beleeueth in him is not ashamed but euery one that sinneth is ashamed therefore hee that falleth into the shame of sinne seemeth as yet not to beleeue Cyprian Cyprian singeth the same song where he saith Quomodo dixit se credere in Christum qui non facit quod Christus facere praecepit How doth hee say that hee beleeueth in Christ who doth not that which Christ hath commaunded him Ambrose is as peremptorie in the Point Amb. lib. 6. Epist 36. where he saith Vbi quis caeperit luxuriart incipit deuiare a vera fide Hee that swaggereth swarueth from the Fayth Aug. in Ioh. serm 61. Augustine hereunto performeth testimonie in sundry places as where hee sayth Qui fidem habet sine spe et dilectione Christum esse credit non in Christum credit Whosoeuer hath Fayth without Hope and Loue beleueth that Christ is but hee beleeueth not in Christ Aug. de fide et operib c. 23. Againe where he sayth Insoperabilis est bona vita a fide quae per dilectionem operatur immo ueró ipsa est bona vita Good life is not to be seuered from Fayth which worketh by Loue yea Fayth is of it selfe good life Wherefore the 12. Article of the Christian confession of the Church of England is most sound which professeth in this wise Good workes are the fruites of Iustifying fayth and doe necessarily spring and grow from thence Wherefore Fayth beeing the badge of the Elect and Workes inseparably being the effectes thereof the sequell must needes bee that Good workes must be also the Liuerie of the Elect whereby they may be knowne Which stoppeth the mouth of our carnall Epicures who vpon the foundation of Gods immutable decree of our election would lay the structure and composition of a dissolute conuersation while they reason thus Wee may liue as wee list because if wee be predestinated vnto life wee can not be lost But such are to know that the End and the Meanes that make to the end must needes goe togeather Fayth and Good Workes inseparably accompanie the worke of our Election God glorifieth not the Elect before hee hath Called and Iustified them yea before they Beleeue and declare by their Workes that they doe beleeue Ephes 2.10 Hence is it that the Apostle sayth Wee are created in Christ Iesu vnto good Workes which God hath ordained that wee should walke in them Ephes 1.4 And hereto serue these inferences of Saint Paul of Loue vnfaigned 1. Tim. 1.19 vnto whic h we are chosen and of a good Conscience which as an impartible companion is of the Fayth of the Elect. This endeauour to performe Good works is to all the Elect necessarie 2. Pet. 1.10 as Peter teacheth where he willeth vs that wee make sure our Election and Vocation by good workes as many Copies haue it not to God our vocation being certaine vnto him before the Worldes creation but to our selues to our neighboures This is one of the chiefest vses we make of Good workes that by them not as causes but effectes of our Election and Fayth wee our selues and our brethren are assured and secured of our saluation Where the mouthes of the Pelagians are stopped who make the foresight of our Fayth and Workes in God the cause of our Saluation when as of the quite contrary-side God hath predestinated vs to Fayth and Good workes because he hath chosen vs to eternall life 1. Cor. 7.25 Wherefore Paul speaketh cautelously where he sayth Jobtained mercy of the Lord to be faythfull he saith not Because I was to be faithfull As where he speaketh in the same manner thus That we should be vnblamable not because we were to bee such As againe where hee sayth Ephes 1.4 Wee are created in Christ Iesu vinto Good workes which God hath ordained that wee should walke in them not because wee did them As finally where he saith Tit. 2.11 The Grace of God hath appeared that wee should liue soberly righteously godly not because wee were so to doe It can not be rightly said that God first foreseeth that men are to beleeue and afterward predestinateth them to beleeue Because whom hee foreknew should beleeue therefore hee foreknew it Contra. Tryphon because hee decreed it Wherefore Iustine Martyr calleth them The Elect who are foreknowne that they should beleeue wherefore such as by Gods grace are delighted in Good workes in them there is a certaine signe and seale that they beleeue in Christ and so that they are elected in Christ vnto eternall life Fayth is of the nature of a Tree in operation which naturally of it selfe bringeth foorth fruites so that there is no need that the Tree be commaunded to yeeld her encrease So the faythfull man without coaction disposeth himselfe to be fruitfull in Good workes the Law of God being grafted in his heart so that his delight is dayly in the same So that of his owne accord he doth Good workes as of him selfe hee cateth hee drinketh seeth heareth and performeth such faculties as are incident to Nature As hee that is thirstie doth but stay vntill drinke come and as hee that is hungrie expecteth his meate and then willingly and naturally hee taketh them both So the Faythfull man hungrie and thirstie of Righteousnesse taketh the aduantage of all occasions to doe the Workes thereof Although Fayth alone iustifieth and knitteth the Marriage knotte betweene the Soule Christ and is properly the Wedding garment and the signe Tau which must Protect vs from the power of the euill Angels yet Fayth is neuer seuered from Charitie Wherefore the Faythfull are resembled to Orchardes Vines and Trees that bring foorth Fruite in season The Church by Isaiah is resembled to a Vine Isai 5.7 furnished with a Wine-presse and Towre for the purpose wherefore Christ sayth Ioh. 15.1 I am the Vine and my Father is the Husbandman euery Branch that beareth not fruite in mee hee taketh away and euery one that beareth fruite he purgeth it that it may bring foorth more fruite Wherefore God is sayd to haue come downe to the Garden of Nuttes Cant. 6.10 to see the fruites of the Valley to see if the Vine budded and the Pomegranats flourished Moreouer we are to Bring foorth Fruites in patience For God Luk. 8.15 the Lord of the Vineyard commeth to his Vine with a pruning Knife in his hand to toppe and cutte off the luxurious Branches that we might bring foorth more Fruite and be in better liking Christians are Trees of righteousnesse Ezech. 47.4.12 grewing by the Riuers of the Sanctuarie But not such Trees as ours are for they take roote vpwarde in Heauen in Christ and their branches grow downeward and fructifie among men Wherefore theoricall Religion is not enough It serueth not our turnes to beare the name of Christians if wee liue not as Christians True Pietie challengeth a departure frō Iniquitie Jacobs smooth Voyce and Esaus rough
thinges execute their offices in their natures in their seuerall ranckes and classes wherin they were first placed It is because Pouidence that vsshereth the World is not in the Creature no not in the hand of Man or of Angell but in the sole power of the vnchaunging God that holdeth the ball of the World in his hand and so is vnchangeable And hence is it that the execution of supreme prouidence in like sort all the effects thereof hold on so set and setled a tenor and haue so good successe And heere followeth the assurance of predestination as founded vpon the certaine foundation of Gods eternall counsaile Wherefore well saieth Saint Augustine Turiores erimus si totum Deo demus It shall be safest for vs to hold all in Capite and to giue all to God 3. Our next reason is of this fashion The decree of Election as of Reprobation is eternall The Scriptures make this good But whatsoeuer is eternall is inuariable for wee call that Eternall which is without either beginning or ending and not subiect vnto changing 4. Wee further vrge the present cause thus Election is only in the will of God and hath no copartner-ship with workes foreseene either good or euill as in some sort we will prooue towardes the end Now that which is independant of it selfe hath no other proceeding then frō the will of God can by no other by-meanes beside God be dashed or made voyde Now in God himselfe there is nothing at oddes with his Will whereby it commeth to passe that the Will which is in God which we tearme the absolute and the secret Will is euermore the same 5. Moreouer we tender this argument vnto them Election is not without foreknowledge For God hath foreknowne such as shal be saued but Gods foreknowledge is vnerring and so sure as in the sequell of this text we shall shew and so the state of our Election standeth sure 6. I say further let them checke what is said if they can that so many so maine are the meanes that are prepared and set out by God for the common saluation of the Church as they can not possibly passe the handes of God but needes they must be saued 7. Beside all this Gods Will is a worke Psal 115.3 as it is in Psalmodie Our God is in heauen he hath done whatsoeuer it pleased him But it is his flatte Will the Elect should be saued it must therefore needes be so 8. Adde hitherto that he that transposeth his Will is ledde therevnto either out of the prospect to a better prouision by a second wisedome or out of the sense of his insufficiencie for the execution of his primatiue intention Wherefore there is no other shift but when we can not what we would we will what we can But neither of these may be spoken of God for being only wise a better counsaile cannot be conceiued then was first from all eternitie considered of And being omnipotent his armes as Sampsons are not to be manacled but whatsoeuer he proiecteth hee perfourmeth 9. Finallie all thinges worke to the wicked to the worst through their owne wickednesse yea the good things of God as his grace and the graces of his holy Spirit 1. Pet. 2.7 Luk. 2.3 4. 2. Cor. 2.16 Rom. 2.4 Gal. 5.13 1. Cor. 11.27 for Christ is to them A Rocke of offence and a stone to stumble at appointed for the ruine and fall of many The Gospell is a sauor of death vnto death The long sufferance of God that citeth them to repentance through the iniurie they offer it serueth to the enlargement of the hardenesse of their heartes Their Christian libertie is to them an occasion to liue licentiously The Supper of the Lord their spirituall refection becommeth their poyson Wherfore contrariwise all things sort out for the best to the elect as Paul saith yea their very sinnes themselues as rightly Augustine sayth To graunt a mutabilitie in God is to bring in these absurdities with a strong hande that Gods will may be chaunged his foreknowledge deceiued His illimited power restrained His action hindred which to graunt is to denie him to be God for hee is a goodly God indeede whose knowlede may be blemished with errour his will with variablenesse his power with weakenesse his action with frustration But what say wee all this while to our sinnes do not these driue at the very foundation and serue to vndermine it truly there is nothing that put so forcibly therevnto as they So that name these and name al Exod. 32 33. according to this denuntiation of iudgement Who so euer haue sinned against mee J will put him out of my Booke But bee yee not dismaide The hand of that Scripture setteth the Axe only at the roote of presumptuous and malicious sinnes continued to the death Heb. 6.6 such as is our obdurate rebellion against Christ wrought in a very wilfulnesse accompanied with a final impenitence Our daily falles enforced through the infirmitie of the Fayth in vs as beeing but in Herba et non in Spica In the Grasse and not in the Eare in Inchoation not in Perfection will not doe the deede I denie not that our sinnes deserue so much and that they draw out the sword of Gods vengeaunce out of the scabberd of his patience to strike vs both wayes inwardly and outwardly as he dealt with Dauid But withall mindfull of his trueth and goodnesse and for the obedience sake of his sonne Christ his decree of sauing vs which is our Foundation is sure on our side for our sinnes are cancelled that is they are not to death imputed He endueth vs with Fayth Repentance whereby we are raysed set vpon our feete The cause hereof is for that as he hath chosen vs vnto life so he hath withall ministred the meanes of Fayth and Compunction that bring vs vnto this life Wherefore as we haue a feeling in our selues of Fayth and conuersion so of our assured Predestination vnto Glorie let vs make no further question For if our sinnes into which by ineuitable necessitie of nature we were to fall God foresaw the same were not able to make stoppage of the course of Gods purpose of predestinating vs to eternall life in his sonne Iesus Christ as a woorke of his free grace surely after our his falles into them this eternall gratious stedfast election can neuer be voided By grace our names had first enrolement in Gods register So by grace they there stand still I say further because wee are separated to saluation by Gods grace it is that we are kept from those sins of contumacie and impenitencie for which the Reprobate which were neuer there written are said to haue the wipe-out of the Booke of life when as what they are by degrees they are manifested that is to say such as neuer had been enrolled Dauid neuer despaired of his recouerie for his adulterie and murther Nor Peter for
in the number of those whom thou hast put apart to eternall life And because this Exposition seemeth to breed and to bring some absurdities with it as that so great a man should make a motion of a thing impossible his Predestination in the certificate of his owne knowledge beeing not to be altered as also that hee should desire that which is vnlawfull to be raced out of the Register of the Righteous which is to change copie and to turne enemie vnto God they put in this surioynder that the Prophet rauished in zeale of affections to the glory of God and the good of the people was somewhat beside himselfe and spake he knew not what So likewise they consider of Saint Paules vow to be sundred from Christ for his Brethren his Kinsmen according to the flesh And it is incident as wee know to these passionate affections as heeding only that vpon which their minde is bent not to heed themselues This is the verdite of very great men whose authoritie wee are iustly to reuerence But to vnbowell our thoughts in the case howsoeuer we may yeeld them what they say concerning Moses inasmuch as his parley with God was extemporall and familiar and wee may note him of some rashnesse That wee should marke out Saint Paul for such a man and make him of this humour is more I am perswaded then that place will suffer For Paul wrote it and not worded it his hand ledde the Penne the Spirit led his heart as his solemne preamble into that matter witnesseth Rom. 9.1 in this forme of contestation I say the truth in Christ and lye not my conscience bearing me witnesse in the Holy-ghost This patheticall prouocation and appellation of the Apostle is argument of perswasion sufficient vnto vs that mature deliberation and not precipitate affection wrought this resolution And in that the Spirit suggested it it cannot be excepted against Againe we distinguish of the nature and manner of his vow as there is a separation from the loue of Christ And as there is a priuation of the fruites of his loue That Paul did wish the first to bid Christ adiew and to be execrable for his Breathren it is not nay ought not to be supposed For that flatly crosseth the conclusion of the Chapter before touching his inseparable societie with Christ and it checketh the principall cause of the very Vow it selfe which was not so much his loue to his Brethren as his loue to Christ whose glorie hee thought in the repudiation of the people should not be litle hazarded as to whom appertained the Adoption and the Glorie the Couenant and the Law the Worship of God and Promises and of whom came Christ according to the flesh For hee saw what the World would gather vpon it if God should roote out the Israelitas and plant the Nations namely that either God stood not to his Promise or that Jesus was not that Messiah promised This was that which pricked Paul in the quickest Vaine and stabbed him at the Heart Yet did his inwarde Bowels bleede in affections to his Brethren condoleing their destruction But Christ and his glory put them to the vttermost straint that might be Wherefore while hee is in this Feruour of loue and his affections are thus flagrant towardes Christ it is not without reason to thinke that in compunction to his kinne hee could wish to be cut off from the communion of Christ But wee take it that wee are in the right in expounding his Wish of the fruites of Christes loue as the felicitie of the faythfull in the life eternall of which he would be depriued and determined to damnation rather then his eyes should behold the expunction of his people out of the Couenant of Grace to the great obloquie reproach of Gods name and of his sonne Christ Iesus And this fitteth well the spirit of that loue that he beareth towards Christ And this is the Glosse of Chrisostome on this text Neyther doubt we at all but that the same Spirit was with Moses his tongue which was with Pauls Pen that the one spake the other wrote with aduisement enough the same cause the extent of their loue to the glorie of God and the indemnitie of their People working these affectionate wishes in them Wherefore both these obiections of examples receiue the same answere As if Moses should haue saide in this maner O be gratious vnto thy People not only for their owne saluation sake but for the glorie of thy name or if thine hand must needs take hold on Iudgement let their blood be vpon my head and let mee goe downe vnto the damned Neither doth this imprecation of his strike at all at the Foundation of Gods vnchaungeable decree of election the same implying in it a tacite condition if it were possible But hee knew it that it was absolutely impossible As Christ when he did deprecate the remooueall of the Cuppe which he knew before could not be remooued Father if it be possible let this Cuppe passe from mee The short sūme therefore of Moses his suite is this Rather blotte mee if it may bee out of thy Booke of life then that thy People should be destroyed and thy name blasphemed all which maketh nothing to the purpose to prooue that those that are penned downe in that Booke may be afterward put out And thus much shall suffice for the forepart of this Text. It followeth And hath this Seale The Lord knoweth who are his By an other fitte Metaphor hee concludeth the certaine saluation of the elect alluding to the auntient custome of men setting their Signets and sealing Rings to that which they minde to ratifie God signed the promises of temporall deliueraunces made vnto his people with his gracious seale A Seale was set vpon Noah and his Family that the Deluge should not drowne them Sodome was not sentenced to combustion before Loth and his Family were marked out to an happie preseruation In the inflicted punishment vpon the first borne of Egipt the aspersion of the Blood of the Lambe vpon the Lintels and Dore-postes of the houses of the Jsraelites was the Lords Broad seale and Charter of their immunitie from the common slaughter Whereas sixe Angels in Ezechiel were dispached by God against Ierusalem for their destruction Ezech. 9. An other Angell apparelled in white with an Incke-horne at his Girdle was Legatus a Latere sent on this Legatiue errant to saue such as should be sealed with the letter Tau vpō their fore-heads as theire pasport and protection Much more is our spirituall deliuerance assured vs by signes and seales of it There is no man elected vnto eternall life but shal be sealed at the time appointed And this is that sealing which is so often mentioned in the Scriptures as where in the Reuelation it is sayd Apo. 7.4.8 that a number without number was sealed vnto the Lord. For like as the Father hath sealed Iesus Christ as he was Man