Vnto the 14. section.

I Onelie proue that their highe estate owght not to shado∣we the cause in hand: I saye nothing lesse then that men in highe estate can not haue the trewth: their is no syllable soun¦ding that waies / the contrary I plainely affirme / that manie off the Nobilitie and gentrie / are Zelous and Religiouse. To what ende therfore these places owt off Isay / Gualter / Bul¦linger to proue a thing not onelie not denied / but plainely af∣med? For iff he thinke Maister Bullingers sentence dothe hinder / that the saiynge off S. Paule to the Corinth. can not be vnderstanded of these times: he is greatlie abused / consi∣deringe that the reason which the Apostell there vseth / which is that no fleshe should glorie in the sight off God / reacheth to the whole estate of the kingdome of Christ / and is not pro∣per to that time. And when Maister Bullinger saith that it came to passe especiallie in that time / he excludeth not the ti∣mes that folowe.

Where as he saithe the simple and plaine meaning of the texte to be / that god in his electiō to eternall life / hathe neither respecte to learning / nobilitie / riches or any suche thing: he do the manifestly corrupte the sentence off the Apostle / and the whole proces off his diputation. for the apostle going abowt to mainteine / the naked simplicitie off the preaching off the word of god / against those that would haue the word prea∣ched in the swelling wordes off mans eloquence: amongest o∣ther reasons vseth this / that the lord vseth for the most part other meanes to doo his / then the wisdome off men would chuse to doo their matters. And therfore that the simple kind Page  XI off preaching / withowt all pompe and brauerie off speach / might semelesse strange: he sheweth the same to come to pas¦se in the callinge off god / in which he taketh the moste vnlike∣ly in mans iudgement / and passeth by those that the wisdo∣me of man would sonest take. And albeit it be to an other en∣de / this sentence off S. Paule is the same in effecte with that off S. Iames: that god chuseth the poore in the world riche in faith. Now althowghe it be trew / that god hathe not respe¦cte * to riches / or pouertie / nobilitie / or base degree in his eter∣nall election: yet who is there so voide off all iudgement / that will saie that the trew and simple meaning off S. Iames in this place is / that god in his eternal election hathe no regard to riches / or pouertie? When he therfore reproueth them to whom he wrote for that they reiected the poore which the Lor¦de for the moost part chuseth / and made much off the riche / which he for the moste part reiecteth.

Saint Paule therfore sheweth not onely what came to passe in those times: but what for the moste part cōmeth / and shall come to passe / vnto the worldes ende in the Kingdome of Christ: euen that he had before learned of our sauior Christ / that the poore as those that are afflicted / and cast downe wi∣the the sense off their miseries / oftentimes do gladlier receiue the gospell. Neither followeth it herevpō that the riche and no¦ble are shut owt off the kingdome off God / or that riches off them selues make men lesse apte to the kingdome off heauen / seing Abraham the father off the beleuers was riche: or els that the riche sometime goo not before the poore in receiuing off the gospell: whiche we reade to haue come to passe in Be∣roe / and Thessalonique / and which sometimes commeth to * passe not onelie in one citie / but in a whole realme / that the no∣bilitie embrace the gospell / and the baser sort despise yt. But this I say which also the Apostle meaneth / that the common and most vsuall calling off God / resteth in more off the porer then off the richer sorte: that the riche and noble that haue re∣ceiued that benefite of this holie callinge / maie learne therby the better to esteme the treasure they haue / and the faster to Page  XII hould y•. But I feare lest in confuting his absurditie / I beco∣me almoste as absurd as he.

Yow allow nothing which maketh against yow / and that yow may saye trew all Scriptures be they neuer so plai∣ne / must be falsified. The place off the Cronicles in the 29. chap∣ter / is no collection / but the plaine and manifest wordes off the Scripture / and so clere that it was not possible to haue had clerer wordes. For after that the holie goste had said / that the leuites the priestes brethern / had helped them vn∣till the worke were done / and vntill the priestes had san∣ctified them selues / he addeth the reason 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that is, for the leuites vvere more vpright in harte in sanctifyinge them selues then the priestes. And here the faithe of the Answerer which he vseth with his rea∣der is to be obserued. Which hauing one onelie translation to meintaine him selfe / against a manifest truthe of the scripture / hathe followed that / and left not onely the trewthe of the He∣brew / but all other translatiōs bothe of the greke (wherof the oulde interpretour is nothing els but a translator) and of the latin Munster / Pagnine / Leo Iuda / Castalio and other tran∣slations in other languages / which I am perswaded with one full consent / haue amended the error off the vulgar transla∣tiō in latin. and yet he is not ashamed to saie / that some trā¦slatiō semeth to insinuate sōe suche thīge as I haue set dovvne / in steede that he should haue said: all trāslatiōs the ould onelie excepted / so expound it: he speaketh as thowg∣he some one translation onely had so turned. And in steed that he should haue said they plainelie and clerelie de∣clare it / he saith that yt semeth in some translation to insinuate: and where he should haue said / the same thin∣ge that I haue sett dovvne he saith some suche thin¦ge. And on the other side when he speaketh of the translati∣on Which serueth his humor. He saith / That yff credit Page  XIII may be giuen to those vvhich be notable lerned men, speaking in the plural numbre / as thowghe there were a numbre / that had so translated it: when beside the oulde translator / he is not able to shew so muche as one. For wher he saith that Pellicane translateth those wordes / &c. he is a-abused: for they are the wordes off the ould translator / and not off Pellicane / who neuer set forth any translation. I gra∣unt that Pellicane being deceiued by the oulde interpretor so expoundeth it: but what is that against so manifest both light of the texte / and consent off all other learned men / which all with one cōsent refuse the oulde trāslatiō as that which dooth opē violence vnto the trewth: so that I perswade my self that euen the verie papistes / as the monke Isiodorus Clarius / hath in this point reformed the oulde trāslator. And it is a mere fa¦ble / that the Leuites could be sanctified easlier / or in shorter time then the priestes: neither is their any suche thinge in all the law of Moses. For as touching the corporall pollutions / that happened vnto men by touchinge of thinges which the law counted vncleane and common or off what other mea∣nes soeuer men were made vnmeete / to come either into the congregation of God / or other societie of men: the purgation and clensinge accordinge to the kind off pollution / was the same and in the same time / not onelie vnto the priestes and Leuites but also vnto the common people / and this answere is manifestlie ouerthrowen by the wordes off the text. for in that there were some priestes sanctified as well as the Leuites: it proueth manifestly that the cause off staie was not in the time that the ceremonie off sanctifing required / for then that should haue also staied the rest off the priestes.

And wher he saith Surelie the verie circunstance off the place doth proue that sence to be true: there can no wordes be sufficient to declare this bouldnes. For w∣her the holie ghoste doth assigne the cause off the fewnes off the priestes in the worke off the lord / in plaine wor∣des for that the leuites were more vpprighte in hart to Page  XIIII sanctifie thē selues then the priestes: he would make vs beleue that the cause of their fewnes in that worke was that which he hath imagined: wherof there is not a lettre in the scripture. For that there were to few priestes to fleay the sacrifices I graunt: that the Leuites helped the priestes vntill other priestes were sanctified / I likewise graunte: but that the cause off this few∣nes was either the want off nombre off those which were in the order and degree of priesthood / or for that more time was bestowed in sanctifying the priestes then the leuites (which he imagineth) I denie / and against his imaginatiō oppose the manifest wordes of the holie goste.

In the place also off the 30. of the Chronicles / it is mani∣fest that the people were more earnest / then either the priestes or the leuites. And althowgh the answerer haue here neither corrupte translation / nor vntrue exposition / nor patch off rea∣son to set against it: yet he wil not yelde him selfe to the truthe. The holie goste declaring the readines off the people off Iu∣dah / in assembling them selues so spedilie / and withe so gene∣rall a consent / and their zeale in breaking downe the monu∣mentes of Idolatrie / first at Ierusalem (as appeareth bothe in the last verse of the 29. chapter / and in the verse goinge before this place) and afterward in the whole contrie off Iudah (as appeareth in the beginning off the nexte chapter) iff he had said nothinge els yet it might haue bene gathered. But when he addeth immediatelie after he had spoken off the readines / and zeale off the people / that the Leuites and the prie∣stes vvere ashamed: Iff this be not the cause / I would gladlie learne of the answerer what should be. And the Rab∣bins althowghe they often times wringe the wordes off the texte / to couer the shame off their nation / and especiallie off those which were in publike charge: yet durst neuer attempte to striue against suche light off wordes as be here: but in bothe those places off the Cronicles / confesse the faultes off their * priestes and leuites. And one of thē in this place giueth this re¦ason / why the priestes ād Leuites differred their sanctifiyng of them to the worke of the lorde / namelie for that they could not Page  XV beleue that king Ezechias mēt good faith and therfore held of and stode aloufe / because they suspected that the king would returne to his fathers traine of Idolatrie / as it commeth of∣ten to passe in those that serue the time / which waite vppon what side the wind will turne.

And that owght not to seme so strange a thinge vnto the answerer / considering that beside this place / there is exam¦ple off this vntowardnes of the priestes / and Leuites in respe¦cte off the people in an other place / for when king Artaf hasta had giuen leaue vnto the Iewes to returne vnto Ierusalem / * for the aduancement off the seruice off God with Esra: it ap∣peareth that there were of all sortes off men which willinglie accōpanied Esra in his iorneye / but of the the leuites either pri¦estes / or which were simplie leuites / ther was not founde one / vntil suche time as Esra was faine to vse his authoritie which the king had graunted him for the causing of them to come.

Vnto the three next sections being reproches / I answere not / for it is vnworthie to be answered / which he speaketh off contrarietie with my selffe / because I acknowledge the Bi∣shops my superiors / which would haue equalitie off the mi∣nisterie.