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A25404 The pattern of catechistical doctrine at large, or, A learned and pious exposition of the Ten Commandments with an introduction, containing the use and benefit of catechizing, the generall grounds of religion, and the truth of Christian religion in particular, proved against atheists, pagans, Jews, and Turks / by the Right Reverend Father in God Lancelot Andrews ... ; perfected according to the authors own copy and thereby purged from many thousands of errours, defects, and corruptions, which were in a rude imperfect draught formerly published, as appears in the preface to the reader. Andrewes, Lancelot, 1555-1626. 1650 (1650) Wing A3147; ESTC R7236 963,573 576

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it not to proceed to suppuration There is in every of us an evil imagination against our Neighbour to do them prejudice and this being in us then there comes in a temptation as the Apostle shews partly from the world according to the course of the world partly from the Devil who then begins to strike and to work and fashion the thought of the heart to a perfect sin according to the Prince of the power of this air Thus they both work upon our thoughts and desires to fulfil the desires of the flesh as it is in the next verse So that here is a double cause to draw us to this 1. Our concupiscence alone considered in it self as it riseth by it self without any blowing or quickning of it from without 2. As it is imployed and wrought by the World or the Devil or both 1. By it self alone Christ speaks of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 evil thoughts that proceed out of the heart and of thoughts that arise in the heart There is a steam or vapour that ariseth from our nature for evil thoughts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 arise up or ascend from below good thoughts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 descend or come from above the one comes from our selves the other from God and his Spirit for omne bonum desuper Now the Devil knowing this takes occasion by those desires which he perceives by some outward signe to arise within us to assault us by propounding worldly objects and 〈◊〉 and so makes use of the world to tempt us Thus he dealt with Christ he forbare him till he was hungry and had his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his natural desire of bread and then he comes to him and offers him stones to be turned into bread thinking by that means when Christ had a natural appetite to have been entertained as Jehoram was for Jehosaphats sake 2. As there are cogitationes ascendentes thoughts ascending into the heart so there are another sort cogitationes immissae thoughts cast in by the Devil Thus the Devil entred into Judas when he put those evil thoughts into his heart of betraying his Master So he filled the heart of Ananias and Saphira to 〈◊〉 to the Holy Ghost and to commit sacriledge And as he sometimes doth this immediately by himself so he sometimes makes use of the world and os outward objects to cast evil thoughts into us Thus the World and the Devil infect us from without when we infect our selves fast enough from within For as Nazianzen speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sparkle is within us the flame is from the evil spirit which blows it up so that though there were no Devil to tempt us and though we were in the Wildernesse where no worldly objects could allure us yet we carry enough in our bosomes to corrupt our selves Neither can we be safe though we leave all the world behinde us so long as we 〈◊〉 our own hearts with us saith S. Basil. Of these The ascending thoughts within us are 〈◊〉 the other cogitationes immissae that are sent or injected into us unlesse they infect us or we give way to them are our crosses not our sins Nay Daemon tentando coronas nobis fabricat by resisting these motions and temptations of Satan we win the crown and every temptation we resist is a new flower to our Garland The manner how these thoughts come to infect us is thus There are six degrees before we come to that full consent and purpose of heart which is prohibited by the other Commandements In Genesis when Eve was tempted we see how the infection began There is the fruit held out the object to allure and withal the three provocations by which all sins are ushered in to the soul are there set down 1. It was good to eat here was apparentia bonis utilis the allurement of profit 2. It was pleasant and delightful to the eye here is apparentia boni jucundi the bait of pleasure 3. It is said it was to be desired in regard of knowledge Here was apparentia 〈◊〉 per se expetendi there are these three mentioned by S. John The lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life 4. And in the next verse before the Devil addes a fourth which may be reduced to the third Eritis sicut dii Ye shall be like gods The very lure of Pride Excellency and a condition to be desired by man being chief of the 〈◊〉 These being held out every one was paused upon by Eve saith the Scripture she had respective regard to them all For the woman seeing that the 〈◊〉 was good for meat and pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to get knowledge she took of the fruit thereof and did eat Out of which we may observe these seve al steps and degrees whereby sin enters into the soul. 1. The first by s. Paul is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a turning back after Satan or a turning of the soul back to look on the object The first entertaining of it aversio a Deo a turning of the soul from God which when one doth he begins to prostitute his soul to the Devil 2. The second they call allube scentium when it liketh them well so that sain they would have it This 〈◊〉 be sudden 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it propassionem answering to the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies a light motion or passion upon the first sight whereas that which more 〈◊〉 impressed in us is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a passion more 〈◊〉 or violent Job compareth him that hath gone thus far to one that hath a sweet poyson in his mouth who because of the 〈◊〉 that he feels is loth to spit it out and would swallow it but yet considering that it is poyson he spits it out or if he do not let it go nor yet dare swallow it but keeps it under his tongue then of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it becomes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and this is retentio seminis the keeping and retaining of the 〈◊〉 as the first was receptio seminis the receiving of it And as in that there was aversio a Deo a turning from God so in this there is conversio ad creaturam a turning to the creature 3. The third is consensus in delectationem a consent to take delight in it For as before there a double consent 1 Consensus in 〈◊〉 a consent to execute or act the sin and this may be forbidden in the other Commandements and is that which we called when we expounded them the Suppuration or inward festering of our hereditary wound And 2. Consensus in delectationem a consent in minde onely to take pleasure in it by often rowling of it in the heart wherein we so far consent to it as to delight in the thought of it though as yet we have no full
created fruit with the seed because we should not think seed alone to be the cause or means of fruit And we see in these dayes preferment cast upon some men that neither seek nor deserve it 3. We see also some effects wrought contrary to Nature As when Christ opened the eyes of him that was blinde with clay which naturally is more proper to put out the eyes then open them So likewise Elisha made the the salt water fresh and sweet by casting salt into it Josephs imprisonment was the means of his preferment And the unlearned Christians confounded the learned of their time Therefore the effects depende not on means or nature onely 2. not by chance Fortune hath not the command of the issue and event of war as some prophane men have given out Sors domina campi that Chance is the predominant Lady of the field but we Christians know that God is a man of war and fighteth for his servants and gives them victory or else for their sins and to humble them gives them into their enemies hands and maketh them Lords over them and the heathens themselves made their worthies Diomedes Vlisses c. prosperous by the assistance of some god and therefore in their stories vsually there went a vow before the war and after the victory performance In the very drawing of Lots which a man would think to be Chance of all other things we see it ordered some times by special providence against Chance so that it must be confessed that somewhat was above it as in the case of Jonathan and Jonas And therefore it is that the wiseman saith The lot is cast into the lap but the whole disposing of it is in the Lord. Hence the mariners in the ship where Jonas was vsed this casting of lots acknowledging a providence of God therein And upon that which they call Chance medley it cannot depend for there is also Providence Herodotus reports of Cambyses that being hated by his subjects for his cruelty the people not unwilling to have another vsurper in his absence it came to his ears he furiously alighting from his horse with entent to to have gone against the vsurper his sword fell out of the scabbard and run into his thigh or belly and killed him which this Heathen writer ascribes to Providence not to chance medley And the Philosophers conclude that chance is nothing else but an effect of causes far removed and if of them much more of things neer together which plainly are to be referred to the divine providence And it is a greater argument of providence to joyn things far asunder then those which are neerer and better known Therefore the various effects we see cannot be ascribed onely to Nature or Chance To all which might be added that unanswerable argument from the fulfilling of prophecies which necessarily proves a divine providence Thus we have seen that there is a Providence in general 2. That it worketh even when there are secondary causes 3. Now that this Providence reacheth and extendeth to particulars as it doth to generals and rewardeth each particular man is proved by Philosophy and reason thus 1. The philosophers make Providence a part and branch of Prudence and Prudence is a practical vertue and practical vertues have their objects in singularibus in particulars 2. Now it is certain that all the Attributes of God are every one of equal latitude and longitude His power is over all and extendeth to every thing for virtutis est maxime pertingere vel remotissima that is the greatest power that reacheth to things farthest off And his providence and goodnesse is of no lesse extent then his power 3. There 's no man but will confesse that it is a more commendable thing to provide for every particular then for the general onely And therefore it is that is storied for the commendation and honour of Mithridates who having many thousands in his army was able to call them all nominatim by their names then si quod melius est non agatur if the best be not done it must needs be out of some defect in the Agent but there 's none in God 4. Now for the rest of the Creatures If God have a care of heaven which hath not the use of its own light or motion but is to make inferiour things fruitful and cattle have use of herbs c. and man of cattle and all other things and the philosophers telling us that that which hath the use of all things is principal of all others man having the use of all must needs be principal therefore si sit providentia Dei in reliquas creaturas ut in principalem se extendat necesse est if the providence of God extend it self to the rest of the Creatures it necessarily follows that it extend it self to the principal 5. King David first considereth the glory of the Heavens then the eternity of them and wondreth how God could passe by those most glorious bodies and put the soul of man the most excellent creature into a most vile lump of clay and earth Man is the most excellent of all other of Gods artifice for other Creatures know not their own gifts The horse if he knew his strength would not suffer his rider upon his back therefore the occultation of the gift from that creature which hath it and the manifestation of it to man that hath it not is an argument that man is Gods Count-Palatine of the whole world and cannot be exempted from Gods providence 6 And this is that which made Saint Chrysostome in a godly zeal being displeased with man to say Appende te homo consider thy self well O man art not thou better then all creatures else Yet is Gods providence over the vilest of them and so from them to man and more especially to good men for if he have a providence and care of those that onely have his image by nature then where two images meet in one one of nature and another of grace by Christ much more for similitudo magnes amoris likenesse is the loadstone of love amoris providentia and providence of love If God care for all mankinde then much more for these who as it were hate themselves to love him those that lose themselves to finde him and that perish to live with him Therefore his providence is over particulars The second branch of this part hath two things considerable 1. That God is to be sought 2. That his providence is to reward them that seek and serve him 1. In the first place then God must be sought for facientis finis est ipsemet the end of the actor is himself and God being his own end it must necessarily follow that he wills all things for his own either profit honour or pleasure 1. For his profit we cannot seek him for none can redound to him from us 2. Nor for his pleasure for wherein can we pleasure him 3.
foolish others are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 noisome and hurtful The first we may see in such men as the Apostle calls earthly minded who desire worldly things not for natural ends onely but do transilire fines 〈◊〉 passe and 〈◊〉 over the bounds of nature desiring more then is necessary for they still desire 〈◊〉 and more and as the Psalmist speaks when their riches increase do set their hearts 〈◊〉 them which as the precedent words imply is folly and vanity O give not your selves unto vanity such men do think speak and delight to discourse of nothing but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 earthly things and thus at length they corrupt themselves so that as the Prophet speaks their silver is become drosse and their wine mixt with water when they mingle their souls with earthly things which are of an inferiour and baser condition then the soul. The other desires which he calls hurtful are those properly between whom and the Spirit of God there is that opposition which the Apostle mentions And these do first hinder us from good things which the Spirit suggests because there is 〈◊〉 cordis a foreskin grown over the heart which shuts up and closes the heart when any good motion is offered and leaves it open when any evil would enter and also 〈◊〉 aurium a foreskin drawn over the ears O ye of uncircumcised hearts and ears whereby the like effects are wrought for it shuts the ears against any thing that is good and draws the covering aside for corrupt or unsavory communication to enter in for which cause God is said in Job Revelare aurem to uncover the ear when he reforms men effectually And 2. as they hinder us from receiving good so they corrupt that good which is already in us like the dead fly in the box of ointment And 3. they provoke to evil or which is all one ad ea ad 〈◊〉 consequitur malum to such things as are not in themselves evil but will 〈◊〉 us in evil if we follow after them for malum sive in Antecedente sive in consequente malum est evill whether in the Antecedents or in the consequents of it is 〈◊〉 and to be avoided therefore the Apostle would not have us to be brought under the power of any thing because the Devil doth sometimes kindle such an earnest 〈◊〉 and appetite in a man after some lawful indifferent thing that he will not forgoe it for any cause and then the Devil will quickly finde a condition to annex to it whereby he will draw a man to something simply unlawful as he thought to have done with Christ when having shewed him the Kingdoms of the World and the glory of them wherewith he thought he had wrought upon his affections he presently seeks to 〈◊〉 him to idolatry 〈◊〉 tibi dabo c. All these will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me Thus the desires of our concupiscence in malo in evil are either as S. Augustine saith per injustitiam or adjustitiam either to get things lawful by evil means or if by lawful means yet for an evil end and both these wayes of getting are justly condemned even in the very desire of the heart This 〈◊〉 and these desires proceeding from it are expressed in Scripture by other words Sometimes it is called the old man sometimes sin dwelling in us sometimes the law of sin and the law of the members sometimes the sting of death sometimes the prick in the flesh sometimes the cleaving sin which hangs so fast on sometimes the skirmishing sin which wars against the soul sometimes virus serpentis the poyson of the Serpent which the Devil instild into our nature at the first The Schoolmen call it fomitem infixum or fomitem peccati that inbred fewel of sin Others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the disorder or irregularity of the faculties of the soul for whereas man had advanced his concupiscence above his reason against the order and will of God and so made it chief and for fulfilling his desire hazarded the favour of God Therefore as a just punishment God hath so ordered in his wrath that it should be stronger then reason so that it cannot be brought under that superiour faculty though a man would So that as God said by the Prophet and it is a fearful judgement because Ephraim had made altars to sin therefore they should be to him to sin so here because man would have his concupiscence superiour it shall 〈◊〉 be 〈◊〉 do what he can Thus God in great wrath sometimes deals with men as he did with the Israelites They did eat and were full and he gave them their own desire they were not disappointed of their lust and in another place He gave them up to their own hearts lusts and to follow their own imaginations Thus he dealt with the Heathen Romans as the Apostle saith after great disobedience and wilful sinning against the light of their own hearts there follows this Illative Ideo tradidit cos deus therefore God gave them up to their own desires counsels inventions and imaginations This is a fearful thing to be thus given up to a mans own lust It is much to be delivered over to satan Tradatur 〈◊〉 was a high censure yet tradatur 〈◊〉 had a return he that was so given up was regained But when a man is delivered up to himself it is certain that by ordinary means he never returns again For this is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that reprobate sence as the Apostle cals it when God gives a man clean over and withdrawing his grace leaves him in his own hands to final destruction so that it is better to be delivered over to the Devil then to his own will And thus we see how well we are to think of our own will and how dreadful a thing it is to be given over to it and not to have Gods spirit to maintain a perpetual conflict therewith CHAP. III. How a man comes to be given up to his own desires Thoughts of two sorts 1. Ascending from our own hearts 2. Injected by the Devil The manner how we come to be infected Six degrees in sin 1. The receiving of the seed 2. The retaining of it 3. The conception 4. The forming of the parts 5. The quickning 6. The travel or birth NOw for the means whereby a man comes to be thus endangered it hath been partly handled already in the first Commandement which in our duty to God answers to this towards our Neighbour and shall partly be now touched A man comes thus to be given up to his own desires by degrees when he gives way to civil imaginations against his Neighbour Let no man imagine or think evil in his heart saith the Prophet against his Neighbor We must not give way to it at all though we suffer
great fault If I have made gold my hope or have said to the fine gold Thou art my confidence If I rejoyced because my wealth was great or because my hand had gotten much Or if our trust be in great men as the Prophet who denounceth a curse against him that trusteth in man or maketh flesh his arm And not onely in great personages but in Common-wealths and the strength of them and their chariots and horses Or in wisdom Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom Or in outward priviledges Trust not in lying words saith the Prophet saying the Temple of the Lord c. Or as Ezekiel in ordinary coming to sermons as the people did to his and so to rest doing no good works and reaping no fruit by them But to use these things well not trusting in them which may be done 1. By a right judgement of them 2. By a right use of them 1. For the first Moses saith It is not bread that man liveth by onely but by the word of God his will and decree In nature bread should nourish but it is withall if God give the staffe of bread with it His blessing gives a nutritive vertue to bread and this is the staffe The Psalmist look'd upon his bow and his sword and yet could not be confident in them I will not trust in my bow saith he it is not my sword that shall help me And except the Lord build with us and watch with us our building and watching will be to no purpose It is the Lord that must give the staff of building watching nourishing c. else all our means will be used in vain nothing can prosper without his blessing Every thing depends upon God both in esse and in operari as the Schools say and no second cause can work without the influence of the first cause and this must be our judgement concerning the means 2. The right use is the second and this because the means are of no force without a blessing annexed we are to seek for some thing further that may adde vigor and strength to them which as the Apostle saith is thanksgiving and prayer to sanctifie the means And this thanksgiving and prayer are not to be formall It was that which Job feared in his sons for he knew by his good education of them that they omitted not thanksgiving nor prayer every day but feared that they performed not those duties as they ought and therefore every morning he offered burnt offerings according to the number of them And in doing thus we shall make the right use of the means and be in the number of the Saints whose practise we shall finde in scriptures to be the same Jacob in reconciling himself to his brother used all the means that could be as in sending messengers before he met him thereby to feele his affection towards him not forgetting presents to make his way the better and withal instructing his servants to separate his wives and children and droves in several stations that if his brother should set upon one the other might escape yet for all this we see that in the first place he giveth himself to prayer thinking that all the means he used could be of little force except God blessed the means So in Exodus we finde that in the war with the Amalekites all things were provided Iosua made Captain and the battle set in order but knowing that all this was not available without Gods blessing Moses went up to the top of the mount with Aaron and Hur to pray and we see that no longer then Moses listed up his hands no longer did the Isralites prevail We finde in the fathers two several wayes whereby a man may know and certifie himself whether his trust be more in the means then in God the author and giver 1. Quid primum in mente venit cogitandum what first comes into a mans thoughts 2. Quid postremum what last 1. For the first say they when thou goest about any thing cometh thy wealth first into thy minde or thy mony or thy charriot or thy horse or thy arm of flesh or cometh he that hath the prerogative of all these the first that first offereth it self to thy minde trieth it and tieth it to it self and all other are but secondary means If there be first a calling to minde of God it is probable that he is the ground of thy confidence 2. And secondly what we set down in our minds as our last refuge and this is too commonly seen to be the means The wiseman saith The rich mans wealth is his strong city which the fathers expound thus when the Justice and goodnesse of his cause when God and good men and all else forsake him then will that stick to him as he conceives and help him at a pinch and he is perswaded that argento respondent omnia pecuniae omnia obediunt when we are like to them against whom the Prophet denounceth a woe that devise iniquity and worke evill upon their beds and when the morning is light they practise it because it is in the power of their hand And indeed our nature is such that as long as means prevail so long we trust in them But when a man in the plenty of his means can say I will do nothing against the truth but for the truth notwithstanding all my means wisdome freinds c. I will do nothing against a good cause if the event conduce not to the Glory of God non est faciendum I will not go about it when a rich man shall be poor to do evill and so a wise man foolish and ignorant in evill then he hath a good warrant that flesh is not his arme and that his trust is not in his meanes 〈◊〉 God though his means be many Nay when we can trust in God though means be wanting The Greeks have a proverb while the pot seetheth their love seetheth and so we can be content to hold out so long as our means hold out and no longer And this is the cause that provoketh God in his just judgement to give the means without the blessing as also to bring many things to passe without means For as where the blessing of God is there it falls out that mens bellies are filled with Gods hidden treasure there is thriving and growing no man can tell by what means So where he 〈◊〉 the means it fares with them as with those in the Prophet ye have sowen much and bring in little ye eat but ye have not enough ye drink but ye are not filled with drink ye cloth you but ye are not warme and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes whatsoever means they use it prospers not And the experience of this we see in king Asa albeit Physick be the ordinary means to recover health yet