A Treatise of the Cohabitation Of the Faithful with the Unfaithful Part 6

Paule doth speake / when of him self he saieth: I am made all vnto all m? / that I might wynne manye: Vnto the Iues / I am made as a Iue / to th? which are without the lawe / as though I were without a lawe. This sentence he hath also confirmed by examples:

[[Actor. 16.]]

For when he was required to circucise Timothie / because that the custumme which was yet in force might be kept / he did it: But when they wolde enforce him to the ouerthrowig of the christi libertie / that he shulde likewise circ.u.mcise t.i.tus /

[[Gal. 2.]]

In no wyse wolde he gyue place vnto them / no not for the s.p.a.ce of one houre / and because (saith he) false brethren came in / to espie out / or to betray our libertie. S. Paule did obserue these thinges then / when it might be done without an euell mynd / when no hurte shuld ensue of it: The cause d end why Paule did it / was to auoide the offendinge of the beleauing Iues / les yf he did it not / they shuld therby be alienated and turned awaye from Christes gospell / which they had newly receyued. But we must not compare these ceremonies of the old lawe with the Inuencions of men / they can not be iustly compared with Ma.s.sing: They were plainly taught in G.o.ddes worde / but these ma.s.ses and popishe Idolatries are thrust vnto vs by the subtiltie of the deuell / and craftye deceyuing of m?.

They were thinges indiffer?t / and as such thinges might be well vsed. But these are thinges vtterly euell and can not be well vsed. They after Christes ascenscion into heau? wer not forbidden / and therfor might be obserued / so long as the Temple and common welth of Israel did ctinue and the citie was vndestroyed / and vntill the full reuelinge and preachinge of the gospell was had / vntill by it the churche of Christe / which was to be gathered of the Iues and gentils / were well / and fully vnited and knitt together.

[[Aug. Epistol. 19. ad Hieron.]]

Neyther wer those ceremonies / as Augustine saith / suddenly and without honor to be buried and throwen awaye. But these ma.s.ses / and such popish supersticions / which are fa.r.s.ed full with Idolatrie / alwayes haue beene / are / and shalbe forbidd?.

Those thinges might therfor be keapt and obserued for a tyme / so that men did not vse them with that mynde (as I sayed) to be iustified by them. Wherfor yf thow wilt consider the matier it self / that is / the nature of the acte / Paule can neither be therin reprehended / nor yet can these dissemblige Ma.s.sehaunters vse his well doinge as a defence for their euell doinge: but much les can this be done / yf thou wilt searche out the mynde / councell / and entent of Paules doinge. Bothe these thinges these mayntayners of ma.s.sehaunting do want. For furst they are occupied in a thing which is contrary / and repugnant to G.o.dds worde / as it is already declared. Secondly / in thys their dissimulacion they do only seke themselues / for to thend that they maye retayne their riches / dignitie / and estimacion by falling to poperye they offend the weake and drawe them by their example from Christe to Antichrist / wheras Paule did herin obserue thinges commaunded in G.o.ddes worde / and th? to this ende only / les the beleauing Iues shuld fall backe fr Christ / and that he might the more easily drawe others / which yet beleaued not / to the gospell of Christe. Furthermore these men do saye / that they by their dissimulacion will auoide offence.

For (saye they) yf we shuld so vtterly forsake the Ma.s.se as ye wolde haue vs / we shulde be taken as wicked m? d euell doers / d so shall we geue great offence in out countrithes. I graute that these men do seke to auoyd offence / but what offence? eu?

the off?ce of the world. They will not offend / but whom?

Tyrautes / d such as ar the very limmes of antichrist. And why?

les they shuld procure against th?selues theyr wrath / poure / and tyrnie. But this is that offence / which Criste sayeth shuld not be auoided:

[[Mat. 15.]]

Let them alone (saith he of the Phariseis) They are blinde d the leaders of the blinde. Heere we must consider which be euell offences / and such as are to be auoyded indeed. Eu? those I say / which are an Impediment to the setting forth of the gospell / which do offend and hinder m? / be they simple / or wicked / that they do not embrace pure doctryne / and turne vnto Christe. Now beholde / I pray the / by cming to the Ma.s.se / what offence thou doest gyue? The Idolatrous d supersticious people / ar they not offended by this thy doing? Yeas verely.

For when they do se the haute their ma.s.ses / they say / these gospellers do cme to our ma.s.ses / which they wold not do yf our ma.s.ses wer so euell as thei call th?: wherfor we may perseuere d ctinue in our old purpose. And on the other parte / the weaker brethr? / which are but newly turned / d not farr entered into the knowledge of Christ / wh? they do se these better lerned professors / enseyng bearers / and chief men in the scole of Christ comme to the ma.s.se / they are taught to do the lyke: and wher before they wer perswaded not to comme at ma.s.ses / now they thincke that they were then deceyued / and that it is but a fonde precise scrupulositie so to abstayn from ma.s.ses: and it cometh to pas / that where they shuld go forwarde in the waye of truth / now they do go backe. Thus both the wicked and the G.o.dly / are offended by thy example: It is playne therfor that vnder the cloked colour of auoyding of offence / these men do fall into the very off?ce gyuing. They say morouer: It is nedefull to cdiscende vnto the weake: for there are many which are not persuaded that the ma.s.se is naught / and therfor are neyther ready to forsake their countrie / nor to dye in the quarell / whiche men yf they shulde perceyue that we did not come to ma.s.se / they wold not gyue then any ear or credite vnto vs in the other matiers and chief pointes of religion: wherfore we must gyue and yealde somwhat vnto their infirmitie / as Paule doth teache the Romayns. This they saye.

[[Rom. 14.]]

But what will Paule / I praye you / that we shuld yealde to the weake? This verily / fyrst that we shuld not please our selues: Agayne / that we shuld not so lyue after our own mynde / that we shulde ctemne their saluacion. We do graunte therfor that som thinge is to be gyuen vnto the infirmitie of the weake brother / but euen with Paule / we will not suffer that to be done / but in thinges indiffer?t. But those thinges which of them selues ar euell and forbidden of G.o.dd / must not be done in respect of any man.

[[Rom. 3.]]

For that same Rule doth stonde certayn which gyueth leaue to no m to do euell that goode maye comme theron. To abstayn / or not to abstayn from meates / was then a thing indiffer?t. In such thinges they which be stronger must beare with the Infirmitie of the weaker: but meate eating d Ma.s.sehauntinge are not lyke / for this is no thing indiffer?t / but manifestly euell / as it is sufficiently proued / and therfor it is not to be done in respect of bearing with any man that is weake. But are the weake alwayes to be borne with all in thinges indifferent? no truly / we must not alwayes yealde to the weake but only whylest they be taughte: And when they do vnderstonde the thing that is taught them / and yet do wauer and doubt of a wilful scrupulositie / their infirmitie is no longer to be norished nor born with all: For we must not so beare with them / that out libertie shal be in subiecti to their frowardnes / nor that therby we do hurte others by our example.

Agayn they obiect and saye: Yf we shuld do as ye wold haue vs to do / then must we eyther flye out of our coutrithe / or els forthwith shall we suffer death and so the congregatis shalbe left vtterly desolate / ther shall be none lefte to teache and norishe those afflicted m?bres which shall remayne in our churche: Better it is / that by our bearing and dissemblinge / ther do remayne yet sum leight / then that by doing as ye wold haue vs all together shuld be putt out.

[[1. Cor. 15.]]

If sum do remayne ther / it wil brust forthe at l?gthe / and a litill leau? will soure the whole lupe of dowe. &c. Truly for all this goodly clooke / it is easily perceyued that through this diss?bling the edifying of the churche is hindered and not furthered. These men pret?de with Athlas to beare vp heau? withe their shulders / but they do ouerthrow altogether: G.o.dd doth se more th? we / in the thinges which shall happen to the churche: We must obeye hym in seruyng hym d his churche with the cfessi of truthe. The issue / and succes / let vs cmitt vnto hym to whom the churche doth belonge: And let vs do that wherunto we ar called. The churche shall be destroyed th? / thow sayest: Let G.o.d care for that / he will well prouide for that / let vs not doubt. Wel maye theise m? be answered / as the lorde answered Peter / wh? he called hym / sayinge:

[[Ioan. 21.]]

folowe me: Peter made a staye at it and asked hym what Iohn shuld do. If I will (saith Christ) haue hym to tarye / what is that to the? do thow folowe me. So if thow aske in this case / what shall then be done with the churche? I aunswer / what is that to the? Do thow the thinge wher vnto thow art called.

Besids this oft? tymes the doctrine of the gospell is more sett furth / and better receyued / when it is mayntayned by deathe / and fleinge / then when by words only it is propownded and taught: for then men are taught by deedes / as before they wer by wordes: Haste thow confessed the gospell in wordes? This then remayneth for the to do: die / or flye for the gospell so shalt thou cfesse the same indede. And Let vs not feare the desolati of the churche / for wher one of our brethern dyeth / or flyeth for the doctrine / in his rowm shall rise vp a great sorte. But if we std and continue in dissemblinge / th? is the light of the truithe put owt / nether is there any cfession made indede.

They bringe in also the examples of Zacharie / Iohn the Baptist / the virgin Marie / and Ioseph / which in the corupted and infected tymes wh? they lyued dyd cme vnto the seruice of G.o.d in the T?ple of the Iues / The same thing maye be permitted to th? (they thincke) and that yt is as lawfull for th? to partake d vse the ceremonies in the popish churche be they neuer so corrupt. True it is that ther were many wicked doctrines and euill opinions at that tyme emongest the scribes and pharisees. But yet the estate of th? was far otherwise / th?

it is in our tyme: They hade corrupted the doctrine of the law and of iustificati. They were couetous / That thing which they dyd / Was done with out fayth / and therfor abhominable before G.o.d / yet the rite and maner of sacrificing apointed by G.o.ddes lawe was not chauged / for the same beastes were offered which the lawe dyd cmaude / the same daies were obserued / and ceremonies / and therfore it was lawfull to vse th? inasmoche as they hade the worde of G.o.dd for th?. And eiche m that so vsed th? receyued accordig to the measure of his faithe. For the corrupte doctrines / sent?ces and manieres of the priestes / Bishoppes and scribes / dyd not hurte at all the prophettes and G.o.dlie men which wer th? selues cleare fr th? / of a contrarie mynde to th? / in all thinges thinking according to G.o.dds worde / yea dyd also reproue and sharplie rebuke those thinges: which thing Augustine dothe witnesse as he is allegded. 23. q.

4. ca. Recedite. and in many other places there. Let our sacrificinge priestes do the same vnto vs at this daie. Let th?

celebrate the lordes supper and vse other ceremonies / so as by G.o.dds worde they be apointed / th? we will not draw backe at all / but vse th? / thoughe they th? selues thincke corruptlie / and liue more wickedlie / we shall bewaile / we shall admonishe / we shall reproue / we shall accuse th? / and they shall beare their owne synne. Their synne shall not hurte vs / nether will we absteyne frome the sacramentes for their nowghtines / but vse th?. In which doige we shall not cmunicate with their wickednes / for we shall vse the rite and ceremonie as the lorde cmauded / and inst.i.tuted. And this thing m?t Christ wh? he saide.

[[Matth. 23.]]

The scribes d pharisees do syt in Moses chaire / what they byd yow do / that do / but as they do / see that ye do not. So Christe commaunded the leper whom he hade cl?sed to go vnto the priest.

[[Luc. 2.]]

The blessed virgin likwise she might well after the birthe of our sauiour Christ offer the payre of Turtles or too yonge pigeons / because it was so commaunded in the lawe. By this example our men can not heare ma.s.se / because it is a thinge contrary to G.o.dds worde: But let these papists giue vnto vs the sacramentes / as Christe dyd inst.i.tute them / and we shall vse th? / and yet neuerthelesse reproue their wickednes. Nowe our men beinge thus at all pointes answered / and ouercommed / do flye to this atlenghth. Thoughe saye they it be a synne to go to Ma.s.se and suche popishe pelfe yet it is but a light synne / and not se seuerely to be reproued. What (say they) we do many thinges which we shuld not fo. but G.o.d forgyuithe th?. &c. To the last I aunswer: The goodnes of G.o.dd which doth forgyue synnes vnto them that be truly penit?t / doth not diminishe at all the gretnes of the synne. Wherfor I will aunswer only / to that they saye / that it is but a light synne. Which thinge whilest they do saye / they do not thincke this with themselues / that all synnes haue their proper wieght and burthen. For doinges and the nature of thinges done ar not to be considered simplie of themselues, but they ar to be weyed by G.o.dds worde and laws / by which they ar forbidd?: By it / wicked actes and the doinge of them ar to be iudged: And seing that the poure of the lawe and worde of G.o.d is all one in all cmaundmentes / by it / the weighte / burth? and greatnes of synne cmitted / is to be weyed considered and iudged.

[[Iacob. 2.]]

S. Iames therfor in this cause doth saye. He that hathe obserued the whole lawe / and dothe offend in one / is made giltye of all. Which sayinge truly is harde and sharpe / but most true / and teachith all men that they shuld not extenuate synne. But this place of Iames / is not to be vnderstded / as thoughe that all synnes wer equall and like.

[[August. Epist. 29. ad Hiero.]]

That doth Augustine truly and playnly denye: He saith that the Stoickes do go about to proue it / when they saye / that all vertues are cioyned and knitt together / so that he which hathe one of them hath all / and he that wt.i.th one wt.i.th all. For wisdome (saye they) is not fearefull / nott intemperate / nut vniuste / therfor it hath ioyned with it the vertues which be contrarie vnto these vices: And likewise iustice / str?ghthe / t?peraunce and other vertues are not vnwise / but are ioyned with wisdome / wheruppon they do conclude / that all vertues are conioyned and knitt together. Theise thinges / saith Augustine /

[[Iaco. 3.]]

do not agre with the holy scriptures / which do witnes.

[[1. Ioan. 1.]]

That in many thinges we do all offend / and If we saye that we haue no synne / we do deceyue our selues and ther is no truithe in vs. Wherfor seing that we synne in many thinges / and in synnynge we c not haue that vertue which is ctrarie to that synne which we do committ / and yet it may be that he which fallith in one synne / many be cstaunt in other vertues / the opinion of theis philosophers is fals. As for example: Be it / that one be of an hastye nature / or do exceade measure in eatinge / and yet he gyuith euery man his own / and will gyue his life in G.o.dds cause: though this man be fearce / and intemperate / yet is he called a iust m / and a stronge man.

S. Augustine doth also putt awaye the similitude of the stoicks / whiche is. That the man doth die in the waters / if they be but half a handfull ouer, his heade / aswell as he ouer whos heade they are / ten / or twentie cubites. This is no apte similitude / saith he / therfor let vs take an other more fitte for our purpose / of light namely and darcknes. Certaynly when one is in darcknes / the more he dothe departe and go out of it and drawith nighe vnto light / he begynnith the better to see sumwhat / and so though that yet he be compa.s.sed with darcknes / yet is he sumwhat partaker of the lighte. But he that wull knowe more of this matier / let hym reade that Epistle of Augustyne: Wher he prouith playnly / that all synnes ar not like / as the Stoicks did thincke: Now to return to our place / which we did rehearce. He that offendith in one / is giltie of all. Ther is no obseruacion of G.o.dds Lawe to be receued with an exception / as thoughe we might chose one parte of it to obserue / and separate or sett asyde the other parte at our will and pleasure to neglecte it. The commaundem?tes of the lawe ar conioyned of the lorde and knitt together / and so gyuen vnto vs: We must not now disseuer / and separate th? as we l.u.s.t / but without exception we must obserue the whole lawe. We must consider and loke vppon the Auctoritie of the lawe gyuer / which is G.o.dd / It is of force aswel in one cmaundement / as in the rest. This doth Iames seame to meane / when he saith:

[[Iacob. 2.]]

He that hath sayde / Thow shalt not committ adulterie / the same hath sayde / Thow shalt not kill. As if he shuld saye / he is no les contraried in any one of theise commaundem?tes / then in an other. And therfor (to adde this by the waye) let them wel consider what they do which do profes to receyue the gospell / and yet they do refuse ecclesiasticall disciplyne: Wheras the lorde / which hath reuealede and opened the gospell vnto vs by Christe / doth appoint discipline to be a parte therof. Theise men do synne against the whole lawe. The papistes do also synne herin / which do preache their parted righteousnes / as meritorius of congruitie. But to returne / this is also manifest / that he that synnith in one / is therfore giltie in all / for that as now by l.u.s.t and tentacion / he is caried into sum one transgression / and so dothe synne / euen in like manier shuld he offend in an other euill / if he wer a.s.saulted in the same sorte / and whith that same violence of tentacion. And Augustine in the place before alledged. doth saye. That therfore he is made giltie of all / bicause he synneth against charitie / vppon which the obseruacion of the whole lawe is grownded. To be short therfor / when we do thus fall into synne / we must not lightly tryfle it of and excuse it / sayinge that it is but light / and small: for synne is not to be considered of the matier / and manier of the action only / but of the force poure / and dignitie of G.o.dds worde which doth forbidd it. And yet les I shuld seeme to be to rigorus and strayte in this matier of ma.s.sehauntinge / let ther be hadd a consideracion / or difference of the matier / and doinge.

And truly I can not see / how this kinde of synne and doinge c be iudged to be light / or small / seing that it is a transgressi committed against the furst table of the lawe / in which the worship due vntto G.o.dd is cmauded which worshipp being sownde and safe in a m other vices and synnes ar the more easily corrected: And agayn this being corrupted / all other actes are most vnacceptable vnto G.o.dd. Whord by G.o.dds lawe is to be punyshed by deathe / yet is it a synne but against the .ii. table. And what shal we thincke then of spirituall whordome? how seuerely doth G.o.dd iudge it? how sharply ought it to be punished? If therfor thow dost consider the commandement which thou breakest / it is of G.o.d: If the matier / it is aganist the furst table and therfore thys synne is the more heynus and weightie. Besids this / our men do counte this Ma.s.se hauntinge a fault to be either contemned / or not so depely to be considered in theim bicause they do not synne with mynde will and affection / but as it wer compelled and of necessite. But I aske them / what manier a violence and compulsion this is throughe which that necessite commithe of which they make their excuse? Truly they can not saye that it is ony other / then bicause they wolde not ronne into the daunger of the losse of their Goodes / their estimacion and lyfe.

[[Aristote. Ethi. lib. 3.]]

This is then no absolute necessite but such a one as risith of ther own corrupt affection and will, wich prouith that their action is volutarie. As Aristotle in his Ethicks doth saye of the losse which shippmen do suffer in a tempest / which do cast out of their ship al their Goodes wh? they be in daunger of shipp wracke: They seame truly to be compelled to do it / and yet willingly they do it / and therfor they are sayed .To do.

bicause that withe deliberacion and aduise / they do determin / both with iudgem?t and will / rather to abide the losse of their G.o.ddes / th? of their lyfe. Which thinge as the mariners do wisely determyne / so our men do folishly / which for the loue that they beare to their lyfe / bodie d goodes do not chose to abide the losse of th? all / in refusing to come to these detestable ma.s.ses / to gayn therby lyfe / and saluacion euer lastinge. And so do they cmitt doble synne. Furst they synne willingly. Th? they do prefer earthly thinges before heau?ly / outward thinges before inward / the bodie before the soule / their Goodes before G.o.d: Which is not done but of such / as ar the very childr? of the world. Of affecti verily / though they do saye nay / they do that which they do / but of that inordinate affection which they do beare to their riches.

Wherfor this is no iust excuse which they make. For as well might the Corinthians / euen by the very same reason / haue sayde to Paule. If we do comme vnto these feastes wher the meates offered vnto Idols are eaten / we do it not with that mynde as thoughe we allowed such sacrifices / but we ar compelled therunto / for if we shuld auoide theise solemne feastes / we shuld be taken as sedicius men / euell citizens / vncourteous / we shuld loose our frends / d most profitable healp and defence / Yea and paradu?ture our goodes and countrith, Paule hearith noone of all these thinges / but doth sharply reproue th? / as in the furst epistle which he wrote vnto th? it doth appeare.

[[Exod. 32.]]

Aar also by the same reason might haue excused the making of the gold? calf / and sayed / I did it not with my mynde / I was cpelled / and if I hadd not folowed the mynde of the poeple / they wold haue stoned me. &c. But Moses / who did well perceyue that this was not of an absolute necessite / but did rise of such a corrupt grownd and matier as neither righteousnes doth suffer to be receyued / neither G.o.dd doth admitt / he cdemnith the act / d doth sharply reproue Aaron for it. Thise men ought also to thincke this: That the ma.s.se is as it wer the signe d sure marke / the pleadg / d seale / by which the papists do knowe who be theirs / fr others. For whether a m gyuith almos / whether he prayeth / whether he lyueth a chaste lyfe / and so forth / they pa.s.se not at all: This only they do regarde / whether he hearith Ma.s.ses: which thig if they perceyue that he doth / for the which they thike that m to be ther own / d on the other parte / to abhorr the Ma.s.se and not to heare it / is euen the begynninge of fallinge from ther kyngd / and from Antichriste. Wherfor we may call Ma.s.sehearinge / The publique profession of poperie / the badge of the most vile and filthie Idolatrie which is vsed in our age. In this therfor / i which papistes put so mutch confidence / that they make therof the very marcke wherby the G.o.dly are known from their men / no Christian must dissemble. For if he do / then doth he publiquely professe hymself to be a papist / which is euen to denie Christes gospell: And this to do / is so greate a synne / as no m c extenuate by ony blind cloke or reason. But thow wilt saye: Ther be greate daungers / of which I am in present ieoperdie / and I shall also sett mi self forthe to other most heauy daugiers / except I be partaker and do cmunicate with papists in the Ma.s.se / and such popishe Idolatrie. I grant that ther are daungers / such is theyr Tyrannie. But remember thou / That G.o.dd hath forseene all theise daungers before / and also hath shewed that they shuld comme / of which though he wer not ignorante / yet did not his wisd chaunge his lawe to haue them auoyded: He commaunded / and doth / that Idolatrie shall not be cmitted but that m? shuld flye from it / which commaundement he wyll haue kept what soeuer perill dothe cme theron. Wherfor let vs cast our care vppon hym which hath gyuen vs this commaundem?t / for he which doth know righte well / that theise euels are ioyned with the obseruinge of his commaundementes / he will care for them which for rightuisnes shalbe persequuted.

Truly the violence / and nature of persequution and daungiers is not such / that it can chaunge G.o.dds lawe: neither that he will haue his lawes chaunged for them. Let persequutions be howsoeuer they be / yet G.o.dds lawe remaynith vnmoueable. Let vs not seeke then to deuide and part ourselues / and our seruice / betwen G.o.dd d the deuell / as thoughe we wold gyue our mynde d affecti vnto G.o.dd: d in poperie and supersticious Idolatries to gyue our bodyes doiges / and outward actis vnto the deuell.

[[1. Cor. 6.]]

Our mynde is G.o.dds seate / our bodie is his T?ple.

[[Mat. 22.]]

Gyue therfore to G.o.dd / that which belongith vnto hym. Thincke what thow l.u.s.t of doing and dissemblinge for thy commoditie: Yeat this Rule / and certayn Canon of the holy ghost must now either rule the /