A Treatise of the Cohabitation Of the Faithful with the Unfaithful | Page 8

/ in Spayn namely / and in sum other places also / ther be many which do not only holde still the ceremonies of Moses lawe with the profession of christe / but they do thincke them to be necessarie vnto Saluacion. They emongst the Spaniards which be of this mynde / ar called Marrani. And vnto this daye the churche of India is enfected with the same vice. But let the examples of the holy scripture / I praye you / teache vs euen the same. The Israelites which wer captyues in Babilon / by the space of 70. yeares / when they hadd libertie gyuen them furst of Cyrus / then of Darius / thos two most noble Kinges to return / they did not all forthewith return / but a great number of them / such namely as wer weaker in the lord then other / being delighted with the commodities and pleasures of their houses / feildes and traffique of merchandize / did abide still amonge the chaldees: Which men how sharpely they wer reproued of Esdras / Nehemias / Zacharias / and other prophetes / it dothe playnly appeare in the scripture to them that liste to seake and knowe it. How the Israelites wer infected throughe that conuersacion which they hadd with the Egiptians / it appearith playnly by this / that whilest they wer in the desert / when as yet the wonderfull benefites of godd wer euen before ther eyes / they did fall from the lord their dilyuerer vnto Idolatrie / and vnto that kinde of Idolatrie / which they wer acquaynted withall in Egipte. Ther they hadd seene howe the Egiptians worshipped an Oxe /
[[Exod. 23.]]
they therfor violently trauailed with Aaron when Moses was absent / that he shuld make them a calf to worshipp: which when he hadd doone / then began they ioyously to crye: Theise ar the godds / O. Israell / which brought the out of the lande of Egypt. Agayn / when by the desert wild and barren places /
[[Numer. 25.]]
they wer comme to the coastes of the Moabites / and began to waxe more familiar with them then became the poeple of godd / through that familiaritie they wer brought to this / that not only they did committ most vile whordom with thos beastly women / but also that they sacrificed vnto their most shamefull Idoll / Baalpeor / and suffred themselues to be coupled vnto his sacrifices. for which they suffred many miseries and calamities.
[[Math. 26.]]
Peter likewise / when he camme into that wicked court of the cheif prest and was ther conuersant emongst thos damsels and vngodly seruantes / most miserablie did he denie and forsweare his master christe our Sauiour: which his fault / after he departed from thence / he did bewaile with abundaunce of teares. By these histories ye may playnly see / what happenith vnto the weake through that familiar conuersacion which they haue with the vnfaithful.
[[Esaiae 6.]]
Esaye the prophet / when he did se the lorde sitting vppon his seate of glorie / with his Angels about hym most purely publishing his prayse / though he semith not to thincke hymself greatlye gyltie of ony notable cryme or fault / yet cryeth he out / O wo is me / &c. I dwell amonge a poeple that hath vncleane lyppes. This man of godd truly did thincke / that he hadd gotton no small corruption and infection / bicause he hadd lyued long with an vncleane poeple.
The histories of the heathen do teache vs the same thinge. Alexander that gret and mightie kinge of Macedonia / who by the force of armes / and most notable victories / hadd subdued the greatest parte of the whole worlde / Euen he hymself was ouercomme with the maniers of the Persians.
And vppon whom of right / as vppon a conquered poeple / he shuld haue laied lawes / to haue brought them to that seuere kinde of lyfe which the Macedonians vsed / euen he as a man conquered and ouercomme of ther maniers / suffered hymself to be so shamefully misused / that he did take vnto hym their kinde of araye / their lowse delicacie / their pompe and pride / and set. furthe hymself to be worshipped of them as godd. And so being corrupted he did allow that fall from the maniers of the grecians / through which he did sustayn great reproche amonge the wise / and mutche hatred amonge his souldiours / and that not vnworthilie. Besids this / we must knowe / that if these men do without ony Rule or godly end keape such companye / and be familiarly conuersant with the vnbeleauers / except that in theise the fruite