Holy Ghost whereby the believer giveth his assent or credence unto Gods holy word and doth apprehend and apply to himselfe in particular as well the Originall promise as also all other promises of the saving good will and grace of God in Christ the promised seed to his glory and to the salvation of his own soul The efficient cause of which justifying faith primarily is God himself The efficient of justifying faith who is one divine essence distinguished into three persons the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost for faith is the gift of God as St. Paul saith Unto you it is given in the behalfe of Christ not onely to believe on him Phil. 1.29 but also to suffer for his sake Yet so as that instrumentally it is either internall or externall The internall is the Holy Ghost by his speciall working the shining of God in our hearts whereby faith is begotten in us 2 Cor. 4.6 while that he doth dispose our understanding to the saving knowledge of Christ and moveth our will to give assent and adhere thereunto The externall is the administration of the Gospell in the dispensation of the Word and Sacraments whereby the Holy Ghost doth ordinarily forme and confirm the work of faith in us although it must not be denyed that for the liberty of the power of his will God without the use of this ordinary meanes when and where he shall so please doth beget and work faith in the hearts of men Rom. 1.16 I am not ashamed of the Gospell of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greeke 17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written The just shall live by faith The matter of faith The matter of Faith if considered subjectively the proper subject thereof is the understanding and will of man so farre forth as each faculty is regenerate by the supernaturall grace and power of the Holy Ghost whereby the understanding discerneth those supernaturall benefits of faith offered in Christ to be true and the will applyeth them assuredly as good and saving O fooles and slow of heart of understanding and of will to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Luc. 24.25 But the matter of faith considered objectively in respect of the understanding is divine verity and in respect of the Will the sole singular grace of God promised in Jesus Christ both which are contained and circumscribed in the written word of God all which and onely which faith respecteth and embraceth as its adequate object and therein Christ crucified as its principall first and proper object Let us draw neare with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evill conscience Heb. 10.22 23. and our bodies washed with pure water Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for he is faithfull that promised The matter of faith in respect of the parts of it The matter of faith in respect of the parts thereof are diversly considered as well in regard of the subject as of the object For in respect of the understanding and divine will it is knowledge and assent knowledge whereby a man understandeth the whole word of God according to the principall heads thereof for the measure of grace revealed Assent whereby a man taketh it for granted and is firmly perswaded in his heart that all those things which he knoweth out of the Law and the Gospell are so certainly true that in them as in divine truths is setled rest to be found Rom. 7.16 I consent saith the Apostle unto the Law that it is good In respect of the will of man the principall and primary part of faith is confidence which is a most firm perswasion of the heart whereby all the faithfull doe appropriate the generall promise of Grace to themselves in particular Which confidence produceth a two-fold effect whereof the first is a sure ground or foundation upon which a mans faith standeth in opposition of all dangers internall and externall The second is a full trust in God S. Mat. 7.25 whereby a man doth depend on him that he may be saved It is the testimony of the Spirit which as St. Paul saith beareth witnesse with our spirit that we are the children of God Rom. 8.16 The forme of faith The form of faith consisteth in Relation whereby the believer doth apply unto himselfe the word of truth and the divine promises of the grace of God in particular So that look what the Scripture promiseth and propoundeth generally the believer appropriateth to himselfe by a firme perswasion As for example God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son S. Joh. 3.16 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And this is it which the Scripture speaketh in generall termes and was first spoken to Adam after his fall and is further spoken in all the old and new Testament which yet the believer appropriateth to himselfe God so loved me that he hath given his onely begotten Sonne that I believing in him should not perish but have everlasting life The finall cause of faith for the first and principall end of it The finall cause of faith is the glory of God the Author of our faith and the Redeemer of our Souls But the next or secundary end is out owne salvation which the scripture therefore calleth the end of our faith and the reward of it as the Apostle St. Peter sayeth 1 Pet. 1.9 Receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your soules Here note by the way Observation that faith towards God is one and yet divers One in the species for though there are many sorts of Christians yet there is but one Catholique faith for faith is species specialissima One in regard of the object for the thing believed is one and the same upon which ground St. Athanasius in his Creed doth conclude peremptorily This is the Catholique faith which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved And the scripture accordingly One Lord one Faith one Baptism Divers both in number and in degree Eph. 4.5 In number Every believer hath his own faith proper and peculiar to himself which is his own faith and is not the faith of any other In degree for faith is in some more in others lesse according to the measure of the divine grace of God There is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If God so cloth the grass of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven shall he not much more cloth you O ye of little faith But the woman of Canaan had a great faith S. Mat. 15.28 O woman great is thy faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt Now this
he would then do that which should be fittest to be done Upon which answer she conceives good hope therefore saith unto the servants Whatsoever he saith unto you do it The Iewes had many washings and purifications by water according to the tradition of the elders for which use at that time there were set there six water pots of stone after the manner of the purifying of the Jewes containing two or three some two some three metretae measures or firkins a piece in the whole according to some one hundred sixty and eight gallons and three quarts or thereabouts but these men seem to be too punctuall unlesse they would say how many of those water pots held two metretae and how many three others do cast up the reckoning at foure hundred and fifty gallons But to dispute the quantity will be more difficult I suppose then profitable Iesus commanded the servants to fil those water pots with water and they in obedience to his command filled them up to the brim By this he would declare the verity and truth of his miracle and take away all cavills They were water pots not wine vessels lest any one should think that the wine dregs or lees left in the bottom might give both taste and tincture to the water They were water pots of stone set or fixed in their places made and placed there for no other use but to contain water Therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he saith unto them he commandeth the same servants that filled them and that immediately to draw out and bear to the Architriclinus or ruler of the feast Architriclinus a steward chosen of purpose for the present time and occasion to whom it belonged to take care of the wine and to proportionate what wine and how much should be spent also to praetaste the same to the end that only good and wholsome wine might be set before the guests to command the servants and to order the feast every way Therefore when the servants brought this wine and told him that it had not been given unto the guests before the steward according to his office tasteth it and not knowing the miracle called the bridegroom praising and commending the wine and telling him that he had kept the best wine till the last a course not usually taken by other men And this was the first of his miracles publiquely wrought Christ his first miracle and before the people to manifest his glory and that his Disciples might believe on him although peradventure secretly privately and out of the sight of men he had done some miracles before for divine ends and had fasted forty dayes and forty nights which quoad substantiam operis in as much as concerneth the substance of the work done was a miracle and not the least And the third day saith the text there was a marriage in Cana S. Joh. 2.1.2 3 a towne of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there And both Jesus was ca led and his Disciples to the marriage And when they wanted wine the mother of Jesus saith unto him 4 they have no wine Jesus saith unto her Woman what have I to do with thee mine houre is not yet come His mother saith unto the servants 5 whatsoever he saith unto you do it And there were set there six water pots of stone after the manner of the purifying of the Iewes 6 containing two or three firkins a piece Jesus saith unto them fill the water pots with water and they filled them up to the brim And he saith unto them 7 8 Draw out now and beare unto the governour of the feast and they bare it When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and knew not whence it was but the servants which drew the water knew the governour of the feast called the bridegroome 9 and saith unto him Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine and when men have well drunke then that which is worse hut thou hast kept the good wine untill now 10 This beginning of miracles did Iesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on him 11. Here it is expedient that we should observe something concerning miracles and the causes of them for so much as the miracles of Christ do belong to his administration of the covenant in the flesh Concerning miracles what they are Miracles are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 admirations because they strike the hearts of men with wonder and amazement They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 portents or prodigies They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signs and significations of Gods divine power and presence They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 virtues powers the effects of divine vertue and power They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 violent and efficacious effects besides above or against nature There be in art many wonderfull and admirable things which yet have been done by art and seem incredible the Babylonian Gardens the Egyptian Pyramides the lake of Myris the stately tombe of Mausolus the temple of Ephesus the inventions of Archimedes and such like But for as much as they did not utterly and absolutely exceed all humane power and skill nor yet were besides above or against nature they were great and wonderfull workes indeed they were not miracles There be many strange portents and prodigies in nature monstrous births dreadfull comets and apparitions in the air which though wonderfull in our sight yet because they do not utterly and absolutely transcend nature and because that some Philosophicall cause or reason may be assigned for them quoad rem substantiam rei in as much as concerneth the thing it self and the substance of it they are not miracles Miracles therefore which are miracles indeed quoad rem substantiam rei are either besides nature which is when there is an immutation of that order which nature observeth by a perpetuall law for the producing of the miracle For so the sun and moon stood still at the word of Josuah at one time and at another time the sunne went back ten degrees for a sign to Hezechia Or else secondly Jos 10.13 Isa 38.8 S. Joh. 9 7. they are above nature which is when such an effect is immediately produced which nature cannot bring forth as when a blind man is immediately though born blind made to see Or when he that is lame from his mothers wombe is presently Act. 3.7 and without the application of any external means made to go Or thirdly contrary to nature as when the fire which yet had its naturall disposition to burn could neither burn nor cinge the garments of the three children though it had slain those that took them up Dan. 3.27 Nor the Lyons rend or devour Daniel which had the mastery of his accusers and brake all their bones in pieces Dan. 6.24 or ever they came at the bottome of the den The
Devils and by their instigation wicked men have their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and quoad rem substantiam rei they have done and can do miracles The enchanters of Egypt did the same things that Moses and Aaron did Exod. 7 12 22. for they cast down their rods and they became Serpents They turned the Rivers into blood They caused the frogs to come up and to cover the land of Egypt Exod. 8.7 ◠2 Thes 2.9 And the comming of Antichrist must be as St. Paul saith after the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders With true miracles if the thing it self or substance of the thing be respected not in appearance only and by imposture he shall work miracles saith Hippolytus by cleansing the leapers by raising the paralytick by casting out Devils and it may be so but yet lying wonders because directed to an undue end and to av cuchlies Miracles therefore which are true miracles omnibus suis numeris partibus perfecta perfect in all parts and numbers True miracles and the causes of them The efficient cause and which are contradistinguished to lying miracles must be known and distinguished by the true and proper causes of them For first the efficient cause is God himself And God doth miracles two manner of wayes mediately or immediately Mediately by his servants the Prophets and Apostles and others also to whom the power of working miracles hath been concredited Hitherto refer all those miracles which Moses did in the land of Egypt in the red Sea and in the wilderness That Josuah divided the river Jordan to open a passage for the people of Israel into the land of promise That at the sound of the trumpets of rams hornes the walls of Hiericho fell flat to the ground That at his command the sun and the moon stood still for the space of a day That Elijah and Elisha raised the dead to life again Hitherto also are to be referred all those miracles which were done by the Apostles and primitive believers A gift which Christ gave unto his Church to serve for a time These signes shall follow them that believe S. Mar. 16.17 In my name they shall cast out Devils they shall speake with new tongues They shall take up Serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover 18. His immediate miracles are properly said to be the creation of the world the divine and wonderfull preservation of it but above all the redemption of all mankind by Christ In which work there are three sorts of miracles Some in persona mediatoris in the person of the mediator himself such is that union of natures which is not naturall S. Joh. 1.14 the word made flesh God and man hypostatically united in one person the hypostaticall union Some propter personam mediatoris for the person of the mediators sake Such was that wonderfull birth which was of a woman Isa 7.14 without a man and she a pure virgin too Some ab ipsa persona mediatoris from the person of the mediator himself and such were all those miracles which Christ did comming in the flesh by divine dispensation S. Joh. 20.30 31. which are written by the Evangelists and many more then are written of him The matter of Christ his miracles in qua in which they were it was the divers miseries and calamities of men The matter of Christs miracles sickness blindness lameness hunger death and such like for the amoving whereof miracles were done by curing the sick by giving sight to the blind by restoring limbs to the lame by feeding the hungrie by raising the dead The matter of his miracles ex qua from which they did proceed it was his own divine power the true and proper cause whereby all his divine miracles were effected S. Luc. 11.20 The matter of his miracles circa quam about which they were wrought it was the kingdom of Satan which he would destroy and the sins of men which he would remit Satan like a strong man armed kept his palace and his goods were in peace till Christ a stronger then he came upon him and took from him all his armour wherein he trusted even all his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and all his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his lying wonders and miracles by his own miracles whereby he was declared mightily to be the son of God and so divided his spoils S. Luc. 11.22 as to deliver the sinfull souls of men out of his captivity The formall cause of his divine miracles quoad modum operandi The formal cause in as much as concerneth the manner of operation is very various Sometimes he wrought his miracles by curing diseases only by his word S. Mat. 9.2 S. Mat. 8.13 if the party were present as the paralytick man Or if the party were absent as the Centurions servant Sometimes he wrought his miracles by curing diseases by his word together with a touch of his hand as in the leper S. Mat. 8.13 and sometimes by permitting the sick and diseased to touch him as once he did the woman who was diseased of an issue of blood twelve years Sometimes he maketh use of means and things naturall S. Mat. 9.22 for effecting of his divine miracles above nature For once with five loaves and two fishes only he fed above five thousand men besides women and children so that they did all eat and were filled Once also with seven loaves and a few little fishes S. Mat. 14.20 he fed about four thousand men besides women and children so that they did all eat and were filled S. Mat. 15.37 If it were naturall to be fed and satisfied with bread and fish as by means and things naturall the miracle was in the proportion it was miraculous to feed and satisfie so great a multitude with so small a quantity Sometimes he maketh use of means and things not naturall or proper it was when he made clay and annointed the eyes of him that was born blind who having washed in the pool of Siloam receiv'd his sight S. Joh. 9.7 Christ his miracles in respect of the finall cause or ends for the which they were wrought were for two purposes The finall cause for the glory of God and for the utility and profit of men I say first for the glory of God For we read in the Gospell that when he had cured him that was sick of the palsie and had also remitted his sins saying Thy sins be forgiven thee Howsoever some of the Scribes said within themselves This man blasphemeth because he attributed that unto himself being but a mere man as they supposed which belongeth only unto God namely to forgive sin according to that of the Prophet I Isa 43.25 even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake yet when the
the vote of the Scribes and said even as they did This fellow doth not cast out Devils but by Beelzebub the prince of Devils Hereupon others of their consorts S. Mat. 12.24 seeing that the Scribes and Pharisees had condemned this signe to be from hell tempted him and sought of him a signe from heaven They would have had him peradventure as St. Hierome also saith to have brought fire from heaven as Elijah did 2 King 1.10 1 Sam. 12.18 or to have caused it suddainly to thunder and rain as the prophet Samuel did But he apologizeth and recriminateth By the apologie he maintaineth his divine power whereby that and all other his divine miracles were effected By the recrimination he convicteth them of that irremissible sin which is against the holy Ghost The Scribes and Pharisees convinced of the irremissible sin in that they saw and knew his divine power in the works which he did and yet blasphemed The apologie is grounded upon two arguments whereof the first is taken from the absurdity of the consequence as if he should say how irrationall is this How doth Sathan cast out Sathan is his kingdom divided or doth he himself seek the ruine of his own kingdom or must it not needs be so if he will cast himself out where he hath once gotten quiet possession This is true of every kingdom S. Mat. 12.25 26 27 28. S. Mar. 3.23 24 25 26. S. Luc. 11.17 18 19 20. and of every house therefore of Sathans kingdom and of Sathans house how then do I by Sathan cast out Devills or by whom doe your children cast them out The second is taken from the manner of ejection which is the necessity of the consequence How can I cast out Sathan against his will were I not stronger then he can any man enter into a strong mans house and spoil his goods if he be not stronger then that strong man first to bind him and then to spoil his goods If I therefore have entred into Sathans house If I have bound him S Mat. 12.29 30. S Mar. 3.27 S Luc. 11.21 22 23. S Mat. 12.31 32. S Mar. 3.28 29 30. The irremissible sin against the holy Ghost if I have cast him quite out of his house and despoyled him of his goods as you may see in this demoniak am I not then stronger then Sathan And if stronger then Sathan who else but God and the son of God The recrimination followeth and is this therefore you Scribes and Pharisees because you have said that I have an unclean spirit and do cast out Devils by the Prince of Devils have sinned against the Holy Ghost to your own damnation The irremissible sin therefore is not blasphemy against the nature or person of the holy Ghost if a man shall deny that there is an holy Ghost or third person as did the Photinians or if he shall deny him to be God or more then a creature as did the Macedonians Quid ergo fiet de his quos lucrari cupit ecclesia saith St. Augustine What shall then become of those whom the Church desireth to acquire De verb. Dom. Ser. 11. cap. 4. The Church desireth to gaine and hath gained such But that irremissible sin is blasphemy against the works of the holy Ghost and is when he that is illuminated shall against his own knowledge and conscience slander and blaspheme the holy Ghost in his works by a malicious obtrectation by a wilfull repudiation and by an envious persecution of those that work them So the Scribes and Pharisees blasphemed the holy Ghost by affirming those works to be done by Beelzebub which they saw and knew to be done by the finger of God and by persecuting Christ for his works sake Saint Matthew and St. Luke proceed in the recrimination and both of them do say S Mat. 12.39 40. S Luc. 11.29 30. The signe of the Prophet Ionah that he denyed them a signe from heaven that is to say such a signe and in such a manner as they desired But yet promised the signe of the Prophet Ionas by the resurrection of his body upon the third day Indeed Jonah was an excellent type of the resurrection of Christ and of his resurrection upon the third day For like as Jonah for three dayes was in the Whales belly and during that time no better then dead but then the fish could hold him no longer for then the Lord spake unto the fish Jon. 2.10 and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land And Jonah is sent a Prophet to preach to Nineveh that they should repent Piscis qui Ionam devoravit in pelago significat mortem quam Christus passus est in mundo saith one of the Fathers The fish which devoured Jonah in the sea signifieth the death which Christ suffered in the world For even so was Christ in the grave as Jonah in the Whales belly till the third day but then the earth could hold him no longer God speaks unto the grave and the grave must surrender his blessed body and he ariseth and preacheth to the Ninevites for he sendeth his Apostles with ample commission Rom. 10.18 And their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world In amplifying of which recrimination while he insisteth more sharply he telleth them that the Queene of the south and the Ninevites shall rise up in judgement against them for their unbelief and hardness of heart to their condemnation S Mat. 12.43 44 45. S. Luc. 11.24 25 26. which he affirmeth to be just for as much as the Devill whom he would cast out of the world by the power of his Gospell should in a worse manner than ever enter again into their nation And as he insisted upon these things a certain woman that heard him and was in the company be it Marcella or whosoever it were Blessedness of Christs mother cryed out as in a divine rapture Blessed is the wombe that bare thee and the paps which thou hast sucked Indeed the wombe was blessed the paps were blessed the body was blessed the soul was blessed S. Luc. 1.48 yea and all generations shall call her blessed but that blessedness came not to her by bearing of Christ but by believing in Christ S. Luc. 11.28 and therefore he replyeth saying yea rather blessed are they that heare the word of God and keep it So having pronounced his mother blessed blessed in bearing more blessed in believing she together with his brethren arriveth there S. Luc. 8.19 desiring to speak with him and because they could not come at him for the preass they sent unto him calling him as Saint Mark saith The cause of her comming to Christ as he was preaching No doubt but the cause of their comming was good and as they thought at that time necessary peradventure to perswade him to take some pitty upon himselfe considering his long fasting and continuall pains which also