An excelent comfort to all Christians, against all kinde of calamities no lesse comfortable, then pleasant, pithy, and profitable: Compendiously compiled by Iohn Perez, a faithfull seruant of God, a Spaniard (in Spanish) and now translated into English by Iohn Daniel, of Clements Inne, with diuers addicions by him collected and therevnto annexed.

Of the cause of Christes comming, and of the fruites of christians. The .viii. Chapter.

GOd hath giuen vs Ie∣sus Christe to be our onely maister and tea∣cher, and doothe com∣maunde vs to heare him, bicause he is the onely expositer & declarer of his wyll and most mightie power, and to direct vs for the accomplishment of y^e same. So y^t they y^t doo heare y^e woorde of god and kéepe it for a rule in their doings and workes, doo shewe themselues to be tréese of rightuousnesse, planted & beloued of him: and that his spirit is resident and remayning in them. But of them that teache and doo to the cō∣trary, (he sayth by Sainct Mathewe,) they are plants that his heauenly Fa∣ther hath not planted, and althoughe they florishe for a tyme and be séene, yet in thend they wilbe withered dry and rotten. Thus Iesu Christ doothe

testifie, that those which are gouerned and séeke to serue him by the commaū∣demēts of men, are none of his plāts. We ought to abhorre and houlde for abhominable, all such maner of serui∣ces, for that we are instructed by the word of trueth, that al they which doo delight in them, are subiect to the con∣dempnacion wherein they were firste borne. The hatred of them with all the rest that god hath forbidden, and the obedience of his commaundemēts diuine, are those fruites which we ought alwayes to accōpt for his plāts, with a dayly study to be of that num∣bre which the Prophet Dauid spea∣keth of, that haue all their affection & delight in the lawe and ordinance of y^e Lorde, and doo meditate and walke in the same bothe day and night, bicause we might fructifie and bringe foorthe good fruite in dewe season. God dyd plant vs in his sonne, giuing him vn∣to vs, to be our redéemer, the foote∣steppes of whome we should followe, and with whose rightuousnesse our faults were couered. And therfore we

ought to haue a constant faythe and beléefe, that he is such a one as wée confesse him to be in our Créede or twelue Articles of our Faythe, and reioyce that we haue him to be our eternall highe Preste, Kinge, and Sauiour, that liueth eternally to be an intercessour for vs, and to fulfill for vs all that God dooth commaunde or aske: for that in him is hidden all science, treasure, and wysedome. This is the faythe that muste be in our hartes by the which we are ioy∣ned to Christ Iesus, and dooe knowe the sufficiency that we haue in his ritches by him, to whose goodnesse we must be appendant, but not as in the tyme of our blindenesse, when we confessed him with our mouthes and denyed him in our workes. We confessed that wée dyd loue and be∣leue him but it was a lye, false, and nothinge so. We sayde that we dyd beleue he was our sauiour, but it was not true: for why, wée sought healpe and healthe in vaine thinges,

that he dyd, neither commaunde nor yet alowe, and also dyd liue in the beléefe, and follow those vaine vani∣ties vntill now of late. We confessed him to be Christ, King of all Kings, and principall highe Preste, and yet we gaue no place vnto the fruite of his Gospell in our hartes, where it should haue béene, and he also haue liued.

We sayde hée was a highe Preste, but yet we accounted better of Ante∣christ, and made him our high Prest. Of him onely dyd we séeke pardon for our sinnes and sinfull delightes, we set a syde Iesus Christe our true remitter, whome by his moste pre∣cious deathe and passion dyd make and fulfiill suche satisfaction to our GOD his Father for our offences, as none but hée coulde doo the like.

Yea, although the wrath and heauie displeasure of GOD, were neuer so fully satysfied, yet wée dyd thincks, our selues to make satisfaction by our owne deuised merittes, and nothing

estemed the merites of Iesus Christ which were of a most infinite and vn∣speakeable vallour for the healthe of his elected beleuers. Yet (now déerely beloued) let vs account for vaine, all our owne deseruinges, and all mens merites so full of vnrightuousnesse, & trust onely to his mercy in his diuine iudgement, in which none may per∣fectly percist but onely his owne. He was giuen vnto vs for our onely euer∣lasting Aduocate to God the Father: commaūding vs that we should aske any thinge that we haue néede of at y^e handes of god y^e Father in his name. But making little price hereof, & lesse regarding him, we sought other me∣diatours: as to this sainct, and by the diuillish helpe of that relique. &c.

What was this, but to denie y^e fayth by ours workes which we confessed with our lippes, bicause therein we would be accompted christians, & yet in our hartes we were condempned for vngodly. For why with our mou∣thes we made confession to serue and honour Christ, when as in déede with

all our workes and studies we serued curssed Antichrist and walked in er∣rors, euery man after his owne way and accordyng to our owne inuenti∣ons, as sayeth the Prophet Esay.

But now sith it is so apparant, that by the great goodnes and singular be∣nifit of the almightie God, we doe be∣leue truely in Iesu Christ his onlye sonne our sauiour. Let vs according∣ly liue in that godlinesse and trueth, that he hath taught and shewed vnto vs, by his word and spirite: hée hath marked vs for his owne, with y^e same signe & seale, the which he hath mar∣ked his chosen? They which doe per∣secute vs, doe not knowe vs, but doe both holde & accompt vs for aliaunts and straungers vnto themselues, they maye nor can not suffer vs in the world, no more then they might suffer our Lord Iesus Christ who hath done such a benifite for all mankinde, and of whom assuredly we are. So that we ought to vnderstand, and accompt for most certeine and sure, that all the causes of our troubles wherewith

we are so hated, afflicted, & persecuted in this world, is as S. Paule saith, bi∣cause we trust & beleue in the lyuing God, who is the sauiour of all y^e faith∣full. Notwithstāding the false coulers which they vse in their quarelsome war y^t they make with vs, they couer thēselues w^t a cloak, & say y^t we are he∣ritikes, & that they are holy, it is so in déede, but yet it is but a fayned holy∣nesse, y^e which God by his worde hath cōdempned for abhominable. Wher∣fore let vs arme our selues with a firme & sure hope, y^e God, yea, our God, will bée our sure helper & defender a∣gainst thē in all our troubles, for that we be y^e worke of his handes, he hath made vs, redéemed vs, and we be his owne, the cause is his, and will suffer no harme nor euil to touch vs. Let vs not fal from, nor yet be weake in this truth which God hath reuealed vnto vs, but let vs be fully assured y^t it is his might, power, & will, y^e deliuereth vs & saueth all beleuers. We are set sure therby from all perils & dangers, and taken out of all afflictions. S. Si∣mon

in y^e gospel of S. Luke doth pro∣phesie, that Iesus Christ was sent for the rysing & falling of many people in Israel, & that by him are reuealed the thoughtes of meny hartes, & that wée should be saued from all that hate vs. Euen now in these dayes is this pro∣phesie fulfilled. Assoone as y^e worde of the Gospel was preached amōgst vs, and y^t it did reueale vnto vs & thē our lord Iesus, both they & we might haue séene the effect of this prophesie, (euen so it may be still,) some of them he did please to condempne, for that they did resist furiously, & did persecute & con∣dempne him: Others, which were thē that did beleue, were reysed, edifyed, and saued by him, for whose sake they are hated, held, & accoūted, for abhomi∣nable in y^e world. And y^e thoughtes of some y^t were holy hallowers & sancti∣fiers of mē were, & are discouered and shewed to be of such cōditiō & qualitie, that they cānot suffer y^e holines of our Lord & sauiour Iesus Christ, but do so rebell against him that they vse their vttermoste force wyth crueltye to throw him out of the world.

Notes

• Math. 17. &. 18.
• Mar. 9. &. 29.
• Luck. 9. & 21.22.23. &c
• Mat. 15. &. 13.
• Psal••▪ ••. &. ••.••.
• Hebr. 7. & 2.21.25.
• Colos. 2. &. 3,
• Titus. 1. &. 16
• A lyinge layth and false reli∣gion.
• Iohn. 14. &, 13, 16.
• Hier. 2. & 28.
• Esa. 53. & ••
• The cause of the faith fuls afflicti∣ons.
• 2. Tim. 4. &. 3.
• Ro. 1. &. 18.
• Luke. 2. &. 34.
• 1. Pet. 1. &. 12.