Chapter 50

How some use to be much deceived, by giving credit to false Revelations; and it is particularly declared, wherein true liberty of Spirit doth consist.

IT is not reason, that I pass from hence, with out acquainting thee with a great danger which happeneth to them that travail in the way of God; and whereby many have been overthrown. The chief remedy whereof, consisteth in that advice, which the holy Ghost giveth us, by means of this word. incline thine ear. This danger groweth, when revelations, or visions, or other spiritual gusts, do offer themselves to some devout persons; which, by the permission of God, do arrive many times, through the work of the Devil; & that, for the obtaining of two effects. One is, that by the means of these deceits, he may take credit from the true revelations of God; as he hath also procured, to show false miracles, thereby to discredit such as are true. Another is, to deceive that person, under the show of Good, now that, by other means, he cannot do it. Many of whom, we have read of, in former times, and many we have seen in these days of ours; who may serve for a warning to any such person, as is desirous of his salvation; & to put him in fear of being easy, in giving credit to such things as these; since some of those very persons, who gave them such credit at the first, did afterward (when they were free, from being so deceived) advice others to take heed, how they fell into those inconveniences. Gerson recounteth, that, in his time, many of these abuses did happen; and he said, that be knew of many; and that some did hold for certain, that it was revealed to them, that they should be Popes. And some one of them, did leave the same in writing; and by conjectures, and other such kinds of proof, he affirmed it to be true. And another, believing, upon the same motive, that he was to be Pope, this thought did after, settle itself in his hart, That he¹ should be Antichrist, or at least the forerunner of him. And upon this, he was grievously tempted to kill himself, that so he might not bring such a deal of misery upon Christian people; till at last, by the mercy of God, he was drawn out of these deceitful errors, and left them in writing behind him, for the caution & instruction of others.

There have not been wanting some, in these days of ours, who held for certain, that they were to reform the Church of Christ, and to bring it to the first perfection, or even greater than it had at first. But their being dead without doing it, is a sufficient proof that they were deceived; and that it would have been better for them, to have attended to the reformation of themselves (which, by the grace of God, would not have been hard) then, so forgetting their own consciences, to cast their vain eyes upon that² thing, which God, had no mind to do, by their means. Others, have resolved upon seeking new ways, which seemed to them very compendious, for their own arriving quickly to God. And it seemed to them, that giving themselves to him, in a perfect kind of a manner, and abandoning themselves into his hands, they were so taken and possessed by God, and so wholly governed by the holy Ghost, that whatsoever came to their hart, must (forsooth) be no other thing, but the instinct and light of God himself. And³ so fare did this deceit arrive, that if this kind of interior motion came not to them, they would not stir a foot, towards the doing of any thing how good soever; and (on the other side) if they had a mind to do any thing; that they would be sure to do, though it were against the will of God. Believing that the humour which they found in their hart was Gods particular instinct, and the liberty of the holy Ghost; which did enfranchise them from all obligation, to the ordinary Commandments of God; to whom, they said they carried, such an entiere, & true love, as that, even by breaking of his commandments, they lost it not. They considered not, that the Son of God, did preach, by his own sacred mouth, a doctrine very contrary to this, when he said, If any man love me, he will keep my word; and he that holdeth and observeth my Commandments, he is the man that loveth me. And again, If any man love me, he will keep my word; and he that loveth me not, will not keep it. Giving clearly to understand hereby, that whosoever keepeth not his word, doth bear no love, nor hold friendship with him. For as S. Augustine saith, No man can love that King, whose Commandments he hateth.

Now as for that which the Apostle saith, That⁴ to the just man there is imposed no law; and that where the spirit of our Lord is, there is liberty: This is not so to be understood, as if the Holy Ghost did free any man, how just soever he may be, from keeping the commandments of God, or of his Church, or of his Prelates; but rather, how much the more this spirit doth communicate itself, so much the more love doth it infuse; and by the increase of love, the care and desire doth also increase, of keeping more and more, the word of God, and of his Church. And as this spirit is most efficacious, and maketh a man become a true, and fervent lover of that which is good; so it further putteth, such a disposition into the soul, when it imparteth itself abundantly, as that the keeping of the Commandments is not hard, but very easy; & so full of gust as that David said, How sweet are thy words to my threat, yea more than honey to my mouth. Because when this spirit, doth place, in the will of man, a most perfect conformity with the will of God, making it to be one spirit with him, and doth say, as S. Paul doth, That he hath the same mind to will, and not to will; it must necessarily follow, that to such a man the observation of the will of God, is to be full of gust; since it is of gust to every body, to do that which they love.

And this is so full of Truth, as that if the very law of God could be lost, it would be found written, by the holy Ghost, as it were, in the bowels of these persons; according to that which David⁵ saith, That the law of God, is in the hart of the man, that is just; that is, in his will, which is according to God. And God himself said as much, I⁶ will put my law into the bowels of them. From hence it is, that although there were no hell to threaten, and no heaven to allure, and no commandment to oblige, yet would this just man, do that which he doth, for the pure love of God. For, because the holy Ghost worketh in a man towards God, that which nature worketh in the hart of a son towards his Father, (since by his gift, and by his grace, we receive the adoption of being the sons of God) from hence, I say, it groweth, that such a man, like a tender hearted Son, doth revere, and serve God, through the filial love which he carrieth towards him. Upon this doth also follow, a perfect detestation of all sin; and a perfect hope which dispatcheth all fear, & sorrow away, with speed, (as it may be done in this exile of ours) and it enableth him to suffer pain, and trouble, not only with patience, b●● even with joy. And by reason of the liberty which he hath, both in respect of sins, & afflictions, abhorring the former, and loving the latter, he may be called free; and that, upon such a just man, there is no law imposed.

Even so, as if there were a mother who did much love her son; and would fain do much for him; that law would be of no trouble to her, which should command her to do those things towards him, which her own maternal hart did induce her to. And so this mother, should not be placed under a law, or under the trouble that she was put to; but should rather be superior to them; since she performed that with alacrity, which the law commanded with authority. In this sort do they of whom we have spoken, by fulfilling the law of God's love; yea and there are many, who do things, to which they are tied by no obligation; their hart flaming up into a hotter fire of love, than the law doth any way oblige them to.

In this manner therefore, that of S. Paul, is⁷ to be understood, If you be conducted by the Spirit, you are no more under the law. Because⁸ by abhorring sin, and carrying a tender love to that which the law commands; and being joyful in tribulation, (which are all, effects of being guided by the Spirit) the law (as hath been said) is no burden to such. But in breaking any of the commaundments of God, or of his Church, this Spirit doth instantly fly away; as it is written, That it departeth from the thoughts of them, who are without understanding, and that it shallbe driven out of a soul, when sin cometh into it. And as then, men are not carried by this holy Spirit; so is it impossible, but that they should be under that weight, which the law imposeth, upon such as love it not; and who are weak in suffering affliction, and subject to return to sin.

Let⁹ no man therefore affirm, that when he breaketh the commandment of God, or of his Church, he hath justice, or liberty of spirit, or love of God in his soul; since our Lord pronounceth him to be a slave, and no free man, who committeth sin. And as, there is no participation between light, and darkness; so neither is their any, between God and him that worketh wickedness. For, as it is written, The wicked man, and his wickedness, are detestable in the sight of God.

I have given thee notice of this so blind error, in the nature of an example, by means whereof thou mayest consider of many others, as absurd and foolish as this is; into which, both in other times, and these also, such persons have fallen, as grew lightly to believe, that the notions, or instinctes of their own hearts, did come from God.

Footnotes

1. Let not a Caluinist make himself merry at this, but let him tremble to find how like he is to the Devil, in saying that the Pope is Antichrist. ↩

2. The Author meaneth, only Reformation of manners▪ for he showeth in a hundred places, that the Faith of the Church both is, & for ever must be true. ↩

3. Much of this discourse is meant, by a certain fantastical heretical people, which was beginning to sly de into Spai●e about his time, and they were called Il●umimati▪ ↩

4. Note how the objection which is made by heretics, under the colour of this place of Scripture, is sound answered, and at large. ↩

5. Psal. 39 ↩

6. jerem. 31. ↩

7. Gal. 5. ↩

8. This liberty of Spirit is very different from the Protestant liberty of the gospel. ↩

9. Hear Protestant's are plainly spoken to. ↩