The sinners guyde A vvorke contayning the whole regiment of a Christian life, deuided into two bookes: vvherein sinners are reclaimed from the by-path of vice and destruction, and brought vnto the high-way of euerlasting happinesse. Compiled in the Spanish tongue, by the learned and reuerend diuine, F. Lewes of Granada. Since translated into Latine, Italian, and French. And nowe perused, and digested into English, by Francis Meres, Maister of Artes, and student in diuinitie.

¶ An aunswer to certaine obiections.

IF thou shalt say vnto me, that alwayes some reliques remaine in a man, which accuse him, and doe beare witnes against the righteous, as we reade in the booke of Iob. The same Prophet answereth vnto this, saying: They shall be as though they were not. For although they remaine, they remaine onely for our exer∣cise, and not to our ruine: they remaine that they may stirre vs vp, & not intangle vs in the snares of sinnes; they remaine that they may yeeld vs occasion to attaine a crowne, and not to ouer∣throw vs, and cast vs downe: they remaine for our tryumph, & not for theyr conquest: to be briefe, they remaine so to profit vs, that they are for our tryall & humiliation, that we may know our selues, and our owne weakenes, that thereby wee may ac∣knowledge the glory and grace of God; so that thys remainder doth redound to our commodity. Whereupon, euen as wilde beasts according to theyr nature are hurtfull vnto men, and yet when they are tamed, doe them good seruice; so when as the purturbations of our soule are gouerned and moderated, they helpe vs in many exercises of vertue.

Goe to then, tell me: If God doth thus strengthen and de∣fend thee, who vpon the earth shal be able to hurt thee? if God be for thee, who is against thee? The Lord is my light, sith the Prophet, and my saluation, whom shall I feare? the Lorde is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, euen mine enemies and my foes came vpon me to eate vp my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host pitched against mee, myne hart should not be afraid: though warre be raised against me, I will trust in this. Truely my brother, if thou beest not mooued by thys

promise to serue God, thou art very slothfull and vild, I will not say vncleane and corrupt? And if these words are not of credite with thee, thou art a very Infidell. It is God, who saith vnto thee, that he will giue thee a new essence, and will make thy stony hart fleshy, and will mortifie thine affections; and that he will so change thine estate, that thou shalt not know thy selfe: when thou seekest for thine affections and passions thou shalt not finde them, he shall make them so weake and infirme. What could he promise more, what canst thou further expect and hope for? what is wanting vnto thee but a liuely Fayth, and aliuely Hope, that thou mayst trust in God, & shroud thy selfe vnder his almighty arme?

Surely, I thinke that thou canst aunswer nothing at all vnto these things, except perhaps thou wilt say, that thy sinnes are many and great, and therefore this grace is denied vnto thee. Vnto this I aunswer, that thou canst not offer greater iniury vn∣to God, then to say so, seeing that by these words thou doest signifie that there is somthing for which God eyther will not or cannot helpe his creature, when as he is conuerted vnto him, and desireth mercy and pardon at his hands. I would not that thou shouldest credite me, credite that holy Prophet, who then seemed mindfull of thee, and was willing to helpe thee, & meete with thine infirmities, when he writ these things, saying: Now when all these things shall come vpon thee, eyther the blessing or the curse, which I haue set before thee, and thou shalt turne into thine hart, among all the nations whether the Lord thy God hath driuen thee, and shalt returne vnto the Lord thy God, and obey his voyce in all that I commaund thee this day: thou and thy children with all thine hart and with all thy soule: then the Lord thy God will cause thy captiues to returne, and haue compassion vpon thee, and will re∣turne, to gather thee out of all the people, where the Lord thy God had scattered thee, and will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possesse it. And a little after: The Lord thy God will circumcise thine hart, and the hart of thy seede, that thou ••ayst loue the Lord thy God with all thine hart, and with all thy soule, that thou mayst liue. O that the Lord would now circum∣cise thine eyes, and take thee out of this darknes, that thou migh∣test clearely see this manner of circumcision. Be not so ignorant

and rude, that thou shouldest deeme this circumcision to be corporall: for of such a circumcision our hart is not capable. What circumcision then is this, which the Lord here promiseth? Surely it is the superfluity of our affections, and of our euill ap∣petites, which springeth from our hart, and bringeth great hin∣derance to our Diuine loue. He promiseth therfore that he will circumcise, and lop off all the barren and hurtfull branches with the knife of his grace: that our hart being so pruned and cir∣cumcised, may imploy and bestow all his strength vpon the branch of the Diuine loue. Then thou shalt be a true Israelite, then thou shalt be circumcised of the Lord, when hee shall take away, and cut out from thy soule the loue of this world, and shall let nothing remayne in it, besides the entire loue of God.

I would haue thee diligently to marke, that that which God in this place promiseth to doe, that he doth commaund thee to doe in another place, that when thou art conuerted vnto him, thou shouldest doe it thy selfe, saying: Circumcise the foreskinne of your hart. &c. And how Lord? that which thou promisest to doe thy selfe, now thou commaundest that I should doe it my selfe? if I must doe it, how doest thou promise that thou thy selfe wilt performe it? This question is aunswerrd by the words of Augustine, who sayth: Lord giue that thou commaundest, and commaund what thou wilt. So that he be the same, vvho commaundeth me what I ought to doe, and he, that giueth me grace to doe it. Therfore in one and the selfe same thing, both the commaundement and the promise are found: and God and man doe one and the selfe same thing, he as the principall and chiefest cause, but man as a cause lesse principall. So that God in this busines carrieth himselfe to man as a Paynter, who guideth the pencill in the hand of his Scholler, and so maketh a perfect picture: two perfit this worke, but more honour be∣longeth to the one then to the other. So also God worketh with vs in this busines, after an absolute manner, man hath not wherein to glory, but to glory with the Prophet, and say: Lord, thou workest all our works in vs.

Therefore be thou mindfull of these words; for by them thou mayst interpret all the commaundements of God. For all

that he commaundeth thee to doe, he promiseth also that he will doe it with thee. When as therfore he commaundeth thee, to circumcise thine hart, he sayth also that he will circumcise it: so when he commaundeth thee, that thou shouldest loue him aboue all things, he bestoweth grace vpon thee, that thou mayst be able so to loue him. Hence it is that the yoke of the Lord is sayd to be sweete. For there be two that draw it, God & man; and so that which seemed and was difficult vnto nature, the Di∣uine grace doth make it light and sweet. Wherefore the Pro∣phet after the fore-sayd words, doth proceede further, and say: This commaundement which I commaund thee this day, is not hid from thee, neyther is it farre of: It is not in heauen, that thou shouldest say, who shall goe vp for vs to heauen, and bring it vs, and cause vs to heare it, that we may doe it? Neyther is it beyond the Sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall goe ouer the Sea for vs, and bring it us, and cause vs to heare it, that we may doe it? But the word is very neere vnto thee, euen in thy mouth, and in thine hart for to doe it. In which words the holy Prophet would altogether take away that diffi∣culty, which carnall men imagine to be in the precepts of the Lord: for they onely looking to the law of the Lord without the Gospell, that is, to those things that are commaunded, and not to the grace, which is giuen to obey and walk in those com∣maundements: they accuse the law of difficulty, saying that it is greeuous, heauy, & difficult, not considering that they expresly contradict Saint Iohn, who sayth: For this is the loue of God, that we keepe his commaundements, & his commaundements are not gree∣uous: for all that is borne of God, ouercommeth the world: That is, all they that haue conceaued the spyrit of God in their soules, by meanes of whom they are regenerated, and made his sonnes, whose spirit they haue receaued, all these haue God in them, who dwelleth in them by grace: and they can doe more then all that that is not God, and so neyther the world, nor the deuill, nor all the power of hell can hurt them. And here-vpon it fol∣loweth, that although the yoke of Gods commaundements be heauy and burthenous, yet that newe strength and fortitude, which is giuen by grace, doth make it light and tollerable.

Notes

• For what end the re∣liques of sins & euill appetites remaine in vs.
• Psalm, 27,
• Another obiection with the an∣swer.
• Deut. 30.
• Spirituall circumcisiō.
• Deut. 10.
• Augustine.
• A simili∣tude.
• Esay, 26.
• The com∣maunde∣ments of God are not impos∣sible.
• Deut. 30.
• 2, Iohn, 5.