labour and is master of that with complacency which another cannot reach to but with much sweat of anxiety Thus the courage of the Martyrs supplies our weakness the knowledge of Doctors our ignorance the purity of virgins is in stead of continence in Marriage and the solitude of Anchorites is a supplement to the employments of those that are conversant in the world Hence 't is evident that he that is in the Body of the Church partakes of all the merits of the Faithful that without admitting himself into Religious Orders he shares in their travels if he be associated to them by charity without wearing their habit he participates of their vertues and that in an ordinary Secular condition he preacheth with the Dominicans sacrificeth with the Priests is in the desart with the solitary and is chaste in the highest degree of continency with the virgins But in this prerogative the Christian must defend himself from two mischiefs which strongly threaten him the first is Pride receiving with humility what he possesseth not but by right of Charity lest his own sufficiency make him lose the benefit of the Churches community The second is Idleness not to neglect the practice of vertues under a pretence of enjoying them in others but going forward with the highest industry in the way of perfection to store the Church with his pious endeavours and to adde new merits to the treasures of this charitable mother The Fourth TREATISE Of the Grace of a Christian The first DISCOURSE That Predestination upon which Grace depends is a hidden Mystery INasmuch as men are the children of Adam they are as curious as they are proud and as the haughtiness of their Father hath made them lose the remembrance of their misery his curiosity hath made them forget their ignorance They aspire to reign although they be slaves they would be masters of knowledge although they are born ignorant and these two unjust desires have made so deep an impression in their souls that all the punishments inflicted upon sin have not been able to suppress them I could pardon this imperfection of man had it any bounds nor would I find fault with an ignorant person desiring to be learned could he content himself with the knowledge of what might be known without danger or sin But the difficulty sets an edge upon his appetite there are no truths he is more eagerly inquisitive of then those God hath pleased to leave in the dark He mounts up to the Heavens to know their motions and influences he seeks his destiny in the Conjunction of the Planets and studies a Book whose Characters have abused all Astrologers and means to finde that in Stars which God hath lock'd up in his own Bosome He descends into the Abysses of the Earth out of Curiosity as much as Avarice he thinks knowledge is retired to the Center of the world and that he must confer with the spirit of lies to be acquainted with truth His Insolence hath passed as far as Religion he would fain penetrate its mysteries nor does God bring any thing to pass in the world the Causes and motives wâ—ereof he endeavours not to discover 'T is a crime in the State to comment upon the intentions of the Ministers thereof Sicut inquirere in vitam Principis ita in arcana ejus nefas est Taci Annal. Their prudence draws a curtain over the wheels they work by and they believe that he that shall sound the secrets of the Prince is not less guilty then he that would know the end of his life In the mean time we commit this crime against the mysteries of Faith we would make Religion a Science and we daily search for evidence and certitude in the region of ignorance and obscurity The desire we have to fathome the depths of Predestination is a certain proof of this Insolence For though there be nothing in the world more bid more in the dark there is not any thing man hath more curiously examined and made the employment of his busie undertakings seeking his fall in the fountain of salvation I should account my self very happy could I cure him of this malady and if describing the mystery hidden in eternity could make him see 't is an impiety to pretend to know more then God hath been willing to reveal Predestination is as certain as it is secret it makes up one part of Providence and if God have any care of his creatures he must needs lead them to their end There are none but the Epicures who fearing to trouble his rest have denyed him the knowledge of humane affairs The best of Philosophers have believed our fortune is in his hands and that having given us our beeing he must also give us our felicity Christian Religion hath confirmed us in this Creed and Faith perswading us that God hath regulated all things from Eternity obligeth us to believe that he hath ordained necessary means to ascertain our salvation Sufficiat eis scire quod non sit in quitas apud Deum cum cuim nulla merita invenisset Apostolus quibus Jacob apud Deum praecederet fratrem dicit Numquid apud DeuÌ„ est iniquitas absit Aug. lib. 4. contra duas Episto Pelag. Shee teacheth us that he beheld all his works before they proceeded out of Nothing that he hath drawn forth what he pleased not all that he was able That he created Men and Angels elected some out of Mercy rejected others out of Justice and that in these two contrary judgements he hath carried himself with so much evenness that no person hath any cause to complain Reason together with Faith instructs us that God loves all his creatures that his being Absolute makes him not unjust and acting according to the knowledge of the Cause he punisheth none that have not deserved it If he be no more liberall in his recompenses then severe in his corrections he fails not to be very observant of Justice if we be not sure that he hath respect to our merits we know at least that he hath to his own favours and that when he crowns our good works he crowns his own benefits and endowments The Scripture that knows very well that men are in love with their salvation and jealous of their liberty represents them often that God is absolute in his State that he is not to give account of his actions that his judgments being equitable in themselves have no need of our approbation nor are therefore less just because not conformable to our weak reasonings This divine Register insinuates to us that God is the master of his creature that he disposeth thereof as he pleaseth and that if Nothing whence he had his Beeing give him right enough to destroy him sin which he is guilty of gives him title enough to punish him But delivering all these reasons in different passages we are not permitted to deduce thence infallible consequences nay we may easily perceive the whole drift is rather to
Jesus Christ had a minde to humble him by lifting him up and that he might profit by his loss to make him finde his greatness in his abasement For 't is indeed to take man down to subject him to grace to deprive him of the disposal of his Will and to use him as a slave who is no longer master of his own person But 't is also to lift him up to endow him with a victorious grace which confirms his liberty makes him constant in good and in despight of all his weaknesses gives him so much vigour and strength that he meets no enemies he does not vanquish nor any temptations he does not overcome But admit all these reasons did not clearly conclude for the necessity of Grace I conceive Predestination would always be a most evident proof For seeing it is true that God is immutable in his Decrees that the designs he hath laid from all Eternity are not changed in Time Praedéstinare Deum nihil aliud quicquam est quam in illasua quae falli mutarique non potest praescientia sua opera futuradisponere Aug. de Perse nor can all the powers of earth hinder the execution of his will we must confess that Predestination being the first of his Decrees must of necessity be irrevocable He himself says it that he knows all his sheep that no man can take them out of his hands that they cannot be blotted out of the book of Life and that all the malice of the devils cannot destroy those he hath a minde to save If this Maxime be true we must infallibly conclude that the salvation of the Elect is not grounded upon their Liberty but upon Grace and that their perseverance in the ways of goodness depends not absolutely upon their Free-will but upon the assistance of Jesus Christ For if it be true that there is nothing more changeable then the Will of Man and that the state of Innocency set him upon a rock Must we not confess that Predestination would be very uncertain had it no surer foundation and that the salvation of the Elect would run a great hazard did it rely onely upon a sufficient grace depending meerly upon their Liberty Let us confess therefore with S. Augustine that since the Fall of man there is a grace whose effect is infallible that it changeth our Will to convert it gives us strength to combat inspires us with constancy to persevere and securing us from the malice of Satan happily conducts us out of this miserable Banishment to our desired Country The Fourth DISCOURSE Different Opinions of the Power of the Christians Grace THough Man have very many proofs of his Weakness yet hath he more of his Ignorance he knows not that which he sees and that which he touches his Senses are better sighted then his Understanding and they judge more surely of their objects then the Intellect does of his The Qualities of things cloud their Essences every Accident is a veil cast over the eyes of the Soul and he undergoes all the troubles in the world to finde the Sun of Truth amidst the Shadows that cover it But his Ignorance is never more evident then when he seeks for the last differences of things he changes upon all occasions the more he goes on the more he wanders and finding no tracks that may steer him in an unknown path he many times takes Falshood for Truth Thence it comes to pass that we are acquainted with nothing but the Accidents or Proprieties of things and that we fall into Errour as often as we intend to judge of their Essences There is nothing more known to Christians then Grace a man must be a Pelagian to doubt of its vertue all our prayers are testimonies of its necessity and when we intreat of God to enable us to perform what he commands us to do we ask Grace â—â—thout naming it In the mean time Inctinantur ecram corda ut boc velint eo scilicet inclinante qui in nobis mirabili modo ineffabili operatur ut velit Aug. de praed cap. 20. there is nothing more hid then its Essence These twelve Ages men have disputed its power nor is it yet resolved wherein corsists that vertue that makes it efficacious Every one confesseth there are two kindes of Graces in Christianity One Habitual that gives the Christian his supernatural being that lifts him up to the participation of the Divine Nature and making him an Image of Jesus Christ makes him Man and God together The other Actual which elevates him in his operations makes him act heavenwards and renders his works holy and acceptable before God But few know wherein consists the power of this Grace what that is which without forcing our Liberty makes it irresistible in its designes The disciples of S. Thomas believe Grace effectual because it is an impulse of God raising and determining the Will as often as he moves and applies it Primum agens in agendo omnia agentia alia praevenit perficit conservat co quod ipsum omnibus dat esse unde dabit perfectiones concomitantes sequentes ad ipsum esso D. Thom. They ground themselves upon the power of the First cause which ought to regulate his state and guide his subjects according to their inclinations and according to their desires Thence it comes to passe that he inlightens with the Sun burns with the Fire reasons with Man acts necessarily with necessary Causes and freely with free Causes Thence it comes to passe also that he is free in the world that nothing is done contrary to his directions and that applying the creatures in their operations sees all his designs infallibly succeed For these Divines believe not that any thing is to be permitted to Fortune in the Kingdome of Providence nor that the knowledge of God is to be submitted to the capricious fancies of his creatures Therefore doe they put into his hands the reins of his whole Empire they will have him give motion to all his subjects to apply them in their operations and without offering them any violence execute his will by their inclinations If he abandons necessary Causes they produce Monsters if free Causes they commit sins and when he guides both of them in order of Nature or of Grace they are regular in their motions and happy in their productions But being the Principle the Glory belongs to him and the effects they produce ought rather to be ascrib'd to his Influence then to their Vertue This Predetermination of the creature in a supernaturall order is called Effectuall Grace among the Disciples of Saint Thomas and they are so wedded to this opinion that they believe a man cannot dissent from it without renouncing the meaning of Saint Paul overturning the order of Nature robbing God of his Soveraignty and taking from him the infallible knowledge of all events that happen in his State They never think to weaken the liberty of man by establishing the
Nature For if Jesus be the Natural Son of the Father the Christian is his Adopted one if Jesus be the Heir of the Father the Christian is the Co-heir of the Son according to the expression of the great Apostle if Jesus be Innocent the Christian is Justified if Jesus be born of the Spirit the Christian is regenerated thereby and receives in his Baptism what the Son of God received in his Birth Inasmuch as this last wonderfully exalteth the glory of the Faithful I conceive I ought to bestow this whole Discourse upon this matter and to make it appear that the Holy Ghost by an excess of bounty will be to every Christian what he is to Jesus Christ Faith teacheth us that though Jesus Christ be the Son of the Everlasting Father yet is he withal the Workmanship of the Holy Spirit he that was barren in Eternity became fruitful in Time he that produced nothing in the Heart of the Father produced the Word Incarnate in the Womb of the Virgin and he that before the world began was the Spirit of the Son in the fulness of time became his Principle The Scripture insinuates this Truth when it brings in the Angel speaking these words to the Virgin The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee And the Church teacheth it all her children in the Symbole of her Creed in these terms He was conceived of the Holy Ghost Et licet aliud quidem ex te aliud ex Patre sit jam non tamen cujusque suus sed unus utriusque erit Filius Sanctus Bern. super missus est homil Thence it comes to pass that his conception is so pure that sin hath no part therein and that he is free from shame as the mother that bare him was from sorrow He was so born saith Tertullian that he need not blush at the name of Son This great priviledge is granted the Christian in his Baptism and his second birth is as holy and as noble as his first was shameful and criminal In the one he is a sinner before he is reasonable and the slave of the devil as soon as he is the subject of Jesus Christ but in the other he is happily born again by the vertue of the Holy Spirit he receives grace as an earnest of glory he is adopted by the Father for his son acknowledged by Jesus Christ for his brother treated by the Angels as their equal and exalted to so high a condition that the holy Spirit disdains not to be stiled the Author and Principle thereof This is it that holy Scripture holds out to us by these words Vnless a man be born again of water and of the holy Ghost I would enlarge my self upon this meditation had I not explained it already in another passage of this Work Neither would it be any hard matter to make it appear that the Regeneration of a Christian is little inferiour in this particular to the Birth of Jesus Christ The second advantage that is common to them is that the same spirit which is their Principle is also their Director and that he that gives them life gives them conduct and motion These two Things are inseparable in Nature and in Grace the same causes that make us live make us act these Starres whose influences contribute so much to our birth are not lesse conducing to our fortune and as they are the Principles of our Being they are in some sort the Guides of our life if they have no dominion over our spirit they have over our humour and if they force not our liberty they many times sollicite our inclinations But not to rest in second Causes it is plaine the creature depends as well upon God in his motion as in his Being he governs men whom he hath created he guides Princes whom he hath raised to the Throne and he as absolutely hath their wills in his hands as their Scepter By the same reason the Holy Spirit which is the Principle of Jesus Christ is his Director he undertakes nothing but by his conduct and as he received his being from his goodnesse he submits all his actions to his power The Scriptures furnish us with a thousand proofes of so important a Truth all the Evangelists are the faithfull Witnesses thereof neither doe they ever take notice of the designs of the Son of God Ductus est Jesus à Spiritu quia Humanitas Christi erat organum Divinitatis ideo ad omnia movebatur instinctu Spiritûs sancti hoc igitur motu ivit in desertum locum aptum or ationi Glossa ordin but they make it appeare at the same time that the Holy Spirit is the first mover of them For if he retire into the desarts to converse with beasts if he enter the list wherein he seemes to injure his glory to assure our salvation if he spend dayes and nights there in prayers and fasting if he suffer his slave to tempt him and if he refuse not to combate him upon Earth that he had driven out of Heaven 't is because the Holy Spirit engageth him in the conflict and layes an obligation upon him to beare the punishment of our sins to deliver us therefrom if he passe from one Province to another if he leave a rebellious City to instruct another more obedient to his divine sermons 't is by the direction of his guide Jesus returned into Galile in the power of the Spirit If he work Miracles in Judea 't is not so much to magnifie his power In Spiritu Dei ejicio Daemonia as to comply with the motions of the Holy Spirit and though these signall wonders cost him but a few words or desires he never wrought them but his divine Principle obliged him thereto by some secret inspiration if he unfolds the Mysteries of our Religion if he declare to his Disciples the will of his Father and discover to them those grand designes contrived from all Eternity In ipsa hora exultavit Spiritu Sancto dixit confiteor tibi Pater Domine caeli terrae quod abscondisti haec à sapientibus prudentibus revelasti ca parvucis Luk. 10. and which were not to be executed but in time 't is the Holy Spirit that animates him to this discourse and obliges him to manifest that to men which till then he would not impart to the Angels If finally the Son of God offer himselfe up upon the Crosse for our salvation if he drown our sins in his blood if he reconcile us to his Father by his death and satisfie him with the losse of life and honour 't is the holy Spirit that engageth him in this Agony and who inspires him with love enough to vanquish the ignomy and paine thereof He offered himselse without spot to God by the Holy Ghost so that the life of the Son of God was spent in a continued obedience to the Holy Spirit he undertook nothing but by his orders executed nothing but by his
enough above the rest of creatures and though it leave him his liberty considers not sufficiently the dignity of his extraction For it seems God deals with Men as with the Elements that he makes scarce any difference between Angels and Beasts and that this Soveraign governs so absolutely in his State that he much more regards his own glory then the welfare of his subjects He determines also free creatures as well as necessary if he oppresse not their liberty he takes no pains to gain it and more solicitous to make himselfe obeyed then loved he masters the will rather by force then sweetnesse The second passeth into another extream and seems to be so carefull of the salvation of man that it neglects the glory of God makes his grace a bondage opens heaven to all the world makes Mercy sparkle abroad to the detriment of Justice ascribes more to liberty then to grace renders man insolent since his Fall will have him as familiar with God since his rebellion as during his innocence Imagines that nature received no blemishes by sin and that the will under the thraldome of Concupiscence is as vigorous as under the Empire of Originall righteousnesse The third handles Grace a little more respectfully then the second 't is me thinks a bold opinion but not impudent it covers self-love under honourable pretences it bestowes that upon the Mercy of God that it takes from his Justice it intitles not liberty so absolutely to salvation but it preserves the rights of Grace which if it make not victorious it makes at least wel-disposed if it reign not over the will it does over the inclinations and if it offers a sufficient grace to all men it confesseth neverthelesse the effect is not produced but when it agrees with the constitution or humour of Man But after all this it seems to overturn the order of Predestination gives more to merits then to grace imposes Laws upon its Soveraign and obliges him when he means to save a sinner to consult rather their dispositions then his own will and pleasure Let us see what Saint Augustine hath most constantly believed concerning this Subject and lest we mistake our way take him for a guide that hath so generously defended its Cause against the Impiety of Hereticks The Fift DISCOURSE Wherein precisely consists the power of Effectuall Grace THere is no man but may observe that the Loadstone draws iron to it but there is no Philosopher can discover wherein this vertue consists We need but open our eyes to see how this stone which may be called one of the miracles of Nature lifts up the iron assoon as moved towards it that it gives a kind of feeling to this senslesse metal and in despite of its hardness softens it into a tendernesse of affection We behold with astonishment that it leaps from the Earth to follow that which draws it that it steals from it self to embrace it Quid ferri duritia pugnatius sed cedit patitur amores trahitur namque à magnete lapiâ—e domitrix illa rerum omnium materia ad inane nescio quid currit atque ut propius venit assistit teneturque complexu haeret Pli. lib. 36. cap. 16. and clings so strongly to it that violence must be used to part them But certainly 't is very difficult to comprehend what is that secret vertue that imprints this power in the Loadstone The whole Body of Philosophers have troubled themselves to no purpose to discover it whatever pains they have taken and whatever watchings they have spent in this study they have not to this day been able to find out the occult cause of so evident an effect they are ignorant whence this sympathy between the Loadstone and the Iron grows nor can they render a reason why this stone attracts this metal and not others they know not whether this attraction have more of sweetness or of force whether it draw the Iron by affecting it or by forcing it and whether it complies with its inclination or over-bears its weight and obstinacy What I have said of the Loadstone may as truly be verified of Grace Its power is so publick and its attempts so common that there is no body but knows and admires them It triumphs daily over the liberty of sinners lifts these wretches from the Earth enlightens the blind softens the obdurate converts the obstinate and subdues these rebels But though all the Faithful acknowledge a vertue whose effects they resent they know not precisely wherein it consists they are divided in their opinions and though they all take S. Augustine for their Master they express themselves in such different terms that though taught in the same School it seems they have not all learnt the same Lesson Inasmuch as this incomparable Doctor is pleased in all his Works to break forth in commendations of Grace consacring all his Labours to the glory of that which drew him out of his sin he sometimes admires its Force and seems to place all its vertue in its invincible puissance he will have it the mistress of hearts strongly over-ruling the Will of sinners and like a Soverain more respecting her own Majesty then the Inclination of her subjects Sometimes he changeth his language and meditating rather to preserve the Liberty of Man then the Power of Grace he seems to place its vertue in its compliance he represents it to us as a sweet perswasion flattering man to gain him setting upon him where he is weakest to overcome him studying his inclinations to make him in love entring into his meaning to accommodate it to that of its own and like Lovers who become complacent onely to become absolute stoops to the liberty of the sinner to triumph over it nor is his slave but to become his mistress Sometimes he walks between these two Extremes and joyning force with sweetness he speaks of Grace as of a victorious complacency he describes her as a Queen displaying her Beauty as well as her Power to keep her subjects in obedience and knowing that Nature hath given her as many Allurements as she hath done Forces unites both together to tame the rebels of her State She imitates the conduct of Providence whereof shee is an emanation and mingling Sweetness with Authority executes her designes leading men whither she pleaseth These three manners whereby S. Augustine expresseth himself in his Writings have produced three Opinions in the Church which acknowledge him for Master boasting to be of his minde and to stand to his Doctrine The first is that which is ascribed to S. Thomas which delivering it self in terms very significant but somewhat barbarous placeth the power of Grace in Predetermination Those that hold this Opinion will have God always preserve his Soveraignty when he deals with the Creature Voluntas Dei est prima summa omnium causa Aug. lib. 3. de Trin. applying him as he will and using rather compulsion then fair means discovers a desire
Sacrifice that is offered is no longer a Sacriledge to be detested It is not Cruelty that makes Jesus Christ die but Piety 'T is no longer a Crime but an act of Religion to immolate him neither is he offered by the hands of Executioners but of Priests The Father receives this Sacrifice with Pleasure without Indignation the Son presents himself with Affection free from Sorrow Nature beholds it with Respect and no Horrour and Men partake of it Profitably and without Sin The fourth and last difference is that the Sacrifice of the Cross merits all and applies nothing and contrarily that of the Altar merits nothing and applies all For the comprehending of this Truth we must know that General Causes are the sources of all things nothing is produced here belowe that flows not from their fecundity the very operation of Particular Causes is an emanation of their vertue Did the Sun cease to shine all things of the world would not onely cease to act but also to subsist this goodly Star maintains them with its aspects and though he be not their Creator he is in some sort their Preserver But though he equally shed heat and light over all Creatures yet must we confess some receive his influences more favourably and apply them more faithfully With the Clouds he forms those Meteors which pleasantly ravish the eyes of the beholders with dew he enamels the Flowers which serve for an ornament to our Gardens with the Earth he produceth Gold and Iron which Avarice and Cruelty employed to a hundred different uses But did not these Causes that apply his power weaken his vertue and were there a Sun here belowe to receive his influences without confining them all the world are of opinion he would produce far nobler effects Virtus Causae generalis recipitur à causa particulari secundum suam agendi capacitatem D. Tho. and that in stead of Roses and Lilies we should see nothing but Stars in our Walks and Gardens But because he cannot act alone and the Causes that apply him debilitate his power we behold nothing here belowe answerable either to his excellency or beauty What we see in Nature we believe in Grace General Causes produce all but apply nothing Particular Causes produce nothing but apply all The death of Jesus Christ is the Spring-head of all Merit the Faithful can hope for nothing which is not acquired by that Sacrifice Heaven is not so much the recompence of their Vertue as of its Value and if the quality of Members which ties them to Jesus Christ as to their Head did not give them part in his merits they could not pretend to the inheritance of heaven In the mean time so powerful a Cause produceth nothing if not applied this fruitful Fountain sends forth no streams if there be no Chanels disposed to receive them Mors Christi Fons omnium bonorum Sacramenta vero Rivuli and this Star which darts forth so much heat and light makes neither flowers nor fruit grow up in the Church if there be not some secondary cause which conveys its vertue to us Therefore hath the Son of God instituted Sacraments in his Church which happily apply whatever he hath liberally merited for us upon the Cross They are so many Pipes issuing his blood into our hearts so many Suns carrying their influences into our souls but they have this unhappiness in applying his merits they weaken them and not being capable of receiving all his vertue neither have they the power of communicating it to us Every Sacrament operates in us according to its particular condition Baptism gives us our new birth Sacramenta novae legis representant passionē Christi à qua fluxerunt sicut effectus representant causam Hugo à Sancto Victor Confirmation strengthens us Repentance raiseth us Ordination designes us to the service of the Altar and being second causes they limit the vertue of this universal cause which they apply unto us But the Sacrifice of the Altar more happie and more powerful then the rest applies the merits of the Cross without any limitation It procures us all kinde of Graces hath the power to produce and raise us gives us life and strength unites us to God and takes us off from the world weakens concupiscence and sin and the Son of God finding himself applied by himself there are no wonderful effects which he cannot give a product to There he merits nothing because he is at the end of his Course in the place of his Rest and in the time of his Recompence But he applies all because being equal to himself he hath gained nothing by the Sacrifice of the Cross which he cannot communicate by the Sacrifice of the Altar Nothing can hinder his divine operations but our Weakness or our Malice for as he acts with Free causes without constraining them we must lend him our Will for our Sanctification that making him Master of our hearts we may in some sort assist him to raign absolutely in his State and prepare our selves worthily to receive at the Altar those Graces he hath merited for us upon the Cross The Tenth DISCOURSE Of the Obligation the Christian hath to sacrifice himself to God SInce the Son of God hath united in his person the Humane Nature with the Divine Deus erat homo factus est suscepit humanitatē non amisit divinitatem factus humilis mansit sublimis natus est homo non destitit esse Deus Aug. lib. de quinq haeres cap. 5. and mastering the difficulties which stood in opposition to the execution of so great a design hath effected this admirable Master-piece which accords baseness with greatness misery with happiness it seems he hath taken pleasure to conjoin in his person all those qualities which clash in others so that we may say he hath pacified all the differences that were in Heaven and in Earth Indeed he is the Father and the Son of the Church he produced her upon the Cross and is produced by her upon the Altar He is the Son and the Servant of his Father he associates two qualities which appear incompatible in men and tempering respect with love teacheth us that Gods being his Father hinders him not from being his Soveraign He is our Advocate and our Judge having pleaded our cause he pronounceth our sentence and I know not whether it be a ground of fear or of confidence in that we are assured that he that is entred into our obligations is admitted also into the rights of his Father and that one day he will punish those for whom he hath satisfied upon the Cross But if there be any qualities whose alliance ravisheth us in the person of Jesus Christ we must confess 't is that of Priest and Sacrifice These two are so different among men that nothing but a supream power or an extream love could unite them together When the Synagogue would represent us with the Sacrifice of the Son of God