of his enemies Moreover Pilates wife In Chr. 10. An. Chr. 34. whom Lucius Dexter calls Claudia Procula was earnest with her husband that he would give no rigid sentence against Christ but the threats of the Jews did more sharply prick him then his wifes advice Perhaps Pilates wife dream'd that he should smart for it which afterwards fell out accordingly when he was sent an Exile into Vienna in France as Josephus Ado and others report and we read that afterwards out of desperation he laid violent hands upon himself Furthermore Christ suffered under Pilate an ordinary Judge that he might absolve us from the severe judgement of God and to conclude that his innocency might be demonstrated for Pilate gave him this testimony that he found no cause of death in him Joh. 18.38 Therefore God would have him examined and so by consequence it was very clear that Christ was delivered to death not for his own but for our sins Against this passion of Christ under Pilate it may be objected Object that he was slain from the beginning of the world Rev. 13.8 how therefore could this be under Pilate To this we answer Answ that Christ was slain from the beginning of the world by appointment election power efficacy acceptation but not by execution He was slain from the beginning in the minde and purpose of God in an ideal passion but under Pilate in a real But Pilate seems to be absolved from the guilt Object because he did nothing but what God decreed beforehand to be done Act. 4.28 Answ To this likewise it may be said that God did not preordain the hatred of the Jews towards Christ but foreknowing it did purpose to make good use of it and by his precognition or foreknowledge of the evil determined the redemption of mankinde by the death of Christ The action displeased him the passion was acceptable The shameful act of the Jews and Pilate displeased God extremely but the passion of Christ and the redemption of mankinde from thence arising was exceeding acceptable Prosp ad objecta Gallorum resp 13. decreed from eternity and preordained Which is Prospers and other Doctors judgement in the point From what hath been spoken it is manifest how that the wicked do execute the counsel of God although they purpose no such thing and yet notwithstanding are not exempted from blame But some one may say Object Christ ought to suffer and therefore neither Pilate nor the Jews may seem to have sinned He ought indeed upon supposition Answ a necessity being derived from a voluntary decree of his dying for Jesus suffered because he would otherwise he could have escaped his enemies hands Ye have heard that Christ suffered and under whom It follows in the Creed that he was crucified Mat. 27.23 And they are urgent to have this punishment of the cross inflicted on him before any other as being the most cruel lingring and shameful death of all The offender was exposed alive to the view and mockery of all people hanging on a tree he was accursed Deut. 21.23 All kinde of hanging not onely among the Jews but among the Romans also was of most extreme infamy and disgrace as both Seneca and Livy testifie Seneca epist 101. Liv lib. 14. And this seems to be the reason that he who is hang'd on high is judged in a manner unworthy to tread on the earth with his feet and therefore he is lifted up from it Wherefore Christ that he might make himself of no account did undergo this most vile and accursed kinde of death and took that curse upon himself that was due to us Gal. 3.13 But wherefore would God have his Son rather to be crucified then otherwise punished the reason was saith Tertullian That he who overcame by the tree to wit the Devil by his envious working might be overcome also by the tree Secondly that by his suffering of the most cruel punishment he might procure for us a most copious redemption by satisfying to the full the Divine justice so others and from hence cometh our chiefest consolation Thirdly to satisfie the figures and oracles of the Prophets Ità S. August lib 6. de Civ Dei c. 32. in the which it was fore-signified For the brasen serpent being lifted up in the wilderness Num. 21. Joh. 3. the sacrifices which were lifted up on high Levit. 7. were the types of Christ crucified And as Isaac bare the wood whereon he was afterwards laid Gen. 22. so likewise did Christ the wood of the Cross One part of the mount Moriah was without Jerusalem wherein S. Jerom informs us out of a tradition of the Jews that Isaac and Christ likewise were offered up This place was afterwards called the mount of Calvary by reason of the sculls of the condemned that were there put to death Here Adams scull as some think was found whom Tertullian and other of the Ancients deemed to have been buried under the Cross some also affirming that the bloud of Christ hanging upon the Cross ran down upon Adams scull which manifests to us that he and his posterity beleeving in Christ should be saved by his bloud and this was beleeved by the godly as S. Cyprian averrs in a Discourse of the Resurrection Which opinion is pious enough but I know not how true In general it is evident that from the bloud of Christ there is a vertue derived most efficacious unto salvation Let us in the mean time bewail our sins for the which Christ was pierced through with nails and as the Israelites looked on the brazen serpent let us in like manner by the eyes of faith look upon Jesus and we shall be healed and as much as in us lies let us be crucified unto the world for this cause let him be wholly fixed in our heart who was wholly fastned upon the Cross for us And so pass we from his crucifixion to his death The Lamb of God expired on the Cross at the same time that the evening lamb or the daily sacrifice was offered up in the Temple to wit at the ninth hour with the Jews which answers to our third hour in the afternoon The death of Christ was voluntary no man took his life from him but he laid it down of himself Joh. 10.18 which is certainly apparent from his strong cry on the Cross when others being about to die lose their speech and do onely wheez in the throat Not without cause said the Centurion greatly admiring This is the Son of God Mat. 27.54 The bowing of his head sheweth the same whereas other men die before they bow their head And because the death of Christ was voluntary therefore meritorious otherwise he would not have been punished for our disobedience Secondly his death was innocent which the whole History proveth and the confession of his enemies Thirdly his death was precious the dignity whereof was from the dignity of the Person and so equivalent to eternal death Christ ought to die by
CLAVIS FIDEI OR THE KEY OF FAITH Written in Latine by JOHN ELLIS D. D. and Rector of Whitfield in the County of Oxford AND Propounded by him in Publick Lectures upon the Apostles Creed to the Students of Harts Hall in the University of OXFORD Faithfully translated into English by W. F. for the good and benefit of the ingenuous Reader as an help to build him up in his most holy faith 2 Tim. 1.13 Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus CAMBRIDGE Printed by John Field Printer to the University 1668. To the Right Worshipful The VICE-CHANCELLER And to all other the Reverend Masters and Heads of Colledges in this University of CAMBRIDGE W. F. Wisheth all increase of the true Grace of Christ and the blessed fruition of the Glory of God in Heaven Right Worshipful I Humbly beseech you to pardon my boldness in presenting these rude and unpolished lines to your learned views You whom God hath set on high and like Stars of the greater magnitude which shine forth more bright then others or like as the Celestial Signs moving in their own proper Sphere govern the several parts of mans body so in like manner you Reverend Doctors and Heads of Colledges moving in your Sphere do superintend and govern the whole Body of this Famous University being under your Care and Tuition I had not presumed to present this small Tract to your Worships if that of the Poet had not came into my minde Audaces fortuna juvat whereupon rushing on you unawares and at an adventure I beseech your Worships pardon and that you would be so far pleased as to grace this small Treatise with your favourable acceptance which contains in it certain observations upon the Apostles Creed or as the Author thereof John Ellis a Reverend Doctor of Divinity styled it Clavis Fideâ— the which in a Translation from Oxford to Cambridge hath in a short space learn'd in plain English to speak its mother tongue and I rather implore your patronage and protection of it then any other by reason of the calumnies and aspersions that some may cast upon me the Translator thereof qui nunquam gradum suscepi and although I was no Scholar brought up at the University yet à teneris unguiculis even from my tender years I have ever bin a lover of learning and a Scholars servant there being about thirty and nine years expired since I was first a servant to Mr Thomas Buck at the Art of Printing but having hâ—â— a long vacation from my employment of composing letters in that late and epidemical time of Plague and Pestilence I began to consider with my self how to spend my time to the best advantage and taking this small Book into my hand and here and there perusing it I did at last assay to translate it the which through Gods assistance I have finished and exposed to publick view And now at length hoping of your Worships favourable acceptance and patronage of it your unworthy servant shall ever be paying that which is but his duty to do the debt of gratitude and thankfulness to you though never to the full Si ingratum dixeritis omnia dicitis for as one well spake An ungrateful man is no man but an enemy to God and man but your humble servant hopes that your Worships shall have no cause to say so of him nor yet suspect him to be guilty thereof but he shall ever pray to Almighty God that he would so water your studies with the dew of his heavenly benediction that after this painful life ended he would translate you from hence into the Kingdom of his dear Son The which he prays for who is and shall ever remain Your Worships most humble and obedient servant William Flower To the Courteous Reader I Here propose to thy view this small Treatise the which if thou wilt bestow the pains to read thou wilt finde much matter comprized in few sheets and I doubt not if thou readest it with understanding but that thou mayest finde many things contained in it which may be of no small advantage to build thee up in thy most holy faith For without faith as the Apostle St Paul intimates unto us it is impossible to please God It may be styled a Breviary or certain short observations upon the Apostles Creed or more properly The Key of Faith wherein many mysteries of faith are opened and made evident to thy understanding And as a Cabinet containing in it many jewels of great value if it be kept continually lock'd proves to be of little or no use to the owner in like manner this book if it had remained still in the original had been of as little use to thee but now being translated and accommodated and fitted to thy capacity this Key of Faith doth now open unto thee and as it were unlock those mysteries of faith which were hid from thy understanding I have heard from the Pulpit by one that was well vers'd in History and a learned man that the Proceres or Noblemen of Poland did use to stand up at the reading of the Creed with their swords drawn in their hands ready to defend it in case any should offer to oppose it how much more then should we of the true Catholick faith endeavour vi armis as much as in us lies to vindicate the same for the Creed is commanded by publick Authority to be learn'd of all even by children when they come to years of discretion and whatsoever is commanded in general ought to be every ones particular concernment For as the Nautick Chard or Compass doth direct the Mariner that hath skill in it qui oculum ad astra manum ad clavum habet to steer his course aright to whatsoever place he is bound that he runs not precipitately upon dangerous rocks or shelves in like manner this little book may be some help to direct thee to look up to God by an eye of faith that thou splitst not thy self upon the dangerous rocks of unbelief and ignorance and it may by Gods assistance bring thee into safe harbour even to heaven the haven of happiness whilest others remaining in unbelief making shipwrack of faith and a good conscience become cast-aways Lege ac perlege veruntamen nè dijudica antequam perlegisti Read it over and over but judge not before thou hast throughly perused it and if thou reapest any benefit give God the glory for I acknowledge my self to be but a weak instrument for such a work as this yet as near as I could avoiding circumlocutions or hyperbolical phrases I have expressed the scope and meaning of the Author verbatim There is contained in this small Tract the mystery of the Trinity explained so far forth as is necessary for thee to know and likewise many excellent observations upon the Incarnation of our Saviour with the manner of his crucifixion expressed ad vivum to
say an apple cometh from the root by the branch yet the root and branch are not two principles The pool ariseth from the river and the river from the fountain but the water of the fountain river and pool are all one and the same The Father as the fountain begetteth the Son as the river The Father and the Son as the fountain with the river breathe forth the Holy Ghost as it were a pool yet their essence is one and the same The late Grecians are accused because they think that the Holy Ghost did not proceed from the Son neither will I contend very much to excuse them but if their doctrine were with moderation explained perhaps the difference between them and us may seem to be in words and not in the thing it self And if any urge us more morosely that it is no where said that the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Son we will not contend about the word if he be granted to be the Spirit of the Son no less then of the Father and to be sent from the Son as from the Father which is all one in sense as to proceed Neither do I beleeve that the Grecians will deny this Certainly this procession is done in an unspeakable manner and how it may be done is not for us to search over-curiously The Spirit is said to be Holy because he is essentially holy when as the Angels are so by the grace of creation beleevers by the grace of adoption And again he is said to be Holy because he is the Author of true or perfect holiness he is a quickening Spirit because he is the efficient cause of spiritual life in our souls The body is dead without the soul and the soul is dead without the Spirit Let us say with David O Lord renew a right spirit within us Psal 51.10 and so the short third part of the Creed is briefly explained The fourth follows I beleeve the holy Catholick Church I beleeve the Church was is shall be and that I am a lively member thereof I beleeve not in the Church the affiance of the heart is to be directed onely to God This Church is a company of men that are called who do embrace the word of God and that rightly use the Sacrament The Church is called Ecclesia from the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to call forth The convention or meeting of Citizens amongst the Athenians who were called forth by the Cryer from the rest of the company to hear the judgement of the Senate had that name given them answerable to which there are a company of the faithful amongst Christians who by the preaching of the word are called out of the kingdom of the devil to hear Gods will and pleasure The Church is called holy because it is sanctified by the most precious bloud of Jesus because by his merits it is purified through the word sacrament and faith and because it is taken up in the holy exercises of Divine worship and Christian charity They are not true members of the Church who abroad in the world shine in sanctity and at home abound in iniquity nor those who are like to the lascivious Monks whose body is in the Quire and their minde in their chamber of whom Innocentius said of old In the night they embrace venery and in the morning they adore the Virgin From outward sanctity we cannot necessarily conclude the inward holiness of the Church But beloved be you holy within and without To be Saints and seem so is good to seem and not to be such is worst of all Feigned sanctity is double iniquity saith S. Austin To proceed The Church is called Catholick that is Universal This word is not written in the Scriptures but after the times of the Apostles it began to be used The Church is so called because it is gathered out of all kinds of men throughout the whole world and because it doth profess and approve of the Catholick doctrine of the Prophets of Christ and of the Apostles by an unanimous consent So Catholick is the same with Orthodox and it is opposite to heretical as it was first of all opposed to the Arrian heresie and to others not judging aright of the Trinity And they were called Catholicks who did follow the true doctrine of the Divinity of Christ as it was expounded by the Nicene Council This signification of Catholick is the most principal one Where there is not an universality of the faith there the universality of time and place is of no avail If any one should say that the Church of Rome is Catholick in respect of place Object It is a contradiction in the adject Answ because all and one do not agree The Universal and Individual the whole and the part Neither is the Romish Church Catholick in respect of the doctrine of it because it is foully fallen from the faith and fosters most grievous errours Neither doth that make for it that it is called Catholick For it is not enough to be so called but to be such We are not to look what is done but what ought to be done The Pontificians are called Catholicks by us but either according to their own opinion or ironically even as they call us the Reformed But ours is the true Catholick Church because the doctrine thereof was declared by the Apostles throughout the whole world and because it is entertained and received by men of all sorts because it was proposed in all ages although not in a like degree and for that it is consonant and agreeable to Holy Writ Let others please themselves in the beautiful shell of a name we had rather obtain the kernel of the thing Hitherto concerning the Church now let us treat something of the Communion of Saints in the Church Communion is a relation between two or more having something common Saints are the members of the Church which are said to be holy either for the imputation of Christs righteousness or their begun conformity to the law or for their separation from the world The communion of Saints is the common possession and interest which the members of the Church have amongst themselves in Christ their Head and all his benefits and gifts This communion therefore consists First in the union of the members of the Church with their Head Christ which is not the subsistence of the body of Christ within our bodies but the inhabitation of the same Spirit And truly they are three yea four times blessed whose fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ concerning which Saint John speaketh in his first Epistle chap. 1. verse 3. Good God what a noble association is this What is more desireable in this life then to have perfect amity with God the Father and Christ by faith by hope by reciprocal love by mutual colloquies obsequiousness joy by the communication of good things as it is between a father and an adopted son between the bridegroom and the