout, and thou shalt find this to be true. I grant
that the words unum sunt be s])okon often of assent in will ;
but only in those things which differ not in nature and
substance. And truly the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, imuiu sunt voluntate, are one in will and assent ; but
also of one substance, nature, and divinity ; forasnuich as
XXVIII.] OR layman's book. 169
nmim sunt, " ave one," is never spoken of things which differ
in substance.
The Arians reply further, that Christ prayed for his o\"ecuo'n
elect, lit sint umtm, "that they may become one, as he and ""^wered.
his Father were one." He doth not pray that they, and he,
and the Father may be one ; but that they be one, as he and
his Father be one, both in nature and will ; as it followeth in
the same text, Ut omnes tinum sint, sicut tu Pater in me, et ecio
in te, [«?*] et ipsi in nobis uniim sint, " That they all may be john xvii.
one, as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that tliey also
may be one in us." For mortal men cannot be of the same
substance that God is. They may be one in God, but not
with God. They may be one, as the Father and Christ
be, but not of their nature : that is, as the' three per-
sons of the glorious Trinity are one in will and assent, and
substance also, so the chosen after this life, as they are now
of one substance, so shall they be then also ; not with God,
but in God; of one assent, consent, and will, and not scparing
one with another, for they "■shall be all one in Jesus Christ," Coi. iii.
and '• Christ shall be all things in all," and God shall be all i cor. xv.
things in all : which proveth Christ God. Unum sunt is
spoken here of the elect, which differ not in substance, for
they be men. Therefore the Father, the Son, and the Holv
Ghost, are of one substance and divinity.
And if they be of one substance and divinity, thev are not
three gods, but one Govl; as it is written, " Hearken, Israel, Deut. vi.
the Lord thy God is one God." He saith unto Israel by
Moses, " AVhere are their gods wherein they trusted, tlie ftit ueut. xxxii.
of whose sacrifices they eat, and drank the wine of their
vessels? Let them arise up and help you, and be your shield.
See now how I am alone, and that there is no God but I.
I can kill, and make alive; and what I have smitten, that can
I heal. I will lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live ever."
If tlierc be many gods, their kingdom is dividcnl : but the
kingdom of (Jod is everlasting; wherefore it is not divided,
for every kingdom divided shall be destroyed. The Hebri'w Matt. xii.
word for (iod is Elohim, which is not of the singular num- Kioiiim.
ber, but of the plural ; for there b(! three persons: but it
is alway joined with a vt'ib singular, lest that we sliould
think there were ni;lny gods. Moses useth this word lor the
[' I.s, as the, I5.7O; is, the, I.IOO.]
■/
]/"() TFIE IMAGIC OF GOD, [cM.
English, which is 'God,' when he saith, '' In the beginning
(jiod created heaven and earth :" wherefore wo may learn,
that the world is the workmanship of the holy Trinity.
This word is used commonly for God, to signify, that what-
soever is done is the work of the three persons ; for as they
be not separable, so they work inseparably.
Tiie heathen TIio heathen supi)osed there were many gods, because it
opinion con- , . , ./ o '
fiitecj. seemed to them nnpossible for one to rule and govern all
things : yet they divided the governance thereof between
three ; giving heaven and earth to Jupiter, the seas to Nep-
tune, the low parts and hell to Pluto. But the scriptures,
which is truth and cannot lie, testifieth that the three persons,
without division, without labour or pain, without time, govern
all things ; for their works be inseparable. If so be there
be many gods, then is there somewhat wherein one of them
doth differ from another. Now, if that be any good thing,
he is no God that lacketh or wantetli any thing that good is.
For as he that nameth a king doth in this one \vord com-
prehend many excellent things, so he that nameth God doth
comprehend in this word an infinite sum of all good things.
AVe read of a certain ruler which called Christ " Good mas-
ter," asking him, what he should do to get and achieve eternal
Lukexviii. life: whom Christ rebuked, saying, "Why callest thou me
good ? none is good but God only." If God only be good,
then all goodness is in him : as I have proved in my first
matter. He is life, is truth, he is light, he is strength, he is
health, he is Orjaavpos dyaOwv, that is, " a treasure and
heap of all goodness." And if that thing wherein they differ
be an evil thing, that cannot be God that hath any evil thing
in him: for he willeth no wickedness. The heathen, which
worship many gods, did and do think no evil to come by
them, by the light which they had of nature ; and judged
them to revenge and punish all that they took to be sin.
Now, if God be a righteous punisher of vice, he must be void
of the same. Wherefore natural reason teacheth, that there
is but one God. Doth not the noble and worthy philosopher,
Aristotle. Aristotle, teach us this, proving that there is but nnum pri-
mmii mobile, ' one first mover,'' who moveth all the heavenly
spheres 1
vifmichJ-'^ The Manichees make two . gods, which they call duo
ans. principici contmria, ' two principles one contrary to another.'
xxvirr.] OR layman's rook. 171
For they say, that one is an evil God, maker of visible things;
the other a good God, maker of invisible things. And
they say also, that both of them be unbegotten, uncreate,
and of themselves. Then are they immortal. But if they
be immortal, there is no God that " only hath immortality,"
and Paul lieth, who saith that God, not gods, hath immor- iTim.vi.
tality. And all the prophets, evangelists, and apostles be
liars ; teaching with one assent, that God only forgiveth
sin, that God only knoweth all things. For if there be two
gods, both of them must have these properties. If either of
them know not all things, then is he ignorant, and then no
God. If both know all things, then is there no God which
only knoweth all things. Both also must forgive sin ; the
good, because he is merciful ; the evil, because he is the cause
of all sin : and then is there no God which only pardoneth
sin. Moreover, if both the ISIanichees' gods be immortal, if
both pardon sin, if both know all science, they be not con-
trary : for knowledge is not contrary to knowledge, but
ignorance ; and unmercifulness is contrary to mercy and
forgiving ; and death to immortality. Wherefore there be
not two contrary principles, but one principle and one God.
The christian congregation confesseth that the Father is
principium^ ' a principle"", or ' beginning' ; for so the beloved
disciple calleth him, saying, In prindpio erat Ferbum, " In Ji'i'" ••
the beginning was the Word," in the Father was Christ.
They acknowledge Christ also to be priiicipium ; who an-
swereth the cruel Jews demanding who he was, saying,
" The beginning which spake unto you." But the Father Joim viii.
is principhim non de principlo ; Christ is principium de p>vin-
cipio. Tlipy confess the almighty Comforter also to be
principium^ forasmuch as he, with the Father and the Son,
made all things, and governeth them ; as I have proved before.
Notwithstanding there be not three beginnings, but one be-
ginning only ; as there be not three gods, but one God.
The ])apists also bring in many gods, but covertly and Asrninst
privily. They teach the people to pray imto saints : to siliits."
St liuko for the ox, to Job for the pox, to Rocko for the -^ '^a-'
pestilence', to Sith for things lost, to Christopher for con-
( ' 'J'lii; (loldcu Legend ubouiuls with conlirmations t)f tliis passage.
It informs us, that after the decease of Saint lloeke, a "table d.vvynely
wrvtcn witli ]<-t(rrs of n^oMc," was foiiiKl under liis head, wliicli tal>1e was
172
TIIR IMAGE OF COD,
[c
The first
reason.
tinual health, to tlio queen of heaven for women with child,
to Clement for good beer : yea, they entice the people also
to worship and honour their images. If they be to be
prayed unto for these things, they be gods ; for in pray-
ing unto them, we acknowledge them to hear us, to be
almighty, to be every where, to know the thoughts of all
men, to be a strong castle unto such as fly unto them :
but these things belong only to God, as I have proved be-
fore. Wherefore they make them gods.
O crafty devil! O subtle pajjists! The Jews are reproved,
by the voice of the prophets, for making many gods, in that
they prayed unto Baal, Astaroth, Moloch, and the queen
of heaven, for aid and succour. Why do we not ask all
good things of him which is the author and giver of all
good things both to his enemies and friends, both to the
isai. 1. anil heathen and to the congregation ? Is his hand smitten off,
that it cannot help l Have we perceived at any time cru-
delity or unkindness in him ? Are his ears stopped, that
he cannot hear I or his eyes so dim that they cannot see I
Psai. xciv. He planted the ear, he made the eye ; wherefore he both
heareth most easily and seeth most perfectly. And because
he is the fountain of all mercy, he granteth our requests
most mercifully. He is not like an earthly king, who setteth
porters at his gates. He is not hard to speak with, for
he is the gate himself; as he telleth us, Bpo smn via, reritas,
et Tita, '•' I am the way, the truth, and life ;" and, Bpo
sum ostium, " I am the door."" There is but one way, one
The
second.'
John xiv.
John X.
placed there by an angel, and contained an inscription, which purported
"that God had grauntcd to him (St Rockc) his prayer, that is to w^'te,
that who that calleth to saynte Rocke mekely, he shall not be hurte with
ony hurte of pestylence:" (Golden Legend, fol. ccxv. edit. Lond. 1527.)
and also, that St Christopher obtained from God "by prayer to put
awaye sekcness and sores for them that remembrc his passj'on and
figure." (ibid. fol. clxxviii.) According to the following passage, the
merits of St Clement were considered to avail for other purposes than
the one mentioned l)y Hutchinson: "Let us devoutly praye unto this
blyssed saynt, saynt Clement, that by his merytes we may deserve to
come to the blysse of heaven." (Ibid. fol. cccxxxii. b.) "Sith" means
St Osyth, to whom the patronage of 'things lost' was assigned in con-
sequence of an incident in her life relateil in Capgrave's Novn Lrycmla
AiH/lice, fol. ccxlv. b. edit. ir)Ui.]
[' These words do not occur in the edition of ISoO.J
xxviii.] OR layman's book. 173
door ; and he that entereth in by the door findeth pasture.
He that entereth in not by the door, he is a thief, a robber.
And why ? For he robbeth God of the glory belonging only
to him, giving it to his creatures. They which fly unto
saints depart^ make many ways, many doors, and many gods.
If they are to be prayed unto, we must believe on them;
for the apostle saith, Quomodo invocahunt in qiiem non
crediderunt; " How shall they call on him, pray to him, on^'*^*'"'^-
whom they believe notr' If we must believe on them, then ^o"»-x-
let us be christened in their names. But holy baptism is
commanded not to bo ministered in their names ; but in
nomine, ' in one name\ of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost. Wherefore, as they arc not to be believed
upon, so arc they not to be called upon ; but God only,
whose highness disdaineth the fellowship of any creature.
Let us therefore pray unto him ; for he is the well of water
of life. Let us not dig vile and broken pits, which hold Jer. n.
no water. Let us take heed of the streets of Egypt, and of
the ways of Assyria. God is no wilderness to his people,
nor land without light, but a merciful and a liberal God. Psai. lix.
Such as make flesh their arm, are accursed. Let us make Jer- xvii.
Christ our arm, for he is the arm of God ; " who in all "^''- "•
things became like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and a faithful bishop in things concerning God,
to purge the people's sins." God only knoweth our need,
searcheth our thoughts and intents, granteth our desires,
blesseth and crowneth us ; and there be no mo' Gods,
no mo'* hearers, no mo'' judgers of thoughts, beside him.
He saith by his prophet : "I am the first and the last,
and beside me is there no God. Have not I the Lord done \l^{_ xiv/
it, without whom there is none other God 1 The true God
and Saviour, and there is else none but I. And there-
fore turn unto me, all ye ends of the earth, so shall ye
be saved. For I am God and there is else none."
If there be many gods, the divine power, governance,
and rule, is divided between them : and then it is not an
everlasting power, but mortal ; I'or whatsoever is divided is
mortal. But natural reason denicth Ciod to bo corruptible,
and his power to decay. AVhcreforc it protcstcth, that there
is but one diod which rulcth all. Moreover, the divine power
L" Dcpait, i.e. fk-paiteil.] L' .Mo, looO; more, loiJO.J
171 Jifi' i.MAta: Of (ioi>, [cm.
is ;i perfect power and a general authority ; for God is al-
mighty and general Governor. If there be many gods,
each of them hath a certain portion to inile. But they
which have but portions?, are no gods ; for the power of
God is a perfect powder, and a perfect power comprehendetli
all power. If there be many gods, they have several do-
minions, and every one of them lacketh so much as the
other gods have ; and so the mo gods they be in num-
ber, the less is their power and authority. As for ensamplc',
tho king is most mighty who hath all the world under him ;
for all things are his, the riches of all men belong unto
him. If there be many kings, they are of less power. There
is no such authority among them, no such power : for every
one of them hath his dominion, his portion to rule, and
presumeth not beyond his own bounds. Even so if there
be many gods, they are of lesser- power. But reason giveth
God a perfect and an absolute power. Wherefore there
is but one God only; forasmuch as perfect power cannot
be in many.
Also, if there be many, how do they know that they
shall continue of one mind and will ? If they do not,
as it is like, for it is a common saying, tot capita tot
sensus, ' as many minds as heads'' ; then this diversity
will provoke them to battle ; as we read in Homer, who
bringeth in the gods fighting one with another ; some of
them taking part with the Trojans, some with the Greeks:
for diversity in will causeth war. The heathen grant that
God hath a general authority, and a perfect power ; but
they say, that he hath many gods of less power, which
are called minores dii, to govern the world under him.
But they lie : for they be no gods, because they be mi-
nisters under him ; no more than the officers under the king,
as chancellors, mayors, presidents, judges, shrives, bailies,
and constables, are kings. God is not like a man ; he
worketh all things without hands, without any weariness
or pain ; neither doth time measure his works, with whom
Psai.cxiviii. jl; is, dixit et facta sunt, "He spake the word and it was
done."" Wherefore he neither hath need to rule under him,
neither can any such be gods. Whereof it must needs
{} Ensamplc, 1550; example, 1560.]
P Lesser, 1550; less, ISfiO.]
xxvm.] OK layman's book. 175
follow, that the world Is governed by one God. No city
is well ordered, but of one mayor ; no host of men, but
of one general captain. Wherefore the Greeks, sailing unto
the famous city of Troy, chose Agamemnon to be king of
kings, and willed all to be obedient unto him. If in one
host there be so many chief captains as there be thousands ;
^jf.^ ?if every have his captain whom he must only obey, no order,
no array can be kept : for every captain \\ill be with his
men where him listeth ; and every one of them will refuse
to endanger himself and his men, and will pass the jeopardy
to him that is next. Even so, except by one God the
whole world be governed, all things will decay and perish.
If it be true, which is commonly said among men, Omn'is
potesias impatiens est consot'tis, that ' power receiveth no fel-
lowship ;' how much more is it time in that ineffable power
which appertaineth to God, whose highness receiveth no
fellowship of any other ! What a king is to his realm, that
God is in the world. One realm hath but one king^ : so
one world hath but one God. For this cause and other,
the scriptures use to call him a king. No ship is well
governed of many masters, no flock of many shepherds, no
school of many schoolmasters, no city of many mayors, no
host of many captains, no kingdom of many kings. All
things stand and are preserved by an unity. And Virgil
recordeth this thing, saying :
Princii)io caelum, ac terras, camposque Hqucntes, [yEneid. vi.
LuccnteiiKiue globum luiia-, Titaniaque astra,
Spiritus intiis alit, totamqiie infusa per artus
INIens agitat molcm, et magno se coii)ore iniscet.
" Fii-st heaven, and earth, and day-fields indeed.
With moon and stars, the spirit within doth feed:
The mind s])rcad through the veins eke moves the mole.
Mixing itself unto the hody whole."
Tlic poet Virgil beareth record that there is but one God.
For one body hath but one mind, and God is the mind
of the world. Wherefore, as there is but one world, so
there is but one God. ' And that no man should misdeem
this spirit and mind of which he speaketh, not to be God,
lie cxpoundeth these words in another place, saying :
Q* King omitted from the edition of 15G0.]
./ A'jf^
THE IMAGE OF gM),
^-v*^-*-.
7
[CH.
rOeortr. iv.
221, 222.]
[Mctam. i.
17-19.]
Thales.
[Cicero De
\at. Deor.
Lib. i.e. 10.]
Gen. i.
Pythagoras.
[Cicero De
Nat. Deor.
Lib.i. c.ll.]
Farnicnides,
Aristotle.
Dato.
Hermes.
[Lib. xii.
edit. Lond.
1611.]
Tullius.
[Tusc.
Qua. St. i.
c. 27.]
Dcuin nainquc ire per omnes,
Terrasque, tractusque maris, coelumquc profundum.
" God gocth throiigli all, seen or unseen with eye ;
Tlirough earth, and sea, througli heaven deep and high."
Ovid also, in his book called Metmnorphoses^ witnesseth, that
one God fonned all things of a confused heap. I do not
call poets to witness, that I think any credit to be given
to their words, but to shew that this thing is so manifest
a tnith, that they Mhich were blind did see it.
But as I have spoken of poets, so w^ill I speak of the
philosophers. Thales Milesius, one of the seven famous wise
men, held opinion, that water is the stuff and matter of
which all things were made, and that God formed them
thereof ; granting both one God to be maker of all things,
and also telling whereof. For the scriptures call the con-
fused heap of which all things were made, by the name
of ' water' ; as it is written, " The Spirit of God was borne
upon the waters." Pythagoras also defineth God to be
a mind, filling and ruling all the portions of the world.
And one body hath but one mind ; wherefore the world hath
but one God. For God is a mind, and the world is the
body. He also said, that the number of three was the be-
ginning of all things : teaching the people of his time that
God is a Trinity, in a riddle and obscure speech, because
it would not be borne openly. If there were many worlds,
as some think, it were some probability to say there were
many Gods. Parmenides thinketh, that there is but imum
ens. The noble and worthy philosopher, Aristotle, depart-
ing out of this life, prayed unto the same ens, saying :
Ens enfium, miserere mei. And well may God be called ens^
who only is of himself, and all things have their being of
him. Plato also saith, that the governance of this world
is a monarchy, and that God only both made and ruleth
it. Hermes Trismegistus teacheth the same thing ; and
that he is unsearchable. Marcus Tullius, the famous orator,
ajrreeth with them; who teacheth that God is. Mens soluta
quccdam et libera, et segregatci ah omni concrctione mortali,
omnia sentiens, et omnia movens ; that is to wit : ' God is
a simple mind, neither being made of matter and fonn,
neither mingled with accidents, knowing all things, and
ordering them.''
XXVIII.] OR LAYMAX's BOOK. 177
The sibyls also taught the same in old time ; which were
women that did prophesy before the coming of our Saviour
Christ, so called because they did disclose many of God's
secrets : for the ^Eolians call the gods Sious, not Theous ;
and counsel or secrets, not Boukn, but Bullen : and there
were ten of them. The most famous of them, which was
called Erythrsea, saith thus of God : Imh^sa
Er? 9coV, o? /jtoMO? a.p->(ei, v'ir£pixeyadt}<;, d'yei'tjro^. ifbYpp'33'
" 38. Edit.
"One God alone there is, I wot, "^^-^
Both infinite, and unbegot."
Who is called also, for the same skill, ametor and apator,
'motherless and fatherless.' She witnesseth also, that this
God made heaven, and garnished it with lights ; made earth
and the waters, saying:
'AAXa t^eo? jUoVo? ek, ■jravvrrepraTO^, o? ireironiKev
Ovpavov r/eXiov Tf, koi ciffTepa?, tjce (reXtjvrjii,
l^apiroipopov yaiciv re, ku) vdaro<i o'lcfxara ttoi/tov-
"There is alone one chief God, which did make
The heaven, the sun, the moon, and eke the star?,
The steady earth, and sea floods that shake.
With all fruit bearing trees, &c."
And that he is only to be honoured, and none other thing :
Ai/TOP TOP fiovov oi'ra a-ijiecfff t'jyt'jropa Koaixov,
0<? ixovo<: €(V almva Ka\ ef aiwi'o? erv'^dt].
"Him only worship ye,
That ruleth the world alone,
AVhich hath from the beginning l)e,
And ever shall be, one."
And she bringeth a reason why, forasmuch as he is governor
of the world, and only without beginning and ending. An-
other sibyl also crieth, that this is the voice of God :
Ll? fx6vo<: elfx\ Ofo?, ku) vvk eaTi Beoc aWoc.
" I am one God, myself alone,
And, beside me, God is there none."
Apollo also, whom the foolish people for his wisdom Apoiio.
12
[HUTCHINSON.]
178 THR IMAGE OP GOD, [cH.
supposed to be God, worsliipjjing him as God after his death,
when lie was demanded wliat God was, made this answer :
Avro(pvi]<;, uctC(tK.ro<;, ctfXtjTiop, u(Tru(pe\iKTo<:,
Ovvofxa {Xt]ce Xojm ■^(opovjxcvou, ei> wfA na'iwv,
TovTt Oeo^, jxiKpa. ce Q€ov nepi^ ajyeXoi tj/ieT^.
" He that is of himself, and of none other,
Wliom nought can hurt, who never liad a mother.
Whose name can by no means he full exprest.
Who in the fire doth live, and take his rest,
Lo, this is God: as for th' angels and we
Of this great God a right small portion he."
Be not discontent, gentle reader, that I mingle the say-
ings of philosophers and poets with the verity of the scrip-
tures. For Paul citeth poets to fortify God's providence.
Acts xvii. saying : "In him we live, move, and have our being ; as
certain of your ow'n poets say, For we are also his genera-
tion."" The prophets also make relation of giants, and of
the valley of Titans. Esay telleth of the mermaids, and of
the daughters of sparrows ; and Jeremy saith of Babylon,
that the daughters of mermaids shall dwell in it. The wise
man also speaketh of them. Ezechiel mentioneth the de-
struction of Gog and Magod ; which all be spoken of much
in poets. The scriptures also use to teach us truth by
fables; as the parable of trees in the book of Judges wit-
nesseth, and many other.
But to turn to our matter : there is but one God, for-
Godisa asmucli as all men confess him to be a Father, both be-
cause he is the fountain of all things, and also giveth all
necessaries to men as a father. But it is against nature
for any man to have many fathers ; wherefore it is against
nature to w^orship many gods. He is a Lord also, and a
Luke xvi. Master ; for to him belongeth to avenge and punish : but
no man can serve two masters. Wherefore if God be to
be honoured, he is one god, not many. If there be many,
there can be no God which only is to be honoured.
How the But how can the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
chHst%nd being three, be one God? Truly, because they are one
sp^r!t°be mind, one spirit, one substance, and cannot be separate.
The Father is, as it were, a plentiful spring or fountain ;
the Son is a river gushing out of it. The Father is the sun ;
one God.
XXVIII
,] OR layman's book. 179
Christ is the beam issuing out of it. The beam cannot be
separate from the sun, nor the river from the spring. Christ
also is the hand of God, and the holy Comforter is his
finger : the hand and finger are not separate from the body.
I will declare this with a familiar example. If a father
have a son, whom he loveth so much that he maketh him
ruler of his house, yet the house is said to be governed by
one master and ruler, not many. So the world is the house
of one God ; and the Father and the Son, because they dis-
agree neither in nature ne in will, are one God. The
king's image is called the king, and Christ's image Christ ;
and yet they be not two kings, nor two Christs : so the
Father and Christ are one God, for Christ is the Father's
image ; no dead image, for he is life and resurrection ; nor
counterfeit, for he is truth ; nor dumb, for he is the word.
But the Arians reply, that as Isay, David, and Salomon, tloiT.^'^^'^"
are of one substance, and yet they be three men, not one
man; that so, albeit the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, be one in substance, yet they are not one God. I
answer, that Isay, David, and Salomon, are called three The answer.
men, not one man ; because every one of them, although
they be of one substance, hath a diversity in time, in know-
ledge, in bigness, in place. For there can bo no unity
where there is diversity. But the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, are one God, forasmuch as there is no di-
versity among them. They are all three immortal, of like
knowledge and majesty, and not contained in place, but
fillers of all places. Many also are called by the name of
'man': as, "the Lord is my helper, I care not what man p^^'-*^'^^"'-
may do unto me :" and, " It is better to trust in God than
in man." But in men there is unity of certain things
only; as of nature, or love, or faith. General unity be-
longeth only to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost :
wherefore they be one God.
Fui-ther, that the Father and Christ are one God, the
prophet Esay teacheth, saying : '' The Lord hath said more- isai. xiv.
over, the occupiers of Egypt, the merchants of the Morians
and Saboos, sliall come unto thee with tribute, tlicy shall
be thine: they shall follow tiiee, and go with chains upon
their feet. They shall fall down before thee, and make
supplication unto thee: for (Jod is in thee; and there is
12, a
180 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
no other God beside thee." God the Father speaketh these
words to Christ, who is one God with the Father, for the
Father is in him ; and saith that there is no God beside
him. If thou deny them to be one God, thou deniest the
divinity of the Father, who saith to Christ, " God is in
thee ; and there is no God beside thee ;" because he is
John xiv. j,^ i^jg Sq^^ i-qj. j^ Jj^ written, " The Father that dwelleth
in me, is he that doeth the works ; and I am in the Father,
and the Father in me." There is no God beside him, be-
cause they both are one God. God is in God, and yet
there be not two Gods ; and the Lord is in the Lord,
and yet they be not two Lords : for we are forbidden to
Luke xvi. serve two Lords, Nemo potest duobus dominis sertire. But
both the Father and Christ are to be honoured and served.
Matt. ii. For of Christ it is written, that "the three wise men kneeled
down and worsliipped him, and opened their treasures, and
offered unto him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh :" by
gold, confessing him to be a king ; by frankincense, to be
God ; and by myrrh, to be man : neither are they blamed
Matt. XV. therefore. A woman of Cane worshippeth^ him, and obtaineth
her request. And Paul, in the beginning of all his letters,
Rom. i. professeth himself to be the servant of Jesu Christ ; where-
fore he is to be honoured: and then he is one God with
Matt. iv. the Father; for it is written, " Thou shalt worship the
John xiii. Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." " You call
me," saith Christ, " Lord and Master, and ye say well ;
Matt.xxiii. for so am L" And he warneth us, that we call not one
another Master ; for one is our Master.
The apostle also witnesseth, that there is but one divinity,
one power and majesty of Christ and the Father, saying,
1 Cor. viii. " Although there be that are called Gods, whether in heaven
or in earth (as there be Gods many, and Lords many) yet
unto us is there but iinm Beus, one God, which is the Father,
of whom are all things, and we in him, and nnus Bominus,
one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we
by him." For as in that he saith, that there is but " one
Lord Jesus Christ," the Father is not denied to be Lord ;
so these words, " unto us there is but one God, which is
the Father," deny not Christ to be God. He numbereth
not him among those which are Gods by nuncupation ; but
[' Worshippeth, 1550; worshipped, 15G0.]
xxvni.] OR layman'm book. 181
joineth and coupleth him with the Father, from Avhom he
is imseparable. The prophet Baruch saith of him: '^ He '^aruchiii.
is our God, and there is none other able to be compared
unto him." Wherefore, either we must grant him to be
one God with the Father, or else make the Father un-
derling to his Son ; for none is to be compared to him.
That the prophet speaketh these words of Christ, the same
text following sheweth : "It is he that hath found out all
wisdom, and hath given her unto Jacob his servant, and
to Israel his beloved. Afterward did he shew himself upon
earth, and dwelt among men." This text declareth also,
that Christ governed the congregation of the Israelites ;
in that he saith, " Ho found out all wisdom, and gave her
unto Jacob and Israel." Read that chapter, and thou shalt
find, that he prepared the earth at the beginning, and filled
it with all manner of fowls and beasts; and that he governeth
the same ; and that he wotteth all things ; that he is great,
and hath no end, high and unmeasurable ; which things all
prove him one God with the Father; as he testitieth of him-
self, saying to his Father, Hccc est vita cvterna, &c. '' This John xvii.
is life everlasting, that they might know the only true God,
and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ ;" that is, that
they might know thee and Jesus Christ, to be the only
true God. Neither doth ' only' here deny the Holy Ghost
to be one God with them; forasmuch as he is of the same
essence that they be, for he proceedcth of them both ; no
more than the Father is excluded by the same word, and
the Son, where it is written, " The things of God knowcth i Cor. ii.
none, but the Spirit of God." The Father and Christ arc
not excluded from that knowledge, which is said here to
appertain only to the Holy Ghost. So whensoever they
two are said to be the only true God, the almighty Com-
forter is not denied to be God also with them.
We read in the Revelation of St John, of a name which '^^^"^ ^'^"
none knew, but he only who had it written, that is Christ :
and yet both the Father knew it, who knoweth all science,
and the almighty Comforter also, ''for he searchcth all K<<iiis.xiii.
things, yea, the bottom of (iod's secrets." AVherefore, when
JMoscs crieth, "Hearken, Israel, the Lord thy God is one
(iod ;" when all the prophets preach, that there be no more
(iods but one; the divine nature and etrsence is not denied
182 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
to Christ and to tlio alini;:hty Comforter, no more than
dominion and lordship is denied to the Father, because Paul
1 Cor. viii. saith, " To us is but one Lord Jesus Christ."" So God is
1 Tim. vi. said onlv to have immortality ; and yet neither Christ is
John viii. mortal \ who saith unto the rebellious Jews, "Verily, verily,
I say unto you. If a man keep my word, he shall never see
death ;" for if the keeping of Christ's word lead us to
immortality, how much more is he himself immortal, without
beginning or end ! — neither the holy Comforter ; for of him
Heb. i.\. Paul writeth, " If the blood of oxen and of goats, and the
ashes of an heifer, when it was sprinkled, purified the un-
clean, as touching the purifying of the flesh ; how much more
shall the blood of Christ, which through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot unto God, purge your consciences
from dead works, to serve the living God !" So God is said
Luke V. only to forgive sin, only to be wise, only to be mighty, only
iTimivi. to be good ; which texts and sayings are spoken of the
glorious Trinity. If they were spoken of the Father only,
as the Arians teach, then the evangelist would have said,
" Who can forgive sins, but the Father only?" and, " None
is God, save the Father only." Paul also saith not, " Unto
the Father wise only," but, " Unto God, king everlasting,
immortal, invisible, and wise only," that is, to the blessed
Trinity, " be honour and praise for ever and ever." For
if we take him otherwise, we make him a liar, who granteth
power, immortality, and wisdom, in diverse and sundry places,
both to Christ our Saviour, and to the Spirit the Comforter.
And these things do only appertain and belong to them
three ; neither are they attribute to any other. Where-
upon it must needs foUov,-, that they be one God. Nothing
proveth this more plainly than the Hebrew text, whereso-
ever the scripture cricth unto us that there is but one God.
Dcut. vi. Moses saith unto the Israelites, Jehovah EloMnu Jehovah
echad ; that is, " The Lord our God is one God," or " one
Lord." This text cannot be spoken of the Father only ;
for the Hebrew word for God is Elohim^ of the plural
number, not of the singular ; to teach us, that there be
three unconfounded ; which nevertheless are declared to be
one God, and of one essence, majesty, and power, for so
nuieh as they are Jehovah echad. For Jehovah is the
[' Mortal, 1.5-50; iminoi-ta], loOO.]
XXVIII.] OB layman's book. 183
peculiar, special, honourable, and most blessed name of God,
for which the Jews did use to read Adonai: not that it
could not be expressed in their language, but for a more
reverence to God's name. Moses also saith in another
place : " Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know Deut. iv.
that the Lord is God, and that there is none but he:"" where,
as for God, the English, he useth Eloliim^ so for the Lord,
he useth Jehovah. Esay the prophet doth likewise ; speak- isai. xiiv.
ing of one God, and rejecting all other. Wherefore the
Trinity is one, everlasting, and the only immutable, invisible,
and Almighty God.
I will prove this to be true in these four words ; power,
name, light, virtue. For the Father is Almighty ; as it is
written, " I am the Lord Almighty." And the Son also is cen. xvii.
Almighty ; for the wise man calleth him, " The Almighty wisd. xi.
hand," and " The Almighty word " of God. The holy wisd. xviii.
Comforter also is Almighty; forasmuch as he is, "The finger
of God :" wherefore they are one God.
They have also one name ; for the apostles are com- Tiiey have
1 1 • • • 1 f. 1 T-i 1 °"*^ name.
mand to christen all nations in the name of the J^ather,
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Note here, that the
scripture saith, " In the name," not "In the names;" and Matt, xxviii.
to teach us that there is one divinity, one majesty, and
one name, of the three persons, the scripture telleth, that
Christ and the Holy Ghost come not in divers and sundry
names, but in one name. Christ saith, " I come in my joim v.
Father's name, and ye receive me not." This name of the
Father is Christ's name also; for the Lord saith, in the
book of Departure, to him: Ego antecedo in nomine meo, et [E\od.
vocaho te nomine meo Domini^ in conspectu tuo; that is, « j ^^^"''
will go before thee in my name, and T will call thee by my
name Lord, in thy presence." Thou Icarnest here, that
Christ and his Father have one name: learn also, that the
almighty and all-knowing Comforter hath the selfsame
name, in that he cometh in the name of Christ; as it is
written, " That Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Fa- Joim xiv.
th(;r will send in my name." He is sent in Christ's name;
wherefore ho hath one name with him and the Father.
This is the name of the blessed Trinity, of which it is written,
" There is no other name under heaven, in which wo must a«^^*"-
bo saved:" whcrelbre they have but one divinity.
184 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
I will prove the same of those things which the scripture
1 John i. saith of God. " God is light," saith John, " and in him
is no darkness." Christ also is light: for of John the Bap-
.lohn i. tist it is written, " He was not the light, but to bear
witness of the light, which lightcth all men coming into the
world.''''
God is light. 1 John i.
Christ is the true light. John i.
Ergo, Christ is the true God.
Of the almighty Comforter also it is written : Signatum
Psai. iv. est super nos Imnen, " The light of thy countenance, O Lord,
is sealed upon us.''' But who is the light sealed? Who is
the seal? That is the Holy Ghost; of whom Paul writeth,
Eph.i. " Ye are sealed with the holy Spirit of promise, which is
the earnest of our inheritance." Note also, that he is not
another light, but the same light that the Father is; for he
is the light of his countenance: wherefore he is the same
God, and one God with the Father and the Son. But some
fellow Avill ask me, where I find the Father to be light. Truly,
Hcb. i. in Paul, who calleth Christ "the brightness of everlasting
light;"" where by everlasting light the Father is meant.
God is Christ also is virtue ; for Paul calleth him, Dei virtutem
1 cor.'i. aiqiie sctpientiam, '" The virtue and wisdom of God." We
read also, that the Father is virtue; where it is written.
Matt. xxvi. Videhitis Fillum hominis ad dextram virtiiiis, " Ye shall see
Christ, ye shall see the Son of Man on the right hand of
the virtue, or power." And that the Holy Ghost is virtue,
Christ witnesseth, saying, Accipietis tirtuteiii advenientem in
Actsi. vos Spirit us Sanctis "You shall receive virtue, or power, of
the Holy Ghost." Luke also speaketh this of the Holy
Lukevi. Ghost, Virtus exibat de eo^ " Virtue gushed out of him."
Wherefore they be one God.
God is life. Xhe Son is life; who saith, "1 am the wav, truth, and
John XIV. ' ^ , ^ . " ,
life." So the Father also is life; as John witnesseth, saying,
1 John i. " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life : for
the life appeared, and we have seen, and bear witness, and
shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father."
Here he named our Saviour Christ " the Word of life," and
XXVIII.] OR lay.man's book. 185
" eternal life."''' But what meaneth he by calhng him " the
Word of hfe," than that he is the Word of the Father I
Wherefore the Father also is life. And if so be the apostle
call Christ life, why is not the all-knowing Comforter life,
who is the Spirit of life? as it is written, "The Spirit ofEzek. i.
life was in the wheels." Note here, reader, that Christ is
not another life, but the same life that the Father is, inas-
much as he is that eternal life which was with the Father.
For if he be one life with the Father, then must he needs
be one God with him.
The Father also is a flood ; as he recordeth of himself. 9°^)^ ^
' flooQ or
" I will flow upon you like a watei-flood of peace, and like a J**"?^!"-,.
flowing stream." And Christ calleth the almighty Comforter
a flood, saying, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of water John vii.
of life ; (this spake he of the Spirit)." Wherefore the Holy
Ghost is a flood, or stream, and that a mighty and great
flood, washing and cleansing the heavenly city of Hierusalem
from all filth and uncleanness; as David witnesseth, "There
is a flood, which with his rivers rejoiceth the city of God, the
holy dwelling of the Highest." No other stream can wash,
purify, and cleanse us, but this. God grant that this flood
may ovei-flow the banks of England ! God send it into the
court, and into the king's chamber, into his heart, and into
his counciFs chamber, and into the middest of the parliament
house, to wash and banish away all covetousness in spiritual
things, as ferming of benefices, pluralities of prebends and
personages, absence from cures, from colleges, impropriations,
first-fruits, &c., and partiality, and the greedy wolf of ambi-
tion, pride, unmercifulness and oppression, out of the hearts
of nobility. God send it into the hearts of bishops, that
they may once again yet be preaching prelates; and all
priests, that they may pour forth clean and pure doctrine, as
diligently as they have poured holy water many a day. The
Holy Spirit is the true holy water, the true flood, washing
away our sins ; not the unprofitable ceremonies of the sire of
Rome. Wherefore our Saviour Christ must needs be a flood \-j;^
also ; for out of him gush these streams of eternal life.
They have also one operation, and thev do work all They have
.,. ,, ,, •I..'' one Rrnce.
tlnngs unseparably, as 1 have proved m the chapter before,
where I declared man's soul to be the image of God. ^^'here-
forc they have one divinity. Moreover it is written :
^-y^
Gal. ii.
186 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
Gal. i. " Grace with you and poaco from God the Father, and our
Lord Jesus Christ."" Behold, thou seest here, that one grace
Cometh from tlie Father and the Son, and one peace Hke-
wise. The same also come from the Holy Ghost ; for of
Gal. V. peace it is written, " The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, long-suffering :" and Zachary calleth him the Spirit of
grace : God hath promised to " pour upon Hierusalem the
Spirit of grace and mercy." And Peter saith to those that
were pricked in their hearts through his preaching, Accipi-
Actsii. efts r/mfiam SpiritHS sancti, " You shall receive the grace of
the Holy Ghost."
One chanty. They havo also one charity and one love ; for of the
John xiv. Pf^ther and the Son it is written, " AVho loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him ;" and of the holy
Comforter, " The fruit of the Spirit is love." Through this
love of all the three persons, Christ suffered death that we
John iii. might live; for of the Father it is ^^Titten, "God so loved the
world, tliat he gave his only-begotten Son ;" and of Christ,
" I live by the faith of the Son of God, which loved me, and
gave himself for me ;" the Spirit also gave him, for Paul
Heb. ix. g^iili of Christ, " Which through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without spot unto God."
One They have also one counsel ; for Esay calleth the Holy
isai. xi.' Ghost, " The spirit of counsel and strength ;" and Christ is
called, Angelus magni crmsilii, " An angel of great counsel,"
because he is the wisdom of God, They are of one will :
they command and forbid one thing ; their calling is not
divers, but one. And as the Father is called Lord, so is
juiig. xiv. the holy Comforter, so is Christ. We read that the Spirit
of the Lord came upon Sampson, whom he calleth also his
' strength', saying, " If my hair were cut off, my strength
would go from me." But after that his seven locks were cut
judg. xvi. away, the scripture saith, that the Lord departed from him ;
calling the Spirit which governed him, ' Lord'.
If they have one nature, one kingdom, one power, one
counsel, one operation, one name, one virtue, one life, one
peace, one grace, one commandment, one vocation, one will ;
and seeing they be one light, one charity, one stream, and
one Lord, how can they be divers Gods? There is a
general unity of all things in them ; wherefore they must
needs be one God also.
XXYIII.] OR layman's BOOK. 187
I trust now it be sufficiently fortified and established,
that there is but one God of heaven and earth, who govern-
eth and ordereth all things. Natural reason proclaimeth
this, as it were out of some high place, unto all creatures.
His almighty and everlasting power proveth the same. The
poets confess and grant him to be, alone ; the philosophers
condescend to them ; the Sibyls magnify and acknowledge
him ; the false gods of the Pagans themselves confess him ;
the prophets of the true God evermore taught this ; the
evangehsts and apostles fortify the same ; nature preacheth
one God, which acknowledgeth one world ; faith telleth us
the same, for there is but one faith of both testaments, as the
apostle witnesseth ; and baptism also, for there is but one
bath of holy baptism, which is ministered in the name of the
Trinity. The glorious death of many thousands of martyrs,
both of men, children, women, and virgins, which by no
manner of torments could be plucked away from this faith,
have sealed it; and the constant and stedfast consent, agree-
ment, and conspiration of all times and nations, with one
mind and accord hath enacted this ; so that the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it.
THE TWENTY-NINTH CHAPTER.
All the parts of the definition made of God are proved to agree unto
Christ.
As I have spoken of all three persons of the blessed
Trinity together, so now for a more evident proof of my last
content, I will fortify out of the store-house of the scriptures,
that all the parts of my definition made of the only King of
kings, immortal and almighty God, do belong and appertain
also both unto Christ, and to the all-knowing and most
blessed Comforter.
The first ])arcel of my delinition was, "God is a sj)iritual
Kubstance." That Christ is a substance, no man will deny ; f'V'';:''^.''
li
THE IMAGE OK GOD,
b
Lam. iv.
Christ is a
spirit.
2 Cor. iii.
A single
nature and
not mi.xed.
Rom. viii.
John xiv.
Eccles. 1
for he is no accident. Head my twenty-thirrl chapter', and
there thou .shalt find this thing proved. But how can you
prove that he is a spiritual substance 2 The prophet Jeremy
saith, Spiritus ante faciem nostram^ Christus Dominus ; that
is, " The Spirit before us, Christ the Lord."" Note, that he
calleth him both a Spirit and Lord. If he^ be no spirit, he
cannot be God, for God is a Spirit : and inasmuch as he is
a spirit and a substance, he is a spiritual substance ; not
touching his humanity, but touching that nature in which he
is Lord ; as the prophet declareth very well, saying, " The
Spirit before us, Christ the Lord f meaning that he h Lord,
in that he is a Spirit ; for the Lord is a Spirit.
" Pure nature" foUoweth in the definition. By the
word 'pure' is meant, that God is one and a singular sub-
stance, not mixed, not compost. Either Christ is such a
substance, or else he is a creature. If he be a creature, then
is he subdued to vanity, not willingly ; for the apostle wit-
nesseth, Quifpe vanitati creatura subjacet^ non volens.
Every creature is subdued to vanity.
Christ is not subdued to vanity .
Ergo, Christ is no creature.
That Christ is not subdued to vanity, I prove thus :
The ruler of this world came, and found nothing in him.
Erso, he is not subdued to vanitv.
But some Arians will say, that he was subdued unto va-
nitv, in that he took our nature upon him, to restore us
when we were forlorn : for the preacher crieth of all things
under heaven, " All is but vanity, all is but plain vanity."
Albeit this were truly spoken, yet cannot St Paul's saying be
verified of Christ ; who saith, " Every creature is subdued
unto vanity, not willingly." Christ took our nature willingly,
restored us willingly by his precious death and passion, as
he himself doth testify : " No man doth take my life from me,
but I put it away myself." Wherefore he is no creature.
Ergo, he is a pure, simple, and single nature, without all
mixture or composition.
[1 Twonty-thml, 15.50; twenty-fourth, loGO.]
[- He, 1550; there, 15C0.]
XXIX.] on layman's book. 189
"Immutable:" Paul telleth us, that he is immutable.
For in his letter to his countrymen he witnesseth, that the
Father speaketh these words of the hundredth and first ^
psalm unto Christ : " Thou, Lord, in the beginninor hast laid g^'j- >•..
■^ , ' ' & o Psal. cu.
the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are the works
of thy hands : they shall perish, but thou shall endure : they
shall wax old as doth a garment ; and as a vesture shalt thou
change them, and they shall be changed : but thou art the
same," that is, unchangeable, '• and thy years shall not
fail." Lo, the Father witnesseth that Christ is immutable.
We read also, Jesu Chrhtus hen et liod'ie idem est, etictni in
secula, " Jesus Christ, yesterday and to-day, and the same Heb. xiii.
continueth for ever." This property, belonging to no crea-
ture, proveth him God : for
God only is immutable.
Jesus Christ is immutable.
Ergo, Jesus Christ is God.
" Invisible :" this is another property which the scriptures
give unto God. Christ is a Spirit, touching one nature.
Then if all spirits, if our souls, be invisible, how much more
is Christ invisible, the maker of spirits and souls ! Paul
calleth him, touching this nature, virfutem Dei, "the virtue, icor. i.
or power of God." Wherefore he is invisible, unsearchable.
Paul in the same place calleth him " the wisdom of God ;"
and the wisdom of God is unsearchable.
There foUoweth in the definition, "filling heaven andHefiiieth
earth." This also belongeth unto Christ, for of him it is ea''^-
written: "Wisdom reacheth from one end to another might- wisd. viii.
ily, and ordereth all things lovingly." Hearken also what
he saitii unto his disciples : " Wheresoever two or three be ^la"-^^"'-
gathered together in my name, there am I in the middest of
them." This proveth him to be the true God : for no crea-
ture can be I'verywhere.
"Full of understanding :" he is " the wisdom of God." ^^I'^y''''
"Full of truth:" "I am the way, truth, and life." " Full J"'"' ^'^-^
P Hutchinson follows the numeration of the Septuagint and the
Vul<(a(e: in our arrangement of the I'sahns, which adlieres to tlie
Hebrew, this is the 102nd.]
I* These references are introduced into tlie text of tlie edition of
l/ioO, as well as inserted in the margin.]
190
THK lAIAGE OP GOD,
[C„.
John V.
Psal. xlv.
Heb. i.
James iii.'
Philip, ii.
Col. ii.'
Col. ii.
John i.
James iii.
John xiv.
John viii.
Col. i.
of righteousness :" Pater non judicat quemquam, sed omne
judicium dedit FiUo, " The Father judgeth no man, but hath
given all judgment unto Christ ;" who in the last day shall
appear, both unto good men and evil, in that form in which
he suffered, not in his divine nature. The Father is said to
judge no man, because neither he nor his Son in his divinity
shall be seen in judgment ; for their divinity is all one.
Then Christ is full of righteousness, forasnuich as he shall
judge the world in his humanity ; unto whom the Father
saith, "God, thy seat shall be for ever and ever : the
sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou hast loved
righteousness, and hated wickedness." " Full of mercy :"
" The wisdom from above is full of mercy." When he was
" equal with God, he made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the shape of a servant," for our sakes, which were
his enemies. " Full of wisdom :" " In Christ are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge." " Full of all manner
of goodness :" " For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
godhead bodily ;" and, " Of his fulness have all we received,
Q-race for p-race." James also witnesseth, that " the wisdom
from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated,
full of mercy and good fruits."
The next property of God is to be " eternal." This be-
longeth to Christ ; for he is the beginning of all things, he is
the progress or middle course, and he is the end and prick.
The beginning and ending ; for he saith, ^ I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the ending." And he is the middle
course, in that he saith, " I am the way." He promiseth life
without end to such as keep his word, saying, "Verily,
verily, I say unto you. If a man keep my word, he shall
never see death :" therefore he himself must needs be im-
mortal.
Nothing is without end and beginning, save God only.
Christ is without beginning and end.
Ergo, Christ is God.
There foUowcth in the definition of God, "maker of all
things." That Christ made all things, Paul recordeth, say-
ing : " For by him were all things created ; things that are
(^^ These references are introduced into the text of the edition of
1.550, as well as inserted in the margin.]
XXIX.] OR LAYMAX'S BOOK. 191
in heaven, and things that are in earth, things visible, and
things invisible ; whether they be majesty, or lordship, either
rule, or power."
He that made all things is God. Heb. iii.
Jesus Christ made all things. Col. i.
Ergo, Jesus- Christ is God.
Then it follow etli in the same description, •' subject to
nothing, and governing all things." He is subject to nothing ;
for we read of him, " He that cometh from heaven is above Joim iii.
all." He governeth all things; for he saith, " Whatsoever john v.
the Father doth, that doth the Son also:" "My Father work-
eth hitherto, and I work :" '■ Whatsoever we ask the Father
in his name, he will do it :" and, " Without him we can do
nothing." This declareth him to be God by nature ; not by
nuncupation only, as they of whom it is written, E(jo dixi,
Dli estis, " I have said, You are Gods." Psai. ixxxii.
It foUoweth, " knowing all things." Nothing hath this
knowledge but God; as I have proved before. But we read,
that Christ knew the inward thoughts and intents of men :
" Jesus did not put himself in their hands, because he knew Johr.ii.^
all men ; and needed not that any should testify of them, for
he knew what was in man," He knew the hour of his death; -Matt.xxvi.
he knew that all his disciples should be offended in him that
time ; he knew that Peter would fall and rise again ; he
knew what would become of Judas ; he opened the minds
of his disciples, that they might understand the scriptures ; L'ke xxiv.
and the disciples confess him to know all things, saymg,
" Now we know, that thou knowest all things, and needest J'^''" -''^■'•
not to ask any question."
The next thing appertaining only to God is, '• forgiving of
sin :" for I have proved before that no creature can do this.
But we read that Christ forgiveth sin, and is reviled of the Mark li.
Pharisees therefore ; who also forgivetli many sins to Mary Luke vii.
Magdalene, because she loved nuich.
" To be honoured :" John would have worshipped an ■*''^- ^^^'i-
angel, but the angel forbiddcth him ; the wise men, the Ca- Matt. ii.
nanitt", Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary of James, and otiier, Matt.xv.
*' ° ' -^ ' ' Matt.
[••^ Jesus Christ, l.WO; Christ, loGO.] '"'^■"'•
[' 'I'liis rofiTcnce is introducfd into the text of the edition of 1550,
us well us inserted in the nArgin.]]
192
THE IMAGE OF GOD,
[.H.
Iloni. i.
Philip, i.
Matth. iv.
Isai. xi.
Acts vii.
1 Thes. iii.
2 Thes. ii.
1 John i.
Rom. X.
Jer. xxxiii.
Philip, iv.
Rev. i.
Wisd. xi.
xviii.
worshipped Christ, and were not blamed therefore. And
Paul in his Epistles confesseth himself the servant, not of any
angel or archangel, but of Jesus Christ. Wherefore he is one
God with the Father : for one God only is to be worshipped.
There followeth in the definition of God, '• to be called
upon," and, " that he pondereth our desires." That Christ
is to be prayed unto for all manner of things, the prophet
Esay teacheth us, saying, " The root of Jesse shall be set
up for a token: the heathen shall pray unto him,"" St Stephen
crieth unto him, " Lord Jesu, receive my .spirit." Paul
asketh him, "Lord, Lord, what shall I dof and he is taught.
Paul also prayeth unto him and the Father together, saying,
" God himself our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, guide
our journey unto you." And again : " Our Lord Jesu
Christ himself, and God our Father, which hath loved us,
and hath given us everlasting consolation, and good hope
through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in all
doctrine and good doing." The apostle sheweth, that he is
one God with the Father, and of equal power ; in that he
offereth one prayer to them both, and in that he putteth
otherwhiles the Father foremost, and otherwhiles our Saviour
Christ, justifying and saving us. Who justifieth and saveth
us, but he who is our Saviour, our ransom, our spokesman,
our mercy-stock, the end of the law to all believers? Of
whom Jeremy saith : " This is the name that they shall call
him, The Lord our justifier."
" Almighty" followeth, and endeth the definition. If it
be true, which Paul saith, " I can do all things, through
the help of Christ which strengtheneth me ;" how much more
is Christ almighty himself, of whom John writeth, Dicit
Domimis omnipotens^ " The Lord almighty saith." And the
wise man calleth him the almighty hand, the almighty arm,
the almighty word, of God. Seeing, therefore, the scrip-
tures do continually preach one God, and the same do grant
all things belonging to the majesty of the Godhead, unto
Jesus Christ ; either we must deny the Father to be the
almighty and only invisible God, or else we must confess his
Son, by verity and unity of nature, to be one God with him.
cxx.l OR layman's book.
THE THIRTIETH CHAPTER.
195
All the parts of the. same definition are proved to agree to the almighty
Comforter and Spirit.
The all-knowing Comforter also is one God with them
both ; forasmuch as it cannot be denied but that all and
every one of the same things do appertain unto him. For
a plain and evident proof of this, I ^^^ll course oyer the defi-
nition, or rather description, of God once again ; proving
the same to be the definition of the holy Comforter.
God is a "spiritual substance:" so is the holy Com-
forter. That he is a Spirit, no man will deny : that he is a
substance, not a godly motion or concitation, not an accident,
I have proved in my twenty-fourth^ chapter. He is also a
" pure nature, unmixed, uncompost, uncreate ;" for he is no
creature, which all, and every one, are bond and servants
unto their maker, not free nor at their liberty, as it is writ-
ten : Universa serv'mnt tihl, " All things serve thee." The Psai. cxix.
Holy Spirit speaketh this by David. He saith not servimus,
we servo thee, but serrimit, they seiTe. Paul also saith,
Creatura Uberabitur a servitute corruptionis, "The creature Rom. viii.
shall be delivered from the bondage of cori-uption." But of
the Holy Ghost it is written, Ubi Spiritits Domini, ibi Ubertas,
-Where is the Spirit of the Lord, there is freedom." Wcscor.iii.
read also of him, that he divideth to every man several gifts ' ^o"". xii.
as ho will. 1 Cor. xii.
All creatures do serve : Psalm cxix.
The Holy (ihost is at liberty: 2 Cor. iii.
Ergo, the Holy (rhost is no creature.
And if \\v be no creature, he is a singular and pure natur(\
void of all c()m]K)sition and mixture.
" Imnuitable:" whatsoever is nuitable" is a creature.
" Invisible :" all spirits be invisible, but not iuuiuit;iblc : for
[^ xxiiii, lo.jO; will, \:M).~\
P Miitfihlr. 1.").50; inunuUiIiU'. l.»()0.]
i;{
[lirTCIIl.N^ON. I
194
TIJE IMAGE 01' GOD,
Psal. xxiv
Jer. xxiii.
Wisd. i
Luke iv.
to bo both immutable and invisible a[)pc'rtaincth only to the
majesty of God. Wherefore the Holy (ihost is God.
" Filling heaven and earth," foUovveth in the definition ;
which thing truly belongeth only to the divine and blessed
nature : as the Psalmograph witnesseth, Domini est terra et
plenitudo ejus, " The earth and the fulness thereof is the
Lord's." And he saith by Jeremy, " I fill heaven and
earth." Now, that the blessed Comforter doth so, the
book of Wisdom telleth, saying, " The Spirit of the Lord
fillcth the round compass of the world ;" and David teach-
Psai.cxxxLx. eth the same, saying, " AVhithcr shall I go then from thy
spirit I whither shall I go from thy presence ? If I climb up
into heaven," &c. What angel, what archangel, what rule,
what power, what creature, is said to fill the world I the
which the holy Comforter doth : yea, and more than the
whole world, for he filleth the Saviour of the world, as it
is written, " Christ, full of the Holy Ghost, returned from
Jordan."
God only is eveiywhere :
The Holy Ghost is everywhere :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
" Unsearchable." No man can comprehend what man-
ner of thing his own spirit and soul is ; and the mind, which
almost judgeth and discusseth all things, is not able to dis-
cuss itself : much more the Spirit of the almighty God sur-
mounteth our understandings, and not only ours, but also of
angels and archangels ; for of the Spirit David writeth,
'• God, which is thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows." The Holy Ghost is this oil and
anointment : for Peter witnesseth, that Christ was anointed
with the Holy Ghost. And well is the Holy Ghost named
the ' oil of gladness,' lest thou shouldest suppose him to be a
creature. For the nature of oil is such, that it Avill not be
mingled with any moist creature, but heaveth aloft, and
keepeth above, when other natures descend to the bottom.
" Full of understanding :" for he is the Spirit of under-
standing. '• Full of truth :" for he is the Spirit of truth,
which the world cannot receive, and which proceisdeth from
the Father ; and of him it is written, " He shall teach you
all truth." '• Full of rijrhteousness :" for as the Son is our
Psal. xlv.
Acts X.
Why the
Spirit is
named oil.
Isai. xi.
Wisd. vii.
John xiv.
John XV.
XXX.] OR LAYMAX^S BOOK.
195
judge, so judgment belongeth to the holy Comforter ; as it
is ^^Titten, "When I depart I will send the Comforter unto John xvi.
you : when he is come, he shall judge the world of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment." This text teacheth him to
be a punisher of sin, an avenger of unrighteousness and
wrong judgments. Noble Idng Salomon, through his inspi- Solomon.
ration, gave rightful judgment of the two infants. Daniel,
except he had been inspired by him, could never have dis-
closed the he of lechery. "When Susanna was condenmed Susanna i.
unto death through the false accusation of the elders, she
cried with a loud voice unto God, and obtained remedy.
When she was led forth unto death, it is registered, that
"the Lord raised up the spirit of a young child, whose
name was Daniel,"" &c. Also the spirit of Moses was divided Xum.xi.
among seventy of the elders of Israel, that they might judge
the people according to right. Wherefore the Holy Ghost,
who both teacheth other to judge aright, and is a judge him-
self, must needs be full of all righteousness.
" Full of mercy." He is full of mercy, forasmuch as he
sent Christ to restore us, when we were forlorn, as the pro-
phet telleth us in Christ's person, Misit me Doniimis et
Spiritiis ejus, " the Lord sent me and his Spirit." His send- isai.xiviii.
ing is his incarnation, as I have proved before. " Full of
wisdom ;" for he is the Spirit of counsel and wisdom. " Full Ezek. i.
of all manner of goodness." He is the Spirit of life, the
Spirit of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, counsel, If^^^^;
strength, of the fear of God, of truth, of sanctification, of Rom-. >.-
judgment, of adoption, of promise, of grace ; and love, joy, ^°°'jy'"-
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, and goodness itself, faith- g^J'-^';'
fulness, meekness, temperance, be the fiiiits and gifts of the
Holy Spirit.
" Eternal.""' Many things be everlasting which had their
beginning, as angels, as the soul of man, and other ; but
they are not eternal, for that appcrtaineth only to the ma-
jesty of the deity. That the holy and almighty Comforter
is eternal, the apostle witncsseth, saying : " How much more Heb.ix.
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your consciences ! '
He is not content to call him ' eternal,"' but telleth us also,
that Christ through the Spirit offered himself a slain sacri-
fice for our sins. And wc read, that Christ before the Es^h. i. ,
13—2
196 THE IMAGE OF GOD. [cH.
foundation of the world chose us. Wherefore the holy
Comforter, who was the work-master thereof, was before tho
foundation of tho world. And forasmuch as he was before
all, he hath no end ; for that which is without all beginning,
is also without ending.
God only is eternal :
The Holy Ghost is eternal :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
jobxxvi. u Maker of all things." Job telleth, that " God with his
Spirit garnished the heavens ;" unto whom David agi-eeth,
Fsai. xxxiii. saying, " The Spirit of his mouth formed all the hosts of
them." ^Vherefore in the work of creation Moses maketh
Gen. i. relation of him, shewing us, that " the Spirit of God was
borne upon the waters." Basil, who for his great learning
was surnamed mapnus, expoundeth this text of the Holy
Ghost, and saith that his predecessors took it so^ ; and St
Austin is of the same mind" ; and Philip Melancthon al-
loweth their interpretation^, as I declared before. For
truly the word ' spirit^ cannot signify wind in that place ;
the which, when these words were spoken, was uncreate.
What is meant then by these words, " Borne upon the
waters V Verily, no blast of wind ; but, that he sat on the
waters. For as the hen sitting on her eggs hatcheth her
young ones, so the Holy Ghost hatcheth all creatures, which
Psai. civ. there are called ' waters,' as it is written : " When thou
lettest thy Spirit go forth, they are made ; so thou renewest
the face of thy earth."
He that made all things is God: Heb. iii.
The Holy Ghost made all things :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
Job also saith of him, Spiritus dlvinus qui fecit me^ "The
divine Spirit who made mo ;" confessing him both divine,
and his maker. And as, when we read. Opera manuum
tuaruni t<unt cosli, " The heavens are the works of thy hand,"
we acknowledge Christ the maker of the world, who is God's
hand ; so, when we read, Videbo coolos tuos, opera digitoriim
Psai. viii. fuoruiu^ lutiam et stellas^ quoo tit fundastl, that is, " I will be-
hold the heavens, the workmanship of thy fingers, the moon
• [' Vide p. (54. 11. 1.] [- Vide p. n.-,. 11. 2.] p Vide p. 05. n. 3.]
Tsal. cii.
XXX.] OR I.AYiMAN\s ROOK. 197
and the stars, which thou hast made ;" let us acknowledge
also the Holy Ghost, God's finger, to be our maker, foras-
much as the same works, in other places, are called the
works of God. For as, when the hand worketh, the fingers
work also ; so the whole Trinity formed all things of a con-
fused heap, whose works be inseparable : as I have proved
before.
" Governor of all things." The canticle of Moses re-
cordeth, that he governed the congregation of the Israelites.
For when they had passed over the sea, they gave hearty
thanks for their deliverance to all the three Persons : to the
Father and the Son, in these words, " Thy right hand, O exoj. xv.
Lord, is glorious in power, thy right hand hath also dashed
the enemies ;" and to the Holy Ghost, saying, " AVith the
spirit of thine anger the water gathered together as a rock.''
For Christ is God's right hand ; and by the word ' spirit'
the Holy Ghost is meant ; and in that he saith, ' Lord,' he
signifieth the Father. Wherefore their deliverance is the
workmanship of the whole Trinity, which worketh all things
in heaven and earth. But the prophet Esay protesteth the
governance of the Holy Ghost more plainly, saying: "Where isai. i\iii.
is he who brought them from the water of the sea, as a shep-
herd doth his flock? where is he which led Moses by the
right hand with his glorious arm ? Where is he that led
them in the deep, as an horse is led in the plain V and he
answereth, " The Spirit of the Lord led them, as a tame
beast goeth in the field." The same Spirit governeth the
present congregation ; giving " to one utterance of wisdom, i Cor. xii.
to another faith, to another gifts of healing, to another
power to do miracles, to another prophecy, to another
judgment of spirits, to another diverse tongues, to another
interpretation," as the apostle witnesseth ; which be neces-
sary offices in the church.
Who gave Simeon an answer, that he should not see Luke n.
death before he had seen our spokesman, Jesus Christ?
The Holy Ghost. AVho leadeth the congregation into all
trutli? Who teacheth us all verity? The Holy Ghost. Who
connnandcth to sei)arate Paul and l^arnabas to the work ^'^'■'* ■^"'•
whereunto he had called them ; that is, to preach the sweet
tidings of thv gospel to the Gentiles? The Holy (Jhost. Who
forbid<leth them to preach in Asia? who commandeth IVter, Acts[xvi.jx.
Acts viii.
198 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [cH.
to arise, and get him down, and go with Cornelius"' servants?
Who sent those servants unto Simon the tanner's house
for Peter? The Holy Ghost. Who monisheth Phihp, the
deacon, to join himself to the chariot of the eunuch',
which was chamberlain to Candace, queen of the Ethiopians?
The Holy Ghost. Do not these texts prove him to govern
the congregation ? to be mindful of both good and evil ?
Do they not deny him to be a creature ? Do they not fortify
him to be the third person in the glorious Trinity, and to be
God ? Yes, verily.
All things are governed by God :
The Holy Ghost governeth all things :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
" Knowing all things," foUoweth : the which belongeth to
isai. xi. the all-knowing Comforter, forasmuch as he is the Spirit of
knowledge. The apostle witnesseth, that man neither by
the help of his outward senses, nor through the gift of reason,
can attain to the understanding of those things which are
prepared for the chosen. He denieth this knowledge to the
1 Cor. ii. senses, saying, Ociilus non vidif, negue auris audivit, " The
eye hath not seen, and the ear hath not heard ;"' for these
be the two principal powers : and to all man\s reason and
wisdom, by these words following, Neqiie in coi% " Neither
hath entered into the heart of man the things," &c. ; for the
heart is the place of understanding. Angels also are igno-
Mark xiii. rant of some things, as of the last day and hour ; which the
Father knoweth only. But of the holy Comforter it is
1 Cor. ii. written, " The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the bottom
of God's secrets." Paul is not content only to say this of
the Spirit, but he addeth two arguments proving the same.
The one is a similitude ; that, as the spirit of man knoweth
the things of man, so the Spirit of God knoweth the things
of God ; and all things be his ; ergo, he knoweth all things.
His other reason is, that the spiritual man through his
inspiration discusseth all things.
He who knoweth all things is God :
The Holy Ghost knoweth all things :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
[^ The same alteration has been made here as in p. 136, and p. 1/58.^
XXX,] OR layman's book. 199
The next property in my definition, belonging to God
only, is "to forgive sin." How prove you that the Holy
Ghost can do this i Hearken what Christ, our mercy-stock,
saith: "Receive the Holy Ghost: whose sins ye remit, they are John xx.
remitted unto them." Note, that the Holy Ghost pardoneth
sin. No man can remit sin. They do only minister forgive-
ness in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. They pray, God pardoneth; they employ their service,
remission and mercy cometh from above : as I have declared
and proved in my chapter, that God only forgiveth sin.
Furthermore, "Ye" are washed," saith Paul, "ye areit:or. vi.
sanctified, ye are justified, by the name of the Lord Jesu,
and by the Spirit of our God:" ergo, the Spirit forgiveth
sin. The prophet Esay telleth, that " one of the seraphins, isai. vi.
with a hot coal taken from the altar with tongs, touched
his mouth, and his sin was molten away." He meaneth
neither charcoal nor sea-coal, but the coal of the Holy
Ghost ; who may be well called a coal, for he is fire : where-
fore the Holy Ghost doth forgive sin. No man can deny
but that in baptism sins be forgiven. The Holy Ghost by
baptism doth regenerate us, and make us God's children.
For that we should believe him to be a worker in baptism
with the Father and the Son, the bath of holy baptism is Matth.
connnanded to be ministered in this name also. And, for the
same skill, it pleased the glorious Trinity he should appear
notably at Christ's baptizing, in the likeness of a dove. And as
for Christ, he was not baptized for any wrinkle of sin, but for
our example and only erudition. Seeing, then, the Holy Ghost
was a worker in Christ's baptism, much more he is worker at
our christenings ; which proveth him to forgive sins.
God only forgiveth sin :
The Holy Ghost forgiveth sin :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
" To be called upon," and " prayed unto." The Holy
Ghost is to be prayed unto ; for what is baptism but an
invocation of the Fathei', the Son, and the Holy Ghost 'i As Mauh.
all three be named, so they all three hear the prayer of the
ministei-, forgive the sins of him which is christened, and
make him, of the child of damnation, the heir of salvation.
[» Yea, 1550; yc, loCO.]
200 THE IMAOR 01' GOD, [cFC.
That we should fastly and firmly believe this \vorkman.shij>
Mattii. iii. of the whole Trinity in our christenings, that [the?] throe
persons, every one, were present at Christ's baptizing, who had
no need of baptism, I say, but only for our erudition and
ensample. The Father notifieth himself in the voice which
sounded ; the Son, in man's nature ; the all-doing Comforter
appeared notably in the likeness of a dove. W'hy in the
likeness of a dove, rather than of any other bird, is de-
clared before. Moreover, the Holy Ghost both heareth our
Rom. vm. pj-^yers, for he is everywhere ; and he helpeth our infirmities,
as the apostle witnesseth ; ergo, he is to be prayed imto.
1 Cor. \ii. Again, faith is his gift, prophecy is his gift, utterance, mi-
racles, judgment, tongues, healing, be his gifts : and truth,
isai. xi. for he is the Spirit of truth ; and wisdom, counsel, sancti-
Roni. i. fication, life, by the same reason ; and love, joy, peace,
Gal. V. patience, gentleness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, temper-
ance, be his graces and fruits, as is proved before ; which
pro\eth that he is to be prayed unto. For the scripture
useth this reason to move us to pray unto God, that he is
the giver of those things that are asked ; as the apostle
James, saying, " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
Epb. 111. Qq(J which giveth ;"" and Paul, " He is able to do abundantly
above all that we ask or think." And Christ useth the same
John.w. reason, saying, " Whatsoever ye ask my Father in my
name', he will give it you." If the papists can shew that
St Paul, and the blessed virgin, and other, now being with
Christ touching their souls, and in the earth touching their
bodies, do now give gifts and graces unto us, truly 1 would
pray unto them to give me some. But who is able to prove
this out of the scriptures 1 The Spirit knoweth all things,
yea, the bottom of God's secrets ; much more, the bottom of
our hearts; ergo, he is to be prayed unto. Doth not he hear
our prayers, which commanded to separate Paul and Bar-
nabas unto the work whereunto he had called them ?
Paul was called an apostle by God :
The Holy Ghost called Paul :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
js'^rwork^ It is no trifle to preach, but an earnest work and labour;
1^' Ask my Father in iviy name, 1.550; nsk in my Father's name,
1500.]
James i.
XXX.] OR layman's rook. 201
and the labourer and workman is worthy of his wages. The
work and office of salvation is imrewarded in England, and
thought not necessary ; which must needs bring in the un-
clean spirit of ignorance again. Therefore let us pray to
the Holy Spirit to amend it, and to separate mo Pauls
to this honourable work and office. It is a common saying,
Honos alit artes, ' Rewards nourish arts ;' and magistrates
are ordained of God to maintain knowledge, to destroy ig-
norance and sin. I would wish that preachers were sent
abroad into the countiy, as well as to cities and great towns ;
for they are the shop of Christ, as well as others : and that,
as Christ disputed in the temple, and Stephen with the Luke li.
Libertines and Alexandrines, and Paul, when he went a
preaching, disputed in the audience of the people against
those that would not hear the truth ; at Athens, with philo- •^'^ts xvii.
sophers, and at Ephesus, and other places ; that so now Acts wiii.
every preacher, which is known to be groundly learned, and
separate to this office, when he cometh to any parish which
hath a popish person or curate, that he should have authority
to examine them in the sacraments, and other principal mat-
ters, and that they either acknowledge the truth before their
parishes, or else be compelled to say their conscience and
knowledge in open disputation with the preacher; so that
the churchwardens of every parish be overseers of the same,
for avoiding of tumult and disturbance. By this means
papists and others should best be won and overcome ; and
the people should learn more of one disputation than in ten
sermons. Further, if there be any suspected to be an
Anabaptist in the said parishes, I would to God well-learned
preachers were authorized to compel and call such to render
account of their faith before the whole parish ; and if it
were found anabaptistical, that the preacher enter disputa-
tion with him, and (jpunly convict him by the scriptures and
elder fathers ; and if ho remain obstinate, the same preacher
to excommunicate him ; and then to meddle no further with
him, but give knowledge thereof to the temporal magistrates;
which, for civil considerations, may punish him with imprison-
ment, death, or otherwise, as their wisdoms shall judge most
meet for a civil t|ui('tness and a godly order. Now both
papists and Anabaptists complain, that they are put to si-
lence, and the p(V)j)lo have more affiance in their silence
202 THE IMAGE OK GOD, [cH.
than in tlio preachers, and do think that they could per-
suade and prove their matters, if they might be suffered.
But if this way were taken, it would appear most evident
that all their doctrine were builded on the sand, not on the
rock. There be many discreet and sober well-learned preach-
ers, both in all the elder fathers and in the scriptures,
which, if this way were taken, or another like, would con-
found all heretics, and beat down papistry, and discourage the
best learned of them, and persuade the people after another
sort than is done yet. Thus did the apostles ; thus did the
elder fathers, as Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and others; as
appeareth of their works, which be either sermons to the
people, lessons, homilies, or disputations against heretics.
Now if a preacher come and preach in a parish in the
country, if the person, vicar, or curate be of a corrupt judg-
ment, as the most deal be ; by reason of the daily company
and familiarity that they have with their parish, they do
discredit the preacher when he is gone, and mar all that he
hath done ; which they neither could ne durst justify before
his face. Therefore, I would it were remedied this way, or
some other. Namely, if they be married men, then they will
slander them, rail on them, frump them; yea, some noble and
spiritual lords had rather retain* idle sodomites and dumb
priests to their chaplains, than married preachers. They
think it unmeet that such should be colligeners. Nay, it is
unmeet that your chaplains should be prebendaries in cathe-
dral colleges, deans, archdeacons, suffragans, and live so idly
as they do ; and you which keep them be guilty of their
negligence, do oppress and rob the people of the word of
God, and find your servants of their costs. It is unmeet for
the king"'s chaplains and amners to be absent from these
colleges, out of which they have great livings, and to do
no good in the country about. It is not unmeet for married
priests, present in the colleges, and doing their duties, to
have their livings. I would the king's majesty would give his
chaplains sufficient wages, and bind them to read a lecture
of divinity every day, or thrice a week, in his hall. It were
a noble order for a king's house to be a school of divinity,
and godly example to all lords spiritual and temporal. Then
isai. xiix. they should be, as Esay calleth them, true nurses of religion.
[» Retain, ].'.50; receive, 1560.]
XXX.] OB layman's book. 203
If such as be married were allowed their wages and com-
mons to their own houses, and bound by some statutes to
preach on holy days in the country about, it were much
better than it hath been, or is. And yet, nevertheless, such
as be single might keep a common table and a common
hall; for all will not marry, no more than they do out of
colleges. They should not live idly as they have done, and
do ; for Paul's rule is, that he which laboureth not, ought
not to eat. And St Augustine^ in his book entitled TJe Opera Au-ustine.
Monachoriim, crieth out against idle coUigeners. ^Vere not
this a better reformation than to suppress and put down
colleges? O living God, this is a strange kind of surgery, a
strange reformation, to sweep things away, to make that
private which was common ! Well ! David saith, that God ps'^'-i^^'"-
will make them like to Sisera and Jabin, like unto Ored and ^^^^' ^""
Zeb, which have the houses of God in possession ; he will root
out their generation utterly^. I speak not this of the uni-
p O servi Dei, militcs Christi, itunc dissimulatis callidissimi liostis
insidias, qui bonani famam vcstram, tarn lioiium Christi odorem, ne
dicant aniirue bona?, "Post odorem ungucntorum tuorum curremus," et
sic laqueos ejus evadant, omni modo cupiens obscurare putoribus suis,
tam multos hypocritas sub habitu monachorum usquequaque dispersit,
circumeuntes provincias, nusquam missos, nusquam fixos, nusquam
stantes, nusquam sedentes. Alii membra AJartyrum, si tamen Marty-
rum, veuditant ; alii fimbrias et pliylacteria sua magnificant : alii paren-
tes vel consanguineos suos in ilia vel in ilia vegione sc audissc vivere,
et ad cos pcrgere, mcntiuntur: et omnes petunt, omnes exigunt aut
sumptus lucrosae egestatis, aut simulatae pretium sanctitatis : cum interea
ubicumque in factis suis malis deprehensi fuerint, vel quoquo modo inno-
tuerint, sub geneivali nomine monachonun vestrum propositum blas-
phematur, tam bonum, tam sanctum, quod in Christi nomine cupimus,
sicut per alias terras, sic per totam Afrieam pullulare. Noune ergo
jnflammaniini zelo Dei? Nonne conealeseit cor vestrum intra vos, et
ill meditatione vestra exardcscit ignis, ut istorum mala opera bonis ojie-
ribus persequamini, ut eis amputetis oceasionem turpium nundinarum,
([uibus cxistimatio vestra Iseditur, et infirmis oifendiculum poniturV
Miseremini ergo et compatiniini, et ostendite hominibus, non vos in
otio facilem vietum, sed i)er angustam et aretam viam hujus propositi
regnuni Dei (|Uierere. lOadem vobis causa est qua- Apostolo fuit, ut
amputetis oceasionem iis qui quicrunt oceasionem; ut qui illorum pu-
toribus pricfocantur, in odorc vcstro l)ono refuiantur. Augvistiu. de
op. IMonach. c. 28. Opera vi. 490. Edit. 1079—1700.]
P This word is inserted as equivalent to the phrase useil by the
author.]
204 THE IMAGE OF GOD, [ciI.
verslties, but of cathedral colleges, and other, in which be
»5ufficient livings to maintain married men.
But to return to our matter. Like syllogisms may be
made of other matters ; a,s, that
God delivered the children of Israel from the Egyptical
bondage : Deut. v.
The Holy Ghost was their deliverer : Esay xxx.
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
Peter pray. Jf -yve ponder the circumstance diligently, we shall find
Holy Spirit, that Peter prayed unto the Holy Ghost, when he fell into a
trance, and saw heaven open, in Simon the tanners house.
He prayeth to him that saith, " What God hath cleansed
make thou not common :" for it is written, '' There came a
voice to Peter, Arise, kill and eat ; and he said, God for-
bid. Lord.'' But the Holy Ghost is he who cleansed, for
he fell suddenly upon the gentiles to cleanse them ; and he
is called water, and a flood, for the same skill ; ergo, he
prayed to the Holy Ghost. It is to be supposed that Peter
prayed unto him who answereth, and commandeth him in
Acts X. ^i^j^t trance to go to Cornelius ; but it is written, that the
Spirit commandeth him ; ergo, he prayed to the Spirit.
Also the Spirit sent Cornelius'' servants unto Peter ; for he
saith unto him, " Go with them, and doubt not ; for I have
sent them."'' Wherefore it is probable that Cornelius also
prayed unto the Spirit, albeit he knew him not well, for his
requests were granted of him.
Moreover, the holy Comforter hath a temple, not of
stone, ne of wood, but far more honourable ; the bodies of
the elect and chosen, for which Christ died ; as it is WTitten,
1 Cor. vi. " Your bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, whom ye have of God, and ye are not your own. for ye
are dearly bought : therefore glorify God in your bodies.*"
Lo, he both giveth him a temple, and calleth him God ; and
is he not to be prayed unto and honoured ? That the Holy
Ghost is the true God, unto whom temples are erected and
builded, the Acts of the Apostles declare with plain words.
"Ananias," (piod Peter, "how is it that Sathan hath filled
thine heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost V and he addeth,
" Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." Lo, the
Holy Ghost is God. So John calleth Christ the true God.
XXX.] OR layman's book. 205
Hie est terns Dens, et vita aierna, " He is very God, and
everlasting life." And, seeing there is but one God, the three
Persons are that one God, which is only to be prayed unto, ^^be'^dedf-'^'
to be worshipped, and to whom we should dedicate both the ^*j*,^.*°^°'^
temple of our bodies, and all temples of wood, stone, or other
stuff; and to no saints departed, to no angels or archangels,
for then we honour them, which is idolatry and rohberv'.
God only hath a temple :
The Holy Ghost hath a temple :
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
" To be honoured." Nothing is to bo honoured but God
only ; for it is written, Servierunt creaturw potiiis quam Crea-
tori, qui est Deus bemdictus in secula, " They worshipped and ^'""- '•
served the creature more than the Maker, which is God
blessed for evermore." He both monisheth us to serve God
only, and reproveth such as honour creatures. Now, that
the Holy Ghost is to be served and honoured, the same
apostle witnesseth, saying: '• Beware of dogs, beware of evil Phiiip. iu.
workers, beware of dissension ; for we are circumcision, ser-
ving the Spirit, which is God."" Lo, Paul confesseth him-
self to be the servant of the Spirit. Some do read here,
Spiritu Deum colentes, "Serving God in spirit;" but the
Greek text discusseth that interpretation to be false, which
is, 01 TTvevfiari Be<o Xarpevovre^, that is to say, " Worship-
ping the Spirit, which Spirit is God." If Paul had meant,
Qmd spiritu, Deum colebanf, ' that they in spirit served
God,' ho would have said, eu TrvevtxaTi^ as he said in the
f5amc place, Kav^wixevoi eu XpicrT(o 'Irjcrov, Kal ovk ev aapKi
TreTTOt^oTes-, " Rejoicing in Christ, and not trusting in flesh."
For, that the Holy (ihost is to be worshipped, he declareth
also, saying, "If all do prophesy, and there come in onciCor. xir.
that belicveth not, or one unlearned, he is rebuked of all
men, and is judged of every man, and the secrets of his heart
a.re opened, and he falleth down on his face and worship-
peth God, saying that God is iu you indeed." But ho
who spakd in them was the Holy (ihost, of whom projihecy
Cometh, and of whom it is written, " Hon estis ros qui loqui-
mini, sed Spiritm Patris qui loquitur in robis, " It i« not you Matt. \.
which speak, but the Sjiirit of my Fath(>r wliich .speak(>th in
you." Wherefore, when they fall down and worvsliij) him
206 THE I.MAGB OF GOD, [cH.
flesiM'slobc ^^'l"^h is in thorn, they worship the Holy Ghost. If the
worsiiipped. g^ect flesh of our Saviour Christ bo to be honoured, as we
psai. xcix. ^YQ commanded, Adorafe scalellum pedum nieorum, "Worship
the footstool of my feet,*" tlie wliich is joined in unity of
person to the divine nature, and promoted to the company
and fellowship of the Deity ; without all doubt the all-know-
ing Comforter is to be honoured, of whom this flesh was
Lukei. conceived. For by the 'footstool' earth is understand, as
isai. ixvi. it is written, " Heaven is my seat, and the earth is the stool
of my feet ;" and by the earth Christ's flesh is meant. To
worship any other earth is idolatry : and well may his flesh
An objec- ^e Called so, for all flesh is earth. The Arians deny that the
tion. . , ''
John iv. Holy Ghost is to be served, because John writeth, " The
hour now is, when true worshippers shall honour the Father
in spirit and truth ; for such the Father seeketh to worship
him. God is a spirit; and they that worship him, must
Tiie ans\Yer. Worship him in spirit and in truth." If they deny the Holy
Ghost to be honoured, because the evangelist doth not say,
' the Spirit is to be honoured,' but, ' God must be honoured
in spirit,' they must deny likewise that Christ is to be
johnxiv. honoured, because he saith, 'that God must be worshipped
in truth,' for Christ saith, " I am truth."
God only is to be served :
The Holy Ghost is to be served •
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
" Justifying us :" Paul proveth the Spirit to be a justi-
1 Cor. vi. fier, saying, " Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified,
by the name of the Lord, and by the spirit of our God."
"Almighty :" this belongeth to the Comforter, for he is the
finger of God ; or else the finger of God is weak : then
is some impotency in his hand, in Christ ; for whatsoever
the hand doth, that doth the finger also. But Salomon
calleth the Holy Ghost Travrocvvafxov Kai TravTeiriaKoTrov,
wisd. viii. that is, omnipoteyitem et omniscium, " almighty and all-know-
ing ." He is the Lord of nature, and therefore he can do
what him list ; as Christ and the Father can.
God only is almighty :
The Holy Ghost is almighty .
Ergo, the Holy Ghost is God.
XXX.] OR LAYMAX''S BOOK. 207
These syllogisms and brief arguments may be profitable
helps ' for the unlearned ; as it were with a short dagger to
dispatch and slay the blasphemous heresy of the Arians. I
could dilate these things 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 instruct a beginner, not a divine. I do
arm a young soldier to faith and belief; not an old worn
champion to battle and fight. Hereafter, when 1 shall see
occasion, I will put forth a defence, with a confutation and
answer to contrary reasons. Now I have proved out of the
storehouse of the scripture, that there is but one definition of
the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : ^^'hereof it
must needs follow, that they are but one God.
All things that agree in definition, agree in essence and
nature :
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, have one
definition :
Ergo, they have one essence and nature.
This doctrine destroyeth all the doctrine of the Arians,
and proveth them consubstantial. But methink I hear some
Patripassian reply, that if they agi'ee in the definition, they
are confounded, and are one person. They agree in the
definition of God, not in the finition of paternity, or of a Son,
or of a Holy Ghost ; for neither Christ is the Father, nor
the almighty and all-knowing Comforter is Christ. They
be three unconfounded, and yet one God and Lord.
" O God of our fathers, and Lord of mercies, thou that ^^''S'l- ix.
hast made all things with thy word, and ordained man
through thy wisdom, that he should have dominion and
lordship over thy creatures which thou hast made ; and hast
willed thy angels to un'nister unto him, that he should order
the world according to equity and righteousness, and ex-
(,'cuto judgment with a true; heart ;" give to all thy people
wisdom, which is ever about thy seat ; endue them with the
spirit of knowledge, of counsel, and understanding ; as thou isai. xi.
didst promise by thy sweet Son, that he should lead tlieui
into all truth : for we are thy servants and thy hanihnaidens, J'^'in^vi.
the works of thy fingers. O send him out of thy holy
heavens and from tlu; throne of thy m;ijesty, tliat he may
[' Jk-lps, 15.50; helpers, 1.5(;0.]
208 THE lAlAGK 01' GOD.
govern us, that wo may know what is acceptable in thy
sight. For he knoweth and understandeth all things, and
can lead us soberly in our' works, and preserve and continue
us in his power: so shall our works be acceptable.
For what man is he that may know the counsel of
God i or who can think what the will of God is ? The
thoughts of mortal men are miserable, and our forecasts arc
but uncertain. And why i Our understanding and spirit is
depressed with the gross lump and dungeon of the corrupt-
ible body : our time is but a space, and short ; very hardly
can we discern the things that are upon earth, and great
labour have we or we can find things which are before our
eyes. AVho will, then^, seek out the ground of the things
that are done in heaven .^
O Lord, who can have knov.ledge of thy understanding
and meaning, except thou give wisdom, and send thy Holy
Ghost from above, to reform and redress the v.ays of them
which are upon earth, that men may leam the things that
are pleasant imto thee, and to live lovingly one with another,
every man being content with his own vocation, and follow
the same, be preserved through wisdom'. Grant this, God,
for thy Son's sake, Jesus Christ, our spokesman and
advocate ; to whom, with thee and the Holy
Spirit, be all praise, dominion, honour,
rule and thanksgiving, now in
our days and ever.
So be it.
FINIS.
[} In our, 1550 ; in all our, 1560.]
[' Than, 1550; then, 1.5fiO.]
[^ This sentence is printed as it stands in both editions.]
THREE SERMONS
THE LORD'S SUPPER,
14
I miTrniNsoN,]
A FAITWFVL
DECLARATION OF
Chriftes holy /upper, compre-
^ttself in it^vt ^tvmoQ
prCaCfltU at Eaton
CoUedge, ibp UO^
get f^utcfjins
eon. 1552.
acaijosc contcntes are
in t!|f otfier sptre
of tfit leff.
^ Newly imprinted at Lojidon by
|)of)n Dap, ttocIUng ouer
^ItJtregatf.
1 560.
Cum gratia 8f priuilegio Regice
maieftatis perfep-
tennium.
THE CONTENTS
THE FIRST SERMON
The First Sermon sheweth why Christ ordained liis supper after
the eating of the Paschal lamh : that the Jews' Easter lamb was a
figure of our sacramental bread and wine, a commemoration of their
deliverance, and a sacrament of Christ's death: that the Jews had
some continual rites and sacraments, and other some temporal: how
their sacraments and ours, how their receipt and ours, do differ. "^Vhy
God, who is immutable, disannulled their rites, and ordained new rites
and new ceremonies for us. For what cause men absent themselves
trom Christ's banquet, to the which they should come, not annually,
but continually : that, as it is best to come fasting thereto, so it is not
evil, by occasion, to receive after meat and drink.
That ' to bless' is not to make a cross upon the sacrament, but to
render thanks to God the Father for the remission of our sins through
the Seed promised: that Christ ordaineth here no private
mass, but a communion : and that the scriptures and the
oriental church disallow all private receipt: that,
as it is not evil to receive the holy sacrament
at thy mouth, so it is better to take it
in thy hands, as Christ and his
apostles did, and the laity
of the primitive
Clinn-h.
THE CONTENTS
OK
THE SECOND SERMON.
Tin; Second Sermon declareth what a sacrament is: that the nature
and matter of tlio signs rcmaineth : that Christ affirmeth bread to be
liis body, and wine to be his blood, for three properties and similitudes,
and not for any transubstantiatiou and mutation of tlieir natures.
Tliat his l)ody and Idood are tiie sustenance of man's soul and spirit,
which an; not fed or nourished with corporal food. Tliat both the
spiritual eating, and tlie sjicramental receipt, arc iiecessary and com-
14—2
212 Tui; roxTKXTS.
mandfid. That by our worthy receipt of tlie sacrament we are made
Christ's body ; not by faith only, l)ut also really. What a testament
is: what the new testament is, and what the old is. 'I'hat the old
Christians, before Christ's coming, did eat his body and drink his blood,
as truly, as really, and as eflFectually, as we do. How Christ's body and
blood be present in his holy supper : that they are not to be honoured,
in the form of bi'ead and wine, with elevation of hands, or kneeling ;
but by faith in them, by coming to his supper, by giving of thanks,
and by ofFei-ing unto him frankincense and myrrh, that is to
say, by confessing him to be very natural man, born of
his mother after the fulness of time for our re-
demption, and very God, begotten of his
Father before all time ; that this is
the catholic faith, and the
doctrine of the elder
fathers of Christ's
church.
THE CONTENTS
THE THIRD SERMON,
The Third Sermon sheweth, that Chi'ist's flesh, which is the bread
of life, is never received unworthily, never unto destruction; J)ut
always unto salvation, unto righteousness, and justification. That
Christ with plain words, and the elder fathers, do affirm the sub-
stances of bread and wine to remain after the consecration : bow the
elder fathers do affirm the natures of the signs to be altered and
changed, without any transubstantiation. That Christ's cup ought not
to be denied to the laity : that such as come unworthily to God's sa-
craments be guilty of Christ's body and blood, albeit they receive the
only figure and sign thereof. That, after the receipt of the
holy sacrament, relapse into sin is dangerous: that we
must pass our lifetime thenceforth in prayer and
giving of thanks, and go into mount
Olivet, that is, seek for hea-
venly things, and de-
spise earihly
things.
THE PRINTER TO THE READER.
Forasmuch, gentle reader, as all felicity, health, and
prosperity of a christian man standeth and consisteth in the
perfect knowledge of the true and living God and of himself,
which knowledge every faithful man may plentifully and
abundantly find in the holy and sacred scriptures, as it Avere
in a most pure and clear glass or mirror, in which all men
ought to delight and exercise themselves both day and
night, to the amendment of their own lives, and to the edify-
ing of their neighbours ; and considering also that there
are many in these latter days, (God amend them, and send
them better grace !) the which only study with hand and
foot, tooth and nail, (and yet would be counted good Chris-
tians, when in very deed they are nothing less,) to impugn
the truth, and to bury in perpetual oblivie and forgetfulness
the monuments, labours, and travails of most worthy men,
who refused no pains to advance true rehgion, and to over-
throw the false religion, superstition, and idolatry ; I have
therefore taken upon me, through God's help, to set forth
and bring to light these sermons, which were given unto me
by master Roger Hutchinson to put into print, and that a
little before the death of the most godly king, king Edward
the Sixth. And because immediately after his death God''s
true religion was overthrown, and trodden most shamefully
under foot, by the bloody papists, I was enforced and com-
pelled, not only to surcease from ])rinting of these sermons,
but also of divers others\ godly men's works. The author of
these sermons, lying on his deathbed, whom the Lord took to
his mercy, sent to me in my trouble, desiring me, that
whensoever Almighty God, of his own mere mercy and good-
ness, would look no more upon our wretchedness wherewith
214- TIFE PRIXTKR TO TIIK RKADKR.
WO had most justly provoked him unto wrath, but wipe away
our sins, and hide them in the i)rccious wounds of his Son
Jesus Christ, and turn once again his merciful countenance
towards us, and lighten our hearts with the bright beams of
his most glorious gospel, that I would not only put these
sermons of his in print, but also his other book called ' The
Image of God,"* the which he himself had newly corrected ;
declaring, that although God should take him unto his mercy,
yet he would leave behind him some little monument of
his good heart, mind and will, the which he bore towards
the truth of God's holy word, and furtherance and profit of
Christ's church : for that divers sectaries were crept in,
imder the colour and title of true religion, who through the
persuasion of the devil hath sowed their devilish seed, as
the Arians, Anabaptists, Pelagians, Papists, and divers
others : that the flock of Christ's congregation might have
some strong armour for the sure defence of themselves,
and fit weapons, when they shall have at any time
any doing Avith those sectaries, to the utter over-
throwing of them. Therefore, as the authors
good will was, through the help of God, in
setting forth that book for thy profit; so
accept and take it in good part, and give
the thanks unto God. And as touch-
ing these sermons, judge of them
thyself, as God shall give thee
grace. Thus fare thou well
in him that liveth
for ever.
Amen.
The 25 of Sep-
tember.
THE FIRST SERMON
ON THE SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE EASTER.
Tlie sum of the Gospel.
The gospel of this dayS well beloved in the Lord, contain-
eth a narration of such things as our master Christ did,
immediately before he was, through the covetousness of Ju-
das, and envy of his own nation, betrayed vmto death. It is
a long process, as you have heard, worthy of perpetual
remembrance, and a worthy matter to be declared to all men
and women. For it setteth forth plainly afore our eyes, as
it were in a scaffold, the Seed promised, which by many dark
riddles and figures is signified and shadowed in Moses and
the prophets ; and containeth the benevolence, the loving
kindness, the great tender mercy and good will of God the
Father, who so loved us, that for our honour he suffered his
honourable and onlv-beofotten child to be dishonoured and
oppressed of malicious and covetous men. And that so nobk;
and worthy a benefit should not fall out of remembrance,
which is the alone author of our redemption, and our only
comfort against sin, that we should reserve this his loving-
kindness in continual memory, and not be unthankful, he hath
commanded us, by the mouth of Christ our Lord, to celebrate
a commemoration of his favour and clemency, of his Son's dis-
honour and death, and to resort unto the holy sacrament of
the same, tliat is, of Christ's honourable body and blood.
Because this matter is so long, that it cannot be worthily
d(!clared in one hour, nor twain ; and forasmuch as many be
yet ignorant of the fruit, of the use and cause, of the mary
and sweetness of the Lord's supper, and know not what it
meaneth, nor what a sacrament is; and Easter now draweth
nigli, at which time all men and women dispose themselves to
conif to Christ's banquet, as I would wish they would also
as well at other times, and so some do whose prayers God
doth not forget ; yet, because the most part will not qoxwv
but at the aforesaid feast, therefore, and also forasmuch as it
f ' Mutt. xxvi. xxvii. vide Two books of Common Prayer, temp. Edw.
VI. Ed. Cardwcll, 1841. p. 103.1
216 THB FIKST tiEKMON
is a member jind parcel of the gospel of* this Sunday before
Easter, I thought it good to speak now of this matter, which is
an abridgement of the whole scripture, as well for the erudi-
tion of those that be unlearned, as also that such as be stub-
bornly wedded to their o\mi judgments and are hardened
against the truth, may not excuse themselves by ignorance,
when, to render an account of their faiths, they shall be cited
to appear at the bar before the divine majesty. But that
you may the better impress in your hearts, and carry away,
that which I shall speak hereof, I will rehearse unto you that
part and member of this gospel which coraprehendeth Christ's
supper.
Whiles thcji were eating, Jesus took bread; and when he had given thanks,
he brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said : Take, eat, this is my
body. And he took the cup, and thanked, and gave it them, saying : Drink
of it every one; for this is lyiy Mood of the new testament shed for many to
the forgiveness of sins. I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this
fruit of the vine, till that day when I shall drink it new with you in my
Father's kingdom. And when they had given p'aises, they went out into
mount Olivet.
Luke xxii. This matter is declared, how we do receive Christ''s body
Mark xiv. .
i cor.'xj." and blood in the sensible sacrament of bread and wine ; and
also, without the sacrament, is shewed in the sixth chapter of
John vi. St John's gospel. That I may speak hereof to the promotion
of God's glory, and find out such lessons and such doctrine in
the text, which may be to your instruction and edifying, which
be assembled here to serve God in prayer and hearing his word,
let us ask God's help and Spirit, for the which I shall desire
you to say the Lord's prayer after me : " Our Father," &c.
This gospel, well beloved in the Lord, is full of spiritual
erudition and heavenly comfort. It hath as many good
lessons and fruitful matters as words; yea, and as many
heresies be gathered of the words thereof as good lessons,
as shall be declared. Lest, through plenty of matter, I be
overlong and tedious, I will overrun it in order as the text
leadeth, speaking much or little of every sentence, as I shall
see needful for your instruction; desiring you not to look for
a learned and profound declaration, but only for a plain ex-
position and a faithful confession of the catholic faith.
First, and in the beginning of the supper, in that the
0\ THE LOKd\s SUl'l'KR. 217
text saith, '• Whiles they were eating, Jesus took the bread ;"
of this we may learn, that Christ and his disciples did ^^''y. Christ
'' _ . ^ ordained his
celebrate this sacrament of his honovn-able body and blood, supiicr after
, •' . ' tlie eatmsrof
not after the present use and manner ot the congregation, the lamb^
but after other meats and drinks. First he did eat his
passover and Easter lamb with his disciples, after the custom
of the old testament, which passover and Easter lamb was a Their iamb
figure and shadow of our sacramental bread and wine. For of our sacra-
as they of the old law did eat yearly an Easter lamb, in re-
^^ membrance of their deliverance from Egypt and from the of their de.
_ expression of Pharao ; so we of the new testament do
receive sacramental bread and wine, in remembrance of Christ's
death and passion, through Avhich we are delivered from the
Egypt of sin, from the gates of hell, and from the power
of the devil. And as the paschal lamb was ordained and
eaten the night before the children of Israel were delivered
from Egypt; so likewise this sacrament was ordained and
eaten the night before we were delivered from our sins. And
as when the Israelites were escaped out of Egypt, they did
eat nevertheless the paschal lamb, which was called still ' the
passing by,** or their 'jpassover and passport,"' because it was
a remembrance oj^ jtheir passage out of Eg}'pt ;~t and they
eating the same heartily rejoiced, offering him sacrifice, and
acknowledging with infinite thanks that they were the fellow-
ship of them that had such a merciful God ; so we, now being
delivered from sin, do eat nevertheless the sacrament, which
is still called his body that once died for our deliverance ;
and we heartily rejoice, offering to him the sacrifice of praise,
acknowledging with infinite thanks, that we are of the fellow-
ship of them which have such a merciful and mighty God
through Christ. And their lamb Mas a sacrament, not only
of their deliverance out of Egypt, but also it was a sacrament of Christ.
of Christ to come, that he through death should deliver
both the Jews and all other men from the tyranny and bond-
age of Satan ; as John the Christener taught the Jews, say-
ing, Ecce agnus Dei., qtil tollit peccata mundi, " Behold the John i.
lamb of (lod, which takcth away the sins of the world.""' He
iiameth Christ ' a l;imb ;' instructing us that their passover
w.is a figure of his death and passion. And Paul confirmeth
the; same, saying, Pai^r/ia nostrniii hnmolntiis e,'<t C/iristid^.,
" Christ our paschal lamb is ofll'cred up for us." Of these • Cor. >.
218 TIIK FIKST HEUAION"
fexts and similitudes we may gather, that their passover was
not only a figure and shadow of Christ's death, but also the
same unto them that our sacramental bread and wine is to us.
And when they did eat their lamb, such as believed on Christ
to come, and wti-e by faith Christians, did eat spiritually his
flesh, and drink his blood, as tiaily, as really, and as effectually,
as we do eat it now which be of the new testament ; as
shall be proved more plainly hereafter.
How our Here is the difference and diversity between their eating
and tilths" and ours: a lamb was their sacrament, and so was the rock
" ' ^^' of which they drank in the wilderness; so was manna also;
for they had many sacraments in which they did receive
Continual Chrisfs body and blood. And some of their sacraments
and tem- • i i ,i i mi •
porai sacra- were contmual, and other some were temporal. Their
Easter Iamb was a continual sacrament, from the time of
their deliverance out of Egypt until Christ's death. Manna
also, and the rock, were sacraments thereof; but because
they continued but for a time and in one age, they were but
temporal sacraments. We of the new law have not many
sacraments^ hereof, but only one sacrament of bread and
wine in the place and stead of their Easter lamb ; as ap-
peareth of the similitudes afore rehearsed, and also of the
institution of Chrisfs supper. For the text saith. that
"'whiles they were eating, Jesus took bread and the cup;"
that is, immediately after that he had finished the ceremony
of the passover, he ordained his last supper ; instructing us
hereby, that bread and wine be unto us of the new testament
the same in effect, in use, and operation, that the aforesaid
lamb was to the old Christians which were before the coming
of the Seed promised.
^^'Jiy God Here, percase, you will reply, and say: If in the ceremony
nuUedthe of the Easter lamb thev of the old law did eat Christ's
rites of the . •' ...
old law. flesh and drink his blood, why is this ceremony now abro-
gated and disannulled? Why have we a new sacrament of
bread and wine? Is it convenient for the divine majesty,
Mai. iii. wliicli is immutable, to make orders and laws, and to alter
and change them again, as men do ? I answer : They Avere
under the law, we are under grace ; they were under the old
testament, we are heirs of the new testament. And
because our law and theirs, our testament and theirs, our
priesthood and theirs, bo divers and different, therefore we
ox THE lord's supper. 219
have divers sacraments from them, both of Clirist'.s body
and blood, and also of other things. They had manna, and
a rock, and an Easter lamb ; we have only bread and wine.
They had circumcision for a continual sacrament, and the
Red sea, and the cloud that went before them out of Egypt,
for temporal sacraments : we have, instead of these, one con-
tinual sacrament, the laver of regeneration. Neither can
any mutability be laid unto God, who is immutable, for this
mutation of orders and sacraments; no more than to the
husbandman, which commandeth his servants to apply other
business in winter, and other things in summer or springtide.
This universal world is God's house, God's mansion and
palace. They of the old law were his servants, and we be
his children and sons through Christ. 'Now; every house-
holder commandeth other things to his servants, and other
thino;s to his children. And a kinsr doth not trovern his
realm with one sort of laws and statutes ; but maketh
positive laws for every time and every purpose, as occasion
is ministered: and so doth God. St Paul declareth this
diversity and policy of Almighty God very well, where he
saith. Lex poedariogus est ad Christum^ that is, "The lawGai. iii.
was a sclioolmaster unto Christ." But faith being come, we
are no longer under a schoolmaster. A good schoolmaster
doth not use one trade in teaching, nor one book, but divers
trades and divers books, as his scholars increase in learninsf.
The physician doth not cure all diseases with one medicine.
So the eternal God ordained divers sacraments, divers rites
and ceremonies, in divers times and ages, because of the
divers conditions and natures of men. The sacraments of
the old law did shadow, figure, and preach Christ to come :
our sacraments do shew him, as it were upon a_scaffo]d, <fu tf T^
already come unto our eyes. Therefore it was convenient ^
tluit their orders and ours should be divers, lest, if their
orders did remain still, it might give some occasion to here-
tics to deny tiiat Christ is yet come. Many other causes
might be rehearsed of this mutation of sacraments, which be
not so necessary now to bo spoken of. Therefore I will
omit them, and proceed to other matters.
Albeit th(! Easter lamb of the Jews, M'hich y(\-irly was
slain and eaten in nnncmbrancH? of their deliverance from
Egy])t, antl in hope of the coming of Christ, whom St John
2-20
'IHE KIRSr SERMON
^Vhy men
absent
themselves
from
Christ's
table.
Ecclus. xxi,
Zech. V,
Psal.
xxxviii.
and Paul do name our Easter lamb ; albeit, I say, their
sacrament were a figure of our bread and wine, yet wc may
not gather hereof that the holy communion of Clirist's
honourable body and blood is to be resorted unto but once
a year, because they had but a yearly lamb and an annual
remembrance, and that always at the feji&t of Easter; as
some bishops of Rome have taught in times past, which
would have the laity of ever}' realm to have but an annual
communion, that is, but once a year; and as many appear
to be persuaded yet, but vainly and wickedly. For this is
the common fashion of the most part of men and women:
all the year long they absent themselves from God's table.
And why i because they are loath to be pained with the
remembrance of their sins, and with the consideration of their
offences. The remembrance of our offences maketh us heavy
and sorrowful, depriveth us of all mirth, bringeth us into
sadness, and maketh us tremble for fear of God's displea-
sure. Therefore Jesus the son of Sirach saith. Denies
leonis denies ejus, '• Sin hath teeth like unto a lion." And
the Prophet Zachary compareth it to lead. David he
nameth it a burden, saying : '" Mine iniquity is over my
head, and doth press me down with a grievous burden."
Because, I say, they will not feel this burden, and because
they desire to live merely in the pleasures of the flesh, in
drunkenness, in whoredom, in gluttony, in feasting and ban-
quetting, in oppression of their neighbours, in covetousness,
in unrighteous deahng, all the year long ; therefore they will
take no remorse, no penance, no remembrance of their sins,
but once a year. ' AVhat need I,' saith the carnal man to his
own heart within himself, ' what need I to trouble myself with
fear of God's displeasure, with the memory of my sins, with
the remembrance of hell, of death, of the devil, every week or
every month ? How can a man be merry, and think always
of death and hell ? No : I will take my pleasure ; I will
laugh, and be merry all the year ; I will do what me list,
and at Easter I will repent. Then I will come to the Lord's
table, but not before.' Examine thine own thoughts, thou
oppressor, thou drunkard, tiiou whorekeeper, thou flatterer,
and enter into your own hearts : you shall find this to be the
cause of your long absence, and of your seldom coming to
the Lord's banquet. For as he that hath a hungry and a
ON THE lord's SUPPER. 221
greedy stomach to his meat, declareth hereby his body to be
void of all coiTuption, and that he is in good and perfect
health ; so I say unto you, to observe an annual communion
is a token of an unrighteous man, of a stubborn servant, of
an unquiet woman ; and to come often is a token of one
which striveth against his flesh, which keepeth battle with
the devil, and laboureth daily to live godly and blameless.
For here we remember Christ's death and passion : the
remembrance of Chrisfs death maketh us to remember our
own offences and sins ; for he died not for himself, but for
our iniquities and misdeeds. The remembrance of our
offences wrappeth us in sorrow and heaviness. Sorrow and
heaviness do cause us to fly unto God for his help and mercy,
as it is written : " In trouble 1 cried to thee, who embraceth Psai. c.wiii.
us like a loving Father." For as sorrow and heaviness cien. iii.
entered first into this world for sin, and for the guilt of
Adam's disobedience; so the same now doth expel sin again,
and lead us into virtue, as Paul teacheth : Tristitia secun-
dum Deum operatur poenitentiam in salutem, "Godly sorrow," 2Cor. vii.
saith Paul, " causeth repentance unto salvation."
Moreover, in that the text saith, that '' whiles they were
eating, Jesus took bread" and ordained his last supper, some
do reason hei'eof, that the sacrament is not to be received it is best to
„ . • 1 p 1 1 come to
lastmg, as the custom now is, but alter other meats and cinist's
,.,„ .„., , I'l banquet
drmks, alter a certam relection, banquet, or maundy ; which, tastin?.
they say, those that be rich should make, to refresh the poor
and needy. For the defence of this maundy they allege not
only Christ's example, but also where it is written, that the
Corinthians indeed kept such a maundy. But Paul repre- 1 t-'o"". xi.
hendeth them therefore, and disannulleth their custom as
an occasion of gluttony, of drunkenness, of pride, of con-
tention, and other misbehaviour in the church, saying unto
them: "Have ye not houses to eat and drink in? or else
despise ye the congregation of God?" And again : "If any
man hunger, let him eat at home ; that ye come not together
unto condemnation." Nor Christ did not celebrate this
sacraiuont after other meats and drinks, to stablish any such
custom, nor to giv(! us any example to do the like ; l>ut
rathei' to teach us, that our sacramental Invad is succeeded
instead of the Jews' Easter lamb, and that their ei'remony is
now <lisanmilled and abroj^ated. 'i'herefore the universal
222 THR FIRST SERMON
church commonly, according to Paul's mind to the Corin-
thians, useth now to celebrate the Lord's supper fasting,
without any maundy, and not after other meats. Notwith-
standing, as he doth well which cometh fasting to the Lord's
table, so he doth not ill which, by occasion, cometh after
that he hath eaten and drunk. Meat and drink do not
defile, do not make a man an unmeet guest for Christ's board,
for the marriage-dinner of the king's son ; but lack of the
Matt. xxii. wedding garment, that is, sin and iniquity. There is no
commandment in the scriptures which restraineth those that
have eaten from the communion. Paul reproveth not the
Corinthians for any such thing; but because they made
maundies and banquets in the house of prayer. In their
1 Cor. xi. own houses he doth not forbid them to eat and drink before
the communion, but permitteth it, and leaveth them to their
own hberty and necessity herein, saying: " If any man hun-
ger, let him eat at home."
I touch this matter partly through occasion of the text,
and partly also to reform those, if they will be reclaimed,
which for lack of knowledge or [are] offended with those
that come after meat through some necessity; which offence
cometh of a good zeal and of a good intent ; but good
intents must be reformed according to knowledge. And,
percase, some will be offended with me for uttering this
matter. Be not offended with truth, be not deceived nor
bewitched with superstition and blind zeal ; but consider my
words indifferently, or rather not my words, but the words
of Chrysostom, a learned and an elder father of Christ's
church, who saith a great deal more in this matter than I
have said ; whose saying moved me also at this time to
touch this matter. For unless he or some other learned
man did affirm it, I would not teach it. He, in his ninth
chrysost. homily adpopidum Antiochermm, is earnest against those which
adpopui." withdraw them from the communion many times, because
they were not fasting; and he exliorteth them to come
otherwhiles after meat, saying: SI tibi persiiaseris, quod post
cibum et potum^ et ad avva^tv convenire necesse est, omnino et
inmtus multam (feres curam modestiw, et neque in ehrietatem
neqiie in crapnlam nmqiiam dediiceris. Cura enim et exspec-
tatio in ecclesia convmiendi cum honesta mensura cibum et
potum snmere dorr't, ne ingressus ef fratrihns cojnmicotus, 2^osf^(*
Antiocli.
ON THE lord's supper. 223
vimim 7'edolenSj et inordinate enidans, ah omnibus prwsentihus
deridearisK Which words be thus much to say, ' If thou de-
termine with thyself to come otherwhiles to the communion,
after thou hast eat and drunk, by this means thou shalt
learn to be modest and sober in thy behaviour, thou shalt
never offend in drunkenness, nor defile thyself with gluttony ;
but, remembering God's table, thou wilt take meat and drink
with moderation, lest coming to the church, if thou smell of
wine, or belch inordinately through the fulness of your
stomach, thou be a laughing-stock to all that shall see thee in
that taking.""
Whensoever thou art godly affected, whensoever thou
hast remorse for thy sins, with an earnest intent of amend-
ment and reformation of thy living, be not afraid to come
to Christ's banquet, to the marriage-dinner of the king's
son, whether thou hast eaten and drunk, or art fasting. Be
afraid, if thou, being an officer or mao-istrate, dost devise evil Ma2:is-
^ . . ^ trates.
statutes, either ecclesiastical or temporal, contrary to the sta-
tutes of the eternal (lod; or if thou dost make unlawful grants,
and give dispensations, Hcenses, and cockets, to carry wool,
leather, corn, or other wares over the sea ; enpoverishing
many thousands to enrich thyself and few others. Be afraid,
if thou be a tailor, and dost steal part of tlieir cloth (which Tailors.
cost them dear) from thy customers, making them believe
that no less than three yards will serve their turn, when two
yards be sufficient. Be afraid to come, if thou keep a
draper's or an haberdasher's or lioticary's sho]>, and dost wiapers.
. Poticaries.
oppress thy brethren by taking immoderate and unreasonable
gains ; if thou be a husbandman, and wilt not store markets Husbami-
and fairs, neither with grain, noi- with cattle, which is thy
vocation and calling; if thou be a butchei-, and wilt not sell Hutdiers.
thy beeves, nuittons. and veals, at the king's price, or for
yfTaii yap jy? ctcm'toi' TrcTrtiKO)'.', on fxc-ra to (pajLiu kui TTitTi'
(tvayKt) KOI TT^joi, iTvt'u^w airnvTijaai, 7rcti>Tu>v k«i aKwi' iroWaKi':
CTrific\t](Tti Tti^ <Tu)(ppn(Tviiti<:, KOI ovTL < (V pcfitju i>VTC t iV dcinjiajicii'
KClTCI't-^ihlfTII TTOTC • »/ yCll} (jjpDHTIV kOJ )/' TTiKJffOOKKt T/J'^ ClI Tljl/
iKK\if(Tiui' a([)i^cw<; iraiOcvci pcru t>/? TrpoatjKova-ijc cvKoan'tav kk)
Tpo(pti'i KOI TTOTov }itTn\unftd\iciv' 'ivu pi] e'iae\d(iov koi to?? a'ofA-
ipuii avapi-^aeK, etra a-rroirvewu olvov ko.) cpuvydpeiio^: aTaKTU)';, Kn-
To-/! AoffOj/v trnpu tuih Trupt'iiiriou ftVo'i'Tior. (^hrysostoin. ()])erii ii. !)".
Edit. Paris. 1718— I7n!{.]
!24.
TFin FIRST SRRMO.V
Bakers.
Pastors.
Who is a
slanderer.
Flatterv.
Isai. V.
Matt. V.
reasonable vantage, but Idllest them without effusion and
letting forth the blood, that they may weigh more, to the
poisoning of the eaters ; if thou be a baker, and dost break
the king's assize and statute, hurting many to benefit thyself.
If thou be a person, having cure of soul, and yet dost
nothing therefore, but feed thine o\vn body and live idly ;
and dost not only not preach thyself, but also, when other
preach to thy parishioners, thou defacest them behind their
backs, and dost discredit them as much as lieth in thee ; (as I
know one was defaced not long ago, which preached whole-
some and fruitful doctrine, even iu this place;) if, I say,
thou be such a one, presume not to come to Christ's ban-
quet, lest in his stead Sathan enter into thee, as he did into
Judas, and you be expelled into utter darkness. Presume not
to come without thy wedding-garment, without a renewed
heart, in mahce and out of charity, in sin and iniquity. Be
afraid, if thou be an extortioner, an oppressor of others for
thine own commodity ; if thou be a flatterer, a pickthank, a
talebearer, a spy, or an instrument unto oppression and ini-
quity; if thou be a sower of debate, strife, and variance; if
thou be a slanderer, that is, an ill-speaker of good men. For it
is lawful to say that an evil man is an evil man, and that an
oppressor is an oppressor ; if thou hast admonished him, and
he not amend, this is no slander. Yea, I say unto you, that
it is flattery, it is grievous sin, to speak well of such an evil
man ; for it is sin to lie on the devil, according to the
common saying. "Woe worth them," saith the prophet
Esay, " that call evil good, and good evil ; which maketh
darkness light, and light darkness ; that maketh sour sweet,
and sweet sour : woe be unto them !" We must bless evil
men, that is, pray for their amendment and reformation :
so Christ's commandment is to be taken, which he gave
his disciples, irpoaevyeade inrep tui' eTrrjpeai^orrwv f/uas,
" Bless them that curse you," that is, " Pray for them :" for
they corrupt the text which turn it, "Speak well of them;"
unless they expound ' well-speaking,' to be prayer to God
for their conversion. We may not speak well of them which
be notable evil ; for we may not lie, we may not flatter, lest
that curse of the prophet fall upon us, which saith, " Woe
be to you that call evil good," &c. Therefore let us say the
truth of such evil men, that shame and report may cause
ON THE L0Rd''3 SUPPER. 225
tliem to amend, and that other may be afraid to commit the
same faults and to follow their ungracious example. If we
praise evil men, besides that we lie, we encourage other to
follow them ; we embolden them to go forward in wickedness
and to rejoice in sin ; we do break God's commandment,
which saith, Koii dices f ahum testimonium, "Thou shait beExod.xx.
no false witness." But of this in anywise beware, that thou
do not report evil of those which be godly. For as the other
is flattery and lying, so this is slander and railing, and against
the aforesaid precept. And the prophet also crieth: " Woe f^ai.v.
unto such that call good evil, and light darkness, and sweet
2our."
Before thou comest to God's board, examine and try
thyself, whetlier thou be guilty of any of tiiese things afore
rehearsed ; of oppression, of flattery, of malice, of slander, of
lying, of envy, of bait-making. Follow the counsel of St i cor. xi.
Paul ; judge thyself tliat thou be not judged of the Lord.
And as householders and masters of colleges do call their
stewards and bowsers to an account and audit, to know what
they have received, and what they have expended and laid
fortii for every thing, what is not received, and what remain-
eth still in their hands; so do thou make thyself a judge over
thine own conscience ; call thy soul to give an account of all
his thoughts; call thine eyes to a reckoning for all their
wanton and unchaste looks; examine thine ears, whether
they have been corrupted with flattery, with detraction, or
with evil counsel ; call thy hands to account for covetously
taking that which was not thine ; ask account and a reckon-
ing of thy tongue, what oaths, what slanders, ^^•hat brags,
what bawdry, what evil counsel, what heresy, and what
pestiferous doctrine he hath sowed and uttered. For if thou
do not prove and examine thyself, according to Paul's
counsel, but come with a deflled conscience to God's board,
thou dost not eat Christ's body, which is the bread of life,
and is received only unto health and salvation; but thou
dost eat partem mortis, ' the bread of death,' the bread of
judgment, the bread oi" daumation ; and art guilty, as Paul > Cor. xi.
saith, " of the body and blood of ("hrif^t," because thou dost
abuse, defile, and despise the sacrament thereof.
But to return to the text : St Matthew writoth, that our
Saviour Christ gave thanks, and thai, " after thanks rendered,"'
15
[uiiTCUlN'nON'.j
226 THE FIRST SERMON
he brake bread and distributed it to his disciples : whereas
Lukexxii. Matthew and Luke .say, that "he gave thanks," Mark hath
Mark xiv. these words, " He took bread, and blessed, and brake it."
Here we say, that ' to bless'' is to give thanks to God
for all his innumerable benefits, and namely for our re-
IJo bless,' demption tlirough Christ. No, saith the papist ; ' to bless""
make a Jg to make a siern of the cross on the sacrament. And to
cross. _ ~ _
defend this intei-pretation they allege St Paul's authority,
1 Cor. X. ^y^Q saith, " Is not the cup of blessing, which we bless,
partaking of the blood of Christ V I answer : the Greek
word, in these two texts which they allege for their crossing,
is evXoyia : which word cannot signify ' to cross."* For
whereas Paul termeth it, " the cup of blessing which we
bless," the Greek is, to TroTrjpiov Tt]i evXoyia^ o evXoyou/xei/.
And for the English, " he blessed and brake the bread,""
Mark saith in thf Greek tongue, in which he ^vrote his
Mark xiv. gospel, Xaj3(i)v apToi' evXoyrjo-a^ e/cXacre: which word, I say,
cannot signify 'to make a sign of the cross.*" For the
Greeks never used it in such signification ; and the oriental
and Greek church never took it so : neither do we read that
the Greek church used ever any such gesture upon the
sacrament. Then, what is the meaning of these words,
"he blessed and brake the bread f
You shall understand, that ' to bless' is a word of many
significations, and many times used in the scriptures. And
yet throughout the whole bible it doth never signify, 'to
make a sign of the cross.' I do not mean nor aflfirm, that
it is evil to make a cross on thy forehead ; but to teach
that Christ crossed the sacrament, and to defend crossing
to be a necessary ceremony to be used at the distribution of
Christ's supper, this is papistical leaven, superstitious doc-
trine, and to make the scriptures a nose of wax, a tennis-
ball, and to wTest them to every purpose. ' To bless,"" here,
is to give thanks to God the Father for his merciful behold-
ing of our misery, for pardoning Adam's disobedience, and
for sending his Son to be bom of a woman, to grind and
break in sunder the serpent's head ; that is, to destroy the
power of the devil through death, through his cross, and
by the effusion and shedding of his blood. And the cup
of blessing, of which Paul speaketh, is as much to say as,
the cup of thanksgiving ; for he expoundeth it even so in
o\ THE lord's supper. 227
the next chapter himself. And whereas Mark saith that
Christ ' blessed,'' jMatthew and Luke say, expounding one
another, that he ' gave thanks." For this use, intent, and
purpose this sacrament was chiefly and principally ordained ;
that we should not forget the great clemency and special
favour of the eternal God, for the death and passion of
Christ our Lord, but reserve this his benefit in continual
memory. And therefore many of the elder fathers do name
this holy sacrament evXoyia, or ev-^apicxTia, that is, ' a
rendering of praise,' and ' a thanksgiving."
It followeth in the text, how, after that Christ had
given thanks, " that he brake the bread, and gave it to his
disciples, and bade them take and eat it. And he took the
cup likewise, and gave it them, saying. Drink of it, every
one :" or, as Luke saith, " He took the cup, and said, Acci-
pite, ef duidite inter tos, Take this and divide it among
you." Christ our master doth not receive this holy sacra- Christ
1 • ^ ^ • f • 1 -KT • ^ i ordaineth
ment alone, but with his disciples. Neither do we read here a com-
,, , . , . . , munion, not
in all the new testament that ever any received it privately, a private
or severally from others. The Acts of the Apostles testify. Acts ii.
that they which believed resorted together oftentimes to
celebrate this sacrament. But they do not speak of any
private receipt ; for Christ ordaineth here no private mass,
but a communion. Let us follow his example, and celebrate
Christ's supper, not as our forefathers have done many years
and of long time ; but as Christ, who is before all time and
all years, did celebrate it first, and as his disciples did use it
in the primitive and apostolic church.
You will say, there hath been a custom contrary many An ob-
'' . jection.
years: and I have heard some say, that when the devotion
of the laity and temporality waxed cold, that the apostles
and their successors gave liberty to ministers to receive it
alone. I answer, this custom begun but of late days, and T'>e a"swer.
not many years agone. For, as chronicles do make plain
and evident relation, Gregory \ surnamed the great, the Gresorius
fi ' ,niagnus.
hrst bishop of Rome of that name, was the first founder of
private masses, who was Anno Domini 5,9"). Almost for the
space of six hundred years there was no private receipt.
Q' Fecit inter alia beatus papa Gregorius, ut in ocelcsiis sanctorum
;i])ostoloruni Petri et Pauli super corpora eoruni missiu' cdclniircntuv.
Bcda, Hist. KcclcH. lib. ii. c. 1. p. Of). Edit. IS.m]
228
THE FIRST SKTIMON
The
Venetians.
The East Moreovor, this is most certain and true, that the oriental
church. ' .
church never unto this day did allow or use private masses ;
as appeareth plainly of the name which they give to this
sacrament ; for they call it avua^is, that is, a communion, or
y-fje<irf^U'ii.'y'.i a coming and assemble together of many in one place. And
PUny. ^^ for an evident proof of this, you shall understand that Pliny',
he that was Proconsul Bithjmw, that is, governor and captain
of Bithynia, in the time of that wise emperor Trajan, this
Pliny, I say, in a certain epistle which he writeth to the
foresaid emperor, De ritu Christianomm, Of the rites and
fashions of the Christians, is a witness hereof, that the Greeks
in his time had a communion, and no private masses. And
other learned writers do credibly report, that certain churches
of the Venetians, within this thirty years and less, did not
celebrate the Lord's supper alone, or any man privately
by himself : and it may well be that they do so still at this
day. Of these it is evident, that private masses be not of so
ancient and long continuance, or so universally received, as
the papists do face and brag the matter, after their ac-
customed sort.
But vou will go further with me and sav : If the laitv will
receive, they may, for they were never restrained ; but if
they will not, thinking themselves unworthy to receive it
often themselves, why may not the priest receive it alone for
The answer, them i AVe may pray one for another, so we are exhorted
to do ; but no man may receive the sacrament for others,
but for himself only. That which thou receivest, thou
receivest by thine own faith, and for spiritual food to thine
own soul, and not to others. For it is written, Justus ex fide
sua vivet, " The righteous man shall live by faith ;" by his
own faith, and not by another man's faith, nor by another's
receipt. And as no man hath nourishment or sustenance of
the meat which another doth eat, so this spiritual food doth
profit only such as take and eat it themselves according to
[]' Affiniiabant autein, hanc fuisse summam vel ellipse suae vol
eiToris, quod cssent soliti stato die ante lucera convenire, carmeiique
Christo quasi Deo diceve secum invicem: seque sacramento non in scelus
aliqnod oljstringere, sed ne furta, ne latrocinia, no adulteria committerent,
lie fidem fallon-nt, ne dcpositum appellati abneyarent : quibus peractis
n)orcm siln disccdendi fuisse, nirsusfiue eoi-undi ad capiendum cibuni,
proMiiscuum tamen ct innoxium. Plin. Kpist. Lib. x. Epist. 97.J
All ob-
jection.
Habak. ii.
Rom. i.
Heb. X.
ox THE lord"'s supper. 229
Christ's precept. They be not edified nor refreshed with
another man s spirit, with another man s faith or receipt, no
more than they be regenerate and renewed with the bap-
tism of others. For if it be true that Paul saith, Qui enim
manducat et hihit indigne, judicium sibi manducat et bibif,
that is, " He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth i Cor. xi.
and drinketh to his own condemnation," and not to any
other man's condemnation ; ergo, he that eateth and drink-
eth worthily, eateth but to his own health and salvation, and
not to the health and profit of others. The benefit, the fruit,
and the whole commodity of this sacrament dependeth upon
the promises which Christ hath annexed to it; which pro-
mises be pronounced only to those that come to his supper
themselves; as these promises, " Whosoever eateth my flesh J°'"^"-
and drinketh my blood hath eternal life :" " I will raise him
up," saith Christ, " at the last day :" and, " he dwelleth in
God, and God in him." These promises, I say, be not made
to thee, unless thou come to God's table thyself; another
man's receipt doth nothing profit or edify thee. Therefore
Paul unto the Corinthians, after that he restraineth them i cor. xi.
from making any banquet or refection before this supper,
afterward, speaking of this sacrament, he commandeth both
priests and others not to receive one for another, but one to
tarry for another, saying. Alius alium ex-pectate^ cum convenitis
ad manducandum^ " Tarry," saith Paul, " one for another,
when ye come together to eat." He speaketh these words
of Christ's supper ; for he forbiddeth the Corinthians in the
same chapter to eat any other meat in the house of prayer
than bread and wine in commemoration of the death of
Christ. Ambrose, a learned and holy father of Christ's st Ambrose,
church, doth so construe and take this text, disallowing and
reproving all private receipt; and also Theophylact". For jn^eopiiy-
Ambrose saith upon this text^ : Ad in deem cxpectandum est,
lit multorum ohlatio simul cekbretm\ ct ut omnibus ministretiir ;
[^"Ctari, dct\(poi nov, (Tvinii-^diienoi ck to (pnyttv, «,\A>;Aoik
fKCt^etrdc. Ai5(?i<? ei? roi' inpi twv Trevt'fTicv j/Af^e \oyov, ^u& o efivija-vti
KoXnaiwn k«( 0avdru3i'. K(u nvK t'tTreu, aAA»;Ao(c h(T(icotc, a\\ ,
iKCcyccrde' cukvvidv art Kotvd tlai ra eKfTo-e tlrripcpnuevu, kui cci
dvaiiivciii Ttjv Kutvi]ii (rvutXcvcrni. Thcnpliylact, ii. 103. Kilit. \ cnct.
1754—63.]
P Anibiosii Opera, ii. 160. Edit. Paris 108G— IGDO, in appondicc]
2S() THK I [RSI' SJKKAIOX
that is to say, ' Wc must tarry for others, that luany may
offer up thanks and praises, and that all the congregation
may receive.' Thanks Ijc unto God, that we have Christ's
supper in that fashion and manner which he himself observed.
Yet because all men be not persuaded, and some do murmur
and gnidge at this godly reformation, and of a stubbornness
absent themselves from the holy communion, and would fly
back into Eg\^t again to hear masses, as they were wont to
do, I thought it necessary to touch this matter, to reform
their judgments, if they ^\ill be reclaimed.
What word of God, what authority of scriptures, can be
alleged for private masses ; Or who is able to shew that
ever any of the apostles, any holy man in the primitive
church, or any of the elder fathers before Pope Gregory, did
celebrate privately? If there be neither example of any
holy man, nor no authority, no text, no testimony of the
scripture to maintain them, let us conclude that it is but a
dream and fantasy of man, submitting our judgments to
God's book. Moreover, as Christ did not ordain his supper
to be received privately for benefactors either dead or alive,
Theeieva- or for others, no more did he elevate and lift up the
sacrament over his head, to be seen and worshipped of his
disciples. He gave it them into their hands to eat, and not
to honour it ; to receive it, and not to worship it with hold-
ing up of their hands and knocks on their breasts. Only
God is to be honoured with this kind of reverence, and no
sacrament; for God is not a sacrament, neither is the
sacrament God. What a sacrament is, is too long.^ matter
to entreat now, because I will not weary you ; I will defer
this point unto the next sermon. Then I will shew you also
how Christ's body is in the holy sacrament, and proceed
further into the text.
Let us use it as Christ and his apostles did. If thou
wilt be more devout than they were, be not deceived, but
It is best to beware that thy devotion be not idolatry. Christ gave it
take the _ _ -^ •/ o
sacrament them iuto their hands, not into their mouths. Neither be
into our . ' _ _
hands. thou afraid to take and handle it with thy hands, as they did.
Consider not how it hath been used in times past. The
concii. council holden at Rotomage did first forbid men to take it
Rotomag. •■,•,, -n,
m their hands. Regard more Christ's example, and the
example of his disciples and of the primitive church, which
ON THE LOIId's SUPPEK. 231
always did take it into their hands, than the hite example of
our forefathers. But thou wilt say, the King's Book, made
by the learned clergy and wise men of this realm according
to God's word, and confirmed by most high authority of the
lords and commons of the parliament, comraandeth me to
receive the holy sacrament at the priesfs hands into my
mouth \ As the apostles commanded all christian men and "^"^^^ ''^'•
women to abstain from blood, and from strangled meats,
to bear with those that were weak and for other certain
considerations, which commandment St Paul afterward dis- .^P^^V *•^•
annulleth, professing no meat to be unclean, and licensing
them to eat both blood and strangled, which license they
embraced willingly and obediently; and as they of the
primitive church commanded the people to receive it at their
mouths, because some receiving it in their hands did convey
away the sacrament secretly, to abuse it to superstition and
magical uses ; so the king commandeth the same indeed for
like considerations, for a time and season, for an uniformity,
and to bear with thy infirmity and weakness, until thou shalt
have more knowledge by reading and hearing God's sacred
word, and until thou shalt be grown a strong and a perfect
Q' Tliis passage does uot refer to the work entitled " A Necessary
Doctrinc and Erudicionfor any Christen Man," published in 1543, which
was called The King's Book, in contradistinction to " The Institution
of a Christen JMan," published in 1537, and commonly known as The
Bishop's Book ; but to the first Book of Common Prayer in English,
brought into use in 1549, imder the authority of the act of the 2nd
and 3rd Edward VI., cap. i. (Auth. Ed. of Stats, iv. 3G). A rubric in
that book is in the following words : " And although it be read in ancient
writers that the people many years past received at the priest's hands the
sacrament of the body of Christ in their own hands, a'nd no commandment
of Christ to the contraiy ; yet forasmuch as they many times conveyed
the same away, kept it with them, and diversely abused it to superstition
and wickedness; lest any thing such hereafter should be attempted,
imd that an uniformity might be used throughout the whole realm, it
is thought convenient the people commonly receive the sacrament of
C!hrist's body in their mouths at the i)ricst's hand." in the second
Book of Common Prayer, set forth in 1552, tlic rul>ric just quoted was
omitted, and tlic mode of delivering the bread to comnmnicants altered,
by adduig to » former rubric, in which the priest was directed to give
the bread "• to the people," these words, " in their hands kneiling."
Vide Dr Cardwell'3 Two Books of Com. Pi'ayer, pp. 303, 308, 310'.
Edit. 1041.]
232 THE FIRST SERMON
man in Christ's holy rehgion ; intending, as I take it, when
thy heart is tilled with the seed of God's w^ord, and able to
digest stronger meat, to make an uniform law to the con-
trary, and to command all men, women, and children to
receive it with their hands, as priests do, and as Christ and
his disciples did, and the laity of the primitive church. For
indifferent things the king's majesty, with his clergy and the
advice of his parliament, may do and undo, forbid and com-
mand, and make one law this year, and another clean
contrary the next year. Therefore, whensoever the same
authority shall will thee to take it in thy hands again, or if
they shall will thee to receive it sitting, thou must as
willingly obey their commandment as they of the primitive
church did embrace Paul's commandment touching blood and
strangled meats, notwithstanding it was a contrary corn-
Acts XV. mandment to that which all the apostles had concluded upon
a little before, as is registered. In the mean time, I do not
bid thee disobey or break their first commandment.
But if it be an indifferent thing, thou wilt say, why may
I not do as I list I Or how may they forbid me to take it
with rav mouths for then they make it not indifferent. It
is not evil to receive with thy mouth ; but it is better to
receive it in thy hands, forasnuich as Christ's disciples did
so : and in indifferent things the magistrates may command
thee to do that is the better, yea, or that which is worse, as
they shall see cause and considerations. Prepare thy heart,
therefore, to obedience in such things ; and be as ready to
receive it in thy hands as with thy mouth ; be as ready to
receive it sitting as kneeling; yea, even to-morrow, if they
shall will thee so to do. And as thou dost willingly obey them
in that they bid thee take it with thy mouth, so obey them
concerning adoration; for in that they command that the
sacrament shall not be heaved nor lift up, they forbid thee
to honour it.
Till rnn- Thus I havc declared you my faith and knowledge; that
pnunicra- is, wliy God ordaiuod his supper after the eating of the
praypr. lamb ; that their lamb was a figure of our sacramental bread
and Avine, a conmiemoration of the deliverance, and a sacra-
ment of Christ's death; that the Jews had some continual
rites and sacranionts, and other some temporal. I shewed
you how their sacraments and ours, how their receipt and
ON THE LORd''s SUPrER. 233
ours, doth differ ; why God, who is immutable, disannulled
their rites, and ordained new rites and new ceremonies for us ;
for what causes men absent themselves from Christ's banquet,
to which they should come not annually, but continnually ;
and that, as it is best to come fasting thereto, so it is not
evil to receive after meat and drink. I have proved, that
' to bless' is not to make a cross upon the sacrament, but to
render thanks to God the Father for the remission of our
sins through the Seed promised ; that Christ ordaineth here
no private mass, but a communion ; and that the scrip-
tures, and the oriental church, and St Ambrose, a godly a-nd
learned father of the Latin church, disallow all private re-
ceipt ; and that, as it is not evil to receive the holy sacra-
ment at thy mouth, so it is better to take it in thy hands,
as Christ and his apostles did, and the laity of the primitive
church. These matters be touched hitherto ; but unless God
inwardly with his Spirit do teach you this philosophy and
wisdom, and transform your hearts and judgments, leading
you into all truth, my preaching is but lost labour : there-
fore let us call upon the name of God, with prayer and
invocation, for his help and holy Spirit.
Let us pray for the universal company of Christ's
church throughout all realms and dominions, wheresoever
they dwell, Namely for the congregation of England and
Ireland, desiring the eternal God, of his fatherly mercy, to
continue and strengthen both them and us in the confession
and obedience of his word and truth : also, for all infidels
and unbelievers, that God may turn their hearts to believe
upon his Son Jesus Christ our Lord ; for St Paul unto
Timothe commandeth us to pray for all men ; for the king's
majesty, a prince of most excellent hope, that virtue and
knowledge may dwell in his noble heart. For these
things, for the remission of our sins, and for
God's help hereafter in all our works,
words, and thoughts, I shall
desire you to say a
prayer after
mo.
234 THK I'KAVEH.
THE PRAYER.
O Eternal God, who art the author of* all truth, and
didst ordain this holy sacrament of bread and wine by thy
only-begotten Son, in the room and place of the Easter lamb,
which they of the old law did eat yearly for a memory of
their deliverance from Egypt and from Pharao by thy mighty
power, and in hope of the coming of Christ, whom John the
Christener and Paul do call our Easter lamb ; that we of
the new law, receiving this new sacrament, should reserve
thy loving kindness in continual remembrance, in that thou
hast sent thy only Son to become woman's seed, to break
the serpent's head, and to deliver us from the power of the
devil and from the bondage of sin by his cross, and by the
effusion of his most honourable blood: Hear our prayers
and supplications, O merciful Father, and send us thy Spirit
from thy holy place, to persuade all men and women to cele-
brate thy supper, after the example of Christ, and of his
apostles and disciples ; and stablish the hearts of the people
against false teachers of private masses and of superstitious
crossing, with the contemplation of Christ's ensample, with
the use of the oriental church, and with the knowledge
of thy holy scriptures ; that we may be meet
guests for thy table, and be partakers of all
the benefits of Christ's death and pas-
sion : to whom, with thee and the
Holy Spirit, be all honour,
and glory, and praise,
now and ever.
So be it.
THE SECOND SERMON
ON THE LORD'S SUPPER.
In my last sermon, well-beloved in the Lord, whereas I
began to declare unto you the Lord's supper, which was a part
and member of the gospel, and through plenty of matter
I did not end the same ; now, according to my promise,
I will shew you what a sacrament is, and how Christ's body
and blood be present in his holy supper.
Thus much remaineth yet to be spoken of: " Take, eat,"
saith Christ, " this is my body." And likewise of the cup
he saith, " Drink of it, every one ; for this is my blood of
the new testament, shed for many to the forgiveness of sins.
I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of
the vine, till that day when I shall drink it new with you in
my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung praises,
they went out into mount Olivet."
That I may declare this heavenly matter to God's honour,
and find out such lessons and erudition as may be meet for
this audience, and for your edifying and instruction, which
be assembled here to serve God in prayer and hearing his
word, let us ask God's help and his holy Spirit ; for the
which I shall desire you to say the Lord's prayer after me :
'' Our Father, which art in heaven," &c.
There is no matter in the holy scripture, well-beloved in
the Lord, more necessary to be knoMH and to be discussed
than these words of our Saviour Jesus Christ, " This is my
body," and, " This is my blood of the new testament." There
is no text which hath been so abused and racked to maintain
superstition and divers purposes. And whereas Christ or-
daincth here a sacrament of unity, to knit us together in peace,
amity, and love, inimicns homo sn perse nil nat it zizania, that Matt. xiii.
is, the devil, who goeth about to deprave all godly things,
hath sown so many tares, and such pestiferous opinions, and
hurtfid seeds, and daninabk^ doctrine, in men's hearts, by
his ministers, i\ui papists, the questionists, schoolmen, and
the anabaptists, that nothing now is a matter of more
contention, of more debate, strife and variance, not only
236
THK SECOND SEHMON
John XV.
Jolin X.
John xiv.
Luke V.
Matt. ix.
Rev. xviii.
What a
sacrament
St Austin
I)e Catechi.
niflib.
between man and man, but also between countries and king-
doms ; because every man is wedded stubbornly to his own
judgment. And whereas they should reform their opinions,
and submit their judgments to God's scriptures, as to the
touchstone which trieth good from evil, they rather do rack
and wrest God's word, making it a mariner's slop, or a nose
of wax, and bowing it unto every purpose. Therefore I
thought it good to utter my knowledge, which is but small,
in this matter ; not to teach such as be instructed and already
ripe in knowledge, of whom I am desirous to learn myself;
but, partly, for their sakes and erudition which be un-
learned and of the laity, that they may know how to
prepare themselves to come to God's board this holy time
of Easter, and at other times ; and, partly also, to testify
and profess my conscience and faith in this matter.
Many do affirm and think these words of Christ, " This
is my body," to be a like phrase, a like kind and a like man-
ner of speech, as when he saith, Ego sum mfis, " I am the
vine," "I am the door," "I am the way," "I am the bride-
groom." They be no like phrases, but far divers and dif-
ferent; for the vine is no sacrament; neither the door, nor the
way, nor the bridegroom, be no sacraments, but metaphors
and borrowed speeches. The bread of v.hicli Christ said,
" This is my body," and the wine which he affirmeth to be
his blood, be not bare and naked metaphors, as the aforesaid
phrases are, but they be sacraments of his honourable body
and comfortable blood ; as both the occidental and ori-
ental and the Greek church, and all writers both new and
old, do acluiowledge and confess with one voice. For all
Christendom have always agreed in this point. Therefore
the nature of a sacrament being thoroughly known, and
examined and tried, it will teach you the meaning of Christ's
words, and how he is present in his supper.
What is a sacrament ? I will not devise a description of
mine own head, nor shew a fantasy of mine own brain. I
will follow in this matter the sentence and judgments of
others, whose excellent learning and singular virtues are
known to all the world. St Austin, an elder and h(»ly father
of Christ's church, and a man of a most ripe judgment and
sharp searching wit in the scriptures, in his book De Catechi-
zandis riidibus^ defineth a sacrament thus : t:iacrciiacntum est
ON THE LORD S SUPPER.
237
siqnacidum invisihilis gratlce^ A sacrament is a visible, a sen-
sible, and an outward sign or token of an invisible grace or
benefit'. And he expresseth the meaning of this definition
more plainly in a certain letter, verily in his twenty-third Epist. xxiii.
epistle, v/hich he writeth to one Bonifacius II., where he wit-
nesseth all sacraments to be figures and similitudes of the
benefit and grace which they do represent and signify, say-
ing, "If sacraments have not certain similitudes of these
tilings whereof they are sacraments, then are they no sacra-
ments.'"- And for this similitude, for the most part, they
take the names of the verv things. And St Cvprian hath ^^ Cyprian
even the very same doctrine and the same words, in a certain
sermon which he made De Chrismate, ^ Of anointing."" If
therefore the bread of which Christ saitli, "This is my
body,"' be a sacrament, as cannot be denied, then it hath /
the name of Christ's body because of some similitudes which
shall be declared straiffhtwavs, and not because of anv tran-
substantiation : that is to say, it is a sensible and an out-
ward sign of his holy fiosh ; and the wine likewise is a
sensible sign of his honourable blood, without any mutation,
change, or alteration of the natures and substances either
of bread or wine. But because this is a dark and a secret
mystery, I will essay to express it more evidently, and to
declare the similitudes and properties which do change the
^ De Sacramento sane quod aocipit, cum ei bene commondatum
fuerit, signacula quidem divinarum esse visi1)ilia, sed res ipsas invisibiles
in eis honorari ; nee sic liabendam esse illam speciem benedictione
sanctificatam, quemadmodum habetur in nsu quolibet : dicendum etiam
quid significet et sermo ille quern audivit, quid in illo condiat, eujus
ilia res similitudinem gerit. Augustin. De Catechiz. rudibus, Opera,
VI. 293. Edit. Paris. 1G79— 1700.]
P Vide p. 30, n. 2.]
[^^ Nihil hoc oleum commune habet cum liquoribus qui ox quorum-
dam IVuctuum pinguedine exprinuintur, nee vis ejus est ex erassitudine
penetrativa, quie secundum quasdam naturales rationes emollit et tem-
perat spissamenta humorum, quos solet intrinsccus astringere siccitas
aliqua, vel cori-uptio conglobare. Xon htee medendis corporibus est
unctio instituta: quia sanctificatis dementis jam non propria natura
pra-'bet ell'ectum, sed virtus divina potcntius operatur, sed adcst Veritas
siguo, et spiritus sacramcnto ; ut et ipsis rcnim etlicientiis gratiie dig-
nitas pateat, et intcriori lionn'ni quanta ex his detur auctoritas deitbrmi
conversatione et cadestibus moribus innotescat. Cyjiriani Opera,
p. «;xxiii. Kdit. Paris. 172(5, inter Opera Arnoldi Abbatis Bonie N'allis. J
238 TIIR SKCOND SERMON
names of bread and wine, but not their natures and essence.
Give diligent heed, and ponder well what J shall say ; for this
matter is very hard.
When our Saviour Christ affirmeth bread to be his body,
and wine to be his blood, he ordaineth a sacrament ; that is,
he giveth the name of the thing to the signs of bread and
wine, so that notwithstanding the matter, the nature and
substance of the signs do remain and continue. Unless their
substance and natures do remain, I say unto you, bread and
wine can be no sacraments. For sacraments, as I told you
before out of St Austin, are so called of the similitudes of
those things to which they be sacraments. Take away the
matter, the substance, and nature of bread and wine, and
thou takest away all similitudes, which must of necessity be
in the signs of bread and wine after the consecration, and in
that they be saci'aments. For all the elder and learned
fathers of Christ's church do confess with one voice, and the
Christ scriptures do witness the same, that there must be three
bread'to be similitudes and properties in bread and wine ; a similitude
for three' of nourishing, a simiUtude of unity, and a similitude of
ancfsimm- convorsion ; for which properties and similitudes bread and
tildes. ^^jj^g i^g named Christ's body and blood, and not for any
transubstantiation or alteration of their natures.
A similitude The similitude and property of nourishing is this : that as
ing-. bread and wine do nourish our bodies, and comfort our out-
ward man, so the body and blood of Christ be the meat and
food of our souls, and do comfort our inward man. Christ
John vi. expresseth this similitude, calling himself Panem vifw, " The
bread of eternal life," and professing his flesh to be very meat,
and his blood to be very drink ; that is, the food and spiritual
sustenance of man's soul and mind. This, I say, is one cause
why Christ affirmeth bread to be his body, and wine to be
St Jerome Jjig blood ; as St Hicrom teacheth us, writing thus of Christ's
Matt. supper upon Matthew : ' After the eating of the mystical
lamb \vith his apostles, assumif panem qui confortat cor hooni-
nis, he took,' saith this holy father, ' he took bread which
comforteth the heart of man.'^ And that this is St Hierom's
Lucaiti" meaning, Beda doth dclare, who upf)n Luke doth set out this
Q' Postquaiu typiciim Pasclia fuerat implctum, et agni carnes cum
apostolis comedei'ct, assinnit panem, qui confortat cor homiiiis, et ad
varum Pascha" transgrcditur ^acramentum ; ut (luoraodo in prtefiguratione
ON THE LORD S StrpPER.
239
sentence of Hieroni more copiously, saying : " Because bread
doth confirm or strengthen the flesh, and wine worketh blood
in the flesh, therefore is the bread referred mystically unto
Christ's body, and the wine is referred unto his blood.^"
Another cause why bread and wine is named Chrisfs
flesh and blood, is another similitude, of unity ; which is thus ^^'^i'^'j''''*^
much to say: 'As the sacramental loaf of which we do eat,
coming to the communion, is made of many corns of wheat
by the liquor of water knoden into dough, and yet it is but
one loaf or one cake ; and as the holy wine is made of the
juice of divers and many grapes, and yet is but one cup
of wine ; so all they that eat Christ's body and drink his
blood through faith, though they be never so many, yet by
the liquor of charity and love they are made one body and
one flesh ; the mystical body of the Son of God, which is his
church and congregation, and not his natural body. St Paul
expresseth this similitude, witnessing that the bread is a
sacrament, not only of Christ's natural body, but also of the
congregation and mystical body, saying, Umis panis, v.mimicor.x.
corpus, multi sumus, that " albeit we be many, yet notwith-
standing we are one loaf, and one body." What a loaf are
we ? Verily, even trlticeus pants, ' a wheaten loaf ;' by the
similitude and property of unity which 1 have declared. St
Cyprian also, in his sixth letter which he writeth to one Cvf^- Lib. i.
Magnus, in his first book, alloweth this similitude, writing
thus : " The Lord," saith this holy father, " calleth bread,
made of many grains or corns, his body, and he nametli
wine, made of the juice of the clusters of divers grapes, his
blood." ^ And St Austin, in sermone de sacra feria Pascha;
ejus Melchisedec, summi Dei sacerdos, panem et viiium ofFerens fecerat,
ipse quoque veritatem sui corporis et sanguinis reprtescntaret. Hiorony-
mus, in Matth. xxvi. Opera iv. 128. Edit. Paris. 1G9.5— ITOC]
[^" Quia ergo jjanis oarneui confirniat, viuum voro sanguineni opora-
tur in came, hie ad corpus C'hristi mystice, illud refertur ad sanguineni.
Beda, in Luc. xxii. 19. Opera, ii. 300. Kdit. Paris. 1.564.]
Q' Deniquc unanimitatem christianani firma sibi atque inseparabili
caritate connexam etiam ipsa dominica sacrificia declarant. Nam i|uando
Doniinus corpus suum panem vocat de niultorum granorum adnnationo
congcstuni, populum nostrum ([uem i)ortal)at indicat adunatum ; ct
quando sanguineni suum vinum appcllat de Iiotris at<iue acinis jdurimis
exprcssum atquc in unum coactum, grogem item nostrum signiticat
comraixtione ndunatce inultitudinis copulatum. Cypi'iani Epist. i.xxvi.
Opera, p. I'iS. Kdit. Paris. ]72<i.]
240 THE SECOND SERMOX
" in a certain sermon which he made of the lioly feast of
passover," allovveth the same simihtude or property, proving
ns by this property to be Christ's body, saying: " Because
Christ hath suffered for us, he hath betaken unto us in this
sacrament his body and blood, which lie hath also made our-
selves. For we are also made his body ; and by his mercy
we are even the same thing that we receive/' ' And after-
ward he saith, in the said sermon : ' Now in the name of
Chi'ist you are come, as a man would say, to the chalice of
the Lord. There are ye upon the table, and there are ye
in the chalice.""'
"^^^ otcoiV.^'*"'^^ The third similitude, of conversion, for the which also
version. ^]^g sacrament is affirmed to be Christ's flesh and blood, is
this : that as the bread and wine are turned into the sub-
stance of our bodies by feeding and sustaining them, so by
the receiving of Christ's body and blood we are turned into
the nature of them, we are changed and altered, and made
Kph. V. holy, flesh of his flesh and bones of his bones, as Paul
Chrys. Ho. wituesseth. And Chrysostom confirmeth the same, saying.
Matt. j\os secum in iinaiii massam reducit ; neque id fide solum, sed
reipsa corpus swum efficlt :' "We," saith this holy and learned
father, " we are made one matter with Christ ; not by faith
Hotiiii. es. alone and charity," (as he writeth also to the people of
vi. Antioch.' Antioch;) "but we are made even his very body, reipsa,
^ < Amb. lib. iv. that is, effectually, truly, and really." And St Ambrose
6 ,,1. sacra, ca. 4. ^^^j^ Write, that we are changed and turned into Christ''.
{} Quia passus est pro nobis, comraendavit nobis in isto sacramento
corpus et sanguinem suuni ; quod etiam fecit et nos ipsos. Nam et nos
corpus ipsius facti sumus, et per misericordiaiu ipsius quod accipimus
nos sumus. August. De sacra feria Pascha', Sei'm, ccxxix. Opera v. 976.
Edit. Paris. 1679—1700.]
P Jam in nomine Christi tamquam ad calicem Domini venistis : et
ibi vos estis in mensa, ibi vos estis in calice. August, ibid.]
(_'* Oiloe yap tjoKea-ev uvrio to jevecrdat dvdpwTroii, oiice to ua-
TiKrOfjuai Kai crcpuytji/ui, aWa ua\ uvacpvuei eavroi' fifxiv, Ka\ ou Ttj
■Tr'iaTti ixovov, aWa kch uvtw tw irpuyiutTt rrw/jtct »;/xas avTov kutu-
c-Kevct^ei. Clirysostom. Opera, vu. 788. P^dit. Paris. 1718 — 38.]
Q'' " Ego sum," inquit " panis vivus qui de coelo descendi." Sed
caro non descendit c ccelo, hoc est, carnem in terris adsumpsit ex Virgine.
Quomodo ergo descendit panis e coelo, et panis vivus? Quia idem
Dominus noster Jesus Christus censors est et divinitatis et corporis:
et tu qui accipis carnem, divinse ejus substantia; in illo participaris
ox TIIF. LORD S SL'PPER.
241
And Eraissenus also doth profess a real mutation of us into Emissenus.
Christ \ And yet we are not transubstantiate and con-
verted, we are not transformed into him, but our nature and
substance remaineth still, as it did before our receipt of the
sacrament : and so doth the nature and substance of the
sacraments. For if the nature of bread and wine be altered,
our nature must be altered in like manner, forasmuch as the
fathers witness, that we do eat Christ's flesh reipsa., that is,
really and effectually ; so that our flesh is made holy flesh
of his flesh, and we must be, as Paul saith, " bones of his Eph. v.
bones." How are we flesh of his flesh I Not by any mu-
tation or change of our substance, essence, or nature, which
remaineth still ; but in that we do eat Christ's flesh and
drink his blood by faith and belief, by which only Christ is
oaten and dnmken, and no ways else. To eat Clirist's flesh
and to drink his blood is to believe that the Son of God took
on him our humanity ; to believe that his body was nailed
upon the cross, and that his blood was let forth and shed
for the remission of our sins, for our transgressions and
ofifences, and to repose us into his Fathers favour again,
who was displeased with us. To teach us this, he calleth
himself the bread of God, that came from heaven to give John vi.
life unto the world: which chapter is a manifest probation
of this matter, that his flesh is never eaten, neither in the
sacrament nor without the sacrament, but only by belief.
St Augustine, whose excellent learning and virtue is well f^j^^JJ'j'".,;"
known, doth so take nil that is spoken there; for he saith,
alimento. Ainhrosii, De Sacram. Lib. vi. c. 1. Opera, ii. HSl. Edit.
Paris. 168G— 90.]
I^'' Ut til)i novum et impossibile vicleri non debeat, ijuod in (Jhristi
substantiam terrena et mortalia convertuntur, teipsuni, cjui jam in
Cliristo es rcgenoratus, interroga. Dudum alienus a vita, peregrinus
a mLscricordia, a salutis via intrinsecus mortuus exulabas: subito
initiatus Christi Icgibus, et salutaribus mysteriis innovatus, in corpus
occlcsiic non videndo scd crcdendo transilivisti, ot dc filio porditionis
adoptivus ])ci filius tieri occulta puritate mcruisti : in mcnsura visil)ili
pcrniancns, major factus cs tcipso invisibilitcr: sine ijuantitatis aug-
mcnto, cum ipse atcjuc idem esses, inulto alter lidci jirocessibus extitisti :
in extcriori nihil additum est, et totum in intcriori mutatum est : ac
sic homo Christi iilius efVcctus, et Christus in hominis nu-nte lonuatus
est. Decret. (Jratian. Dc Consecrat. Dist. '_'. y. 2()!)7. Kdit. Paris.
] CI 2.1
Hi
[lIlircillNSON.J
242 TTiF sEroyp sf.rmox
writing upon the same chapter', TJt quid paras denies et
ventrem? " Why dost thou make ready thy teeth and belly 'f
Vis manducare Christum ? " Wilt thou eat Christ's flesh,
and drink his blood T And he answereth, Crede et mandu-
casti, that is to say, " Believe ; and I say unto thee, thou
hast eaten his flesh and drunk his blood."
an" wered'°" "^"^ '^®^^ ^^® papists reply, that Christ's flesh is eaten
in the sacrament, and without it : and that without the
sacrament it is eaten only by faith; but in the sacrament
it is eaten without faith, of those that eat it unworthily, as
Judas did. I answer : Christ's flesh, as it is the bread of
life, so always it doth give life to the spirit, which evil men
John vi. have not. Moreover, Clu-ist's flesh is meat, according to [his]
own saying : Caro mea vere est cibus, "My flesh is very meat,
and my blood is very drink." What meat and drink is it ?
S^i's'^the ^^erily, the meat and drink of the soul, not of the body ; the
souk"^""' food and sustenance, not of the flesh, but of the spirit; as
the figures and sacraments of bread and wune are bodily
Man'ssoui susteuancc. For the spirit is not fed or nourished with
IS not fed ^
with cor- corporal food ; for it is wTitten, Quod natum est ex came
poral food. '■ ' ^
John iii. caro est, " That which is born of flesh is flesh ;" that is
to say, carnal and fleslily. And Christ reproveth such
which understood that he would give his flesh to be eaten
Johnvi. really, and corporally, and substantially; saying, "The
flesh profiteth nothing : it is the spirit which quickeneth.
But there are some of you that beUeve not." As if he had
said, ' I took not my body of the holy virgin to give it to
be eaten really and naturally for the remission of sin, or to
ordain any carnal eating ; but I took my body, and became
man, to die for sin, and that ways to profit and sanctify you.
Mortua prodest caro, nan comesa. The death of my flesh
profiteth and availeth you, and not the eating thereof;
which profit you must receive by faith only, and through
belief in my passion, by the operation of the Spirit. My flesh
is the bread of life, in that it shall Ije beaten, torn, and slain
[} Quid facicmus, inquiiuit ? quid obscrvando hoc priEceptum implere
poterimus ? Itespondit Jesus, et dixit cis. Hoc ost opus Dei, ut credatis
in euiu quern misit illc. Hoc est ergo manducare ciljum non qui perit,
sed qui pernianct in vitam a;temam. Ut quid paras dentes et ventrem ?
Crede, et manducasti. August, in Joan. Evang-. Opera, iii. pars ii. 489.
Edit. Paris. ]r,7J)— 1700.]
ON TITE lord's SUPPER. 24S
for you ; not in that it shall be eaten/ For that the fruit,
the benefit, and whole commodity of his coming should be
distributed into the world by his death only, he teacheth us
himself by a similitude, saying, Nisi granum frumenti^ de- -^o^" ''"•
jectwm in terram, mortuum fuerit, ijjsum solum manet, " Unless i cor. xv.
the corn which is sown in the ground do first die, it doth
not increase ; if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."'"' So
his body doth profit us, not in that we eat it really,
but in that it was beaten, cruelly scourged, and slain for
us, in that it was crucified, it is the bread of life, the
bread of salvation, redemption, and justification. With
these sentences Christ plucketh us from carnal eating; /
and teacheth us that his body is eaten by faith only in this
life.
But I hear one say, which delighteth in his own wit, and -i_
thinketh that he can see further in a millstone beyond
others, ' If we receive Chrisfs body by faith only, what "^^^l ^i°||„j,i
needeth the sacrament ? what booteth it to come to the ^^^ f^*"""^-
mental
Lord's table r — saying, 'We may receive his body without ""^"'p* -"^
./ o' J ^ ./ ^ necessary.
the sacrament, wheresoever we be, if we believe upon him ;
whether we be in the field, or in the town, or in our beds."*
Truly, if thou be honestly and godly affected, and dost revoke
Christ's passion to thy memory, hoping for remission and
pardon of thy offence through the shedding of his blood and
through the death of his body, thou dost eat his body and
drink his blood. But if thou regard not his sacrament, if
thou regard not the promises which he hath annexed to his
table, if thou pass not on his commandment, which is,
" Take ye, eat and drink ye of this every one ;" thou dost
not believe, but art carnally minded and the servant of sin.
Where faith is, there is also hope, modesty, humility, sober-
ness, and obedience to God's precepts ; for the nature of faith
is to justify. Now carnal and disobedient men do not eat
Christ's body ; forasnuich as it is oaten only in spirit and in
faith, that is, of spiritual and faithful men and women, always
imto health and redemption, and never unto hurt or destruc-
tion. Thou mayest say likewise, ' T will not come to the
church to i)ray, for CJod heareth mc every where.' Thou
mayest say likewise, *• I will not be absolved of the minister,
for God is not bound to his sacninicnts, and he only blottcth
out sin without tl)(! n'remony of ministration ; as he ilid the
I ()' — '2
244 THE SECOND SERMON
Luke xxiii. sins of the thief, of Mary JVIafjclalene, and of others/ True
Luke vii. . . JO'
it is, (xod absolveth before thou come to the priest, if thou
have earnest remorse and an unfeigned purpose to amend.
Matt. viii. For he cleansed the man from leprosy of whom Matthew
Luke V. . i •/
speaketh, he raised Lazarus from the death of the body,
Acts ix. and Paul from the death of the soul, before they were with
Gen. xvii. any minister. He received also Abraham into his favour
before he was circumcised. Notwithstanding, we have com-
mandment to repair to the minister for absolution ; for to
them belongeth to loose and to bind, to bless and to curse,
as appeareth of the foresaid ensamples. For Paul, after that
he was lightened from above, was directed unto Ananias to
receive imposition of hands. The leper also was commanded
to shew himself to the priest for a witness to the congre-
gation. And Lazarus after his uprising was delivered to
Christ's disciples, which were priests, to be loosed and
Rom. iv. stripped of his grave-bonds. And the patriarch Abraham,
Gen. xvii. after that he was justified and accepted into God's favour,
he received the sacrament of circumcision as a seal of the
righteousness which is by faith. So, albeit Christ's body be
received in faith many times without the sacrament, yet thou
must come unto his board because of his commandment,
because of his promises, and also to receive spiritual comfort
and increase of faith. Otherwise thou dost neither eat his
body nor drink his blood, neither shalt thou be partaker of
the fruits of his passion, which appertain to those only
which, by receiving the memorial of his death, do shew
themselves not to be unkind or forgetful, but obedient and
thankful. It is not enough to receive it spiritually, we must
receive it also sacramentally ; for both receipts be required
and commanded, and Christ himself with his apostles used
both for our erudition, ensample, and instruction.
Here a question may bo demanded, no less necessary to be
known than hard to dissolve and answer : If Christ's [flesh]
be cat only by faith, how is that true which I rehearsed out
]{y worthy of Chrysostom, that we are transformed into Christ and
receipt we
p.*' 'J,^'P*^^ made his body, non solum per Jiclem^ 'not only by faith,' sed
^ body really, reipsa, ' but also really, truly, and effectually T You shall
^ understand, well-beloved in the Lord, that when we receive
Christ in faith, that this receipt joinoth and coupleth us
effectually and reallv unto C'hrist. INot oidv our hearts and
0\ THE LOllu'i- SUPPEK. 245
mindi?, but also our bodies and flesh be purified, be washed,
and cleansed by this receipt, so that Christ our head and
Lord dwelleth and abideth in us hereby, and nourisheth and
feedeth us continually with faith in his blood and with the
comfort of his holy Spirit ; making us lively, holy, and very
members of his mystical body. This is the effect and mean-
ing of Chrysostom's words, in which he affirmeth that we are
made the body of Christ really, truly, and effectually.
Hitherto I have declared unto you two matters : what it
is to eat Christ's body, and that three similitudes, or proper-
ties, be necessarily required in this sacrament ; as I have
proved, as well by evident texts of the gospel, as with the
authority of many of the elder and best learned fathers of
Christ's church, whose doctrine and interpretations I exhort
all men to follow. Of these similitudes or properties we may
gather, that the matter and natures of bread and wine do
remain, and that Christ's words, " This is my body," be as
much to say as, ' This is a sacrament of my body.' For
these similitudes and properties must be in the bread and
wine, in that they be sacraments, and after the consecration,
else they are no sacraments. For take away the substance,
matter, and nature of them, and what similitude or property
remaineth, either of nutrition, or of unity, or of conversion i
Ergo, the essence, nature, matter, and substance of bread
and wine, is not altered, not transfonned, not transub-
stantiate, but do remain and continue as before ; for these
properties and similitudes be in the very substance and
inward nature of bread and wine.
The schoolmen and papists, to defend and maintain their An oh-
, iection.
transubstantiation, which is the bishop of Rome's kingdom,
and the fortress and castle of all superstition and idolatry,
they make the accidents of bread and wine the sensible and
outward sign, and the visible, earthly, and terrenal nature of
this sacrament. When thou mectcst with such a school-
master that teacheth this doctrine, and that the bread is not
bread still, answer him thus: "Sir, there must be three The answer,
similitudes and j)roperties in the sacrament ; a similitude of
nourishing, a similitude of unity, another of conversion.
But these three properties and similitudes cannot be in the
outward shew of accidents ; that is, in the colour, in the
fashion, in the breadth and roundness, in the quantity of
246
THK SECOMJ SKRMOX
"What a
testament
St Austin.
The old
testament,
what it is.
What the
new testa-
ment is.
Matt. iii.
Luke iii.
Rom. iv.
^■■
j5i/%>i-j
bread and wine ; for these thinge*, nor no other accidents, do
not nourish and feed us, bo not converted into us, neither
have they any property or simiUtude of any unity. But the
bread and wine have all these similitudes : they do nourish,
they be turned into our nature, and they do contain a
similitude of unity. Therefore broad and wine is the
outward and sensible sign, and the terrenal nature of this
sacrament. And the bread is bread still, and the wine i.*!
wine still, as well after the consecration as afore ; or else they
be no sacraments. And yet, notwithstanding, they be named
the body and blood of Christ ; not because of any mutation,
change, or alteration of their natures and substances, but
because of the three similitudes and properties aforesaid.'"'
Answer papistical teachers on this wise, and with this reason ;
and they shall not be able to gainsay thee.
Now let us enter somewhat further into the text, and
into other matters. Christ, speaking of the cup, saith, Hie est
sanguis oiovi testament i, " This is my blood of the new testa-
ment," or of the new covenant. What mean these words,
' the new testament,"" and what is a new testament ? Verily,
a testament is as much to say as a legacy, or behest of goods.
So St Austin^ defineth it : Testamentum est quo defertur
honorum hwreditas; " A testament," saith St Austin, " is a
_^ - behest and legacy of goods."'"' And there is an old testament,
and a new testament, as Christ teacheth us here. The old
testament is a bequest and legacy of temporal goods and
earthly commodities unto the synagogue of the Jews. The
new testament is a bequest of eternal and heavenly inherit-
ance through Christ unto all men, both Jews and Gentiles.
Or otherwise, the old testament is the axe set to the root
of the trees, the law which causeth anger; that is, the
preaching of the law agamst wicked men, for lex justo non
[^ There arc several definitions of a testament in the works of St
Augustine ; the following is one wliicli Hutchinson seeins to have had in
his mind, although it is not in the precise ^vords which he has given.
We may infer from his subsequent definition of tlie old testament tliat
this passage was certainly known to liim. " .Iuda.'i....terrena quferebant
a Domino: terra enim promissionis, victoria ab inimicis, foecunditas
pariendi, multiplicatio filiorum^ abundantia fructuuni, .... omnia hsec
fecei-unt illis vetus testamentum. Quid est vetus testamentum ? Quasi
haereditas pertincns ad liominem veterem." Augustin. in Johan. Evang.
Opera, III. 510. Edit. Paris. 1070—1700.]
JU^J-
^\
'Vt /i- ; ./-
ON THE lord's SUPPKK. 247
est posita, " the law," saith Paul, " was not ordained for i Tim. i.
good men, but for evil :" and therefore he defineth it in
another place to be " ministration of death and damnation." 2 Cor. iii.
But the new testament is a sermon of God's mercy and
clemency, of salvation, of redemption, and righteousness,
through the effusion of Christ's blood, who calleth all men
and women from superstition to true holiness, from shadows
to light, from the letter to the spirit, and from the works to <?/
the flesh to labour and work in his vineyard ; that is, to
honour and glorify God by well doing, in hope of plenteous
reward. Wherefore St Paul unto the Corinthians nameth
it "the ministration of the Spirit and of righteousness."
And he compareth the first testament to Agar, to Abraham's Gai. iv.
bondwoman, and the second he likeneth to Sara, his lawful
wife and a free woman ; signifying hereby, that the one doth
gender unto bondage, and the other to eternal life.
And both testaments do remain yet, and be effectual at „ ^ ^ ^
this day. The old testament is not disannulled in evil men, mentsheyet
T-i 1 !• • • 1 • effectual.
but m good men. For such as live m sm and ignorance ot
God, and do measure and judge holiness by outward cere-
monies, and such as do gape greedily after earthly things,
such as be Julianites, and without conscience, and do think
mortal corpo, mortal anima ; all such belong to the old testa-
ment, and be yet under the stroke of the axe, under the law
which causeth anger. And from the beginning of the world
good men, as Adam, Enoch, Sem, Noe, Abraham, and
David, which in all their ceremonies had an eye to Messias,
and believed in Christ to come, were of the new testament
and under grace. Therefore, if thou wilt come to Christ's
table, beware that thou be not of the old testament, that is,
defiled with sin and iniquity, .and without repentance, and an
unjust getter and retainer of worldly commodities. For
Christ calleth his table " the blood of the new testament."
The nature of tliis table and of Christ's blood is such, that if
tliou ])resume to come unto it unworthily, with a belly corrupt
with naughty humours, that is, with sin and iniquity, it will
lead thee unto thy destruction, as it did Judas ; not of the
nature of it, but through thy great default, who dost not try
thyself before thou conicst. Yea, if wo bo defiled with sin,
\\v. ])e no ])artak('rs of these; dainties, wo do not drink the
blood of life. Of those few words wiiich 1 have spoken in
248 THE SECOND SERMON
this matter, you muy guther both what the testaments be,
and also how they do diffei'.
But percase you are desirous to learn more plainly what
is the meaning of these words, " This is my blood of the
new testament." Verily, these words be us much to say as,
' This is a sacrament of my blood, which was let forth and
shed for the remission of sins. This is another blood, and a
diverse, from the blood of the old law. Their blood was their
That the old sacrameuts, in which the old Christians which did pertain
( nnstians ... .
•lid eat to the ucw law did drink Christ through faith. The rock
i.hnst s . . ...
flesh as \vas their blood and their paschal lamb, their sacrifices of
reallv as '- , ,
we do. goats, oxen, and sheep ; to which evil men came as well
as good; but the evil did not drink Christ's blood, but
only the figure thereof, because it is of the new law, and
they were of the old law. But the old Christians, that is,
they which in drinking of the rock, and in eating their
lamb, and other sacrifices, had an eye and a faith in Christ
/ to come, did eat his body and drink his blood as truly,
as really, and as effectually as we do. For they were of
the new testament as well as w'e; and therefore they drank
the very spiritual blood of the new testament, in that they
believed upon the Seed promised. Hereunto Paul beareth
1 Cor. X. witness, saying : '•■ Our fathers did all eat of one spiritual
meat, and did all drink of one spiritual drink. For they
drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, which rock
Psai.ixxviii. was Christ." And the Psalmographe saith : Panem de aalo
Psai. cv. dedit eis, ^t. " That God gave them bread from heaven,
and the bread of angels ;" which bread is Christ, as he
teacheth us himself, saying, Amen, amen, dico vobis, nou
Moses dedit, <Sr. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses
did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father," &c.
That he is the bread which his Father gave them, ho de-
John vi. clareth, saying, " I am that living bread which came down
from heaven." AVhereof it is evident, that the old Christi-
ans, of which Paul speaketh in the text afore rehearsed, did
from the foundation of the world eat Christ's flesh and drink
his blood, as really and effectually as we do now.
But the ungodly which were before his birth did neither
eat his flesh nor drink his blood ; as Christ himself teach-
eth us, saying, Fafres tcstri manducarerunt manna, et mor-
lohn VI. (iii su^if^ '■<■ Your fathers," saith Christ, " did cat manna,
o.v TiiK lord's supi'En. 24f>
and be dead/' Note, that he saith not our fathers, but
your fathers ; as if he had said, ' Your fathers, which would
not beheve the prophets, but were persecutors of them and
blood-suckers, as you be, they did eat manna, that is, the
sensible sacrament, et morttil sunt ; and yet they were not
partakers of the fruits of my death, but died eternally.
But the old fathers which before my incarnation believed
in me to come, did not only eat the sensible sign and
outward sacrament of manna, but also tasted the dainties
of my honourable body and blood, which are the bread of
life and redemption; and they died not, but do live thereby.'
For of such Paul saith, that they drank of the spiritual ^ '-•°''- ^•
rock. But because you shall not think that I do wrest
the scriptures, to prove that the old Christians did eat
Christ's flesh and drink his blood in their sacraments,
hear what the godly and learned bishop St Austin saith ^' Austin in
to this matter. He, upon the sixth chapter of St John's [Opera, m.
^ ^ , ^ 498. Edit.
gospel, speaking of the old fathers"' eating and ours, and I'arjs. 1679
by occasion expounding there the text of Paul, affirmeth 1 Cor. x.
evidently that which I have taught, saying : Omnes eandem
escam spiritaleni manducaverunt : spiritaleni utique eandem:
nam corporalem alteram, quia ilU manna, nos aliud ; spiri-
taleni vera, quam nos; sed patres nostri, non pat res illorum:
quibus nos similes sumus, nou quibus illi similes fuerunt ;
which words, in effect, be thus much to say, " They all,"
saith this learned and elder father, speaking of the old
Christians, " did eat one spiritual meat. They did eat
one spiritual meat, not one corporal meat; for manna was
their corporal meat, that is, their outward and terrenal
sacrament; but another thing, that is, bread and wine, is
cur corporal meat and our sacrament. They did eat the
same spiritual meat, that is, Christ's body, which we do eat.
But our fathers, as Paul saith, that is, such godly men as
we are like unto, did eat this spiritual meat to their lu-alth
and salvation ; but your fathers, which were oppressors of
the prophets, whose ways you do follow, did not eat Christ's
body, but only the corporal meat of manna, the figun;
and sacrament tiiereof, to their death and condenniation :
and tliereforo of them Christ saith, Mortul sunt, ' that
they died,' meaning tlie second death." This is St Austin's i]^ ;|^';;"(j[-
doctrine of tho sacrament, not only upon the loresaitl ^'^'^ ''"^■-
250 TflK SKCOND SKKMON
ch;i[)ter, but also in his book, which ho vvritotli, De utili-
tate vercB poenite7iticG arfendw^ "'How profitable a thing it is
Lib. xix. to do worthy penance ;"'^ and in his nineteenth book against
rontra -i^ > ""
Faustuin. laustus".
Here you wdl say, bt Austni, ni his preface upon
Anoi). psahn Lxxiii., doth extol our sacraments above the sacra-
ments of the old law for divers causes. If they did
receive Chrisfs body and blood in their sacraments, how
The answer, jg ^j^jg ^j.^^ « Wherein are ours better ? I answer : Our
sacraments "are better than theirs, not of themselves, not
of their own nature, of their own dignity and worthiness,
but because of the fulness of time, because the face of
Jesus Christ is now more clearly discovered and known in
inPsai.M. ^^he new testament. Their sacraments, as St Austin^ saith
p Sic enim quiljusdam illis infidelibus (licit Domiiius: " Patres
vestri raanducavenmt manna in eremo et mortui sunt." Quid est enim,
" Patres vestri," nisi quos infidelitate iraitamiui, quorum vias non cre-
dendo et Deo resistendo sectamini? Secundum quem intellectum qui-
busdam dicit, " Vos a patre diabolo estis." Neque enim diabolus aliquem
hominem vel potentia creavit, vel generando procreavit : et tamen dicitur
]mter impioinira, non propter generationem, sed propter imitationem.
Sicut e contra de bonis dicitur, " Ergo semen Abrahae estis," cum
loquatur gentibus, qua? stirpem carnis ex Abrahte genere non ducebant.
Filii enim erant, non nascendo sed imitando Sicut ergo hoc loco
dicit, " Patres vestri manducaverunt manna in eremo et mortui sunt ;"
non enim intellexerunt quod manducaverunt ; itaque non intelligentes,
cibum non nisi corporalem acccperunt : sic et apostolus dicit, " Patres
nostros," non patres infidelium, non patres impiorum, manducantes et
morientes, sed patres nostros, patres fidelium, spiritualem cibum man-
ducasse, et ideo eumdem. Augustin. De Util. agend. poenit. Opera, v.
1365. Edit. Paris. 1679—1700.]
P Adversus calumniosam imperitiam Fausti demonstrare sufFecerit,
quanto errore delircnt, qui putant, signis sacramentisque mutatis, etiam
res ipsas esse diversas, quas ritus proplicticus prienuntiavit promissas, et
(]uas ritus evangelicus annuntiavit impletas; aut qui censent, cum res
cfcdem sint, non cas aliis sacramcntis annuntiari debuisse completas,
<|uam iis quibus adhuc complendae prsEnuntiabantur. Augustin. contra
Faust. Lib. xix. c. xvi. Opera, vin. 821. Edit. Paris. 1679—1700.]
P Si enim discernimus duo testamenta, vetus et novum, non sunt
cadem sacramenta, nee eadem promissa. . . . Sacramenta non cadem,
(juia alia sunt sacramenta dantia salutem, alia promittentia Salvatorcm.
Sacramenta novi testamenti dant salutem, sacramenta veteris testamenti
j)romiscrunt Sulvatoroni. Augustin. in Psalm lxxiii. Opera, iv. 769.
Edit. Paris. 1679—1700.]
ON THE lord's SUPPEK. 251
in the aforesaid place, proimttebant salmforein, '" did pro-
raise Christ,"" that is, did shadow, figure, and preach him
to come ; ours dant salutem, " do give health by Christ,"
that is, do shew him to our eyes, as it were upon a scaf-
fold, already come. They were under the yoke of the law,
under the letter, under many riddles, under figures and
shadows, as children; but we are under grace, under the
Spirit, under the verity, under fewer rites, and under a
more excellent testament, as co-heirs with Christ. God
spake to them by patriarchs and holy prophets, and by
other means, as it pleased him. But now is the time
which the patriarchs desired to see, the acceptable and
golden time, and the days of salvation, in which God speak-
eth both to the Jews and to the Gentiles by Jesus Christ, ^eb. i.
his own Word and Wisdom, as Paul declareth. For these
causes St Austin in the aforesaid place, and in other
places, preferreth our sacraments and rites of the new tes-
tament to the old law; not for their own dignity, for their
oNvn excellency and worthiness, nor through any transub-
stantiation. Read bis preface aforesaid, and there thou
shalt find these causes wliich I have rehearsed, and no
other. Notwithstanding the old Christians did drink Christ's
blood, and eat his flesh, yet they, T say, had another
blood, that is, a divers sacrament from us. They had a
paschal lamb, a rock, the blood of oxen and of sheep, in
their sacrifices : we have wine instead of them. For see-
ing the testaments be changed, and the priesthood and
law is altered, therefore the sacraments also be newed anil
changed. " This," saith Christ of wine, "this is my blood
of the new testament :" that is, ' a new sacrament of my
blood, a certificate of my last will and testament. This is
a testimony, and as it Avere the broad seal and patent of
my benevolence, of my clemency and favour towards you.'
And this similitude declareth very aptly and fitly how How
his body and blood are present in his holy supper. The i.ody^is
body and blood of Jesus Christ bo in his holy suppci', as p'"''*'^" "
thy house, with thy garden and other commodities, is in i'- ^ '
thy lease, which thou hast by the college seal of l*]ton or of
Windsor ; or as thy living is in thy patent, which thou
hast confirmed and ratified with the broad seal of England.
The words of Christ's supper be, as it were, a lease or
!252 JUK .SECOND sEKMON
patent. The Hacraniciit ie. as it wore, liis Ijiv^ad seal and
his stamp, to certify the [thy] weak faith, that God the
Father doth love and favour thee, and dwell in thee by
the grace of his holy Spirit, for his sake. Thy house and
garden be not locally, not really, nor corporally, in thy
lease; but effectually and sufficiently for thy profit and
commodity. So Christ's body and blood be in bread and
wine. This is no new similitude of mine own makiufj, for
I told you that I would speak nothing of mine own head :
^,^^?°- it is the similitude of Gregorv Nazianzen, an excellent clerk
and a holy father of the Greek church. He, twelve hun-
dred years agone, writing against the opinion which is called
now the Donatists' opinion, used this similitude, and affirmeth
St August, all sacraments to be seals'. St Austin, also, in his book
ad Rom. which he writeth upon the salutation of Paul's Epistle to
the Romans, calleth them sacrosancta sipnaciila^, that is,
' holy seals.'
But thou wilt say, ' These be high matters and above
[^' ]M>/ f'/'''f ' a^ioiria-Tiav tov Kt]pv(T<rovTo<;, ixrjce tov PaiTTi(j3VTO<;.
'AAAo9 o tovtwv KpiTt]<;, Kai twv acpuvearTepwv COKi/i«(rT»j?' tTretcri
ctv0pm7ro<; fxev et? TrpocrwTrov, Geo? 2e ek aapc'tav. "^oi ce ttw? a^io-
TTKTTO^ ei<; Tt]v KudnpfTiv' fxovov e(TTio Ti? TuJii eynplrwv kch ixtj toou
■7rpoC)]\w^ KciTeyvwcrfJievtiyv, fxtjce Trj^ eKKXrjo-'ia'; aAAo'r^io?. IMr; Kplve
tov; KptTU^, o "vprjCuv t>;<; laTpe'tw;' nrjce (piXoKpivei p-oi to? u^lw;
TMV (re KadaipovTwv, pirjde ciaKpwov wpo^ tov; jevvrjTopa^. 'AAAo?
Hev uWov Kpe'iTTmv, ^/ TWTreivoTepo^' <tov ce Tra? ii\|/»;AoTepoc. Sk'oTTfi
ce ouTO)?* 't(TTU) -^pvao^, ccttu) (ricr]po<;, CoktvXioi ce dfxcpoTepoi, koi
Tt]v avTtjv e'yKeyapdyQiixjav eiKova f3a(Ti\iKt]v, cItu Ktjpov evTwovTU)-
<rav' Ti Zioiaei tj (r(ppay\<; avTtj Trj^ <T(f)paj7co^ eKewf}^ ; ov^ev. JLTTiyvm-
6i Tt]v i'Xrjv ev tw Ktjpio, kuv »;? (To(pwTaTo^, el-rre, tI fXev tov cricrjpov,
TI Ce TOV ypvcrov to eK<T<ppctyi<Ttxa, kui ttoi? ev ecTTt; t>;<? yap iiXtj^
TO ctacpopov, ov TOV yapaKTtjpo^. Oi/TW? e<TTu3 aoi 'ira<; paTTTio-Tf/c.
Kai/ T»7 TToXiTeia Trpoe'^fi, aXX ij ye tov (iairT'iaixctTo<; cvva/xi^ 'ia-tj'
Kui TcXeiOTTouK (Toi "Trac o/xo'iui';, o t>j ((utj/ Tr/crTti fLeixop(pu)jxevo<;.
Greg. Naz. Oratio xl. Opera, ii. 711- Edit. Paris. 1778.]
P Cornelius Centurio voluntatem Dei uticjue apostolo Potro docente
cognovit, et ipsum Spiritiim sanctum, manifcstissimis coadtestantibus
signis, antequam baptizaretur, accepit: quamquam non idco sacramcnta
ilia conteniHcrit, sed multo certius baptizatus sit ; lit etiam ipsa sacro-
sancta signacula, ([uoruni res in co praecesserat, ad perficiondam scicntiam
veritatis percipere nullo niodo moraretur. Augustin. in salutat. ad Rom.
Opera, IV. 030. Edit. Paris. 1670—1700.1
ON THE I.OHd\s SUPPER. *"5'^
mv capacity. Tell me how I shall prepare myse f to re-
ceive this sacrament.^ Many, coming to the Lords table
do misbehave themselves, and so do the lookers on, m that
they worship the sacrament with kneehng and bowmg their
bodies, and knocking their breasts, and with elevation of
their hands If it were to be elevated, and shewed unto ch^-J -
tneir nanus, xi jl »vci.»- j r<i -^v „.r>iilr1 Vnvp honoured m
the standers by, as it hath been used, Christ Nvould ha^e^^ .
tne SldUUtJlS uj, tio u , ., . , +Kc> InnHs bread and
elevated it above his head. He delivered it mto the hands ^^.^„^
of his disciples, bidding them to eat it, and not to hold up
their hands; to receive it, and not to worship it ; and he
delivered it to them sitting, and not kneeling. If eithei
the bread or the wine were to be heaved up, or to be re-
served and hanged up in a pix, as it hath been abused ; i i
were to be honoured of the receivers, or to be kneeled
nnto of the lookers on; undoubtedly Christ would have left
us some commandment so to do, or else have taught us by
his ensample ; or, at the least, he would have left some
promise of reward annexed to this outward reverence and
homage, or some threatening and punishment for such as
will not worship it. Aye, verily; for there is nothing laudable,
nothing righteous, nothing honest or acceptable m God s
sight, ^nothing to be done, for the which he hath not left
in his scriptures either some commandment, or some promise
of reward, or some example. By his promises, by his threa -
enings, by his precepts, and through the examples of godly
men and women, we know good from evil; we know what
is to be done, and what is to be left undone ; ^^alat is to
be praised, and what is to be dispraised; wha delighte h
and pleaseth, and what discontenteth and displeaseth the
divine majesty. God^s book is no imperfect work, but a
perfect book, containing all things to be done, the whole
duty of a christian man, and sufficient doctrmeto instruct
a (iod^s-man in all good work., and to make hun perfect ;
as Paul witnesseth, writing to Timothe. And he must needs 2 r.......
accuse Cod either of ignorancy, or of folly, or o negligence,
which saith, that he hath left any thing untouched and un-
declared which conccrneth a christian mans office and is
needful and necessary unto salvation. All such things be
,.vnn-sse.l in Cod^s book. For in the writing of the pro-
plicts he requireth the observation of his law only con-
,,,„•,„,.• n^liLMOu ; Mud he threatei.eth great pl.-.gues ..nd
254 THE SECOND SERMON
grievous punishments to those that do add any thing to
his word, that is, to those which teach any other doctrine,
or any work to be necessary unto salvation, which is not
commended in his word. But neither Christ, nor any of
the prophets, nor his disciples, do give us any example to
honour the sacrament ; for they kneeled not, neither held
up their hands, but sat at the table, as the text wit-
nesseth. Neither doth God promise any benefit, either
spiritual or tem[)oral, to such as honour it ; nor he doth
not give us any precept so to do, neither in the old nor
new testament. Therefore I say unto you, that it is sin to
worship the sacrament, to hold up thy hands, or to bow thy
body and kneel to it. For to worship God otherwise than
he hath taught us in his holy book, which is the bible, is
mere idolatry. Be not deceived, good people, nor bewitched
with superstition and false holiness : for the apostle St Paul
Rom. xiv. saith, Quicquid non est ex fide, peccatum est, " Whatsoever
is not of faith (which cometh, as Paul saith also, by hearing
God's word) is sin." If thou wilt honour the sacrament, I
ask thee, whether thou do it with faith or without faith. If
thou do it through faith, shew me some text, some testimony,
some authority of God's word, or some example in God's
Rom. X. book'; for, fides ew auditu, " Faith," saith Paul, " cometh
by hearing God's word." If thou worship it without God's
word, without faith which cometh only by God's word, hear
Heb. xi. what Paul saith to thee: "It is impossible to please God
without faith." For to worship God otherwise than Jie hath
taught us, is heresy, is idolatry, is disworship and dishonour
Socrates, of the diviue majesty. Socrates, a heathen and no christian
man, and yet a learned and a great famous clerk, he in
fxenopiinii, his life time held this assertion, that everv God is to be
MPtnorab. i-ip i "^i-ii
Lib. iv.c. 3.] honoured and worshipped alter such manner, and with such
ceremonies and rites, as he himself teacheth and command-
eth. He did attribute more wisdom and more authority
to false gods, than we do to the God of heaven and earth,
who is the fountain of all wisdom, power, and authority.
It is to be feared that he, at the last day, shall arise to
the condemnation of many which profess Christ.
An Ob- I kit here some reply, that St Austin, writing upon these
;«t^Au"nist. words, Adorafe scahellnm 'pedmii ejus^ " AVorship the foot-
*" ^''"'- •'**• stool of my [his] feet," that he niaketh Christ's flesh, which
ON THE lord"'** SUPPKR. 255
is earth, the footstool of God's feet, and that he aifirmeth
and proveth of this text, that Christ's flesh is to be honoured.
For his words be, Nemo illam carnem mandiicat, nisi prius [Opera, iv.
' •' 1065. tdit.
adoraterit : et non solum non peccatur adorando, veriwi- Pans, lerg
• TVT —1700.]
peccatur non adorando ; that is to say, " No man may eat
that flesh before he first do honour it : and it is not
only [not] sin to honour it, but it is sin not to honour it."
I do not deny that Christ's flesh is to be honoured and Tiie answer.
worshipped. God foi'bid : for it is promoted to the fellow-
ship of the Deity, and joined in unity of person to the
divine nature. But I deny that the sacrament is to bo
worshipped ; the bread and wine are not to be honoured ;
for they are not his flesh really and corporally, but a cer-
tificate, a seal, a patent, or lease thereof, as I have proved.
How is Christ's flesh to be honoured ? Verily, Christ's flesh chrTsfs
is to be honoured in heaven, not in the form of bread and Hf^J'j^uiva ^^
wine ; m glory, and at the right hand of God the Father,
not in the sacrament. It is honoured by coming to his
supper, and by obeying his precept, " Take, eat and drink
of this all ;" by receiving of the sacrament, not with ele-
vation of hands to bread and wine, or with knocking, or
with kneeling before bread and wine. His blood and body
are honoured, even as they are drunk and eaten : that is,
by faith in them, and by giving of thanks to him for his
dishonour and death, and by confessing him to be with-
out a father very natural man of his mother, after the
fulness of time, for our redemption ; and very God, begotten
by his Father without a mother before all time. So the
wise men, which came from the east parts by the leading
of a star, worshipped him at his birth ; and are therefore
commended, and preserved from kina; Herod's crueltv. "They l',"-"*': '>:'^''-
' i _ o . ■ . JIatt. 11.
kneeled down," saith the text, " and worshipped him, and
opened their treasures, and offered gifts, gold, frankincense,
and myrrh." By gold, they confessed him to be a king ;
by frankincense, they acknowledge him to be (iod, for all
nations do offer that only to such which they take to be
gods ; and by myrrh, with which such as die be anointed,
they confesseil him to be a mortal and natural man. So
do thou kneel to Christ, and worship his body and blood ;
not in the east parts, but in the heavenly Jerusalem, and at
tin; throne of (Jod'.^ uKijesty ; not in th<' sacrament, but
^2oC) THR SECOND SF.R.MOV
ill heavon, where lie is now at the right hand of his Father.
Offer unto him their frankincense and myrrh: that is, con-
fess him to be very God and very natural man ; confess
him, from the bottom of thy heart, to be thy Lord and
thy Saviour; and render unto him many thanks and due
praises for humbling himself to man's nature for thy re-
demption and honour. Thi^ is the true and right honour
with which he would have his body worshipped. Hold up
thy hands to Chrisfs body in heaven, and spare not. Kneel
to it, knock on thy breast. If thou wilt kneel and wor-
ship it in the sacrament, thou dost like as if the aforesaid
wise men had in the east parts worshipped him in th(»
star, had kneeled to him in the star, and offered their gifts
to the same, which had been idolatry ; and so is this.
Thou must go to Bethleem, that is, to the house of
spiritual bread, which bread is Christ in the glory of God
the Father, and there thou must worship his body ; not
Bethlehem, in the form of bread and Mine. For Bethleem is an
of bread. Hebrue word, and in Latin and English it is as much to
say as, domus panis, "the house of bread." You have heard
chrysostom one wav, liow Christ\s body may be honoured. Chrysostom,
homil. de * i i p i p /-x\ • -, ^
sumtnt. a learned and a holy lather of Christ s church, teacheth
[ iiidiicne . "^ .... i • i i • i
diviuainyst. US another way in a certain homily which he writeth to
the people of Antioch, De siimentibus indipne dimna et
sancfa materia, " Of such which unworthily and irreverently
presume to come to God's holy mysteries." He there,
speaking of the worshipping of Christ's body, doth not
teach them to kneel, or to hold up their hands to the
sacrament ; but a clean other way. Because you shall not
think this to be new doctrine, which is the faith and doc-
trine of all the elder fathers, I will rehearse unto you his
words. T"^*' Christ I coiyus honorare ? " Wilt thou honour
Christ's body V saith Chiysostom ; and he answereth, Ke
Matt. XXV. nudum -cum despicias. ^'c. " Then clothe him, and have pity
on him, when thou seest him naked." And he addeth a
reason : Qui namque dixit. Hoc est corpus ineum, et verho
factuiib confrmavit ; idem dixit, Esurientem me ridistis, et
lion pavistis me ; et. Quod non fecistis uni ex his minimis,
neque miki fecistis : that is to say, " For he that said,
' This is my body,' and performed his word, said also, ' You
saw me hungrv, and fed me not ;' and, ' That which vou
ON THE LORd\s SUPPEK. 257
have not done to one of these little ones, you have not
done to me\" He proceedeth further, and bringeth in
Peter against those which do worship God after their own
fantasies, saying : Discamus itaque philosophari, et Christum
prout ipse vuU mnerari; " Let us learn this philosophy,"
saith Chrysostom, "that is, to honour Christ as he hath
willed us to honour him. For that honour is most ac-
ceptable to him which is honourable or worshipful, which
he doth esteem, and not which we do imagine. For Peter
thouerht no less but that he honoured Christ when he for- Joim xiii.
bade him to wash his feet : notwithstanding, he did not
honour him herein, but rather did dislionour and disvvorship
him. So do thou worship and honour him with pity and
Hberality towards the poor'." These be the words of Chry-
sostom in his homily against such as come unworthily to
God's mysteries : in which he teacheth us, that " to honour
Christ's body" is "to glorify him by doing of good works."
For this cause he took upon him his body, and became a
natural man of woman's seed ; as it is written, " God hath Luke i.
raised up a horn of health unto us in the house, that is,
of the stock and kindred, of his servant David." And why?
It folio weth : " That we, being delivered out of the hands
of our enemies, should serve and worship him without fear
all the days of our life, in holiness and righteousness be-
fore him." I have declared two ways how Christ's body
and blood are to be worshipped. One way is, by faith in
his blood, by giving thanks to him for his incarnation and
coming, and by offering him frankincense and myrrh, that
is, by confessing him to be very God and very natural man.
]^ WoiiXei rtfjitjaui tov \picrTov to rrto/na ; /jui TrepuCii^ avToi/
yvftvuv' litjde evTCtvda fxev avTov (TtjotKo?^ //jitiTioK Ti/ijjo-j;?, e^u) ct virJ
Kpv/iou KUi jv/xvoTtjTo'; Ciachdeiponevov 7rfpiVc'>;<^. o yap eiVwi/, toi'th
fxov 6<rT« TO (Tuna, kui toj Xdyio tu irpdyiui /iepniaura?, oi>TO<f tiVe*
TTdi/uvTU /»e VcfTt, Krti ovK e(^rtc'\|'/«Tf Kai €({> ixrov ovk tTToitjaurc
ti)\ TuvTtou Twv iXay'icTTwii, ovce t/ioi tiroiticrare /.utOionev toii'ki'
<()i\o(TO(j)dt', Ktti TOV XpKTToi' Ti/iav w'c uvroc l3ov\€Tur Tw yap
rifiovfiitvta ript] tjc'i(TTt], t'ji' uvtov OeXti, ovj^ ijv »//»€?<; i/o/u'^o/tti'. t"7re(
KUI ntTpw; Tipnu (iVTOv wcto tm KOiXvaai vi\{/ai tow ■7roCn<-\ (iXX
i>u:< t]v Ti/«»/ to ywofiivov, dXXu touvuvt'iov' outw Kui <ri' t(«I'T)/i"
(tvTtiv Ti/id Tijii Ttfitfn, i]v avTd<t ti'opodeTtjaev, fiV "rrevtiTav (ii'uXktkmv
ToV irAo^Toi/. ("liry<^uHtoni. Opt-ni, vir. ^>]n. Kdit. Paris. 1718 — 38.J
17
[uuTc'm.\>o\.]
^
258 THE SECOND SERMON
Another way to honour it is, to serve him in hoHness and
righteousness, and to exercise in earth the works of mercy
towards the poor. The elder fathers used no other wor-
Honorius yhip toward Chrisfs body before Honorius the third,
the Third, [ tt /■ i •
1226. Lib. ii. bishop of Rouie. He first commanded bread and wme to
Decret.
be worshipped with elevation of hands, anno post Christum
1226. Lih. 2. Decret. titul. cle celebra. missarum^. For the
space of a thousand years there was no such custom.
The papists object here, that the body of Christ is
present under the form of bread, to be honoured. If, saith
An Ob- the papists, a man say unto thee, ' This is my right hand,''
or, ' This is a stone,' thou behevest him. God saith, " This
is my body," and not, •• This is a figure of my body,' or,
' This doth signify my body;' and, " He that eateth my
flesh hath life," not, ' He that eateth a figure of my flesh,''
and we do not believe him; but do make of sugar salt.
The answer, and of clieese clialk. I answer, Christ doth not say, This
is transformed, this is turned, this is transubstantiate into
my body ; neither that the nature and substance of wine
doth discontinue, or is excluded ; as you would force the
words. Here resteth all the matter, how this word, est,
is to be understand ; which is never taken in that sense
This is the in whicli tliey would take it here. Throughout the bible
the elder uo transubstantiation is expressed by this word, nor by no
scriptuies. otlier plirasc : the scriptures speak of no such mutation.
But the otlier phrase, ' this is,"" for, ' this is a figure,' is
1 Cor. X. common and dashed every where in the scriptures. " The
\^tl\v.' rock," saith Paul, " was Christ ;" that is, a figure of Christ.
1 Pet'. »!'■ He nameth him also the Easter lamb ; which was but a
Maric'h-. figure of him. He is called a stone. The word of God is
Revfx?".' named seed, a sword, a key, a lantern. God is called our
Matt.^xvi. banner, our castle. John the Christener is named a burning
Psahcxix. candle; and he nameth the law securim, "an axe, which
PsaLK^i! 's '^et at the root of the trees:" which all be figurative
Jo]°]^-,!^^'"'- speeches. And the elder fathers do so expound this text.
Matt. iii.
[2' Ne propter incuriam sacerdotiim divina indignatio gravius exar-
doscat, districte prtccipicndo mandamus, quatenus a sacerdotibus eucha-
ristia in loco siugulari, mundo, et siguato semper honorifice collocata,
devote ac fideliter conservetur. Sacerdos vero quilibet frequenter doceat
plebem suam, ut cum in celebratione missarum elcvatur hostia salutaris,
.se reverenter indinet, idem faciens, cum earn dcfert presbyter ad in-
firmum. Decret. Greg. IX. p. 1272. Edit. Paris. ]r;i2.]
ON THE LORd''s SUPPER. 259
They confess and teach Christ to speak here figuratively.
" Christ," saith Tertullian, who was but two hundred and JJ^tVict*
ten years after Christ, and thirteen hundred years agone,
he, Lih. iv. against Marcion, who said that Christ had no
natural body, but only apparent flesh and a fantastical body,
saith thus : " Christ, taking bread and dealing it to his
disciples, made it his body, saying, ' This is my body \
that is, ' a fig-ure of my body"."' And of these words he
contriveth an argument against Marcion, in this wise :
" But the bread cannot be a figure of it, if Christ had
no true body. For a vain thing, or fantasy, can take no
figure." Lo, how this ancient father expoundeth these
words. St Austin also taketh Christ's words in like man- st August.
prefa. sup.
ner, saying thus in his preface upon the third psalm : "He Psai. iu.
admitted .Judas unto the maundy, wherein he deHvered to
his disciples the figure of his body and blood"." And
Ambrose, in his book of Sacraments, speaking of the cup, |™jj^^;^^
saith that we drink there Similitudinem pretiosi sanguinis,
" The similitude of his precious bloods" But though they
p Professus itaque se concupiscentia concupisse edere pascha ut suum
(indignum enim ut quid alienum concupisceret Deus), acceptum panem
et distributum discipulis, corpus ilium suum fecit, hoc est, corpus meum
dicendo, id est, figura corporis mei. Figura autem non fuisset, nisi
veritatis esset corpus. Ceterum vacua res, quod est phantasma, figuram
capere non posset. Aut si propterea panem corpus sibi finxit, quia cor-
poris carebat veritate, ergo panem debuit tradere pro nobis. Faciebat
ad vanitatem Marcionis, ut panis crucifigeretur. Tertullian. advei-s.
Marcion. Lib. iv. c. 40. Opera. 457, Edit. Paris. 1664.]
Q" Et in historia novi testamenti ipsa Domini nostri tanta et tarn
miranda patientia, quod eum tamdiu pertulit tamquam bonum, cum ejus
cogitationes non ignoraret, eum adhibuit ad convivium, in quo corporis
et sanguinis sui figuram discipulis conimcndavit et tradidit ; quod dcni-
que in ipsa traditione osculum accepit, bene intelligitur pacem Christum
exhibuisse traditori suo ; quamvis ille tam sceleratie cogitationis interno
bello vastaretur. August. Prsef. Psal. iii. Opera iv. 7. Edit. Paris.
1670—1700.]
[^ Ergo didicisti quod ex pane corpus fiat Christi, et quod vinum
et aqua in calicem mittitur, sed fit sanguis consecratione verbi ccelestis.
Scd forte dicis: Spocicm sanguinis non video. Sed habet similitudinem.
Sicut enim mortis similitudiiifm sumpsisti, ita ctiam similitudinem
pretiosi sanguinis bil)is; ut nullus horror cruoris sit, et prctiuni tamen
opcretur rcdemptiouis. Didicisti ergo quia quod accipis, corpus est
Christi. Ambrosiiis De Sacrament. Lib. iv. Opera, ii. 370. Edit. Paris.
icHO— no.1
17— ii
260
A PRAYER.
say that Christ's aforesaid words be a figurative speech,
they do not teach bread and wine to be bare and naked
metaphors, but holy sacraments, having many promises an-
nexed unto them ; for which promises the visible signs be
named Christ's body and blood, and not for any nmtation
of their natures or substances. Therefore, albeit thou
hast been led and made to believe in times past, that this
doctrine is new learning, yet think not so hereafter.
It is the doctrine of Christ, the faith of the old fathers,
the confession of innumerable martyrs, which have ratified
it with the loss of their lives, in hope of plenteous rewai'd
hereafter in the kingdom of God. That we may have
grace to believe the truth concerning this holy sacrament,
to use it aright, and to refuse all false doctrine ; and that
these words which I have spoken in your outward ears
may sink into your hearts and minds, let us call on the
name of Christ, who ordained this sacrament, with invoca-
tion and prayer.
THE PRAYER.
O Christ, the Son of God, and our saving health, who
dost affirm bread to be thy body, and wine to be thy
blood, because of certain properties and similitudes, the
nature notwithstanding and the matter of the signs re-
maining and continuing; hear our prayers and supplications,
and grant unto us, for thy merciful promises, these our re-
quests. As our outward man and natural flesh is nourished
with bread and wine, so of thy clemency nourish and feed
our inward man with the food of thy sweet flesh. And
as bread and wine are made of divers grains, and of the
juice of many grapes, nevertheless they are but one loaf and
one cup of wine; so work thou in us one heart and mind,
and knit us in a continual amity, godly love, and unity,
by the operation of thy holy Spirit. And as the natures
of the signs are turned and converted into our nature, so
do thou convert, turn, and transform us into thy nature,
making us thy body, and iioly Hesh of thy flesh ; not only
A PR AY EH.
261
by faith, but also really and effectually; that is, lively, holy,
and very members of thy mystical body. Abide always
in us, and nourish us continually with the grace of thy
almighty Spirit, with the food of thy eternal word, with
faith in thy holy blood, and y.ith. the death of thy precious
and natural body : which thy body is the bread of life to
us, the bread of redemption and righteousness ; not really
eaten, but in that it was cruelly beaten and slain for us.
Teach us the right use of this thy sacrament, and deliver
us from superstition, idolatry-, and ignorancy, with which
both we and our forefathers have been snared and fettered
in times past. Fulfil these our desires and petitions, of
thv voluntary goodness and free mercy; who livest
and reignest in one glory and equal ma-
jesty \vith the Father and the
Holy Spirit, world
without end.
So be
it.
THE THIRD SERMON
ON THE LORD'S SUPPER.
Hitherto, Christian hearers, I have furnished Christ''s
supper with two sermons, as it were with two dishes.
There remaineth yet a parcel unspoken of, which now I
intend to finish. I have declared the meaning, the effect,
and the understanding, of these words of Christ our Lord,
Hoc est corpus meum^ &c. " This is my body, and this is
my blood of the new testament." And I have shewed, as
well out of the scriptures, as also by the authority of the
elder and learned fathers of God's church, that they are
thus much to say : ' This is a sacrament of my body and
blood; this is a certificate of my favour; a testimony and
(as it were) a broad seal and patent, that God my Father
is reconciled unto you, that he doth embrace, that he
doth love you and dwell in you by the grace of his holy
Spirit, for the effusion of my blood and death of my body.'
c^rLt's I told you also, what it is to eat Christ's body ; that it
1 deceived ^^ "^^ eaten really, or corporally, forasmuch as it is the
sah^ation?*° meat and sustenance, not of our bodies and flesh, but of
our spirit and inward man, which are not fed or nourished
with any corporal nature or bodily substance. Or, to ex-
press this thing more plainly, Christ's flesh is panis vitce^
I "the bread of life," in that it was beaten, not in that
'. it is eaten. It is the bread of salvation, of redemption,
of sanctification, of righteousness, and of justification, in
that it was cruelly scourged and slain for us, and not
through any corporal, any real or natural, receipt. As he
teacheth us himself, John vi., reproving those which under-
stood that he would give his body to be really and sub-
stantially eaten, saying, Caro non prodest quidcunque, ^c.
" The flesh profiteth nothing ; it is the spirit that quick-
eneth :" that is to say, ' The spiritual receipt and eating
doth profit and sanctify you ; the bodily and corporal eat-
ing is unprofitable.'
To eat Christ's flesh and to drink his blood, is to
believe that the Son of God, concerning his humanity and
flesh, was nailed on the cross, and that his blood was let
o.v THK lord's suppek. 263
forth for the expiation of our sins, and for oin* redemp-
tion and righteousness, and to repose us again into God's
favour. And this spiritual receipt, which is by faith, is
so effectual, and of so mighty and so vehement an opera-
tion, that, as matrimony maketh man and wife one iiesh, Gen- a.
' ' •' _ _ Matt. XIX.
according as it is %\Titten, erunt duo in came tma, so it
joineth us unto Christ reipsa, that is, really, truly, and
effectually, making us flesh of his flesh and bones of his Eph. v.
bones, as Paul witnesseth ; that is, lively, holy, and very
members of his mystical body. For Paul doth not speak
there only of natural flesh, but also of holy flesh, and clean
from sin ; which shall arise and be immortal, not by the
course of nature, nor by Adam, but through Christ, who
doth knit, and couple, and incorporate his chosen to him-
self by his sacraments and faith ; so that they may truly
thenceforth say with Paul, Vivo, jam no7i e(jo, sed rivit in
me Chrisfus, " I live, yet now not I, but Christ liveth in Gai. ii.
me." God's holy word knoweth no other receipt of Chrisfs
very body and natural flesh, neither in the sacrament nor
without it.
Neither any of the elder fathers of Chrisfs church do
acknowledge or teach any other eating. Because it is too
long a matter to allege them all, I will allege two or
three of the chief and principal and best learned, of which
the adversaries of the truth do bra? not a little. St Austin, st Austin
~ ^ in Evang.
a famous godly and learned father of Christ's church, writing Joan.
upon St John's gospel, affirmeth this eating most plain ;
saying, Credere in eiim, hoc est, wnnducare panem vivum, Sfc.
" To believe upon Christ." saith this holy father, " is to eat
the bread of life." And again : Qui credit manducaf, et
invisihiliter saginatur; " He that believeth eateth, and is fed
invisibly ' ."
Here percase thou wilt say : As Christ spiritually and An objec-
worthily is received by faith, of good men, unto salvation,
so evil men do in the sacrament eat his flesh unworthily,
[} J)aturu3 ergo Dominus Spiritiim sanctum dixit sc pancm qui
(Ic coelo d(!sccn(lit, hortans ut tvodainus in cuni. C.'redcve cnini in euni,
hoc est manducarc panoni vivum. Qui rrodit nianducat ; invi«ibilitcr
sapinatur, quia invisil)iiiter lonascitur. Infan.s intu.s est, novus intus est:
ubi novellatur, il>i safiatur. Auj^ustin. in .Fohan. Kvang. Opera, in.
49-1. Edit. I'arLj. 1G7!)— 1700.]
/
2CA
TIIK THIHD SEUMON
1 Cor. xi.
St August,
serm. circa
sacra feria
pascha.
Thr answer, and witlioiit faitli, aiul unto condemnation. By what tosti-
raony of the scripture can this be proved, that Christ's flesh
is oaten unworthily, and unto damnation I Paul saith, Qui-
cunf/ue manducaverit panem hiinc, ^'c. " He that eateth of
this bread and drinketh of this cup of the Lord unwor-
thily," He doth not say, ' He that eateth Christ's body
vmworthily, or drinketh his blood nnworthily,"' which always
be received to sanctification, to life, and salvation; but, " He
that eateth this bread ;" that is, not common bread, not
daily bread, but sacramental bread, that is meant by the
word ' this.- Throughout the scriptures this word ' un-
worthily' is never joined with Christ's body, never with
his blood ; for they do sanctify their receivers. St Austin
also denieth this distinction, Hermone circa sacra feria
pascliw ; writing thus : Qui non manet in Christo, et in quo
non manet Christiis, procvldabio non manducat ejus carnem
nee hibit sanguinem, etiam si fantce rei sacra^nentum ad ju-
dicium sihi manducet et hibat' : that is to say, ' He that
abideth not in Christ, and in whom Christ abideth not, with-
out doubt he eateth not Christ's flesh nor drinketh not his
blood, although he eat and drink the sacrament of so great
a thing unto his damnation.' This holy father doth teach
and confess here three things ; which things lie teacheth
likewise in many other places of his books. One is, that
evil men do not eat Christ's flesh, for it is the bread of
life and righteousness. Another is, that they do eat the
sacrament and the only figure thereof. Thirdly, that they
eat the said only sacrament and the only figure unto con-
demnation, making themselves, as Paul saith, " guilty of
Christ's body and blood ;" which they do not receive, be-
cause they will not believe. These three most true and
godly lessons of this elder and learned father be a mani-
fest denial of the transubstantiation, and of all corporal,
real, and natural receipt. Let us learn hereof, that there
is a difference between Christ's honourable body and blood,
and the visible sacrament and figure thereof; such a di-
versity and difference as is between thy house and thy seal
and lease thereof.
St Ambrose also, his master, and the great clerk Pros-
[^ These words are in St Augustine's commentary In Johan. Evavg
cap. VI. Opera, ni. 601. Edit. Paris. 1679—1700.]
1 Cor. xi.
St Ambro.
de sacrain.
ON THE T-ORD's SrPPEK. 265
per, do teach us the very' same doctrine. For Ambrose,
in his book which he writeth of Sacraments, saith : Qui
discordat a Christo non manducat carnem ejtts, Sfc. " He
that discordeth from Christ, doth not eat his flesh nor
drink his blood, although he receive the sacrament of so
crreat a thing; unto his damnation and destruction." And
ft o
Prosper^, in his Book of Sentences, saith of such unworthy ^°t^-"'''
receivers, that though every day indifferently they do re-
ceive, that they eat the sacrament and figure of so great i cor. xi.
a thing unto the condemnation of their presumption, and
not Christ's body. Bede also hath the very same words.^ ^eda sup.
» •'1 (_or. XI.
And the famous and learned father St Hierome doth con-
firm this to be a true doctrine, writing upon the sixty-
sixth chapter of the prophet Esay, saying : Bum non stint ^A^rTsa.'
sancti corpore et spirifu, nee comedunt carnem Jesu nee bibunt ^oe'^^Ed't''
sanfjninem ejus; " As long," saith this elder and godly father ^^^^^j '^'•^^^
of Christ's church, " as long as they be not holy and clean
in body and in spirit, they do not eat the flesh of Jesu,
nor taste of his blood," Of these it is evident that, as
the sensible sacrament is received unworthily of ungodly
men unto condemnation ; so the body of Christ, which is
the bread of life, is only received worthily and of good men,
always unto salvation, expiation, and righteousness, and of
no man unto destruction, death, and damnation, whosoever
is partaker of it ; as St Austin saith in his sermon of the st Austin.
'^ . sermo. de
holy feast of passover. Therefore, if we say that ungodly sacr. fer.
men do eat Christ's flesh, we deny the doctrine of all the
elder fathers ; we deny Christ to be the bread of life ; we
deny him to be our righteousness, our saving health, our
expiation, our ransom, our sanctification and holiness ; who
will not fail to deny us likewise before his Father, unless Luke xii.
we renounce this devilish eiTor.
Notwithstandinff, both St Austin' and other of the ^"F^*^P-
ft' Epist. 23.
P Escam vitsc accipit, et setemitatis poculum bibit, qui in Christo
manot, et c-ujus Christus habitator est. Nam qui discordat a Christo,
nee oamcm ejus manducat, nee sanguinem bibit; etiam si tanta? rei siicra-
mentum ad judicium sxur pnesumptionis quotidie indifFerentcr accipiat.
Lib. Scntcnt. No. .3-39. Opera, 214. Edit. lo3[).]
p Beda, In Epist. ad Corinth, i. cap. xi. Opera, vi. 383. Edit. Col,
Agr. 1012.]
Q* Unus ex vobis, numern, non merito ; specie, non virtute ; com-
mixtione corporali, non Wnculo spirituali ; carais adjunctionc, non cordis
266
THE THIRD SERMON
fathers do affirai otherwhiles, that Judas and othor un-
godly persons did eat Christ's body ; meaning by ' Christ's
body' the sacrament thereof, and giving the name of the
thing to the figure and sign. For sacraments be called
by the very names of those things which they do represent
and signify, and whereof they are sacraments ; as both St
Austin teacheth in his Epistle which he ^^Titeth to Boni-
face \ and also the holy mart\T and famous clerk St
se?de"" Cyprian^, in a sermon which he maket [made] de chrismate,
chrism. c ^^ anointing.' For this cause Christ's flesh hath two simi-
Chnst's f. . 1 • 1 • T-.
J flesh hath fications, both m the scriptures and elder fathers. For as
two sig^nifi- . . *■
cations. properly, and m his natural and chief acception, [it] is that
substance and humanity which was born of the virgin jNIarj',
and suffered on the cross for the expiation of our sins ; so some-
time it is token [taken] also for sacramental bread and wine.
In which signification when the elder father [fathers] do affirm
ungodly men to eat Christ's flesh, the papists would make us
to believe that they teach Christ's flesh, which is the bread
of life, to be eaten unworthily unto damnation ; not under-
standing the doctors, and yet great braggers of knowledge
and learning; or rather depraving and corrupting the doc-
tors, to maintain their transubstantiation, which is the castle
of all superstition and popery ; leading us, under the names
of fathers and antiquity, from our Father which is in heaven;^
unto whom, that I may declare the remnant of Christ's
supper to your edifying and instruction, which be come
together to serve God in prayer and hearing his word, let
us make humble supplication, &c.
It followeth in the text : '"I will not drink henceforth
i^"'' of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink
f , ^ it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
Christ our Master, well-beloved in God, nameth here
socius unitate Non erat igitur ex illis Judas; raausisset enim cum
illis, si esset ex illis Ac per hoc utrumque verum est, et ex nobis-,
et non ex nobis: .... secundum communionem sacramentorura ex
nobis, secundum suorum proprietatem criminum non ex nobis. Au-
gustin. in Johan. Evang, Opera, iii. C66. Edit. Paris. 1G79 — 1700.^
[} The passage referred to is printed before, p. 36, n. 2.]
[^ The passage referred to is printed before, p. 237, "• 3.]
\J See p. 50, bottom of the pagc.J ^
ON THE LORd'sS SUPPER. 26^
the sacramental wine " the fruit of the vine ;" and that
after the consecration. If the nature and substance of
wine were disannulled, and turned into Christ's flesh, he
would not so name it : for Christ's flesh is the fruit of Luke i.
Mary, the fruit of David and others; not the fruit of the P^^'jt'^'f''"-
vine. And as the wine is the fruit of the vine, and there-
fore it is not altered into the substance of Chrisfs body,
which is the fruit of those fathers, from which Matth. i. and
Luke iii. do fetch his stock and generation ; so undoubtly
the sacramental bread is the fruit of wheat after the con-
secration, and in that it is a sacrament of Christ's honour-
able flesh. For unto this fruit he himself compareth and
likeneth his body, saying, Nisi granum frumenti, S^c. " Un- •'"'^'^ ""•
less the corn which is sown in the ground do first die, it
doth not increase. If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
And the evangelists do testify with one voice, that Christ
both took and gave, and also that he brake this fruit to
his disciples. What took he? Bread. What gave he to
his disciples? The same that he took. And what did he
break? Verily, even that which he gave them. Ergo, he
gave them not his real body and natural flesh which was
born of the blessed virgin ; for though he died for us con-
cerning his body, yet the said body was not then broken
when he ordained his holy supper.
Moreover, Almighty God many years before, in the mys-
tery of the Easter lamb, forbade the breaking thereof, by the
mouth of his holy prophet Moses, saying, Os non comminuetis
ex eo, " Ye shall not break a bone of it :" which words the Exod, xii.
evangelist St John doth refer to Christ's body. The pri- JoimxiV.
mitive church followed this example of their higli bishop
in breaking the sacramental bread, as Paul witnesseth :
Panis quern fmnginms, Sfc. " Is not the bread which we i cor. x.
break," saith Paul, " a communion, or partaking of Christ's
body ?" And the universal Church throughout all realms
and dominions, from the apostles' time, have religiously
observed this ceremony. Seeing, then, the sacramental bread,
that is, after that it is a sacrament, must be broken to be
distributed to such as come to God's table, how is it daily
turned into the substance of Christ's honourable body
which now is impassible, and in eternal glory? How can
it be his real and natural flesh, which was not then broken
>
268 THE THinD SERMON-
when he brake the bread ? It was broken afterward, when
his hands were nailed to the cross, and when his blood by
the cruel Jews was let forth out of his side with a spear,
for our redemption ; in remembrance of which benefit the
sacrament of bread is broken continually, without any al-
teration, change, or transnnitation of his nature. For
the apostle St Paul, speaking hereof, doth always name it
' bread,"' as in the aforesaid text : "Is not the bread which
1 Cor. X. vve break," &c. And again : " We are all one loaf, and
one body, inasmuch as we all are partakers of one bread."
And, " As often as ye shall eat this bread," &:c. And,
" AVhosoever shall eat of this bread unworthily." And
1 Cor. xi. again : '' Let every man examine himself, and so let him
eat of this bread." Lo, St Paul nameth the one part of this
sacrament ' bread,' wheresoever he maketh mention thereof.
And Christ our Master, whom we are commanded to hear,
nameth the other part 'the fruit of the vine,' by their names
teaching us that the matter, the ensence, [essence] and
the substance, both of bread and wine, are not transformed,
are not transubstantiate into the substance of his flesh and
blood; but do remain and continue, as well after the con-
secration as before, or else they can be no sacraments ; as
I proved in my second lesson. Notwithstanding, Christ in
his supper affirmeth bread and wine to be his body and
blood, and calleth his body granum frumenti^ "a wheat
corn," and his blood " the fruit of the vine," for those three
> '^t- properties and similitudes which I have declared; and also
^^^^'^ ^-^ for another similitude, which now he teacheth us here, that
^^ is, because his body and blood are the fruit of Mary, the
fruit of David, the fruit of Abraham, and of others ; as it
Rom. IX. is written, Ex quibus Christus est secundum carnem^ " Christ
is of the fathers, touching his flesh;" even as the sacra-
mental bread and wine are the fruit of wheat, and the
fruit of the vine. For this cause, and such other, he calleth
his body fircmum frnmenti, " a wheat com," and affirmeth
the signs to be his flesh and blood ; not for any mutation
of their substances. For this similitude, and such other,
do change the names of bread and wine, but not their
natures and essence, into Christ's nature. For Christ's na-
Actsii. ture is the fruit of many patriarchs and divers kings, not
the fruit of the vine, neither yet the fruit of wheat.
John xii.
Psal. cxxxii.
0\ THE LORD » SUPPKR.
2G9
But the papists reply here, that Paul calleth the sacra- ^"n"'*''^'^"
ment bread so many times, and that Christ nameth the
wine the fruit of the vine, not of that it is, but of that
it was ; not that they are still bread and wine after the
consecration, but because they were so before. And they
defend this their distinction and interpretation with two
strong arguments and invincible, as they do think. Their
first argument is gathered of the words of Christ immedi-
ately following, in that he saith, that "he will drink of
this fruit of the vine in the kingdom of his Father with
his disciples." " We shall be fed," saith the papist, " in
God's kingdom, which is the glory of the life to come,
with this fruit of the vine; but we shall not be fed there
with the corruptible food and natures of bread and wine:
ergo, their natures do not remain and continue ; and wine
is called the fruit of the vine, and bread praiitim frumenti,
' a wheat corn,"" or ' the fruit of wheat,"' of that it was, not
of that it is."
I answer : His Father's kingdom, in which Christ saith '*"*'' ""'""•
that he will drink new wine with his disciples in the afore- . civ*
said text, is not the glorj- of the life to come, but that time > ^-i*^^"
which followed immediately his resurrection; in which, not ,. '2^*^
for any necessity or hunger, as St Augustin^ saith (epistle Ipj^t^'^g'/
forty-ninth, whicli he writeth to one Deogratias), but for
a trial and probation, that he was verily risen concerning
his humanity, he did both eat and drink with his disciples: Lukexxiv.
as Peter witnesseth in his sermon to Cornelius. Then he ^^'-''•^ ^■
drank the fruit of the vine anew with them, that is, after
a strange and a new sort ; having not passible and mortal,
[^ Quomodo autem contrariuni est, ct Cliristum post resurrect ioncin
cibatuni, et in resurreotioiie qiue proinittitur c-iborum iiulifj;cntiam noii
futurani; cum et anq;olos leijanius ejusdemmodi escas eodeiiKjue modo
sunipsisse, n(tu ticto et inani plumtasinatc, sed manifostissima veritate,
ncc tamen necessitate, sed potestate? Aliter eiiiin absorliet terra aquam
sitiens, aliter solis radius candens: ilia indioeutia, iste potentia. Initune
ergo rcsurrectionis corpus imperfecta.- felieitatis erit, si cibos sumere nou
potuerit; im]ierfect!e lelicitatis, si cibis efjuerit Sciat sane qui has
])roposuit t[U:e.stioiies, Christum post resurrect ioncm cicatrices, uou vul-
nera, deinoiistrasse dubitautil)us, ])ropt(r qiu>s etiam cibum ac potuni
sumere vohiit, nou semel, sed sa-pius, ne iliud non corpus sed spiritum
esse arbitrarentur, et sil)i nou solide, seil imajjinaliter apparen-. Au-
^ustiu. Kpist. ( II. sive xmx. Opera, ii. 27-"). Kdit. I'aris. Ki?!' — 17U(».]
270
THR THinD SEPtMON
Chrysost. in
Matt.
Acts ii.
Luke xvii.
Another
Objection.
Exod. vii.
(jen. iii.
Ecclus. X.
Jolin ii.
The answer
but impassible and immortal flesh, and such as needed no
bodily food. Clirysostom, a learned and godly bishop of
Christ^s church, doth so understand these words of Christ.
For upon Matthew he writeth thus, expounding this very
text, Meminit jam resurrectionis, ac regnum patris earn ap-
pellate; that is, 'Christ remembereth now his resurrection,
calhng it his Father's kingdom.' Neither is it against
reason, or the phrase of the scriptures, to take God's king-
dom in this signification ; which began chiefly to flourish
immediately after Christ's death, as appeareth, and as he
himself taught his disciples that it should so do, saying,
Cum exaltahis fuero, omnia traham ad meij)sum, " When I
shall be lifted up, I will draw all things to myself." For
God doth not reign only in heaven, but also in this life;
as it is written, Begmim Dei intra tos est, " The kingdom
of God is within you." Christ, speaking of drinking new
wine in his Father's kingdom, meaneth this reign, whereby
God the Father reigned in the hearts of the faithful,
after his Son's resurrection, by the grace of his almighty
Spirit, with many visible gifts and signs. Therefore it
cannot be proved of these words that the natures of bread
and wine are disannulled.
Their second reason, wherewith they would prove the
sacraments to be named bread and wine, in that they were
so before, and not in that they be so still, is framed and
made of many like phrases in the scriptures. When the
serpent, which was made of Aaron's rod, devoured the
serpents which the enchanters of Pharao made of their
rods, the text saith, that Aaron's rod did eat up their rods ;
calling them rods, because they were so before. So the
scriptures many times do name man earth ; forsomuch as
he was earth, touching his body, before his creation. They
do call wine, water ; which was made of water, as we read.
After this sort, saith the papists, Christ nameth his blood
' wine,' and ' the fruit of the vine ;' and his body ' bread,'
and gramim fnmienti^ ' a wheat corn,' or ' the fruit of
wheat.' Though Aaron's rod were turned into a serpent,
r' \\u\ Tov TTiin Tj"'^ dintaTcicrcM'; iruXii' tlcruyct Aoyoii, pa(Ti\ela(;
eh fJi€(TOu avai.KVY]aa<;, KUi. Ttjv avacrraaiv ovtoj Trjv eavTOv i<a\e(ra<:.
Chrysost om. in Matt. xKvi. Opera, vii. 7S3. Edit. Paiis. 1718— flC]
ON .THE lord's supper. 271
yet this mutation was no transubstantiation ; neither is
earth transubstantiate into man, nor water into wine. ■"'
The scriptures make relation of many wonders and miracles iT-o**-*^'^'''*'!
in both testaments ; but let them shew any transubstanti-
ation in any of God's mu'acles from the beginning of the
world, and I will be of their opinion. If they cannot, it
is against reason that they should abuse God's miracles to
prove their transubstantiation, and to maintain their own
dreams and inventions. Moreover, the scriptures do mani-
festly express a mutation in the aforesaid miracles. They
testify with plain words, that the rods turned to serpents,
that man was formed and made of the earth, and that water
was made wine ; but they do not testify that bread and
wine are turned into Christ's real body and blood ; neither
do they say that Christ's body and blood was made of them,
but rather deny it. For Paul saith, that God sent his
son, factum ex nmliere, ' made of a woman ;' teaching us ^ai. iv.
with manifest words, that, touching flesh and blood, he is
woman's seed ; that is, the fruit of Mary, not the fruit of
the vine.
But because both they and we have scriptures, and it
must needs be that one of us doth wrest and deprave them,
let us make the elder fathers of Christ's church as it were
judges and arbiters, whether the substances of bread and
wine remain or not ; and which of us do open them with
the picklock, and which with the key, that is, which of us
do expound them aright. Irenaeus^, bishop of Lyons, who irensus
flourished in Christ's church above fourteen hundred years vaien*
agone, writing against the Valentinians, saith thus touching
this matter : Pants terrenus, accepta vocatmie a verbo Doi,
non amplias, Sfc. ' The tcrrenal bread, after the consecra-
tion, is no longer common bread, but a sacrament, which
is made of two things, that is, of a heavenly nature, and
of a tcrrenal nature.' The heavenly nature of which lie
speaketh is undoubtedly Christ's body and blood, now in
glory at the right liand of God the Father. The tcrrenal
nature is that thing whidi before lie named terronal bread,
which ho denieth to be any longer bread ; but he doth not
teach the nature thereof to discontinue, neither once dream
of transubstantiation. For these two things be ro(|uired in
[^- TIic imssncfc nlliulcd to is quoted p. "I), n. 4.]
fU^ hyg^'-^
y
272
THK THIHD SERMON
An objcc-
tiuu.
The ausMrer,
Tert. li. i.
cont. Mar.
Orig-en in
-Malt. cap.
Cyprian
Epist. iii.
lib. 2.
[Opera. 104.
Ed. Paris,
1726.]
this mystery, not before the consecration, but afterward, in
that it is a sacrament ; for they make it a sacrament.
But they say, that this terrenal nature is not the sub-
stance of bread, but the outward shew of accidents. How
do you prove this interpretation to be true? Nay, saith
the papist, how can you improve this interpretation \ Be-
cause it is against the doctrine of those godly and learned
fathers which succeeded Irenseus from time to time. For
Tertullian, not fifty years after Iremeus, in his first book
against Marcion, speaking of this mystery, afiirmeth plainly
and evidently that the substance of bread remaineth ; say-
ing. Dens panem creaturam siiam iwn abjecit \ &c. ; that is,
' God did not cast away nor disannul bread, his creature,
but with it representeth unto [us] his body. Unless we
will condemn Tertullian as an heretic in this matter, and
set Irenaeus and him at discord in the sacrament, which
yet no man never laid to their charges, these words do
force and compel us to take the terrenal part of this sacra-
ment for the very substance of bread and wine, and not
for their accidents. ^Moreover, Origen, who in the same age
with Tertullian was a famous preacher among the Alex-
andrians, writing upon St Matthew's Gospel, doth confirm
this doctrine, saying, Pauls sanctijicatus, jiuta id quod habet
materiale, in rentrem abif, et in secessum ejicit%ir~ ; that is
to say, ' The sacramental bread touching his matter goeth
into the belly, and is cast forth from thence again.' Ergo,
the essence and substance thereof is not disannulled.
Cyprian also was in their times, and taught the same
doctrine at Carthage which the famous clerk, Origen, preached
at iVloxandria. For he, writing to one Crecilius, affirmeth
sanguiiiem Christi non offerri, si desit vlnurn calici ; ' that
Christ's blood is not offered,' that is, let forth for our
redemption, ' if there be no wine in the chalice.' Ergo,
such as do teach wine not to remain, but to be disan-
nulled by transubstantiation, by his doctrine do deny that
Q' Sed ille (iuidoiu usc^ue nunc ncc atjufiin reiiroI)avit crcatorLs, qua
suos abluit ; iiec olcuin, quo suos unguit ; nee mclli.s ot lactis societateni,
qua suos inf'antat; nee panem, quo ipsum eorpus siiura repriesentat,
ctiani in saevamontls propriis cgcns mcnflioitatibus croatoris. Tertullian
Ad vers. .Alareion. Lil). i. e. 14. Opera, 372. Edit. Paris. 106*4.]
[]- 'llie orij^inal uf this passage is quoted i>. -10, n. 1.]
ON THE LORD S SUPPER.
273
Christ hath suffered for us. Also, in his sermon which l^^ ^^^
he \vriteth of the Lord's supper^, shewing how bread and ""'"'•
wine are changed into Christ's body and blood, he bor-
roweth a similitude of his incarnation ; teaching us, that as
Clu-ist now is both God and man, and partaker of two na-
tures ; God, in that he saith, '• My Father and I are one ;"
and man, in that he saith, " My Father is greater than
I ;"" that even so there be two natures in the holy sacra-
ment : as Irenaeus taught before his time.
Thus you see that these four fathers which I have re-
hearsed taught in divers countries, almost in one time, with
one voice and assent, the matter and substances of bread
and wine not to discontinue after the consecration, but to
remain and abide : which doctrine many years hath been
and is yet of some infamed as heretical ; but of those which
understand neither God's holy word, neither the elder fa-
thers, because the veil of covetousness and of honour, of
which Paul speaketh, hangeth before their hearts ; even as 2 cor. iii.
it did before the hearts of the Jews, which sought in Christ
not remission of their sins, but worldly riches and felicity.
If these fathers taught a truth, as it cannot be denied,
how dare ye say that the sacrament is named bread and
wine, not of that it is, but of that it was so before?
Where is your distinction and refuge ? Where is your
transubstantiation ? How dare you name this new learning ?
Be not deceived, good people, with false and ignorant
teachers, which open God's word with a picklock, and not
with the right key. Submit your judgments to the doctrine
of the elder fathers and to the scriptures, which are the key
and the touchstone to try good doctrine from evil.
But for a more manifest probation that this doctrine
was taught continually from time to time, almost five hun-
dred years after Christ, I will rehearse unto you the doc-
trine of some of those fathers which were after Cyprian's / -^
time. St Ambrose, bishop of Myllainc, saith thus of bread ^^ w°*ue
and wine in this mystery : iSi crcjo taata xis est in sermone sacra.cap.4.
domini Jesu*, &c. ; that is, ' If Christ's word be of so great
[]•' The passage referred to is quoted p. 08, n. 1.]
Q' Si ergo tanta vis est in sermone domini Jesu, ut incipcrent esse
quie non trant, (lunnto magis opcratoriiis est, ut sint qun.' crant, et in
18
[iii;tchin8o\.]
274
THE THIRD SERMON
power to cause those things to be which were not, how
much more is the same able to continue things, and yet
to change them into some other thing I' This holy father,
who flourished in virtue and learning three hundred and
thirty nine years after Christ, teacheth us here two things :
first, that the signs do remain and continue that they
were ; secondly, that they are changed into another thing ;
forsomuch as of common bread and wine they are made a
sacrament of Christ's honourable body and blood.
Theodoret, Also Theodorct, a famous and notable learned man and
Dialog. 1. ^ '
bishop of Cyrus, who was wrongly infamed of malicious
tongues that he was a Nestorian, taught the same doctrine
not many years before Ambrose' time. He, in his first
dialogue which he ^vTiteth against those that denied the
verity of Christ's body, teacheth with most evident words
the substances of bread and wine to continue, saying :
Symbola appellatione corporis et sanguinis sui houoravit, wm
equidem naturam ipsam transmutans^ sed adjiciens gratiam
naturae} "Christ," saith this godly father, "gave the honour-
able names of his body and blood to the signs of bread
and wine, not changing their natures, but joining grace with
Dialog, ii. their natures." In his second dialogue also, he saith :
Neque enim post sanctificationem mystica symhola ilia natura
sua propria egrediimtur, sed manent in priore sua substantia,
figura, et specie^; which words be this much to say : "Neither
after the consecration do the mystical signs of bread and
wine lose their o^mi proper nature, but do continue and
remain in their former substance, figure, and shape." This
famous bishop taught this doctrine twelve hundred years
agone and more ; and yet the papists name it new learning.
aliud commutentur! Ambrosius de Sacr. Lib. iv. Opera, ii. 369. Edit.
Paris. 1690.]
[_ O '^up Of] TO (j)V(T£i (TWfxa ar'iTov Kai aoTOv Trpoawyopevo'a';, Kai
ai) iraXtv cuvtov a/XTreXov ovofxada^, ovto<; tu opw/xeva (TVfxf3o\a rrj
Tov (Tw/jiaTo? Kcit a'l'nciTO'; Trpoa-rjyopia -reTifxrjKev, ov Ttjv (pvciv jxeTa-
f3a\u)v, aWa Trjv ■^aptv t>/ (pvaei -TrpfXTTedeiKco^. Theodoret. Dial. i.
Opera iv. 18. Edit. Paris. 1642.]
\j Ouot jap jxeTci tov dyiaa-ixov ra ixvo-tiku <rvp(3o\a tj;? oiKeia^
t^KTTUTai 0u(T6w?* fxevei yap eiri t>;<j irpoTepa^ ovcria^f koi tov
a-)^tyxaToi, kui tov e'ioov<;, nai opuTa eo-ri, Kai dirTa, ola kui irporepov
vv. Theodoret. Dial. ii. Opera iv. 86. Edit. Paris, 1642.]
ON THE lord's SITPPEH. 275
Moreover Chrysostom, who flourished four hundred years c^sF mon
and five after Christ, and for his great knowledge and
eloquency was made bishop of Constantinople, and is famous
at these days throughout the whole world for his virtues
and learning, he, in a certain letter which he wrote against
the ApoUinarists to Csesarius, a monk, in the time of his
second banishment, saith of the sacramental bread in Christ's
supper, that after the consecration, Liheratus est quidem ah ^^j^'^^^itl'
appellatione panis, dignus autem habitus est Dominici corporis ^Ysfj ''^^
appellatione, etiamsi natura panis in ipso permansit ; that
is to say, " The sacrament after the consecration was no
more named 'bread,' but it was called by the name of
Christ's body, notwithstanding the nature of bread remained
and continued still." What can be more plainly and directly
spoken against the transubstantiation l — which was not heard
tell of until five hundred years after the incarnation of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Of these it is evident, that by the judgments of the elder
fathers the sacraments be named bread and wine, not of
that they were before the consecration, but of that they
are still so afterward, as well as before. For they did preach
and teach with one voice and assent, in divers regions and
countries, and in divers times and ages, a thousand years
agone, that bread and wine are a sacrament of Christ's
honourable body and blood, without any transubstantia-
tion, that is, transmutation, change, or alteration of their
substances and natures. And Christ, our Master, confirmeth
this to be a most true doctrine, affirming with an oath, Amen^
dico vobis, (Sec, the wine after the consecration to be the fruit
of the vino ; not the fruit of Mary, or the fruit of David :
and so doth Paul five times, naming the other sensible part
of this mystery bread, as Christ b(;forc him named it granum
friimenti, "a wheat corn," or ''the fruit of wheat."
Here again they reply, that the fathers do say, that ^V',"'^J^*=" "^
the natures of brciad and wine are altered, are turned, and i^'hJsf^^
changed into Christ's nature. For St Ambrose, in his book
which he writeth, De lis qui initianttir mi/stenls, cap. 9, ij^^',yy"'°*
speaking of this sacrament, saith : Benedictione etiam ipsa '">'*'•
natura miitatur'^ ; that "after tiio consecration, the nature
P Quantis igitur utimur exemplis? Probemus non hoc osso quod
nnt\na lorinavit, sed (|Uo(l Itoncdictio consecmvit ; inajorcnujue vim
18—2
276
THK THIRD SERMON
of bread and wine is changed." And for a probation hereof,
he rehearseth many things, whose natures God changed
with his word and benediction. He tclleth how God changed
the nature of Moses'' rod, turning it into a serpent ; that
he changed the nature of water diversely, turning the rivers
Exod. xiv. of Egypt into blood, compassing the Israehtes with the
Exod.xv. Red sea as with a wall, causing Jordan to run backward,
and making the bitter flood, Marath, sweet and delectable
to drink. He changed also the nature of the rock, which
poured forth water. Heliseus changed the nature of iron,
causing it to swim above the water. Helias changed the
nature of fire, when at his prayer it came down from heaven,
whose nature is to go upward. These examples, saith the
papist, St Ambrose allegeth to prove, that the nature of
bread is turned, is changed, and altered : ergo, it doth
not remain and continue. Cyprian also, in his sermon of
cffina ^" ^'^ Christ's supper, saith : Panis non effigie sed natura miitatiis,
4'C.^ "That this bread is changed, not in shape, but in
esse benedictionis quam naturae, quia benedictione etiam natura ipsa
mutatur. Virgam tenebat Moyses, projecit earn, et facta est serpens:
rursus prehendit caudam serpentis, et in virgse naturam revcrtit. Vides
igitur prophetica gratia bis mutatam esse naturam et sei"pentis et virgse.
Currebant ^gypti fluraina puro aquarum meatu; subito de fontium
venis sanguis coepit erumpere, et non erat potus in fluviis. Rursus a
prophetifi prece cruor cessavit fluminum, aquarum natura remeavit.
Circumclusus undique erat populus Hebrfforum, hinc ^gyptiis vallatus,
inde mari clausus: virgam levavit Moyses, separavit se aqua, et in muro-
rum specie congelavit, atque inter undas via pedestris apparuit. Jor-
danis retrorsum conversus, contra naturam in sui fontis revertitur
exordium. Nonne claret, naturam vel maritimorum fluctuum vel flu-
vialis cursus esse mutatam ? Sitiebat populus patrum ; tetigit Moyses
petram, et aqua de petra fluxit. Numquid non prster naturam operata
est gi'atia, ut aquam vomeret petra, quam non habebat natural Alerra
fluvius amarissimus erat, ut sitiens populus bibere non posset. Misit
Moyses lignum in aquam, et amai-itudincm suam aquarum natura depo-
suit, quam infusa subito gratia temperavit. Sub Elisaeo propheta uni
ex filiis propbctarum excussum est fcrrum de sccuri, et statim mcrsum
est. llogavit Elisaeum qui amiserat fcrrum : misit etiam Elisaeus lig-
num in aquam, ct ferrum natavit. Utique et hoc pvster naturam factum
cognoscimus; gravior est enim ferri species, quam aquarum liquor.
Advertimus igitur, majoris esse virtutis gratiam quam naturam, et
adhuc tamen prophcticie benedictionis numeramus gratiam ? Ambrosii
Opera ii. 338. Edit. Paris. 1(»8G— lOflO.]
I"' The whole of the passage referred to is quoted p. 38, n.]
ox THE lord's supper. 277
his nature." And Theophylact, writing upon John vi., saith :
Panis quern ego dabo non est figura carnis, sed caro mea est ; Theophyi.
transelementatur enim panis, <^'c.,^ that is, " The bread which
I will give is not a figure of my flesh, but it is my flesh ;
for the bread is transfomied.""
I answer : Neither do we deny the natures of bread The answer.
and wine to be changed and altered, and yet their substances
must continue ; for this mystery, as Irenseus teacheth us'^
must have an earthly nature after the consecration, as well
as before, forsomuch as this sacrament is made of two
natures : then how are the natures of bread and wine How the fa-
changed? Verily, even as Ambrose saith, ^ that the nature that tuena-
of water was changed when the Red sea stood about the is changed.
Israelites like a wall, and gave them passage ; as the nature Exod. xiv.
of water was changed when Jordan ran backward, and Exod! xvli.
when the sour river Marath was seasoned and made sweet
and delectable ; as he saith, that the nature of the rock
was changed when it poured forth waters ; as he saith,
that Hehseus changed the nature of iron, when he made 2 Kings vi.
it swim above Jordan ; and as Helias changed the nature 2 Kings i.
of fire, causing: it to descend downward which naturallv
ascendeth upward. After this sort the natures of bread
and wine are changed and altered in Christ''s holy suppei* ;
that is, the natural property of them. For before the
consecration they do only nourish the body ; after the
consecration they do feed our souls with Christ's sweet
flesh, with his comfortable blood, and with a devout remem-
brance of his death and passion.
In this signification, Ambrose affirmeth the natures of Nature hatii
bread and wine to be altered and transformed in Christ's cations.
supper ; meaning, I say, not their substances and very pe^y? ^^°
essence, which is the proper acceptation of the word nature, ^®^^"'^^*
[['" n^oo-vf? ce oTi d tioTOP d ev to?? iJivaTtipiot<; v4> tifxwv ecrfJio^uevo?
uvK avTiTVTrov icTTt Tr;c tou Kvpiov trapKOc, a\\ avTtf tj tov Wvpiov
(Tup^. Ov yup tltrev, on o upToi ov eyw twcta avTtrvTrov ecm Tf;c
0-apKu? /JiOK, aW' t] trdp^ fwv €<tt/. MfT«7roierTO( jdp d-jrupfiijTot':
Xoyof: o apTo<: ovto<: Cia t»;c /iucTiKr;? niXoyiac;, koi t7ri(/)o(T>;(Tfa)c
TOU ayiov irvevuiaro<:, eiV ordpKa rov Kvp'tov. Tlieopliylact. in Evung-
Johan. c. vi. Comment. Gol. Ed. Paris. 1(531.3
P The pa.ssage referred to is given at \k 39, n. 4.]
I* Vide p. 275, n. 3.]
278 'I'HE TIIIHD SERMON
but the natural property of them : as appoareth of his own
foresaid examples. For the substance and very essence
of fire was not altered, though it descended downward
against his natural property ; neither was the very essence
of the Red sea changed, though for a time it stood like a
wall about God''s people. Jordan was a river still, though he
ran backwards ; and the stream of Marath was water still,
notwithstanding his nature was changed ; that is, his natural
property, which was sourness, into sweetness. The rock,
which poured forth abundance of water, remaineth a rock
still. Neither did Heliseus alter and change the very
substance and inward essence of iron, when he caused it,
being heavy, to hove above the waters. In all these mira-
cles, which were ^vrought by the mighty power of God,
the natures of the Red sea, of Jordan, of Marath, of the
rock, of iron, and fire, are said to be changed and altered;
that is, their natural properties. The word nature cannot
be understand otherwise in the foresaid examples. Besides,
approved writers do use it in this acception and signifi-
TuUius, de cation : as Marcus TuUius, in his book De somnio tScipiotiis,
sotnnio , r^n a • • -i • ^ 11 tt • • • 0 \
scipionis. '" Ut bcipio liis dream, Hwc est ammi natura propria^ eye.
" This is," saith TuUy, " the very nature and office of the
soul, to move himself." Notwithstanding Ambrose bringeth
two examples, in which the very essence and substances are
Exod. vii. changed, as the turning of rods into serpents, and the
turning of the waters of Egypt into blood ; he allegeth these
two examples, not to prove the transubstantiation, but to
prove and stablish a less mutation in the sacrament by
those greater mutations. For neither the rods of Aaron
and the enchanters were transubstantiate into serpents,
neither were the rivers of Egypt transubstantiate into blood.
We do never read, throughout the scriptures, of any such
mutation in any of God's miracles from the beginning of
the Avorld. Therefore, when Ambrose and Cyprian or
any other of the old fathers do say, that the nature of
bread and wine is changed, they do not exclude their sub-
stances and very essence, which they teach to remain after
the consecration, as I have proved before. But they speak
L' Inaiiiuuiu est oniin omne, quod pnlsu aifitatur cxtcrno: quod
autcm aiiimal est, id inotu cietur interiorc ot sue : nam htcc est natura
propria animi atquc vis. Cicero, Somn. Scipion. c. ix.]
ON THE lord's SUPPER. 279
of a mutation of the natural properties of bread and wine,
whereby they are no longer common bread and wine, but,
through God's power and benediction, sanctified and holy
sacraments, cheering us with the comfortable promises which
God our Father hath made unto us, for the effusion of
his Son's blood, and for the death of his body. The elder
fathers do acknowledge, confess, and teach no other muta-
tion of the outward siofns.
As for Theophylact, he is not of authority to stablish j^^^P'^y*
any article ; for he reproveth the Latin church for believing
the procession of the Holy Spirit, and he was the year after
Christ 1058, in the time of Lanfranke and Berengaiy, when
the bishops of Rome took upon them first stoutly to maintain
and to publish the doctrine of transubstantiation, which be-
fore time was scarcely heard of. Albeit his words touching
the sacrament do not disaoree with the doctrine of the elder
fathers, if they be well construed. When he denieth the
bread to be a figure, he speaketh of a vain and bare figure ;
for so he expoundeth himself upon Mark^, denying that it is
figura tantum^ " a figure only," which we do confess and
grant. But he saith, that the bread is transelemented and
transformed. He saith also, \vriting upon the said chapter of
John'\ that we are transformed and transelemented into
Christ. And almost all the elder fathers do say the same.
And yet our natures remain. We are not transubstantiate ; ] _
we are not made Christ's real flesh, but undefiled and holy
flesh of his flesh, and such as shall arise and be immortal
with him ; for he doth knit, couple, and incorporate us
to himself by his sacraments. Therefore, as this word
transformed doth prove no mutation of our substance, no
L^ TouTO cVti to crutfxd fxov, tovto 6 vuv /\tt)u/iai/£T£. Ow yap
ai/T«TU7roc Tov KvpiuKov cwjuiaTos ecTTiv o apTo^' a\\ eh avTO CKeTvo
fXCTaf3a\\eTat to a-wixa tov \pt<TTov. Kai o \\vpio<; yap /Xeyei'
o apTo<; ov eyta Cuxru) r; ""CtoP pov ecTTw. Ouk tiTrti/, avTiTviro'^ €(Tti
Ttj<s a-apKo^ pov, d\\' tj (rdp^ fiov ea-Ti. Theophylact. in Mai'c. xiv.
Comment. 272. Edit. Paris. 1G.11.]
Q' 'KuTuvOa navdui'opev to juvaTtjpiov t»;<; /Mera/Xj/v^ew? • o yap
TptayiDv Ka\ ir'ivosv rr/i/ (rdpKU Ka\ to ai'/Act tov l\vp'tov ev outo) ^evei
T(o Kvpiw, Ka\ d KJpio? iv avTto. ^vvavanpaai'; yap ^evt} KUt vtrep
\6yov yiveTut, wo-tc eJvai tov 6edv ei> tjpw, Ka\ tj/ma? ev tw Pew.
Theophylact. in Evan. Johan. c. vi. Comment. 663.]
280 THK THIRD SERMON
more doth it prove the substance of bread and wine to dis-
continue.
There remaineth yet one reason, with which they defend
their transubstantiation, unto which I think necessary to
make an answer ; forsomuch as it is commonly in all the
mouths both of lay and ecclesiastical persons, which suppose
Christ's body to be eaten really and naturally. They say : If
we do not eat Christ's flesh really, why doth St Paul make
1 Cor. xi. gmjjj a^g receive unworthily guilty of the Lord's body and blood ;
■\/ Why doth he teach such to eat and drink their own damna-
tion, because they make no difference of the Lord's body ?
Unworthy Thcsc words do not prove, that Christ's bodv is eaten of us
receivers J^ •'
are ffuiity of really or substantially. For Paul speaketh there of unworthy
body. receivers, which do not eat Christ's body, which is the bread
of life, but the only figure and sacrament tliereof ; and they
do eat the said only sacrament and only figure to their
judgment and condemnation, as I have proved. This is not
my doctrine, but the doctrine of Hierome, Ambrose, of
St Austin, of Prosper, and of Bede, as is declared in the
beginning of this jesson. The contempt of God's sacra-
ment, not the contract' or touching of Christ's real body,
which is now in heaven, bringeth damnation and causeth this
ffuiltiness. For as he which violentlv ])lucketh down the
king's majesty's arms, or breaketh the king's great seal, or
clippeth his coin, committeth an offence against the king's
own person; so they which abuse the sacrament of Christ's
body and blood, presuming to come to it as to common bread,
not reconciling them to their brethren, nor sanctifying them-
selves to God, such presumers and unthankful persons do
offend against Christ himself, be guilty of his body and blood.
To make no that is, of his death, and do eat their own damnation. To
difference of i • i i i
the Lord's come to God's holv sacrament unreverentlv, without the wed-
bodv, what •; • • "^ c i i-p
it is. dmg garment, without any examination ot thy lite past,
without giving thanks to God the Father for the dishonour
and death of his Son, this is non dijudicarc corpus Dommi,
*' to make no difference of the Lord's body." For Paulnameth
here the sacrament " the Lord's body," even as Christ did,
when he said of bread and wine, " This is ray body and
blood." For, as both Cyprian and St Austin and other
elder fathers do teach, sacraments have the names of the
[' Contact?]
ON THE lord's SUPPER. 281
very things which they do represent and signify with certain
simihtudes.
The aforesaid word of the apostle cannot be understand
otherwise; for he speaketh of ungodly men, which do not eat
Christ's body, but the only figure, to condemnation. He
useth a like phrase in the beginning of the said chapter, i cor. xi.
where he saith, that every man praying or prophesying A\ith
a covered head dishonesteth and shameth his head, that is,
Christ ; referring to Christ an offence done to man's head,
because it is a sacrament of Christ. After a like sort, negli-
gent and dumb pastors, which do contemn their flock, and
neglect the honourable office of preaching, are pronounced
of the prophet Ezechiel guilty of their bloods which do Ezek. iii.
perish for lack of instruction and teaching. That unworthy
receivers are guilty of Christ's body and blood through a like
contempt and dissoluteness, presumption and negligence, and
not through any natural, any corporal or real eating of his
flesh, St Ambrose declareth, expounding Paul's aforesaid
words, as it foUoweth : Dahunt poenas mortis Domini, quia Ambrose,
. ' -1 super
pro illis occisus est, qui ejus heneficium irritum ducunt; " They Epist.
shall be promised [punished] for Christ's death," saith this [^>peraKdit.
holy father, " because he was slain for them, and they do set
light by his benefit." He doth interpret such to be guilty of
the Lord's body, which do not eat his flesh, that is, the food
of life, as I have proved before, but the only figure thereof,
to the condemnation of their contempt, presumption, and
unkindness. Therefore no transubstantiation can be proved
of this place ; for the defence whereof they do most shame-
fully wrest and deprave not only the scriptures, but also the
elder fathers.
And to impress the same deeply into the hearts of all Christ's cup
1 J 1 1 • i 1 1 1 i /. 11. ouglit not to
men and women, they have withholden from the laity many I'p i'™>eri to
years Christ's cup, for fear, as they say, of shedding his
blood ; of which I will speak a few words in your gentle ears,
and then I will conclude and finish this matter. Christ our Matt. x.wi.
Master commandeth all men and women to drink of his cut);
which conunandment the apostles observed as long as they
lived, making no ])romiso nor ti-adition to the contrarv.
And the univ(;rsal chur(;h followed and observed religiously
the said precept for the space of a thousand years after
Christ, as many [may] bo proved by plain testimony of
y z 2.
282
THE THIRD SERMON
St Ambrose, ancient writors. "For how, with such hands," saith Ambrose
unto Theodosius the emporor, "wilt thou take the Lord"'s
holy body ? How darcst thou drink of the cup of his precious
blood'?" These words prove, that the temporality in this
holy father's time received the sacrament in both kinds;
and that, in their hands. St Hierome saith : ' Priests which
do consecrate the sacrament, and deliver the blood of Christ
to the people'.' Chrysostom also observed in his time this
precept at Constantinople ; for he saith : " The priest doth
not eat one part, and the laity another part, after the manner
of the old law ; but unto all is distributed one body and one
cup^." And Gregory, sumamed the Great, after whose time
sincere doctrine began to decay, witnesseth that this custom
was kept in the Roman church in his days ; saying, " You
have learned what the blood of the Lamb is, not by hearsay,
but by drinking if*." Yea, five hundred years after his
death, Gelasius, bishop of Rome, 1118 years after Christ,
made a decree for the confirmation of this custom^, because
then some presumed to take under one kind. Neither can
it be proved, that the laity were restrained from the cup of
Hierome in
cap. 2. Ma.
Chrysost.
2 ad Corin
cap. ix.
Gregory.
Gelasius,
1118.
[} Qui, quaeso, manus injusta csede et sanguine respersas extendere
audes, et eisdem sacrosanctum Domini corpus accipere ? aut quoinodo
veneranduin ejus sanguinem ori adniovebis, qui, furore ira; jubente, tan-
tum sanguinis tam inique fudisti ? Theod. Hist. Eccles. Lib. v. c. IB.]
P Sacerdotes quoque, qui eucharistiae serviunt et sanguinem Domini
populis ejus dividunt. Hieronymus in Soph. cap. iii. Opera in. 1671.
Edit. Paris. 1693—1706.]
P OJ Kaddirep ewi rrj<; iraXaid^ rd fxev 6 'iepev<; ija-die, Ta Se o
dpyofxevo^, kcli Oem^ ovk rjv tw Xato /xeTey^eiv tov fie-ret^ev o lepev^.
'AX\ ou vvv dwd trdaiv ev crtajxa trpoKeiTai, kcii TroTrjpiov ev.
Chrysostom. Opera x. 670. Edit. Paris. 1834—9.]
Q* Qua; videlicet cuncta magnam nobis sedificationem pariunt, si
fuerint mystica intei-pretatione discussa. Quis namque sit sanguis agni,
non jam audiendo, sed bibendo didicistis. Qui sanguis super utnimque
postem ponitur, quando non solum ore corporis, sed etiam ore cordis
hauritur. Gregorius Magnus, in Evang. Lib. ii. Homil. xxii. Opera i.
1533. Edit. Paris. 1705.]
[' Comperimus autem, quod quidam, sumpta tanturamodo coi-poris
sacri portione, a calice sacri cruoris abstineant. Qui proculdubio,
quoniam nescio qua superstitione docentur obstringi, aut Integra sacra-
menta percipiant, aut ab integris arceantur; quia divisio uiiius ejus-
demquc mysterii sine grandi sacrilcgio non potest provenire. Decret.
Gratian. Do Con. Dist. 2. p. 2088. Edit. Paris. 1612.]
ON THE LORd'^S SUPPER. 283
Christ before the reign of Frederick the first, surnamed Frederick
<^ , . ... Barbarossa,
Barbarossa; to which restraint, notwithstanding, the oriental neo.
church would never consent, but use [both] kinds always.
Yet the papists would make it a tradition of the apostles :
whereas, in very deed, to cause men to have an honourable
opinion of private masses and of their transubstantiation,
they themselves of late days have taken on them to forbid
that which Christ commanded, that which the apostles fol-
lowed, that which the universal church observed from time to
time ; as is declared.
And because they would not be counted presumptuous ^" ''^J^^-
for making this restraint, they cast many perils and dan-
gers, which might follow, if the cup were made common to
all men and women. Did not Christ, who foretold many
things to his disciples, who is the Wisdom of God the
Father, foresee these perils and dangers? If he did foresee J^^er^"*
them, why did not he make a restraint ; or, at the least,
command a restraint to be made afterward? Yea, Christ of
the bread speaketh not so universally, "Take ye," "Eat ye :"
but concerning the cup he giveth a general precept,
" Drink ye of this all ;" as foreseeing this restraint, and Matt. xxvi.
instructing men aforehand not to obey it when it should
come.
Yet some are so impudent and so drowned in igno- ^"^"^Jjj'^'"*'^'
rancy, that they dare defend the one kind by Christ's example
and tho apostles'. They say, that Christ, at the town of
Emails, distributed but bread only to a couple of his dis- Luke xxiv.
ciples. It is not mentioned that such as embraced the
fellowship of the apostles received any wine : the text saith,
that " they continued in breaking of bread." Therefore, Acts a.
as it is a laudable custom to use both bread and wine, so
it is not evil to distribute bread only to the temporality:
for both Christ and his apostles did so in the primitive
church. I answer, Christ did not consecrate the sacrament The answer,
to his disciples at tho town Emaus, but by his mighty
power wrought a miracle in the division of the bread : so
Nicholaus Lyranus, writing upon tho said text, doth under- Li^'nu"^
stand it, witnessing that Christ l)r;iko the l)road so oven,
as if lie had cut it asunder with his knife." Now, though
[" Sic (.Miiin fmngebat pancm iic si scindcretur oum cultcllo. Nic.
Lyi-anus, in Luc, xxiv. 30. Biblia Max. xiv. 295. Edit. Paris. IGGO.]
284
THE THIRD SERMON
Matt, vi
Luke xiv.
Isai. Iviii.
Erasmus.
Acts ii.
What God
requireth
of us after
our receipt.
bread only bo named, yet this is no sufficient proof that
they did receive the sacrament but in one kind. For
under the name of bread the scriptures do contain meat
and drink, and all manner of victuals ; as in the Lord's
prayer, when we say, "Give us this day our daily bread,"
we ask all necessary food for the nourishment of the body.
Ajjain, we read that Christ went into the house of one of
the chief pharisees, onanducare panem sahbato^ " to eat
bread on the sabbath day;" that is, 'to dine, or sup, with
him;"' as all writers take it. The prophet Esay saith to
every one of us, Frange esurienti panem iuum, "break thy
bread to the hungry;" exhorting us by an Hebrue phrase,
under the name of bread, to minister all bodily food, all
necessary sustenance to the poor. Some make another
answer to the aforesaid place of Luke. Erasmus, in his
annotations, doubteth whether the bread which Luke saith
was broken among the Christians of the primitive church,
were common bread or sacramental and sanctified\ And
many other are likewise in doubt hereof. Wherefore no
certain doctrine can be stablished of the aforesaid place.
Yea, though Luke, both chap. xxiv. and Acts ii., do speak
of the sacrament, yet, forsomuch as all victuals are com-
prehended under the word bread, who is able to say that
they sanctified no wine l
It followeth in the text, that Christ and his disciples,
" when they had given praises," or, as some do read, " had
sung an hymn, they went out into mount Olivet." We are
taught here, by the ensample of Christ and his apostles,
two offices which God requireth of us after the receipt of
the sacrament. First, in that they gave thanks and praises,
let us learn, that it is the office of eveiy christian man, be-
fore he depart from God's table, and also all his lifetime,
to render hearty thanks to God the Father for his great
clemency and mercy, for the remission of his sins through the
dishonour and death of his honourable Son. To this end
and purpose this mystery was chiefly and principally or-
dained, that so noble and worthy a benefit should not fall
out of remembrance, forsomuch as it is our only comfort
against damnation and eternal death. Therefore many of
[} Inccrtum an hie loquatur de pane conseerato, quum nulla fiat
mentio calicis. Erasmus, in Act. ii. 46. Nov. Test. Edit. Basil. 1535.]
ON THE LORd''s SUPPER. 285
the elder fathers of Christ's church do name this sacrament
evyapiaria, that is, a thanksgiving. Follow the ensample
of Christ, thy high Shepherd, and of his apostles, which
finished not this mystery without thanks to the Divine
Majesty. They continued also "in giving of thanks and Acts ii.
breaking of bread," as Luke registereth, writing their lives
after Christ's ascension and departure. What words they
used, it is unknown ; and also, whether they sang an hymn,
or only said it. The Greek word is indifferent either to
singing or saying. But though God do not here esteem
the voice, but the heart ; yet both song and instmnients be
laudable and approved ceremonies in God's church, as I
would prove, but only because I will not be over-long.
If we will not honour God with due thanks for his ^„i^f^^^^"*°
innumerable benefits procured unto us through Christ, but serous.
become unthankful and unkind ; if, after that we be de-
livered from sin and received into God's favour, we turn
from his holy commandment; then is our latter end worse 2 Pet. ii.
than the beginning. For of such St Paul saith, " If any » Co.. iii.
man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy."
Behold examples hereof in the new testament. Judas, after
that he had been long in the blessed fellowship of the
apostles, for betraying the guiltless for a bribe and through Matt, xxvii.
the detestable vice of covetousness, hung himself and utterly Acts i,
lost the favour of God. Ananias and Saphira his ^vife, for Acts v.
practising the said detestable vice of covetousness, after
breaking of bread in the primitive church, were stroken with
sudden death. Many among the Corinthians were stroken 1 cor. xi.
with divers diseases, and some with sudden death, for like
offences, as Paul witnesseth. For nothing displeaseth the
Divine Majesty more, nothing so kindleth his fury and
indignation, as relapse into sin after that thou hast been
at his Son's holy table. For " thou treadest under thy foot ^f^- ^|
his honourable Son, thou crucifiest him again, thou countest
the blood of the new testament which sanctified thee an
unholy thing, and dost dishonour the Spirit of grace."
'i'he second office which we are taught here, is thence-
forth to pass our life-time in prayer and in seeking after
heavenly things. For Christ and his apostles, from giving
of thanks, go straightways to mount Olivet, which place,
286 THE THIRD SERMON'
John xviii. as Jolin the evangelist saith, Judas who betrayed him knew
Luke xxii. very well ; " for Jesus oftentimes resorted thitlicr with his
disciples to pray." If he had gone to an unknown place,
seeing his time was at hand, many would have thought that
he had suffered death for our redemption against his will.
To avoid this suspicion, and to teach us that he died of
his own voluntary will and goodness without compulsion,
Eph- i- et secundum propositum^ &c., that is, " according to the
purpose of his Father," to the praise of the glory of his
grace, he resorted to his accustomed place, which his be-
Lukexxii. trayer knew. Also he resorted thither, as Luke writeth,
to pray ; not that he had need of prayer, which is a re-
medy against sin, but to stir us thereunto by his ensample.
For seeing he prayed often and so diligently, who needed
not, being without all spot of sin, either original or actual,
how needful a thing is the same for us which be sinners!
As the life of fishes lietli in the water, and out of water
they lose their lives, so I say unto you, the soul of man
and woman dieth without prayer; neither can we eschew
evil, or exercise virtue, without continual and earnest invo-
cation of God's daily help. Let us learn therefore of Christ,
who prayed not for himself, but for our example, to resort
after the communion, not to the tavern or ale-house, not
to a bowling alley nor to a dicing-house, as many do daily,
but to go into mount Olivet, that is, to a place of prayer,
as he did; always thenceforth looking upward towards
heavenly things, that he may increase in us all spiritual gifts
to the glory of his name. For as fathers in earth will
not let their children know their privacies, their secret trea-
sures and riches, nor make them partakers of their com-
modities and lands, as long as they follow the wild swing
of their youth and delight in vanities, no more will God
the Father to the lovers of worldly vanities deal his spiritual
graces, nor discover the glorious riches of his kingdom. We
must despise worldly things and become eagles; that is, we
must fly up into mount Olivet, we must lift our minds
up into heaven, where Christ's body is at his Father's riglit
Matt. xxiv. hand. For it is written, Ubi cadaver^ ihi aquilw^ " Where
the carcase is, thither the eagles resort." Christ our Master
V nameth liis own body a carcase because of his death and
ON THE LORD S SUPPER.
287
passion ; for unless it had died, we had not arisen. And
he calleth us eagles, teaching us that we must not creep
on the ground, we must not tarry in earth, but we must
elevate, not bread and wine, but our hearts, our thoughts,
our cogitations and spirits, to the throne of God's majesty ;
where Christ's body, which was a carcase, is now in eternal
glory : to whom, with the Father and the eternal Spirit, be
all honour and glory, praise and thanks. So be it.
THE PRAYER.
0 heavenly Father, who dost nourish godly men with
the food of thy Sons flesh and the drink of his blood;
which his flesh and blood is the fruit of many, the fruit
of David and others, not the fruit of the vine nor the
fruit of wheat : hear our prayers and supplications, and so
till our hearts with the seed of thy holy word, that we may
be of their fellowship which are fed with thy Son's body,
the food of life ; and not of the number of the ungodly,
which do eat the only figure and sacrament thereof to the
condemnation of their presumption, contempt, and unthank-
fulness. Stablish the hearts of thy people with the know-
ledge of the scriptures, and with the doctrine of the elder
fathers of thy holy church, against such as ignorantly and
falsely teach that thy Son's flesh, which is the bread of
life and righteousness, is received unworthily and unto con-
demnation of ungodly men. Confirm and instruct them with
thy Son's conunandmcnt, with the ensample and use of the
primitive and oriental church, against the pestiferous doc-
trine of those which, to maintain superstition, deny the cup
of thy new testament to the temporal and laity. (J rant
these our requests, O most merciful God, that we, having
a right opinion of thy sacrament, may use it aright, may
288 THE PRAYER.
come thereunto worthily, and after this life praise thee
continually in mount Olivet, that is, in the eternal
glory, for the remission of our sins, and for all
thy benefits bestowed upon us, for the
dignity and worthiness of Christ,
who, with thee and the Holy
Spirit, liveth and reign-
eth, one God, world
without end.
Amen.
TWO SERMONS
OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE,
PREACHED BY
ROGER HUTCHYNSON.
NOW FIRST PRINTED FROM MS. BIBL. REG. 17 B. XII.
IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
ID
[lIUTCIIIXSON.]
CONTENTS.
A SERMON upon the second epistle after Easter, 1 Peter ii., de-
claring the misery of this life ; that there be two kinds of affliction and
patience; and exhorting men to arm themselves with patience against
oppression and grievous chances; teaching also the miserable state and
condition of oppressors; that it is better to suffer than to do wrong;
why God sufiFereth evU men to oppress and scourge the virtuous and
godly ; that every man's reward in the life to come shall not be equal ;
that adversity and trouble are much better than prosperity.
Another sermon upon the rest of the epistle, exhortmg to patience
by Christ's ensample; shewing that his image teacheth us aU virtues;
why God ordained man to live in labours; what doth cause such as
be in adversity to blaspheme God, and to live ungodly; a difference
between christian and the heathen man's patience; whether christian
men may go to law and sue one another; how the plaintiff and the
defendant ought to be affected each to other ; how Clirist hath delivered
us from the law; that we must bear the taunts, the threats, slanders,
and sins of others, as Christ bare ours ; and what evils come of anger,
impatience, and envy.
J9— ',
To the right worshipful Sir Harry Sydney,
knight, and gentleman of the king's
majesty's privy-chamber', Roger
Hutchynson wisheth the
favour of God, long
life, continual
health, and
welfare.
Though the scriptures were never so universally read
of all men and women in this island, (for which thanks be
given unto God!) yet your worshipful mastership knoweth
that they be full of secret and hidden mysteries, full of pro-
found doctrine and hard and dark matters. Men of learning
and knowledjT'e do behold in them the g-lorious riches of
God's wisdom and majesty. To the unlearned and laity,
the publishing of them without interj)retation is a like
matter as if a man would give to young children whole
nuts, which, when they have tumbled long up and down
in their mouths, and licked the hard shell, being not able
to come to their sweetness, at last they spit out, and cast
away both the shell and the kernel. The eternal God, to
help the infirmity of man's capacity and understanding
herein, hath ordained two honourable and most necessary
offices in his church ; the office of preaching, and the office
of reading or interpreting. We are taught how necessary
these two functions bo in every christian commonwealth,
Acts X. ; where it is written, that although an angel was
\^ Sir Henry Sydney was the son of Sir William Sydney, cham-
berlain and steward to prince Edward, afterwards Edward VI., during
the lifetime of his father. Beinu^ only a few years older than the yonnj?
l)rinee, Henry Sydney was his companion from infancy, and many times
his bed-fidlow. After Edward's accession to the throne, his early friend
•was appointed to several offices which kept him in attendance upon the
jjcrson of the sovereign, and it was in his arms that the young monarch
died. The lady alluded to in this dedication was Mary, daugliter of
John Dudley, Duke of Northumherland, the governor of the kingdom
after the depositiitn of the jtrotector Somerset. The celebrated Sir
Philip Sydney was one of the children of Sir Henry and Lady Mary
Sydney. Vide (-'ollins's Sydney I'apcrs, i. IVl — ;»7.]
2.94 DF,nir;ATro\.
sent unto Cornelius, captain of the Italian band, yet he
would not take upon him to preach the gospel to the afore-
said captain and his household, but commanded him to send
to Joppa for Peter, who was authorised to this office, and
to hear him. To teach us the necessity of these offices,
the angel of the Macedonians did not himself preach Clirist''s
death and resurrection to the Macedonians, but called Paul,
and said to him, "Come mto Macedony and help us;" as
is registered Acts xvi. Because of this difficulty and hard-
ness of holy writ, through which every man cannot wade
without a teacher, and because this short epistle of Peter
is full of heavenly consolation and comfort for all afflicted
and troubled persons, and of profound doctrine, I have
laboured to comprehend the most fruitful matter thereof
in two sermons, which I do present and dedicate to your
worshipful mastership, that all such as shall find any manner
of comfort or knowledge in them, should recount themselves
bounden to you for the same ; and also, for a testimony
and declaration of my benevolence and loving heart towards
your worshipful mastership, and my lady, your most faithful
and loving wife. I grant that I have not uttered this most
wholesome argument in such an eloquent and flourishing
style as the Avorthiness thereof deserved; yet I trust that
your mastership will accept these my sermons thankfully,
both for the worthiness of the matter, which is holy, and
of the author, which is St Peter. Though my style be
rude and homely, yet Christ, who is taught here, is glorious.
Though the letter be not fervent and earnest, yet the holy
Spirit, which breatheth in the letter, is vehement, strong,
and mighty ; who preserve your mastership, and my lady,
with all yours, in health, long life, and prosperous felicity.
From Eaton college, the xvii day of August, 1552.
THE FIRST SERMON
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE.
1 Pet. ii.
This is thankworthy, if a man for conscience sake endure grief and
suffer wrong undeserved; hut if ivhen for your faults ye he huffcted,
then ye take it patiently, what praise are ye worthy ? If you do well,
and be troubled, that is worthy jyraise: hereunto verily are ye called;
for Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example to follow his foot-
steps : who did no sin, neither was any guile found in his mouth ; when
he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not;
but committed vengeance to him that judgeth righteously: who hare our
sins in his body on the tree, that we, being delivered from sin, should live
unto righteousness : by whose stripes we are healed. For ye were as
sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop
of your souls.
That I may declare this epistle to GocFs honour, and find
out such lessons as may edify and instruct this audience, I
pray you all help me with your devout prayers. In which let
us make supplication to God for the universal company of A ^vj^ c*-^^.
his church, Jiamejy for the church of England and Ireland; ^ a~/ -vv*»^Z*
desiring him, of his fatherly goodness, to continue both us ^ / ^^ y
and them in the confession and obedience of his gospel
and tnith ; also, for the king"'s excellent majesty, &c.
I have rehearsed unto you, well-beloved in the Lord,
the epistle of this day, wherein patience is praised and com-
mended unto us as a special je\v(^l, treasure, and gift of
the eternal God. There is no kind of vocation, no degree, Patience is
~ iipcessary
neither spiritual nor tem])oraK no estate and condition of '"'" »" ".""^
I 1 _ ^ ^ ot people.
life, which can lack this excellent viilue. For as it is
sometime day, sometime night, othervvhiles cold and frosty
winter, otherwliilcs ])lc;isant and lusty sumnier, and other-
whiles spring-tide; so the lilt' of man and womiin is mingled
of sweet find sour things. It hath commodities and plea-
sures, and It hath griefs and dis|>leasureM. 'L'hero be things
296 THE FIRST SEHMOX
that delight and refresh us, and there be as many which
molest, sting, and vex us. For who is there living, cither
temporal or spiritual, which can truly report that he hath
had continual health and welfare, continual prosperity with-
out any storm of adversity^ Wherefore patience, unto
which we are here exhorted of the apostle St Peter, is
necessary unto all sorts of rnen ; as shall appear more
plainly hereafter.
First, I will begin with those that are thought to live in
Rich men. j^ost pleasures. Rich men seem to have pleasant and merry
lives. Nothing is too dear to them : they seem to have the
world at will. But if we consider and weigh things aright,
we shall find that they are overwhelmed with many sorrows
and cares, not only to gather and scrape substance together,
but also in keeping and reserving it safe. On the night,
when other men take their rest, then is the rich man without
rest, in most trouble and fear, trembling for thieves ; inso-
much that the wise man saith, Cura dimtiarum amovet
somimm, " Riches do drive away sleep." If death come and
visit him, when repentance is most necessary, and the con-
sideration of his sins, and the consideration of God's mercy,
then his riches, which he gathered and kept vvith all diligence,
do oftentimes cause his damnation, and help him to the
devil. They will not let him think of heaven, of the life to
come, of the sweet and comfortable promises that the eternal
God hath made us in our Lord Christ. It is more grievous
to a rich man than a hundred deaths, to depart with his
treasure, to want his dainty fare, his gorgeous apparel, his
sweet gardens, his pleasant galleries, his commodious and
sumptuous buildings, and other commodities. If he have
children, then, though he have heaps of gold, though he be
able to maintain a great army of his rents, revenues, and
goods, yet he counteth himself to be poor again. Again,
if he' have no children, it grieveth him intolerably to have
no heirs of his substance and goods. And oftentimes it
chanceth that the rich man leaveth all his lands, goods, and
commodities to his enemy and accuser, and his own substance
putteth her master to death, according to the saying of
r.sai. xxxix. the prophet, Thesaurizat et ignorat cui congregahit ea, " The
rich man scrapeth, gathereth, and hordetli up treasure, he
[' Ye, in IMS.]
X- fi^'iif (^^"f't J-'- ^y*"' A^f---i'''l.- l^^n-^f/p
OP OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 297
cannot tell for whom."" I report me to many rich men of
late days, whether I say true or not. Is this a happy and a
pleasant life I Why dost thou grudge and repine against
rich men ? Why dost thou envy, swell, and murmur against
them ? They are rather to be pitied than to be grudged at ;
rather to be lamented, than envied. Christ telleth us that l\<^^\- ^i"-
' Mark x.
they have hard access into heaven ; and the apostle telleth
us, that " those which desire to be enriched, be snared with ^ Tim. vi.
many tentations." Why do we grudge that they have plenty Luke viii.
of thorns which molest, and prick, and lead them to eternal '
death ?
Hear what the notable rich man saith in the gospel to
Abraham : he crieth out, " Father Abraham, send Lazarus Luke .wi.
hither, to dip his finger in the water and to touch my tongue ;
for I am roasted in this flame.'''' Thou miserable man ! if
riches make men happy and fortunate, how earnest thou
hither ? Thou haddest store of money, corn, and cattle ; thy
table was served with wine every day ; and dost thou now
desire a drop of water ? Diddest thou not, in thy royalty,
despise poor Lazarus ? Now thou desirest his help and pre-
sence. He lay naked at thy gate ; now he hath made his bed
in Abraham's bosom. Thou diddest dwell in a goodly and
fair palace; now thou dwellest in hell, because thou wouldest
not be God''s amner in thy lifetime. Remember this
narration, you rich men ; trust not in uncertain riches ; learn \Tim. vi.
' •' ^ All rich men
that no rich man is owner of his Q-oods and lands, but God's ^^ God's
, ainners.
amner and officer to distribute and deal the Lord's goods
to the poor, to the lame, to the blind, to the fatherless and
motherless ; and to help, with their substance and credit, all
that bo oppressed and wronged unto their right. For he
saith by the prophet, " Gold is mine, silver is mine;" and Hag^. ii.
the psalmograph saith, " The earth is the Lord's, and all Psai- xx>v.
that is contained in it." And you that be in poverty, com-
fort yourselves with the ensample of Lazarus, with the
t'nsample of God's pro})hets and a|)ostlos, (for tiiey all were
poor men,) and namely with the blessed example of Jesus
Christ our righteousness, who became so poor to make us
rich, that ho had not uhi reclinaret caputs "a house to cover Lukeix.
his head withal."
But kings have sweet and pleasant lives. Consider how Kings.
many danglers, how uuiny cares, what expenccs :ind charges,
what provision, and the innumerable troubles that belong
298 THE FIT?ST RF.RMOX
unto a kingdom; and thou shalt find that many private men,
many husbandmen, many artificers and merchants, do live
more merrily and ^ [in more ease than they do. Look not on
their flourishing and golden crowns. Look not upon their
gorgeous apparel, upon their delicate fare, upon their large
and fair palaces. Look upon their weighty affairs, upon the
multitude of their cares, upon the manifold thoughts and
business, both in peace and in battle. L)o they not intend
many matters, and are disappointed of their purposes, either
through fear of their own subjects, or of their lords, or by
the power of their enemies ? Are they not wounded with the
darts and chances of this life, which the heathen name tela
fortunce^ "the dints or strokes of fortune," as well as other?
Sometime with sickness, sometime with lack of issue and
children, sometimes with uproars and insurrections, sometime
with privy treasons and conspiracies: otherwhiles death
taketh their wives, their children, their faithful and trusty
friends from them, and filleth their hearts with sorrows and
heaviness* As it is not possible to find an immortal man that
shall live always in body, so is it impossible to find any kind
of life without heaviness, without displeasures and smarts.
For if rich men and kings do smart, what is to be thought of
other inferior vocations ?
tom^^°^" There* be many causes of son'ows and heaviness, but far
different and diverse, and every man thinketh his own sore
greatest; for every man knoweth and feeleth his own best.
And as they that be diseased in body count no pain to be
like theirs, he that hath sore eyes thinketh no grief to that,
he that hath the tooth-ache complaineth that his smart is
greatest ; so is it in the heaviness and sorrows of the mind ;
every one thinks his sore, his smart, and grief to be greatest.
He that lacks children, judgeth nothing more grievous than
to be without issue. He that is poor and needy, and hath
many sons or daughters, complaineth of great costs and
charges and of the dearness of the world, and wisheth he
had fewer. Some have but one son, or one daughter, and
they complain also that it maketh them proud,] unthrifty,
\^ This ])assagc \vithin brackets has been accidentally transposed in
binding the MS., of Avhich it now forms fol. 18 instead of fol. 8. It is
here restored to its pro])er place.]
\^ This paragraph is almost wholly translated from Chrysostom;
the original is too long to quote, but may lie found. Opera v. 367 — 8.
Kdit. Taris. ]o88.]
OP OPPBESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 299
negligent, and not to care for correction. He that hath
married a fair wife recounteth himself unfortunate that he
took such one, and is tormented with suspicion and jealousy. / ,/
Again, he that hath married a fdul woman, taketh it for ^^y
a great plague to be bound to~company with such one. <yf,,-u-t.^ t ^
The husbandman counteth his life but vile and miserable. /.^.^v^ J^
The soldier repines at his pains and infinite jeopardies, say- /
ins;, that he had rather live with bread and water than in
daily danger of death. Magistrates and officers bo weary of
providing and caring for the necessities of others. Subjects
count nothing more miserable than to be bound to obey and
serve their superiors. Bachelors desire to have wives and
houses of their own to refresh themselves in; and many
that be married, considering what cares, expences, and
charges be joined with matrimony, desire to be unwived
again. Of these it appeareth to you all, that this life is full
of misery, of griefs, of smarts, of trouble, of heaviness ; and
that patience is most necessary both unto rich and poor,
unto kings and magistrates, unto husbandmen, merchantmen,
soldiers, man-ied and unmaiTied, unto all subjects and sorts
of people. We be all God's martyi's, we do all bear a cross
in this life, and therefore every one support and comfort
his brethren.
But vou shall note that there be two kinds of patience Two kinds
1 r.1 . . , . 1 1 «» J 1 1 • 1 1 of affliction
and affliction, according as the men be attected which be and pa-
in trouble. Some bo in trouble for their virtue, honesty,
and truth ; and other some are troubled for their vice,
dishonesty, falsehood, misbehaviour, and untruth. There is
affliction of sinners, of oppressors, of unrighteous men ; and
there is affliction of saints, of God's martyrs, of prophets,
and of righteous men ; and both kinds be here touched,
and taught us of St Peter: one, in that he saith, "This
is thank-worthy, if a man endure grief for conscience sake,
and suffer wrong undeserved ;■" here is affliction and patience
of saints and good men : and the other is taught us whore he
saith, " What praise are ye worthy, if when for your faults
yo bo buffeted, and then take it patiently T He asketh a
question, meaning that such are worthy of no reward, no
rcconii)ence, no benefit at God's hand ; and this is affliction
and ])ati«!nco of sinners. Both kinds of patience are to be
exercisfd of jiIl christian men ami woiiien. The fii*st is the
JOO
THE FIRST SERMON
§ A
Patience
and attlic
tion of
saints.
Matt. V.
Phil. i.
better, and more acceptable in God's sight, and more highly
commended in the scriptures. " It is thank-worthy," saith
Peter; that is to say, God hath promised unto such as
endure grief for his name remission of their sins, his fa-
vour and continual help, the graces and gifts of the holy
Spirit, and eternal joys and rest ; as it is written, Si com-
Rom. viii. patimur, et co7ire^nabimus, " If we suffer with Christ, we
shall reign with him." And our saving health and right-
eousness, Christ himself, saith of such : " Blessed are they
that suffer persecution for righteousness; for the kingdom
of heaven is theirs." This kind of affliction is a special
gift of the eternal God, as Paul witnesseth unto the Phi-
lippians ; Vobis donatum est, non solum ut in Christum cre-
daiis^ terum etiam ut jyro illo patiamini; "It is given unto
you," saith Paul, " not only to believe upon Christ, but
also to suffer for him :" which place instructeth us, that
to believe in Christ, which is faith, and to suffer for con-
science sake, be two gifts of God. Happy and blessed are
those on whom the eternal God bestoweth this gift. For
as the warrior, when he mustereth, chooseth tall and able
men, and refuseth cowards; so God doth not vouchsafe all
men of this honour, to suffer and fight for his name, but
those which he ordained to be heirs of everlasting life and
partakers of all heavenly promises through Christ. His
apostles, considering this honour, Acts v., when they had
been imprisoned, scourged and whipt for preaching of the
gospel, they were joyful and glad thereof, and danced for
joy that they were counted worthy to endure grief for the
name of Christ. They rejoiced, and felt no smart. The
He that pv- strokes of their fetters were not pahiful to them. For he
that is afflicted in God's cause, and givetli thanks, and
praiseth him for his gift, as they did, his pain thereby is
minished, lessened, or rather utterly taken away ; so that he
feeleth no manner of smart. Nabuchodonosor commanded
Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, to be cast into a hot burning
oven, because they refused to worship a golden image which
he had erected, with the rest of his subjects and com-
mons. But they in the fire remembering their God, and
singing thanks unto him, were saved harmless. The fire
was to them instead of a wall, and the oven was unto them
a pleasant bath. They were cast into the oven bound hand
The
Apostles
Acts V.
eth thanks
feeleth not
affliction.
Ananias,
Azarias,
Mishael,
Dan. iii.
'-/X-e- ^%re^/^j /-per/ rhu^
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. SOI
and foot ; and the oven delivered them out loosed and un-
bound. Their bodies were mortal and corruptible ; and the
fire abstained from them, as if they had been immortal
and impassible. Nabuchodonosor bound their feet, and their
feet bound the fire. O wonderful work ! the fire loosed and
burned in sunder their bonds, and touched not nor burned
not their bodies. The cniel tyrant would have destroyed
them ; but tlie fire, because they gave thanks, spared them
against his nature. Was not the like done in Daniel, when Dan. vi.
he was thrown to lions and preserved harmless? In the
new testament, St Paul, when he at Miletus took up an Paul,
adder in a bundle of sticks, he handled it, and was nothing
hurt therewith.
There be two sorts of men, which endure undeserved Two sorts of
men endure
ffrief for conscience sake and for the name of Christ. Rnef for
to
conscience
First, all such as have sealed and ratified Chrisfs testa- sake.
ment, and the doctrine there contained, with the oblation
of their bodies, with their blood and deaths ; as those that
I have rehearsed, the holy prophets and apostles, and many
martyrs, both in the primitive church, and now of late days.
Again, they endure grief for conscience sake which are put
from their livings wrongfully, for speaking the words of
God, and rebuking oppressors and extortioners sharply and
boldly ; which are thrown into prison, and put from their
lands, from their rooms and offices, from their bishopricks,
from their benefices, or from whatsoever it be, for controlling
all covetousness, disorders, and enormities ; and they also
which arc oppressed, and kept under, and bare, and needy,
of mighty and rich men, as God knowoth every township
through England almost is oppressed ; and some have de-
served no less, and some again bo wraxed with undeserved
misery. The rich and wealthy waste and eat up the com-
mons of every town, so that no poor man can keep a cow
upon them. They use unhoncst trades in their husbandry,
l)uvin'' and scllincr corn and cattle to forestal markets ; and
to make an appearance of scarcity in the markets, they will
overbuy things and givo more for them than they be worth,
to raise the price. In selling their wares, they deceive men,
and cannot be content with moderate gains ; and oppress
their ])oor bnitliron through covetousness. All good and
virtuous men that aro oppressed by such, endure grief, and
302 THE riRST SKRMON
suffer wrong for conscience sake and for the name of Christ,
if they take it patiently, quietly, and thankfully. The world
judgeth such to be miserabb; and outcasts, to be peasants
and dregs. But I say unto thee, whatsoever thou art
that are overwhelmed with might and favour, bear it for
God's sake patiently ; have no malice against thy oppres-
sors ; but as our Master Christ commandeth thee, and gave
thee example, pray for them, love them, wish their amend-
ment ; and thou art God's mart}T, as well as Daniel and
Paul, as well as Stephen, and the infants which king Herod
murdered for Christ's sake. Ah, good Lord ! that we would
take it so, that we would be content to be God's martyrs.
The Lord help our infirmities, and strengthen our weak-
ness against tentations with his grace and Spirit !
He suffereth yet these cursed worldlings, these damned
spirits, to oppress, to suck, to devour, and to wring you, as
ho did Pharao, that you, through patience and sufferance,
may obtain everlasting life, and be fellow-heirs with Christ,
and made like unto him ; and that they, for their oppression
and extremity, may be punished more grievously, more
bitterly, in the lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone,
which is the death of the soul. Let your oppression and
adversity be a token and a certificate to your conscience
that you are the children of God, and heirs of eternal sal-
vation through Christ our Lord. For " except we suffer,"
saitli Paul, meaning this undeserved misery, " we are bas-
tards, not sons." If we will reign with Christ, we must
suffer with him; if we will go to heaven with him, we
must first go to hell with him. Thou art put from thy
house and lands, as Naboth was ; thou art bereaved of
thy moveable goods ; thy father's legacies are denied thee ;
thou art in prison for preaching boldly against sin and
iniquity, for taunting and rebuking those that worship
Nabuchodonosor's golden image, I mean the idol of cove-
tousness : bewail not thy misfortune, thy misery, and thy
wrong and trouble, but rather lament and bewail thy op-
it is better pressor ; for it is better to be oppressed than to oppress ;
prcsledr it is bottor to suffer than to do wrong; it is better to
press." °^' endure all grief for conscience sake, than to grieve the sons
of God, as appearcth by many examjiles in holy scripture.
David suffered many injuries and displeasures at the hands
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. oOS
of king Saul; and which of them, think you, was in better David,
ease ? Saul promised him, if he could overthrow the cham-
pion of the Philistines, Goliath, that he would give him his
daughter to wife. He overcame him, and delivered the
Israelites from great terror ; but Saul broke promise, and
did him injury and wrong, and swelled with envy and hatred
against David, insomuch that an evil spirit possessed and
vexed him. David, on the other side, was praised and i Jjam. xvu.
commended of all the people. Tell me now, whether of
them was in better case, he that was praised of all men,
or he that was possessed with a devil? He that won the
battle, and delivered the people of God, or he that almost
did brast for malice and anger ? Jacob likewise endured Jacob,
grief and suffered wi'ong at the hands of his uncle La- Laban.
ban, and yet, (a wonderful matter,) he was stronger than
his oppressor ; for Laban pursued him, and overtook him
in Mount Galard ; but he was not so hardy as once to
touch or harm him, as is written. Gen. xxxi., but rather
feared him, and returned home again.
That this may appear yet more evidently unto you that
be oppressors of the commons, to you that care not what, nor
from what use you catch, and snatch, and alter things to
your own commodities, and to the obscuring of God's glory,
which your duties be to set forth, consider with me David ^&^i<i'
once again, and with him Urias, Bethsabee's husband. David, Uiias.
when he was oppressed of Saul, waxed daily more famous,
mighty, and stronger: after that he oppressed Urias, and
began to do injury, ho was humbled, made weak and low.
tJrias, being slain, was mighty and strong: he raised Absolon 2 sam. xi.
against David, chased him, made him to Hy into the de-
sert, wasted and spoiled Jerusalem, and almost deposed his
oppressor from his royalty. The oppressor, being a king,
could do nothing : he that was oppressed, being but a
soldier, wasted all topsy-turvy. The like was done in
Abel and Cain, in Job and the devil. Learn therefore, Abci,
you oppressors, you pollers and pillers, that it is bettor Job"'
to bo oppressed than to oppress ; it is better to bo pilled ^ *"*
thun to ]>ill. Ts it not ])ett<'r to be Abel than Cain ? Is
it not better to b(( David than S.iul ? Jacob than Laban?
Urias than David? Job than llic devil? Ei dyaSo-
TToiovvrt*;. Ihat is, "• If yr tin well,"'"' s;iitli IVter, "' and
304
THF FIRST SERMON
Why God
suffereth
^nod men
to be np.
pressed.
Avoidance
of idolatry
is one cause
Paul,
Barn.nhas,
Acts xiv.
The
apostles.
endure grief, that is worthy thank, and reward, and eternal
recompence hereafter :" but to be an oppressor and cater-
piller descrveth and bringeth eternal death and damnation.
Here a question may be demanded, no less necessary
to learn than hard to dissolve and discuss : Why doth God
suffer his saints to be afflicted, oppressed, and to endure
grief in this world \ Why was Abel slain of Cain ? Urias
of David \ Why did God suffer wicked Manasses to mur-
der and saw in sunder the holy prophet Esay \ Why doth
he suffer Antichrist of Rome to slay so many of his ser-
vants, both in this realm and other regions, for justifica-
tion of faith, for the holy sacrament, for Englishing the
scriptures, for reformation of baptism and God's service,
and other causes?
The elder fathers and holy scriptures rehearse two
causes of this God's sufferance. The first cause is for the
avoidance of idolatry. If all things should chance pros-
• perously to holy men, the world would be fond of them,
and make them gods, as appeareth by the ensamples of
Paul and Barnabas. They coming to Lystra in Lycaonia,
healed there a certain lame man which had been lame
from his mother's womb. The foolish people seeing what
was done, cried in their language, " Gods are comen
amongst us in the likeness of men." They would have
honoured them with sacrifice ; and supposed Barnabas to
be Jupiter, and Paul they took for Mercury, Such is
the nature and blindness of man. So all the heathen were
wrapped in idolatry, and worshipped mortal men that were
their benefactors, and with divine honour, for the eternal
and immortal God. How was Hercules made a god of
the Greeks, Romulus of the Romans, and Alexander, sur-
named the Great, of the Macedonians, but because they
had them "into great reverence and estimation? Therefore
Almighty God, to eschew and to avoid this inconvenience,
letteth his saints be afflicted ; suffered his prophets and
apostles, after they had wrought wonderful miracles, to be
tossed with continual troubles, to be imj^risoned, to bo
banished, to be diseased and tormented with sickness, lest
men for their miracles and unspotted lives should suppose
them to be gods, as the Lycaonians did Paul and Barna-
bas, and the gentiles their benefactors. For the same cause
or OI'PRESSIOX. AFFUCTIOX, AND PATIKXCE.
SO/
their bodies and ours be mortal and corruptible ; as we
may learn by St Paul's words and ensample, 2 Cor. xii.
"If I list," saith Paul, "to glory, I may do it honestly ; ^ Cor. xii.
but I forbear, lest men should think more of me than they
ought to do." And agrain, " We have this treasure," the
Spirit and knowledge of God, " in brittle vessels ;" that is,
in earthly and gross bodies. And why so ? that the glory
of their doings, of their miracles, and of their undefiled
conversations, (as Chrysostom^ writeth in his homily) should f^^y^^^-
be referred and redound to God's honour, and not to theirs, patientia.
For when thou readest that the prophets and apostles raised
those that were dead, restored the blind to their sight, the
lame to their feet, the deaf to their hearing, and the sick
to their health, and yet when they were sick, that they
could not heal themselves, art thou not compelled to confess
these things to be God's workmanship, not theirs!
God useth the like policy in all his creatures. Ho
made the world large, wide, and beautiful, and therefore
the Greeks call it Koano^ ; but he made it also corruptible
and mortal, to confound the blind Stoics which worship it The stoics.
for God : likewise he made the sun glorious, radiant,
and bright ; he made it also to decay and flourish again, to
go down and to arise, with other corruptible properties?,
to control the Persians and Medes that honour it with The MeeUs.
divine reverence. So I say, that men should not abuse his
saints and his apostles, he punisheth some with imprison-
ment, some with continual diseases, some with oppression,
some with poverty ; some have been thrown into the Fleet,
Q' "Kyo/*fi/ ceroi' Oi/(tcmy'OI' rovrui' u' «(7t^okii/oi<; aKivecriu. ii
ce €ffriv, ev da-Tpan'ivot^ (TKevcaiv ; tv tw o-w/xciti tovtw, (p>}(Ti, tw
dvrjrui Ku\ eTTiKt'ipia. .KaBdirep jap to uffTpuKov en Trr/Aou khi ■Rvpu<!
'v'lVeTUt, IWTU} Ct} KCtI TO ffW/XH TWI/ a'/lWI/ £Kt(l'(0|/ 'H^tjXlVOl' OU, KOI TOW
•nvivpariKov ■rrvpo': cc^dpevuv t>;i/ evepyctuv, yeyovcw offTpaKov. Koi
T(i/o<f ei/eKCi/ TovTo jeyevrjrat, ku\ 0ti<Tavpov Toaovrov Kcti ■^apiatka-Tm'
Oa\//(\e<ai/ (^cr/Tw koi ipBapTM <rw/iOTi ivatreQcro ; "va t] VTrep/SoXri t»;<:
Cvvdii(m<: j] t«u Bcod, kui /.o/ I'f t'mmv. "Orav yap V?.;? tov? aVoffTo-
Aoi/<r vcKpov<: /itv uvtarojvTa';, uvtov<; ce il(r6€vovi)Ta<; kcu p>] cuvapevov;
(liruWayr'ivui t.]<j appwcrTUi'i, t'/(Tj; (T«(/)w<r on f/ tou vcKpov iluuffTaa-i':
tw T»7<; ci/i/o'/icwv rov dnuaTt'ia-uvTo^., dwd t»]<: cvepye'ut^ Tr> tou IIihi;-
/i«To<; 7f'70"ci/. Chiysostuin, lloui. x. lul I'op. Autioch. Opera ii. 110.
Kdit. Par. 171»— n».]
20
HUTCIIINSOX.
noc,
TIIK FIRST SRHMOX
Plenteous
reward an-
other cause
2Tim. ii.
John xiv.
Against
Jovinian's
heresy.
Rom. viii.
1 Cor. XV.
2 Cor. ix.
St Hierom.
pome into the M.ir>shalsea, some have been inclosed up
into the Tower; some are racked, some scourged, other some
burned, other some are defaced, slandered and persecuted
with venomous and lying tongues, which deprave all their
doings, be they never so upright and godly.
Another cause why they are afflicted is, that their
reward may be greater and more abundant ; for if it be
true that Paul says, " They tliat suffer with Christ shall
reign with him,"' ergo, they that suffer much shall more
gloriously be crowned. They suffer with Christ, which sus-
tain undeserved misery as he did. There is but one king-
dom, but there be divers crowns and many mansions in this
kingdom. And every man's reward shall not be equal,
as Jovinian doth teach, but according to his doings and
sufferings, as Paul teacheth in another place, saying, JSfon,
sunt condignw pamones hujus secuU, et cetera, " The griefs
of this life be not comparable to the joys of the other life :"
where he exhortetli men to venture boldly to set forth
God's glory, in consideration and hope of plenteous reward ;
for the more danger, the more renown and glory. And,
"as one star differeth from another in clearness," as the
moon is not so resplendent and bright as the sun. Mercury
and Mars be not so clear and dyant as Venus is ; so shall
it be after this life among the sons of God. They shall
all have the penny of immortality ; but not of the like
fineness, not like reward, not like measure of joys. Qui
parce seminat, " He that hath sown plenteously, shall reap
plenteously, and he that hath sown little, shall reap there-
after in God's kingdom ;" as the famous and godly father
St Hierom^ proveth in his learned treatise against the great
P " Alia," inquit, " claritas solis, et alia claritas lunae." Ne
stellam et stellam totum humanae multitudinis assereres genus, solem
])osuit et lunain, quos certe inter hircos non poteris uumerare. " Sic,"
inquit, " erit et resurrectio mortuorum," ut justi in claritatc solis
luceant, et (jui in scquenti gradu sunt, luuiu splendove rutilcnt; ut alius
Lucifer sit, alius Arcturus, alius Orion, alius jMazuroth, et cetera
stellarum vocaI)ula, qute sacrataj in Job volumine continentur. " Omnes
enim," ait, " manifestari nos oportet ante tribunal Christi, ut recipiat
unusquisque quae gessit per corpus, sive bonum sive malum." Ac ne
forsitan dicas ante triliunal Christi nos manifcstai'i, ut boni bona, mali
roci})iant mala, in eadcm cpistola docet : " Qui parce seminat, parce et
iiK'tct ; et qui seminat in lienedictionibus, de l)enedictionibus et metet."
tion of
saints.
OP OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AXD PATIENCE. 307
heretic Jovinian, discussing all reasons brought of him for
the contrary assertion. Thus much of affliction, oppression,
and patience of saints, which is thankworthy.
It foUoweth in the text: "But if ye be buffeted forP^^fX-
your faults, and then take it patiently, what praise is it
Avorthy? If you do well and be troubled, this is worthy
thank." Here St Peter describeth unto us, well-beloved
hearers, another kind of affliction, trouble, and patience,
albeit not so precise and commendable in the sight of God
as the first, yet no less necessary for the most part of men.
Some endure grief for honesty sake, for the augmentation of
God's glory, and for hope of plenteous reward ; other some
be afflicted for their sins and offences, for their ill lives
and conversation, with innumerable plagues of God's dis-
pleasure and wrath, with poverty, with sickness, with im-
prisonment, with loss of their good, with war, with hunger
and famine, A\ith pestilence, casualty of fire, with blindness,
with deafness, with lameness, with dearth of all things,
with death of their friends and others. All these be plagues
witli which the eternal God punisheth us when he is dis-
content and angry. "Mt is not the magistrates that throweth, /£jt. Ji^t^CA^
transgressors into prison7"that " hangeth thieves on the L //T 9
gallows, and beheadeth traitors; it is'Tjod, whose ministers ^J k}
they be, who wilPlbe displeased if transgressors be not
punished. Both kinds of patience are to be exercised and
embraced ; and as the first, which is in suffering wrong,
shall bo highly rewarded, so this patience is not to be
rejected. Peter doth not commend the first in dispraise
of the later, but would have both practised and used.
For if ho will us to suffer undeserved, much more we ought 2 Cor. xi.
to suffer patiently for our sins and deservings. Happy are
they that endure griefs, and are buffeted for their sins and
Certc ct qui plus ct qui minus seminat, ilc parte sunt dcxtra. Et quum
unum scmcntis genus sit, tamcn mensura et numero differunt. Scribit
ad Ephesios idem Paulus: " Ut nota fieret nune principatibus et potesta-
tibus in c(clis per ecclesiam multiplex et varia sapientia Dei." Cernis
quod in diversis agniinibus eeclcsiic varia ct multiplex sapientia Dei , ^
priedicetur? Necnon in eadem epistola : 'M'ninuJMiu- autem nostrum lyC^PX^Cc^u^
data est gratia juxta mensuram grutiie Clnisti:" non (luod mensura
Christi diversa sit, sed tantum gratia- ejus infunditur, (luantum valemus
haurire. Hieronym. advers. Jovininmun. Lib. 11. Opera, iv. 210. Edit.
Paris. ICfl:!— JTOC.I
20 — '2
nos
'IMF. FIRST SKItMOX
Adversity
better than
prosperity.
offences in tliis life ; they shall not be danuicd in thf; othei-
life. It is a sign of (kxrs favour, an occasion of amend-
ment ; and ease anil wealth in this world is a token of
God's displeasure.
Our nature is such that prosperity depravcth us. Pros-
perity bringeth many men unto destruction, filleth them
with pride, with covetousness, maketh men negligent, disso-
lute, forgetful, unthankful. Stories make relation that the
Pythagoras, famous philosopher Pythagoras, being a private man, was
in great admiration with the people for his wonderful absti-
nence, for his sobriety, for his taciturnity, gravity, and
learning. Afterwards, when he was promoted unto a king-
dom, he was more abhorred and hated for his pride, for his
covetousness and cruelties, than he was loved before for
his great virtues and knowledge. Therefore the wise man
admonisheth, Cum cornederis^ et hiberis, etfueris Impktus, tunc
aitende tihi ipsi ; " When thou hast refreshed thyself, and art
full of meat and drink, and other things, then take heed
to thyself; thou standest on a slippery ground."''' Again,
adversity maketh us lowly, gentle, diligent, circumspect,
pitiful ; garnisheth us with all flowers of virtue, and
expelleth all sin. David, as long as he was in trouble and
vexation under Saul, was in favour with God and famous
among the people ; but after that he reigned and governed
Israel prosperously, did he not fall into murder I Did he not
commit advoutry I Did he not tempt God, and waxed proud
of the number of his subjects ? The devil is crafty. Those
which he cannot supplant by adversity, he overthroweth with
prosperity. The Israelites, as long as they made brick and
tile in Egypt, and were oppressed of Pharao, they remem-
bered God, they flourished and increased in number; but
after their deliverance, after they were fed w'ith quails and
angels"' food, after many glorious victories, they rebelled
against Moses, their captain and governor, and were slain
therefore in the wilderness, almost all. Salomon, as long as
he was careful how, in his young age, he might govern his
people quietly and prosperously, obtained in his dream wisdom,
intelligence, and discretion to order a commonwealth. But
after that prosperity, wealth, ease, honour, and plenty of
all things embraced him, he became an idolater, a tender-
ling, a glutton, an advoutrcr, and was filled with all ini(|uity.
David.
The
Israelites
Solomon.
OF OPri{ESS[OX. AFrLKTIOX, AND PATIFXCE. SOD
and utterly lost the fiivour of God. If therefore thou
be in welfare and authority-, beware tliou be not wrapped
in sin and in the nets of the devil. Thou art not wiser
than Salomon, nor stronger than David. If God scourge
thee with trouble, think that as he afflicted Joseph's
brethren, and Achab, and Manasses, for their amend-
ment, that he afflicted thee also for thy erudition and com-
modity.
Sin is the cause of all troubles which chance either
to subjects, or to governors and rulers. Men be ready
one to eat another for possessions, commodities, and offices.
The rich oppress the commons, and hold them under in
poverty and misery. The clergy and spiritualty are wronge > ^ Um^uy^
and oppressed; their tithes are grudged and withholden. ^^^^^ {^4*^%^
Noble benefactors, which did build houses and endow them
with lands for the good education of youth, for the re\vard of
learning, and that this realm should be furnished with godly
and learned preachers, are slandered as superstitious and
popish founders. It shall be better with the heathen at
the day of judgment than with us ; for they honoured their
benefactors, wo deprave and deface them, and accuse them
of superstition and folly. You will say : '' There is no
preaching ; they lie from their benefices ; one man hath
many parsonages, prebends, deaneries, archdeaconships, and
doth nothing therefore but pamper and cherish himself."
Why do the magistrates suffer these things \ ^V'hy is not
all negligence reformed by some ecclesiastical law's \ Many
statutes and acts have been made to get away spiritual
livings, and to convert them from a godly use to a worse ;
but no statutes be made to reform the men, to redress
negligence, to correct idleness, and to set men a-work to
preach in the Lord's vineyard. ^Vhy are not such as havo
great promotions compelled to do their duties and voca-
tions, and to take great pains by good laws and statutes, or
dso removed from their livings! (iod inspire the hearts
<»f our magistrates to consider this matter ! For this pur-
])os<' they aro exalted to authority and office ; not to
spoil noblo foundations for the illness of ministers ; not to
decay the office* of [)reaehing for the sin and negligence
of a, few; but to redress and reform all enormities and
disorders, and to advance God's reliijion and truth. Their
310 THK FIRST SERMON
authority is to reform, not to destroy ; to do justice and
right, not to do evil ; to amend things, and not to convert
them to a worse use ; forasmuch as they have it of God,
from whom no evil cometh, and they be liis officers, minis-
ters, and vicegerents.
There is no greater token of a disordered common-
wealth than the contempt of God's ministers, than that
presbyters, that is, priests and teachers, be so wronge, so
oppressed, so despised, so scourged, so fromped, so infamed.
As the temporal magistrate is God''s minister over your
bodies, and of the temporal sword, so they be God's
ministers of the spiritual sword upon your souls, God's
lieutenants and servants, his deputies and vicegerents, the
distributers of his holy sacraments, and teachers of his sa-
1 Tini. V. cred word. Paul pronounceth such to be worthy of double
honour ; and the eternal God, speaking of a shameful
commonwealth and of the worst people that can be, among
many other notable crimes he recounteth this contempt the
greatest ; saying, by the mouth of his prophet Hosea iv. :
Hoseaiv. Erunt tanq%iam populus qui contradicit sacerdoti. "They
shall," saith the prophet, "be like unto a people which
despiseth and gainsayeth the priest." If he could have
found a worse thing, he would, no doubt, have uttered it.
Remember this saying of Hosea, who was also a priest,
and let it move thee to reward God's lieutenants and vice-
gerents better hereafter. Though many priests be evil,
live wantonly, carnally, idly, and unthriftily, (the Lord inspire
the magistrates to put forth some discipline for the amend-
ment!) yet is the order and office of ministration worshipfid
and honourable ; and it is an anabaptistical opinion to decay
ministration, to hate the order, to take away the livings of
preachers, for the illness and negligence of some ministers.
T fear me, this opinion of the anabaptists doth infect many.
Knights and gentlemen be caterpillers and extortion-
ers, yet the order of knighthood and gentle blood is
honourable. Hate not priesthood therefore, but hate the
vices of ill men, which cause the vocation to be ill reported ;
and pray unto God to touch the king's majesty's heart,
and his honourable council's, to reform all negligence by
an ecclesiastical law. Judas M'as a traitor : is therefore
the room and office of an apostle to be dispraised ? No !
OP OPPRESSION, AVFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 311
but his covetous and traitorous mind is to be blamed.
Many physicians have poisoned and murdered men with
their medicines; many shipmasters have suffered shipwreck^;
we must not therefore reject, disallow, or condemn the
arts either of physic or of governance, which both are
needful and profitable, but the negligence and vices of men :
and so likewise in ministration and priesthood. We acknow-
ledge God's justice, that we are buffeted and oppressed
for our faults and offences. God suffereth both us and
his people to be plagued and tossed in many tempests, for
the best, for our reformation and amendment ; to admonish
us all of our sins, which else we would forget, and to stir ^
us unto penance and prayer. < 5^" ^-^^'SM"^-:^
I beseecTi you, brethren, both spiritual and lay, in the The con-
bowels of Jesus Christ for his mercies and clemency, accept
and take your adversity to be sent you of God for your
amendment : think that he scourgeth you for your sins :
rectify your lives and conversations, and he will take away
his rod and scourge. Adversity is profitable unto us, as
we may learn of our own children : except they be beaten,
they will learn no virtue, no goodness. We have more
need to be beaten than they, forasmuch as our ftiults be
greater and mo in number. God, therefore, hath com-
manded master Adversity to be our overseer and governor ;
and as long as any uncleanness, any spot of sin, shall re-
main in us, ho will never cease, but continually trouble and
buffet us. The goldsmith, until he see his gold well tried,
will not take it out of the fire : no more will God, for
he is a goldsmith, and we must bo gold. Prohahit me
quasi aurum ; " He will try me like gold," saith Job xxiii. ; ^^b xxHi.
and Paul, 2 Tim. ii., calleth us golden vessels. If wo will 2 Tim. ii.
take his scourge patiently, he hath promised us the reward
of eternal life. If we will not, but grudge and be im-
patient, yet adversity shall molest and vex us, and then
we shall lose our nnvanl. Covetous men, thieves, harlots,
envious men, mockers and scorncrs, unthrifts, and all the
dovirs children, have their smarts and griefs, live in an-
guish and sorrow in this life, as well as good men. He
that will not bo God's martyr shall perforce be the deviPs
martyr, as was Cain, and Judas, and divers other. Seeing,
[' Shi))\vaiko, ill MS.]
lM2 TIIIC FIRST Si:i!MO\ OK OPIMIK.S.SION, &C.
then, that both good and evil be here .scourged and af-
Hicted, let us choose that affliction Ijy which wo may enter
into eternal rest, and reijrn with (,'hrist and God the Father,
of whom let us ask the gift of patience and sufferance with
hearty prayer and invocation.
THE PRAYER.
O eternal God, who doth scourge thy people with trouble
and adversity to punish sin, and to cause them to return
and repent, and to amend their lives ; make us able by
thy gracious help to endure all griefs, all oppression, and
smarts, with patience and gladness, and without malice
against our oppressors, and make our trouble a schoolmaster
unto us, of humility, of diligence, of pity and compassion,
of patience, of soberness, and unto all virtues ; that we
may be worthy thank and eternal reward, and become
like unto Christ thy Son, and reign with him
evermore ; to whom, with thee and
the Holy Spirit, be all
honour and glory.
So be it.
THE SPXOND SERMON
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE.
In my last sermon, well-bclovecl in the Lord, I en- Tro^^^^^
treated two sentences which were part of the epistle; \\\
which I declared that St Peter exhorted us nnto two things ;
first, to despise all adversity and troubles lor the advanc-
ing of God's glory, for the name of Christ, and for con-
science sake. This is the patience and affliction of God's
saints and martyrs, which is worthy thank and plenteous
reward. I told you that God hath two sorts of martyrs ;
one sort, of them which have confirmed and fortified our
faiths in Christ's testament with the effusion of their blood ;
the other sort I declared to be those that are oppressed
unrighteously, and do take it patiently and thankfully. I
rehearsed also two causes why God letteth his saints be
here scourged and buffeted. Secondarily, St Peter exhorted
us to suffer patiently and quietly for our misdeeds and de-
servings ; and to accept our adversity and oppression to
be sent us from God for our amendment and reformation.
Now I will finish that I began, and go through the rem-
nant of the epistle. " Hereunto verily are ye called : for
Christ suffered for us," &c. That I may speak thereof to
tlic glory of God, and find out lessons meet for your in-
struction and this audience, let us begin with prayer. Let
us pray to our heavenly Father for all the company of faith-
ful men and women throughout all countries and dominions, ^
^namely for the congregation of England and Ireland, desiring ^ h^^Tru'h/U^
him, of his fatherly goodness, to continue and strengthen
both us and them in the confession and obedience of his
name and truth ; and also for all infidels and unbelievers,
that (iod may turn their hcai-ts to believe upon his Sou
Jesus Christ our Lord ; for St Paul unto Timothe cdui-
m:uideth us to pray for all men, for the king's majesty, &c.
'IMie eternal God, which made heaven and earth for us,
u(ll-b(>lov(Ml in the Lord, and sent his Son Jesus Christ
in the ends of the world to redeem us from the bondage
314
THE HECOND SERMON
Why God
liath ordain-
ed man to
live in
labours.
Gen. iii.
Our calling;
doth
enlighten
our sorroTT.
John V.
of the spiritual Nimroth, and to restore us when we were
forlorn and perished, hath ordained us here to live in afflic-
tion, in troubles, in dangers, in displeasures, in divers griefs,
thereby to compel and force us not to esteem this present
life, and to make us to groan and sigh for the life to come.
This is now the vocation of every christian man, and our
calling, of which Peter telleth, saying, " Hereunto verily
ye are called." It is the ordinance of God, his \\ill, his
determination and judgment, as appeareth plainly, Gen.
iii., Qiiia auscultasti, ^c : " Because," saith Almighty God
unto Adam, " thou hast obeyed thy wife, and hast tasted
of that tree of which I charged thee not to taste ; cursed
be the earth in thy^work ; in sorrow shalt thou eat thereof
all thy days. It shalT bear unto thee thorns, brambles, and
thistles ; thou shalt eat the herbs of the field ; in the sweat of
thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return unto earth
from whence thou camest." Here we be admonished that
we all must eat the bread of sorrow and tears in this life.
The righteousness and wisdom of God hath so determined
and provided : there is no remedy. Therefore Peter doth
put us in remembrance of our vocation and calling.
The remembrance of our calling ought to lighten our
sorrow, and to make it less grievous and more tolerable,
considering that our present trouble doth warrant us eternal
reward. It ought also to make us more circumspect and
dilio-ent to avoid the cause of all trouble, which is sin and
iniquity. But let us consider our vocation yet more deeply.
AVhy doth God call us to affliction ? Why did God curse
the earth? Why doth it bring forth brambles, nettles, all
manner of weeds and unfruitful trees ? Adam and his wife
sinned, they disobeyed God''s voice, not the earth. He
cursed the earth, not to pain or afflict it, which is insen-
sible and feeleth no pain, but for two causes. First, as
he made it for us, so he cursed it to afflict us ; and also
to admonish us of our sin, to put us in remembrance of
our disobedience and rebellion, that the decay thereof may
be a warning unto us as often as we see it, as we can-
not but see it every day, to take heed that we sin no
more, ne quid deterius continpat, " lest," as Christ saith in
the gospel, " grievous trouble fall on us." By unfruitful
trees, he warneth us that we bo not unfruitful. For God
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND I'ATIENCK. 315
is a husbandman, and we be trees of his planting ; " we
be," saith St Paul, Dei acfHcitlttira, "God's husbandry."" i cor. iu.
Hearken also, what his only Son saith, John xv., whom we John xv.
are commanded to hear : " I am the true vine, and my Father
is a husbandman. He that abideth not in me is cast forth
as a branch withered, and men gather it and throw it into
the fire, and it burnetii." As husbandmen forsake their
trees, and will not dung nor water them, when they be barren,
but do fell them to burn, so doth God. He ceaseth to
bestow his heavenly gifts and spiritual benefits upon those
that be without oil in their lamps, that is, unfruitful in
their doings, and void of good works ; as appeareth by the
ensample of the five foolish virgins, and in the fig tree Matt. xxv.
which was cursed. This fruit we may gather of the fig *
tree, and of all other barren and unfruitful trees. For the
same cause man is subject also to sickness and diseases,
which then began to torment man, when God said, " In
sorrow shalt thou eat thereof." In the word " sorrow" all
diseases be contained and inclosed. Therefore this memory
of unfruitful ground, of unprofitable herbs, of barren trees,
of sickness and diseases, shall remain and continue until
the sting of death, which is sin, be utterly slain, and until
that be performed which is written, " Death is consumed i <^^"r- xv.
into victory. Death, where is thy sting ? Hell, where is thy
victory?" For the love of God remember your vocations,
good people ; esteem not this life, sigh for the life to come ;
endure smarts and displeasures, bear oppressors and extor-
tioners, with all patience and sufferance.
God punished the earth also, to teach us that no sin, no
fault, be it never so small, shall escape unpunished. For if
he punished the earth for our offences, truly ho will not spare
us. ^Vhat art thou which trustest to escape (xod's hand i
Whither canst thou ffy from him i We cannot ffy from him
but by fiying unto him. We cmnot escape his wi'ath, which
is his righteousness, but by a]>pc;iling unto his mercy. For
these two caus(NS the earth was cursed.
For the same skill, to make us to long for the life here- ^"^ *-^'»*.
after, the apostle witiiesseth that all creatures bo subdued ^<""- v"'-
unto vanity, and do mourn and weep ever sith the fall
of Adam to bo restored again to their former liberty and
to their first estate of j)orfection, and men only be uncareful
316 THE SECOND SEllMOX
and merry. For albeit we sustain continual troubles ; albeit
hunger and cold, labours and sickness, molest us ; albeit
infinite sorrows wound us; yet, notwithstanding all these
plagues, we are so dissolute, we are so snared and allured
with the baits of the devil, with enticements, vain pleasures,
and the foolish frailty of our Hesli, that we forget altogether
our first creation, our vocation, our misery, and the lament-
able groanings of all creatures. And \\hich of us doth
not long, even as a woman great with barne, to continue
still in this life, as if there were neither misery here nor
reward afterward ? What would we do if all things should
chance prosperously unto us i Ah, good Lord I how negli-
gent, how dissolute would man be, except master Adversity
were his overseer and schoolmaster ! Therefore think of thy
vocation. Thou art in poverty ; thou hast the cholic, and
the stone ; thou the another;' thou art almost blind for age ;
thou art barren ; thou art deaf ; thou art lame and crooked :
God buffeteth thee with all these plagues for thy offences,
and to tire and weary thee ; to make thee to cry with Paul,
piiii. i. " I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ ;'''' and
Luke ii. with Simeon, Nunc dmiftis servum tuum, Domine, " Now,
Lord, let thy servant depart in peace."
It followeth in the text : " Christ suffered for us, leaving
us an example, to follow his footsteps." Among many things,
good brethren, which ought to move us to have patience
and sufferance, nothing ought so to persuade, so to prevail,
and so to pierce a christian man, as the lilessed example
of Jesus Christ, his Saviour and high Shepherd. He de-
scended into this world from the throne of God's majesty,
not only to seek the sheep that was gone astray, not only
to recover that Adam had lost ; but also, as Peter saith,
riirist sill- " He suffered to give us an example to follow his foot-
Icredforoiir , . . ,
redemption stcps ' in paticucc and sufferance, and to be a pattern
ample. and a mirror of all virtue and honest behaviour. St Paul
teacheth us the same, 1 Cor. xv., saying : " The first man
was of the earth, earthly ; the second man is from heaven,
heavenly." Qudmodo portammus imaginem terreni, ita fortc-
j Cor. XV. Dms imaginem adcstis :''"' ''As we have borne the image of
the earthly, so," saith Paul, " we must bear the image of
the heavenly ;" that is, of Jesus Christ our Lord. Now,
[' So the MS.]
or oppr!i:ssiON, affliction, and patiexck. HIT
liow shall we bear the image of Christ^ He endured all
griefs, all smarts and displeasures, all man's infirmities and
anguish, only ignorance and sin excepted. He became the
son of a poor carpenter ; was so bare and needy that he
was born in a stable ; a manger was his cradle ; an ox
and an ass kept him warm, for lack of fuel, by breathing
on him ; he was so afflicted with hunger, that the devil
took occasion thereby to make him to tempt God, and to
turn stones into bread ; he was scourged so sore with
sickness, that his body poured forth drops of blood ; he
was persecuted and defaced with slanderous tongues, falsely
accused, was whipped, buffeted, scorned, unrighteously con-
demned. He was bespetted, who with his spit gave sight
to the blind ; was scourged, whose only name scourged
devils ; they stripped him of his coat, that clotheth us with
the garment of immortality ; compelled him to drink gall
mingled with vinegar, who refresheth us with the heavenly
drink of his blood ; he was cruelly murdered of his own
nation, and was recounted among wicked doers, which shall
judge the wicked ; his sorrows were so grievous, so exceed-
ing, and so intolerable, that the prophet crieth in his
behalf and person, 0 ros omnes qui trausifis, attendite, Sfc.
'■Behold and mark,"" saitli the prophet, ''if there be any [i-am.i.r2.]
pain comparable imto mine." We must bear his image,
both poor and rich, by sustaining sickness, rebukes, impri-
sonment, oppression, yea, and death also, if need shall be,
patiently and quietly.
The rich man must suffer with Chri.'st, in that he made
himself poor to enrich many : that is, he must abate his
dainty fare, leave off his sumptuous buildings, content him-
self with moderate expences and comely apparel, rather
under his degree than above, and delight more in adorning
his poor brethren than in beautifying his house, than in
sumptuous buildings, or great horse ; considering that he
is not proprietary or owner of his substance, but (iod's
amner and officer, to help the fatherless, to defend widows,
to comfort th{! lame and blind, and to giv<> exhibition to
poor scholars for the contimumce of learning. At the
gcn(!ral and last audit Jesus Christ, whom Uod the b'atlu'r
liath nia<l<! our liigh auditor, will ask accounts of everv rich
man, how he iiath bestowrd jiis charge and I'eceipts. Let
318 TTIE SECOND SRRMON
them discharge themselves as well as they can. The poor
man also must suffer with Christ, by taking his poverty
thankfully, and through exercising obedience and humility
towards his governors and superiors. Christ suffered all
his anguish, pains, and troubles for our offences and mis-
doings. How could he suffer for himself, who prayed not
for himself, who fasted not for himself, neither was baptized
for himself ? " Who," as Peter saith, " did no sin, neither
any guile issued out of his lips ;" in whom no fraud, no
deceit, no wrinkle or blemish of sin could be found.
Consider now, thou covetous man, thou oppressor, thou
idolater, thou swearer, thou flatterer, thou whore, thou bawd,
thou advoutrer, thou backbiter and slanderer, what cause thou
hast to tremble and fear, and to suffer patiently. Christ
suffered for thy sins, for thy amendment ; and wilt not thou
suffer for thyself? He suffered unrighteously, as is written,
Psai. ixix. (^uce non rapui, tunc exsoltebam : thou wilt not suffer righte-
ously. He suffered, being son and heir of the eternal
God ; and yet do we men gradge and repine at God's rod
and punishments. Did God scourge his Son, and will he
forbear thee ? Learn to bear Chrisfs image, follow his
footsteps, and thou shalt learn wisdom ; "for trouble," saith
isai. xxviii. Egai. xxviii., " giveth understanding :" thou shalt learn all
Christ's virtue, all godliness and honest behaviour. He that is patient
image > o i. ^
teachethus cau never fall into adultery, for he is content with his
all virtues. . x f n •
own mate and wife. He cannot fall mto murder nor
manslaughter, because he cannot be moved to wrath nor
anger, which is the mother of murder. A patient man is
not covetous, is no oppressor, is no bribe-taker ; he con-
tenteth himself with his own substance, refresheth himself
with his own, and desireth not the goods of others. He
is no swearer, no brawler, no slanderer, no flatterer. He
pardoneth lightly those that displease him. He is circum-
spect and diligent. He hateth nobody, loveth his enemies
and oppressors, and prayeth unto God for them. Thus you
see, that the consideration of Christ's patience and example,
and to bear his image, expelleth all sin, garnisheth us with
all virtues, and fulfilleth all God's commandments.
Anobjec- But you will say. Adversity, need, and poverty over-
throweth many, causeth them to blaspheme God, maketh
men desperate, causeth them to ])ick and purloin, to rob
OP OPPRESSION, AFFLICTIOX, AND PATIENCE. 319
and steal, to maintain their necessities. If adversity did '^^^ answer.
cause these things, "then," saith Chrysostom', '• Toby Chrysos-
o ' ' •' ■> J torn, Horn.
would have blasphemed God, Job would have cursed and depatientia.
despaired, the prophets and apostles would have stolen
somewhat to maintain and keep them withal ; for they
were in extreme need and poverty." Seeing they neither
blasphemed, nor despaired, nor purloined, how doth adversity
cause these things i If it were ill, or cause of sin, to be
oppressed Avith poverty, with sickness, or otherwise, God
would not have commanded patience ; for he conuuandeth
no evil thincjs. He would not have sent his Son to have
suffered such intolerable smarts, anguish, and sorrows for
our example and erudition. What is it, then, that causeth
such as be in trouble to blaspheme, to steal, and to despair I
Verily not temptation and trouble, but, as the poet saith,
mala mens, malus animus, the dissoluteness, the froward mind,
the negligence and impatiency of those that be troubled and
tempted. He that despaireth and blasphemeth in trouble
would behave himself much worse in prosperity and welfare ;
would be proud, covetous, wanton, ambitious^ negligent,
unmerciful, forgetful, and only set his delight upon vain
pleasures. All these vices wait on mistress Prosperity.
Again, adversity maketh us more renowned with men,
and more beloved with God, as appeared in Job ; and if
we be sinners, it pacifieth God's wrath and blotteth out our
sins ; setting us at one with God the Father through Christ
his Son, as David teacheth us, saying, psalra xxv., " Look Psai. xxv.
L L.I/ ^ifuv yun ecTTi Ku\ Kencu'weiv en twv deivwv, KCit pXaTTTecrdai.
Ov irapa Tt}v (pvaiv twi/ onvmv touto yiveTat, aWa irapa ttjv rjnerepav
•irpoaipeatu. Oiov ri XeyW eirade ToaavTu o'looft, €v-^apia-Tw<: rjveyKev,
eCinatwdi], ovn eireict] e-rraOev, a\\ tirticr] 7raQu)v ev^apiaTOJ^ i]veyK.€v.
"Etcoo^' tu uvtu iraQwv, /laWov ce ouce ra avra, {ovcci<; yap ccttii' o
TotavTa -Traduv, aWa ttoAAw eXarrovaA ccv<T<f)ijp.>](Tcv, ijyaiiaKTri(T€,
KUTripaa-aTo tw KoV/iw iravr), ecvtr'^fpave 7rpo<! tov Oeov. Outoc
KaT£KpiQt] K«( KaT£CtKUff0r], ovK eneict} ireirovQcv, a\\ eTreiCr) e/3\a<T<pri-
/xr](T(v' eft\u<T(ptjui]<yc ce, ov irapa ttjv uvuyKtjv twu (Tvupavruiv crei e*
»/' dv(i.yKti ru)v (rvulSclvrwi' tovto iiru'irjaev, eCet koi tov iw/3 l3\a<npr]~
fitjirui. y.i ce vaAfTTwTfoa iruObav ovCtv Toiovrov upyaaciTo, ov irapa
TOVTO TdvTu rrvvcfii], dWci Tntna t»;i/ uiTlhiieiat' t»/<; ■jrpoaipeareo}':.
Clirysostoin. Iloin. ix. in 2 Kpist. ad Tiiu. th. v. Opera, xi. 71i*. Edit.
Paris. 1718— 3».]
o2() TIIF. RF.COND SF.UMOX
upon my trouble and my adversity, and forgive me all my
offences." He desireth pardon of his sins in consideration of
his trouble. Doth not Paul preach the same, saying,
1 Cor. xi. u When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, lest
we be damned with the world?" And Ave are taught the
same by the prophet, psalm Ixxxix., Si dereliquerint filii tui
iNai. ixxxix. /g^^^.,;^ ineam, <Sr. '"If thy sons break my law, I will visit
their sins with my scourge, and their offences with stripes ;
but my mercy shall not be denied them." If we will reign
with Christ, we must suffer with him. If we will rise, we
must first die with him. We must first go to hell with
him, if we will go to heaven with him.
It foUoweth, Qui cum malediceretur, t^-c, " When he was
reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened
not ;" but, as the Septuagints do read, Trape^i^ov oe T^p Kpi-
vovTi viKa'iio^, "He committed vengeance to him that judgeth
righteously ; " that is, to God, the punisher of ill doers : or,
as the old translation after the Hebrew doth read, " He sub-
mitteth himself to him that judged him unrighteously,"
that is, to Pontius Pilate, governor of JewTy, condemning
him. Both readings may truly be referred to Christ.
We must not only be patient in trouble, but also our
patience must be garnished with certain properties: for
Socrates among the heathen, and Anaxagoras,^ were patient
Christian men. Here, therefore, we are taught what christian patience
pjitience, '^ •iii
aiuiethiii- jg^ and what things ought to be annexed therewith, by the
example of Jesus Christ ; who came as well for our example
and condition, as for our redemption and deliverance. The
heathen and philosophers profess a certain kind of sufferance,
in that they regarded not the grievous chances of this life,
which they name tela fortuncc, "the strokes or dints of
fortune ; " but they lacked the patience that God esteemeth,
and is commended unto us in Christ's example, because,
Rom. i. as Paul saith, Rom. i., Beiim copnoverunf, c^c, "Though
they knew God, yet they did not glorify him therein, but
themselves." Christ, when he was reviled, miscalled, and
slandered, he held his peace. The Jews, scribes, and
Pharisees, named him Beelzebub ; reported him to be a
sabbath-breaker, a rebel, an enemy and traitor to Cresar, an
lieretic, a magician, a seducer of the people, and a blas-
[' Vi.lc note, ]>. fiO.]
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 32.1
pliemer of God; yet he called them still unto repentance,
healed their sick, gave sight to their blind, made the deaf to l;lf^l'^-
hear, their lame to go, raised their dead unto life, expulsed
devils out of many, taught them both by himself and by his
apostles, sought their conversion and amendment by all
means possible, would have gathered them under his wings,
as a hen doth her chickens; yea, he was touched with so ^^itt. xxiii.
great pity and compassion, that he wept over Jerusalem, Lukexix.
and prayed for those that put him to death. This is the
christian patience esteemed with God, to love his enemies,
to help them, to succour them in need, to defend them, to
give them good counsel, and not only words and counsel, but
also, if need be, meat and drink, apparel and all other
necessaries ; for so Christ, whose image we must bear, did
unto Judas. He knew Judas to be a traitor ; nevertheless
he suffered him to the hour of his death, ceased not to
admonish him, to use all means possible to reform him,
dined and supped always with him, suffered him to eat of
his Easter lamb, and to taste of the dainties of his last
supper, of the holy sacrament of his blessed body and com-
fortable blood. How far wide were the heathen and phi-
losophers from this sufferance ! Epaminondas, a captain of ng^Xs.
the Thebans, is famous among them, because, when he had ^.fjjf^'t^ui
put the Lacedemonians to flight in battle at Mantinea, {^'y''*- ^■•
perceiving himself deadly wounded, hearing that his shield
was safe, he was nothing dismayed nor discouraged, but
died both patiently and merrily. They extol likewise Mar-
cus Regulus. He was taken prisoner by Amilcar, Hannibal's ^^^•i,!J^s"»e'
father, and ho was sent of the Carthaginians to persuade \^^^^'"^> '•
the Roman senators to change and' corse"* certain prisoners ;
but because they were young captains of great hope, and
ho was old and unwieldy, he dissuaded that he was sent
for in the senate, and chose rather to return to Carthage,
where he knew he should be miserably afflicted, than to
tarry at Rome with his wife and children, and to enjoy
his lands with the hinderance of the commonwealth. These
were civil and laudable facts in the; sight of the world,
but unworthy reward at God's hand, for so much as they
were dono for glory and renown in this \i{\\ and not in n^i*- x'-
faith, without which nothing is acceptable with God.
[ • yo the MS. ]
21
[HUTCHINSON.]
-V ^/ J A (^i^ 1*1 ^C \/ CO^ryi.^;^ Co ^\. 0^y fi->r .■ ■'
322 THE SECOND SERMON
True and christian patience is not vain-glorious, is not
void of faith, is associate with humihty, is powdered and
salted with obedience to all God's commandments, is gar-
nished with hope of the life to come, with modesty, with
soberness, with gravity, with wisdom, with love, not only
of our friends and lovers, but also of our slanderers, of
our backbiters, of our mockers and scorners, of our op-
pressors and robbers and most cruel enemies. Who was
a more cruel enemy than king Saul was to David? Saul
sought his death continually, chased and pursued him from
post to pillar, from place to place ; yet behold with what
patience David forbare him ! In his lifetime he obeyed
him, did him honourable and manly service in his wars,
spared and delivered him from death divers times, when he
might have slain him and have been king after him ; and
after his death, then being in possession of the kingdom,
he destroyed not his enemies' blood, neither sought ven-
geance, but then chiefly declared how much he loved his
enemies whilst he lived. Saul had but one son aUve, named
sheth''"' Miphiboseth, and he was lame. David took him home to
his palace, endued him with great lands, honoured him so for
his father's sake that he never neither dined nor supped
without Miphiboseth, delighted much in his company, nor
H V V* / ^^ thought not his kindly , table to be dishonested with the
^-^ w presence of a lame man ; and therefore God favoured and
prospered him. Such love and patience must be in us. We
may not inflame and revile, curse and threaten : we must
love and embrace our oppressors ; and not only them, but
also their children, as David did ^Miphiboseth, and Christ
Judas. Say not now, ' He is my utter enemy, he is too
cruel and fierce upon me, he will never amend.' Though
he be grievous and sore to thee, yet he is not so fierce,
so cruel, so despiteful, as Saul was to David, neither as the
Jews were to thy Saviour, Jesus of Nazareth, Hath he
robbed thee of thy right and taken thy lands from thee,
or withholdeth thy father's legacies? — but he hath not taken
away thy life, as Saul would have done to David, and as
the Jews did to Christ. And though he sought thy death
once, percase, yet he sought it not oftentimes, as Saul did.
Here a question may be demanded : If we must be patient
in wrong and injury, if we nuiy not desire to be avenged, but
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 323
pray for our oppressors and pardon them, whether is it whether
lawful for a christian man to sro to law with his neighbour, men may
• 1 ^ • 1 1 -iT'i 1 sue one
and to sue a just and a right title I VV hether may a man another.
sue forfeits against regrators, forestallers and other oppres-
sors ? Or ought patience to restrain us from all suit and
contention^ "Aye,"' saitli master anabaptist, "for Christ -^n objec-
our Master, whose example we must follow, he would not
condemn an advoutress woman to be stoned to death ac-
cording to the law, but shewed pity to her, and said,
' Go and sin no more'," John viii. ; neither would he. being John ^-lii.
desired to be an arbiter, judge between two bretlu-en, and LiJ^e xii.
determine then' suit, Luke xii. When the people would
have made liim a king, he conveyed himself out of sight, John vi.
and would not take on him any such office. Christ, the
Son of God, would not have refused these offices and func-
tions, if with the profession of a christian man it were
agreeable with the temporal sword to punish offenders, to
sustain any public room and to determine controversies
and suits; if it were lawful for private men to prosecute
such suits, and to sue just and rightful titles. He non est
doiiiinaius, sed passus ; would be no magistrate, no judge, no
governor, but suffered and sustained trouble, injury, wrong,
and oppression patiently. And so must we ; for Paul saith,
" That those which he foreknew he also ordained before, R"'"- ^i''-
ut essent conformes imagini Filii su% that they should be
alike fashioned unto the shape of his Son."
I answer : Instead of the temporal sword, which you say The answer.
Christ"'s coming hath put down, you teach that now excom-
munication is to be exercised upon offenders, so that they
which in the old testament were punished with death, are
now only to be excommunicated. How then can you excuse
Christ's fact ? Why did not ho excommunicate the adul- Excom-
terous woman? Why did he not excommunicate him that
oppressed his brother? Though excommunication be a
g<;dly and necessary ceremony for discipline and for eon-
B(.'rvation of a good order in Christ's church, (the LoihI
restore the right and true use thereof to his church again !)
nevertheless it doth not disannul civil government, nor take
away the temporal sword. For Paul, speaking of temporal '^^""•'^"'•
magistrates, Uoin. xiii., affirmeth that " they bo God's mi-
nisters,' tliat he hath girded them with the sword, with rule,
•21—'^
munication.
324 THE SECOND SERMON
with authority, to defend innocents, to deliver the oppressed,
and to chasten offenders. They are in office under God to
this end ; whereof it must needs follow, that it is lawful for
such as be oppressed and put from their right, to fly unto
them for succour, help, and remedy, as shall be proved more
evidently hereafter.
First, I will make answer to Christ's example, which
the libertines and anabaptists fondly and unlearnedly, or
rather impudently, do allege against civil government, be-
cause they would live in all sin without punishment. Christ
did let the adulterous woman depart unpunished, he would
be no arbiter of inheritance, he refused to be a prince, not
condemning these functions and offices as unlawful, ungodly,
or wicked, but teaching us that his office was not outward
and temporal, but spiritual and heavenly. The Jews trusted
that the Seed promised should be an earthly prince and a
temporal king, which by force of arms should deliver them
from the tyranny of the Roman empire, and make all nations
their tributaries and servants. They sought in Christ not
remission of their sins, not sanctification, not God's favour,
but outward commodities, preferments, offices, and the glory
and promotions of this life, as many have done of late in
England. Under the name of the gospel and of a reforma-
tion, how many have enriched themselves, and stopped the
prosperous success of the gospel ! How many have scraped,
gathered, and swept all to themselves, pretending they
swept abuses out of the house of God ! We detest the
pope, yet we follow him in covetousness. We defy him
not for religion sake, but as one covetous man hateth
another ; according to the common proverb, figulus figulmn
odit. He depraved God's holy word through shameful covet-
ousness : so it is to be feared lest the same vice do poison
us, bring us out of favour with God, and disorder the com-
monwealth, to the oppression and undoing of many thousands,
jiark ix. Christ's disciples were infected wnth this poison, they had
Luke ix. Jii^^j Opinion with the Jews ; as appeareth plainly, in that they
strove which of them should be chiefest and bear the swing ;
Matt. XX. and also the examples of James and John, which by their
mother were suitors, one to be placed on his right hand
and the other on his left hand, do evidently teach no less :
but he was sent into this miserable vale from God his Father
OF OPPRESSIOX, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 325
for no such purpose, but to preach, and to pray to his
Father for us ; to offer himself a slain and bloody sacrifice
for our sins, and to sanctify us with his word ; for these
offices and functions he was incarnate and became man, as
the reverend, godly, and learned father, John Hoper, bishop
of Worcester, declareth more at large in his book " Of
Christ's Office \"
To revoke the Jews and his disciples from this car-
nal opinion and gross error, which came of covetousness,
to instruct them that his office, his commission, and au-
thority was not outward, but spiritual, and stood not in
riches, in pleasures, in health, wealth, and power in this
world, but in loosing or binding the conscience of man and
woman, he refused to be a civil magistrate, refused to
punish advoutery with the temporal sword, refused to be an
arbiter of inheritance, referring the discussion of all worldly
matter, suits, and corporal punishments to temporal men,
exalted to authority for that purpose, as he saith himself : Matt. xxii.
Reddite quw sunt Cwsaris Cwsari, " Give unto Caesar that
which is Cresar's ;" understanding by the name of Csesar
all bailiffs, constables, sheriffs, justices, and kings, emperors,
and all other officers and temporal rulers ; which all be God's
vicegerents and lieutenants, to punish usurers, bribers, fore-
stallers, regrators and others' oppressors, and to succour and
defend the oppressed and helpless. He sheweth but a
difference between temporal and ecclesiastical regiment, re-
jecting neither jurisdiction, but approving both. For he Matt. xvii.
himself was obedient to temporal rulers, and paid tribute to
Caesar, and commanded others to exercise like obedience.
If temporal government and jurisdiction be founded on God's
connnandnicnt, is it unlawful for us, when we bo oppressed,
to ask their help, to seek remedy at their hands, to fly to
their authority ? Let us consider the office and duty of a
christian man herein, and what may be justified by the
cnsamples of godly men, or by plain and evident testimony
of the scriptures. In the time of the old testament it was
lawful to such as believed in Christ to come, to try the law 'ri'*' oia
thnstiiiiis.
for their right, and to sue one another. For whereas IMoses
[^ Bishop Hoo])ev'8 " Declaration of Christc and of his ofFyco," was
printed at Zurich 1)y AuLjustyn Fries, in 1547. No edition of it was
printed in Knt^land nntil 1.'){J2.]
326 THK SECOND 8RRM0N
was not {ih\o to detcrmino all controversies and suits, ho
divided, at the counsel of Jethro his father-in-law, this office
and burden between many, and ordained under him justices,
judges, and other like officers to hear matters of controversy,
as it is registered. Exod. xviii.
Anobjec But you wiU say: They were Moses' disciples, and under
the law, which brought nought to perfection. We be chris-
tian, we be under grace, under the new testament ; and
our righteousness must much excel and surmount theirs.
The answer, jj^ ^[^q ^j,^g ^f jj^q q\^ testament, before Christ's incarna-
tion, such as in all their ceremonies had an eye to the
Seed promised, and believed in Christ to come, were of
the new testament, under grace, and Christians ; as the
S.Austin, famous and elder father St Austin^ declareth in his third
lib. 111. con-
liferaTpeia l*ook whicli he ^Titeth to Boniface against two letters of
gianorum. h^q Pelagians. And such, again, as at these days do not
believe, but live after the flesh, are yet under the old
testament, under the law, under the stroke of the axe,
whicli is put to the root of all evil trees. For both tes-
taments were eifectual from the beginning of the world;
[} Sive igitur Abraham, sive ante ilium justi, sive post eum usque ad
ipsura Moysen, per quern datum est testamentum a monte Sina in
servitutem geiicrans, sive ceteri prophetiE post eum et sancti homines
Dei usque ad Joannem Baptistam, filii sunt promissionis et gratiae secun-
dum Isaac filium liberae, non ex lege, sad ex promissione, haeredes Dei,
cohseredes autem Christi. Absit enim ut Noe justum et prioris temporis
justos, et quicunque ab UIo usque ad Abraham justi esse potuerunt, vel
conspicui vcl occulti, negemus ad supemam Hierusalem, quae mater
nostra est, pertinere, quamvis anteriores tempore inveniantur esse quam
Sara, qufe ipsius liberie matris prophetiam figuramque gestat. Quanto
evidentius ergo post Abraham, cui sic dedarata est ipsa promissio, ut
pater multarum gentium diceretur, quicunque Deo placuerunt filii pro-
missionis habendi sunt! Non enim ex Abraham et deinceps justorum
generatio verier, sed prophetia manifestior reperitui". Ad testamentum
autem vetus, quod est a monte Sina in servitute generans, quod est Agar,
illi pertinent, qui cum acceperint legem sanctam et justam et bonam,
putant si1)i ad vitam literam posse sufficere : et ideo qua fiant factores
legis, divinam misericordiam non requinmt ; sed igiiorantes Dei justitiam,
et suam justitiam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subject!.
Ex hoc genere fuit ilia multitude, quae adversus Deum in eremo mur-
muravit, et idolum fecit, et ilia quae jam in ipsa terra promissionis
fomicata est post deos aiienos. Sed haec in ipso quoque vetere testamento
valde reprobata est multitudo. Augustin. ad Bonifacium cont. duas epist.
Pelag. lib. in. Opera, x. 451. Edit. Paris. 1679—1700.]
OP OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. oZ ^
the one in virtuous and godly men, the other upon the
unvirtuous and ungodly. Christ hath delivered such as
believe from the curse of the law and from the terror of
damnation, but the law is not disanulled yet in evil doers.
Now, if suits were lawful to the old Christians, why are
they unlavv^ful to us ? Also, after Christ's incarnation Paul,
reproving the Corinthians for suing one another in the The
courts of unbelieving judges, exhorteth them to determine
and try their suits and matters under christian judges ;
inducing them hereunto with two strong arguments, 1 Cor,
vi. His first argument is, that seeing saints shall judge
the world in eternal things, ergo they may lawfully deter-
mine and discuss worldly matters of less Aveight. His second
argument is, " Know ye not that we shall judge angels ? ^ ^°^- ^'•
How much more may we judge things that pertain to the fh^ .
life!" AVhat can be more plainly spoken? What stronger
proof can be desired, that it is lawful for a christian
man to sue a just and rightful title ?
But it followeth in the aforesaid chapter : Omnino de-
lictum in Tobis est, quod judicia hahetis inter vos ; " It is
truly," saith Paul, " a fault among you, because ye go to
law one with another." Of these words some do gather, ^^",°^J^'^'
that christian men may not go to law ; and that Paul did
not allow but suffer suits, to withdraw the Corinthians from
contentions under unbelievers. That Paul is so to be un-
derstood, they allege St Austin^ ; who in his book named ^d um-ent
ro 1 1 ca.78.
L Quae sint autem levia et quiE gravia peccata, non huinano, sed
divino sunt pensanda jiidicio. Videmus cnim qua^dam ah ipsis quoque
apostolis ignosccndo fuisse concessa: quale illud est quod vencrahilis
Paulus conjugibus ait: "Nolitc fraudare inviccm, nisi ex consensu ad
tenipus, ut vaoetis orationi ; ct itcrum ad idipsum cstotc, no vos ten-
tet satanas propter incontincntiam vcstraui:" quod putari posset non
esse pcccatuni, misccri scilicet conjugi non filioruni procreandoruni
causa, quod bonum est nuptiale, sed carnalis etiaiu voluptatis; ut forni-
cationis, sivc adulterii, sive cujusquam alterius immunditiic mortiferuni
malum, quod turpe est etiam dicere, (|U0 potest tentante satana libido
pertrahero, incontinentium devitet infinnitas. Posset ergo, \it dixi, hoc
]iutari non esse peccatum, nisi aildidisset : "Hoc autom dico secundum
veniam, non secundun\ imperiuni." Quis autem jam esse peccatum
neget, cum dari veniam facicntibus aiiostolica autoritatc fateatur? 'Palo
quiddam est ubi dicit : " Audet (iuis((uam vestrum advcrsus allerum
negotium hal)cns judicari apud ini«[uos, ct non apud sauctos?" Kt
paulo i)ost: "Sccularia igitur judicia si iuvhucritis," inquit, "cos qui
328 THE SECOND SEHMON
Enchiridion ad Laurentiimi, cap. 78, seemeth to affirm, that
a husband to lie with liis own wife for avoidance of fornica-
tion, and to sue his brother for his own right, are two
Tiie answer, venial sins. If it be a venial sin for a man to claim and
sue for his right by the law, Paul doth evil, bidding them
sue under christian judges, to withdraw them from heathen
judges. He speaketh against his own doctrine, which he
taught the Romans, that they are rightly damned which
say, Faciamiis mala, uf inde veniant bona, " Let us do evil,
that good may come thereof." For if we may not do evil
that good may come thereof, much less one evil is to be
done for avoidance of another evil, either great or small.
Only good things are to be done for eschewing of evil. If
we allow this interpretation, that Paul suffereth or alloweth
less evils and venial sin for avoidance of greater evils,
stews may be maintained with this argument, as they
were long in England, and are yet in other regions.
Paul's words have another meaning. The fault which he
affirmeth to be in suits, must be referred to one party,
not to the plaintiff and defendant both. Forasmuch as in
lawing and suits there be two parties, the plaintiff and the
defendant, which sue one against another, one party must
needs sue a wrong title. For this cause Paul saith, that
it is a fault to go to law. And to such as sue wrong titles,
not to those that be oppressed wrongfully, the words fol-
lowing do appertain : " Why rather suffer ye not wrong ?
Why rather suffer ye not yourselves to be robbed V — that
is to say : It is better to suffer wrong, than to oppress
men in the law. That these words are spoken to unjust
and contentious suitors, and do not disprove rightful suits,
appeareth of the words immediately following : " Nay," saith
Paul, "ye yourselves do wrong and rob, and that the bre-
thren ;" which sentence cannot be referred to such as sue
contcmptibiles sunt in ecclesia, hos collocate. Ad reverentiam vobis
dico : sic non est inter vos quisquam sapiens qui possit inter fratrem
suum judicare? sed frater cum fratre judicatur, et hoc apud infideles."
Nam ct hie posset putari judicium habere advcrsus alterum non esse
pcecatum, sed tantummodo id extra ccclcsiam vellc judicari, nisi sc-
cutus adjungeret, "Jam quidem omnino delictum est quia judicia
hahctis vobiscum." Augustin. Enchiridion ad Laurent, cap. 78. Opera,
VI. 22G. Paris. 1670—1700.]
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 329
their own right, but reproveth unjust suitors, bribers, and
oppressors. I think this is Paul's doctrine; and that his
meaning is nothin- less than that to use the benefit of
the law, and the help of magistrates, is a light and venial
sin, as some do misconstrue his words. For if this bo
venial sin, he sinned venially when he pleaded his own Acts xx.v.
cause before judge FeUx, an infidel, and defendecl himself
ao-ainst the false accusation and surmises of the orator
Tertullus He sinned venially when, being beaten with Acts xxn.
thongs, he claimed of captain Lysias the privilege of his
freedom at Rome. He sinned when he appealed to Ca?sar s
iudcnnent-seat from the partial sentence of Festus Portnis, Acts .xv.
who needs would have had him to have consented to be
iudo-ed by his enemies. Of these it is evident, that both
by PauFs example and doctrine a christian man may law-
fully sue for his right before an officer. For God com-
mandeth officers by the mouth of his prophet, Ps. Ixxxii.,
to restore the oppressed to their right, saymg: Judtcate
egeno et pnpiUo. S^c, that is, ''Help in judgment the rsai. ixxxu.
poor and fatherless; see that such as be in need and neces-
sity have right; defend the outcast and poor, and from
the hand of the ungodly deliver him :" which command-
ment should not have been given, if this function were un-
lawful. St Austin', Epist. 48, which he writeth to one SpAusUn.
ri Item si semper cssct culpabile persecutionem facere, non scriptinn
cssct in Sanctis libris, "Detrahentem proximo suo occultc, hunc pcrsc-
qucbar." Aliquando ergo et qni earn patitur injustus est, et qui cam
facit iustus est. Sed plane semper et mali persecuti sunt l)onos, et bom
persecuti sunt malos: illi nocendo per injustitiam, illi consulendo per
diseiplinam: illi immaniter, illi temperantev: illi servientes cup.ditati,
illi caritati. Nam (lui trueidat, non considerat quemadmodum laniet;
m.i autem curat, considerat quemadmodun. secet : ille enim persequitur
sanitatem. ille putredinem. Occiderunt impii propbetas, oeciderunt un-
nios et propheta-. Flagellaverunt .Fuda>i Cbristum, Jud.eos flagellavit et
(bristus Traditi sunt apostoli ab liominibus potestati bumana.; tra-
diderunt et apostoli Immines potestati satame. In bis omnibus <iuid
•ittenditur, nisi -luis eorum pro veritate, quis pro iniquitate, quis nocendi
rmsa cpiis emendandi ? N(m invenitur exemplum in cvangelicis et
apost<.licis Uteris, ali.iuid petitum u reoibus terra> pro ecclesia contra
inimicos ecclesia-. Quis negat non inveuiri ? Scd nondi.m implebatur lUa
propbetia: " Kt nunc reges intelligite, erudimini (|ui juduatis tenam ;
Korvitc Domino in timore." Adbuc enim illud implebatur, .,uod in eodem
psalmo paulo supcrius dicitur: "Quare irenmerunt gentes, et popuh
Psal. ii.
John xviii.
Luke xii.
.330 THE SECO.VD SERMON
Vincentius, a Rogatist, de «^ corrigendis hwreticis, ' How
heretics are to be corrected by violence,'' teacheth this
office to be godly, and a performance of that precept which
God giveth to judges by the mouth of the king David,
saying, " Ye judges of the earth, serve the Lord with
fear." Yea, Christ himself, whose image we must bear,
when one of Caiaphas'' servants smote him on the face for
answering his master stoutly, said unto his striker, " If I
have evil spoken," testimonium perhihe de mcdo, " bear witness
of the evil;" that is, accuse me, and lay it to my charge
before a judge, and do not thou judge and strike me. In
which words, as he forbiddeth private vengeance, so he
giveth authority to officers to punish evil speakers, accord-
ing to the law ; or at their discretions, if there be no law
against such in their religion.
" But he," saith the anabaptist, " would be no punisher,
no judge, no officer, but a sufferer, and we must be like
to him ; which we cannot, if we sustain any temporal office."
I answer, David was a punisher of ill doers, he was a
king, he was a judge of Israel ; and yet he was so like to
Clirist in sufferance, and so fashioned after his image, that
he was a type and a figure of him : wherefore, though
Christ would not exercise or usurp in earth any civil
authority, either against offenders, or to discuss suits, his
example doth not make this necessary office and function
unlawful to others, forasmuch as he was sent into this world
for other causes. He saith to him that complaineth of his
brother, " Man, who made me a judge or a divider over
you ?" — as if he had answered, ' I am a preacher, and no
civil magistrate. If thou wilt not sustain wrong, go to
the magistrates, which be judge of such matters. I have
nothing to do with the hearing of suits ; it is their office
and function. My function is spiritual, and concerning the
soul; that is, to sanctify my elect, to instruct and preach,
and to redeem them with the effusion of mine own blood.'
This is the effect of Chrisfs words. He doth not dis-
allow civil government, nor forbid the young man to sue
his own brother ; but sheweth a difference of temporal and
mcditati sunt inaiiia? Astitcnmt regcs terra?, et principes convcncnmt
in unum adversus Dominum et ad versus Cliristum ejus." Augustin.
Epist. 48 ad Vincent. Opera, ii. 230, Edit. Paris. 1070—1700.]
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 331
spiritual regimen, and admonisheth every spiritual man to
apply and follow his own vocation, and not to meddle with
temporal jurisdiction. For he saith unto them: Sicut misit
me Pater, et ego mitto vos ; " As my Father sent me, so I ^'^''^ ^'^•
do send you."
I have declared, by the example of the old Christians,
of the Corinthians, of Paul, and by divers plain texts, that
a christian man may, with an upright conscience, sue for
his right before a christian officer. Yet methink I hear
some reply against me thus : " God forbiddeth me to go
to law, for he saith unto us by Christ, ' If any man will
go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have
thy cloak thereto ; and to him that striketh thee on the
right cheek, turn thy left.' Christ commandeth me here
not to resist, not to strive ; but to suffer wrong by the law,
to suffer both my coat and cloak to be taken from me."
What shall we say hereunto ? The law doth no man wrong.
No law can take away thy coat from thee, nor thy cloak ;
for it is ordained to forbid wrong. Therefore Christ
nieaneth, that where the law is imjustly ministered, and the
governors, officers, and judges be corrupt, do take bribes
and be partial, there be patient and ready to suffer ever
as much more, whatsoever unright be done thee, rather
than through anger and impatience thou shouldest privately
avenge thyself upon thy neighbour, or make insuiTection
against the magistrates for pronouncing wrong judgment.
He forbiddeth here, not to go to law under godly magis-
trates, but rebellion, anger, private vengeance, insurrections
and conspiracies against evil magistrates, which absolve the
guilty for bribes or favour, and condemn innocents ; whoso
damnation sleepeth not. It is but expense and folly to go
to law under such. Notwithstanding, we must suffer them,
like martyrs, as David did Saul, and not conspire with
rebels. Though they bo evil, they be God's lieutenants to
their own daumati(m, and ho that rosisteth them resistotli Ro">^'''-
God's ordinance ; he that slayeth them slayeth the Lord's
anointed.
But albeit we may sue out forfeits, albeit W(* may sue
for our right b(>for(? (Jod's magistrates and viceg(>rents, yet now suitors
wo may not hate those which wo do sue, we may not rail Jl"^".^.'( ,'.,'{'
on them, wo may not ])ersccutc them, as the most part [^^l^^
332 THE SECOND SERMON
of suitors do. For wo are commanded to love our enemies
and oppressors, to speak well of them, that is, to pray for
their amendment and reformation. Suits be lawful, if they
be lawfully used ; but both the plaintiff and party defendant
must remember that they be christian men, that they be
Thfidefrnd- brethren, and worshippers of one God. The defendant's
lint s office. ^ ^ '^ *■
office is, when he is summoned or cited, to appear at his day ;
to make answer for himself with soberness, as Paul did,
Acts xxiv., XXV. ; to defend himself without anger and wrath,
without bitterness, without any malicious or railing words ;
and if he have oppressed his brother, either in his body
or in his goods, to make him recompence, and not stubbornly
to maintain an ill quarrel by suit in the law any longer, in
hope to prevail by bribery or friendship, or to make the
plaintiff weary and to surcease his suit for lack of riches
The plain- and ability to maintain his quarrel. The plaintiff's office is,
titl's office. '' / . , . , ;irr'p
ilymg for help to the magistrates, quietly without fearness
to declare wherein he hath been oppressed, wherein he hath
sustained wrong and injury, and to require nothing but
justice, equity, and right ; putting away all malice, hatred,
envy, and being ready rather to lose his right, than to
break charity, or to transgress the office of a christian man.
Thus suitors should use themselves. If their minds be
inflamed with anger, cornipt with envy, and poisoned with
malice, though they have a very just and right quarrel, yet
the suit thereof is unlawful and ungodly, because it pro-
ceedeth of malice and of an ungodly mind. But forasmuch
as men be prone to these aforesaid vices, and malice in-
creaseth daily by delays, and long continuance of suits
through the covetousness of lawyers ; would God the king''s
majesty, by the assent of his parliament, would make some
statute, that all suits should be determined and judged within
the compass of a year, or of half a year, if their value were
under a hundred pound, upon pain of some great forfeiture
to the judges before whom such matters come !
It followeth in the text : " Christ bare our sins in his
body on the tree, that we, being delivered from sin, should
live unto righteousness : by whose stripes we are healed."
Here I might disclose unto you, good people, why God
sent his Son to bear your sins, why no other way would
satisfy God's wrath, why he died on the tree and cross, and
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 333
why he tarried so long, and came not straight after Adam's
fall, but many years afterward. These be fruitful and
necessary matters, and agreeable to the text ; but because
they be long, and I have discussed them in my " Image,"
otherwise named " The Laymans Book," I will not meddle
with them now.
We are taught here the cause, the end, and purpose Tiie cause
of Christ's coming, and how many shall be benefitted and comin!?.
holpen thereby. He hath delivered us from the law which
accuseth us, so that now we be under grace ; not discharging
us from obedience and observation of the law, not setting
us at liberty to do evil, as some do say, " Let us sin ;
Christ is our righteousness ; he hath fulfilled the law for
us ; set all thy sins on Christ's score ; he hath suffered for
them ; he will pay thy ransom :" but he hath delivered
us by his stripes and cross from the curse, damnation and
sentence of the law, unto this end, that we should walk
hereafter worthy of his kindness and benefits. " He hath i Thess. iv.
called us," saith Paul, " not unto uncleanness, but unto
holiness ; and that we should deny ungodliness and worldly xit. ii.
lusts, and live soberly, righteously and godly in this present
world." We have put our hands to the plough ; we have
promised to work in the Lord's vineyard ; we are escaped
out of stinking Sodom : we may not, therefore, look back-
ward again and return to Sodom; for Christ is only their
deliverer which forsake Sodom and labour in the vineyard
of righteousness. Which if thou doest, let this be a certifi-
cate to thy conscience, that he hath borne thy sins on the
tree, and delivered thee from the law, from sin, from con-
demnation ; or else, not.
As he did bear our sins on the cross, so we must bear we must
the sins of our enemies, oppressors, and slanderers, Wg ofo'i'l'rsi'-is
must love all men, and pray for them, as he did. If we ou,"f* ''°'^''"
will be forgiven we must forgive, and not threaten nor
revile. Wilt thou not bear the sins of others i Then truly
Christ hath not borne thine, as appeareth in the parable of
the debtors, Matth. xviii., in which the first <U'btor, think- Ma'.t. xviii.
ing that he had obtained everlasting pardon of Cod, because
he would not forgive his fellow, perceived and found that
he was not forgiven indeed, but that he only had conceived
a vain and untrue persuasion through the presumption of
334 THE SPX'OND SERMON
his own head. If therefore thou desire to know in what
case thou standcst with God, let thy bearing and thy doinga
to thy enemies be a token and certificate to thy conscience,
that Christ hath borne and blotted out thy sins, and that
thou art healed throughly by his stripes. Nothing shall
make more for us at the general sessions of the last day,
when we shall all be arraigned at the bar in the presence
of the divine majesty ; nothing is more lovely, more com-
mendable, more precious in God's sight, than love of enemies.
If thou hast holpen and refreshed them, then they shall
be thy patrons, thy advocates, thy intercessors, thy helpers,
and thy defence. And by doing well to thine enemies thou
shalt get also more love, more favour, and friendship, and
credit with men. For seeing thy humanity and good-will
toward them, they will desire to be thy friends and lovers,
in hope of further humanity toward them for their favour
and love.
But the natures of men and women be very diverse and
different in bearing. Some can bear Avrongs and injuries, but
they cannot brook evil works [words]. If they be reviled.
Taunts and thev will scold again. They will give mock for mock, taunt
threats are •' ^ JO ,1/^1.
to be borne, for tauut, and threat for threat. Well ; Christ taunted
not again, mocked not, ne threatened, but suffered evil
words with patience, to give an example to all Christians
which bear his name. And he was taunted untruly, un-
justly, and falsely. Thou art pinched and nipped by the
shins for thy misdoings, and yet thou swellest with anger,
and layest up poison in thy heart to thine own destruc-
tion, and dost threat and taunt again. What dost thou
but bewray thyself to be guilty, and prove thy enemy to
say true ? Then why dost thou threaten him for saying
the truth 'i Rather amend thy misbehaviour, and so prove
him a liar, and give no occasion to evil tongues. If thou
be an oppressor, a drunkard, a swearer, a flatterer, a man-
})leaser, thou killest two souls ; for thou dost not only slay
thine own soul, but thy neighbour's also, in that thou dost
not thy ways amend', thou whettest his tongue against thee,
and makest him a continual tauntcr. For it is written,
Maledici recjnum Dei non possidehunt ; " Taunters shall not
inherit the kingdom of heaven." Except many were guilty,
1^' In that thou dastmy wayes amwid, in MS.]
OF OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 335
there would not be so many taunters, so many revilers
and railers, whose mouths will never be stopped but by
amendment of evil. And the multitude of railers is an
evident proof and argument, that men were never so corrupt
and fso abominable as they be now in these days. Art
thou taunted untruly, and belied I Then rejoice and be
glad ; for so Chi'ist biddeth thee, saying, Luke vi,, Cum ex-
prohraverint^ ^x. ; " When they upbraid you," saith Christ, Lukevi.
" and report ill of you, and lie, rejoice and be glad ; for
your reward in heaven is great." And in another place :
Gaudete et exsultate, cum ejecerint vos nomen malum men-
tientes^.
If thou be truly miscalled and reviled, say not, ' The
fox is best at ease when men curse him, for then he hath
gotten somewhat ;' but groan and be sorry for thy mis-
doings and misbehaviour ; have patience and make restitu-
tion to them which thou hast hurt and wronged ; and then
thou shalt have no less reward than those that be slan-
dered and misreported, as appeareth in many examples in
holy scripture. The Pharisee, Luke xviii., was a giver of ^J^^*' ''^'"'•
alms to the poor, fasted oftentimes, was no extortioner, no Pi>a"see.
caterpillar, no poller of the people. The publican was an Publican.
oppressor, a grievous enemy to the poor, no faster, no alms-
dealer, and enriched only with extortion and bribery. These
two go to the church at one time to pray. The Pharisee
standeth, and saith : "I thank thee, O Lord, that I am
not like unto other men, which be oppressors and extor-
tioners, nor like unto this publican." The publican, stand-
ing far-' off, doth not revile, not taunt again with any such
words as these, which now be in every scold's mouth : ' Sir
knave, I will bo even with thee, I will set thee forth in
tliy colours ; meddle of thine own knavery, and let me alone ; .
I will deface and discredit thee, wheresoever I come.'' He
spake no such revenging and .railing words ; but sighed, anil
groaned, and struck his breast, saying, Beus projAtius, <S,c.
" O God, be merciful unto me a sinner." And the scrip-
p Tlu; following is probably the ])assaj,'o which Hutchinson had in
liis mind, an<l the effect of which he lias given: " Cuni. dixerint onuu!
mahnn adversiun vos nientientes... gaudete et cxsultate." Ahitt. vi. 1],
12.-J
1^' A^«^ far of, in MS.]
836 THE SECOND SERMON
ture tclleth, that ho was justified, accepted into God''8 fa-
vour, and more regarded of God than the Pharisee ; and
that his sins were forgiven liim, because he railed not again,
M-wiaienc ^ecause he reviled not, but took it patiently. Mary
Lukevii. Maudlyn also, that is mentioned Luke vii\, which wiped
Christ's feet with her hair, when Christ said to Simon a
Jew, " Publicans and harlots shall overgo you in the king-
dom of heaven ;" and when she heard the same Simon re-
vile and infame her, saying, " If he knew that this woman
were a strumpet, he would not suffer her to v/ash his feet ;"
nevertheless she railed not again, but held her pea,ce, and
therefore the scripture recordeth, that many sins were for-
David. given her. David, being a king, bare the taunts of his
fy'^''\, servant Semei, and of Michol, SauFs daughter. Michael, the
fciitan. archangel, when he strove against the devil, and disputed
about the body of Moses, durst not give him one railing
Jude i. word, but said, " The Lord rebuke thee." Much more we
should beware of railing of our brethren.
Cease off from detraction and railing, and occupy your
tongues in reading God's word, and in instructing your house-
holds and families, and in confessing your own faults and
misdoings. And you that be depraved and slandered, bear
words and taunts patiently, as Christ bare stripes for you.
He was buffeted and scourged for thy sins, and dost thou
grudge to suffer for thyself? Thou art belied and slan-
dered ; God hath visited thee with poverty ; he hath touched
thy body with sickness. Aye. Thou art barren. Aye. Thou
art lame ; thou art blind. Aye. Thou hast sore eyes, or lame
hand. Aye. Tell me, hast thou deserved these things, or
not? Aye. Then see thou have patience ; for they that suffer
undeserved, are commanded to be patient. Thy adversity,
thy smarts, whatsoever thou art, be nothing comparable
Lazarus, ^yith Lazarus' smarts. He was hunger-pined, pained with
Luke xvi. cold, coverod with sores, punished ten times more than thou ;
and the rich man lived in all ease and wealth by him ;
and yet he railed not, he murmured not, he repined not,
neither complained with any such words as these : ' I have
not greatly sinned against God, and yet I am in hunger,
frozen for cold, and tormented with sickness ; but this evil
man liveth in wealth, pleasure, ease, and health. How can
P Matt. xxxi. in MS.]
OF OPPRESSION', AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE. 337
it be, that God is mindful of us ? How is he righteous in
judgment V He uttered no such kind of words, but took
it patiently, and thought himself worthy of God's rod.
Wherefore he was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom,
and the rich man was condemned to hell-torments. Thou
art not yet punished like Job, a just and a perfect man. Job.
What hast thou suffered like unto him? Hast thou lost
one of thine eyes I He lost both, and so did Toby the Toby,
righteous. Thou art poor, but not so poor as he ; and
his poverty began after great plenty and riches, which po-
verty is most grievous. Is thy son dead I thy wife I or
thy brother? Job lost ten sons, and all at one time, and
that after they were of age, and richly married : and yet
no adversity could make him permoil, steal, despair, blas-
pheme, or to forget his duty to God his JSIaker.
God's righteousness plagueth us with adversity, to put
us in remembrance of our sins, and to cause us to return
to him ; and because, as it foUoweth in the text, " We
were as sheep going astray, but are now returned to the
Shepherd and Bishop of our souls." Thou murmuring and
grudging man, thou envious woman, thou hast not yet felt
the hundredth part of the trouble that thy Saviour and high
Shepherd felt. He was falsely accused, scourged, mocked,
unrighteously condemned, crowned with thorns, buffeted,
and cruelly murdered. He suffered all these things for thee,
for thy sins, for thy unthankfulness and rebellion ; and wilt
not thou suffer for thyself? Let us not be straying sheep,
but follow the example of our high Shepherd and of the
Bishop of our souls. And as he was tried, and made per-
fect, and entered into glory, through affliction ; so, as many
as be Christians, disdain not to bear Christ's image and
to walk the same way.
By this means our trouble shall be less painful and wb^J^^''^*
less grievous unto us, if we shall accept it with patience ?//,^,^'tiX'e.
and gladness for his sake ; but that you may know better
the commodities of patience and her reward, behold the
contrary vice. Consider with me what a cart load of evils
impatience, anger, and envy brought into tin.' world. Satan, satan.
the devil, through impatience and anger, grudging that
Adam was made after thc! similitude and imag(; of God, Adam,
lost both liiiiiscif and man. Adam and Isve, inii)atient, km-.
[iMTCIllNSON.]
338
THE SECOND SERMON
Cain.
Murder.
Esau.
Unthrift-
ness.
The Jews.
Idolatry.
Covetous-
ness.
and not content with that diet, fare, and commonB, that
God allowed them, were expelled out of* paradise. Cain,
by impatience that AbcFs sacrifice was more regarded than
his, committed the first manslaughter, and in his anger
slew his own brother. Esau, impatient of hunger, sold
his fathers blessing, his eldership, and the title of his
inheritance, to his brother Jacob, for a mess of pottage.
What was the cause that the Jews rebelled first against
God, and bowed themselves to a golden calf, but envy
and lack of patience? Because they envied Moses, and
were grieved and angry with him for his long taiTying
and absence in mount Oreb with God, they made a calf,
and honoured it with divine service, with psalms, with in-
struments, with sacrifice, and praise.
I fear me lest many thousands in England do commit
both like idolatry, and also the idolatry of covetousness in
withholding their tithes for the absence of their Moses, that
is, of their pastors from their benefices. Moses was absent
but few days, and his flock almost perished ; but our Moseses
absent themselves many years. Neither do they spend the
time of their absence as Moses did, who communed with
God of such matters as might edify and profit his flock;
then they were to be borne withal : but they consume the
time in banqueting, in flattery, and prowling for mo
promotions. Some of them be surveyors to bishops, and
other, temporal lords; other some be their stewards, pro-
viders, buyers of beves and muttons, and other necessaries
for housekeeping ; and some be receivers of their rents and
revenues, to the condemnation both of themselves and of
their lords and masters, which are guilty of their negligence
and absence ; and the souls of those that perish for lack
of instruction shall be required, as well of such lords, either
spiritual or temporal, as of the pastors. God send an
amendment hereof by some good statute, and of other
things likewise, which I have reproved out of God's sacred
and holy word ! The office of Christ, our Bishop and high
Shepherd, and of his ministers, is spiritual, and not to
survey woods and lands, to keep courts, nor to receive
rents, as is declared before.
Thus you see that impatience causeth idolatry, causeth
murder, brought in rebellion and unthriftness, expelled from
OP OPPRESSION, AFFLICTION, AND PATIENCE.
339
heaven, and banished out of paradise; which things are
registered for our erudition, to teach us sufferance, and to
beware of anger, of fierceness, of envy, which be the works
of the flesh. Patience garnisheth us with all flowers of
virtue, and openeth heaven s gates again. For " God hath Gen.iii.
set at the entering of paradise cherubim with a fiery sword,
moving in and out, to keep the way to the tree of life ;"
and no man, neither spiritual nor lay, can have any access fier7sw™dt
thither, but he must first be stricken and wounded with ^^^-^^ it is.
that fiery sword, which is affliction and trouble. Blessed are
they that are wounded with this sword, and buffeted for
their offences in this life, and do take it patiently and thank-
fully : they are siu-e to be heirs of the other life, of eternal
rest and joys, which God hath prepared for as many as will
bear Christ's image, and follow the example of their high
Bishop ; to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit,
be all honour and glory. Amen. So be it.
THE PRAYER.
0 heavenly Father, who of thy clemency didst send thy
Son to be our high Bishop, and to become woman s Seed ;
not only to be our Redeemer and Peacemaker, but also to
be unto us a pattern and mirror of all virtue and godly
behaviour; and hast called all men and women to live in
affliction and labour, hereby to force thorn to despise
temporal things, and to groan and sigh for things eternal:
hear our prayers and supplications, and so order our ways
and steps by the governance of thy holy Spirit, that we
may conform our lives after the exami.lc of thy Son, and
learn all virtue by the contemplation of his life. And as no
guile or deceit, no slander or threat, proceeded out of his
mouth, but consolation and doctrine, so defend us, thy
servants, from the said vices ; teach us ])atience and sut-
ferance, in right and in wrong, through the memory oi our
22—2
340 A PKAYER.
Kins, by tlio c'lisamplcs of holy men, and vvitli a medi-
tation of those evils which impatience has caused from the
beginning of the world, and doth cause daily and
hourly. Grant these our requests, O merciful
God, for the merits and innocency of Christ,
our high Shepherd ; who with thee
and the Holy Spirit liveth and
reigneth, in one glor}-, and
equal majesty, world
without end.
So be it.
INDEX.
Absolution, the priest's power of,
44.
Acception ; acceptation, meaning.
Adversity, better than prosperity, 308.
Advoutrer; adulterer.
Affliction, why the righteous suffer, 58,
72, 74 ; its causes, 298 ; its several
kinds, 291), 307-
A gone ; ago.
Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, 116.
Alexandrines, 201.
Ambrose, f), 38, 202; says that Elisha
changed the nature of iron, 39 ; his
meaning explained, ib. ; disallowed
a private receipt of the Lord's sup-
per, 229; says that by receiving
Christ's body we are changed into
Christ, 240; terms the cup ' the simi-
litude of Christ's blood,' 259 ; says
that evil men do not eat Christ's
flesh, 205 ; that the substance of the
elements remain, 273 ; how the pa-
pists misunderstand this father, 277;
says that unworthy receivers are
guilty of Christ's body and blood,
281 ; proves that the laity received
the cup in his time, ib.
Amners; almoners.
Anabaptists, 144, 214 ; teacli that evil
ministers cannot loose, 97 ; refuted,
ib. ; deny that sin after baptism is
pardonable, 113.
Anaxagoras, 80, 320.
Anaxarchus, 80.
Angels appear in divers shapes, 82;
not mere inspirations, 139.
Another, 31(>. Either this word is a
corruption of the transcriber of the
31 S., or there is here some omission.
Lye gives "ano«a",/"rmJ(/«, CAng.
Sax. Diet.) but no instance has been
found of the word 'another' as the
name of any disease.
Anthropomori)hitcs, believed (iod to
be in man's shape, 12; probably
erected an image of the Deity, 24.
Antony, I\I., 81.
Apelles, 127, 137.
Archimedes, 73.
Arians, 134, 162, 168, 169, 214.
Aristotle, 170, 176.
Ascham, Roger, i. ii. ix.
Assumpt; to take.
Astrology, refutation of, 77.
Athanasius, 41 ; baptism by, in pastime,
held vaUd, 116.
Augustine, St, 6, 38, 202 ; forbade the
making of images of the Deity, 24 ;
says that sacraments are so called on
account of their similitudes to those
things of which they be sacraments,
36 ; says that the element is made a
sacrament by the addition of the
word, 40 ; his story of Firmius, bishop
of Tagasta, 54; his explanation of
"borne upon the waters", 65, 196;
of the charge to Peter, 102 ; says it
is a great power of God that he can-
not lie. 111 ; complains of the idle-
ness and vices of the monks, 203;
his definition of a sacrament, 236.
237; says the sacramental bread is
an emblem of christian unity, 240;
says that believing recipients eat
Christ's flesh, 242 ; his definition of
a testament, 246; says that the faith-
ful Jews did eat Christ's body, 249,
250, 251 ; terms sacramentsholy seals,
252 ; says that Christ's flesh is to be
honoured, 254 ; terms the sacrament
the figure of Clirist'shody, 259; says
that he who believeth cateth Christ's
flesh, 263; and that evil men do not
cat Christ's flesh, 2(!4 ; explanation
of his saying respecting the eating
of .ludas, 265, 266; his exposition of
Christ's saying, that he will drink of
the vine in the kingdom of his Father,
269; says tliat the .Jews who looked for
Christ before his coming were under
grace, 326; his distinction between
342
INDEX.
24 C- U^i-
venial and mortal sins, 327 ; teaches
the lawfulness of appealing to the
law, 329.
B.
Bailies; bailifts.
Bale, i.
Baptism, commanded, 11 ; purifieth us,
ib. ; sin after, 1115.
Baronius, 132.
Basil, 41 ; his exposition of "borne upon
the waters," f)4, 137, 196.
Bede, expounds St Jerome's explana-
tion of the reasons why Christ used
bread in the sacrament, 239 ; says that
evil men do not receive Christ's body,
2G5.
Bespetted ; spitten upon.
Bewray ; to betray.
Bill, Dr William, 10.
Bless, to, is not to make a cross, 220.
Bocher, Joan, ii, iii, iv, v; account of
interview with, 145.
Body, " This is my body" expounded,
36.
" Borne upon the waters," expounded,
64,137; how explained by Basil, 64;
by Augustine, 65; by IMelancthon,
ib.
Botolph's, St, Bishopsgate, 5.
Bowser ; a bursar, or treasurer.
Box, William, viii, x.
Brast; burst.
C.
Cast ; to object.
to "cast in the teeth;" to upbraid.
Caterpiller ; a pillager or destroyer.
Catharoi deny that sin after baptism is
pardonable, 113.
Catulus, Quint., 73.
Causes, perfect and imperfect, !J3.
Cecill, Sir W . i, ii.
Cerinthians give the glory of the cre-
ation to angels, 6!5.
Cheke, Sir J. i.
Christ, how present in the sacrament,
33,251; how a vine, 35; evil men
do not receive his body, 41, 204 ; why
named the Word, 03; begotten, 123;
a distinct substance, or person, 132;
types of, 133; why he became man,
143; why bom of a woman, ib. ; he
took both soul and body, 144; took
his body of the A'^irgin Mary, 145;
why bora of a virgin, 147 ; why bom
of a virgin betrothed, 148; not the
son of the Holy Ghost, 149; why
bom a babe, ib.; what are his com-
ing and sending, 150; why he came
in the end of the world, ib. ; why
tempted, 152; why he suffered death,
153; why on the cross, ib. ; why he
took our nature, 154; all the attri-
butes of Deity ascribed to, in the
scriptures, 187 ; why named a lamb,
217 ; in what sense sacramental re-
cipients become his body, 241, 244 ;
what it is to eat his flesh and drink
his blood, ib., 203; his flesh the food
of the soul, 242; eaten by the faithful
under the old testament, 247 ; how
his flesh is to be honoured, 255 ; al-
ways received unto salvation, 262;
temis the sacramental wine fruit of
the vine, 260; suffered for our re-
demption and example, 310; his ex-
ample teacheth us all virtues, 318.
Christopher, St, his huge bulk, 23 ;
prayed to for continual health, 171 ;
why, 172, n.
Chrysostom, 0, 38, 41 ; his explanation
of the opinion of Photinus, 121 ; ex-
horts those who come to the commu-
nion after meat to be sober in be-
haviour, 222 ; says that by the sacra-
ment we are made one body with
Christ, 240; teaches how Christ's
body is to be honoured, 250, 257;
his exposition of I\Iatt. xxvi.29, 2/0;
says that the nature of bread remained
after the consecration, 274 ; proof
that in his time the laity received the
cup, 282 ; explains the many causes
of sorrow, 298; his exposition of
2 Cor. iv. 7, 305 ; says that adversity
should not cause men to sin, 319.
Cicero, De Offic. i. 321 ; De Nat. Deor.
13, 73, 75, 70, 170, bis; De Oratore,
51; Tusc. Qu;cst. 73, 105, 170; De
Div. 81 ; Oration. 141 ; De Fin. 101 ;
De Somn. Scip. 278; Epist. ad divers.
321.
INDEX.
343
Cinna, 73, 75.
Civil; civilized.
Clean, 'a clean other way;' altogether
another way.
Cleanthes, his reasons for a providence,
76.
Clement, St, prayed to for good beer,
172.
Clerk ; a scholar.
Cloked ; dissembling, hypocritical .
Close; concealed.
Cocket; a certificate that goods had paid
duty, granted by the Custom- House
authorities to merchants to enable
them either to export or import. The
word was probably a corruption of
some terms used in the document
when it was couched in Latin : "Quo
quietus decessit." Vide Jacob's
Law Dictionary and Todd's John-
son.
Cocodrile; crocodile.
Coelius, C. 81.
CoUigeners ; collegians.
Commen; come.
Commodity; advantage.
Commons ; unenclosed grounds, the
common people, common fare.
Communicants, how to examine them-
selves, 22o.
Communion ordained by Christ, and
not a private mass, 227.
Compost; composed, composite, com-
pounded.
Concitation ; a motion, an impulse.
Control ; to reprove, or check. A con-
troller was originally an officer who
checked an accountant, by means of
a counter, or contra, roll.
Cotta, Vi.
Cranmer, Abp., Epistle to, 1 ; visits
Joan Bocher, iii ; was not present
when the warrant for her execution
was signed, iv ; inaccurately stated
by Foxo to have urged Kdward VI.
to sign her death-warrant, v.
Crassus, P. ftl, )t7.
Crudelity ; cruelty.
Cup, the, ought not to be denied to the
laity, 281 ; testimonies of the fathers
respecting, ib. Ambrose, il). ; Ilie-
romc, 282; Chrysostoni, ib.; (ire-
gory i., ii».; (iclasius, ib. ; denial not
to be traced fartiicr back than Fre-
derick Barbarossa, ib. ; objections of
the papists, 283 ; answered, ib.
Cyprian, 6 ; says the sacramental bread
is changed in nature, 38 ; his defini-
tion of a sacrament, 237 ; says the sa-
cramental bread is an emblem of the
unity of the church, 239 ; that Christ's
flesh has two significations, 266;
teaches that wine remains in the cup
after consecration, 272, 273.
Cyril, 38 ; his exposition of the charge
to Peter, 103.
D.
.fo-V«"J*-'
Day, John, vi. vii. viii.
Decay ; to cause to fail, to depreciate.
Deface ; to defame. > /<• . . ../ <.
Democritus, 161.
Demosthenes, saying of, 105.
Denay ; denial, in which sense it is
used by Shakspere and other poets. ,
Depart; to divide, separate. /*v ^Wj jJ^i i-"v >6
Destiny, error of those who thwk the ^
world governed by, 86.
Devil, who made the, 67 ; not a mere
affection of the flesh, 140; but a
person, 141.
Diagoras, saying of, 75.
Dint ; an impression or mark.
Diogenes, saying of, 73.
Dionysius, 73, 75.
Dionysius Halicar. 87.
Discuss ; to shake apart, examine, or
dissipate.
Dishonest ; to dishonour, or discredit.
Dissolve ; to resolve.
Dolabella, P., 81.
Domitius, L., 81.
Donatists teach that evil ministers can-
not loose, 1)7; refuted, ib.
Dudley, Lady Mary, 2!I3.
Dyant; perhaps a mistake for 'radiant,'
or, if not a mistake, used in the same
sense.
E.
Eastern Church never allowed private
masses, 227; does not withhold the
cup, 283.
344
INDEX.
Ecclesiastical Law, proposed new code
of, «.
Edom, 21.
Edward VI., 7, 124, 12!!, 185, 213,2!i:5;
was not induced by Cranmer to sign
the death-warrant of Joan Bocher, v.
Eftsoons; afterwards,*s. ^ / -' -
Egypt, the monks of, 13. ' '^ /;:' /
Elizabeth, Queen, 10.
Emissenus asserts a mutation of the
sacramental recipient into Christ, 241.
Ennius, 8, ,51.
Entend ; to design or purpose.
Epaminondas, 321.
Epicureans, their idea of the nature of
God, 12; deny God's providence, C9;
refuted, ib.
Epiphanius, 113.
Erasmus, 284.
Erythrea, 177.
Esop, 55.
Estate, ''your estate," with some ex-
planatory adjective interposed be-
tween the two words, as "your royal
estate," or as in the instance, p. 3,
"your gracious estate," was a kind
of title of courtesy used in addresses
to persons of exalted rank.
Eton, 10, 251.
Eton College, vi.
Eurysthenes, 87.
Eusebius, 114, 115.
Evil caused by sin, 65, C6.
Expulsed ; driven out.
r.
Father, The, properties of, proved, 123.
P'athers, The, untruly alleged in favour
oftransubstantiation, 38; say the sub-
stance, meaning the natural property
of the elements, is changed, 39. "
Fawden, Thomas, x.
Ferm ; to let to farm, that is, to let at
a certain ferm, firm, or rent.
Figurally; figuratively.
Finition ; limitation.
Firmius, Bishop of 'i'agasta, 51.
Flacker; to flicker, or flutter like a
bird.
FJawe ; a gust of wind.
Foreknowledge of God is no cause of
things, 85.
Forfeits; forfeitures, penalties.
Forstaller; one who buys up goods on
their way to a market to enhance the
market-price.
Fortify ; to prove, or defend, by argu-
ment. ^OT../ 'J f, ^ UoUf
Found ; provided for, '- ' - ^
Foxe, John, ' Reformatio Legum Ec-
clesiasticarum ' published by, (J ; his
mistake respecting Abp. Cranmer's
urging Edward VI. to sign the death-
warrant of Joan Bocher, v.
Frederick Barbarossa, proof that in
his time the laity received the cup,
283.
Frump ; to mock, or insult.
Fulfil ; to fill full, to occupy entirely.
G.
Gambling, prevalence of, 7-
Gelasius, pope, proof that in his time
the laity received the cup, 282.
Glosses; explanationsof obscure words,
especially applied to the' romanist
annotations upon the scriptures and
the papal decretals.
God, we must learn what he is of his
book, 12; errors of those who search
elsewhere, ib. ; of the Anthropomor-
phites, il). ; of the Epicureans, ib. ;
of those who worship the sun, saints,
bread and wine, 13; alone is self-
existent, 16; is a spirit, 18; how the
scriptures attribute to him the parts
of a man, ib. ; those several parts ex-
plained, 18-20; head, hairs, eyes,
eye-lids, ears, nose, face, hinder-
parts, 18 ; mouth, tongue, arm, hand,
right hand, 11) ; left hand, finger,
heart, womb, shoulders, feet, 20;
what his stained red clothes are, 21 ;
his shoes, 22; how he is a shooter,
ib.; a husbandman, 23; alone to be
sworn by, 21 ; not the mass, ib. ; or
the saints, ib. ; and only on great
occasions, ib. ; is of a pure nature,
25 ; and immutable, ib. ; how he is
said to be angry, to laugh, sleep
INDEX.
345
awake, 26 ; to forget, remember, sit,
stand, go, walk, 27 ; is imsearchable,
28; invisible, 29; how Closes, 3Ii-
caiab, and Stephen saw God, 30 ; is
everywhere, 31 ; how present with
the wicked, lb.; is full of under-
standing, 45 ; of truth, 51 ; of mercy,
56; of righteousness, 57; of com-
passion, 60; immortal, 61 ; made all
things, 62 ; ruleth them by his pro-
vidence, 69; how he is said to have
rested the seventh day, 88 ; knoweth
all things, 89; how he is said to re-
pent, 90 ; alone forgiveth sin, 92 ; is
almighty, 110; he cannot sin, or lie,
be deceived, or die. 111 ; can revoke
what is past, 117; defined out of the
scriptures, 119; that there is but one
• God, 167 ; how the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost are one God, 178.
Good cheap; reasonably cheap. " Be-
hold, victuals shall be good cheap
upon the earth." 2 Esdras, xvi. 21.
Goodrich, bishop of Ely, iii, v.
Gregory I., the tirst founder of private
masses, 227; proof that in his time
the laity received the cup, 282.
Gregory Xazianzen, 41 ; affirms all
sacraments to be seals, 252.
Grindal, Archbishop, i.
Groundly ; thoroughly.
Gull ; to swallow. " Under the colour
of wine it gulled in poison." Bale's
Pageant, fo. 76.
H.
Hand-fasted ; betrothed.
Harpalus, 73, 75.
Helen's, St, viii, x.
Henry VIII. 99.
Hermes Trismegistus, 176.
Hiero, 12.
Holy Ghost, the procession of, proved,
124; is a substance, 134; is every-
where, 135; governor of the world,
ib. ; to be prayed unto, 136 ; for-
giveth sin, 137; is distinct from the
Father, 155; wiiy he appeared in
the likeness of a dove, 156; of one
substance with the Father and the
Son, 1511; all the attributes of Deify
ascribed to in tlie scriptures, 193,
Honorius III. first commanded the
bread and wine to be worshipped,
258.
Hooper, Bishop, 325.
Horace, 55.
Hove ; to heave, rise, or raise up.
Humaniformians, vide Anthropomor-
phites.
Hutch ; a chest.
Hutchinson, Agnes, viii, x ; Anne,
ib. ; Elizabeth, ib. ; John, i, x ;
Roger, time and place of his birth
unknown, i ; educated at St John's
College, Cambridge, i; engaged with
Thomas Lever in a disputation re-
specting the mass, ii; one of the
learned men who endeavoured to
convert Joan Bocher, ii, iii ; pub-
lishes his Image of God, v, vi ; copy
of his sermons on the Lord's supper
given to Day before the death of
Edward VI., vii; 3IS. sermons now
first published, where preserved, vii ;
sends to Day when in prison, viii ;
time of his death, viii ; his family,
ib.; possessed leases granted by
Bishop Ridley, ib.; his character by
Aschani, ix ; his will, x ; Thomas,
viii, x ; William, i, 128.
I.
Idolatrer; idolater. ^,
Ignatius, 38. c . "^ '■
Image, it is a dishonour to the divine
nature to make any similitude there-
of, 12.
Images used to be called ' Books of
the Laity,' 3.
Impassible ; incapable of suffering.
Impossible, sometimes used in scripture
for what is very hard to come to pass,
112.
Improve; to disprove. Jf y^-'dVifxr^'
Infame ; to defame.
Insensible ; not palpable to the senses.
Irenwus saith that every sacrament is
made of two natures, 39, 271, 273;
how expounded by the papists, 40,
272 ; answered, ib.
J.
Jerome, 6, 38, 41, 202; explains why
Christ took bread as a sacramental
u^ f
/ - /04
346
INDEX.
element, 23B; says that the unholy
do not eat Christ's flesh, 20') ; proof
that the laity received the cup in his
time, 2)i2; says that the future re-
wards of the just will differ, IJOfi.
Job, prayed to for the pox, 171.
John, St, and the robber, 114.
John's, St, Cambridge, i, vi, 10, 85.
Junius Brutus, 87.
K.
Kent, Joan of, vide, Bocher, Joan.
Keys, what the power of, 98.
Kindly ; of or belonging to kindred.
Kings, an exhortation to, 71.
King's Book, the, several books so
termed, 231.
King's-price ; the price fixed in the
king's proclamations for regulating
the amount to be paid for provisions.
Law, it is lawful for a Christian to go
to law in a just cause, 323.
Leasings ; lies.
Lever, Thomas, i, ii, iii, 146.
Libertines, 201 ; their opinions, 79 ;
deny spirits to be substances, 134.
Lighten; to enlighten.
Lights ; the lungs.
Lively ; living.
Logic, its usefulness, 28.
Love, its powerful effects, 104.
Luke, St, prayed to for the ox, 171.
Lumbrikes ; worms.
Lusty ; healthful.
Lying is forbidden under any circum-
stances, 51 ; instances of lies alleged
to be lawful, ib. ; answered, 52.
Lyranus. Nicholas, 284.
M.
Malachi, the clean sacrifice of, ex-
pounded, 47-
Man, how made in the image of (iod,
24.
Manhead ; manhood.
Manichees, the, contended that man was
made of the substance of God, 24;
refuted, ib.; taught that there were
two contrary first principles, 171 ;
refuted, ib.
I\Iarius, C, 73, 75.
31ary ; manow.
Mary, the Virgin, prayed to for women
with child, 172.
J\Iary, St, Hospital of, 5.
Mass, the, is not a sacrifice, 48.
Mated; confounded, crushed.
Maugre, " maugre the head of all
enemies," notwithstanding the op-
position of all enemies. " Some men
make their cracks that they, maugre
all men'.t heads, have found purga-
tory."— Latimer's Sermon before the
Convocation. "He hath preserved it
maugre their hearts.'''' — Latimer's
second Sermon before Edward VI.
Maundy; a feast, principally and origi-
nally a feast provided for the poor.
The name was derived from Maund,
a hand-basket, in which victuals
were canied round for distribution.
Maximin, 113.
JMelancthon, his exposition of 'borne
upon the waters,' 65, 196 ; his opinion
of sin after baptism, 117.
Meletius, 113.
Menandrians, give the glory of the
creation to angels, 68.
Mingle-mangle ; a mixture of heteroge-
neous matters. " I cannot tell what,
partly popery, partly true religion,
mingled together. They say in
my country, when they call their
hogs to the swine-trough, 'come to
thy mingle-mangle, cum pur, cum
pur;' even so they made mingle-
mangle of it." — Latimer's fourth
Sermon before Edward VI.
Jlinisters, the scriptures allow but
three orders, 50; popish orders enu-
merated, ib. ; how they forgive sins,
96; 199.
I\Iiss-woman, a lewd woman.
]\Io; more.
3Iole ; a mass.
More, Avys, x.
JMyllaine, 3Iilan.
Myrrh, such as die are anointed with,
) 255.
INDEX.
347
N.
Namely; especially. " Yf ther be eny
that provideth not for his awne, and
namly for them of his own house-
holde." 1 Tim. v. 8. Tyndale's
Trans. Bagster's Hexapla.
Nasica, 51 .
Naughty ; corrupt.
Ne; nor,
Nemroth ; Nimrod.
Next; nearest.
Nicolitanes, the, deny God to be the
maker of the world, 68 ; give the glory
of the creation to angels, 68.
Nill ; to be unwilling.
North, Sir Edward, v.
Nose-of-wax; a simile applied by Ro-
manist writers at the time of the Re-
formation to the scriptures. They
contended that the sacred writings
might, like a nose of wax, be bent
and turned in any way, and thus
wrested to support any doctrine. In
the note from Pighius at p. 34, it
may be seen that he used this simile
in the sense stated.
Novatians, the, deny that sin after bap-
tism is pardonable, 1115.
Noy ; to annoy, to molest.
O.
Oaths, how abused at sessions and
courts, 21.
Of; off, out of, from. "M'ere wont to
live o/ their lands," p. 4.
On; in, " oh the night."
Oppression, why (rod suffereth it to
good men, 304.
Or; ete, before.
Origcn, (i; says that sacramental bread
enters into the belly, 40, 272.
Origcnists contend that all men and
devils shall at length be saved, rit!;
refuted, ib.
Osyth, St, prayed to for things lost,
171 ; why, 172, n.
Ought; owed.
Overgo ; to go before.
Ovid, 176.
Parker, Abp., sanctioned Foxe's pub-
lication of the 'Reformatio Legura
Eccles.,' 6.
Parmenides, 176.
Passible ; capable of suffering.
Passover, the, was a figure of our sacra-
ment, 217.
Patched; made up of shreds.
Patience, necessary for all people, 295;
its several kinds, 2illl, 320.
Patripassians, 207 ; their definition of
a person, 121.
Paulians, 134, 162.
PaulofSamosata, argued that the Word
was not a substance, 132. -
Paul's-cross, 5. ^'^ V^-- * /- -^ <- -K/^-*^"»^'^t^<'2- 3//
Percase ; perchance.
Permoil ; to vex, or disquiet in mind.
Person, in the Godhead, what it signi-
fies, 129 ; why this word used in re-
ference to the Godhead, 130.
Persons, distinction of, in the Godhead
proved from scripture, 121 ; mani-
fested in Abraham's vision, 126;
their unity proved by their having
the same attributes, 183.
Person; parson. "A poor pcrsone of
a toun." Chaucer, Prolog, to Cant.
Tales, 480.
Peter, no supremacy given to, 98 ; why
named Cephas, 101; why Christ
charged him thrice to feed his sheep,
102.
Peter, bishop of Alexandria, 113.
Phalaris, 73, 7''>.
Phillip, IMistress Anne, x.
Photinus, 121.
Pighius,Albertus, terms the scripturesa
nose of wax, 34 ; his exposition of 'Lo,
here is Christ,' ib ; alleges the clean
ottering of Malachi in favour of the
mass, 46 ; his exposition of the power
of the keys, 99; and of Christ's prayer
that Peter's faith might not fail, 106.
Pilkington, bishop, i.
Pill ; to plunder.
IMsistratus, 73, 7'"'.
Pix; the box in which the consecrated
sacramental bread is kept by the
Roman (Catholics. It was usual, as
alluded to in p. 2;i3, to hang it uj)
in the churches, over the altar, for
348
adoration. Vide Strypc's Cranmer,
book ii. cap. vi.
Plato, l/f!.
Pliny, Hist. Nat. 87.
Pliny the younger, his mention of the
communion, 227.
Poller ; a plunderer.
Polycletus, 127-
Preacher, qualifications necessary for,
103.
f y >-- Preaching, lack of, 5 ; began to be re-
newed in England, (i ; itsimportance,
201.
Pretensed ; pretended.
Prick ; a point, the bull's-eye or mark
in the centre of the butts in archery.
Priest, the, cannot receive the sacra-
ment for others, 22!J.
Priesthood, difference between the
Jewish and Christian, 49, 50 ; popish,
50.
Priscillianists, the, contended that man
was made of the substance of God,
24 ; refuted, ib. ; thought it lawful
to lie for a greater advantage, 51.
Private masses, origin of, 227.
Procles, 87.
Prosper says that evil men do not re-
ceive Christ's body, 265.
Protogenes, 127, 137-
Pseudo-christs, who they are, 33.
Pythagoras, his ternarius numerus,
123 ; his definition of God, 176.
Quick ; living.
Quod; quoth.
R.
Record ; to bear testimony.
Recount; to account, reckon, or esti-
mate.
Regretor; one who buys up goods in
order to enhance their price.
Regulus, 73.
Regulus, Marcus, 321.
Rehearse ; to relate.
Report ; to refer to, " I report me."
Repose ; to put back again.
Reserve ; to preserve, keep.
Resurrection, two sorts explained, 138.
-> fX
v-» C-/
A^/ ^r
/-i^ c.
/ „A^.
Rich men need patience, 2!I6 ; arc
God's almoners, 297.
Rickmansworth, i, viii, ix, 85.
Ridley, Bishop, iii, viii, ix.
Rock, upon which the church is built,
100.
Rock, St, prayed to for the pestilence,
171 ; origin of, ib. n.
Rogers, the martyr, viii.
Room ; place, office. ^-^'
■Rovers, " at rovers," at random, wide
of the mark, a term used in archery.
Ruffinus, 116.
Sabellians, their definition of a person,
121.
Sacrament, is not a sacrifice, 49; de-
fined, 236.
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, how
Christ present therein, 33 ; how his
body is received therein, 35; three
similitudes therein, 37, 238 ; its
effects, 41 ; its receipt should be fol-
lowed by thanksgiving, 43; neces-
sary to be received, 44; received by
all persons at Easter, 215 ; why or-
dained after eating the passover,
217; bishops of Rome would have
the laity receive only annually, 220 ;
why people absent themselves, ib.;
it is best to receive it fasting, 221 ;
but not ill to come after meat, 222 ;
is not to be received privately, 227;
nor by the priest for the people,
228 ; nor to be lifted up or honoured,
230, 252 ; best for the people to re-
ceive it in their hands, 230; to be
received spiritually as well as sacra-
mentally, 243; thanks to be given
after receipt, 284.
Sacraments of the old testament, how
inferior to ours, 41, 218, 250 ; not
transubstantiated, 41 ; why disan-
nulled, 218.
Sadducees, 138; deny spirits to be sub-
stances, 134.
Sadler, Sir Ralph, v.
Saints, praying to, how it arose, 118;
praying to, is to bring in many gods,
171.
Samaria, 13.
Samatius, 87.
/V' ,t., ^.v g--r ^ ti-
INDEX.
349
Sandys, Archbishop, i.
Saturnians, the, give the glory of the
creation to angels, fi8,
Scffivola, L., 81.
Scaffold, "Set forth... as it were in a
scaffold," (p. 215) "do shew him as
it were upon a scafTbld," (pp. 219,
250). These are allusions to the old
representations of religious dramas
upon a scaffold or temporary stage
erected for the purpose. Chaucer has,
" He playeth Herod on a skafibld
high." Miller's Tale, 1. 3484.
Scipio, Africanus, saying of, 1.
Score ; an account.
Scrat ; to scratch.
Scriptures, the, the only touch-stone of
doctrine, 14; objections of the pa-
pists and reply, ib., 15; termed by
Pighius, ' a nose of wax,' 34 ; allow
but three orders of ministers, 50 ;
contahi all things necessary unto
salvation, 253.
Semblable; similar.
Seneca, advice of, 3.
Sensible ; palpable to the senses.
Separeth; separateth.
Serle, — , viii, x.
Servetus, 121.
Shope; shaped.
Shrives ; sherifts.
Sibyls, 177.
Sichar, 13.
Sidney, Sir Henry, vii, 293.
Simonides, 12.
Sin after baptism, not unpardonable,
113.
Sincere ; pure.
Sith ; since.
Sithen; since., ^^ '{ '] -"* / a-
Slanderer, who is a, 224.
Slops; the loose trowsers worn by m.iri-
ners.
Socrates, a saying of, 254.
Soul, Christ's flesh the food of the,
242 ; not nourished with corporal
food, ib.
Spital-sermons, wliere preached origi-
^ft/y^ nally, 5.
Stars, arguments against tlieir inliu-
y/*>*^ A r.- cnzz ui)oii liuman actions, 77; star
/ whicii appeared at Christ's birth, its
use, 81 ; opinions rcsi)octlng, 82.
Still; to distil.
Stoics, deny God's providence, 09;
refuted, ib.
Stories ; histories.
Stut ; to stutter.
Substance, the word applied by St Paul
to the Godhead, 130.
Suicide, lawfulness of, 85.
Suitors in law, how they should be
affected towards each other, 331.
Supremity ; supremacy.
Surcease ; to give over.
Swearers, an exhortation to, 20.
Swing; to 'bear the swing,' to have an
unchecked course.
Sydney, Sir Philip, 293 ; Sir W., ib.
T.
Table ; a picture or other representation
upon a tabular surface.
Tagasta, a town in Numidia, the birth-
place of St Augustine, now Tajelt,
54.
Taunts and threats to be borne, 334.
Telamon, an opinion of, 73.
Temporality ; the laity.
Tentation ; temptation.
Terence, 140, 141, 149.
TertuUian, tenns the sacrament the
figure of Christ's body, 259; says
that Christ represented his body
with the creature bread, 272.
Testament, what it is, 24G ; both tes-
taments are yet operative, 247.
Thales Milesius, IJ'i.
Theodoret says that the natures of
bread and wine are not changed
in the sacrament, 274.
Tlicophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, 12.
Theophylact disallows a private re-
ceipt of the Lord's Supper, 229;
alleged by the papists in favour of
transubstantiation, 27(i; not of autho-
rity to stablisli doctrine, 279; his
words explained, ib.
' Tiiis is my body,' does not express a
transubstantiation, 258.
Thomas of Ind ; tradition has ascribed
to St Tiiomas the Ajiostle, the foun-
dation of various cluirciics in India,
whence the Title of "S. Thomas of
Iml."
Title; a riglit.
350
INDEX.
Tot-quots. An abuse of annates, or
first-fruits, by which, upon the pro-
motion of an ecclesiastic he was called
upon to pay to the papal treasury the
first-fruits, not merely of his new pre-
ferment, but ofall other livings which
he happened to hold with it. In this
manner mutates were paid over and
over again for the same living, and
sometimes twice and thrice in one
year.
Touch; 'to keep touch,' is to perform
any engagement, promise, or threat,
with certainty and exactness.
Town, " the commons of every town."
Town is here used in the sense of
tithing, or vill, a place having a
church, with divine service, sacra-
ments and burials.
Trajan, Pliny's letter to, 228.
Transubstantiation contradicts Christ's
words at the institution of the sacra-
ment, 2fi7; and the command that
Christ's body be not broken, ib. ;
arguments of the papists, 269, 270,
2/2, 275; replies thereto, 269, 270,
272, 276 ; testimonies of the Fathers
against, 271 ; Irensus, ib. ; Ter-
tullian, 272; Origen, ib.; Cyprian,
ib. ; Ambrose, 273 ; Theodoret, 274 ;
Chrysostom, ib.
Travail ; to labour.
Trinity, the workmanship of the three
persons in baptism, 11, 200 ; in crea-
tion, 11, 62, 165 ; in providence, 11 ;
in the incarnation of Christ, 165 ; in
his miracles, 166 ; and resurrection,
ib. ; distinction of person, in, 121,
127; similitudes of, in Abraham's
vision, 126, 160 ; in the sun, 160 ; in
fire, 163 ; in man, 164.
Trinity College, Cambridge, 10.
Tripartite history, 12.
U.
Understanding, what it is, 1.
Venetians, the, had no private masses,
228.
Verities, unwritten, what is meant by,
124.
Vestiments ; vestments.
Vine, " I am the true vine," ex-
pounded, 36.
Virgil, 175, 176.
W.
Westminster Abbey, 10.
A\'hytehead, David, i, 146.
"Willett, Thomas, x.
"Williams, Lord, ix.
Winchester, Gardiner, bishop of, 96.
Windsor, 251.
Woe worth, " Woe be unto." This
relic of the language of our Anglo-
Saxon forefathers remained in com-
mon use down to the period of the
Reformation. It is retained in the
authorized translation of Ezekiel
XXX. 2, and may be found in most
of the writers of the colloquial Eng-
lish of the sixteenth century. In
Latimer's Sermons it is of frequent
occurrence. ^, -
Wood; wild, savage. /^ /r-^^^ /^^P
Wot ; to know. '
Wrax ; to rack.
Wronge ; wrung, distressed. The word
occurs in this sense in Chaucer.
Zeno's servant, anecdote of, 78.
THE FIRST ANNUAL REPORT
[for the year 1841]
THE PARKER SOCIETY,
FOR THE PUBLICATION OP THE WORKS OP THE FATHERS AND EARLY-
WRITERS OP THE REFORMED ENGLISH CHURCH.
itN^«riiC5«c:i£ii a.©, ittjucorcrxa.
PROCEEDINGS
AT A GENERAL MEETING OF
HELD AT THE
Freemason's Tavern, Great Queen Street, LincoMs Inn Fields, London,
ON TUESDAY, THE 31st OF MAY, 1842,
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD ASHLEY, M.P.,
IN THE CHAIR:
Collects suitable to the occasion having been read by the Rev. Richard
Burgess,
Lord Ashley opened the business of the Meeting by congratulating the
the members upon the prospects of the Society, emphatically expressing
his sense of its importance, and of the great value of the works proposed to
be published.
The Secretary read the Report of the Council; whereupon
It was Resolved, on the motion of the Lord Bishop or Chester, That
the Report now presented be received and adopted, and printed for the use of
the members ; and that the thanks of the Society be given to the Council for
their past services.
The Secretary then read the Report of the Auditors ; whereupon
It WAS Resolved, That the said Report be received, and printed for the
information of the members ; and that the thanks of the Society be given to
the Auditors for their services.
The Chairman, having directed the attention of the meeting to the Laws
by which the proceedings of the Society had been hitherto regulated, and the
alterations therein rendered necessary by the establishment of the Office ot
the Society, and the other changes consequent upon the great mcrease m the
number of members, as stated in the Report, called upon the meetmg to
proceed to confirm the Laws of the Society, by acting upon them in the
election of a President, Treasurer, Honorary Librarian, and Council lor
the year ensuing.
4 ACCOUNT OF TllIO (iKNFJlAL MEKTINCJ,
The Secretary having read the nominations of persons to be elected,
The Right Honourable Lord Ashley, M.P.,
was elected President.
Sir Walter Farquhar, Bart.,
was elected Honorary Treasurer.
George Stokes, Esq.,
was elected Honorary Librarian.
The Rev. R. G. Baker,
Rev. C. Benson, Master of the Temple,
Rev. E. Bickersteth,
John Bridges, Esq.,
John Bruce, Esq.,
Rev. Guy Bryan,
Rev. Richard Burgess,
Rev. Samuel Carr,
Hon. William Cowper,
Rev. W. H, Cox, Vice-Principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford,
Rev. J. W. Cunningham,
Rev. Thomas Dale,
Rev. Dr. Dealtry, Chancellor of Winchester,
Rev. John Harding,
Rev. Edward Hoare,
Rev. T. H, Horne, Canon of St. Paul's,
Hon, Arthur Kinnaird,
Rev. Dr. Mortimer, Head Master of the City of London School,
Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel,
Henry Pownall, Esq.,
Rev. Josiah Pratt, Jun.,
Rev. M. M. Preston,
Rev. James Scholefield, Regius Professor of Greek in the University
of Cambridge, and
Rev. Daniel Wilson,
were elected as the Council, with power to fill up all vacancies occurring
during the year ; and
The Rev. R. Hankinson, and Joseph Hoare, Esq.,
were elected as Auditors for the year ensuing.
Thanks were then voted to the Honorary Officers for the past year, and
also to the Local Correspondents of the Society, and the other persons who
had co-operated with the Council in promoting its objects.
The President having called the attention of the Meeting to the very great
and peculiar services rendered to the Society by Mr. Stokes, not merely as
its Founder, but also by his entire devotion of himself to its management
and proceedings for upwards of a year and a half.
It was Resolved, That the thanks of the Society, and of every one
interested in the objects of the Parker Society, are most peculiarly and es-
pecially due to Mr. Stokes.
Thanks were then voted to the President for his able conduct in the chair,
and the interest at all times shewn for the welfare of the Parker Society, of
which he was one of the earliest members.
REPORT OF TllK COL'.NCIL, ^
THE FIRST ANNUAL REPORT
OF
THE PARKER SOCIETY,
Instituted A,D. 1840,
FOR THE PUBLICATION OF
THE WORKS OF THE FATHERS AND EARLY WRITERS OF THE
REFORMED ENGLISH CHURCH.
PRESENTED TO THE GENERAL MEETING, 31st MAY, 1840.
" He C Archbishop Parker J was a great collector of ancient and modern writings, and took
especial care of tlie safe preservation of them for all succeeding times ; as foreseeing
undoubtedly what use might be made of them by posterity : that, by having recourse to such
originals and precedents, the true knowledge of things might the better appear."
" As he was a great patron and promoter of good learning, so he took care of giving
encouragement to printing — a great instrument of the increase thereof.''
Strype's Life of Archbishop Parker.
The Council of The Parker Society, in presenting to the Members of the
Institution the First Annual Report, containing the whole information which
they are able to give up to the present period, think it desirable to repeat
some particulars of circumstances connected with the early proceedings,
which have already been laid before many of the members.
The desigQ of the Society was made publicly known in July, 1810; and a
sufficient number of supporters having been obtained, the Society was formed,
and the plan finally arranged on the 17th of November. The number of
members increased with a rapidity unprecedented in the history of any
similar enterprise ; and the subscription for 1841 being closed immediately
after the 28th of February, it was found that 4,173 copies had been sub-
scribed for.
A number of supporters so far exceeding the expectations of the most
sanguine promoters of the original scheme, brought with it difficulties and
responsibilities which the Council had not anticipated. The business of the
Society was rendered so extensive, that an office and an establishment ap-
peared to be absolutolv necessary. It was also important that the works
should 1)6 printed and edited in such a manner as to render them wortliy of
the almost National support which the Society had received. The Council
trust that what they have done in both these respects will be satisfactory to
the members. The office in South impton Street, Strand, is in a convenient
and central situation. The establishment is not larger than is absolutely
necessary, and the expense less than if agents had been employcil. It was
placed under the charge of Mr. Rriice, as Registrar.
The works published ami in i>rogress have the advantage of being printed
at the Pitt Press of the University of C'ambridgo, and < onsideralile Kditorial
6 REPORT OF THE COUNCIL.
pains have been bestowed upon them. The printing was commenced as
soon as possible after the close of the subscription list, but many subjects
required so much deliberation that the early progress was less rapid than it
would have been under other circumstances. It still, however, went forward
with more expedition than is usual in the case of similar publications, and
in December the Council had the pleasure of delivering two volumes, con-
taining the Works of Bishop llidley and Archbishop Sandys. Those of
Bishop Pilkington and Iloger Hutchinson have since been completed. The
writings of three of these authors, important and valuable as they are, were
never before printed in a collected form. The Council trust that the four
volumes will be found faithful reprints from the best editions, and in some
of them additional pieces are included which were never before printed. In
the whole they contain nearly 2,200 pages.
The difficulties above noticed were to be expected in a new and untried
undertaking, but they were increased by the circumstance of the Society
being so promptly called into action ; while in other efforts of a similar
nature, the public having felt less interest at first, more time for preparation
was obtained. These difficulties being surniounted, the regular progress vnW
be more rapid ; but the Council trust that the members will bear in mind
that works of this description cannot be hurried through the press without
injury to the subscribers themselves; and that illness, or other duties of
Editors, with many unavoidable contingencies, will at times retard even that
degree of advancement which may be fairly expected.
At the commencement of the proceedings the Council found it needful to
request the aid of some of their own members in the Editorial department ;
but it is now arranged that no one acting as Editor will have a place in the
Council. It appearing that the assistance of the Rev. John Ayre would be
more valuable as one of the Editors, he has relinquished his office as Honorary
Clerical Secretary.
The duties of Registrar were found to require more time and attention than
Mr. Bruce had calculated on, especially under the continued increase of the
Society ; thus another arrangement of the office assigned to him became
needful.
Mr. Stokes also desired to be released from the business which for more
than a year and a half had occupied nearly his whole time — a sacrifice which
could not be expected from an Honorary Secretary ; and it was desirable that
the whole of these details should be carried on in London.
Under these circumstances, the Council, after very full examination of the
subject, recommend that the office of Secretary should not in future be an
honorary office, but that it be held by individuals who will respectively be
able to attend constantly to the onerous and responsible duties of their
departments, at the places where the business of each is carried on. They,
therefore, consider it desirable that, instead of a Registrar, there should be
a Secretary for General Business, with an Assistant, in daily attendance at
the office in London, while the office of Editorial Secretary will be best filled
by a resident at Cambridge. Upon the members approving of this change
a satisfactory arrangement can be made. Professor Scholefield having for
some time fulfilled the duties of Editorial Secretary ; while those of Secretary
for General Business will be discharged by Mr. W. M. Thomas, whom the
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. 7
Council appointed to superintend the office in London on the resignation of
Mr. Bruce.
The Council have much satisfaction in reporting that the Society will not
wholly lose the assistance of the three individuals on whom the business for
1841 rested : the Rev. John Ayre having engaged to render assistance as an
Editor, Mr. Bruce continuing to act as one of the Council, and Mr. Stokes
having consented to accept the office of Honorary Librarian, and to give a
considerable portion of time to the concerns of the Society.
The Council have the satisfaction to state that the Right Honourable Lord
Ashley, M.P., one of the earliest supporters of the Society, has kindly
allowed himself to be nominated for President of the Institution. The
Council fully anticipate a grateful acknowledgment by the members of his
Lordship's attention to the Society, and of the interest he has taken in its
proceedings, with the ready expression of their approval of the arrangements
the Council now submit to their consideration.
The volumes of the Society have been presented by the Council to thefol-
lowing libraries: — the British Museum; the Bodleian Library, Oxford;
the University Library, Cambridge; the Library of His Grace the Lord
Archbishop of Canterbury ; the Library of Trinity College, Dublin; the
Advocate's Library, Edinburgh.
If any surplus copies should remain after the delivery of the books for
the year is completed, the Council will proceed to consider further as to the
practicability of supplying other libraries, agreeably to the eighth law ; but
it is obvious that no extended or efficient measures of that description can
be carried out, unless funds are specially contributed for the purpose, to a
larger amount than the donations already received, and which are stated in
the Abstract of the Cash Account.
The attention of the Council has been directed to their future progress,
both as to the support they might expect from the public, and the prepara-
tion of works for the press. In reference to the first, much regret was expressed
by applicants that measures had not been taken last year to render the Society
more fully known, and it was strongly recommended that additional adver-
tisements and circulars should be sent forth. This has been done ; and on
closing the list for the present year, 1842, tlie Council were gratified to find
that more than Six Thousand subscriptions had been paid. A large pro-
portion of the new members desired to procure the volumes for the first
year, many of them urging that they would have become members at the
commencement if they had been informed of the existence of the Society.
Under these circumstances, whicli cannot again occur, the Council, after
advising with many of its original supporters, have agreed to reprint tlie four
volumes of 1811, as a suniciont number of members are willing to pay the
cost, which must be more than for the larger number of the original edition.
Nor is there any reason why all the expenses connected with this reprint,
as well as a due proportion of those of the first year, should not be borne
by the subscril)ers for the reprints ; and upon calculation it is found that
3'2s. for the four books will be a fair jirice, and far below tlie average sum
usually charged for similar volumes. Tiie measures retpii.sile for expediting
the reprint have been conunenced ; the sums received will be brought
into the general account for the year 1842, and if any advantage should
accrue to the Society from the reprints, all the menibcrs will participate
therein, while, as is just, they are protected from any loss.
O REPORT OF THE COUNCIL.
With regard to the works in preparation for the press, those for the year
1842 are—
1. The Examinations and Writings of Archdeacon Philpot.
2. A volume of Letters, written by Bishops Jewel, Home, Cox, and
others, after their return from exile, in the early part of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth. Burnet and Strype speak of the value and interest of the whole
collection of these Letters, but tliey have printed only a few of them. About
one hundred and fifty Letters will, in the intended volume for 1842, be pre-
sented to the subscribers in an English Translation, made from transcripts
of the autographs preserved at Zurich, authenticated by M. Ceroid v. Meyer
von Knouau, the Keeper of the Archives of that City. These valuable
transcripts were presented to the Parker Society by the Rev. John Hunter,
of Bath, who procured them at his own expense. The Latin originals will
be printed, and probably will form part of the same volume.
3. A portion of the Writings of Thomas Becon, Prebendary of Canterbury,
and Chaplain to Archbishop Cranmer, reprinted from the edition of his
works published under his own superintendence, A.D. 1563, and dedicated
to Archbishop Parker. This volume will be complete in itself, and will
contain the Treatises and other Pieces of Becon written during the reign of
Henry VHT.
4. Christian Prayers and Holy Meditations, collected by Henry Bull.
5. The Writings of Archbishop Grindall, or those of Dean Nowell, are
intended to form another publication for the year 1842.
The Council have the further satisfaction to announce the following works
as in preparation.
The works of Bishop Coverdale, edited by the Very Bev. Dr. Tnrton,
Dean of Peterborough, Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of
Cambridge.
A volume selected from the iManuscripts given by Archbishop Parker to
the Library of Corpus Christi College, in Cambridge, to be edited by the
Rev. Henry Cakhrop, Fellow and Tutor of that College, and Canon of
Lichfield.
A second volume of Letters from the Archives of Zurich, written during
the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Queen Mary.
Arrangements for editing the Works of Archbishop Cranmer, Bishop
Hooper, Archbishop Whitgift, and the Liturgies and Documents of the reign
of Edward VI., and some others, are under consideration. Those respect-
ing Bisbo]) Jewel have been suspended for the present, on learning that con-
siderable progress has been made in printing an edition of that Prelate's
works at the Oxford University Press.
The Council refer with confidence to the extensive support they have re-
ceived (the number of members for 1842 exceeding 6,000), as shewing the
general approval of the simple and efficient plan on which the Society is
conducted, as well as the approbation of its proceedings hitherto. And
thus a most important object, often attempted in vain by the ordinary
course of publishing, has been successfully brought into operation by The
Paukeu Society.
It appears that some of the members expected a delivery of books imme-
diately after the payment of their subscriptions, and further deliveries at
regular intervals, arranged in the chronological order in which the writers
lived ; but a little consideration will shew that such expectations were not
warranted, and that an attempt to realize them would have been attended
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. 9
with many disadvantages. The Prospectus issued at the commencement
never proposed such a course, nor was it in the contemplation of those who
originated the Parker Society. The varying extent of the works of the
authors to be printed, and the difierent degrees of Editorial labour required
while they pass through the press, render such a course impracticable; and
many inconveniences are avoided by the present plan, the efficiency of which
has been fully })roved by the experience of several literary Societies. The
subscriber to the Parker Society knows that the payment of the annual
subscription of One Pound forms the utmost extent of his outlay, and that
he incurs no risk whatever, while the due application of his single pound is
guaranteed to him by a Council whose assistance could not be looked for if
their responsibilities were increased. At the same time, the return to the
subscriber for his small payment is unusually large. He is put in posses-
sion of several valuable books which are not to be procured by any other
means, and which, when they come into his hands, he can arrange in any
order he may prefer.
In many parts of the country facilities for carrying into effect the objects
of the Society are alibrded by the kind assistance of members and friends,
who have offered their services in their respective neighbourhoods, and to
these the best thanks of the members at large are due ; and to the continuance
and increase of this valuable co-operation the Council look forward with
strong confidence, as the practicability and value of the plan adopted for
conducting the Society already appear. By the extensive support already
given, a work deemed hitherto impracticable has been brought into active
operation ; and by steady perseverance in the same course for a few years, a
general knowledge of the principles and doctrines held and taught by Cran-
mer, llidley, Parker, Whitgift, and their learned and venerable coadjutors,
will be widely diffused, and rendered accessible to every member of the
Church of England. Let it also be remembered that the subscription is not
asked to be expended in eleemosynary or charitable efforts, although the im-
portance of the object might well justify such an appeal, and cause it to be
readily responded to. The annual advance or deposit of a pound is not
solicited as a contribution : it is received that the subscriber may have re-
turned to him, as already stated, a large amount of books, exceeding in
quantity what could be offered him by common sale, and far superior to any
editions yet printed, both as to the intrinsic value of the contents and the
Editorial labour bestowed upon them. And by thus having books to the
value of the subscription, persons of w'ealth may supply many individuals
among the clergy, and students of divinity, with works which it is most im-
portant for them to possess, i)ut for which it may not be practicable or
convenient to them to subscribe. Tin-: Parkkh Society is indeed a general
— a National effort, antl tlie Council cannot doubt that it will have the best
wishes and active support of every one who duly estimates the value of tiiose
faithful and devoted followers of our blessed l^eiiecmcr who are revered as
the Eatiicrs of the Kelbrmed English Church — men who counted not their
lives dear unto them, when platetl in tiie balance against the blessings which,
by laborious and devoted efforts, they sought to secure to this Protestant
Land.
10 TIIK r,AW.S OK THE SOCIKTY.
LAWS OF THE PARKER SOCIETY.
I. — That the Society shall be called The Parker Society, and that its
objects shall be — first, the reprinting, without abridgment, alteration, or
omission, of the best Works of the Fathers and early Writers of the
Reformed English Church, published in the period between the accession of
King Edward VI. and the death of Queen Elizabeth ; secondly, the printing
of such remains of other Writers of the Sixteenth Century as may appear
desirable (including, under both classes, some of the early English Transla-
tions of the Foreign Reformers) ; and thirdly, the printing of some manu-
scripts of the same authors, hitherto unpublished.
II, — That the Society shall consist of such a number of members, being
subscribers of at least One Pound each annually, as the Council may deter-
mine ; the subscription to be considered due on the First day of January in
each year, in advance, and to be paid on or before such a day as the Council
may fix ; sufficient notice being given of the day appointed.
III. — That the management of the Society shall be vested in a President,
a Treasurer, an Honorary Librarian, and a Council of twenty-four other
subscribers, being members of the Established Church, and of whom not
less than sixteen shall be Clergymen. The Council and Officers to be
elected annually by the subscribers, at a General Meeting to be held in the
month of May ; and no persons shall then be proposed who are not already
members of the Council, or Officers, unless their names shall have been
transmitted to the Secretaries on or before the 15th of April in the current
year, by nominations in writing, signed by at least five subscribers. And
that there be two Secretaries appointed by the Council ; also, that the
Council have power to fill all vacancies during the year.
IV. — That the accounts of the receipt and expenditure of the Society
shall be examined every year, previously to the General Meeting, by four
Auditors, two of them selected from the Council, and two appointed by the
preceding General Meeting.
V. — That the funds shall be expended in payment of the expenses
incurred in producing the works published by the Society, so that every
member not in arrear of his annual subscription shall receive a copy of
every work published by the Society during the year, for each sum of One
Pound subscribed, without any charge for the same ; and that the number
of copies printed in each year shall be limited to the quantity required for
the number actually subscribed for,
VI. — That every member of the Society who shall intimate to the Council
a desire to withdraw, or who shall not pay the subscription by the time
REPORT OF THE AUDITORS.
II
appointed, shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Society ; and no
member shall at any time incur any liability beyond the annual subscription.
VII.— That, after the commencement of the proceedings, no rule shall be
made or altered excepting at a General fleeting, and after notice of the
same has been communicated to the members by circulars, or by advertise-
ment in two London daily newspapers, at least fourteen days before the
General Meeting.
VIII.— Donations and Legacies will be thankfully received ; the amount
of which shall be expended by the Council in supplying copies of the pub-
lications to clerical, or other public libraries, destitute of funds to purchase
the same, and for such other purposes, connected with the objects of the
Society, as the Council may determine.
REPORT OF THE AUDITORS.
The Office of the Parker Society,
33, Southampton Street, Strand, London, 30th May, 1842.
The Auditors of the Parker Society having examined the Accounts for the
year 1841, with the general statement of the Receipts and Expenditure,
and the vouchers for the same,
Report, That the said Accounts appear to be correct and satisfactory ; and
that there is now a balance in hand of cash, at Messrs. Herries, Earquhar,
and Co.'s, amounting to £70.. 19, with an Exchequer Bill for £500 and
interest thereon.
They further report. That the Account for 1841 cannot be finally made up
till the last book printed with the subscription for that year is ready ; and
that the amount estimated to be paid thereon is about £480.
He>'RY Pownall.
Joseph Hoare.
JosiAH Pratt, Jun.
FURTHER REPORT OF THE AUDITORS.
The Auditors of the Parker Society having examined the items of Receipt
and Expenditure since their last report, completing the Accounts for the year
1841, find the same to be correct and satisfactory.
And they further report. That the following is a correct Abstract of tlie
Receipts and Expenditt.ro of the Society for the first year of its proceedings,
leaving a balance of £110..2..7, for the year 1841, iu the hands of the
'^''^'^'''- IIkxrv Pownall.
JoSKl'H IIOARE.
,m June, 1812. JOS'AU PUATT, JuN.
12 ABSTIIACT 01" Tin: CASH ACCOUNT.
AN ABSTRACT OF THE RECEIPTS AND OF
For the
Received. £. s.
Received for the Sul>scnptions of Members 4113 15
D:)nalion, Sir Waller R. Farquhar, Bart 5 0
Ditto, Rev. M. S. Wall, Student of Christ Cliurcli, "^
Oxford j"
Ditto, W. A. Garratt, Esq
Ditto, George Stokes, Esq
Ditto, Misses Ridley
10 0
o
0
0
5
0
0
2
0
0
4140 15 5
Balance of the Exchequer Bill Account for the year 1841,")
being the amount received for Interest and increased^ 115 17 10
Premium on the temporary investment 3
Total of Receipts for the jear £4256 13 3
ABSTRACT OF THE CASH ACCOUNT. 13
39 0 10
THE EXPENDITURE OF THE PARKER SOCIETY,
Year 1841.
Paid. £, s. d.
Paid for Printing:, Circulars, Plans, Postap:e, Stationery,
and various expenses in the formation of the Society
(not including any charge for personal services), previous
to 17th November, 1840
Printing and Paper of the Books published by the Society 7
f ,^ lL^ ' C 2265 7 9
for the year 1841 i
Binding and delivering ditto 805 0 5
Insurance from Fire 4 17 6
F-dilorial expenses 310 0 0
Boots purchased, and for Transcripts 4Q 17 4
Plans of the Society, Reports, Circulars, Lists of Members, }
TAJ.-, ( 263 6 1
and Advertisements ^
Kcmuiuuv.tion to Agents in London for receiving sub-
scriptions, and otherwise, in connexion with the business
of the Society, and use of the Committee-roon), before 1
the establishment of the Office
Rent of Office, Salary of Registrar, and Wages, half a
year, to the end of 1841
i'urniture and fittings for the Office and Store-rooms 72 7 9
Stationery and Account Books 26 18 10
Incidentals, Postage, Carriage, Coals, and various petty
expenses
174 15 0
80 3 8
Total of Expenditure for the year 4146 10 8
Balance, Cash in the Treasurer's hands 110 2 7
Total £4256 13 3
Uknry Povvnali., 1
Joseph Hoare, > Auditors.
JusiAH Pratt, Jun., )
14 MST OF THE MEMBERS.
THE FOLLOWING NAMES, WITH OTHERS, IN THE WHOLE MORE THAN
ARE IN THE LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS FOR THE YEAR 1841, TO
THE PARKER SOCIETY.
HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY ADELAIDE, QEEEN DOWAGER.
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE ALBERT.
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF PRUSSIA.
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUSSEX.
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUCHESS OF KENT.
His Grace the DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE.
His Grace the DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.
The Most Honourable the MARQUIS OF SALISBURY.
The Most Honourable the MARQUIS OF BUTE.
The Most Honourable the MARQUIS OF CHOLMONDELEY.
The Most Honourable the MARQUIS OF DOWNSHIRE.
The Most Honourable the MARQUIS OF ORMONDE.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF GALLOWAY.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF CHICHESTER.
The Right Honourable the EARL HOWE.
The Right Honourable the EARL OF CLANCARTY.
The Right Honourable the EARL JERMYN.
The Right Honourable VISCOUNT ARBUTHNOTT.
The Right Honourable VISCOUNT DE VESCI.
The Right Honourable VISCOUNT LORTON.
The Right Honourable and Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF LONDON.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF LLANDAFF.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF CHESTER.
The (late) Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF RIPON.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF LICHFIELD.
The (late) Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF CHICHESTER.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF SODOR AND MANN.
The Right Honourable and Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF CLOGHER.
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF DOWN AND CONNOR.
The (late) Right Rev. the LORD BISHOP OF OSSORY FERNS AND LEIGHLIN,
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF OSSORY, FERNS, AND LEIGHLIN.
The Honourable and Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF KILLALOE .
The Right Reverend the LORD BISHOP OF CALCUTTA.
The (late) Right Reverend the BISHOP OF EDINBURGH.
The Right Reverend the BISHOP OF MORAY.
The Right Reverend the BISHOP OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
The Right Reverend the BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY.
The Right Reverend the BISHOP OF VIRGINIA.
The Right Honourable LORD LYTTELTON.
The Right Honourable LORD CALTHORPE.
The Right Honourable LORD RAYLEIGH.
The Right Honourable LORD TEIGNMOUTH.
The Right Honourable LORD ASHLEY, M.P. (President.) ,
The Right Honourable and Reverend LORD WRIOTHESLEY RUSSELL."
The Right Honourable and Reverend LORD ARTHUR HERVEY.
The Right Honourable LORD GEORGE A. HILL.
LIST OF THE MEMBERS. 15
The Right Honourable Mr. JUSTICE ERSKIXE.
The Right Hon. HENRY GOULBURX, M.P. for the University of Cambridge,
The Very Reverend GEORGE WADDIXGTOX, D.D., De.a.n of Dlrham.
The Very Reverend THOMAS GARXIER, D.C.L., Dean of Winchester.
The Very Reverend HUGH PEARSOX, D.D., Dean of Salisbury.
The Honourable and Very Reverend EDWARD RICE, D.D., Dean of Gloucester.
The Very Reverend THOMAS TURTOX, D.D., Dean of Peteborough, Regius
Professor of Divinity, Cambridge.
The Very Reverend F. AXSOX, Dean of Chester.
The Very Reverend THOMAS BUXBURY GOUGH, Dean of Derry.
The Honourable and Very Reverend JOSEPH BOURKE, Dean of Ossory.
The Very Reverend JoHX CHAIXE, Dean of Connor.
The Very Reverend T. P. LE FAXU, De.an of Emly.
The Very Reverend JAMES STAXXUS, De.^n of Ross.
The Honourable and Very Reverend WILLIAM HERBERT, Dean ofM.^nchester.
The Very Reverend F. JEUXE, D.D., Dean of Jersey.
The Very Reverend ROBERT DALY, D.D., Dean of St. Patrick's.
The Honourable and Reverend T. W. LAW, Chancellor of Bath and Wells.
The Reverend Dr. DEALTRY, Chancellor of Winchester.
The Reverend H. RAIKES, Chancellor of Chester.
The Venerable Archdeacon BERXERS.
The Vener.\.ble Archdeacon BEVAJX.
The Venerable Archdeacon BROWXE.
The Venerable Archdeacon HARE.
The Vener.vble Archdeacon HODSOX.
The Venerable Archdeacon HOARE.
The Venerable Archdeacon LAW.
The Venerable Archdeacon LY''ALL.
The Venerable Archdeacon PHILPOT.
The Venerable Archdeacon SHIRLEY.
The Venerable Archdeacon SPOOXER.
The Venerable Archdeacon S. WILBERFORCE.
The Venerable Archdeacon MAXT.
The Venerable Archde.\.con MOXSELL.
The Venerable Archdeacon OLDFIELD.
The Vener-vble Archdeacon POWER.
The Venerable Archde.vcon STOPFORD.
The Honour.\ble and Venerable Archdeacon H. S. STOPFORD.
The Venerable Archdeacon AUSTIX.
The Venerable Archdeacon THORP, Warden of the University of Durham.
The Reverend Dr. GRAHAM, Master of Christ's College, and late Vice-Chan-
CELLOR of the UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.
The Reverend Dr. ARCHDALL, Master of Emmanuel College, and present
Vice-Ch.vncellor or the University of Cambridge.
The Reverend Dr. WORDSWORTH, late M.aster of Trinity College, Cambridge.
The Reverend W. WHEWELL, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge,
The Reverend Dr. TATHAM, Master of St. John's College, Cambridge.
The Reverend Dr. PLUMPTRE, M.aster of University College, 0.\ford.
The Reverend Dr. FOX, Provost of Queen's College, Oxford.
The Reverend Dr. SYMOXS, Warden of Wadham College, Oxford.
The Reverend Dr. THACKERAY, Provost of King's College, Cambridge.
The Reverend Dr. AIXSLIE, M.aster of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge.
The Reverend Dr. FREXCH, Master of Jesus College, Cambridge.
JOSHUA KIXG, Esq., D.C.L., President of Queen's College, Cambridge.
The Reverend Dr. PROCTER, Master of Catherine Hall, Cambridge.
The Reverend Dr. WEBB, Master of Clare Hall, Cambridge.
The Reverend Dr. HAMPDEN, Principal of St. Mary Hall, and Regius Pro-
fessor OF Divinity, Oxford.
The Reverend Dr. CRAMER, Principal of New-Inn Hall, and Public Or.\tor,
Oxford.
The Reverend E. CARD WELL, Principal of St. Alb.an's Hall, Oxford,
The Reverend Dr. SADLEIK, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin.
The Very Reverend Dr. LEE, Principal of the University of Edinburgh.
The Reverend Dr. AVILLIAMSON, Head Master of Westminster School.
The Rev.rend Dr. WORDSWORTH, Head Master of Harrow School.
&c., &c., &c., &c., &c,
A complete lut of the 7iiembers of the Parker Societi/ for 1841 has been printed, and
tent tc each subscriber ivith the last volume for that year.
16 COUNCIL AND oriicniis.
THE COUNCIL AND OFFICERS FOR 1812 3.
President.
The Eight Honourable Lord Ashley, M.P,
Treasurer.
Sir Walter R. Farquiiau, Bart.
Council.
Rev. R. G. Baker. — Rev. C. Benson, Master of the Temple. — Rev. E.
BiCKERSTETH. JoHN BRIDGES, EsQ. JoHN BrUCE, EsQ. ReV. GuY
Bryan. — Rev. Richard Burgess. — Rev. Samuel Carr. — Hon. William
CowPER. — Rev. W. H. Cox, Vice Principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford. — Rev.
J. W. Cunningham. — Rev. Thomas Dale. — Rev. Dr. Dealtry, Chancellor
of Winchester. — Rev. Joh> Harding. — Rev. Edward Hoare. — Rev. T.
H, Horne, Canon of St. Paul's. — Hon. Arthur Kinnaird — Rev. Dr.
Mortimer, Head Master of the City of London School — Hon. and Rev.
B. W. Noel. — Henry Pownall, Esq. — Rev. Josiah Pratt, Jun. — Rev.
M. M. Preston. — Rev. Daniel Wilson.
Honorary Librarian.
George Stokes, Esq., Colchester.
Editorial Secretary.
Rev. James Scholefield, Regius Professor of Greek in the University of
Cambridge.
Secretary for General Business.
William M. Thomas, Esq., at the Office of the Society, 33, Southampton
Street, Strand, London.
Auditm's.
Rev. R. Hankinson, and Joseph Hoare, Esq.
Banhers.
Messrs. Herries, Farquhar, and Co., No. 16, St. James's Street.
REGULATIONS FOR DELIVERY OF THE BOOKS PUBLISHED
BY THE SOCIETY.
I. They will be delivered, free of expense, at the Office, or within three miles of the
General Post Office, London.
II. They will be sent to any place in England beyond the distance of three miles from the
General Post Office, by any conveyance a Member may point out. In this case the
parcels will be booked at the expense of the Society, but the carriage must be paid by
the Members to whom they are sent.
III. They will be delivered, free of expense, at any place in London which a Member, resi-
dent in the country, may name.
IV. They may remain at the Office of the Society until the Members apply for them, but, in
that case, the Society will not be responsible for any damage which may happen from
fire, or other accident.
V. They will be sent to any of the Correspondents, or Agents of the Society, each Member
paying the Correspondent, or Agent, a share of the carriage of the parcel in which the
books were included. Arrangements arc making for the delivery on this plan in many
of the cities and large towns where a sufficient number of members reside ; and it will
he esteemed a favour if gentlemen who are willing to further the objects of the Parker
Society, by taking charge of the books for the Members in their respective neighbour-
hoods, will write to the Office on the subject.
VI. They will be delivered in Edinburgh and Dublin as in London, and forwarded from
thence to Members in other parts of Scotland and Ireland, in the same manner as is
mentioned above with respect to England. y^
THE OFFICE OF THE PARKER SOCIETY, 33, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND, LONDON. ^
O
BIMOiNL^ SECT. AIJG^
BX Hutchinson, Roger
5133 The works of Roger
H87 Hutchinson
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