A Postill, or, Exposition of the Gospels that are usually red in the churches of God, vpon the Sundayes and feast dayes of Saincts written by Nicholas Hemminge a Dane, a Preacher of the Gospell, in the Vniuersitie of Hafnie ; and translated into English by Arthur Golding. ; before which Postill is sette a warning of the same Nicholas Heminge too the Ministers of Gods vvorde, concerning the co[n]tinuall agreement of Chrystes Church in the doctrine and true worshipping of God ...

¶Of the first.

BIcause the Euangelical storie conteyneth many of Chri∣stes miracles wherwith hée manifesteth his glory, cōfir∣meth his doctrine, and encreaseth faith in the hearers: I wil bréefly set foorth a general doctrine, the vse wherof shal serue in all particuler miracles of Christe. Why the Lord addeth miracles too his woord, it is tolde in the last Sunday, & euen héer a litle before I haue repeated it in the beginning. How be it too the intent wée may haue the ful doctrine of miracles, mo things are too be serched out: whiche too enclose within number certein, I wil put all vnder these .v. questiōs. What the persons bée: what the ends bée: what is the maner: what is the vse: and why miracles are not wrought at this day.

The persones are of thrée sortes: first suche as are oppres∣sed with diseases and with the Deuils tirannie. Then the beholders of the miracles. And lastly Christe that woorketh the miracles.

The ends are many. One is that Christ might shew foorth his owne glory: Another, that he might seale vp his doctrine the thirde, that the faith of them that behelde the miracles, might bée confirmed: the fourth that God might bée glorifi∣ed by the sight of his woonderfull woorkes: the fifth, that by little and little, the Diuels kingdome might bée destroyed. What miracles so euer are doone for any other ende than these, are condemned as sleights of the Deuil. Math. 24.

The manner is diuers: for sometime hée woorketh a mi∣racle by his woorde alone, as in this place. Another time too the intent too shew the preciousnesse of his body, he layeth to his hand. One while he turneth him selfe to GOD with gi∣uing of thankes before hande: and another while hée woor∣keth by his onely power without his woord, as when he tur∣ned the water intoo wine. Too the manner also perteyneth the faithe of him that is healed by the miracle, as is read in this Gospell.

Miracles serue too thrée vses. That hée that is healed by miracle should sinne no more: that the beholders should put their trust in the healer: and that wée whiche read of the mi∣racles of the Lorde, shoulde bée confirmed in the glorye, and doctrine of Christe, and therewithall conceiue faith in him, that he is none otherwise affected towards vs, than he was towards them.

But why are no miracles wroughte now a dayes? Hée is starke blinde that séeth no miracles at these dayes. The churche of Christe is a little flocke, whiche the Deuill the King of darknesse, and Antichriste the Pope doe persecute, and bend all their force too this end, that they may extinguish the true religion of Christe: and yet they can not.

All the whole worlde persecuted that one poore man Luther,

and yet they touched not one hear of his hed. And why? God miraculously defended bothe him and also his little flocke. This presence of God in his churche is miraculous inough, so that wée néede not too séeke other miracles. Moreouer mi∣racles, and the power of healing mens bodies, and the visi∣ble giuings of the holy ghost, were bestowed onely vpon the primitiue churche, too the intent they might confirme Chri∣stes glorie, his doctrine, & our faith for euermore in all that should come after. The vse of which too vs ward, is that wée may know they were certein seales of ful authoritie, wher∣with God would haue his doctrine confirmed and sealed for euer.