Chap. 2. the. 4. Diuision.
There remayneth that I shew briefly, that neyther the Homilies nor the Apocrypha, are at all to be redde in the Churche. Wherein first it is good to consider the order which the Lorde kept with his people in tymes past, when he commaunded that no vessell, nor no instrument, either be∣some, or flesh hooke, or panne, &c. should come into the temple▪ but those onely which were sanctified and set aparte for that vse. And in Leuiticus, he will haue no other trumpets blowne to call the* 1.1 people togither, but those onely which were set aparte for that purpose. What should the meaning of this lawe be? The matter of other common vessels and trumpets, was the same oftentimes which theirs was, the same forme also, and the other beesomes and hookes and trumpets hable to serne for the vses ofsweeping and sounding. &c. as well as those of the temple, and as those whiche were set aparte, wherfore mought not these then as well be vsed in the temple as others? Forsoth, bicause the Lord would by these rudimēts & pedagogie teach, that he would haue nothing brought into the church, but that which he had appoynted, no, not although they seemed in the iudgement of men, as good as those things which God himselfe had placed there. Which thing is much more to be obserued in this matter, seing that the Homelies redde, be they neuer so learned and pithie, neyther the Apocrypha, are to be cōpared either in goodnesse within thēselues, eyther in fruite, or in effect towards the hearer, with the authenticall scriptures of God. Now if a man will say that the Ho∣milies do explane, and lay open the scriptures, I answere, that the worde of God also is playne and* 1.2 easie to be vnderstanded, and such as giueth vnderstanding to Idiotes and to the simple. And if* 1.3 there be hardnesse in them, yet the promise of the assistance of Gods spirite, that God hath giuen to the reading of the Scriptures in the church, which he hath not giuen to homilies▪ or to the Apocry∣pha, will be able to weygh with the harduesse, and to ouer come it, so that there shall easily appeare greater profite to come vnto the church by reading of the scriptures▪ than by reading of homilies.
All this of the vestels of the temple, the instruments, beesoms, flesh hookes, trumpets, &c. is superstuous, and proueth nothing, except it can be shewed that the Lorde hath com∣maunded only the Canonicall scriptures to be redde in the Church and nothing els: or that the Lord hath as particularly expressed all thinges to be vsed in the Churche vnder the Gospell, as he did in the temple vnder the lawe, the contrarie whereof I haue proued Tract. 2. and the kinde of reasoning that you vse in this and other places* 1.4 vpon similitudes is not of sufficient force to proue any thing, onely it carrieth away the ignorant people. In the rest of this portion you argue against your selfe: for you proue the excellentie, and the worthinesse of the Scriptures, and the great cōmoditie that cōmeth by reading of them, which I haue laboured against the authours of the Admonition to verifie. But what can you therevpon cōclude agaynst Homilies, that may not be in like manner against Sermons, or other interpretation of the Scrip∣tures? and rather against the one, (that is sermons) than against the other. For as I sayd before, I make this onely difference betwixt Homilies & Sermons, that the one is pronounced within the booke, the other not so. If you obiect & say that the Preacher