A manuel of the Bibles doctrine for law and Gospell, letter and spirit, signe and thing signified reduced to the first chapter of Leuiticus: Wherewith (occasionally) be plainely considered, and briefelie concluded, the most mayne questions wherewith the christian churches be combied. By H.C.

Section. 10.

BEfore I touch these conside∣rations that a∣gree vnto eue∣ry of the Holocausts a∣part, I iudge it fitting to insiste of these par∣ticulars, that agree in common among them∣selues, both for the mā∣ner of vsage, as also, the mystical end wherevnto they were referred. And

the particulars in Com∣mune, I enumber as fol∣low.

1. All the sacrificiall presents (for wee speake now only of the first ch) they wer to be Tamim in∣tegrall perfect. I knowe the word is of sūdry tur∣•…•…ed, immaculat or vnspot∣ted. And true it is such sence it hath, & therfore the word made attribute to beasts, not to birds: be caus the 1 might be had without spots, the 2 not. But seeing that is not the words first and neer sence, as also, for the ho∣ly-ghost elsewhere allu∣deth

hereto (as in Mala. 1: 13: 14: & Hebr. 7: 26:) it causeth mee to take the word more largelie, that is, for a creature in his kind perfect, not torn, rēt, lame, diseased &c: And indeede, such a one was Christ, shall I say in his body? why, the prophet Isaiah in chap. 53. insinu∣ates that there should be no beautye in him, for which he shold be desi∣red: true, but that was (as there appeareth) when our infirmities shold be vpō him, & he whipped, buff•…•…ted, & spit vpon for our sakes (what beautye could thē appear?) who

otherwise was wh•…•…te and ruddy the chiefest of tē thou∣sand. But in his soule was al perfectiō (a reasō why his bodye in the graue could feel no corruptiō, for if Adams soul had not first sin'd, his body could not haue corrupted:) so that the moral law could not cōmand that perfec∣tiō that was not in him; and indeed, such a priest & sacrifice, it besemed vs to haue. And is the chur∣ches head thē perfect? & oughte not his mysticall body (the church) to be perfect? Yes, we are cal∣led in ma: 5: to be perfect as our heauēly father is

And can wee in this life then be perfect? We can not, and yet we can. We cannot in our selues (for when we wold do good, euill is presente leading vs captiue, Rom, 7.) but through Christ wee can do all things; who was made sin, that we might bee made the righteous∣nes of God in him, 2. Cor 5: 21: But by what equity doth god command the fulfilling of the morall law in our selues, if so we cannot do it, and the law curseth such as doe not all the things in it? By a double equity: once for

that hee set mankind ou•…•… of his hands, enabled to keepe the lawe of perfe∣ction: Being now runne bank-rupt through his own defalt, it is iust with God notwithstanding to craue the debt: for our wilfull pouertye, is no cause why he shold cast aside his Iustice. Again, he commaunds perfecti∣on to his Sons disciples, because they haue a new and a liuing way, whereby they may attaine perfe∣ction, and that is, by true faith fastned vpon him. Because that no soule cā be iustified by the morall

lawe, but by the lawe of faith they can, therfore it is, that the holye ghoste saieth thus: The law mad•…•… nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope made perfect—By so much is Iesus made a surely of a better couenant—wherefore he is able als•…•… perfectly to saue them that come vnto God by him, heb. 7, 19, 22, 25: O happy co∣uenant of Grace, •…•…ar ex∣ceeding the couenant of works! This, Martin Lu∣ther looking deeply into it causeth him for prefer ring of the latter, to d•…•…s∣anul Moses in a sort: and

indeed in respect of any true Peace a soule can haue by the law of moral works, Moses may be bid giue place, and his two Tables bee put by: for thereby we can neuer be iustified; and so conse∣quētly, neuer comforted, neuer saued. By the name Ies•…•…s, and by no other name vnder heauen, are wee to obtaine saluati∣on. This beeing vngain∣sayably true, how wicked be the Romanistes, that teache Iustification with GOD by workes! And how woonderfullye o∣uerseene are some,

amongst vs, that ordina∣rily propounds the laws perfectiō so to the harts of their hearers, as they often leaue them marked for reprobates, in beeing found breakers thereof. I know that the Lawe is holye and pure, and that wee are to striue after conformity thereto; but to pres it, as som in their Ignoraunce often presse it, (and I woulde no la∣mentable presidentes thereof had passed) is to lead people from christ, & in conforming them∣selues to the Law, to do it rather of a slauish feare

(which kinde of obedi∣ence is vnacceptable) then of Loue to the lawes holinesse. It were good the Church were either purged of such fantast∣iques, or at least of theyr fantastique preachinges, tending indeede to He∣reticall puritanisme, the very iustification of Ro∣nanists, Anabaptistes & •…•…amilists. Will people neuer vnderstand? But to other particulars.

Notes

• Sacrificiall Particulers in Com mon.
• It is turned by this latin integrum. not only of •…•…re∣mellius for v•…•…, but also of Arias Mo•…•…us for the Ro∣manists.
• Sacrifices perfection.
• perfect.
• Heb. 10. 19 •…•…0.
• Luther on the Galat.