He þ^t made vs w^tout our coūsaile, did also redeme vs as pleased him. If he be mercifull, let vs be thãkefull. And if his mercies surmoūt our capacitie, let vs therfore not resiste, but search his word, & therunto applye our will: whiche if wee will do, all our contentions will soone be at appointe. Let vs therfore search the will of our God, in his worde: and if he wil his saluation to stand free to all nations, why do we make marchaundise thereof? MarginaliaGratis venū dati estis, gratis redime mini. Esa. 52.If he haue graciously offered his waters to vs, without money or money worth, let not vs hedge in þ^e plētuous springes of his grace geuē vs. MarginaliaOmnes sicientes venite ad aquas, emite absq̀; argento et commutatione. Esai. 55.And finally, if God haue determined his owne sonne onely to stand alone, let not vs presume to admixte with his maiestie, any of our trūperie. He that bringeth S. George or S. Denise, as patrons, to the fielde to fight agaynste the Turke, leaueth Christ (no doubt) at home. Nowe how we haue fought these many yeares agaynst the Turke, thoughe stories kepe silence, yet the successe declareth. We fight against a persecutour, beyng no lesse persecutours our selues. We wrastle agaynst a bloudy tyraunt, and our handes be as full of bloud as his. He kylleth Christes people w^t the sword: and we burne them with fire. He obseruyng the workes of the law, seketh his iustice by the same: the like also do we. But neither he nor we seke our iustification as we should, that is, by fayth onely in the sonne of God. And what meruell thē, if our doctrine beyng as corrupte almost, as his, & our conuersation worse, if Christ fight not with vs, fightyng agaynst þ^e Turke? The Turke hath preuailed so mightly, not because that Christe is weake, but because that Christians be wicked, and their doctrine impure. Our tēples with Images, our hartes with idolatrie are polluted: Our priestes stinke before God for adultery, being restrained from lawfull matrimonie. The name of God is in our mouthes, but hys feare is not in our hartes. We warre agaynst the Turke with our workes, masses, traditions, and ceremonies: but we fight not against him with Christ, and with the power of his glorye: Which if we did, the fielde were wonne. MarginaliaReformation of religion requisite before we fyght with the Turkes.Wherfore briefly to conclude, saying my iudgement in this behalfe, what I suppose: this hope I haue, and doe beleue, that when the Churche of Christ with the Sacraments therof, shalbe so reformed, that Christ alone shal be receaued to be our iustifier, all other religions, merites, traditions, images, patrons & aduocates set a part: MarginaliaFayth getteth victorye.the sword of the Christians, with the strength of Christ, shall soone vanquishe the Turkes pryde and furie. But of this more largely in þ^e processe of this story.

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MarginaliaThe sixte cause.The sixt and last cause, why I thinke the knowledge of þ^e Turkes history, requisite to be considered, is this: because that many there be, whiche for that they bee farther from the Turkes, and thinke therfore them selues to be out of daunger, take litle care and study, what happeneth to their other brethren. Wherefore to the entent to excite their zeale and prayer to almighty God, in this so lamentable ruine of Christes Churche: MarginaliaEarnest inuocatiõ necessarie in the church of Christ.I thought it requisite by order of history, to geue this our nation also somethyng to vnderstand, what hath bene done in other natiõs by these cruell Turkes, and what detriment hath bene and is like more to happen by them, to the churche of Christ, except we make our earnest inuocation to almighty God, in the name of his sonne, to stop the course of the deuill by these Turkes, and to stay this defection of Christians falling dayly vnto them, and to reduce them agayne to his faith, which are fallen from him. Which the Lord Iesus of his grace, graunt with speade. Amen.

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Before we enter into this story of the Turkes and Saracenes  

, first let vs call to remembraunce the Prophecie & forewarnyng of S. Paul writyng to the Thess. in his. 2. Epistle   , in these wordes: Marginalia2. Thes. 2.Be not moued nor troubled in your myndes, either by preachyng, or by wryting, or by letter from vs, as though the day of the Lorde were at hande: for the Lord will not come except there comea defection first, and the wicked person bee reuelled. &c. MarginaliaThe place of S. Paule expounded 2. Thess. 2. speaking of the defection to come.Of this defectiõ sondry mindes there be, of sondry expositours: some thinkyng this defection to meane a fallyng awaye from the Empire of Rome: some, from the obedience of the Pope. But as S. Paul litle passed vpõ the outward glorye of the Romaine Empire: so lesse he passed vpon the proude obedience of the Pope. What S. Paul ment by this defection, the readyng of these Turkishe stories, and the miserable fallyng awaye of those churches by him before planted, will soone declare   .

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MarginaliaThe nūber of the Apocalyps cap. 13 expounded.An other mistery there is in the Reuelations, Apoca. 13.  

where the number of the beast is counted. 666. Whereby may seme by all euidences, to be signified the first origine and springyng of these beastly Saracens, as by sequele hereof may appeare, by the first rising vp of this deuilish sect of Mahumet.

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MarginaliaAn other place Apocal. cap. 16.
Et sextus Angelus effudit phialam suam, &c.Moreouer, an other place there is. cap. 16. Apocal.  

where we read that by pouring out of þ^e Phiall of Gods wrath, of the sixte Aungell, the great floude Euphrates was dryed vp, to let in the kynges of the East: the opening of whiche Prophecie, may also more euidently appeare, in consideryng the order and manner of the commyng in of these Turkes into Europe.

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Some also applye to the Turkes, certeine Prophecies of Daniel, Ezechiel, and other places of the olde Testament moe, whiche here I omit: for so much as the Prophecies of the old Testament, if they bee taken in theyr proper and natiue sense, after my iudgement, do extend no farther, then to þ^e death of our Sauiour, and the end of the Iewes kyngdome. Albeit herein I do not preiudicate to any mans opinion, but that euery man may abounde in his owne sense.

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MarginaliaThe tyme of Mahumet the false prophet examined.As touchyng the yeare and tyme, when this pestiferous sect of Mahumet first began, histories do not fully consent: Some affirmyng that it began, an. 621. and in the. 10. yeare of Heraclius Emperour of Constantinople: in whiche minde is Ioannes Lucidus.  

As Munsterus counteth, it was in the yere of our Lord. 622   . Martin Luther, and Iohn Carion referreth it to the. 18. yeare of the reigne of Heraclius, whiche is the yeare of our Lord. 630   . MarginaliaThe nūber of the beast in the Apoca. ca. 13.Vnto the whiche number the computation of the Beast signified in the Apocal. doth not farre disagree, which numbreth the name of the Beast, with three Greke letters. xxx whiche Greke letters, after the supputation of the Grecians, make the number of. 666.

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In this all writers agree  

, that this damnable Mahumet was borne in the countrey of Arabia, borderyng on the East part of Iewry. His father was a Syrian, or a Persian. MarginaliaMahumet of the stocke of the Ismaelites dwelling in Arabia.His mother was an Ismaelite, whiche Ismaelites being a people of Arabia, wer called then Agerens: Whiche terme Mahumet afterward turned to þ^e name of Saracens. Of this wretched Mahumet mention was made before, pag. 166. where we shewed, how he makyng him selfe the hyghest Prophete of all other, yet denyeth not Christ to be an holy prophet, and next to him, and Moses also to be an other. Moreouer he denyeth not Mary the mother of Christ to be a virgine, and to haue conceaued Christ by the holy Ghost: affirmyng further that Christ in his own person, was not crucified, but an other called Iudas for him. He greatly commendeth also Iohn the sonne of Zacharie for a virgine: when hee hym selfe permitteth a man to haue. iiij. wyues, and as many concubines as he is able to finde: and sayth that where as Christe, and other Prophetes had the gift geuen them to woorke miracles, hee was sent by force of swoorde, to compell men to his Religion. MarginaliaThe prodigious lyes and blasphemies of Mahumetes Alchoran.The prodigious vanities, lyes, and blasphemies cõteyned in his law called Alchoran  

Commentary     Close

I.e., the Koran.

, are rather to be laught at, then to be recited. It is thought that Sergius a Nestoriã, was a great doer with Mahumet, in cõtriuyng of this lyeng Alchoran: and so it doth well appeare by the scope and pretēse therof, which especially tendeth to this end, to take þ^e di-

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