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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11012	Lectures, vpon the history of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord Iesus Christ Beginning at the eighteenth chapter of the Gospell, according to S. Iohn, and from the 16. verse of the 19. chapter thereof, containing a perfect harmonie of all the foure Euangelists, for the better vnderstanding of all the circumstances of the Lords death, and Resurrection. Preached by that reuerend and faithfull seruant of God, Mr. Robert Rollocke, sometime minister of the Euangell of Iesus Christ, and rector of the Colledge of Edinburgh.	Rollock, Robert, 1555?-1599.; Charteris, Henry, 1565-1628.; Arthur, William, fl. 1606-1619.	1616 (1616)	STC 21283; ESTC S116153	527,260	592

to worke this worke of redemption and saluation by base and naughty meanes that the world respects no more of than the dirt which they treade on Looke what is the difference betwixt the wisedome of GOD and the wisedome of man Will yee looke to the cause of our redemption to IESVS CHRIST or to the Professors and to Ministers they are the foolishest in the vvorlde sillie bodies and compare them vvith potent men they are but contemptible and of no valour and compare them with wise men they are but fooles So looke to the Crosse and to the Ministerie thereof whereby wee are saued all is weake base and contemptible and all to this ende that the LORD onelie maye gette the glorie and as the APOSTLE saies He that glorieth may onlie glory in the LORD And let euerie one of vs giue glorie to that LORD of Glorie To whome with the Father and the Holie Spirite bee all Honour and Praise for euermore AMEN THE XXI LECTVRE OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST MATTH CHAP. XXVII verse 47 And some of them that stood there when they heard it saide This man calleth Elias verse 48 And straightway one of them ranne and tooke a spunge and filled it with vineger and put it on a reede and gaue him to dri●ke verse 49 Other said Let be let vs see if Elias will come and saue him verse 50 Then Iesus cryed againe with a loude voyce yeelded vp the ghost MARKE CHAP. XV. verse 35 And some of them that stood by when they heard it said Beholde hee calleth Elias verse 36 And one ranne and filled a spunge full of vineger and put it on a reede and gaue him to drinke saying Let him alone let vs see if Elias will come and take him downe verse 37 And Iesus cryed with a loude voyce and gaue vp the ghost LVKE CHAP. XXIII verse 46 And Iesus cryed with a loude voyce and saide Father into thine handes I commende my spirite And when hee had thus said hee gaue vp the ghost IOHN CHAP. XIX verse 28 After when Iesus knewe that all thinges were performed that the Scripture might bee fulfilled hee saide I thirst verse 29 And there was set a vessell full of vineger and they filled a spunge with vineger and put it about an hyssope stalke and put it to his mouth verse 30 Now when Iesus had receiued of the vineger hee said It is finished and bowed his head and gaue vp the ghost DVRING the time that the LORD IESVS hung quicke on the Crosse which was three houres and large more yee may reade well-beloued in Christ sundrie voyces that He vttered When I looke thorowe the foure Euangelistes I finde in number sixe sundrie voyces and euery one of them is well to be marked for at that time Hee vttered nothing in vaine The first voyce wee reade of was a voyce of diuine power together vvith mercy when one of the Thieues who hung at His right hand said to Him Lord remember me when thou commest to thy Kingdome The Lord answered him like a King and like a powerfull and mercifull God Verily J say vnto thee this day thou shalt bee with mee in Paradise The next voyce was a voyce of humane pittie and naturall affection toward His Mother she being by the Crosse with Iohn and other women He recommendes her to the custodie of His w●ll beloued Disciple The thirde voyce wee reade of was a voyce of sadnesse proceeding from an heart that was sadde on euery side to the death and from that agonie on the Crosse My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee The fourth voyce in like manner was a voyce of sadnesse proceeding from a wonderfull heate in the soule and body I thirst The fifth voyce by all appearance was a voyce of joye seeing the worke of Redemption to bee wrought and the wrath of His Father to be asswaged He saies after He had drunken the vineger Jt is finished The sixt and last voyce in like manner was a voyce of joye for finding Hee was to giue vp the ghoste immediately and finding His Father sweetly to loose His soule from His bodie He saies Father into thine hands I commend my spirit Now Brethren all th●se foresaid voyces the Lord vttered during the time that He hung quick on y e Crosse Of these we haue heard the first the second the third which was that heauie complaint that Hee made to His Father My God my God c. This daye as God shall giue vs grace wee shall speake of the three other voyces one of them of sadnesse and the other two of joye But before wee come to these voyces which are the three l●st voyces wee haue to speake something of the misconstruing of the complaint of the Lord vttered to His God Nowe the Iewes that stood by Him and heard Him crie Eli Eli for Hee cryed aloude of maliciousnesse not of mistaking Him they begin to calumniate and to misconstrue His wordes because the worde Eli which is My God sounded like Elias Therefore they said Hee cryed for Elias when Hee cryed on His God Let vs see if Elias will come and take Him downe In the which wordes wee may see clearely that they sought not onelie to destroy His bodie but the Deuill in them sought to sunder and seuer Him both in soule and bodie from His God they woulde not heare Him crye vpon His God but they sought to destroy His bodie and His soule such was the insatiable malice of the hearts of these Iewes against Iesus Christ This is the common dealing of the Deuill and his instruments with the godly and chiefely in that last houre when the separation of the soule from the body is to follow Not only to get the body dead but the soule God separated if thou beginnest to pray call on God they will scorne thy prayer seeke to cut thee frō God all hope of life But to leaue them their bitter maliciousnes As in all the poinctes of the suffering of Christ I looke more to the disposition of His Father than to the Iewes to the deuil or his instrumēts So I doe in this No question as His Father exercises Him inwardly with a bitter wrath euē so whē as the Lord by making an heauy mone seekes an outgaet cries My God my God c Hee will haue Him met outwardly with bitternes Aime where He wil He meetes Him with nothing but bitternes wrath inwardly outwardly hell inward outward no refuge nor escaping till y t ransome be payed to the least farthing Wel Brethrē if ye would see an image of hell see it here The Lord Iesus was for a time fealt nothing but extreame bitternes But the reprobate after they be once casten into hell there is nothing for them but bitternes let thē aime here there to escape houle cry they shal be met wi●h bitternes What if it were but for a time The Lord escaped His suffering

to haue resisted them to recompense this injurie by reason of his calling albeit it was the greatest injurie that euer was done in the world Then the words of Christ doe declare that he did it of blindnesse for hee did that lay in him to stay the worke of the redemption of the world hee tooke no heede to his hand Now to marke something There is nothing more common to men than this to cloake their actions with the pretence of zeale he or she will say I did it of zeale but the Spirit of God in this place and marke it letteth thee see if thy zeale be a naked zeale if it go beyond the bounds of thy calling albeit it be in a good cause yet thy zeale is worth nothing if thy zeale be with ignorance if thou hast not the warrand of this worde thy zeale is of no value it will not warrand thine action if yee would haue surer rules of actions nor zeale is take heede to th●se two thinges First to thy calling Looke that thou go not beyond the bounds of thy calling Shalt thou that art a priuate man strike with a sworde Is that thy calling Then next to Gods word What auaileth it vnto a man to goe forward in blindnesse if he be not illuminate with the light of God it is but a blinde zeale and if thou wouldest haue thine actions well ruled then take that lanterne of the word going before thee to warrand thy conscience in all thy proceedings for of all graces this is one of the greatest to haue the worde of God thy warrand in all thine actions As for zeale I cast it not awaye it is ouer rare to be casten away for it is a speciall grace of God but take heede if thou wouldest haue zeale looke that it be moderate and passe not the boundes of thy calling and then looke that thou haue a warrande of the word of God looke that the eye of thy soule bee illuminate Ioyne these two together and then goe forwards to the worke of the Lord. Certainly experience hath taught vs that this zeale hath had an euill successe no man by this zeale did euer get commendation of God It may be that men will runne forwards rashly in zeale and will haue a good entrie but the ende will tell thee that it was but foolish hardinesse it will forthinke them And no doubt Peter when hee got this answere of his Master he repented No man hath neede to finde fault with men of this age for there are few Peters nowe adayes where yee shall finde one like Peter who hath zeale ye shall find ten who haue none The zeale of God is awaye that did eate vp the heartes of the men of God of old Then againe ye shall see in this fact of Peters Peter was a good man and one who loued Iesus Christ very well and hee was loath to leaue Him and when as the Lord said to His disciples Will yee depart also from mee Peter answered and saieth LORD Whither shall wee goe thou hast the wordes of life hee was verie loath to depart from Him And this action also which hee hath in hand is a good action in the defence of Christ Yet for all this in this good action and in the cause of God see how hee is miscarried the Lord findeth fault with him Well this is our nature that when we would doe the worke of the Lord our corruption defileth it and oftentimes in doing it we will sinne and we will blot it with some foule blotte And Peter doing this with some preposterous zeale he is not allowed for an vncleane man as hee is vncleane so hee shall make the worke of the Lord vncleane So the chiefe thing that a man should be exercised withall is prayer that y e Lord would sanctifie the person that the worke that y e Lord hath employed him in may be holily done and marke againe the greatest default that was in Peter was his too great zeale We need not to be afraide for this in this lande Nay we may be afraide for default of it that the worke of the Lord should perish and wee are to pray that the King and those whom he hath employed in this worke may haue an vpright heart and such an heart as Dauid and good Ezechias had an heart louing God and hating Gods enemies I would not doubt then but the worke in his hande should take a good end and hee should report honour and glorie Now the Lord seeing what Peter did Hee forbiddeth him and sheweth a greater anger against him than against Iudas Hee spake not so angrylie against Iudas or any of them that pursued Him as Hee did to Peter and He sayeth Put vp thy sword into the sheath and then he subjoyneth the reason Shall I not drinke of the cuppe that my Father hath giuen me Thou doest what lieth in thee to holde off the cuppe I will drinke of the cuppe that my Father hath giuen me of necessitie I must drinke it for it was preordinate before all times that I should drinke it and seeing it is so I will drinke it Shall any thing be injoyned to vs to doe of necessitie and shall we not doe it willingly The Father hath propined vnto mee a bitter cuppe of affliction and I shall drinke it out dregges and all Matthew in his 26. Chapter giueth mo reasons wherefore the Lord disallowed Peter and this is one Hee who strikes with the sword at his owne hande whom the Lord hath not armed to strike he shall be strucken with the sword It is a dangerous matter to slay if the Lord put not the sword into thine hand then he giues another reason will I be defended with the arme of man No if I would pray to my Father Hee would send me twelue legions of Angels and lastly sayeth He Shall not the Scripture bee accomplished of mee Shall I make the worde of the Lord false which hath foretolde of my suffering and therefore stay thy rashnes And note what Luke sayeth in his 22. Chapter verse 51 He takes vp the eare and puts it on againe Ye may see here that the Lord will haue no man hurt in his taking the Lord will haue no vnjust defence Iesus Christ will not bee defended with vnlawfull meanes He will not bee defended with Peters sword for he had no power giuen him of the Lord for to strike He will not haue injurie repressed with injurie Nay He will not haue the man that hath the just cause to represse an authoritie This guarde came from the authoritie from the Romane empire and Christ will not haue Peter a priuate man to meddle with the superiour power He will not haue him to defend Him against the authoritie It is a dangerous thing to resist authoritie albeit it be vnlawfully vsed chiefly a priuate man and albeit that the authoritie had done wrong yet a man who hath not authoritie should not represse

rolling away of the stone frō the doore of the graue they foresaw not this impedimēt ere they came frō home but being carried with an earnest desire to anoint the Lords dead body they were not mindfull of any impedimēts We know whē a man or a womā would faine haue a thing done they will not forecast for all perils but it is better to prouide foresee in time y e impedimēts ere thou begin the worke Yet a man or a womā who hath the worke of the Lord should not cast for all perils for if he put not his hand to the work of the Lord except he see al impedimēts remoued he will neuer do any thing to the glory of God for in performing of y e Lords work we must not think y t He will remoue all impedimēts at y e first as these womē foūd al impedimēts to be takē away Now these women came forward as they came they perceiued the stone to be rolled from the graue Marie Magdalene seeing the stone away she ran back shewed the matter to Peter Iames in Jerusalem where they laye lurking she brings in her conceit euill tidings to them saies The body of the Lord is stollē away out of the graue we know not where they haue layed him So Brethren in this Text y t we haue read we haue first a particular Historie of Marie Magdalene registrate by Iohn Thē we haue the History of the rest of the women As concerning Mary Magdalene wee note of her these foure thinges out of the Gospel of Iohn First her outcomming Next what she sees when she is come to wit the stone rolled away Thirdly what shee does when she sees the stone remoued she returnes to Peter fourthly what she saies she brings no good tidings to Peter and Iames but she saies They haue stollen away the body of the Lord and I know not where they haue layed him Touching the going out of Marie I stay not on it for she came out with the rest of the first cōpany of womē only this if any mā would aske wherfore the women got this honour aboue men ye euen the Apostles to be made first witnesses of this Resurrection of Christ I answere So it pleased the Lord y t directed thē this only one cause makes their witnessing also to be autentik y t no man should except against it Ye see in ciuil things womē are not admitted to be witnesses but here ye see in this spiritual m●tter they are made witnesses before all the world their testimony is so autētik y t if Iohn or Peter or any of th'apostles had refused this testimony they had hazarded their part portion in the resurrectiō of Iesus Christ if thou reject their witnessing this day thou shalt neuer haue part of His resurrection To come to the Text What sees she the rest when they come to the graue They see the stone rolled away so they are relieued of y t care y t troubled thē by the way Mary Magd. the rest came of a great zeale to the graue to anoint the Lords dead body yet I wil not cōmend this purpose because they had no warrand of the word of the Lord for He told He would rise the third day therfore they shold not haue come out to anoint Him y e third day Yet whē they go out the third day to anoint Him ere they came to the graue they find y e impedimēt to be takē away the stone to be remoued Mark this well If they y e came to this action without any warrande got all impedimēts remoued How much more if any man or woman of zeale to God to His glory haue a good purpose haue an expresse warrād of His word shal they find al impedimēts to be takē away God is the same to vs now y t He was to thē then Yet I see again it is not to be too wise in the work of the Lord but assoon as we know what is the Lords will we shuld addresse our selues to perform the same commit the successe to Him who can remoue al impedimēts for in so doing thou honourest God giuest Him the glory y t is due to Him when vnder hope against hope thou beleeuest as Abrahā did Rom. 4.18 But ye will say Albeit Marie Magd. foūd the stone rolled away yet she foūd not the body of the Lord which she meant to anoint with odours I answere she foūd not the thing she sought but what lost she She found a better thing than shee sought she seekes the Lord among the dead and she findes Him among the liuing the faithfull who seeke the Lord shall neuer be disappointed if thou missest that thing that thou seekest thou shalt get a better thing if thou seekest this life if thou be in the Lord if thou loose it what loosest thou thou shalt finde a better life Marie seeing y e stone rolled away she goes not forward but returnes home again Now certainly I cānot deny but this came of zeal but I will not excuse her but she shuld haue stayed with y e rest haue looked into y e graue to heare the Angels informatiō but on a suddenty she returnes Brethren this falles out in y e best most godly they will oft times be miscaried for a while not y t there is any fault to be found with their zeale or w t their affection to y e Lord but y e hastie sudden doing comes more of a blindnes ignorance than of zeale therefore marke y e lessō Who euer would be zealous in a good cause would vtter their affectiō toward y e Lord ere they begin they shuld beware know well what they are doing let knowledge goe before let it be borne as a torch to shew the way then let zeale follow for if zeale follow not I wil not giue a penny for thy knowledge zeale without knowledge is better thā knowledge without zeale a great zeale w t a sober measure of knowledge is better thā al y e knowledge in y e world without zeale knowledge without zeale serues for nothing but for damnatiō if y u vnderstood couldest tel ouer y e whole Bible without zeale that serues thee for nothing I had rather haue one y t can speake two words w t zeale than haue all thy knowledge litle knowledge w t zeale wil saue thee but if y u hadst all y e knowledge in y e world without zeale it wil not saue thee Now y e last thing concerning Marie whē she hath returned back to Peter Iohn here she begins to make a sad narratiō cōplaines sayes alas They haue stollen away the body of the Lord we know not where to seeke it speaking in the plurall nūber she makes a mone looke to y e affectiō of the woman toward y e Lord she could not be separate frō

be ministred by preaching thou who contemnest this preaching I denounce to thee thou shalt neuer taste of that Spirit thou vvho vvilt stand vp and saye I haue the Spirit and then contemnest the Ministerie I say thou liest albeit thou vverest the Emperour of the vvorld Now to goe forwarde there is a great necessitie of preaching But take heede to this preaching He describes this preaching by sundrie circumstances First it must bee in some name and in some authoritie a man that standes vp and preaches to the people hee must preach to the people in some name an Herauld vvill stande vp at the market crosse and make his proclamation it must bee in some name for if hee stande vp and proclame in his owne name he is but a knaue deserues to be hanged So vvhosoeuer stands vp to preach looke that hee preach neuer a vvorde in his owne name CHRIST sayes there must be preaching in my Name Looke that all preaching be in the Name of Iesus Christ Nowe vvhat is the name of CHRIST The Name of CHRIST is His power O that passing power His authoritie What power Euen that power that Hee speakes of in the last Chapter of Matthew All power in Heauen and Earth is Mine Then in the second Chapter to the Philippians and the ninth verse Wherefore GOD also hath highly exalted Him and giuen Him a Name aboue euery name He is exalted in a wonderfull sublimenesse O that high sublimenesse that the Lord hath receiued Hee hath gotten a Name aboue all names and a power aboue all powers and none shall haue such a power then he sets out this power All knees must bowe at the Name of IESVS all powers must bow to that power and all knees must bee folded before it bowe thy knee before that power or els thou shalt be thrust in Hell all knees shall be bowed before that Tribunall that Name vvill cause all the Deuils in Hell bow and stoupe It is written in the 4. Chapter of the Actes There is none other Name vnder Heauen able to saue men but the Name of Iesus Christ thou shalt neuer see life but by this power and this Name Marke it No life I vvill tell againe No saluation to man or vvoman in the vvorld but by the Name of Iesus and His power and therefore how great shall the power of this His Name as yee may well see by the word vvhich sets it out euen the Gospell The Euangel that speakes of the Name of Iesus Paul calles it to the Romanes Chapter 1. verse 16. The power of God vnto saluation Speake of Caesar and this Kingdome or that Kingdome will it be powerfull vnto life Will all the speaking of all the creatures in the world bee powerfull vnto life Speake of the Crosse of CHRIST what seemes to bee more base yet it is the power of God and the vvisdome of God vnto saluation So the power must be wonderfull when a word will haue such a power that it will saue a soule The LORD when Hee was in the worlde Hee preached in His owne Name and the Iewes marked that He preached with authoritie and Hee sayes Amen Amen I say vnto you That is in mine owne Name As for all other teachers all their preaching must be in the Name and authoritie of Iesus and not in a creatures name When a man hath this LORD in His eye without regard of himselfe when hee goes to set out that Name ye will not beleeue how the LORD will be with him and how He will make his authoritie to be seene But by the contrarie if a man haue no sinceritie and haue not the authoritie and Name of IESVS before him but seeke himselfe in his preaching hee will haue no spirit no grace none authoritie his language will be vnsauourie his preaching will be of litle value Paul because He preached Christ and Him crucified therefore sayes Hee that his preaching was with euidencie and demonstration of the Spirit on the other part because the Corinthian Doctours had themselues not Christ before their eyes therefore hee sayes that they preached with ostentation and humane eloquence all their preaching was but winde The Philosophers of old spake much of matters of vertue but because they neuer spake one worde in the Name of Christ therefore all their speaking was but babling neither were they changed themselues nor yet changed they others they might teach men to bee Hypocrites and to couer their vices but they could not bee instruments of Regeneration because they spake not in that powerfull Name of Iesus Christ I put the Papists in this same rancke that vvill speake in the Popes name I say all their doctrine and their speaking of saluation is more in the name of man nor in the Name of Iesus Christe and therefore it may well worke errour and hypocrisie in thee but no saluation thou mayest well thinke that thou hast something but in effect thou hast nothing Then we see of necessitie there must be preaching but whereof must this preaching be The LORD sayes it behooued that preaching bee in my Name Of repentance and remission of sinnes There is the summe of the Gospell Would yee knowe the effect of all preaching The whole Gospell is summed vp in those two Heades Repentance and Remission of sinnes It is not my purpose to insist largely in these pointes but I shall speake of them shortly Repentance is none other thing but a preparation to the soule Whereto To receiue grace to receiue remission of sinnes saluation and life euerlasting It is but a making straight the wayes of the Lord who is comming with grace and mercie to the soule This Repentance is wrought partly by the Law and partly by the Gospell The Law sayes Cursed be he that continueth not in all which is written in the booke of the Law to doe them and because the conscience of all flesh accuses them as guiltie of the transgression of the Lawe therefore there arises in the soule horrours and terrours vnspeakable Then the Gospell comes in to comfort the casten downe soule and it sayes Whosoeuer beleeues in Iesus he shall be saued for this is the summe of the Gospell When the soule heares this it conceiues an vnspeakable sorrowe and sadnesse for the offending of so mercifull and louing a Father and this the Apostle calles a godly sorrow 2. Cor. Chapter 7. verses 9. and 10. Now it is this godly sorrow properly which workes repentance and turnes the heart to God that before was farre away from Him The other sorrow that is by the Lawe properly is not the cause of repentance but it prepares the heart thereunto Therefore seeing this godly sorrowe turnes the heart to God of necessitie it must be accompanied with faith for without Faith there is no conuersion to God The preaching of Iohn Baptist telles vs how necessarie the doctrine of the Gospell is to worke repentance for He sayes Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hande

hee can contemne Baptisme And if a man contemne Baptisme let him boast of his faith as hee pleases that contempt is a sure token that he had neuer faith neither shall he get eternall life So Baptisme in some respect is necessarie to saluation that is it must not be contemned or neglected for if a man contemne or neglect it he cannot get saluation but it is not simplie and absolutelie necessary to saluation that is incase a man contemne it not nor neglect it he may be saued without it It is the contempt and not the want of it that hurtes man for a man may bee ingraffed in Christ by Faith and may bee saued by Christ vvithout the seale of Baptisme for the grace of God is not so bound and tyed to th' ordinarie meanes and outwarde helpes but that the Lord may vvorke without them when and where Hee pleases And the Lord Iesus as apparantly importes no lesse in these vvordes than that Baptisme is not absolutelie necessarie to saluation for vvhen after the promise He settes downe the cause of damnation Hee speakes not a vvorde of Baptisme for Hee sayes onelie Hee that beleeues not shall bee damned of sette purpose He leaues out Baptisme And if it had beene absolutelie necessarie to saluation no question Hee vvoulde not haue misknowne it and passed it by Now last marke the meaning of these wordes Hee that beleeues not This negation and vvant of faith comprehendes first all sinne vvhatsoeuer against the morall Law whether it be originall sinne wherein we are conceiued and borne or actuall sinne proceeding from originall sinne for if we haue not Faith in the Lord Iesus all these sinnes whatsoeuer will be laid to our charge will bring vs to damnation Next this negation and want of Faith comprehends that infidelitie rebellion stubburnesse whereby men disdainfully refuse reject that grace which the Lord offers freely in Iesus Christ to sinners this sinne of infidelitie of all sinnes is the greatest most detestable and therefore procures most speedie fearfull heauie judgement and therefore Christ sayes He that beleeues not is condemned alreadie Joh. 3 18. These wordes importr that there is no delay of judgement to him who disdainfully rejects grace but the judgement is present and alreadie past against him and hee giues a reason taken from that rebellion and repining against the Majestie of the only begotten Sonne of God hee is condemned alreadie sayes he Because hee hath not beleeued in the Name of that only begotten Sonne of God The Lord saue vs from this cursed sinne of infidelitie for where it is all other sinnes are laid to mens charge it drawes out most speedily most fearfull judgements Now it followes that we speake of the second promise to them that beleeue These tokens shall follow them that beleeue in my Name they shall cast out deuills and shall speake with new tongues and shall take away serpents and if they shall drinke any deadly thing it shall not hurt them they shall lay their hands on the sicke and they shall recouer The former promise was of life eternall to them who beleeue this promise is of the gift of working miracles He promises that the Holy Spirit should giue to them that beleeue a power gift to worke miracles We may not thinke that this power is common to all that euery particular Christian who beleeues should haue this gift neither must we thinke that it should be extended to all times and ages But this promise is to be restrained to a certaine number of particular persons on whome it shall please the Lord to bestowe this gift of working of miracles and it is to be restrained bounded within a certaine time it must bee restrained to that first age and infancie of the Church to the first time that the Gospell beganne to be preached for then it was expedient and necessarie that the Gospell which was vnknowne and not heard of before to the world should be confirmed by miracles and therefore we ought not to looke for new miracles in this age wherein we liue because the Gospell is alreadie sufficiently confirmed by the miracles wrought in that first age of the Church by Christ and His Apostles and them that immediatly succeeded The Papistes indeede bragge much of miracles that are dayly wrought in their Church but their miracles are such as Christ foretold that false Christs and false Apostles should worke and that the Antichrist should worke at his comming Matth. 24.24 And they are these which Paul calles lying signes and wonders which notwithstanding hee sayes are effectuall in them who perish because they receiued not the loue of the trueth Now yee see here there is a promise of sundrie great and excellent things to be wrought by some of the faithfull in the first age of the Church as namely casting out of Deuils of speaking with newe tongues taking away serpents the drinking of deadly and poysonable things without harme the healing of sicke folkes by laying on of their hands wherein I purpose not particularly to insist but onely to marke some thinges generally for our edification Consider first the order of these promises which the Lord makes to them which beleeue First Hee promises life Saluation thereafter He promises working of miracles the promise of life is a promise of the greatest miracle that euer was wrought in the world as for other miracles they are but workes signes and tokens of that life Saluation that was to be wrought which farre surpasses all other miracles The Lord Himselfe testifies vnto vs that all the miracles which were wrought in the first age of the Church were counted but like as many fignes and tokens of life and Saluation to be wrought by Him When He sayes Matth. 9.6 That ye may know that the Sonne of man hath authoritie on earth to forgiue sinnes I will restore to health this man that is sicke of the Palsey then He sayes to the sicke man Arise take vp thy bed and goe to thine house Where He lets vs see that the miracle of bodily health was a signe token of a greater grace miracle euē of Remissiō of sins life euerlasting Whereupō we marke this lesson That Faith is neuer vvithout some miracle it hath euer one miracle or other following vpon it Indeede it hath not alwayes with it such miracles as were wrought in the first age of the Church as casting out of deuils healing of diseases yet it neuer vvants that greatest miracle of all the miracle of Regeneration of life and Saluation vvhich Christ Himselfe lets vs see is more to be marueiled at than all the miracles heere promised for vvhen the seuentie disciples who were sent out with power to worke miracles returned rejoycing that they had wrought such great things that they had cast out deuils and healed diseases He said vnto them Albeit I haue giuen you power to cast out deuils to tread on serpents and