The second tome of homilies of such matters as were promised, and entitled in…The second tome of homilees of such matters as were promised, and intituled in…

Saint Paul in the fifth Chapter to the Romans saith, By the offence of only Adam, the fault came upon all men to condemnation, & by one mans disobedience many were made sinners. By which words we are taught, that as in Adam all men universally sinned: so in Adam all men universally received the reward ⟨p. 358⟩of sin, that is to say, became mortal & subject unto death, having in them selves nothing but everlasting damnation both of body and soul. They became (as David saith) corrupt & abominable, they went all out of the way, there was none that did good, no not one. O what a miserable & woeful state was this, that the sin of one man should destroy and condemn all men, that nothing in all the world might be looked for but only pangs of death, & pains of hell? Had it ben any marvel if mankind had ben utterly driven to desperation, being thus fallen from life to death, from salvation to destruction, from heaven to hell? But behold the great goodness & tender mercy of god in this behalf: Albeit mans wickedness & sinful behaviour was such, that it deserved not in any part to be forgiven, yet to the intent he might not be clean destitute of all hope and comfort in time to come, he ordained a new covenant, & made a sure promise thereof, namely that he would send a Messiah or mediator into the world, which should make intercession, & put him self as a stay between both parties, to pacify the wrath & indignation conceived against sin, & to deliver man out of the miserable curse and cursed misery whereinto he was fallen headlong by disobeying the will & commandment of the only Lord & maker. This covenant and promise was first made unto Adam him self immediately after his fall, as we read in the third of Genesis, where God said to the serpent on this wise: I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed & her seed. He shall ⟨p. 359⟩break thine head, & thou shalt bruise his heel. After ward, the self same covenant was also more amply & plainly renewed unto Abraham, where God promised him, that in his seed all ¹nations & families of the earth should be blessed. Again it was continued and confirmed unto Isaac, in the same form of words, as it was ²before unto his father.