A Treatise of the Cohabitation Of the Faithful with the Unfaithful Part 13

[[Heb. 10.]]

Call to rem?beraunce (saithe he) the dayes that are pa.s.sed / in the which after ye hadd receyued light / ye endured a great fighte of aduersities / partely while all men wondered and gased ay yowe for the shame and tribulacion that was done vnto yow / partely while ye became companions of them which so pa.s.sed theyr tyme. For ye became partakers also of the afflictions which happened thorow my bondes / d toke in worthe the spoyling of your goodes / and that with gladnes / Knowing in your selues / how that ye haue in heau? a better d an enduring substaunce.

Caste not awaye therfor your confidence / which hath a greate recompense of rewarde. For ye haue neade of pacience / that after ye haue doone the will of G.o.d / ye might receyue the promise. For yet a very litill while / and he that shall comme / will comme / and wyll not tarye. But the iuste shall lyue by faithe. And if he withdrawe hymself my soule shall haue no pleasure in hym. It is not we that withdrawe ourselues vnto d.a.m.naci / but we partayne vnto fayth / to the wynning of the soule. This truly is a sownde and wholsome doctrine / to cleaue faste vnto this / is to pleas G.o.dd / and to glorifie hym / adde also to promote the saluacion of the brethern.

[[The deathe d persequution of the sainctes doth glorifie G.o.dd.]]

Therfor whils theise men do replie / what shuld come to the encrease of glorie of G.o.dd / or what commoditie shuld comme to Christe of thos my labors and daungers which I shuld sustayne for religion? wittingly and willingly they do disproue the doctrine of the apostle / which doth playnly witnes / not in theis places only which we haue alledged / but in many others also / that both G.o.dd is glorified by our sufferinges d calamities which we do sustayne for religions sake / and also that the weake brethern are therby edified / of whom it is certayne that by dissemblinge and denyinge of Religion they be offended / confirmed in ther errours / and indeede destroyed.

For that most excellent prophete Dauid /

[[Psal. 116.]]

Righte deere (saithe he) in the fighte of the lorde / is the dathe of his sainctes. And sainct Peter saith Dearly beloued /

[[1. Pet. 4.]]

maruayle not that ye are proued by fyre / which thynge is to trye yow as though sum strauge thinge happened vnto yow / but reioyce / in as mutch as ye are partakers of Christes pa.s.sions / that when his glorie appearith / ye maye be mery and gladd. If ye be rayled vpon / for the name of Christe / happie are ye / for the glorie and the sprite of G.o.dd rest.i.th vpon you. On ther parte he is euill spoken of / but on your parte he is glorified / and so furthe. And sainct Paule dothe p.r.o.nounce that it is a most greuus synne of ony m do offend the weake by his euell example. Thy brother doth perish (saithe he) for whom Christe died. When ye synne so against the brethern / and wounde thier weake conscience / ye synne againste Christ. Again we are saied in the scriptures to haue saued hym whom we haue by sounde doctrine and our goode example / either reteyned in the waye of the lorde / or haue brought hym backe that w?t astraye. But if a greater regarde vs to be had of wife / childr? and houshold then of pure religion / so that for that regard / religion seeme either to be dissembled or denyed: Yf it be euill for religions sake to dissente from them that be of kindred and alliannce / yea and for religion to depart from a lawfull wyfe / and in sum / for faithe to disagree with all fr?des and familiars / shall we saye that the lorde did teach euill / which sayed in the gospell?

[[Mat. 10.]]

Thincke not that I am come to sende peace vnto the earthe.

I came not to send paeace but a swearde. For I am come to sett a man at variance against his father / and the doughter against her mother / and the doughter in lawe against her mother in lawe. And a mnes foes shalbe they that are of his own housholde. For fr hence forthe ther shalbe fyue in one howse deuyded / thre against two / and two against thre.

[[Luc. 12.]]

The father shalbe deuided against the sonne / and the sonne against the father. This not spok? as though that dissension in itself did pleas G.o.dd the autor of all peace / but bicause he will haue that peace which stondithe vppon euell and wicked thinges broken / and haue vs all conioyned in that which is holy and goode. And therfore we do not allowe wh? mariages fr?dshippes and leagues are broken without necessitie / and vnder an vntrue pretence of religion. Agayn we do dissalowe thos which are kept againste the cmaundement of G.o.dd with playne hurte of true religion / and open denyinge of the faithe. All persons must bende themselues to peace and concorde so far as they maye / with retayninge of sowndnes in religi: But wh? it can not be retayned / let none thincke that to keape peace with them he must cmitt Idolatrie.

[[1. Cor. 7.]]

And therfor the Apostle of Christ saith: If any brother haue a wyfe / whiche beleauith not / if she be cont?t to dwell with hym / let hym not putt her awaye. &c. But if the vnbeleauinge do departe let hym depart. A brother or a Syster is not in subiecti to such. But G.o.dd hathe called vs in peace. Euen so truly it is an vnnatural thinge not to norishe the children / or to neglect the aged par?tes / or to forsake frendes and familiars. G.o.dds worde doth euery wheare commaude that we shuld do reuerence and dutie to them to whom by the lawe of G.o.dd / and man / we owe it. In which sense we do willingly admitte that sayinge of the Apostle. That he which doth not prouide for them which be of his howshold / both denieth the faith / and is wors th? an infidele. We do acknowledg that they are deuels and not men whosoeuer they be / which do wickedly disturbe wel ordered policies / d howsholdes. But yet in all theis we do also acknowledge this / d we se it taughte in the whole scripture as for an vndoubted truithe / that the lord G.o.dd is better th? all theise / that the couenant and bonde of religi doth excede all other bondes in the world. And that the lord doth both so will and cmaude / that we shuld esteame him aboue all thiges / d loue hym aboue al thinges / and that when he speakith we all shuld holde our peace / that there we shuld not thincke at all of coloured expositions and excuses / but only of symple and playne obedience / such / as we reade that Abraham shewed vnto G.o.dd / wh G.o.dd

[[Gen. 12.]]

[[Heb. 11.]]

[[Gen. 22.]]

[[Heb. 11.]]

commaunding hym / did go out of his countrie into a straunge lande / and when he did not refuse to sacrifice vnto the lorde his only Sne / withough suspicion of crueltie. Truly in the hold gospell the lord dothe saye.

[[Luc. 14.]]

If a man come to me / and hate not his father / and mother / and wyfe / and childr? / and brethern / and systers / yea and his own lyfe also / he can not be my disciple. And whosoeuer doth not beare his crosse and comme after me / can not be my disciple. They truly which haue beene content to beare this ioke of the lords / haue neither lost themselues / yea thoughe they haue beene slayne of persequatours / nor yet their familie / which they dyd leaue in trobles and penurie of thinges. For by teachinge of experience and witnessing of histories / we haue lerned / that G.o.dd by such miracles as haue beene done at the graues of martirs hathe witnessed / that they which wer killed / wer not loste but saued, that they wer not deade but lyuing.

Furthermore we c not say nay but that G.o.dd hathe blessed the families of such slayne martirs / and that he hath moued the hartes of goode men which haue receyued thos abiects and miserable perss into their custodie / so that they wanted nothinge. Besids this the G.o.dly do knowe that in this world they must honger / and that they must be exercised with diuers aduersities / that they may be made like vnto the image of Christ who was himself in all pointes tempted for vs /

[[Heb. 4.]]

lyke as we are / but yet without synne. But now this remaynith as yet to be discussed / which theis men do take as for an oracle / and most euid?t truithe.

[[Wether it sufficith to kepe faith in the harte, and not confesse it with mouthe.]]

That it is sufficient if a m do keape the true faithe in his harte / and that ther is no farther neade of outward confession / through which thow shuldest be drowned in the deape of afflictions. Yf it doth suffice to beleaue in harte / and the confession with the mowthe seme not necessarie / wherfor I praye you Hath the lorde sayed? Euery one which confessithe me before Men. &c. Beholde he saythe before Men. But faith which stickith still in the harte is not brought forth before men. Yea it is not to be called a confession / when faith doth lurcke in the hart. For Confession doth properly bringe forth that which dyd lye hidden wythin. The Apostle therfor taking from vs all doubt in this controuersie.

[[Rom. 10.]]

The worde (sayth he) is nyghe the / euen in thy mouthe / and in thy harte. This same is the worde of faythe / whiche we preache.

For if thow knowledg with thy mouth that Iesus is the lorde / and beleaue in thy harte that G.o.d raysed hym vpp from deathe thow shalt be safe. For to beleaue with the harte iustifieth / and to knowledge with the mowthe maketh a man safe. what canst thow desire to be more playnly and euidently spok? in this matier? Thow dost clearely heare that thow takest awaye saluacion if thow dost cut of the confession of the mouthe from the beleif of the hart. Yea and the beleif of the harte is that nature that it c not lye hydd / but must of necessite breake forth to be confessed with the mouthe. Yf the confession of the mouthe neadith not / neyther then shall ther neade ony preachinge of the truithe. But the Apostles / bushopps and faithfull martirs of Christ / wh? they preached euen amonge the wicked / haue most bitterly condemned Idolatrie / and all doctrine and worshipp which doth not agre with the holy gospell / and affirmed that the gospell only dothe teache the true worshipp of G.o.dd. By that confession of mouthe they did glorifie G.o.dd / they did disanull Iudaisme and paganisme / and did erecte many holy congregracions throughe the worlde / which by holdinge their peace and keapinge the true faith within their harte they shuld neuer haue edified. Wherof euery man seith that the confession of the mouthe is allwayes necessarie / and that it is required of euery one of vs. The notable examples also of the excellent seruauntes of G.o.dd ctayned in the scriptures do teache the same.

[[1. Reg. 19.]]

That same gret prophet of G.o.dd Helias was ones of that mynde that he only of all the true worshippers of G.o.dd was lefte alyue vppon the earthe. But he hearith eu? of the lord hymself / which sayeth / I haue lefte me seuen thousand in Israel / of which neuer m bowed his knee vnto Baal nor Kyssed hym with his mouthe. Heere is nothinge spoken of the secret faithe of the harte / but of the outward fruites of true faithe. For theis wer outward thinges / to bowe the knees vnto Baal / and to kisse his Image with their mouth. It is saied that they did not theis thinges / and therfor are they taken for true and veray worshippers of G.o.dd. The lorde / if he hadd thoughte that which theise our men do thincke / he might haue made mencion of the faithe of the harte without the outward confession / especially seing thos tymes wer so daungerous that Helias himself did flie into the wildernes. But the lord doth praise in his faithfull the outwarde confessi / which was made in worcke / rather th?

in wordes. Wherfor we must shew forthe the faith of the harte both by deedes and wordes / after the exeample of theise seuen thowsande confessors whom G.o.d doth praise. We must not goo vnto vnholy a.s.semblees / we must not bowe our knees nor vncouer our heades before Idolls / we must not kisse thos thinges / which are contrarie to the gospell.

[[Dan. 3.]]

Yf ony other in the whole world / thos the princes (of whom mencion is made in Daniell) might haue coloured ther Idolatrie / but they chose rather to submitt themselues to cruel punishment / then to bowe their knee before that Image which the kinge did sett vpp to be worshipped. Their men of ours wold haue sayed. It shalbe better to kepe faithe in the harte for the profitinge of many / then rashly to poore it furthe to the hurte of an infinite number. For so longe as we are safe / the miserable captiues shall receyue gret and many benefites: Yea and also we priuely may promote the truithe in the princes courte. But by this same vnceasonable confession / confusion of all thinges shall euen at ons ouerwhelme all theise thinges. And with out doubt they wold haue added that the Image which the kyng hadd sett vp was not altogether to be deputed amg prophane thinges / forbicause that the true G.o.d had shewed the kinge a visi or an Image / which did conteyn great misteries of the kingdome of G.o.dd / after the forme of which Image / NabuG.o.donozor hadd caused this Image to be made and graued / which Image the faithfull for the cause might beholde and reuerence as the worke of G.o.dd. But thos valieant / and glorious Martirs do make menti of no suche thinge /

[[Dan. 3.]]

and though they did knowe the kinges mynd well inough in this matier / yet they do playnly saye to the kinge. Be this known vnto the (o kynge) that we wil not serue they G.o.ddes / nor do reuer?ce vnto that Image which thow hast sett vpp. Neither did they only vse this libertie of speache before the kyng / but willingly they offered ther bodies to all daungers / yea eu? to most fearfull fires.

[[Dan. 6.]]

Daniel also did not thicke that G.o.dd was religiusly inough worshipped and serued with the inwarde faithe of the harte / except he had added the outward confession also. For when thos hethen princes did laye snares for hym / of which he was not ignorant / and therfor might peaceably haue prayed to the lorde within his walles at home / yet wold he not dissemble in this matier. For what doth the scripture saye? This / that when Daniel perceyued what the kinge hadd cmaunded / he w?te into his howse / and the windows of his wall towardes Hierusal? stode open. There kneled he down vpon his knees thre times a daye / he made his pet.i.tion and praised his G.o.dd / and so opened he his confession to G.o.dd. This same most holy prophet of G.o.dd mighte seme to be beside hymself thus willingly to procure euill to hymself / and as it wer without neade to prouoke the enemies of Religion against hym: but the scripture doth not settfurth vnto vs ony error / no vncsideratnes or rashe boldnes in this matier / but doth teache vs playnly to yelde vnto G.o.dd confession in deedes and in wordes. Vnto theis examples of the holy scripture we will now adde other thinges which do agre with them (for thos thinges which do diagre from the scriptures we pa.s.se litill or nothing at all / what autoritie so euer they haue amonge m?)

[[Ecclesiast. hist. lib. 6. cap. 28.]]

This we will do out of the Ecclesiasticall historie. Eusebius entreating of such things as Origen did / makith mencion that Origen did mightily oppugn a new heresie which did springe vpp in his tyme / it was called the heresie of Helchesaites / and at l?ghth he did happily extinguishe it. He shewith that they amg many other things did holde this heresie / that if a man did denie in persequution he synned not at all / forbicause that he which is stable and confirmed in his harte / although he doth denie with the mouthe for necessitie / yet as touching the harte he abidith in faithe. By which wordes truly euery man may perceyue that the same pestilent errour is brought agayn as it wer out of h.e.l.l / in our age / and se that he ought cheifly to beware of it as of an heresie condemned. The same Eusebius in the viij. booke doth sett furth notable exples of many martirs of Christe which did frely confes the truith / out of whom I will recite vnto your G.o.dlynes theise few thinges / wich without doubt will be acceptable vnto all. They whos mynd (saithe he) was more readie and their faithe more stronge / suffered torments. Sum wer beaten with whippes / other were torm?ted with ir houes / sum other wer burned with fierye plates / of wh many indeed being weried did gyue ouer. But other did abide paciently euen to the end. Sum of the persequutours them selues verely / as thoughe they hadd vsed pitie / did bringe many of our m? to the wicked sacrifices / and made a noise as though thay hadd sacrificed / when indeede they hadd not sacrificed. Of sum other wh? they hadd not so mutch as come nighe the vncleane sacrifices / they did crye out / that they had already sacrificed d did now depart. Which wer only faultie (I praye you marcke theise wordes) in this / that they did with silence beare the fault which was obiected against them. Sum being taken vpp half alyue were thrown awaye as thoughe they hadd beene deade. Sum beinge drawn out by the feate / were accompted amonge them which hadd sacrificed. Other cryed out that they were Christians / and dyd glorie in the confessinge of that healthfull name. Many also with a greater confidence did testifie that they neither hadd / neither wold sacrifice euer.

Whos mouthes and eyes the torm?tours did forthewith beate / to cause them to holde ther peace / and they wer with violence thrust forthe as though they hadd done the thinge. For so the enemies of G.o.dlynes did mutch esteame it / if at least wise they did but seeme to bring to pas that which they wolde. Many other thinges like vnto this / might I add / partly out of the Tripart.i.ta historia / partly out of Eutropius. But theis are sufficient: And theis do plainly and euidently inough proue / that the lord doth require of true Christis / a true and playne confession of the mouthe / yea euen in the gretest daugers and furies of the persequutors and therfor that theise tenderlinges do most manifestly err / which do thincke otherwise / only to saue their filthie paunche.

[[Of ceremonies.]]

It remaynith now right Reuerend fathers / and most deare brethern in Christe that I shuld breifly touche also theis mens reasoninges of popishe Ceremonies / which I said at the begynning they do wittyly handle to persuade th?selues / and others / that no man by the partakinge of them doth either defile himself / or by it denie the religion of the gospell. And surly it is well known that the name of Ceremonies not being narowly weyed / hath bewitched the eyes of many / not only in this but in other controuersies of religion. It is therfor to be known that Ceremonies are nothinge els but holy rites. And of Ceremonies sum are called diuine which are inst.i.tuted (I saye) of G.o.dd himself / sum other are called humayne / such as are inuented by ms will.

[[Diuine ceremonies.]]

But of the dyuine or ceremonies of G.o.d / sum belonged to the olde poeple / of which the writinges of the prophetes and apostles do beare witnes that they wer abrogate in Christe. Sum do belonge to the new poeple that is to Christis / which were delyuered vnto them of Christe by the Apostles / and thos truly very fewe / as of holy a.s.semblees / of sacramentes / and certayn ecclesiasticall obseruacis / which are declared in the writiges of the Apostles.

[[Humaine ceremonies.]]

Of ceremonies enuented by man ther is almost neither measure nor end. For they wer enu?ted and established at dyuerse tymes / d that by diuers and sundry autors / and they were so delyuered and inst.i.tuted of them / that they do not only not consent with the holy scriptures but they be contrary to th? / insomutch that they do deface and corrupt the ordinaunces which G.o.dd hath inst.i.tuted / and do put them out of place. Of this kinde is that churche deckinge and dressinge / in which Images haue the cheif place. Of the same sorte also is Ma.s.singe / straunge apparell / synging / and feastes appointed to saintes which be in heauen / and other innumerable of this sorte. All which truly the papistes do adorne with the t.i.tle of ceremonies / which wh? the simple and such as haue litill knowledge do heare / they do Imagine sum holy thinge as thoughe that all theis thinges were sent down out of heau? from the lord G.o.dd hymself to be kept.

But heere we do admonishe men that they must stey sumwhat / and must sumwhat more diligently make difference betwene ceremonies / and must more narowly loke / whether that theis ceremonies (of which we do ctend) be of G.o.dd or of man. Euery man knowith that none in defiled by such ceremonies as are of G.o.dd. And he which denieth that a man is defiled by humayn ceremonies / he seith nothing at all. For though I do not again vrge that which I saied eu? nowe / that thos humayn ceremonies are contrary to G.o.ddes worde / and do defile G.o.dds ordinaunces / corrupt them and hyde them / can that be obscure or vnknown to ony m which our lord Iesus Christe doth playnly with expressed wordes bringe out of Esaye?

[[Mat. 15.]]

They do serue me in vaine / teachinge the doctrines and preceptes of men.

[[t.i.t. 1.]]

Again that which Paule doth affirme that they be commaundements of men that tourn awaye the truthe? And that the holy Martir of Christe propownced?