therin are and the Sea and the thinges which therein are that time should be no more Therefore to day signifieth not a naturall or artificiall day for if there be dayes in heauen there be wéekes moneths yéeres and all manner of changes which is absurd but to day signifieth for euer as I will proue by many Scriptures First in the 2. Psal. 7. verse Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee euen so Act. 13. 32. 33. verses And we declare vnto you that touching the promise made vnto the Fathers God hath fulfilled it in vs their children in that he raised vp Iesus euen as it is written in the 2. Psalme thou art my sonne this day haue I begotten thee Héere the Apostle prouing Christ to be euerlasting alleadgeth these woordes thou art my sonne this day haue I begotten thée And in the epistle to the Heb. 1. 5. prouing Christ to be higher then the Angels and from euerlasting he saith For to which of the Angels said he thou art my sonne this day begat I thee And most plainly Heb. 5. 6. Prouing that Christ liued for euer but the Priests of the Leuiticall order dyed he proueth the eternity of Christ thus So likewise Christ tooke not to himselfe this honour to be made a high priest but he that saide vnto him thou art my sonne this day begat I thee gaue it him He also in another place speaketh Thou art an high Preest for euer after the order of Melchisedec Héere the Apostle prouing Christ to be an euerlasting Préest and to giue eternall redemption vseth this woord to day which signifieth for euer as it is manifest in the 6. ver By these reasons therfore it is proued that with me signifieth with the Godhead 1. By the petition of the théefe for he asked the kingdome of heauen 2. By that which was forgiuen him his sinnes 3. By that which was giuen him that was glory 4. By the place where it was giuen him that was paradise 5. By the time for how long it was giuen him that is for euer Lastlye by the person that giueth it that is Christ who being euerlasting as I proued before forgiueth infinite sinnes giueth grace alwaies in his euerlasting kingdome and in all eternity for euer And of this iudgement is S. Augustine who answering the like obiection of the aduersaryes of this doctrine in his time this hath left in writing there is an other meaning also much more frée from all ambiguities if it be taken to be spoken not in respect that he is man but in respect that he is God to day thou shalt be with me in paradise for the man Christ was in respect of his flesh in the graue that day in respect of his soule in hell and the same Christ was God euery where and at all times The last place that is alleadged by y e gainsayers of this doctrine is the last spéech which Christ vsed vpon the crosse Luc. 23. 46. Into thy hands O Father I commend my spirite Out of which place they thus conclude that the soule of Christ was committed to his Father in heauen therfore it went not to hell which is a false consequence For they imagine héer that the hands of God signifieth heauen which cānot be proued out of this place For this scripture being a deriuatiue place out of the 31 Psalme and 5. verse teacheth vs this that as the soule of Dauid being the figure of Christ did not immediatly after this prayer goe to heauen but was guided by the hand and gouernment of the Lord in all maner of perils so it dooth not follow that the soule of Christ being committed into the hands of the father for these woords are spoken in respect of the manhoode of Christ should passe immediatly into heauen but should so be guided by the Godhead that it should passe through death and hell mightily without resistance naturally with out assistance spéedily without tarying and happily without any returning But for the better vnderstanding of this place you must note how many waies this woord the hand of the Lord is taken in the holy book of God that when we sée the diuers acceptation of the woord we may take that sence which most fitteth this Scripture First the hand of God signifieth the Sonne of God Psal. 144. 7. Send thy hand from aboue 2. For his power Psal. 136. 6. In a mighty hand out stretched arme 3. The bountifulnes of God Psal. 145. 16. Thou openest thy hand and fillest with thy blessing euery liuing creature 4. It signifieth consolation Ezek. 3. 22. The hand of the Lord was with me comforting me Sometime it signifieth grace Psal. 118. 16. The right hand of the Lord hath doone valiantly Sometime it signifieth the gifte of prophecye Ezek. 8. 1. The hand of the Lord fel there vpon me Sometimes it signifieth mercy Psal. 37. 24 Though he fall he shal not be cast off for the Lord putteth vnder his hand Sometime it signifieth the protection of the Lord. Psal 31. 15. my times are in thy hand Sometime it sigifieth the aide of the Lord Nehe. 2. 8. And the king gaue me according to the good hand of my God vpon me And in y e 74. Psal. ver 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand Somtime it signifieth y e punishment of the Lord. Iob. 19. 21. Haue pittie on me haue pittie on me aye my freends for the hand of God hath touched me It signifieth also the creation Psal. 102. 25. The heauens are the workes of thy hands Last of all it signifieth his gouernment Psal. 95. 4. In his hands are al y e corners of the earth Christ therfore commending his soule into the hands of the Father teacheth vs when we are dying or in any affliction which is gréeuous we must cōmit our soules to the power consolation mercy protection ayde and gouerment of the Lord. For this being a deriuatiue place is taken out of the 31. Psal. and 5. ver Therfore as the soule of Dauid did not immediatly after goe to heauen so did not the soule of Christ. For if he went vp immediatly then Christ did ascend before he did descend which is contrary to the Scriptures in many places In the Ephe. 4. 9. Now in that he ascended what is it but that he also descended first into the lowest partes of the earth But if the soule of Christ went into heauen before he was buryed or descended into hell as the gainsayers of the doctrine stoutly affirme then he ascended before he descended which is contrary to this Scripture therefore good Reader marke these circumstances 1. Who must descend that is Christ. 2. Whether into the lowest partes of the earth which I haue proued before to be hell for as ascend and descend are contrary so is heauen and hell 3. When must he descend first before he ascend And thus as many learned men before
Paul saith Heb. 11. 35. Their women receued their dead raised to life Both these say the childe was dead therfore it is vntrue that Carleil affirmeth in his booke fol. 144. that the childe was not dead and as the wise man saith it was a wōderous déed but it is no wonder to quicken one that is in a swoun as Nephesh in this place doth signifie the soule so dooth it in many other places Pro. 23. 14. Thou shalt smite him with the rod and shalt deliuer his soule from hel Farther y t Nephesh signifieth the Soule it is manifest by this for y e interpreters called Septuaginta haue translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There were in times past many Heretiques that did deny that Christ had a soule of whom Appollinaris was one against whom Athanasius thus writeth in his book of the wholsome comming of Christ neither his body was left in the graue neither his soule was left in hell for this the Prophet writeth Thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell nor suffer thy holy one to see corruption And a little after for if the Godhead had béen seperated from the body and death had shewed his force on him how could the body depriued of the immortall God shew forth incorruption or how could the woord finish his going downe to hell or arise from hell Epiphanius writing against the Heretiques called Damaeritae vseth the same proofe haer 77. Fulgentius ad Thrasymundum in his 6. Chapter thus writeth concerning this matter whose flesh neither the diuinity forsooke in death neither did it leaue the soule in hell as the Prophet saith thou shalt not leaue my soule in Hell And in his 8. Chapter alleadging the 2. of the Acts 16. Psalm he addeth these words there blessed Peter being lightned indéede by the holy Ghost and made according to the woord of the Lord the light of the world did shew by the manifest light of preaching how we should vnderstand this place least any man in Christ should so vnderstand the true flesh that he should deny the true soule In this therfore the diuinity of Christ did shew his impossibilitie because hée is present alwaies and in all places and after an vnspeakable manner and was as concerning his soule in hel without sorrowes and as concerning his bodye laye in the Sepulchre without corruption for hee neither was absent from his flesh when he did not suffer his soule to be gréeued in Hell neither did he leaue his soule in hell when he kept his flesh in the graue without corruption But most plaine of all others is Ciril who in his book of the true faith to Theodosius the Emperour thus writeth it is not lawfull to saye that the flesh coupled to the Godhead could be subiect to the corruption at any time and y t diuine soule to be holden within the gates of hell for he was not left in hell as S. Peter saith For we may not saye that that nature which cannot be subdued by death that is the deitye of the onely begotten Sonne should returne from those dennes vnder earth neither should this thing haue any miracle vnlesse the Sonne of God by the efficacy and nature of the diuinity had tarried in hell fulfilling all things marueilouslye and aboue the reach of reason and working in all things for God is aboue measure place circumscription and magnitude he himselfe is comprehended of none This also is wonderfull that his body rose againe being corruptible by nature and his soule being vnited to the Godhead by the vertue and power of the Godhead did appeare to the soules that were there In these places Ciril Fulgentius and Athanasius doo proue y t Christ had a true body and a true soule and to proue that he was a true man in respect both of body and soule they alleadge this text of the 16 Psalm out of S. Peter If then Nephosh doth not signifie the soule the reasons of those learned Fathers were of no validitye And for this cause in the interlineall glosse you shall read this interpretation animam quam haheo vt verus homo My soule which I haue as a true man And thus M. Hutchinson in his most learned woork of the Image of God vseth this Scripture against the Arrians to proue that Christ had a true soule As then Athanasius Epiphanius Fulgentius and Hutchinson with all the rest of the auntient fathers doo vnderstand Nephesh heer to be the Soule euen so doo I with them séeing no reason why I should beléeue otherwise Peter Martyr in the 1. Cor. 15. teacheth vs a doubtfull place of Scripture must be interpreted First saith he it must be conferred with the like places of Scripture Secondly we must sée what the Fathers especially of the Gréek Church which day and night did exercise this book of God in their hands and conferred it with all the books they could doo write of it So haue I doone in handling this place First I haue proued by the woord of God that Nephesh signifieth y e soule seperate from the body Secondly by the Gréeke Fathers who translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth the soule Mat. 10. 28. Feare ye not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the Soule but feare him that hath power to cast both bodye and soule into hell As Nephesh signifieth the soule so Sheol doth in the 16. Psalme signifie Hell this phrase of Scripture is in other Psalmes as in the 86. 13. For thy mercye is great towards me and thou hast deliuered my Soule from the nethermost hell and in the 9. Psalme verse 17. The wicked shal be turned into hell and al the people that forget God So in Deut. 32. 22. Iob. 21. 13. Psal. 30. 4. 54. 16 138. 8. Esa. 5. 14. Ose. 13. 14. Habac. 2. 5. Mat. 11. 23. In these and many other places of Scripture it can not be denyed but Sheol signifieth hell and so doth it in this place as by Gods grace I wil proue First Sheol com ming of Nephesh which is to ask signifieth such a place as ne uer is satisfied but alwaies asketh and this is most properly hel which albeit it hath receiued infinite soules yetas it is in y e 5. of Esay His mouth is alwaies open and gapeth for more Secondly it is translated by the Septuaginta 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which woord fignifieth in the Scriptures hell alwaies and neuer the graue as yon may sée Mat. 11. 23. Luke 16. 23. Apoc. 1. 18. 6. 8. 20. 13. 14. And therefore to translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a graue which signifieth a place where nothing can be séene is a forced and false translation for sith the holye Ghost doth vse it alwaies for hell I meruaile how any man dareth to translate it graue Theophilact translateth it thus Non derelinques animam meam apud orcum Thou shalt not leaue my soule in hell vsing the
the worlde Meate is common vnto all but none can dresse it so well as Cookes Cloth is common vnto all but none know good and bad cloth so well as the Cloth maker a swoord is necessarye but none can vse it so well as a skilfull maister of defence so y t woord of God is to be read of all but the desciding of controuersies pertaine to the learned ministers If the vnlearned attempt to doo this with the good meat of the woord of God they may surfeyte and taking this swoorde by the pointe foolishlye when they should discréetely take holde by the hyltes they may hurte themselues vnrecouerably For languishing about questions 1. Tim. 4. They are euer learning and neuer comming to knowledge 2. Tim. 3. 7. And as Peter saith 2. Pet. 3. 16. Being vnlearned and vnstable peruert the Scriptures to their own damnation The Lord graunt we may reade the Scriptures to our edification and amendment of life And touching the vnsearchable misteries of our faith to beléeue them without questioning or doubting For as Athanasius saith in his Book of the incarnation of the woord to teach all things exactly few men can but to kéep the faith all men are bound To the aduersaries of this doctrine I saye with Gregory Nazianzene in the place so often alleadged and peraduenture some of vs which is lamentable doo not vnderstand how of God commeth euery good cogitation word and action and not only of good men but also almost of all men who being slowe Iudges of our own affaires yet notwithstanding in other mens matters we spéedilye take a sharpe censure and rather we impute great faults to others then smal to our selues and albeit they themselues are more rude and vnlearned then we are yet rather will they lay vpon vs the fault of impiety then to accuse their owne ignorance This I knowe will be my reward for this woorke which the knower of all hartes knoweth I haue compiled for his glory and for the vnity of the Church I shall rather be iudged of aduersaries impious and with me Fox Beecon Nowell Martyr and all the Fathers before alleadged then they will account themselues ignorant Therefore to staye their rash iudgement Gregory thus counsaileth them If thou burne in such an immoderate and insatiable desire of disputation that thou canst not staye or represse thy disease meditate those things be conuersant in these things poure out thy ambition on these things wherein is no danger and if thou refuse this and cannot bridle thy tung nor breake or suppresse the violence of thy minde but thou mindest to rage and to be mad and wilt not giue place to the angels and wilt arise higher then it is for thy profite at the least commaund thy selfe this that thou condemne not thy brother but rather shew héer a token of humility héere to thy no detriment preferre thy brother before thée where to condemne and despise thy brother is nothing else but to eiect and cast him out from Christ and only hope and to root out the secret wheat wheate better then thy selfe with the cockle This I say is Nazianzenes Counsell and not only his but Paules Rom. 14. 10. And Christs counsell Luk. 6. 37. If the counsaile of these cannot stay rash censuring but some as they haue boasted will answere this treatise and that within fourtéene dayes if they will leaue lying to the Papists railing to scoldes iesting to Stagers and cursed speaking to the Diuel I wil be the man which by the aid of my God will be ready with al moderation to answere them and that in such time also as I hope they shal haue no iust cause to complaine of any slacknes The almighty God the giuer of all grace so lighten vs in the reading of his woord that we may vnderstand it and so vnderstand it that we may loue it and so loue it that we may kéep it and so kéep the woord that we may kéep the faith and stedfastly beléeue that Christ was borne for our purification taught vs for our edification dyed for our purgation was buried for our mortification descended into hell for our reconciliation rose againe for our iustification and ascended into heaueu for our sanctification and shal come againe in power for our glorification and therefore blessing glory wisedome thanke-sgiuing honor might and power be ascribed vnto our God for euer Amen THis Sermon being preached at Chippingham in Wiltesse the 28. of February 1589. And deliuered vp in writing to M. Wisedome Minister was answered by one Alexander Huns Schoolemaister of Bath whose answere wholy followeth with a replye of the Author wherby the truth of this controuersie doth more plainely appeer ¶ The reply of Adam Hill Minister to an answere made by Alexander Humes to a Sermon preached at Chippenham in Wiltes the 28. day of February 1589. of the descending of Christ into Hell Humes Sectio prima IT fell out vpon some occasions that I was with a freend not farre from Chippenham the day before you preached there As I was preparing to returne word came to my friend that you had certified M. Chalfoult of your intent the day following to defende that which he had spoken against M. Wisedome that day sennight before concerning the descension of Christ into hell wherefore my friend wrought me to stay to heare what could be sayd for a matter that both he and I did thinke to haue no great probabilitie I did so and it repenteth me not for there I heard some thing which otherwise I might not haue thought vpon And I was strengthned in the truth because I proued that which I many times heard that wit and eloquence was not able to shake it Wherefore I haue not thought it amisse to write these few lines vnto you eyther to winne you to vs or to winne some better reasons from you to bring me to you I am not maryed to mine opinion but if any man can bring me better proofe I am content to yeeld I hope the same of you for you told me so in the pulpit where the toong should wait vpon the hart and speake his affections As yet your reasons confirmed mee and the rest of mine opinion rather then confuted vs. Hill In the entraunce of your aunswere you haue told two vntruthes vpon vntrue report The one that I certified M. Chalfoult of mine intent which is not so for neither by messenger nor letter did I euer send to M. Chalfoult The other is where you auouch that I would make an Apology of M. Chalfoults sayings against M. Wisedome which God knoweth was neuer my meaning for first I neuer knew what he had sayd in that controuersy till the morning I preached Secondly I did alwayes loue and honor M. Wisedome but M. Chalfoult till that morning I was not acquainted withall Thirdly hearing a strife reuiued of that matter which was not long before quieted in Sarum by the last Bishop now Archbishop of
Yorke and being requested to deliuer my iudgement in the matter not by M. Chalfoult but by one Richard Woodlands to set vnity betwixt my brethren and not to warre against M. Wisedome in the feare of God and not to please you or your friend or any other man I layd downe my iudgement and gaue vp my Sermon in writing to M. Wisedome crauing an answere to the whole and not to some part of it Now you haue made an answere to some how truly it shall appeare and other things you haue left vnanswered for what cause let the reader iudge In the end you charge me with wit which is small with eloquence which is none and with my promise which I will kéepe most willinglie hoping that you will kéepe yours Humes Sectio 2. Wherefore to grow to the matter I see no cause why you should thinke better of Augustine and Ierome then of Beza and Caluine for they were all but men and they which now are old were sometimes new They had no better warrant of Gods spirit than these and errors in those dayes were so thicke sowen that there grew darnell in the best fieldes euen of them whome wee most admire I speake not this to discredit the Fathers but to proue that they were no Gods They were no doubt the good instruments of our louing God to maintaine his truth against his enemies but they were but men you can not deny but the best of them had his steynes and must confesse that God is infinitely wise who did before hand ordaine it least we might honor them for Gods and set their writings in the place of his eternall word whereof one iot shall not passe though heauen and earth perish Hill Two arguments you make against Augustine and Ierome The one is they had errors and therefore their interpretation not to be admitted The other is the time wherein they liued was corrupt and for that cause they are not to be alledged in a controuersy of Diuinitie The same argument I make against all new writers All new writers haue errors and they liue in a most corrupt time wherein as Christ saith shall be many false Prophets and many false Christs to deceiue the very elect if it were possible Math. 24. 24. Therefore because men are vaine and the time corrupt we must beléeue no man You argue ab accidente ad subiectum For Augustine and Ierome to erre it is an accident but the substance of all Fathers is to beget men in the word of truth 1. Cor. 4. 15. And for this cause Augustine himselfe willeth vs not to beléeue him vnlesse he bring the word of God Truly sayth Augustine I do desire not only a godly reader but a frée corrector in all my writings especially in those things where there is great doubt but as I will not haue him to be geuen vnto me so I will not haue him to be giuen to himselfe let him not loue me more then the Catholike faith As I say to him beléeue not my sayings as Canonicall Scriptures but beléeue stedfastly when thou hast found that which thou beléeuedst not but beléeue not firmely that which thou hast not séene out of Gods word So I say to him do not correct my writings by thine owne opinion or of contention but by the word of God by the reason thereof vncontrouleable And against Cresconius the Grammarian he thus writeth lib. 2. cap. 32. I am not moued with the authoritie of this epistle but I cousider them out of the Canonicall bookes and if they agrée with the word of God I receiue them with praise if they disagrée I refuse them with peace The like he hath Epist. 3. and Epist. 112. And Ierome ad Theoph. is of the same iudgement I knowe that I estéeme otherwise the Apostles and otherwise other interpreters these men speake truth alwayes these men in some things do erre sometime These Fathers themselues confesse themselues to be but men and will vs to beléeue them no farther then they agrée with Gods word Therefore they building vpon Christ aswell as your new ought to be beléeued rather in this point than they for what they wrote in this controuersy the same did all other godly Interpreters both Gréek and Latin hauing a good warrant from Gods word But those of your side write contrary to Gods word to the auncient Fathers yea and contrary to the new Fathers namely Luther Selueccer Chytraeus Pomeran Aepinus Lucas Lossius Alesius Aretius Peter Martyr M. Fox and M. Nowell Therefore because Augustine and Ierome agrée both with the old and new writers and especially with the word of God I like better of them teaching the affirmatiue then of any other labouring to prooue the negatiue To end therefore you must note this that all sayings of the Fathers either they are demonstratiue out of the Scriptures and then they are the voyce of God or else probable and these are the voice of man or else false and then they are the voyce of the Serpent Humes Sectio tertia Their weakenes is no where more apparant then in this matter that we haue now in hand for Ierome ioyneth his opinion herein with a palpable error that Christ descended to deliuer the Fathers which to that day had bin in prison Augustine is not far behinde him who though he confesseth that the Fathers were in ioy with Abraham and Lazarus yet after some long disputatiō whether he did deliuer all or some and why these more then those at length he concludeth that he did deliuer whom he himselfe thought good For after that they had once conceaued that he descended into Hell there followed which could not choose many inconueniences There was not one of them dreamed that which you auouch that he descended into hell there to triumph or bind the diuels or to augmēt their sorrows by shewing them from what grace they had fallen Hill You write that Ierome Augustine did hold a palpable error that is that Christ descended to deliuer the Fathers I hope you will not deny but the Fathers haue their deliuerance by Christ from hell therefore by the merits and works of Christ who I am sure conquered both death and hell Therefore where you proue that Augustine Ierome do erre I will leaue them as I said before but wherein they speake the truth I will praise God for them But let vs see how many wayes the scripture may be corrupted that is by adding altring and diminishing Eue in the third Chap. of Genesis taught all her childrē so to do for in the 3. verse thus she saith But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the gardē God hath said ye shal not eate of it neither shall ye touch it least ye dye First she changeth the word of God for God sayth Gen. 2. 17. of the tree of knowledge of good and euill thou shalt not eate Those words of the trée of knowledge of good and euill she changeth
first descended into the lowest parts of the earth He that descended is euen the same that ascended farre aboue all heauens to fulfill all things Now if the same Christ did first descend which did ascend then he descended in soule and body as he ascended in soule and body For both these must be effected in a wonderfull maner for they are reconed by Salomon amongst the most stupendious works of the Sonne of God Prou. 30. 4. Who hath ascended vp to heauen descended who hath gathered the winde together in his fyst who hath established all the ends of the world By this scripture I inferre that to ascend and descend are as miraculous works as to create gouern the world But if the soule of Christ did go to heauen immediatly as you affirme contrary to this text then the descending of Christ had not bin so maruelous as his ascending Besides as you after alleage there is but one ascending but if Christs soule first went to heauen and then his body then were there two ascensions But euen as Christ was but once borne and once dyed and was once buried and once rose from the dead and but once commeth into iudgement so as Cyprian saith in his Sermon of the ascending of Christ Christ did once descend into hell they shall sée God no more on the crosse nor they that are damned in hell Wherefore may it please you to accept the iudgement of Athanasius a Gréeke Father and a man persecuted for the truths sake by the Arrians he in his Créede saith thus who suffred for our saluation and descended into hell And interpreting the third Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians he writeth Satan was enuious against our Sauiour for he killed him not knowing that it would make against himself for Christ after his crosse going downe into hell hath vāquished death because he knew not sinne he could not be holden of death Thus you sée that not only Hill Augustine Ierome doo say that Christ after he had vtterd these words into thy hands I will commend my spirit but Athanasius a gréeke father who better then you vnderstood the meaning of these words Therfore it is a wonder to sée how those of your side labour to extinguish this euerlasting light of Gods truth and set vp a consuming candle of your owne making Where you teach that Christs Soule did no more descend into hell then Dauids did therein you are deceaued for Christ was to deliuer vs from hell and Dauid also wherefore if Christs soule had not gone to hell Dauids must and mine and yours And for this cause as you say they are true in Christ figured but not in Dauid the figure And héerevpon Peter thus reasoneth that they could not be true in Dauid For Christs soule was in hell and yet not tormented and his body in the graue but not corrupted Whereas Dauids body saw corruptiō and if his soule had gone to hell it had found no redemption Therefore to be in graue and returne without corruption and to be in hell and returne with conquest of the diuell were two peculiar things to the Sonne of God and not to any other of the sonnes of men And héere you vtter an other blasphemy that Christs soule had no other prerogatiue then Dauids soule for by y e same reason you may argue that Christs body had no greater prerogatiue then Dauids body for as this is false so is the other For as Athanasius saith in his booke of the incarnation of the word Death could not preuaile on the humane soule of Christ to tye him there neither corruption inuading his body by tiranny could shew her force on him to putrefaction as things not well séene vnto for to thinke so of him so were a wicked thing for euen as Adam had a double punishment inflicted on him for his disobedience the one was on his body earth thou art and to earth thou shalt returne and so by this decrée the body of the Lord departed vnto the earth but to the soule he said Thou shalt dye the death Hereof it cōmeth to passe that man is deuided into 2. parts and is condemned to depart to 2. places and therfore it was necessary that the selfesame Iudge which had made this decrée that he by himselfe being vnder the colour of a condemned man should frée from that sentence all beléeuers Héere you sée by this learned Father that Christs soule went to hell to deliuer our soules from hell and his body to the graue to deliuer vs from death and by this meanes both body and soule personally and not potentially as you teach working our deliuerance from death hell haue those prerogatiues which Dauids soule and body had not And for this consideration though the one was in the graue the other in hell yet both were in the hands of the Lord. Héere then we must learne what the hands of the Lord do signifie Sometime the hand of God doth signifie the Sonne of God Psal. 144. 7. Send thy hand from aboue Sometime it signifieth the power of God Psalm 136. 12. With a mighty hand and outstretched arme Thirdly the bountifulnes of God Psal. 145. Thou openest thy hand and fillest euery liuing thing with thy blessing Fourthly it signifieth consolation Ezec. 3. 22. The hand of the Lord was with me comforting me Fiftly grace Psalm 118. 16. The right hand of the Lord hath done valiantly Sixtly it signifieth the gift of prophecie Ezec. 8. 1. The hand of the Lord fell there vpon me Seuenthly mercy Psal. 37. 24. Though he fall he shal not be cast off for the Lord putteth vnder his hand Eightly the protection of the Lord Psal. 31. 15. My times are in thy hand Ninthly the aide of the Lord Psal. 74. 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand Tenthly the punishment of the Lord Iob. 19. 21. Haue pity on me o yee my friends for the hand of the Lord hath touched me Lastly it signifieth the gouernment of the Lord Psal. 95. 4. In his hand are all the corners of the earth This place therefore must néedes haue this construction into thy consolation mercy protection and gouernment I will commende my soule I hope you your selfe commende your soule into the hands of God euery day but yet you minde not to goe to heauen immediatly So said Dauid Psal. 30. 5. Into thine hands I commende my spirit but he went not to heauen in many yeares after neither did Christ ascend into heauen in many dayes after but went downe to hell where it was in the protection and gouernment of the Godhead which as you confesse descended into hell For as we being in the damned world are in the protection and hand of the highest so Christ being in the place of the damned after a wonderfull manner was also in the Lords aide and protection by meanes whereof he hath wrought our deliuerance from hell Therefore proue you that Christ went straitway to heauen and you
the soule alone which is also common to the body Fiftly seeing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to giue life and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to receiue life this cannot be vnderstood of the soule which neuer lost life after that it had once liued with the body and therefore could neuer receiue it againe Here you tell vs that to be quickened is to be deliuered from miseries how the English word may be taken I leaue it to the wise but in the Greeke woord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Latin word viâ—ificari I am sure it were strange and seldome seene to finde that sence Furthermore I am sure that if this deuise may stand that then you will ouerthrowe the antithesis betweene 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dead and quickned for if quickned doth not signifie a restitution to life what antithesis can it haue with death or dead Lastlye adde to those if it please you that infallible reason of Beza taken from the scope and drifte of the Apostle to whose greater notes I referre you being not able to handle his reason so effectually as he dooth himselfe Hill Héere you play the Captaine and will beate downe bulwarkes and therefore you should haue these 4. properties in you vertue knowledge authority and felicity for the first two they are in you God graunt you vse them to his glory but what authoritye you haue to interprete the woord I know not therfore in this case I hope you shall haue no felicitie Where you say that this woord spirite doth signifie the deity and this woord flesh the humanity of Christ and that there is an antithesis betwéene the diuine and humane nature I confesse that spirite sometime dooth signifie the Godhead and flesh the humanity of Christ. But they doo not so signifie in this place as I proue by the circumstances of the text and the woords themselues For where you say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 killed or put to death dooth signifie the whole passion of Christ and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth the resurrection of Christ that cannot be for of the passion of Christ is mention made before in the same 18. verse Christ suffered for vs the iust for the vniust to bring vs to God Now after his sufferings ended as Peter saith he was both killed and made aliue Now of his resurrection is mention made in the 21. verse as of his ascention in the 22. verse Therfore séeing the suffrings of Christ are mentioned before and his resurrection is namelye set downe after whereof can these woords be vnderstoode but of the seperation of the bodye and the soule and of the state of them during their seperation for an antithesis as you know is of contrary or diuers things as in this place you sée in killed and quickned Now how both these were true at one time S. Peter doth shew for at the same time he was dead as concerning his body he was aliue in spirite that is in soule for the soule seperate from y e body is aptly called in spirite Eccle. 12. 7. And dust return to earth as it was and the spirite returne to God that gaue it So is it taken Heb. 12. 23. Act. 7. 59. and so dooth this woord signifie in this place for Christ was not killed both in body and soule but only in body and in flesh for if the soule of Christ had béene killed then had it béene mortall Therfeore Athanasius Epiphanius and all the Fathers which did confute the Heretiques called Damoerite Appolinaris which denyed Christ to haue a soule doo confute them by this place prouing that his spitite was among the spirits that his soule seperate from his body was among the soules seperate from their bodies This interpretation you sée is gathered out of Gods woord and is made more manifest by the woords following 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate In which spirite he went preached to the spirites in prison First you translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the which But in the 1. Pet. 16. you doo not so translate it nor in the 2. Chap. and 12. ver the same woords 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are Eph. 1. 13. 2. 22. 5. 18. and so could I cite at the least an hundreth texts in the new testament where if you translate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the which or by whom you shal ouerthrow the meaning of the holy ghoste The next woord in construing is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which as I haue saide before so I auouche still is spoken not of the deity neuer in all the Scriptures and therefore must néedes be spoken of the soule of Christ. To confute this you alleadge Gen. 18. 21. Exod. 3. 8. First I must tell you these bookes were written in the Hebrewe toong and not in the Gréeke I craued an instance out of the new testament Secondly in those places that you haue named the interpreters do translate Iarad by the gréeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And this I proue Ioh. 16 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For if I shal not depart the coÌ„forter wil not come vnto you but if I shall depart I will send him vnto you Here you sée when he speaketh of the descending of the deity he vseth the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but when he speaketh of the humanitie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And in the same Chap. verse the 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I came out froÌ„ the Father came into the world againe I leaue the world go to my father And this proprietie of speach which y e holy ghost vseth ought to be obserued I confesse the scripture vseth the figure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but when God is said to come downe there is vsed the verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or some one of the forenamed and when mention is made of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it is alwayes spoken of the humanitie as it is to be séene Luk. 4. 30. 9. 51. 52. 56. 57. Luk. 13. 22. Ioh. 8. 1. And in this place of Peter the last verse is vsed the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He went vp into heauen Therefore if you can quote but one text in the new Testament that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is figuratiuely applied to the deitie your interpretation may séeme tolerable but if you can not as I knowe it is impossible then can you neuer proue your interpretation to be agréeable to faith because it is not agréeable to the word Out of the next word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this I note he that was killed and quickned did preach but Christ was killed and quickned ergo Christ and not the deitie preached He preached not vocally for he was killed ergo he preached really in soule for here is noted First who preached Christ. To whome to the spirits Where in hell When after his death and before his