The Jews became ser. vants and

Luke xviii. clareth. (Luke xviii.) And as it is to see in Paul, and throughout all the Bible: and became captive to serve, and put their trust in that which was neither God nor his word. And so the better creature against nature did serve the worse; whereof all likelihood God should have accepted their work, by the reason of them, if their have accepted their souls for the blood's sake of a calf or sheep, for as much as a man is much better than a calf or sheep, as Christ testifieth. (Matt. xii.) For what pleasure should God have in the blood of calves, or in the light of our candles? His pleasure is only in the hearts of them that love his commandments.

captives to hearts had been right, and not

their works.

The blind reason of

Then they went further in the imagination of their blind hypocrites. reason, saying, Inasmuch as God accepteth these holy works, that we be made righteous thereby, then it followeth that he which offereth most, is most righteous, and the best man: yea, and it is better to offer an ox than a sheep, because it is more costly. And so they strove who might offer most, and the priests were well apaid. Then went they further in their fleshly wisdom, saying: If I be good for the offering of a dove, and better for a sheep, and yet better for an ox, and so ever the better Oblind and thing I offer, the better I am; oh, how accepted should foolish ima- I be, if I offered a man, and named him that I most. gination!

Holy day.

loved! And upon that imagination, they offered their own children, and burnt them to ashes before images that they had imagined.

And to confirm their blindness, they laid for them (no doubt) the ensample of Abraham, which offered his son Isaac, and was so accepted, that God had promised him, how that in his seed all the world should be blessed. Hereof ye see unto what abomination blind reason bringeth a man, when she is destitute of God's word.

And to speak of the sabbath (which was ordained to be their servant, and to preach, and to be a sign unto them, that God through his Holy Spirit and word did

it

The sabbath day must

serve usand not we the

sabbath

day.

Sanctify them, in that they obeyed his commandments, Exod xxxi. and believed and trusted in his promises, and therefore were charged to leave working, and to come on the holy day, and hear the word of God, by which they were sanctified) unto it, also they became captive and bond to serve saying that they were justified by abstaining from bodily labour, (as ours think also) insomuch that though they bestowed not the holy day in virtue, prayer, and hearing the word of God, in alms-deed, in visiting the sick, the needy and comfortless, and so forth, but went up and down idly; yet whatsoever need his neighbour had, he would not have holp him on the sabbath day, as thou mayest see by the ruler of the synagogue, which rebuked Christ Luke xiii. for healing the people on the holy day. (Luke xiii.)

How the sabbath day

should be

occupied.

And of like blindness they went and set out the brazen The brazen serpent, (which Moses commanded to be kept in the ark serpent. for a memory) and offered before it: thinking (no doubt) that God must be there present, for else how could it have healed the people that came not nigh it, but stood afar off, and beheld it only. And a thousand such madness did they.

And of the temple, they thought that God heard them The temple.

there better than any where else: yea, and he heard them

where save there. And, therefore, they could not pray but there, as ours can nowhere but at church, and before image. For what prayer can a man pray, when the

an

Prayer

without

Word of God is not in the temple of his heart? yea, and faith is not when such come to church, what is their prayer, and what prayer.

is

their devotion, save the blind image service of their

hearts?

But the prophets ever rebuked them for such faithless Psalm xlvi. works, and for such false faith in their works. In the xlixth Psalm, saith the prophet, I will receive no calves of your houses, nor goats out of your folds; think ye that I will eat God despi

the

flesh of oxen, or drink the blood of goats? And Isaiah sed the sa

crifices of

ful Jews.

saith in his first chapter, What care I for the multitude of the unfaithyour sacrifices? saith the Lord. I am full. I have no lust in

Fasting.

Isaiah Iviii.

Superstitious fasting doth God abhor.

True fasting, what it

is.

Temple

Acts vii.

Acts xvii.

the burnt-offerings of your rams, or in the fat of fat beasts, or blood of calves, lambs or goats: offer me no more such false sacrifice. And thereto your sweet incense is an abomination unto me. And thus he said, because of the false faith, and perverting the right use of them.

And for their false fasting, not referring their fast unto the taming and subduing of their flesh unto the spirit, when they complained unto God, justifying themselves, and saying, How happeneth it, that we have fasted, and thou wouldst not look upon it, we have humbled our souls, and thou wouldst not know it? God answered them by the prophet Isaiah, in the lviiith chapter, Behold, in the day of your fast, ye do your own lusts, and gather up all your debts. debts. And howsoever ye fast, ye nevertheless strive, and fight, and smite with fist cruelly. I have chosen no such fast and humbling of soul, &c. But that ye loose wicked bonds, and let the oppressed go free, and to break bread unto the hungry, and to clothe the naked, and so forth.

And concerning the temple, Isaiah saith, in his last chapter, What house will ye build for me, or in what place shall I rest? Heaven is my seat, and the earth my foot-stool. As who should say, I am too great for any place that ye can make, and (as Stephen saith, Acts vii. and Paul, Acts xvii.) I dwell not in a temple made with hands.

HOW CEREMONIES SPRANG AMONG US.

UNDERSTAND also, (to see how we came into like blindness) that before the coming of Christ in the flesh, the Israelites and Jews were scattered throughout all the world, for their image-service, both east, west, south, and north, as ye read in the chronicles, how England was once full: so that there was no province or

great city in the world, where no Jews were: God so providing for the speedy preaching of the gospel among the heathen throughout the world. Now Christ, as he was promised, so was he sent, unto the Jews or Israelites. And what by Christ's preaching, and the apostles after his resurrection, there were innumerable Jews converted, haply an hundred thousand or more in Jerusalem and Jewry, and in the countries about, and abode still in the land. Then Paul rose up, and persecuted them in Jeru- Paul a salem, and throughout all Jewry and Damascus, slaying cruel perall that he could catch, or making them forswear Christ. For fear of which persecution, they fled into all coasts, and preached unto the Jews that were scattered, proving that Jesus was Christ, the Saviour of the world, both by the Scripture, and also by miracles; so that a great part of the Jews came to the faith everywhere, and we heathen Came in shortly after, and part abode still in unbelief, as unto this day.

Now the Jews being born and bred up, rooted and noselled in ceremonies, as I have shewed, and as ye may better see in the Five books of Moses, if ye would read them, could but with great difficulty depart from them, as it is to see in all the Epistles of Paul, how he fought against them, and in process got the upper hand. And ✦hereto the first that were christened, and all the officers and bishops of the church, even so much as the great god Of Rome were Jews for the most part a great season.

secutor.

Many Jews were con

verted to

the faith

of Christ.

Israel

of

not Israel

ites.

And moreover, as Paul saith, (Rom. ix.) Not all that All that Came of Israel are right Israelites, neither are all they came ofre Abraham's sons that are Abraham's seed. Why so? BeCause they followed not the steps of the faith of their grandfathers. Even so, not all they that were called, and also came unto the marriage which God the Father made Matt. xxii. between Christ his Son and all sinners, brought their marriage garment with them; that is to wete, true faith wherewith we be married unto Christ, and made his flesh

The Jews came not to understanding of Christ of love, but

were en

forced there

unto by the Scriptures.

and his blood, and one spirit with him, his brethren and heirs with him, and the sons of God also. But many of them (to fulfil the saying of Christ, that the kingdom of heaven, which is the gospel, is like a net that catcheth good and bad) were driven into the net, and compelled to confess that Jesus was Christ, and that seed that was promised Abraham, and Messias that should come not of any inward feeling that the Spirit of God gave them, neither of any lovely consent that they had unto the law of God, that it was good; mourning, both because they had broken it, and because also they had no power to fulfil it, and therefore to obtain mercy and power, came to Christ, and unto the Father, through him, with the heart of natural children, which receive all things freely of their father's bounteous liberality, and of love become servants unto their brethren, for their father's sake; but were compelled only with violence of the Scripture, which everywhere bare witness unto Christ, and agreed unto all that he did, and overcome also with the power of miracles that confirmed the same. That is to say, they came with a story faith, a popish faith, a faithless faith, and a feigned faith of their own making, and not as God in the Scripture describeth the faith, so believing in Christ, that they would be justitied by their own deeds, which is the denying of Christ. As our papists believe, which, more mad than those Jews, believe nothing by reason of the Scripture, but only that such a multitude consent thereto, compelled with violence of sword, with fulfilling of the Scripture, and feigned lies. Which multitude yet is not the fifth part so many as they that consent unto the law of Mahomet. And, therefore, by their own arguments, the faith of the Turks is better than theirs. than the pa- And their faith thereto may stand by their own confession, with all mischief, (as it well appeareth by them) and with yielding themselves to work all wickedness, with full delectation, after the ensample of the faith of their father the devil, and without repentance and consent unto the

The Turks are a far greater number

pists.