miseries of this worlde making light to shine in the middest of darkenesse Psal 112 4 Ioh. 16 20. and turning all their pensiuenesse into gladnesse but it conceiueth an assured hope of a better to wit an euerlasting life in the ioyes of heauen and that so soone as the soule is deliuered from the bodie The Apostle Paul did account his loosing from this prison to bee a present beeing with Christ I desire saith hee to bee dissolued and to bee with Christ Phil. 1.23 hee was assured that his remouing from this tabernacle should bee a present dwelling with the Lorde as hee saide wee had rather remoue out of the bodie 2. Cor. 5.8 and dwell with the Lord. Stephen prayed in faith and assurance that his soule should presently bee receiued into the hands of God Lord Iesus receiue my spirit Act 7.59 In the Reuelation of Saint Iohn Aopc 14.13 such a blessing and such a rest is promised to them that dye in the Lorde August in Psa 102. that their good workes may followe after them that is that God may crowne his giftes in them Our Sauiour saith to the repentant thiefe vpon the Crosse Luk. 23.43 This day thou shalt bee with mee in Paradise The soule of Lazarus beeing departed Luk. 16.22 was carried by Angelles into Abraham his bosome Polycarpus that holy Disciple of the Apostles amongst many excellent speeches at the time of his martyrdome added this Eccl. hist lib. 4 cap. 13. Hodiè representabor coram Deo in spiritu This day I shall be in soule represented before the Lorde The Wise man saith of the death of all the faithfull When earth goeth to earth Eccl 12.7 the spirit goeth to God which gaue it When the Prophet Dauid saith Psal 16 10. that God will not leaue his soule in hell nor suffer his holy one to see corruption No doubt hee prophesieth of the resurrection as it is expounded by Saint Peter Act. 2.29 but hee includeth in that resurrectioÌ„ of Christ the life also of his own soule hee called Christ his soule I liue saith the Apostle yet not I Gal. 2.20 but Christ liueth in me especially in the resurrection of Christ our life is hid with Christ Col. 3 2 therfore Dauid beleeueth that seeing his soule Vido Gen. 42 38. Iob 14.13 de significatione inferni Psal 16.11 and the life of his soule Christ Iesus shall not bee left in the graue he shall vndoubtedly be brought to the preseÌ„ce of God which hee calleth in the next verse a fulnesse of ioy and pleasures for euermore The hope of the Apostle Paul is to be made conformable to the death of Christ Phil. 3.10 vntill he come to the resurrection of the dead now as his death was no extinguishing of the humaine soule Ion. 2.3 Mat 12.39 but like the being â—f Ionas in the Whales belly his soule being stil safe and yeelded vp into the haÌ„ds of God as hee saide Father into thy handes I commend my spirite Luke 23.46 and like the sacrificing of Isaac wherein the soule remained vntouched so also by his quickening power Iohn 4.17 hee giueth to all his elect that well of water that springeth vp to eternall life The Ram which was offered in steed of Isaac may well signifie our body our irrationall part that dieth but the soule though it be a while bouÌ„d to the body as Isaac was bound yet as soone as the bandes are loosed it mounteth vp to the place of al blisse and perpetuall blessednes Our Sauiour saith Quia ego viuo vos viuetis Because I liue Iohn 14.19 Iohn 6.56 you shal liue I liue by the father and hee that feedeth on me shall liue by me Iohn 5.24 Hee that heareth my wordes hath life eternall and shall not come into condemnation but hath passed from death to life Eccle. hist lib 6. cap. 26. Aug. lib de heres c. 83 In decret distinct 2. de Iohanne Vide Gerson in sermone paschali Hereby are condemned two grosse heresies the one deuised first by the Arabians and after renewed by Iohn Bishoppe of Rome and of late defended by certain Anabaptistes to wit that the soule doth sleepe or dye with the body and that both are raysed vp againe together in the last day And the other of the Romish Catholikes confessing indeed that the soule liueth after death but yet that the soules of the children of God Their vsuall buls and indulgences goe for thousaÌ„ds of years doe and must remaine so many yeares or so many thousand yeares in Purgatory before they can be admitted to the ioyes of heauen For the former to wit such as defeÌ„d both body and soule to dye together and both at the last day to be raised together they are coÌ„demned as you haue heard by the manifest testimonies of the holy Scriptures you may adde if you please those wordes of our Sauiour Feare not them which kill the body Luke 12.5 and haue no power to kill the soule if the Soule dye as well as the body and together with the body how can it bee said that tyrants doe kill the one and not the other 2. Cor 5.1 4 How can the Apostle Paul desire no longer to be a Pilgrime from the Lord by remaining here in the body but rather to bee absent from the body and to bee present with the Lord vnlesse the soule remaine after death with what is God saide to bee present if both soule and body bee ouercome with death v. 1 or how can the Apostle say in the same place that when this earthly tabernacle is destroyed wee haue a building or house not made with hands but euerlasting in heauen vnlesse the soule do continue to possesse that heauenly habitation Our Sauiour Christ doth promise eternall life resurrection as two distinct things and the one taking place before the other Ioh. 6.39.40 This saith he is the will of the Father that whosoeuer beleeueth in the sonne should not perish but haue euerlasting life and I will rayse him vp in the last day Iohn 6.54 And againe hee that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud hath euerlasting life and I will rayse him vp in the last day And afterward Iohn 11.2 I am the resurrection and the life whosoeuer beleeueth in me though hee were dead yet hee shall liue and hee addeth hee that liueth and beleeueth in me shall not dye for euer The Saduces denyed not onely the resurrection but also the immortality of the soule Our Sauiour doth by one argument confute both their heresies Mat. 22 32 Exod. 3.6 God is the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob God is not a God of the dead but of the liuing therefore Abraham Isaack and Iacob doe now liue Rom 14.8.9 and all the Saintes shall liue for euer S. Paul saith whether wee liue wee
are three kinds or sorts of soules and addeth presently the partition of Plato And againe plures sunt animae species et triplici sede collocatae there are three maners and formes of the soule and placed in three seuerall seates he citeth againe the diuision made by Plato Aristotle Vide Peucer Pag. 601. although in some places hee maketh but one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gouerning all yet when hee giueth to the vegetatiue sensitiue and rationall soule three seuerall times of beginning and seuerall efficient and materiall causes and seuerall maners of working Arist de generat animal lib 2. Cap. 3. he seemeth verie euidently to make three distinct sortes of animae For he teacheth plainely those anima or soules whose actions are corporall doe not come from outward but do growe in and with the bodie Nec simul fieri animatum et faetum It hath a vegetatiue force to growe in the wombe euen before it is endued with sense Ibid. But of the minde hee addeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Onely the mind doth come from out ward and is only diuine For the powers and opeations of the bodie doe not communicate with the operations thereof Melanch de anima pag. 21 Melanchthon doth not condemne the arguments of Occam wherein hee endeuoured to demonstrate that the rationall and sensitiue soule are distinct things in man His reasons are because the rationall and sensitiue appetites are contrary one to another and it is vnpossible that in the selfe same indiuisible nature there should bee at the same time contrarie appetites Againe if man beget man it must needs be with life and sense It seemeth a grosse thing to imagine that other baser creatures should naturally procreate and bring forth issue of their owne kinde with life and sense and that man being so farre a more excellent creature should not in procreation yeeld so much as sense and life The reasons of theÌ„ which defend three seuerall kinds of soules in man Howsoeuer the rationall soule the vnderstanding and mind commeth not ex trâ—duce froÌ„ the seed of the parents but is inspired and giuen of God yet the vegetatiue and sensitiue power as he saith cannot but come by naturall propagation if in bruite beasts much more in man the more noble creature Moreouer after their opinion the rationall soule differeth from the other in continuance and eternitie For whereas she is immortall and perpetuall the others to wit the vegetatiue and the sensitiue as they haue their beginning with the bodie so haue they their end also For their actions are wholy organical neither haue they any power or beeing when the bodily instruments do fayle The sensitiue power is corporall and diuisible but the mind or soule is a spirit incorporall and therfore indiuisible and is indeed the only essentiall difference betwixt man and bruitish creatures Whiles she is vnited with the bodie she gouerneth all the powers of the bodie and imparteth her efficacy to euery part of it according as it is found capable thereof As the Sunne in the great world doth come to some partes with his beames and to other parts onely with his efficacie euen so in this microcosmus the little world man the diuine spirit the soule doth on some partes cast the beames of her light and impart vnto other the power of her quickening spirit and is indeed both the fountaine of life in this world to the body being made capable by the vegetatiue and sensitiue faculties the good temperatures of the first qualities and after this life when the vegetatiue and naturall forces shall cease the bodie being by glorification made eternally capable it shall minister to it a life that neuer shall haue end A man doth sustaine no iourney if at the same time wherein he expecteth the payment of a debt though the debt be not paid yet his comming for it doth by occasion sodainly yeeld him such preferment as whereby he shall neuer stand in neede of that debt so expected And euen so it is no abasing vnto maÌ„ not to haue that debt of nature sensitiue life which all liuing creatures haue when at the same time in stead of that which should haue come from parents God doth inspire a far better euen a liuing soule performing al a thousand times more then the other could haue done I therfore hold their opinion to be soundest Peucer de diuinat cap de physiog which do attribute vnto man but one soule comprehending and gouerning al the powers in man The vegetatiue and sensitiue faculties are but bodily temperatures or corporall agitations hauing their motions according to the good disposition of the instruments and also their continuance according to their continuance But the mouing spirit which moueth all and ruleth all and quickeneth all is that one soule of man Chrysost ad populum Antioch hom 19 of which Chrysostome speaketh omnia duplicia naturae nostrae dedit Deus binos oculos binas aures binas manus binos pedes animam autem vnam quam si perdiderîmus quid superest quorum in vita maneamus God hath giuen all other things double vnto vs that if one be hurt the other may stand vs instead eies eares hands feet double But he hath giuen vs but one soule which if we destroy what is there in the world whereby we may hope for any life Isidor in etymolog And Isidore anima dum viuificat corpus anima est dum vult animus est dum scit mens est dum recolit memoria est dum rectum indicat ratio est dum spirat spiritus est dum aliquid sentit sensus est The soule is one but is called by seuerall names according to her seuerall and manifold operations Vide Curaei Physic Some holding the opinion of Plato that there bee three distinct soules in man do conclude that to be the cause of apparitions of ghostes because Plato taught that the sensitiue soule doth remaine a while after death as a garment couering to the rationall But I omit that as a playne dreame Iohannes Philoponus Philopon Grammat a Grecian Philosopher and yet a christian said that he could not conceiue how the wicked should be punished after this life vnlesse the sensitiue soule doe continue No doubt as the souls of them which dying in the Lord are alreadie blessed and with Christ in Paridise beholding the Lambe Apoc. 22 5. howsoeuer they want the bodily eye and haue no light of the Sun but the Lord God is their light for euer so the rich glutton his soule Luk 1â— the souls of as many as are alreadie damned with him do endure the torments prepared for the diuell and his angels Howsoeuer the bodies being not yet raised vp they cannot be said to haue their corporal senses The maner of the ioies punishmeÌ„ts after this life for the arme of Gods mercy and the arme of his iustice are both
iudgement sometimes manifest sometimes secret but alwayes iust A weake house must needes incline and also fall when the vnderproppers are remoued darkenesse must needes ensue when the Sunne is departed away Those bright beames of all light which were giuen to our first parentes are remoued and other gifts and excellent graces of God are in his iust iudgement so long withholden from our soules vntill by his holy spirit Act. 26.18 Eph. 1.18 Act. 5 10 Heb. 13.21 as the worker and by his holy worde as the instrument God in his good time doe lighten the eyes of our heartes purifie them by faith and confirme and strengthen vs to euery good worke CHAP. VII Of the immortality of the Soule Marsil Ficinuâ—m Theol. Platonis pag. 361. MArsilius Ficinus sheweth fiue sundry opinions of the Philosophers concerning the soule of man but of Christians which truely hope for immortality he wisheth the fower first assertions to be vtterly reiected and the first onely fit to be receiued and embraced The first sort of Philosophers were they which made the soule to be a certaine thinne body infused into a thicker a more subtle bodily substance infused into a grosser And of these some made it to bee fiery as Democritus Leucippus and Hipparchus Some to bee an ayre or an aeriall body as Anaximenes Diogenes and Critias some to bee a watery substance as Hippias some earthly as Hesiodus some of fire and ayre as Epicurus and some of water and earth as Xenophantes The second sort of Philosophers was of them which thought the soule to bee no bodily substance but some quality thereof dispersed through the body to wit either a heate or a complexion as was defended by Zeno Cleanthes Antipater and Possidonius A third sort iudged the soule to be no whole quality but some bright point of qualitie remaining in some beter part of the body and qualities to wit in the braine or heart and from thence gouerning the body their authors especially were Chrysippus Archelaus Heraclides The fourth sect were they which taught the soule to be a certaine point or pricke or indiuisible thing not fastened to any part but secluded from all set place wholy present to euery part of the body but yet such as it dependeth of the body either because the complection of the body did beget it or because it came of seede or of some proportion of matter and addicted to the matter as to her natural birth-place the chiefe broachers of this opinion were Xenophanes Colophonius Asclepiades Aristoxenus Critolaus To some of them the soule was nothing but a nimble force of mouing to others a harmony of corporall partes Others thought it a perfection of the senses others a conspiring of the Elements others a swarm of atomes The first and best sort of Philosophers Ficinus maketh to be those which defeÌ„d the soule to be a certain diuine indeuisible essence wholy ruling euery part of the body produced of an incorporeal author depending wholy on the vertue power of the worker not vpon the beginning or capacity or vertue of any material thing Thus thought Zoroaster Mercurius Pythagoras Plato and amongst these also he numbreth Aristotle It was a thing that mightily perswaded Plato that the soules both came froÌ„ God and were also immortal wheÌ„ he coÌ„sidered that her functions did not depend so vpon bodily instruments but she could performe all her chiefest actions without theÌ„ as he saith in Phaedo Ratiocinatur optimé quaÌ„do nihil eaÌ„perturbat Plato in Phaedone neque auditus neque visus neque dolor neque voluptas she doth reason and discourse best when neither hearing nor sight nor griefe nor pleasure do hinder her In age when the body groweth weake yet is ofteÌ„ her iudgement ripest though many sicknesses do bereaue the body of streÌ„gth yet the vigor of the soule is not thereby diminished she flieth beyond all the powers of the seÌ„ses more swift then the lightning from the east to the west shee can passe the seas as Plato saith in Axiochus in a moment Sort. in Axiocho Platouis she can calculate the course of Sunne moone stars shee can discourse of things past foresee things to come in ambiguous matters she can first doubt and then chuse and all these without the help of any bodily instrumeÌ„nts in knowledge she doth not only passe through humaine arts by defining deuiding dissoluing coÌ„pounding but she doth eueÌ„ pierce the skies shee coÌ„prehendeth the knowledge of God she conceiueth God his Angels to be essences immortal if brute beasts shold coÌ„ceiue reasoÌ„ they shold be then accounted reasonable Calu. Instit lib. 1. cap. 15. sect 2. This conceiuing of immortality hauing recourse to the fount aine of life is an euident argumeÌ„t that the soule is not a vanishing vapour but a diuine esseÌ„ce How chearefully went Socrates to his death Platonis Apolog when in his conscience he was perswaded that death was nothing els but as he said a flitting vnto another place where he should enioy the coÌ„pany of the Gods where vndoubtedly the dead were in better estate then the liuing Plato in Axiocho Hee made this to bee the definition of the death of theÌ„ that liued wel Discessus é vita est mali cuiusdaÌ„ in bonuÌ„ coÌ„mutatio the departure out of this life is nothing els but the chaÌ„ging of ill into good To the wicked hee confessed it to bee an entrance into some kindes of torments but to the wise and vertuous he thought it to be nothing but a chaÌ„ging of sorrows into all ioy happines what they were he could not define but of this he made no question Plato in Phaedone Socrates to Simmias 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To good soules it was surely better and to ill soules worse Philo. Iudacus It em Bruson lib. 4. cap. 10. When Crito one of Socrates his friendes asked him at the time of his death in what maner he would be buried he cryed out O my frendes I haue spent a great deale of labour in vaine I haue not yet perswaded Crito that I shall flie away leane no parte behind but Crito said he if thou canst ouertake me bury me how thou wilt his meaning was that the minde or soule is the man that the body was but an instrumeÌ„t or cotage or prison Anaxurchus the Philosopher wheÌ„ being taken by Nicocreon tyrant of Cypres Idem lib. 2. cap. 1. ex Plutarcho he was knocked with iron hammers hee said Tunde tunde probé Anaxarchi carnes ossa tunde Anaxarchi folleÌ„ AnaxarchuÌ„ nequaquà m laedes knocke knocke hardly the flesh and bones of Anaxarchus knocke his bellowes the instrument of his winde but Anaxarchus himselfe thou canst not hurt Ibid. Theodorus the Macedonian philosopher when Lysimachus threatned to hang him answered haec aulicis tuis minitare mea enim non refert humine an in cruce putrescam threaten
these things to thine owne Courtiers as for me it is all one with mee whether I doe putrifie on the ground or on the gibbet Theramenes the Lacedemonian Plut. in Nicia Val. Max. lib 3 cap. 2. when being condemned by the Ephores he was going to execution he laughed and carried in his countenance all signes of ioy one of them therfore said vnto him what doest thou contemne the lawes of Lycurgus our law-giuer Hee answered no but I giue them thanks that they doe appoint me such a punishment as I may pay without borrowing on interest Infinite such examples haue beene in all ages of many valiant hearts despising death aswell in war as in peace this couragious conteÌ„pt of death is a very euident token that is in the heart some expectatioÌ„ of another life when this former is well ended Tully saith Tul. lib. 1. Tulc that it is vnpossible to finde the originall of the soule in earth nihil est in animis mistum aut concretum aut humidum aut flabile aut igneum there is no mingled nor compound thing in the soule no moist thing nor windie nor fierie for none of these things can vnderstand remember or by things past collect things future These things must needes be acknowledged diuine And although the soule be not of these mixt things yet doth she hold all these contrarieties in peace and vnion which is also a plaine proofe of the diuine power of the soule that she holdeth all contraries heate colde moisture and drought in mutuall amitie and concord Seneca being fallen into the consideration of that desire which man hath naturally to know some God for there is no couÌ„trey so barbarous which doth not in heart confesse that there is a God saith quemadmodum radii solis contingunt quidem terram Seneca lib. ad Gallione de breuitate vitae ad Lucilium sed ibi sunt vnde mittuntur ita animus magnus et sacer conuersatur quidem nobiscum sed haeret origini suae As the Sunne beames do come to the earth but they are there from whence they are sent euen so a great and holy mind is conuersant with vs but it doth cleaue and sticke there where it hath the first beginning Mors quam pertimescimus intermittit vitaÌ„ non eripu veniet iterum qui nos in lucemreponet dies but that he speaketh chiefely vpon some hope of resurrection Alphonsus the King of Arragon accounted this as a great strengthening of his faith touching the immortalitie of the soule Panormitan lib. 4. de rebus pestis Alphonsi because he sawe dayly the elder that men grew in yeares and the more that the strength did decrease the more they excelled in wisedome and the more did the powers of their mind encrease Strength is an effect of youth if the soule in the middest of bodily weakenes or worldly trouble do gather strength as Chrysostom saith anima reiuuenescit inter angustias Chrysost de resurr serm 1. the soul by troubles doth waxe more youthful then must it needes follow that it is of it selfe an essence immortall But some do say the simplicitie of children and the doâ—age of many old men do shew that the mind is like affected with the bodie and therefore the body wholy failing the mind must needes faile also I must needs confesse that when the senses and formes of things are altogether disturbed as in a frensie or when there is a great distemperature in the braine as in children by too much moisture and in crooked olde age by too much drinesse then for want of good tooles the worke-man is as it were idle and for want of fit windowes the ghest that is within vs doth not take so good a view of matters as otherwise shee would But it doth not thereby follow but that she shall fully exercise her operations againe when she is deliuered both of windowe and closet and hath no other functions to execute but what she can perfectly performe without any helpe of instruments The clouds shadowe the light of the Sunne from vs but the brightnesse of the Sunne it selfe is nothing thereby diminished As the Sunne of the little world mans soule hath seuerall faculties so hath she seuerall times when shee doth in highest degree exercise and vse them The vegetatiue power hath his mightiest force in the wombe the sensitiue hath his chiefest time in the course of this life and the intellectuall doth flourish most after this life The prodigious dreames which haue been in all ages Calu. Iustit lib. 1. cap. 15. Sect. 2. doe plainely conuince and proue what agility and vigour may be in the mind when the senses are all bound In the warre with the Latins the two Romane Consuls at that time Generals in the field did in one night dreame one the selfe same dreame a ghost appeared vnto them and told that it was agreed by the gods that on the one side the Generall should dye and on the other side the whose armie The two Generals to wit Derius and Manlius Torquatus when they had compared their dreames together did resolue like valiant commanders that they should rather one of them yeeld vp their liues as a sacrifice then that the whole armie should perish The agreement was made that whether soeuer of them had his wing or troupes first beginning to faile the Generall of that part of the armie should presently cast himselfe into the thickest of his enemies and sell his life as deare as he could It fell to Derius his lot his wing began first to shrinke and thereupon hee beeing gallantly mounted did presently make a breach vpon the armie of the enemie fought fiercely slew many and although hee was at the last slaine himselfe yet hee brought thereby happy deliuerance vnto his countrey Sophocles the Tragedian Peucerus de diuinatione pag. 456. when on a certaine night a robberie was euen then in committing at Athens did the very same time dreame so often and so apparantly of it that he arose and went to the offïcers the Areopagites declaing his dream vnto theÌ„ and the maner of the manifest appearing therof The Areopagites thereby found out the fact and inflicted vpon the offendors condigne punishment Infinite such like ensamples haue beene which doe aboundantly declare vnto vs that wheÌ„ the senses bodily powers are cast asleepe the mindes haue beene farre sharper and seene much more then any way they could haue seene by the instruments of the bodily senses Further if the soule were not a distinct essence from the bodie why should the holy Scripture vse so often these and such like kindes of phrases that wee dwell in houses of clay Iob. 4.19 that our bodie is as a house and tabernacle to the soule 2. Cor. 5. V. 1.2.6 that while we liue here wee are at home in the bodie but absent from the Lord These doe instruct the same to vs which the Philosopher sawe by the light of
hee is euen as the stall-fed Oxe who still feeding to the full and neuer conceiuing any foresight of his death is yet neuer the better for it A sodaine death will bring the greater feare Nay he is infinite thousand times worse for the beast is fed but to perish temporally and he is fed to perish eternally The second kinde of ill conscience called turbata mala a troubled ill conscience though it haue no apprehension of Gods mercy yet doth it conceiue it selfe to be a spirituall essence endangered to the iudgement of eternall punishment This sting of corrupt conscience is called often in the Scriptures Esay 66.24 Mark 9.44 1. Tim. 4.2 Esay 57.20 Heb. 10.27 a worme that neuer dyeth It is named a searing with a hote iron a sea that alwaies rageth a terrible looking for of iudgement and violeÌ„t fire to deuour the aduersarie Esay 48.22 When the wicked feele no peace in themselues but that in the middest of all their ioyes and pleasures Eccl. 41.5 they haue often a bitter remembrance of death and condemnation so that as the wise man saith euen in the laughing Prou. 14.13 the heart is sorrowful and the mirth doth end in heauinesse What doth this argue but that the soule is a spirituall substance such as can flye vp to the tribunall seate of God and there both accuse her selfe and also pleade guilty for her selfe In iudiciall handling of matters before men there are sundry persons to performe seueral functions some doe accuse others witnes others condemne others torment but an euill conscience is of it selfe all in one It is to bad men as the scriptures shew both their accuser witnesse and iudge and tormentor Their accuser as saith the Apostle their own conscience accusing or excusing Rom. 2.15 Where Saint Iohn declareth that at the time of Gods iudgements Apoc. 20.12 the bookes shall be opened Chrysostome sheweth what those billes are conscientia est codex in quo quotidiana peccata scribuntur The conscience of man is the booke wherein his dayly sinnes are written Secondly it is the witnesse according to that of Paul Rom 2 15. their owne thoughtes bearing witnesse Wis 17 10 And of the wisemaÌ„ it is a fearefull thing when malice is condemned by her owne testimonie and a conscience that is touched doth euer forecast cruell things For feare saith he is nothing else but a beatraying of the succours which reason offereth this saw the heathen wisemaÌ„ Thales Miles Turpe quid ausurus te sine teste time If thou attempt any filthy thing feare thy selfe without any further witnes And the Oratour Quint decl 9 conscientia mille testes the conscience is as good as a thousand witnesses So Pythagoras 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Of all men in the world stand most in awe of thy selfe â— Ioh 3 20 Thirdly it is the iudge as Saint Iohn saith if our heart condemne vs God is aboue the hart And Saint Paul speaking of the heretike that sinneth against his own coÌ„science saith that he sinneth damned of himselfe Se ipsum vnusquisque Ambro. epist ad Constant et animum suum seuerum iudicem sui vltorem criminis habet Euery man hath in himselfe and his owne heart a seuere iudge and reuenger of his wickednesse Fourthly it is also the tormenter 1. Tim. 4.2 Esay 66.24 Heb. 10.27 1 Tim 6 10 in which respect it is called a burning with a hote iron a worme gnawing still vpon the heart a violent fire consuming Gods enemies and such as pierceth man thorowe with many sorrowes The heathen Oratour could say conscientia graue pondus a mans conscience Tul â— de natura deorum if it be ill is a heauy burden It will make him to grieue at the losse of that which he neuer loued for vertue hath this triumph ouer vice that they which hate her most shall bee grieued at her absence Vertulem vi videant intabescántque relicta That though they loue not vertue yet they shall see it and pine away with the losse of it Luke 16 23 When it is said that the damned rich man did see Lazarus in Abrahams bosome no doubt it is signified to vs that this doth and euer shall greatly augment the punishmeÌ„ts of the wicked to perceiue and see froÌ„ how blessed an estate they are fallen These effects in the consciences of the vngodly doe euidently declare the soule to be a spirituall essence and apprehending much more then those things which concerne this life WheÌ„ Kaine said Gen 4 â— my sinne is more then can be forgiuen I shall be a vagabond and a runnagate Gen. 27 38. Gen. 9 27. when Esau wept for the losse of his birthright When Pharao seeing Gods fearefull iudgement cryed out God is iust and I and my people are wicked When Ecebolius the Philosopher of Constantinople because in the time of Iulian the Apostata hee had as a time seruer denied his faith in Christ threw himselfe downe before the Church Socr lib 3. cap 11 and said calcate me salem insipidum treade vpon me vnsauerie salt VVhen Francis Spaera for the like fault said to the Bishop Vergerius that he could wish to lye ten thousand yeares in hell so that once hee could hope of remission and deliuerie from eternall punishment what was this but that their owne consciences did both accuse them and also condemne and torment them This testimony of conscience made Iosephes brethren to shake with feare Gen 50 15. when they remembred their crueltie against their yong brother it made Adam to creepe into the thickets Gen. 3 10 when he heard the voyce of him whome hee had vnthankfully despised This made Faelix to tremble when hee heard Paul preach of righteousnesse and temperance Act. 24 2â— and of the iudgement to come This made Caligula that wicked Emperour in times of thunder and lightning to creepe vnder the beds and into corners This made that famous or rather infamous Medea sitting at sessioÌ„s within her selfe her owne heart being the foreman to accuse her selfe and condemne her selfe Video meliora probóque Deteriora sequor I see and like well what is right But followe wrong with al my might Yet such is the force of a corrupted and confounded conscience that it maketh the dead to see me aliue again Herod when he heard of the fame and miracles of our Sauiour Christ Mark 6 14 said surely this is that Iohn Baptist whome I haue beheaded he is risen from death to life againe Iohn was dead and buried he was dead to other men but he was aliue to Herod As it is recorded by a certaine Pythagorean Philosopher that when he came to a house to pay a little debt â—raâ—m lib. 6 apoph and at the very same time his creditor was new dead and he perceiued by hearing the wil read that there was no mention made of that debt he reioyced and went
liue vnto the Lord or whether wee dye wee we dye vnto the Lord whether wee liue therfore or dye we are the Lords for Christ therefore dyed and rose againe and reuiued that he might bee the Lord both of the dead and of the quicke How can our sauiour bee said to be the Lord and gouernour of the dead vnlesse some part of them doe remaine aliue to be subiect to his dominion Gouernement rule do of necessity import that there be also some to yeeld obedience and submission The Apostle sheweth Heb. 12.22.23 who bee the subiectes of that heauenly king to wit the angels and the spirites of iust and perfect men and hee sheweth there the great dignity of a Christian who is ioyned as it were to the Angels and spirites of iust men when he embraceth that religion which they doe continually reuerence But say they if the soule doe already enioy eternall blisse in heaueÌ„ what needeth then a day of iudgement If it be iudged already to what purpose should there bee any further sentence The day of iudgement is ordained of God for the vniting together both of body soule that as the elect haue serued God both in body and soule so they may receiue euerlasting ioy blisse both in body and soule and as the wicked haue serued the Diuell both in body soule so they receiue eternall tormentes both in body and soule And for this cause we are taught to belieue as an article of our faith the resurrection of the body wee do not say the resurrection of the soule for the soule doth not dye but the resurrection of the flesh or the resurrection of the body The soules of theÌ„ which haue dyed in the Lord August in Iohn tract 49. doe already enioy perfect and happy rest Nothing is wanting to the perfection of their ioyes but only the company of their bodies and the company of their brethren for this cause as some expounde it the soules of the Martyrs attired with white robes Apoc. 6.10 Anselmus in Apoc. Calu. in psychopanychia doe cry out in the ReuelatioÌ„ How long Lord holy and true as thirsting and longing for the comming of Christ to their full accomplishment If in this world a glorious sight doe delight vs neuer so much yet is our ioy increased when our friend doth behold the same together with vs. And no doubt this is as it were an accomplishing of the ioyes of the soules already receiued into the presence of Christ in the celestiall paradise when they shall receiue the company of their bodies the societie of their fellow-brethren An other argument doe the Anabaptists make Gen. 2.17 Rom. 6.23 Ezec. 18 4 20. drawn from the reward of sinne The stipend of sinne is death therefore say they seeing the soule hath sinned the soule must needes dye but death is in the scripture taken sundry wayes sometimes for the separation of the soule from the body sometimes for the separation of God from the soule 1. Tim 5.6 as when the Apostle calleth the widow liuing in wanton delightes dead though shee liue that is aliue in the body but dead in the soule sometime for the horror of condemnation as the Diuell did receiue the reward of sinne and yet was not so extinguished but that hee doth watch and goe about continually 1. Pet. 5. â— seeking whome to deuoure In respect of the Saintes of God death is saide to haue lost her sting and to become as a drone bee as the Apostle speaketh 1. Cor. 15 56 O death where is thy sting It was prophesied of our Sauiour Christ by the Prophetes Praecipitabit mortem in aeternum Esay 25.8 Hee shall throw death headlong for euer O Death I will be thy death O hell I will bee thy destruction They obiect further that the death of the saintes is called a sleepe Act. 7 60 Ioh. 11.11 2. Thes 4.13 Stephen when he dyed fell a sleepe Lazarus being dead was said to sleep the Apostle biddeth not to mourne for them that sleepe that is be dead If death bee a sleepe theÌ„ can there not be in the soule any conceiuing of ioyes vntill that sleepe bee awakened by the resurrection It is very apparant that in that Phrase by a Synechdoche that is giuen to the whole which agreeth but to one part when Iob saith Ecce nunc in puluere dormio Iob 7.21 Behold I shall sleepe now in the dust and if you seeke mee in the morning I shall haue no being did Iob thinke that when hee dyed his soule should lye in the dust that were too grosse to bee once imagined It is very apparant then that hee meaneth onely that his body shall sleepe in the dust and that figuratiuely hee doth attribute that to the whole which agreeth but to a part That which they alledge out of Salomon that man and beast haue both one end Eccl. 3.21 who knoweth whether the spirite of man shall ascend vpward or the spirite of beast descend downe into the earth is answered by those wordes which Salomon doth so often repeat in that book Eccl. 1.2 Eccl. 2.11 Vanity of vanities and all is but vanity hee sheweth often in that Booke what are the speeches of vaine men Eccl. 9.4 as after when hee sayeth Better is a liuing dog then a dead Lion for the liuing know that they shall dye but the dead know nothing at all wee must not think that Salomon speaketh this as of himselfe but to shew the affections of worldlinges who are led by vanity of vanities and by nothing but vanity Tertul. lib de resurr carnis Irenaeus lib. 9 aduersus haeresi Chrysost hom 28. in â—1 ad Hebr. August lib 12 de Ciuit. Dei cap. 9 When the Fathers doe sometimes affirme that the soules are not crowned vntill the day of resurrection they mean of the perfect triumph they deny not but that the soules of the Saints are in peace and happy rest but the perfect triumph crown of glory they made to be then when the bodies being againe vnited to the soules death should be vtterly swallowed vp in victory The argument which some doe alledge out of the Apostle that because he saith If the dead rise not againe 1. Cor. 15.19 we are of all men most miserable v. 32 therefore before the resurrection there is no ioy nor felicity is of no force at all for hee saith after what will it profite mee to fight with the beastes at Ephesus if the deade bee not raysed vppe the bodies of the Saintes in this life suffer many iniuries reproches and often martyrdomes Now vnlesse these bodies bee hereafter to be aduanced to glory we are of all meÌ„ most miserable and againe although the soule do enioy blessed rest yet a great part of the happinesse doth consist in the assurance of the expected resurrection Caluin in Phychopanychia haec tractat 1 vberrime It is further obiected
by them out of the Apostle to the Hebrewes all these dyed not receiuing the promises but saluted thē a far off The Apostle speaketh there of the posterity of Abrahā Heb 11.13 who liued a long time as Pilgrims in strange countries and did receiue and possesse that land flowing with milke and hony promised vnto Abraham that they might bee thereby taught to seeke a better country in heauen although they had the types and figures of Christ v. 40 yet they had not Christ in their time exhibited in the flesh because as hee saith after God had prouided a better thing for vs that they without vs shold not be made perfect if they had had the flourishing land of Canaan Christ also in their time come in the flesh then should they haue seemed to bee made perfect without vs. But God did prouide better for vs as hee gaue vnto them that glorious figure of our rest in Christ so in our time in this last age of the world hee did exhibite the truth euen the cōming of Christ himselfe to performe the worke of our redemption They say further that if the soules of the departed bee in heauen Act. 9.36.40 then S. Peter should seeme to doe wrong to that good and charitable Tabitha to raise her vp againe from death and so to bring her from a blessed life with God into a sea of all mischiefes but it is euidēt that the mercy of God is shewed not onely in time of glorification Phil. 2.25 but also in time of sanctification S. Paul accounteth that Epaphroditus did obtaine mercy when being sicke he was recouered againe And of himselfe he saith that life was to him a losse Phil. 1 22. ◠21 and death an aduantage yet is he cōtent to remain longer in this life so that Christ may be magnified in his body In that raysing vp of Tabitha God was glorified in the miracle the poore were benefited by the preseruing of so charitable a woman full of almes and good workes Tabitha her selfe had a larger time in this life to set forth the paise of God which was a thing that the saintes of God haue sought for with earnest praier Psal 6.4 psal 30.9 Esay 38.18 psal 88.11 psal 115.17 when the saints of God do pray in the scriptures for the lēgthning of their daies in this world do giue this the reason of their petition because the dead cānot praise God nor magnifie his name we must not imagine that they thought that their soules in death should perish or haue no power to praise God but their meaning was that the deade could not in this world by their good exāple draw others to magnifie God that publike glorifying of God to the edifying of their brethren was the thing which in desiring long life they principally respected but Dauid say they doth plainly affirme psal 146.4 that when mās breath goeth out he returneth to the earth then all his thoughts perish by those thougetes hee meaneth such imaginations deuises as they practised in this life and in an other place he saith The desires of the vngodly shall perish Esay Esay 33. the Lorde doth scatter the counsels of the Gentiles The Prophet Dauid whē he hath shewed the iudgements of God vpon the wicked Psal 49.14 that they lie in the graue death gnaweth vpon them he addeth in the next verse v. 15. but God shall deliuer my soule from the power of the graue for he shall receiue me And let this suffice against the opinion of the Catabaptists CHAP. XI Of the future aestate of the soule against the Romanistes THe Church of Rome is an other way iniurious to the soules of the departed they acknowledge that they liue after death but yet that there is no passage for them into ioy rest vntil such paines haue been suffered as their Purgatory doth require This assertion is so plentifully confuted by so many euident and plaine testimonies of the scripture set down in the beginning of the tenth chapter that I hope I shall not need to stand long vpon it There is none vnlesse hee bee wilfully obstinate but he must needs acknowledge that it is a doctrine wholy iniurious and repugnant to the mercy and iustice of God and doth blasphemously derogate frō the merite of Christ his passion It standeth best with the infinite mercy of God to grant a sound and perfect benefit as to forgiue the guilt of our sinnes so also to remit the punishment It can in no wise agree with the iustice of God to forgiue our debts in Christ yet to exact the penalties thereof And what is there that can more obscure and annihilate the most noble price of our redemption then to make it a ransome from the fault or blame and no ransome from punishment That which Christ bare vppon the Crosse is taken away from vs. Now he bare the punishment of our sins as S. Peter saith 1. Pet. 2.24 He bare our sins in his body vpon the tree and by his stripes we are healed It is therfore the stripe plague due for sin that is remoued frō vs the paines griefes which depend vpon sin for a wounde is not healed vntil the griefe thereof be mittigated or abolished Aug. de verbis domini super Lucam serm 37. very well saith S. August Christus suscipiendo poenā non suscipiendo culpā culpā deleuit poenam Christ by taking vppon him our punishmēt not taking vpō him our fault hath taken away both fault and punishment when sins are forgiuen there may yet some afflictions remain to the children of God as there did to Adam and Dauid 2. Sam. 12.14 and do daily to Gods elect but those afflictions are fatherly instructions corrections and trials of their faith they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 such as proceede from the loue of God Eph. 1.7 they are not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 punishmentes of vengeance nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 punishments of ransom Al those tribulations which we suffer after remission of sinne are like Cicatrices signa vulneris curati non curandi they are as scarres rather signes of a wounde cured then of a wound to bee cured they differ as far frō punishments of vengeance as loue doth differ frō hatred for they proceed of loue Heb. 12.6 whō the Lord loueth hee doth correct and they differ as farre from punishments of ransome as East is from the West There is no ransome able to satisfie the iustice of God against sinne but onely the death and passion of Iesus Christ If any thing in man could haue satisfied for sinne the Sonne of God had not dyed The punishment of corrections and instructions haue their place then only when there is time of repentance and that is onely in this life as Saint Hierom noteth vppon these wordes of Esay seeke the Lord while he may
bee found call vpon him while he is night that is saith he Dum estis in corpore Hierom. in Esay 55. V. 6. dum datur locus paeniteÌ„tiae et quaerite non loco sed fide while ye be in the bodie while place is granted for repentance and seeke him not in place but in faith The ransome of Christ is so sufficient to all those which with true faith take hold of it that as the Scriptures doe shewe vs plainely Psal 32.2 Rom. 8.33 Rom. 8 â— Esay 4â— 25. Micha there is no imputation of sinne no accusation no condemnation no remembrance and therefore as vpon these foure benefits doth necessarily followe they haue a perfect deliuerance both from fault and punishment The faith of Dauid was Psal 51.7 that when he is washed of the Lord hee is become whiter then snowe And Saint Iohn appointeth this onely purgrtorie for the Church of God 1 Ioh 1 1 the bloud of Iesus Christ to purge vs from all sinne If their purgatorie fire should appertaine to the Church it must needes be either to the Church militant or to the Church triumphant for there are but these two parts of the Church as the Apostle saith Col 1 20 that Christ hath reconciled and set at peace by the bloud of his Crosse both the things in earth and the things in heauen but it appertaineth not to the Church militant for then it should be on earth nor to the Church triumphant for then it should be in heauen therefore indeed it appertaineth to no part of the Church of God There are but two kindes of ioyes and torments the one temporall the other eternall the temperall are al of this life the eternall are those which followe after this life 2. Cor 4 18 as the Apostle saith the things which are seene are temporall the thinges which are not seene are eternall The ordaining of a temperall ioy or a temporall punishment after this life is a thing that the Scriptures doe no where acknowledge Our Sauiour Christ and likewise Iohn the Baptist Luke 24 47 Mark 1 4 did preach repentance for forgiuenesse of sinnes whereby they plainely shewed that where there is no place for repentance there is rhere no place for forgiuenesse of sinnes Math 25 10 1 Cor 9 14 but after this life there is no place of repentance for then the gate is shut and the race of this life is already run Cyp. saith quaÌ„do istinc excessus fuerit nullus paenitentiae totus Cyprian coÌ„tra Demetri c. When man is departed out of this life there is then no place of repentance therefore to them which dye without repentance there is after this life no hope of forgiuenesse of sinnes Bee faithfull saith Christ vnto death Apoc. 2.10 and I will giue to thee the crowne of life Rom. 10 14 Faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the word preached where there is no place of hearing there can there not be any place of increase of faith Aug. in Psal 3 It was well aduised by Saint Augustine tuus certè vltimus dies longè abesse non potest ad hunc te praepara qualis enim exieris ex hac vita talis redderis illi vitae thy last day cannot be farre off prepare thy selfe vnto it for in what maner thou shalt depart out of this life in the same estate thou shalt bee restored to the life to come Aug ad Hesy 1 pâ—t 80. Qualis in die isto moritur talis in die illo indicabitur as man dieth in this world so shall he be iudged in the world to come They obiect that which is saide of Saint Peter that Christ going did preach vnto the Spirits which were in prison once disobedient when the mercy of God did waite in the dayes of Noah 1 Pet. 3 12 The purpose of the Apostle is there to shew that Christ did alwayes in all ages shew his diuine power as namely when by Noah he preached to those disobedient spirites which are now in prison that is in hel as likewise in Saint Iohn Apoc. 2 â— 7 the word prison is taken for hell and if they take it for purgatorie they are two wayes condemned by their owne doctrine for first they confesse that not purgatorie but hell is the place for such as are infidels and rebellious and no members of the true Church Nowe Saint Peter sheweth that not the family of Noah which did represent the Church of God but the other disobedient and vnfaithfull people were cast into this prison and therefore by the prison must needes be meant that place which appertaineth not to the Church of God Secondly some of them seeme to teach that the Fathers in the olde Testament were in a Limbo patrum but in no purgatorie and that purgatory only tooke place after the comming of Christ If that be their meaning little reason then haue they to drawe vnto purgatorie those thinges which are spoken of the people in the olde Testament and much lesse to make such contrarie maners of the remitting of sinne The Apostle sheweth euidently 1. Thes 4.17 that in the end of the world at the second comming of Christ they which shall be then found aliue shall bee sodainly catched vp to meete the Lord and remaine euer with the Lord. The tenour of Gods iustice is alwaies one and the same against sinne and therefore it is no wayes likely that in so many seuerall ages of the world there should be such farre differing estates of soules departed They alledge the fact of Iuda 2. Mach. 12.14 who when some of his meÌ„ being slaine in the battell were found to haue vnder their garmeÌ„ts little reliques of Idolatrie did send two thousand groates to Ierusalem to offer for them and this acte is called a holy and godly cogitatioÌ„ because he made an expiation for the dead that they might bee loosed from their sinnes This may be answered with the same answere which Saint Augustine maketh against the Donatists who vrged out of the Machabees that it is lawfull for a man to kill himselfe because when Rhasis killed himselfe Mach. 14.2 42 43. he is there twise commended to dot it generosè or viriliter nobly and manfully Saint Augustine telleth them that that is a Scripture recepta ab ccclesia non inutiliter si sobriè legatur Aug. contra 2. Gaudentii epist cap 23 â— receiued of the Church not vnprofitably if it be soberly read It is then soberly read when no newe doctrine is collected out of it against the lawe and the Prophets The law appointed no such vse of offerings to offer for them which perished in Idolatrie how damnable the sinne was it may well appeare by the grieuous punishment of Achan Iosua 7.24 But wee may answeare rather with the iudgement of that ancient expositio symbols attributed to Cyprian that those bookes of the Machabees are no Canonicall scripture
sake and will remember thy sinnes no more And againe a litle after Esay 48.9 V. 11. For mine owne sake I will be gracious for mine owne glory I wil refraine mine anger and will not destroy thee Propter me propter me faciam It is for my selfe and mine owne sake that I will do this for thee There was no cause in the Iewes that God should chuse them as elect vessels to cary the treasure of his word and to passe by so many other nations more rich and more populous Neither is there any cause in vs that we should haue the Gospell in peace and quietnesse preached vnto vs which blessing is denied to many mighty nations about vs. The cause is onely in the free goodnesse of God wherewith he embraceth his elect and chosen and therefore we may well say of our nations as Esay sayd of the Iewes of his time Isai 1â— If the Lord had not left vnto vs a remnant we had bene as Sodome and Gomorrha Such is our vnthankfulnesse for Gods manifold blessings such is our carelesnesse and dulnesse in prayer such is our disobedience and contempt of God his holy word that vnlesse there were a remnant of God his elect people amongst vs it could not haue bene but long before this time we should haue had the iudgement of Sodome and the cities adioyning in full measure powred vpon vs. But God hath a remnant of his elect amongst vs and in respect of his free loue towards them he doth still continue his goodnesse towards vs. God be eternally praysed for that remnant of his elect God graunt vs to be of that number God increase them daily God so continue and multiply them that the truth of his holy Gospell may still remaine to vs and to our posterity for euer A good hope we haue in the second property of Gods goodnesse to wit in the continuance and perpetuity thereof Saint Iames doth teach vs Iam. 1.13 that with the Lord there is no change nor shadow of change If we cast off the kindnesse of men we can yet haue no full assurance of the continuance of their benefits because the harts of men are variable Math. 21.8 They which this day doe cut downe bowes to strew in the way may to morow cry away with him and crucifie him But with God with whom there is no change nor shadow of mutability euery experience of Gods goodnesse is a sufficient argument of the perpetuity thereof as the king Prophet saith Psal 61.3 Thou Lord hast bene my refuge and strong tower against the enemy therefore I will dwell in thy tabernacle for euer and seeke my succor vnder the shadow of thy wings Whom God doth loue Iohn 13.2 Rom. 11.27 he doth loue to the end and the gifts and calling of God are without repentance It is his owne voice by the Prophet Isay 54.8 In a moment of time haue I hid my face from thee but in mine euerlasting mercy will I gather thee againe saith the Lord thy redeemer When Dauid doth in thankfulnesse of mind extoll the goodnesse of God Psal 136. he doth principally praise and magnifie the perpetuitie thereof And therefore in his Psalme of thanksgiuing as neuer sufficiently satisfied with the consideration thereof he doth still in euery verse repeate the mercie of God endureth for euer Many causes we giue for the abbridging and with-holding thereof but the Lord being patient long suffering Esay 30.18 doth still waite for our repentance Why will ye die O ye house of Israel Thus sayth the Lord I will not the death of a sinner Ezech. 18.31 but if he repent he shall liue We haue many wayes offended but God his goodnesse doth yet still enlarge it selfe towardes vs We are all as drie stubble yet the Lord doth not burne vs vp we are barren trees yet the Lord doth not cut vs downe we are all vnfruitfull ground yet the Lord doth make his Sunne to shine and raine to fall vpon vs. We haue often deserued Gods louing countenance to be turned from vs but we may thankfully say with the Prophet Misericordia est Domini Ierâ—m Iam. 3.22 quòd non consumimur It is the mercie of the Lord that we are not consumed This perpetuitie of God his goodnesse is our chiefest comfort in all afflictions and distresses For thereby though we be killed all the day long yet with the Apostle we are assured that neither life nor death nor principalitie nor power Rom. 8.38 nor any other thing shall separate vs from the loue of God in Christ Iesus Though God punish vs yet we doe chearefully with Iob blesse the name of God assuring our selues that whom the Lord doth loue he doth correct Hebr. 12. â— and scourgeth euery sonne whom hee doth receiue If we bee thankfull onely in prosperitie we loue not God but we loue the prosperity but herein appeareth the triall of our loue when we say with Iob Iob. 1â— 15 Although God kill me I will put my trust in him And doe with the Apostles reioyce that we bee accounted worthie to suffer any rebuke for the name of Christ Iesus Act. 5.41 It is good for me sayd Dauid that I haue bene afflicted that I might learne thy statutes Before I was afflicted Psal 119.71 67. I went astray but now O Lod I learne thy commaundements Psal 112.4 Vnto the godly saith Dauid there doth arise vp light in darknesse In the middest of all troubles they haue a sweete feeling of Gods goodnesse If sicknesse or any grieuous calamitie doe happen vnto the wicked all their ioy and comfort is vtterly driuen away The candle of the wicked as Salomon doth call it is soone put out Prou. 24.20 But the godly and faithfull though they be often ouer-whelmed with darknesse and misery yet their light doth still arise Ioh. 16.22 the sweete feeling of the mercie of God in Christ doth neuer depart from them They are assured that all things will worke for the best to them that loue God Rom. 8.28 they acknowledge that all their sorowes and sicknesses are nothing so great as their manifold follies and trespasses haue deserued and as the palme-tree the more waight is hanged vppon it the better it is sayd to prosper so the greater calamities they endure the more their faith doth flourish and the more zealous they are in prayer as the Psalmist here affirmeth Psal 107. Ve. 19. They crie vnto the Lord in their trouble and he deliuereth them out of their distresse O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his goodnes and declare his wonderfull workes before the children of men The second thing for which the Prophet doth here exhort vs to praise God is the effect of his goodnesse to wit his wonderfull deliuerances in the midst of all distresses Ve. 20. He sayth in the verse going before that God sendeth forth his word and healeth
layd and thereof doth proceed their workes of charity as a sacrifice of thanksgiuing and yet those workes also the gift of God Aug in Psal 102. as Augustine sayth Deus coronat in nobis dona sua God doth crowne his owne gifts in vs. Good workes must be alwayes done to a good end 2. Sam 15 2 When Absalom called the poore vnto him and did helpe to right their causes he seemed to haue an vpright and charitable mind But when he sought thereby to steale away the heartes of the subiectes and to stirre them vppe to rebellion against his Soueraigne Lord and Father then was his shew of iustice nothing but damnable hypocrisie And the like account must be made of all charitable deedes whatsoeuer if they bee done to a sinister end to wit to ascribe merite vnto them and thereby to derogate from the sacrifice and passion of our Sauiour Christ Let vs then endeuour to the vttermost of our power to obey the will of God but let our entent and purpose bee onely thereby to offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiuing to glorifie God our Creator Christ Iesus our Redeemer and the holy Ghost our Sanctifier 1 Pet 1 10 to make our election and calling more sure vnto our selues Mat. 5.16 by the light of our good workes to cause others to glorifie our father in heauen Of the manner how our sacrifices ought to bee offered to wit with singing and ioifulnes of mind as here the Prophet exhorteth vs to tell forth Gods works with gladnesse or as some interprete it with singing I shall God willing speake at some other conuenient time God of his infinite goodnes graunt vs grace so with thankfull hearts ioifull lips and vertuous liues to glorifie his holie name in this life that wee may be glorified to him for euer in the life to come with the blessed Angels sing perpetuall prayses in heauen to him Apoc. 4 11 who is worthy to receiue glorie and honour and power To this inuisible and eternall Lord three persons and one God bee ascribed all maiestie praise and dominion now and for euer Amen VVhy in right there should be no refusing to come now to our Church WHereas you requested me the other day to set downe a briefe note of the chiefest arguments which may induce and perswade a Recusant to come to the Church and to resolue you particularly of this one point in what respect prayer in the Church is more acceptable vnto God then prayer made in fields or priuate houses I haue thought good to returne this vnto you for an answer that there are sixe speciall reasons for which it must needs be better pleasing to God to frequent Churches and publike places of prayer then to be addicted onely to the exercises of our priuate mansions First it is a dutifull obeying of God his holy ordinance who hath commaunded not onely priuate prayer 1. 〈◊〉 11 2.8 and prayer in euery place but hath also appointed by his law that there should be a publike place consecrated for his seruice â—eut 12 5. In that place sayth he which the Lord your God shall chuse amongst all your tribes to set his name there in that his habitation ye shall seeke vnto him To haue it in the same place where the Iewes had it is not commaunded to vs 〈◊〉 4.21 but the equity of the Law doth still remaine to wit that there should be alwayes a house of God wherein the people may be assembled As likewise to haue the same Sabbath which the Iewes had the Apostles did not thinke it requisite but the equitie of the Law to wit to haue one day amongst the seuen to be alotted for the publike seruice of God that they thought altogether necessary And the chose the first day in the weeke because in that Christ rose againe from death which was therefore called dies Dominicus the Lord his day In the Lord his day Iohn was rapt in the spirit and heard a voyce Apoc 1 10. In that first day of the weeke Act 20 7 the Apostles in the Acts did minister the holy Sacrament and in the same first day they made collections for the poore 1. Cor 16 2 Secondly by frequenting the publicke place of God his seruice God is most glorified We must glorifie God both in body and soule 1 Cor 6 20 for they are gods The Prophet Daniel chose rather to be thrown into a den of Lions Dan. 6.11 then that he would haue his body but onely three dayes to be debarred from honoring God He honored him as he might because there was no publike place permitted But where there is a publike place assigned for the seruice of God there must especially our zeale encline vnto it and the more publike the place is the more is God glorified thereby The Prophet Dauid sayth I will praise thee ô Lord in the great congregation Psal 35.18 in much people I will giue thankes vnto thee Psal 40 11. Psal 22 22 And againe I will declare thy righteousnesse in the great congregation behold I will not refraine my lips and that Lord thou knowest In another place I will declare thy name amongst my brethren in the middest of the congregation I will sing praise vnto thee And againe I was glad when they sayd vnto me Psal 122.1 We will go into the house of God And when he was by his enemies driuen away from that publicke place of God his seruice although he prayed and sang hymnes vnto God in the mountaines and caues other places of his exile yet that losse of the publicke place of God his worship did grieue him more then the losse of his natiue soile of his acquaintance of his kindred of his goods or any other ioy or treasure whatsoeuer psal 27.4 One thing sayth he one thing especially I haue desired of the Lord and I will still require it that I dwell in the house of the Lord all the dayes of my life to behold the beautie of the Lord and to visite his holie Temple He grieued that he could not doe as he had done in times past euen to leade the people into the house of God Psal 42.2 My teares sayth he hath bene my bread day and night because I had gone with the multitude and lead them to the house of God His wish was rather to be a doore-keeper in the house of God Psal 84.11 then to dwell in the tents of vngodlinesse Thirdly it is a comfortable apprehending of the promise of Christ who hath pronounced Math. 18 20 that Where two or three are assembled in his name he is in the middest of them and that whatsoeuer they aske they shall receiue Although he name two or three because the Church is indeed a little flocke in respect of the great multitude of the wicked yet it is euident that our Sauiour speaketh not there of priuate conuenticles but