The Jews

deny that Christ is come, or that Jesus is Christ.

plainly? "I," saith he, "am the Messiah; even I, I say,
that do even now speak to thee, and did at the first say,
If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith
to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of
him, and he would have given thee water of life. For
whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him,
he shall never be more athirst: but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
eternal life." They therefore are the most thirsty and un-
fortunate1 of all men, which long for and look after another
Messiah beside our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus. The
apostle St Peter in a meetly long oration, well grounded and
confirmed with scripture and strong reasons, in the second of
the Acts, doth shew that our Lord Jesus is that true Messiah:
for with this sentence he shutteth
up
his sermon: "Therefore
let all the house of Israel surely know, that God hath made
both Lord and Christ this Jesus, whom ye have crucified."
To the same mark tendeth that large and learned oration of
the first martyr St Stephen, which is extant to be seen in the
seventh chapter of the Acts2. Philip doth out of Esay's
prophecy declare to the eunuch of Ethiope that Jesus is
Christ. St Paul in all the Jewish synagogues putteth forth
none other proposition to preach on but this; Jesus is Christ,
that is, Jesus is the king, the bishop, and the Saviour of the
faithful. And in the thirteenth chapter he doth at large
declare and prove that proposition true.

So now these most evident and clear testimonies of holy scripture cannot choose but suffice such heads as are not of purpose set to cavil and wrangle. I will not at this present too busily and curiously dispute against the overthwart Jews, who look for another Messiah, and do deny that our Lord Jesus, the Son of God and the virgin Mary, is the true Messiah. The wretches feel that to be true, which the Lord [Matt. xxiv. in his gospel did foretell them, saying: "When ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let him that readeth understand. Then let them that are in Jurie flee to the mountains. But woe to them that are with child and give suck in those days; for great shall the affliction be." And again, speaking of the city of Hierusalem, he saith: "The days shall come [1 aridissimi, Lat.] [2 in 8 cap. Lat.]

15, 16, 19, 21.]

[Luke xix. 43, 44.]

23, 24.]

upon thee, that thine enemies shall compass thee with a trench, and hem thee in, and lay seige to thee on every side, and shall make thee even with the ground, and thy sons that are within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone standing upon another; because thou knowest not the time of thy visitation." And again; "There shall be wrath upon this [Luke xxi. people; and they shall fall with the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all nations; and Hierusalem shall be trod under foot of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Now since they feel these things to be so finished3 as they were by Christ foretold in the gospel; why do not the wretches give God the glory, and in other things believe the gospel, acknowledging Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the virgin Mary, our Lord and Saviour, to be the true and lookedfor Messiah? What have they wherewith to cloak their stubborn incredulity? They have now by the space of more than a thousand and five hundred years been without their country; I mean, the land of promise that flowed with milk and honey; they have wanted their prophets; and lacked their solemn service and ceremonial rites. For where is their temple? where is the high priest? where is the altar? where are the holy instruments? where be the sacrifices that ought to be offered according to the law? All the glory of God's people is now translated unto the Christians. They joy to be called the sons of the faithful Abraham; they enjoy the promises made unto the fathers; they talk and make mention of the fathers; they judge rightly of the law and covenant of the Lord; they have the holy scriptures, and in expounding them they have great dexterity; they have the true temple, the true high priest, the true altar of incense and burnt-offerings, even Christ Jesus, the Lord and Saviour; they have the true worship, which was of old prefigured only in those external ceremonies as I have already declared unto you in that place where I handled the Jewish ceremonies. The Gentiles are out of every quarter of the world called unto Christ Jesu. All the promises touching the calling of the Gentiles have been hitherto most abundantly fulfilled, and are even at this day. Now are we the chosen flock, according to the doctrine

[3 ad verbum, Lat. ; to the letter.]
[4 venisse, Lat. ; to have come.]
[5 the, ed. 1577. patria sua, Lat.]

[ genus, Lat.; nation.]

[1 Pet. ii. 9.] of St Peter: "We are the royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; being called hereunto, that we should preach the power of him' which hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light." Therefore let the unhappy Jews (unless perhaps they had rather to be entangled in greater errors, to be vexed daily with endless calamities, and so at last perish eternally 2) turn unto Christ by faith, and together with us begin to worship him in whom their fathers hoped, and in whom alone is life and salvation. For, that I may with the [1 Tim. Hil. apostle's words conclude this place: "God is made manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen to the angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed in the world, and received in glory 3. And every one that believeth in him shall live eternally, and never be confounded."

16; Rom. ix.

33.1

God the Fa-
ther being
angry with
the world,
is pleased
with it in
the Son.

We have now behind the last part to expound; the contents whereof are, that God the Father, who before was angry with the world, is pleased now in his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

First of all therefore I have to shew you that God was angry with the world: which is no hard matter to prove. For God is angry at sins. But the whole world is subject to sin; therefore it must of necessity be, that the most just God [Rom. i. 18.] is mightily angry with all the world. And Paul saith: "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." Again, the same apostle saith, that "all men are subject unto sin." For confirmation whereof he citeth these sentences of the holy scriptures, saying: "There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, or seeketh after God: they are all gone out of the way they are all become unprofitable: there is none that doth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; they have used their tongues for to deceive; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood. Heart's grief and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."

[1 ut prædicemus vires illius, Lat.]

[2 juxta Christi Domini comminationem, Lat. omitted; according to the threatenings of Christ the Lord.]

[3 in gloria, Lat. ; received up in glory. Tyndale 1525, and Cranmer 1539.]

-19.]

Now lest the Israelites should answer, that these things do not pertain to the people of God, but to the heathen and ungodly alone, he addeth: "We know that whatsoever the law [Rom. iii. 9 saith, it saith it to them which are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and that all the world may be endangered' to God." No man is here excepted. For to the Galatians the same apostle saith: "He hath shut up all under sin, [Gal. iii. 22.] that he may have mercy on all." It followeth therefore, that all the world was subject to the wrath or indignation of the most just and righteous God: as is at large proved in the second, fourth, and fifth chapters to the Ephesians.

xvii. 5.]

But the heavenly Father is appeased, or reconciled to this wicked world, through the only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ. And this I hope I shall abundantly prove by the only testimony of God himself. For the Father, by sending down a voice from heaven unto the earth upon Christ, first ascending newly out of the water after his baptism, and then again at his transfiguration in the sight of his disciples, did significantly say: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I [Matt. iii. 17; am delighted, pleased, or reconciled5; hear him." This testimony is read to have been foreshewed in the forty-second chapter of Esay's prophecy. And Peter the apostle repeateth the same in the first chapter of his second epistle. Paul also did as it were expound this, and say: "It pleased the [Col. i. 19, Father that in the Son should dwell all fulness; and by him to reconcile all things unto himself, since he hath set at peace through the blood of the cross by him both the things in earth and the things in heaven." In heaven is God, and we men here upon earth. Now Christ is the Mediator, which goeth betwixt us, and reconcileth us unto his Father, so that now we are the beloved of the Father in his beloved Son. For in the epistle to the Ephesians the same apostle saith: "He hath made us accepted in the beloved; in whom we have [Eph. i. 6, redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." All this shall be more fully understood by that which followeth.

20.]

7.]

requisite to

For now I must prove that God the Father hath in his All things Son given us all things that are necessary to a happy life and life and saleternal salvation. I name here two things; a happy life,

[4 See Tyndale's Doct. Treat. ed. Parker Soc. p. 502, n. 1.] [5 placata, reconciliata vel propitiata est anima mea, Lat.]

vation are

fully given

us in Christ Jesus.

8; John viii.

12.]

and everlasting salvation. By a happy life I understand a holy and godly life, which we live and lead quietly and honestly in this present world. Eternal salvation is that felicity of the life to come, which we with assured hope do verily look for.

Now we have in Christ a most absolute doctrine of a happy life taught us by the gospel; wherein also we do comprehend the example of Christ, his own trade of life. Verily, our heavenly Father hath made him our teacher, in saying, "Hear him." And he himself in the gospel after St Matthew [Matt. xxiii. Sayeth: "Be ye not called masters; for ye have one master, even Christ;" who in the gospel after St John is called "The light of the world." In another place also he testifieth that his doctrine is contained in the holy scriptures; whereupon it cometh that he referreth his disciples to the diligent reading of the holy scriptures: touching which scriptures Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles and1 the universal church of [2 Tim. iii. Christ, doth say: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable to doctrine, to reproof, to correction, to instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, instructed in all good works." Wherefore, although the whole world be mad, and that the obstinate defenders of the traditions3 rather than the scriptures do whet their teeth for anger; yet, maugre their heads, the word of the apostle shall abide most firm1, wherein he testifieth that the doctrine of the scriptures, otherwise called the christian doctrine, is in all points most absolute and thoroughly perfect. Touching which matter, because I have already spoken in the first sermons of the first Decade, I am therefore here a great deal the briefer.

16, 17.]

[Psal. xvi. 11.]

[1 John iii. 2.]

Now concerning the eternal salvation fully purchased 5 for us by Christ, thus ye must think. Eternal salvation is the seeing and enjoying of the eternal God, and so, consequently, an unseparable joining or knitting unto him. For David saith, "There is fulness of joys in thy sight; and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore:" and St John saith, "Now are [1 adeoque, Lat. ; and so.]

[2 Omnis scriptura, divinitus inspirata, est utilis, &c. Lat. So Tyndale and Cranmer.]

[3 traditionum vivarum, Lat. ; of the lively traditions.]
[4 stat stabitque, Lat. ; abides and shall abide.]

[5 paratam sive partam, Lat.]