b John xvi. 13. The division of the word of God. 36. Mark xii. 30, 31. John íii. 23. For him the Lord hath promised to us to be our "teacher sent from heaven, that shall guide us into all truth. M. Into what chief parts dost thou divide all this word of God? S. Into the law and the gospel. M. How be these two known the one from the other? S. The law setteth out our duties both of godliness toward God, that is, the true worshipping of God, and of Matt. xxii. charity toward our neighbour, and severely requireth and exacteth our precise obedience, and to the obedient proLev. xxvi. miseth everlasting life, but to the disobedient pronounceth threatenings and pains, yea, and eternal death. Deut. v. 32. & xxviii. John xiv. 15, 21, 23. The gospel Mark i. 15. containeth the promises of God; and to the offenders of the law, so that they repent them of their offence, it promiseth that God will be merciful through faith in Christ. & xvi. 16. Luke v. 32. & xxiv. 47. John i. 17. Acts ii. 38. & xiii. 38. Rom. i. 16. M. Hitherto then thou hast declared that the word of God doth teach us his will, and containeth all things needful all that hath to salvation, and that we ought earnestly to study upon it, Gal. iii 13. been said. Religion divided. and diligently to hear the teachers and expounders of it; but, above all things, that we must by prayer obtain us a teacher from heaven; and what is the word of God, and of what parts it consisteth. S. It is true. M. Since then Christian religion floweth out of God's word as out of a spring-head, as thou hast before done with God's word, so now divide me also religion itself, which is to be drawn out of God's word into her parts and members, that we may plainly determine whereunto each part ought to be applied, and, as it were, to certain marks to be directed. S. As of the word of God, so of religion also, there are Lev. xxvi. principally two parts; obedience, which the law, the perfect rule of righteousness commandeth, and faith, which the gospel, that embraceth the promises concerning the mercy of God, 3, 14. Deut. xi. 26. John xiv. 15, 21, 23, 24. g Mark i. 15. & xvi. 15, 16. requireth. Rom. i. 5, 16. & iii. 22. & iv. h Gal. v.6. g M. It seemeth yet, that there are either more or other parts of religion; for sometime, in dividing it, the holy scriptures do use other names. S. That is true. For sometime they divide whole religion into faith "and charity, and sometime into 'repentance Mark i. 15. and faith. For sometime for obedience they set charity, 37,39. Mark which by the law is required to be perfect toward God and 1 John iii. 23. k Matt. xxii. xii. 30, 31, 33. k m do of P Rom. iii. 9. m Ps. xiv. 2. Matt. iv. 17. Acts ii, 38, Rom. iii. 20. Mark i. 15. n & vii. 7. Rom. iii. 21. Ps. xxxii. 5, 12, 13. Gal. ii. 16. 6. Rom. x. q 2 Cor. i. 11. & ii. 14. Phil. iv. 6. men; and sometime because we perform neither obedience 'nor charity such as we ought, they put in place thereof repentance most necessary for sinners to the obtaining of the mercy of God. Some, which like to have more parts, set forth first out of the law, "the knowledge of our due duty, and damnation by the law for forsaking and rejecting our duty; secondly, out of the gospel, the knowledge and affiance of our deliverance; thirdly, "prayer and craving the mercy and help of God; fourthly, thanksgiving for deliverance and other benefits of God. But howsoever they 4, 20. differ in names, they be the same things; and to those two col. iii. 17. principal parts, obedience and faith, in which is contained all the sum and substance of our religion, all the rest are referred. For whereas many do add, as parts, invocation and thanksgiving, and the divine mysteries most nearly conjoined to the same, which are commonly called sacraments, these, in very deed, are comprised within those two former parts. For no man can truly perform the duty toward God, either of affiance or of obedience, which will not, when any necessity distresseth him, flee to God, and account all things to come from him, and, when occasion and time serveth, rightly use his holy mysteries. M. I agree with thee, that all may be drawn to these two parts, if a man will precisely and somewhat narrowly treat of them. But forasmuch as the most precise manner of dividing is not to be required of children, I had rather that somewhat in plainer sort thou divide religion into more parts, that the whole matter may be made the clearer. Therefore let us handle these things more grossly, so it be more openly. S. Where you like best to deal with me in plainer sort, I may conveniently of two parts make four, and divide whole religion into obedience, faith, invocation, and sacraments. M. Go to, then. Since I desire to have this treating of religion to be as plain as may be, let us keep this order; first, to inquire of obedience, which the law requireth; secondly, of faith, which looketh to, and embraceth the promises of the gospel; thirdly, of invocation and thanksgiving, which two are most nearly joined together; fourthly and lastly of the sacraments and mysteries of God. S. And I, worshipful master, shall willingly, according r Lev. xxvi. 3, 14. x. 12. & xxviii. Deut. Ps. cxix. 4. Luke x. 25. to my slender capacity, answer your questions, as I am taught by the holy scriptures. THE FIRST PART. OF THE LAW AND OBEDIence. M. Forasmuch as "our obedience whereof we have first to speak, is to be tried by the rule of the law of God, it is necessary that we first search out the whole substance and John xiv. 15, nature of the law, which being found and known, it cannot James ii. 10. be unknown, what and of what sort our obedience ought to Therefore, begin to tell what thou thinkest of the law. 21, 23, 24. Deut. iv. 2. & v. 32. & xxxii. 4. Ps. XIX. 6, 7. t Exod. xx. & Deut. v. Isai. xxx. 21. u Deut. vi. 17, Rom. xii. 2. be. S. I think that the law of God is the "full and in all points perfect rule of the righteousness that is required of man, which commandeth those things that are to be done, and forbiddeth the contraries. In this law God hath "re18. & xiii. 18. strained all things to his own will and judgment, so as no Eph. v. 17. & godliness toward him, nor dutifulness toward men can be ́ allowed of him, but that only which doth in all things agree with the straitness of this rule. Vainly, therefore, do mortal w 1 Sam. xv. men invent to themselves forms of "godliness and duty after Isai. xxix. 13. their own fancy; for God hath set forth to us his law, * Matt. xxii. * written in two tables, as a most sure rule both of our wor vi. 7. Col. i. 9. 22. Matt. xv. 3, 9. 36, 40. y Exod. xxxi. 1 John iii. 23. shipping of God, and of our duties to men, and therewith 18. & xxxiv. also hath declared that there is nothing on earth more Deut. iv. 13. pleasant and acceptable to him than our obedience. 28, 29. z Deut. v. 32. & x. 12. & xi 26. Matt. xix. 16. 1 John iii. 24. a Deut. vi. 5. S. It treateth of our "godliness toward God, and conMatt. xxii. 36, taineth the first four commandments of the law. S. Of the duties of mutual charity or love among men, which containeth six commandments. And so, in a sum, ten commandments make up the whole law, for which cause the Deut. iv. 13. law is called the Ten Commandments. M. Rehearse me the first commandment of the first table. S. God spake thus: "Hear, O Israel: I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me." M. Why doth God first speak somewhat of himself and of his benefit? е e Deut. vi. 6. f Deut. x. 12. & exxxvi. 1. Ps. cxxxv. 3. S. He had principally care that the estimation of the Lev. xxvi. laws ordained by him should not be shortly abated by contempt: and therefore that they might have the greater authority, he useth this, as it were, an entry, "I am the Lord thy God." In which words he teacheth that he is 'our Maker, Lord, and Saviour, and the Author of all good. And so, with good right by his dignity of a law-maker, he challengeth to himself the authority of commanding, and by his goodness he procureth favour to his law, and by them both together, burdeneth us with necessity to obey it, unless we will be both rebels against him that is most mighty, and unthankful Mal. i. 5, 6. toward him that is most bountiful. M. But whereas he speaketh of Israel by name, and maketh expressly mention of breaking the yoke of the bondage of Egypt, doth not this belong only to the people of Israel? Isai. viii. 13. & xlii. 1. Mal. ii. 10. Tim. vi. 14, 15, 16. g xiv. 34, 36. Rom. 13. Heb. ii. x. 38. 14, 15. Acts Rom. ii 22. k John viii. 51. 1 John 21. S. God, indeed, rescued the Israelites by his servant Moses from bodily bondage; but he hath delivered all them Exod. xii. that be his, by his Son Jesus Christ, from the spiritual 'thraldom of sin, and the tyranny of the devil, wherein else! John viii. they had lain pressed and oppressed. This kind of deliverance vi. 20. Col. i. pertaineth indifferently to all men which put their trust in God their deliverer, and do to their power obey his laws; which if they do not, he doth by this rehearsal of his most great benefit pronounce that they shall be 'guilty of most 1 great unthankfulness. For let every man imagine the "devil, 1. that hellish Pharaoh, ready to oppress him, and how "sin is 16. 2 Tim. ii. that most foul mire wherein he most filthily walloweth; let 8. him set before the eyes of his mind, hell, the most wretched Isai. lix. 3. Egyptian bondage, and then shall he easily perceive that freedom, whereof I speak, is the thing that he ought pally Pto desire, as the thing of most great importance to whereof yet he shall be most unworthy, unless he honour the 26. Acts Author of his deliverance with all service and obedience. Ps. Ixxvii. 13, 14. & ciii. m Luke xiii. 26. 1 Pet. v. S. After that he hath thus stablished the authority of 1 Cor. vi. 19. his law, now followeth the commandment, "Thou shalt have none other gods before me." S. This commandment condemneth and forbiddeth idol- Lev. xxvi. 1, $ Deut. vi. 4, Mark xii. 5. 29, 32. t Isai. xliv. 17. Dan. iii. u Deut. iv. 35, 39. & vi. 4, 5. M. What is idolatry, or to have strange gods? trust in them. S. It is in the place of the one only true God, which hath openly and manifestly shewed and disclosed himself unto us in the holy scriptures, to set other persons or things, and of them to frame and make to ourselves as it were certain 5,7, 12, 15. gods, to worship them as gods, and to set and repose our For God commandeth us to "acknowledge only God, that is, that of those things that wholly belong to his majesty, and which we owe to him Luke iv. 8. alone, we transfer not any part, be it never so little, to any Rev. xix. 10. other, but that to him alone and entirely we give his whole honour and service, whereof to yield any whit to any other, were a most heinous offence. Mark xii. 29, 32. x Deut. x. 20. Acts x. 25, 26. y Deut. x. 12. 1 Chron. xvi. 2, &c. & xcvi. 6, 7. him alone for our X M. What be the things that we properly owe to God alone, wherein thou sayest that his proper and peculiar worshipping consisteth? S. Innumerable are the things that we owe to God; but they all may be well reduced to four chief points. M. Which be they? S. That we give unto his majesty the sovereign honour, 28. Ps. xxix. and to his goodness the greatest love and affiance; that we flee to him, and crave his help; that with thankfulness we yield, as due to him, ourselves and all that we have. These things are to be given, as to none other, so to him alone, if we desire to have him alone our God, and to be his peculiar What mean those last words, "before me," or "in 6. Psal. xcv. my sight"? 6, 7. & xxxiii. 12. Tit. ii. 14. S. Heb. viii. 10. from God, but that God is d Ps. xxxiii. 14. Isai. xxix. 15. Jer. xvii. 9, 13. That we cannot once so much as tend to revolting witness of it; for there is nothing Moreover, so close nor so secret that can be hid from him. 10. Heb. iv. he thereby declareth that he requireth not only the honour Isai. i. 16. & of open confession, but also inward and sincere godliness of Matt. v. 8. & heart, for that he is the understander and judge of secret Well then, let this be enough said of the first com Now let us go on to the second. "Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, Deut. iv. 15. nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in & xxvii. 15. the earth beneath, nor in the water under the earth: thou Isai. xlii. 8. shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them; for I the Ps. xcvii. 7. |