stinence sors, and fifteen hundred years, it is clean contrary. For they had no such false imagination of chastity, or of any All our ab- other work; but they used it to serve their neighbour, and to avoid trouble in time of persecution; and to be eased of that burden that was too heavy for their weak shoulders, and not to compel God to thank them for that liberty for own profit. which they be bound to thank him. and chastising of ourselves is to our Freewill. More blasphemeth God. THE TENTH CHAPTER. I say, that a man IN the tenth he inveigheth and raileth against that whichneither he, nor any fleshly minded papist can understand; as they have no power to consent unto the laws of God, which herein appeareth, that they compel their brethren which be as good as they, to do and believe what they lust, and not what God commandeth. He affirmeth that Martin saith, how that we do no sin ourselves with our own will, but that God sinneth in us, and uses us as a dead instrument, and forceth us thereunto, and damneth us, not for our own deeds, but for his, and for his own pleasure, as he compelleth unto sin for his pleasure, or rather he for his pleasure sinneth in us. sinneth voluntarily, but the power of the will and of the deed is of God, and every will and deed are good in the nature of the deed, and the evilness is a lack that there is, as the eye though it be blind is good in nature, in that it is such a member, created for such a good use; but it is are evil be- called evil for lack of sight. And so are our deeds evil because we lack knowledge and love to refer them unto ledge to re- the glory of God. Which lack cometh of the devil that blindeth --us with lusts, and occasions that we cannot see the goodness and righteousness of the law of God, and the means how to fulfil it. For could we see it, and the way to do it, we should love it naturally as a child doth a fair apple. For as a child, when a man sheweth him a fair apple, and will not give it him, weepeth; so should we naturally mourn when the members would not come Our deeds cause we lack know fer them unto the glory of God. ༄ཝཱ forward to fulfil the law according to the desire of our hearts. For Paul saith, (2 Cor. iv.) If our gospel be 2 Cor. iv. hid, it is hid unto them that perish, among which the God of this world hath blinded the wits of the unbelievers, that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should not shine to them. And Christ saith that the birds eat up the seed sown upon the way, and interpreteth by the seed, the word, and by the fowls, the devil. So that the devil blindeth us with falsehood and lies, which is our worldly wisdom, and therewith stoppeth out the true light of God's wisdom, which blindness is the evilness of all our deeds. The devil is the blinder and keeper of us from the understanding of God's will. We may not be cusearch rious to God's se crets. And on the other side, that another man loveth the laws of God, and useth the power that he hath of God well, and referreth his will and his deeds unto the honour of God,, cometh of the mercy of God which hath opened his wits, and shewed him light to see the goodness and righteousness of the law of God, and the way that is in Christ to fulfil it, whereby he loveth it naturally and trusteth to do it. Why doth God open one man's eyes and not another's? Paul (Rom. x.) forbiddeth to ask why. For it is too deep for man's capacity. God we see is honoured thereby, and his mercy set out, and the more seen in the vessels of mercy. But the popish can suffer God to have no secret hid to himself. They have searched to come to the bottom of his bottomless wisdom, and because they cannot attain to that secret, and be too proud to let it alone, and to grant themselves ignorant, with the apostle, that knew no other than God's glory in the elect, A papistical opinion. they go and set up free-will with the heathen philosophers, and say, that a man's free-will is the cause why God chooseth one and not another, contrary unto all the Scripture. Paul saith it cometh not of the will, nor of the deed, but of the mercy of God. And they say that every man hath at the least way power in his free-will, to deserve that power should be given him of God to keep the law. But the Scripture testifieth that Christ hath deserved for Wit, reason and judgment goeth before will. the elect, even then when they hated God, that their eyes should be opened, to see the goodness of the law of God, and the way to fulfil it, sin. and forgiveness of all that is drawn to love it and to hate Now faith cometh not of our I ask the popish one question, whether the will can prevent a man's wit, and make the wit see the righteousness of the law, and the way to fulfil it in Christ? If I must first see the reason whether I can love, how shall I with my will do that good thing that I know not of? How shall I thank God for the mercy that is laid up for me in Christ, ere I believe it? For I must believe the mercy, ere I can love the work. free-will, but is the grace of God given us by grace, ere there be any will in our hearts to do the law of God. And Faith is the why God giveth it not every man, I can give no reckoning gift of God, and comof his judgments. But well I wot, I never deserved it, eth not nor prepared myself unto it, but ran another way clean by freewill. contrary in my blindness, and sought not that way, but he sought me, and found me out, and shewed it me, aud therewith drew me to him. And I bow the knees of my Phil. i. Phil. ii. God is the first worker and bring er to pass of our well doings. heart unto God night and day, that he will shew it all And I suffer all that I can to be a servant to other men. open their eyes. For well I wot they cannot see of themselves before God hath prevented them with his grace. For Paul saith (Phil. i.) He that began a good work in you shall continue, or bring it unto a full end; so that God must begin to work in us. And (Phil. ii.) God it is that worketh both the willing, and also bringing to pass. And it must needs be, for God must open mine eyes, and shew me somewhat and make me see the goodness of it, to draw me to him, ere I can love, consent, or have any actual will to come. And when I am willing, he must assist me, and help to tame my flesh, and to overcome the occasions of the world, Matt. xxiv. and the power of the fiends. God therefore hath a special care for his elect, insomuch that he will shorten the wicked days for their sakes, in which no man, if they should continue, might endure. And Paul suffereth all for the elect (2 Timothy ii.) And God's sure foundation standeth, saith Paul, God knoweth his. So that refuse the truth who shall, God will keep a number of his mercy, and call them out of blindness, to testify the truth unto the rest, that their damnation may be without excuse. The Turk, the Jew, and the popish build upon freewill, and ascribe their justifying unto their works. The Turk, when he hath sinned, runneth to the purifyings, or ceremonies of Mahomet; and the Jew to the ceremonies of Moses; and the pope unto his own ceremonies, to fetch forgiveness of their sins. And the Christian goeth through repentance toward the law, unto the faith that is in Christ's blood. The Chris tians seek help of Christ! And the pope saith that the ceremonies of Moses justified not, compelled with the words of Paul. And how then should his justify? Moses' sacraments were but signs of promises of faith, by which faith the believers are justified, and even so be Christ's also. And now because the Jews have put out the significations of their sacraments, and put their trust in the works of them, therefore they be idolaters and so is the pope for like purpose. pope saith that Christ died not for us, but for the sacra- phemy! ments, to give them power to justify. O antichrist! THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER. The O abomina ble blas His eleventh chapter is as true as his story of Utopia, and all his other poetry. He meaneth Doctor Ferman, Doctor Ferparson, of Honey Lane. Whom after they had han- man. dled after their secret manner, and disputed with secretly, and had made him swear that he should not utter how he was dealt with, as they have made many other, then they contrived a manner of disputations had with him, with such oppositions, answerings, and arguments, as should serve only to set forth their purpose. As M. More Ferman was a vir ly, and learned man. Master Dr. throughout all his book maketh, quoth he, to dispute and move questions after such a manner as he can foil them, tuous, god- or make them appear foiled, and maketh him grant where he listeth, and at the last to be concluded and led whither M. More will have him. Wherefore I will not rehearse all the arguments, for it were too long, and is also not to be believed, that he so made them, or so disputed with them, but that they added and pulled away, and feigned as they list, as their guise is. But I will declare in light, that which M. More ruffleth up in darkness, that ye may see their falsehood. A true note to know First, if ye were not false hypocrites, why had ye not hypocrites. disputed openly with him, that the world might have heard and borne record, that that which ye now say of him were true? What cause is there that the lay people might not as well have heard his words of his own mouth, as read them of your writing, except ye were juggling spirits that walk in darkness? M. More is a juggler with terms. When M. More saith, the church teacheth that men should not trust in their works, it is false, if he mean the pope's church. For they teach a man to trust in dumb ceremonies, and sacraments, in penance, and all manner [of] works that come them to profit, which yet help not unto repentance, nor to faith, nor to love a man's neighbour. M. More declareth the meaning of no sentence, he describeth the proper signification of no word, nor the difference of the significations of any term, but runneth forth confusedly in unknown words and general terms. And where one word hath many significations, he maketh a man some time believe that many things are but one thing, and some time he leadeth from one signification unto another, and mocketh a man's wits. As he juggleth with his term church, making us in the beginning understand all that believe, and in the conclusion the priests only. He telleth not the office of the law, he describeth not his penance, nor the virtue thereof, nor use; he de |