praestaret corporibus obedientium praecepto suo foelicissimum quoddam temperamentum certi status donec in melius conuerterentur non morte hominis qua corpus ab anima deseritur sed beata commutatione ab animali ad spiritualem vitam For if God by the space of fourtie yeares gaue a continuance to the Israelites attire without any hinderance or wearing them out how much more would he haue giuen a most happie temperature of a certaine perpetuitie to their bodies obeying his commaundement vntill they had receiued a better chaunge not by death wherein the soule doth forsake the bodie but by a blessed chaunge from the naturall to the spirituall life This is the receiued opinion of Diuines That if Adam had not sinned then assoone as the number of Saints had beene accomplished men should haue been translated from earth to heauen from their naturall life to the spiritual life as we reade of Henoch and Elias Immortalitie is the last beame and as it were the close of Adams brightnesse to giue continuance to the rest of his endowments and by them also immortalitie it selfe is illustrated For if it be seuered from the rest then is it a detriment and no benefite as in the wicked and damned immortalitie shall be no radiant beame of light but a perpetuitie of darkenesse This is one point to be considered in Adams immortalitie Another that his immortalitie must not be measured by the extent thereof for so you shall finde it but short narrow diarie an immortalitie peraduenture of one dayes continuance But looke vpon it in the foundation and there you may finde matter to proue it For if Adam after hee was made infirme and bruised by sinne adiudged to death and expulsed out of Paradise did yet for all that linger in the earth after it was cursed too nine hundreth and thirtie yeares Iared nine hundreth sixtie two yeares Methusalem nine hundreth and sixtie nine yeares might they not haue liued more easily so many thousands or millions of yeares in their healthfull Parke if they had persisted with integritie No doubt they might That holy place which cast out sinners would neuer haue admitted death For assurance hereof hee had an infallible pawne and pledge in the Tree of life as a Sacrament that consigned immortalitie to him So he had this complemēt of Gods image because it was in his power not to die Farewell then mortall and immortall Adam immortall from God and mortall by your selfe immortall in creation and mortall in trespasse mortall in acte but immortall in possibilitie and power Now you haue according to the slendernesse of my vnderstanding the whole quadrant of mans perfection the height and depth and length and breadth euen all the dimentions of the image of God squared on one side with absolute authoritie ouer all the creatures on the other side with the perspicacie of knowledge on the third with sinceritie of righteousnesse on the fourth with possession of immortalitie that which way soeuer he be placed you may finde him a perfect and happie man And who could haue desired more I ghesse what you think but so it would not haue bin well I would haue all Praedicatores non argumentatores Magnifiers rather then disputers of Gods workes Peraduenture you wish that these rich iewels might haue beene so fastened to our parents that they should not haue lost them and that man when he had all this honour might haue beene no changling If the creature had receiued this what should the Soueraigne haue reserued for himselfe Immutabilitie is so peculiar to God alone that it cannot be communicated to any other Doth he not say Gloriam meam alteri non dabo I will not giue my glorie to another Doth hee not say Ego Deus non mutor I am God and in me is no change Doth hee not therein plainely let vs vnderstand that all things else must be variable Doth not our Text tell vs that his purpose was to make a man and not a God Was it not sufficient that God made him right I but hee left man power to sinne also True yet in that he sinned the fault was not in God that left him power but in the man himselfe that abused this power and converted it to the vse of sinne which he receiued for the glorie of not sinning Albeit he sinned by meanes of the freedom which he receiued yet did he sinne not because he could but because hee would sinne will you haue that proued When the Deuill and his complices transgressed the holy Angels did not transgresse Why Not because they could not for they had free-will too but because they would not O malum liberum arbitrium quod adhuc incolume parum habuit firmitatis O vnhappie free-will which had so little constancie when it was sound Let vs put the case that God had giuen man such a light as hee could not extinguish What praise what glorie what retribution should he haue expected for doing well if he could not haue done otherwise what then If God made man right and afterward left him in the hand of his owne counsell was it not that his well doing should be the more glorious when hee had power to doe otherwise When the kinde father had giuen one moytie of his goods to an vnthriftie sonne which wasted it by prodigalitie Where was the fault in the father that gaue it or in the sonne that spent it to his ouerthrow Cur ergo non faceret Deus hominem quamvis eum peccaturum praenosceret cum stantem coronaret cadentem ordinaret surgentem adiuvaret semper vbique gloriosus bonitate iustitiâ clementiâ Wherefore then should not God make man although hee had a foreknowledge that the man would sinne when as hee crowned the man standing ordered his fall and did helpe his rising euen God that is alwayes and euerie where glorious in goodnesse righteousnesse and clemencie So let him be acknowledged and praysed in the Church through all generations AMEN FINIS THE MISERY OF MANS FALL ROM 5. VERS 9. As by one mans disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shall many also be made righteous THE obedience of Christ is much magnified and very iustly it fayled not in the least tittle it continued to the last period of humane things euen vnto death he preferred it aboue life and was content to lose his life rather then his obedience therefore it was great euery way But how we may reckon so securely of it as if we had performed it our selues or how one mans obedience may serue so many thousand beleeuers euen good consciences sometimes wauer others that haue not beene instructed wonder and certaine scoffe at it as a Paradox For satisfaction of all the Apostle here maketh the matter plaine by a golden comparison of the ruine and restitution of mankind These two being contraries must follow one rule But there is no other course
glorified why should it be vnworthie to beate some portion of Gods image The image of God in my vnderstanding is that high perfection of whole Adam and the integritie of all the powers both of his bodie and of his soule and that conformitie or congruitie that he had with God his founder and Architypus In that which followeth you doe expect and I will endeuour to shew what things they be that this image doth comprehend Some say that man was made to the image of God in that dominion and power which was giuen him The words following our Text doe fauour that opinion Let vs make man in our image and let him rule ouer the fish of the Sea and ouer the fowle of the heauen and ouer the beasts and ouer all the earth and ouer euery thing that creepeth and moueth vnder the earth S. Basil Mox atque creatus es princeps creatus es Assoone as thou wast created thou wast made a Prince again Illud Faciamus et Dominetur declarat ibi esse imaginem Dei vbi potentia est dominandi Those termes Let vs make and Let him haue rule declareth the image of Cod to be where the power of gouernement is And who can doubt of this in Adam that reades how the beasts came to doe their homage and fealtie to him as to the Lord and great maister of all the world The Apostle would haue the man to pray bare headed for as much as he is the image and glorie of God but the woman is the glorie of the man and not the image of God This may not be vnderstood of the integritie and rightnesse of the inner man thereof the woman was partaker as well as the man in the Lord there is neyther male nor female Therefore it must be vnderstood of the glorie of dominion that ecclesiasticall and oeconomicall power was giuen to the man and denyed to the woman So then to be created to the image of God is to be placed in authoritie and gouernement Hereupon the Magistrates in Scripture are called gods Psal 82. because of their power Behold one portion not the whole image of God whereunto vnlesse inward rightnesse be added that power may soone degenerate into crueltie and then it is so much the more dangerous in man then in any other creature because his iniustice is armed with reason Therefore in the image of God we do ioine with that power which I haue spoken of knowledge righteousnesse as guardians and moderators of his power S. Paul Ephes 4. placeth the image of God in righteousnesse and holinesse figuratiuely by Synecdoche For albeit these be principall and speciall partes of the image of God yet more is requisite they are not all but such as we ought chiefly to seeke because the rest doe follow them And now if you please to make triall you may finde them both very plentifull in Adam First of his knowledge if it may be esteemed by the obiects it will bee plaine that hee knew God the creatures and himselfe Was it possible that he carrying the image of God receiuing rules of his life immediatly from God hauing most sweete and familiar conference and conuersation with God should be ignorant of any thing that pertayned to God and meet for him to know Againe knowing God truely and rightly what could he want in the knowledge of the creatures He that gaue names to euery beast according to their disposition and nature and hee that receiued charge from God to dresse the Garden needed no Gesner no Plinie no Aristotle to instruct him de Historia animalium or to informe him of the natures of any of the creatures And was his knowledge like hypocrites eyes that see extramittendo non intromittendo quicke abroad and dull at home able to discerne moates in others and not beames in themselues No Adam was not so he vnderstood as much of himselfe as he did of anie thing else Though hee was in a deepe sleepe when Eue was taken out of him and felt nothing though the rib which she was made of was closed vp again and flesh put into the place thereof that he missed nothing yet assoone as the woman was brought vnto him he cryed out by and by This is flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone which he could neuer haue done without an admirable light and knowledge of himselfe and his owne nature I haue giuen you a taste of his knowledge consider now and looke if it were eclipsed by anie waywardnes or indisposition of his will The fashion of the commaundement proues the contrarie At what day soeuer thou eatest the fruite thou shalt die the death Sure the iustice of God is so vnreproueable that he would neuer haue mentioned much lesse inflicted penaltie had not the will of man bene most free to performe all that was required God made man right and what rightnesse could he haue without a free will Hee was created to the image of God and is any thing more agreeable thereunto then true and perfect libertie Hee was crowned with glorie and honour and what honour can there be where libertie and freedome wanteth To conclude this point then As Adams mind did rightly know God that he would be worshipped with feare and loue so did his heart and will accord to doe it affectionately with all their power Neyther was there any thing at all in the whole nature of man for then he did not so much as thinke of sinne but that his minde might vnderstand all righteousnesse and that which he vnderstood the whole man might desire and that which he desired he might performe also without any interruption or let Marke then the righteousnesse of that blessed man As God was all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and imbraced man with a fatherly affection so Adam in a kind of interchange of pietie was all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and interteyned the loue of God with true loue againe Oh that he had beene as firme and constant to the end as he was staight and right in the beginning Improbitas illo fuit admirabilis aeuo He was created to the image of God and therefore also to immortalitie perpetuall societie with God If man had beene mortall by his creation he had not then beene made to the image of God Mortall nature is not the image of God immortall neyther is the immortall God a patterne of a mortall creature Besides death and mortalitie came of sinne and are the rewards of sinne And then Adam was so free from sinne that he thought not of it before his fall therefore no place left for death and where death cannot enter there must be immortalitie You will aske then how he should haue bin preserued from age from infirmitie and from death Well enough if nothing had come to procure them Si enim vestibus Israelitarum praestitit Deus per annos quadraginta sine vllo detrimento proprium statum quanto magis
his credulous temeritie in beleeuing the Serpents promise Irridens vtique Deus non approbans hoc dixit quod putabas te similem fore nostri ergo quia voluisti esse quod non eras desijsti esse quod eras S. Ambr. de Elia ieiun For God speakes it by derision not by allowance Thou haddest a conceit to become like vnto vs therefore in affecting to be more then thou wast indeede thou hast lost euen that excellencie which thou didst receiue When S. Paul writ to Timothie that Adam was not deceiued but the woman he meant not to extenuate the mans offence or to exempt him from the fraude or imposture of the Deuill but to shew whether sexe was more credulous infirme and like to be seduced Herein he concludeth the woman to be the weaker vessell and forbiddeth her to teach in the Church because that when she was yet perfect and sound the Serpent began with her as the easier to be deceiued Saint Paul did thinke that the Serpent would resort to his former instrument and so hold the ministrie in lesse regard for the weakenesse of their sexe Behold S. Pauls proiect in the words to Timothy Here in this Text another matter is in hand No question here whether the man or woman was first in preuarication were that the point the Deuill in his pride would haue the start of both Hee was a sinner from the beginning The propagation of sinne is the thing now considerable and what person it was that brought a succession of sinne throughout all mankinde And as well here as in all other places the Scripture attributeth the matter of propagation not to women but to men Therefore we will dismisse Eue if you please as our Sauiour Christ dismissed the woman taken in adultery not for an innocent but because she is not here impleaded Adam is the man which the Apostle now chargeth Wherewith is it For gluttonie or intemperance of his throate No there was affluence of all other delicacies in Paradise to satisfie such desires Is it for his curiositie and vaine loue of knowledge Neyther For although that be a fault to be wise beyond sobrietie yet could it not haue brought so heauie a sequele What was it then He affected that fruite Non vescendi libidine sed animositate exultandi not in any lingering desire to the meate but in a kind of lustinesse to breake out What greater lustinesse then that this childe of the earth was not content to be like vnto God vnlesse he might also be equall with him Quid huic deerat quem misericordia custodiebat docebat veritas regebat iustitia pax fouebat Sed heu ad multam insipientiam perniciem sibi ac posteris suis descendit de Hierusalem in Hiericho Siquidem incidit in latrones à quibus legitur despoliatus Annon despoliatus qui domino veniente nudum se esse conqueritur nec vero poterat revestiri vel ablata sibi recipere vestimenta nisi Christus amitteret sua O venenum quod non curatur nisi veneno Saint Paul heere frameth two inditements against him the one for disobedience the other for transmitting his sinne By one mans disobedience many were made sinners Obserue the right valuation and true qualitie of Adam his trespasse that it was not any light errour but an absolute prevarication of both Tables a disobedience to God and a grieuance vnto men Primordialis lex est data in paradiso quasi matrix omnium praeceptorum That first Law saith Tertullian giuen in Paradise was the summe and comprehension of the whole diuine Law that was published afterwards Therefore in the breach thereof all manner of offences are conteyned But if the fruite were good why should it not be tasted if it were euill what did it in paradise The fruit certainely was good but obedience better because the whole law is performed with obedience Indeed nothing is more expedient for the soule then obedience And if it behooue euery soule to obey the seruant his Lord the childe his father the wife her husband all to obey the Prince how much importeth it man to obey God for rebellion is as execrable as witchcraft which is a manifest reuolt and disauowing of God and he hateth nothing more then the disobeence of his commaundements That now is this one mans case As by the disobedience of one man c. If I should here discusse where his disobedience began first whether in his minde or in his body some happily would say as S. Augustine writeth That it were more worth our labour to seeke remedie to get out then to argue how or by what part we came first into the pit of sinne And that God willing shall not bee omitted in the fit place but reserued to another time In the meane while Quod si quisquam dicat If any man thinke saith S. Augustine that the bodie is the first cause of all sinnes certainely he hath not well considered the whole nature of mankind Indeed the bodie that is corruptible aggrauateth the soule and the earthy mansion keepeth downe the minde Vt vidi vt perij vt me malus abstulit error Oftentimes our right eyes offend vs because they roll they wander they are regenerate but in part and death entreth into the soule 〈◊〉 that window Si oculus tuus fuerit nequam totum corpus est tenebrosum If thine eye be euill thy whole body is full of darkenesse Shut that window in the name of God make a couenant with it turne it away that it behold not vanitie Giue not your members as weapons of vnrighteousnesse vnto sinne Surgit ira noli dare irae linguam ad maledicendum noli dare manum aut pedem ad feriendum non surgeret ista ira irration abilis nisi peccatum esset interius sed tolle illi regnū non habeat arma vnde contra te pugnet discet etiam non surgere cum arma non coeperit inuenire S. Aug. Tract in Ioh. 41. The bodily members are the instruments they are not the originall of sinne Will you haue a proofe thereof in the matter we handle It is not to be doubted but this one man and the woman too had seene the Tree of the knowledge of good and euill formerly without any lust or desire to taste the fruite the faith that he then bare to God was a guardian to his heart and that to all his senses But after his heart had once reuolted from faith and loyaltie all the outward senses were corrupted with it instantly Euerie man is tempted when hee is drawne away by his owne Concupiscence and is entised Then when lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth the act of sinne but the beginning is from the mind within Out of the heart come euill thoughts murthers adulteries fornications thefts false testimonies slanders Non potest fieri saith S. Augustine vt habeat mala facta qui habet cogitationes bonas
vpon earth which shall not see death and therefore we doe all sinne For death is the reward of sinne or else some should be equal vnto Christ and die without guiltines It is cleare and manifest that many die before any act of guiltinesse be committed as infants therefore they must haue the guiltinesse of their death deriued from others That the Apostle auoweth here to be originally from Adam As in one person there be diuerse members which be all guiltie when the person is conuicted so in the nature of mankind there be many persons as it were seuerall members and parts thereof and when the whole was corrupted euery particular communicating therewith must needes haue the same tainture And as a cankred roote doeth send foorth cankred boughes a masse of leauen leuened loaues the egges of a Cockatrise venemous serpents so Adam entring into disobedience begetteth disobedient children 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of an ill bird worse chickins The holy Ghost is my warrant that Adam did beget a sonne not according to the image of God whereunto he was created himselfe for that was then abolished but in his owne image when it was fowly degenerated Iudge now whether we doe beare the punishment of another mans transgression or are guiltie in our owne faults If one mans disobedience brought such an Iliade of sorrowes what must our guiltinesse be that haue added many and many actuall transgressions to his originall corruption Much euery way too too much Let no man then qualifie Adams sinne or his owne with vaine excuses as if his disobedience had not bene capitall but veniall and a trifle to eate of an apple The lesse the thing was that God did forbid the more easily he might haue forborne and kept the commandement No no there is not any thing light not any thing little not any thing of small regard in disobedience and disobedience of God and of such a God as he had shewed himselfe to Adam all is heynous all horrible all heauie all a talent of lead Yet in this passage I will commend a caution vnto you and wish diligent heed to be taken of two extremities That we neyther extend our corruption too farre lest we depraue the glorie of our Creator nor eleuate it too much lest wee depresse the benefite of our Redeemer The Scholemen and Church of Rome runne too much on the left hand and offend in the latter whilest they goe about to make originall sinne that is the venome which Adam hath conveyed vnto vs to be but a light and superficiall accident easily remoued and as they termed it in their late Councell of Trent not true sinne but only the froth and scumme of sinne Session 5. can 6. When originall sinne is thus extenuated consider I beseech you what and how little it is that they leaue to the redemption and benefit of Christ Not actuall not any great or enormious sinne such must be holpe by our owne penance prayers almes and satisfaction Nor my foule spots of originall sinne that they account to be but an abilitie or disposition to sinne and a matter of nothing So by their doctrine the Sonne of God watched and prayed and fasted was tempted with hunger thirst buffets scourges indignities and with a most painefull and shamefull death for a matter of nothing What is contumelious to the gratious benefit of our redemption if this be not Is not this to giue a thousand to our Redeemer and ten thousand to our selues Illyricus runneth vpon the rocke which is on the other side and goeth too far on the right hand perswading that the sinne which Adam hath conueyed to vs to be our very substance Sure there cannot be any thing added to the disease in this kinde but that which must detract from the Creator our substance is of his building And is it not a strange amplification of the disease that brings dishonour instead of glory to the Physitian If original sinne be of mans substance must it not needs haue tainted Christ it is most certaine that he tooke our whole substance how could he be true man without the substance of man This sinne which is transmitted to vs all is no part of mans nature but a deprauation of it spreading it selfe ouer all creeping into our marrow and most hidden entrailes There is a secret poison within vs like vnto the graines of Mustard seede little in the beginning but groweth to a great tree There want no subtile practises without vs according to the depthes of Sathan insinuated so couertly that they are scarce marked from whence they come nor whither they tend I would I were able to distinguish them vnto you but I cannot deliuer that which I haue not receiued There is morbus Mentis and morsus Serpentis malum innatum and malum seminatum pactus Cordis seminarium hostis They are not one but agree in one both are the sower fruites of this mans fatall disobedience Thereby hee receiued the one admitted the other and transmitted both vnto vs all And they are sufficient eyther for conception or production of sinne So by one mans disobedience wee are all made sinners Peraduenture some will say that this man by whom sinne came was receiued into fauour againe And what question soeuer others may make my opinion is verily according to charitie that Adam was saued and had present forgiuenesse of his sinne Then you will aske how he should transmit that sinne to his posterity that was remitted to himselfe Saint Augustine answereth that the Saints children discend from their parents by carnall generation not by spirituall regeneration But Adams sinne was forgiuen I graunt it yet that was not a matter of nature where the fountaine of generation rested the forgiuenesse of his sinne was a matter of Grace in the power of GOD not in Adams flesh For how was his sinne forgiuen not by taking sinne absolutely away from him but by not imputing it vnto him This imputation was not in Adams power but in Gods good pleasure therefore he could not transmit it to his posteritie He transmitted onely his owne tainture and mortalitie You know how the Husbandman doth purge and cleanse the seede that hee casteth into the ground he thresheth it from the straw winnoweth it from the chaffe siftieth it from all hoore and so soweth bare and cleane corne yet it commeth vp not pure corne but ioyned with straw and couered with eares How so Because it had these purifications not naturally but outwardly by the paines and endeuours of the Husbandman And as it was amongst the circumcised Iewes their children were borne with the foreskin againe vncircumcised because their circumcision was not inward or naturally in the parent but added outwardly by humane violence So it stood with Adam though his sinne were forgiuen yet because his righteousnesse was altogether in Gods imputation not in his owne nature he transmitted sinne and mortality which he had in himselfe and could not transmit righteousnesse
is finite his innocent theirs sinfull his obedience is applicable and beneficiall vnto others if theirs be memorable for imitation it is well it can neuer be applicable for expiation The obedience that maketh others righteous must be complete absolute continuall so was neuer any humane obedience it is interrupted often it hath manie intermissions therefore I maruaile what security they can finde that follow after it I should be the more affraid for such a helpe without it I haue nothing to feare but my cause alone if I should repose my selfe vpon this broken staffe I must feare it and my cause too Refugium nostrum non est tale The obedience of Iesus Christ is perfect obedience full of securitie voyde of feare He is the person then by whose obedience many are made righteous His obedience was admirable and it sutes well with his person which is wonderfull singular and not to be matched Dauids sonne and Dauids Lord the sonne of Mary and the father of eternitie the sonne of man and the sonne of God Who being in the forme of God thought it no robberie to be equall with God but he made himselfe of no reputation and tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant and was made like vnto men and was found in shape as a man He humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto the death euen the death of the Crosse Two entyre perfect natures combined glewed together in one person Emmanuel God and man This makes another doubt whether his obedience was performed in the humanitie or in the diuinitie or in both together I answer that he was obedient in the humane nature alone not in the diuine If the diuine nature could haue yeelded obedience had not his incarnation beene superfluous If the diuinitie had bene obedient it must haue died too for he was obedient vnto death and is it possible to haue a mortall diuinitie There was no congruitie that one nature should vndertake the obedience imposed on the other behold a confusion for the Godhead to entertaine and handle the businesse of the manhood Therefore his obedience was performed in the humanitie Destroy this Temple and I will raise it vp in three dayes This hee spake of his bodie So S. Peter saith That he bare our sinnes in his body and our Text teacheth vs That it was the obedience of one man It was not then diminutio diuinitatis no abatement of his godhead but depositio corporis an humiliation of his bodie alone And that had not auayled without an vnion and concurrence of both natures in one person Tolerare passiones nunquid posset nisi homo Mori crucifigi humiliari posset nisi homo S. Aug. in Psal 90. If he had bene God onely he could not haue bene obedient if man onely he had not beene sufficient But when the same person that was creator of all things became obedient and obedient vnto death what is it that his obedience could not worke the death of all the creatures of the world is not equiualent it is preponderant and preferred in the ballance of Gods iustice Tam potens fuit ad priuilegium tam diues ad pretium vt si vniuersitas captiuorum in redemptorem suum crederet nullum tyrānica vincula retinerent The obedience that the sonne of God performed in his humanity was so potent for priuiledge so rich for price that if the whole multitude of captiues had beliefe in him none could remaine in the tyrants bands But of the validitie more hereafter now we are confined to the affaires of his person If man had not ouercome the enemie hee had not beene ouercome iustly Againe if God had not giuen saluation we could not hold it firmely vana salus hominis And if this man had not bene God he should not haue beene partaker of incorruptibilitie and then hee could not transmit it to vs hunc hominem Deus non vt alios regebat sed gerebat This man as Saint Augustine saith excellently had a prerogatiue aboue all others God did not gouerne him barely as he doth euery one else but he bare him too His manhood was inseperably conioyned and supported in the vnitie of the godhead so as death it selfe that seuereth man and wife asunder that deuideth bodie and soule and parteth all things else could yet make no seperation here but then euen in the death of his bodie the diuinitie did adhaere and was coupled with it in the graue otherwise it had followed the condition of all flesh else seene corruption and abid in death Seeing then that there is so firme an vnion of the Godhead and manhood in one person the obedience which the manhood performed may rightly be valued at an infinite rate as if it had beene done by the Deitie it selfe If Dauid thought he did Saul wrong and was touched at the heart when he had cut off the lap of Sauls garment and yet the garment was not himselfe but neere vnto him then may the Godhead much more iustly reckon euerie thing done vnto himselfe that was done vnto this flesh which cannot be seuered from himselfe Concerning the manner of his obedience manie things are of profitable consideration which I suppose you haue heard lately but none more memorable then the alacritie and cheerefulnesse of his obedience which I purpose to insist on Desiderio desideraui I haue earnestly desired to eate this Passeouer with you Hee was sure that he himselfe should then also be made a Passeouer and be offered vp as the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world hee knew then that he should suffer a most painefull and ignominious death which any man else would haue desired as earnestly to auoide as he did vehemently long to vndertake Not that death was any way pleasing to him in it selfe but to declare his affectionate readinesse in obedience to his father and his great thirst of our saluation You may reade of the like profession that he maketh in the Psalmes Sacrifice and meate offering thou wouldest not haue but hast fitted me vp a body Then said I lo I come In the beginning of the booke it is written of me that I should fulfill thy will O my God I am content to doe it In which words I may commend three things to your obseruation 1. That God neuer appointed the sacrifices of the Olde Testament for ransomes of sinne but for figures of the true Sacrifice 2. That the obedience of his Sonne is a full propitiation to appease his wrath 3. That the Sonne offereth that sweete smelling sacrifice of his obedience with all cheerefulnesse In this point the Metaphor wherewith the Sonne of God doth expresse the voluntarie addiction of his obedience is emphaticall and worthy of reuiew Aures perforasti mihi He alludeth to the ciuill ordinance Exod. 21. If a seruant care not for his freedome and say I loue my Maister and will not goe out of his
house Then his Maister shall bring him to the Iudges and set him to the dore or to the post and his Master shall bore his eare through with an awle and he shall serue him foreuer I say too little when I say Christ obliged himselfe to such obedience He professeth more in the Psalme aures perforasti mihi that both his eares were bored through the obligation of his obedience doubled aboue all others How Sure hee addicted himselfe not to outward obsequies alone as voluntarie seruants vsed to do but to obey the very inward thoughts intendments of his fathers will he left no tittle vnperformed Where shall we finde the like Isaac his obedience is commendable hee was not refractorie when his father would offer him vp in sacrifice but yet he was bound And O Lord thine hands needed no bands nor thy feete to be tyed in fetters of brasse Ioseph would not contend with his brethren when they had agreed to put him to death but did hee not vse deprecations They acknowledge it Gen. 42.21 We haue verily sinned against our brother in that we sawe the anguish of his soule when he besought vs and we would not heare him Mee thinks I see how pittifully he stood in the midst of them when they began to strip him out of his coat how his colour went away with the apprehension and feare of death how his cheekes were all to be raied with teares how his eyes were turned euery way sometimes to one brother somtimes to another sometimes to all at once sometimes to the ground where his bodie should fall sometimes to the heauens that should receiue his soule Did not these wofull lookes pleade for him were they not vocall Yes indeed and patheticall Orators And after that with beating his breast hee had gained passage for his voyce hee added words to this effect Alas what haue I done worthie of this that you goe about If I tolde any thing of you it was but truth and tended to your reformation if my dreames be offensiue they came by the instinct of God if you mislike my cōming it was my fathers pleasure I came to see how you did and shall I now die O spare my life for the respect you haue to your owne bloud spare it I beseech you for the reuerence you beare to my fathers age is hee not also yours Spare it if you regard not men yet for the feare you haue of God or if none of all these can moue your bowels for my life let me haue my coate this partie-coloured coate the ornament of my youth and the pledge of my fathers loue for an hearse to shroude and couer me when I am dead Maruaile not at Iosephs obtestations he was but a figure of obedience and the figure must euer be inferior to the truth Christ himselfe vsed no tergiuersation no deprecation he is accused and holds his peace he is charged and saith nothing to it But as a sheepe led to the slaughter so opened he not his mouth He died willingly Saint Peter and the rest that dyed for the testimonie of this obedience did it patiently but not altogether willingly I haue warrant and authoritie enough for it When thou art old another shall gird thee and leade thee whither thou wouldst not If there were any other means for vs to come to Christ who would die Indeed saith another great Apostle wee that are in this tabernacle sigh and are burthened because we would not be vnclothed but be clothed vpon Saint Paul would be like Henoch Elias or those that be aliue at the day of iudgement they shall not die but they shall be chaunged So S. Paul desireth not to be vnclothed but to be clothed vpon that mortality might be swallowed vp of life Although we go from labour to rest from expectation to possession from the race to the gaole from faith to fruition from a pilgrimage to our countrey from the world to God yet the passage being rugged mingled with asperitie hauing some of the gall and vineger in it that the Iewes gaue vnto Christ maketh it vnpleasing vnto vs But these lets and rubbs could neyther hinder nor abate any thing of his cheerefulnesse Oblatus est quia voluit if he had beene vnwilling he was not vnable to hold his life against all the world When the Iewes sent their Sergeants to apprehend him he meetes his aduersaries in the mid-way he offereth himselfe and askes them whom they seeke When they said Iesus of Nazareth he denied not but acknowledged himselfe and said I am hee No perswasions could diuert him from this obedience his disciples say Master the Iewes did seeke for thee of late to stone thee and wilt thou go to Hierusalem againe He answereth roundly Are there not twelue houres in the day If any man walke in the day time he stumbleth not because he seeth the light of this world God his calling is like this day light which suffereth not a man to wander or to goe astray out of his way in obedience of this calling he goeth on to Hierusalem couragiously and feares no swords nor staues but offereth himselfe the second time and askes them whom they seeke Here is no vnwillingnesse or pusillanimitie that was rat her with his aduersaries they did shrinke goe backe and fell to the ground Where is the terror and defence of their armed men forsooth with one word and acknowledgment of himselfe and with his bare voyce saying nothing but I am hee the whole multitude that came against him fierce in hatred and terrible in power were smitten repelled and ouerthrowne without any weapon at all Was there euer such a Hee You may easily accompt what this Hee will doe when he iudgeth that did so much when he was iudged what he may doe when he raigneth that could doe this when he obeyed When he saw the wrath of God stirred vp against all creatures for our sinne I cannot tell you whether it was with more pietie or wisedome with greater mercie or iustice for I thinke all the vertues in the world did concurre together in this one action but I am sure that it was with great willingnes and powerfull successe that he cryed Si propter me haet tempestas orta sit tollite me mittite me in mare And what tempest could be raised for his sake that I will also shew It was not without a robberie of the Sonne of God that Lucifer did affect his greatnesse it was not without a robberie of the Sonne of God that our first parents did affect that knowledge eritis sicut dij And the Father would not dissemble nor passe ouer his sonnes iniuries without reuenge For the Father loueth the Sonne alwayes For him hee destroyed many Angels and sentenced all men What did the Sonne when he saw the Father so iealous for him that he spared no creature To the intent that it
facta enim de cogitationibus procedunt It is not possible that a man exercised in good thoughts should be much tainted with ill actions for all actions proceed from our thoughts Then keepe thine heart with all diligence for thereout commeth life Therefore I cannot hold with them that make all the sinnes of the soule to proceede from the bodie so the wicked Angels wanting bodies should want sinne too and the spirits of the damned assoone as they bee sequestred from their bodies should cease also from their sinne It is but a Poets opinion concerning soules puritie Igneus est ollis vigor Coelestis origo Seminibus quantum non noxia corpora tardant Terrenique hebetant artus moribundaque membra Virgil is no classicall authour in matters of doctrine the Fathers of the Church are more authenticall S. Bernard speaking of the soule saith otherwise Prior reparanda est quam constat corruisse priorem Anima siquidem corrupta in culpam fecit quoque vt corpus corrumperetur in poenam So S. Augustine resolueth the doubt that the corruption of the flesh which ladeth the soule was not the cause but the punishment of the first sinne and it was not the corruptible flesh that made the soule sinfull but it was the sinne of the soule that made the bodie corruptible Est mens primum veteris hominis membrum primus peccati administer nativa prauitate infecta suggestionum Sathanae capax hinc motus praui mali de malo quamvis nihil accesserit vltra his mens impellit voluntatem quae tunc altera peccati ministra efficitur concupiscentias parit tunc tandem corpus ab animo impulsum totum accenditur huc atque illuc transuersum rapitur omnes sensus adeoque omnia corporis tyranni arbitrio se sistunt ad perpetranda omnia quae imperat hinc fructus amari qui Gal. 5. recensentur The minde is the first member of the old man and minister of sinne infected certainly with originall prauitie and capable of Sathans suggestions from hence come ill motions which are euill and proceede from euill if there were nothing else but with these the minde stirreth the will which is then made another minister of sinne and bringeth forth concupiscence then the bodie being summoned by the mind is kindled is transported hither and thither so the senses and all parts of the bodie offer themselues at the tyrants pleasure to do all his commands thereout spring those bitter fruits that are rehearsed in the fift of the Galathians Whether it were the one or the other that the bodie were in disobedience before the soule or the soule before the bodie whether the blinde did leade the lame or the lame were guide to the blinde behold now both are fallen into the ditch and ouershadowed not with a cloud but with a verie night of darkenesse In this one mans disobedience we see that verified which Christ saith in the Gospel They that doe euill shun the light because their workes are euill He is no sooner fallen then he becommeth Lucifuga affecteth darknesse and flyeth to the couert to hide himselfe His body and the parts thereof are the same that they were before but then they were seene with glorie and now they are couered with shame his wil is auerse his heart is full of feare and distrust his very minde is darkened which should be the light the watchman the Centinel both of body and soule and if the light thereof be turned into darkenesse O how great must that darkenesse be Greater verily then the darknesse of Egypt which was not so vniuersall but that there was light left in the land of Gosen where the children of Israel were But here after mans disobedience darkenesse preuailed ouer all No power of the minde no part of the bodie free or cleere hee is not absolutely depriued of naturall faculties and endowments of reason iudgement will as if he were become a blocke but they are depraued and decayed he knowes still marie it is but in part and what part his mind doth vnderstand but humane things not diuine earthly not heauenly businesse his will doth affect also and desire what sure bodily pleasures or delights not spirituall ioyes Wist ye not that when the fountaine of all goodnes was forsaken nothing would remaine but sinne when the father of lights was left that darkenesse would couer all Sine tuà luce ô lux beatissima non est veritas adest error adest vanitas non est discretio adest confusio adest ignorantia non est scientia adest caecitas non est visio adest invium non est via adest mors non est vita S. Aug. Solil cap. 3 Without thy light ô blessed light there is no truth all is error all is vanitie there is no distinction all is confusion all is ignorance there is no knowledge all is blindnesse there is no sight all impassible there is no way all is death there is no life When he beleeued that which the Deuill promised was hee not very worthie to finde that which God threatned You haue heard the mans disobedience to God It resteth now to shew how also he offended his neighbor therein namely by transmitting sinne to his posteritie By his disobedience many were made guiltie Here I doe willingly call you to remembrance that Adam did not sinne as an ordinarie person for so his sinne had rested in himselfe and determined there It was Iobs perswasion in his owne particular Though I had indeed erred mine errour remaineth with me Doth it not hold good correspondencie with the rule of Iustice The soule that sinneth that soule shall die Adams case is not so it is extraordinarie As God had beautified the whole nature of mankind with excellent gifts in this one man vpon the condition of his loyaltie and obedience so was he resolute to bereaue it of them all in him againe assoone as he began to be refractorie or disobedient Who can distaste this iustice or finde any harshnes in it when both were propounded vnto the man vpon equall termes Hereby also it may appeare that Adam sinned not as a priuate man but as the common root or stocke of mankind as a publique person and father of vs all When sinne had once got hold of his person must it not needes taint vs all that are partakers of his nature Because we were all enclosed in his loines when he sinned hee branded vs all with the prints and tincture of his rebellion So this disobedience rested not in Adam but became hereditarie it was not personall in him alone but naturall to vs all and a matter of succession It made him a trespasser vs all sinners with him whether Pelagius will or no. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 None is free not a childe of a day olde though Anabaptists be mad for it We doe all die neither doth there liue a man