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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17308	Truth's triumph ouer Trent: or, the great gulfe betweene Sion and Babylon That is, the vnreconcileable opposition betweene the Apostolicke Church of Christ, and the apostate synagogue of Antichrist, in the maine and fundamentall doctrine of iustification, for which the Church of England Christs spouse, hath iustly, through Gods mercie, for these manie yeares, according to Christs voyce, separated her selfe from Babylon, with whom from henceforth she must hold no communion. By H.B. rector of S. Mathews Friday-Street.	Burton, Henry, 1578-1648.	1629 (1629)	STC 4156; ESTC S107077	312,928	398

tooke the purity of our nature in his conception so now hee put on the impurity of our guilty persons in his condemnation And by the way behold here a great mystery The sonne of God not only in our innocent nature by assumption but in our guilty persons by imputation stands before Pilate the Iudge to bee sentenced by him Why what if Christ had beene killed by any of the sundry attempts of the malicious lewes made vpon his person as by casting him headlong downe the steep Rocke as once they made sure account of him when they had him in the midst of them yea had laid hands on him leading him to the brow of the hill No it was not possible in regard of the purpose of Gods wisedome and iustice destinating his sonne to such a death as he must dye as Luke 24. 26. that Christ could be so put to death by all the power and malice of hell it selfe For Gods wisedome so disposed that the death of his son should be such as might bee most effectuall to satisfie and appease his fathers wrat● and giue a beleeuer sure confidence in the day of iudgement as St. Iohn speakes 1. Ioh. 2. 28. Otherwise if it had beene so that Christ had been killed in any such tumultuous manner or in hugger mugger not by a legall i●diciall proceeding against him how had his death secured vs from the terrour of Gods Tribunall Christ must dye but hee must first be sentenced and iudged to dye by a lawfull Iudge And such was Pilate For howsoeuer Pilate was a man and so subiect to be led away with passion and affection which as a bribe doth blinde the eyes euen of the wise and peruerteth the wayes of iudgement yet a lawfull Iudge hee was deputed and appointed for that Prouince by Caesar yea by a greater than Caesar euen by God himselfe for euery earthly Iudge sustains the person of God himselfe who is the Iudge of all the world Therefore Iehoshaphat in his charge to the Iudges whom he sent said Take heed what you do for ye iudge not for man but for the Lord who is with you in the iudgement And such is the iudgement and sentence which proceedeth from the mouth of an earthly Iudge as that it is to be taken receiued as the iudgement and sentence of God himself As the wise man speakes from the mouth of the holy Ghost Many seeke the Rulers fauour but euery mans iudgement co●●●th from the Lord. Euery mans iudgement Yes euery mans iudgement Nay more which is also there implyed euery iudgement whatsoeuer it bee true or false right or wrong it proceedeth shal I say from the Lord Yes from the Lord. Euery mans iudgment cōmeth from the Lord And yet many men cōplain that their cause is vniustly censur'd sentenc'd by the iudge But God is iust shal not he the Iudge of all the world do right doubtlesse he is most iust and euen that iudgement which seemeth to vs most vniust cōming from an earthly iudge yet the same iudgement comming from God is most iust We will vse no other instance but that iudgement of Pilate passed vpon the Lord Iesus Christ. Iesus Christ the innocent Lambe of God stands arraigned at the barre of Pilates iudgement-seate many accusations are brought against him but without any proofe at all And the Iudge must goe secundum allegata probata according to the allegations and proofes or else aequum licet statuerit haud aequu● fuit though hee giues a iust sentence yet himselfe is vniust Well the ●ewes with much vehemencie of mortall malice accusing Christ before Pilate but all without proofe Pilate knowing that of enuie the Iewes had deliuered him to him to bee condemned acquits Christ as an innocent person and that solemnely before them all But the Iewes at length preuailing with their wicked importunities Pilate contra probata passeth and pronounceth the sentence of condemnation vpon Christ that hee should dye A most vniust and wicked sentence if we consider the person of the Iudge Pilate a man swayed by humane affections and especially feare of men the bane of many a good cause who against his owne conscience pronounced Christ guilty and worthy of death whom he knew for no other but a most innocent person But now take mee this iudgement as-proceeding from the tribunall of God and we shall see it to bee most iust for in or with Pilate God sits vpon the Tribunall to iudge his owne Sonne But God and Pilate passe the same sentence with a most different respect vpon Christ. For Christ here sustaines a two-fold person his owne which only Pilate looked vpon not knowing any other and so Pilates sentence of death was most vniust but Christ bore another person vpon him to wit our sinfull person which God looking vpon and finding him now in our stead a guilty person by the imputation of our sinnes being our suretie hee passeth the same sentence of death vpon him that Pilate did and yet Gods sentence is most iust Yea but God the iudge must goe also Secundum allegata probata according to due allegations true proofes for shall not the Iudge of all the world doe right But all the allegations and accusations brought against Christ wanted proofe yea they were most false True But consider Christ now as he stood in our person so all the allegations accusations brought against him were most true In which respect Christ at the hearing of them was silent as guiltie persons who haue nothing to answer for themselues as he that wanted his wedding garment was speechlesse because Christ knew that hee stood there in our person Against whom what accusation of sinne can be produced but may easily bee proued Christ was accused of two maine impieties against God and against the King and the People as a peruerter and traytor All this was true for sustaining our person standing as our surety and vndertaking to discharge all our debts what debt was so great what sinne so grieuous that hee now stood not charged withall and was not as culpable of This made him to be numbred among transgressours not common offenders but transgressors among criminall yea capitall malefactors and for this very reason euen Barabbas a seditious murtherer is preferred before him If Christ had not thus stood in our stead beene iudged and condemned in our persons he had neuer saued the Thiefe vpon the Crosse. And therefore as St. Ambrose saith Nemo est qui possit excludi quando receptus est Latro There is none that can bee shut out when the Thiefe is let in And standing in our stead if hee had not been formally and legally iudged and so condemned wee should neuer haue beene able to haue stood before Gods iudgement-seate But now Christ being cast and condemned by a lawfull ●udge ordained and appointed of God so that this iudgement was not mans iudgement but Gods this

Apostle elegantly saith were while in the state of sinne free from righteousnesse Christ therfore was so made sinne for vs as that he was reputed yea and iudged as a sinner as Esay saith He was numbred with the transgressours and hee bare the sinne of many Now that Christ is said to bee made sin in the abstract and we to be made righteousnesse in the abstract not righteous in the concrete as Logicians speake Lyra saith Ideo in abstracto dicitur iustitia Dei vt efficeremur perfecte iusti We are said to be made the righteousnesse of God in the abstract that is perfectly iust And that is wee are made iust but relatiuely in respect to Christ as he was made sinne but relatiuely in respect of vs we are made the righteousnesse of God in him as hee was made sinne for vs and in vs to wit in our person as wee haue said so he is called The Lord our righteousnesse Yet true it is that Christ might be said to be made sinne to wit the sacrifice for sinne though not so properly in this place But if Papists will wrangle and wring out this sense from this place because the Glosse saith so let them remember that as Lyra's Glosse saith As we are made perfectly iust by Christ so was he made a perfect sacrifice for vs to free vs both à culpa poena from the fault and the penaltie and not a lame sacrifice or imperfect to free vs onely à culpae but not à poena as Papists say reseruing the punishment for their purgatorie But of this hereafter Howsoeuer if they will needes take sinne there for the sacrifice for sinne yet Christ was so the sacrifice for sinne as must necessarily imply the imputation of our sinnes vpon his person But enough of this place which one place is enough to proue the formall cause of our iustification to be the righteousnesse of Christimputed vnto vs. It followeth therefore that the formall cause of our iustification that which makes vs truely iust in the sight of God yea before Gods iudgement seate is the righteousnesse of Christ imputed to vs and that no otherwise than our sinnes were imputed to him whereby hee was made a malefactor not by hauing our sinnes in him but vpon him He bore our sinnes vpon him saith Peter So Esay Hee bare the sinnes of many and was numbred with the transgressors Hee is the truth of the type of those two goates Leuit. 16. the one slaine the other let goe figuring the humanity the slaine Goate and the diuinity of Christ the scape Goate or the slaine Goate the death of Christ and the scape Goate his resurrection For he dyed for our sinnes and rose againe for our iustification which his rising againe from the dead is liuely shadowed in the scape Goat on which Aaron put both his hands confessed ouer him all the iniquities of the children of Israel putting them vpon the head of the Goate sending him away by the hand of a fit man into the wildernesse where those sinnes should neuer be seene more vers 21. Hee was that Ioshua the high Priest our Iesus or Iehoshua and high Priest who offering himselfe vpon the Crosse was clothed in filthy garments euen with the menstruous cloth of our sinnes imputed vnto him or imposed vpon him As Chrysostome applies that place to Christ that we might be clad in the glorious robes of his righteousnesse put vpon vs As the ordinary Glosse vpon this place saith excellently Iesus est indutus sordidis vestibus quiae qui peccatum non fecit pro nobis peccatum factus est Sed haec sordida vestis est ei ablata cum nostra deleuit peccata vt quia ille sordidis indutus est vestibus nos resurgentes in eo semper candida habeamus vestimenta Iesus hath filthie rayment put vpon him because he that did no sinne was made sinne for vs. But this filthy rayment was taken from him when he had cancelled our sinnes that because he was attired in filthy rayment we rising againe in him may alwayes haue white garments vpon vs. That we as Iacob being cladde in the sweete smelling robes of our elder brother Christ might bee accounted as a field which the Lord hath blessed and so receiue the blessing of the birth-right in our elder brothers name As the type is very pregnant to this purpose whereupon Ambrose saith thus Iacob primogeniturae benedictionem obtinuit veste fratris maioris natu indutus ●ic vestis Christi optimum odorem spirat c. Iacob clothed in the garment of his elder brother obtained the blessing of the birth-right so the garment of Christ doth yeeld a fragrant smell c. And againe Quod Isaac odorem vestium ●lfecit fortasse illud est quia non operibus iustificamur sed fide quoniam carnalis infirmit as operibus impedimento est sed fidei clarit a● factorum obumbrat errorem quae meretur venian● del●ctorum That Isaac smelled the odour of the garments haply it is to signifie that we are not iustified by workes but by faith because carnall infirmity is an impediment to workes but the glory of faith doth shadow the errour of our workes and procureth pardon of our sinnes The conuert Prodigall had the fatte Calfe slaine for him and the best robe put vpon him Euery sinner is this Prodigall yea that beleeuing repenting theefe hanging vpon the Crosse as Saint Augustine compares them together Iesus Christ is the fatte Calfe killed for vs his righteousnesse is that best robe put vpon vs. So St. Augustine applyeth it Proferat hic pater stolam illam primam induat filium immortalitate quem secum videt in cruce pendentem mactet vitulum saginatum hominem illum susceptum etiam pro latronibus crucifixum Let the father bring forth that best robe let him clothe his sonne with immortality whom he seeth crucified with Christ let him kill the fatte Calfe that man taken and crucified euen for theeues And the ordinary Glosse saith Addu●ite vitulam id est pradicate Christum mortem eius insinuate Bring forthe the fat Calfe that is preach Christ and put men in minde of his death Nor is that an obscure type of Christ clothing vs with his righteousnesse which wee finde Gen. 3. 21. where the Lord God doth make coates of akinnes and therewith clotheth the man and the woman No doubt of skinnes of beasts sacrificed types of Christ. The Scripture it selfe leades vs to this construction so often mentioning the putting on of Christ as Gal. 3. 26. 27. Being by faith in Iesus Christ made the children of God and such saith the Apostle haue put on Christ. Now what is it to put on Christ but to make him wholly ours As the king of Babel is said to put on Egypt as a garment in token that it was become wholly his Ier. 43. 12. Christ standing before Pilate to be iudged as he

righteousnesse and with the mouth confession is made to saluation Let Pontificians feare to frame such a iustification as they finde not in the Scriptures Secondly because inherent righteousnesse doth not only diminish the glory but euen abolish the merit of Christ in all his sufferings His glory it is to bee our whole and sole Sauiour this glory hee will not impart to any creature for hee saith I euen I am the Lord and besides me there is no Sauiour Stella obserueth well saying Redemptor redemptus inuicem se excludunt To be a Redeemer and to be redeemed are two incompatible things and cannot consist together But the faithfull are called The redeemed of the Lord Esa. 62. 12. and the Lord the Redeemer therefore in no sort can they be their owne Redeemers vnlesse Christ bee denyed to bee their Redeemer and they his redeemed Againe the merit of Christs sufferings was to intitle vs to the intire obedience and righteousnesse of Christ to make it as firmely and wholly ours by imputation as our sinne was his by imputation But inherent iustification robs Christ of his glory seeing thereby euery man becomes his owne Sauiour at least in part and so Christ is denied to bee a perfect and alone Sauiour And seeing inherent righteousnesse challengeth only a part of Christs merits and consequently alloweth him to be but a party-Sauiour and so also that he bore our sinnes but in part to the end we might fill vp what is wanting eyther by our owne workes or by the surplusage of some fained Church-treasure and workes of supererogation or satisfaction Hence it is that Christ being diuided and our righteousnesse parted betweene him and vs that his death comes vtterly to be abolished and of none effect For as the Galathians ioyning circumcision with Christ and their workes with faith in their iustification came to be abolished from Christ and Christ profited them nothing So all Popish inherency of righteousnesse ioyning Christs merits and mans workes together doth vtterly annihilate and frustrate the death of Christ. For saith and workes are opposite and exclude each other in the point of iustification As the Apostle saith If by grace then it is no more of workes otherwise grace is no more grace But if it bee of workes then is it no more grace otherwise worke is no more worke So that grace and workes are vnreconcileable and incompatible in the worke of iustification Although the Trent Councell doth according to her manner most impiously abuse that former place to the Romanes applying it onely to exclude merit of condignity from those workes which goe before iustification though not merit of congruity according to her equiuocall scope destroying in one little Chapter the true nature and property of faith and grace in our iustification A third reason condemning Popish iustification by inherent righteousnesse is because it peruerteth the whole tenure of the Gospell and those clouds of testimonies therein all euidently prouing our iustification by Christ through faith as hath been formerly declared A fourth reason because it fils the heart with pride as we haue seene in the example of that Pharisee who though he acknowledged God to bee the Author of his many vertues yet because he rested in them and placed there in his righteousnesse and perfection he failed of Gods approbation And we see the Apostle doth often strike vpon this string shewing how pride doth necessarily follow this iustification by workes at any hand for by faith boasting is excluded Rom. 3. 27. 4. 2. 1. Cor. 1. 29. Ephes. 2. 9. Not of workes least any man should boast Implying that works in iustification is as the Leauen of the Pharisees it sowers and swels the whole lumpe And there must needes bee an intolerable height of pride in that mans heart that dare with Lucifer ascend into the seate of God and aspire to be like the most High by ioyning his workes and Christs merits together whereby hee will be iustified in the sight of God and become a fellow Sauiour with Iesus Christ. A fift reason followeth hereupon That consequently this doctrine of inherent iustification leades a man headlong to hell For as it teacheth a man to aspire to a partnership with Christ in his glory in the worke of iustification so it maketh him to haue fellowship with the Diuell and his Angels in their eternall condemnation It is not possible this doctrine should euer bring a man to Heauen it being as it were a Ladder the one side whereof is of Timber and the other side of a Reed ioyned together by rotten steps For mans workes are that side of Reede and Christs merits are the other side of Timber of the Tree of life both ioyned together by the steps of vnsound doctrine of inherent righteousnesse Like those feete part of yron and part of clay no way cohering together In a word this doctrine of inherent righteousnesse is a false and deceitfull doctrine which as it can neuer truly iustifie a man in Gods sight so it can neuer satisfie the conscience with solid comfort For that which iustifies a man in the sight of God giues a man boldnesse and confidence in his presence Therefore the Apostle saith Beeing iustified by Faith we haue peace with God through our Lord Iesus Christ by whom also we haue accesse by Faith into this grace wherein wee stand and reioyce in hope of the glorie of God c. And chap. 8. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen It is God that iustifieth And Heb. 10. 19. where hauing shewed that our iustification stands in remission of sinnes he inferreth thereupon That we haue boldnesse to enter into the Holyest that is into heauen by the bloud of Iesus This is it that giues vs true peace of conscience in our selues and confidence towards God But inherent righteousnesse can neuer giue vs this peace of conscience this confidence towards God being at the best mingled with infinite imperfections and corruptions Euen Bellarmine himselfe confesseth That it is the safest and securest course to relye vpon the only merits of Christ. And we reade that Stephen Gardiner that bloudy persecuter of Gods Saints lying vpon his death bed and being demanded by some that stood by a reason of his faith how hee looked to be saued His answer was That for his part hee beleeued he could not be saued but by the only merits of Iesus Christ but saith hee this is a secret and must be kept from the peoples knowledge for if this gap bee once set open then farewell all good workes Yea Pope Gregory the Seuenth that notorious Hildebrand recounting his many pontificall prerogatiues and among them that one That if the Bishop of Rome haue any personall defaults yet vndoubtedly he is sanctified by the merits of blessed Peter but at length hauing drunk-in such store of iniquitie like water as an old leaking ship now ready to sinke in the very hauens mouth

Hereunto they adde sundry places of Scripture as all such where there is eyther any exhortation to take hold of grace or any admonition to take heede of falling As 1. Cor. 10. 12. Let him that thinketh hee standeth take heede lest hee fall And Rom. 11. the Iewes fall is propounded to the called Gentiles as an example of admonition vers 20. Because of vnbeliefe they were broken off and thou standest by faith Bee not high minded but feare And to omit many other they alledge one maine place out of Ezech. 18. where God threateneth That if the righteous forsake his righteousnesse and commit iniquity in the iniquity that hee hath committed he shall dye and his former righteousnesse shall be remembred no more From these and such like places the aduersaries would conclude That a man may fall totally and finally from grace or at least they would waue the matter and leaue it indifferent sith say they we find such opposition in the Scripture about this point Nay say they we can bring as many places that make against certainty of election and perseuerance in grace as can be brought for it So that the aduersaries I neede name none but the Pontificians for all that hold of their wicked Doctrine though they seeme to abhorre the name of Pontificians yet indeede they are one with them the aduersaries I say are here upon very peremptory and insolent because not vnderstanding the Scriptures but peruerting them to their owne destruction they thinke they are as fast and full on their side as against them Hereupon at the leastwise they would I say waue the matter and make it indifferent whether side a man choose So that by hooke or by crooke they would bring in a new Diuinity as Copernicus and his followers a new Philosophy who making demonstration that the earth may as well moue round about in 24. houres as the heauens therefore his disciples conclusion must be that not the heauens but the earth moueth about once in 24. houres The motion whereof hath caused this brain-sicke giddinesse in these new Philosophicall Heretickes or Hereticall Philosophers But the grounds of Diuinity in this point in hand are farre more demonstratiue and certaine than that of Copernicus his Philosophy For he can finde no certaine demonstration of the heauens motion but that he can stoppe with his versatilous wit no more then my braine earthy as it is can be moued to beleeue his earths motion But these Nouel-Diuines must needes confesse that the Doctrine of Gods election effectuall vocation of the Elect and their perseuerance in grace is very clearly set down in the Scriptures Which being so while they would oppose other places of Scriptures against it what doe they else but goe about to make God a lyar that with him should be Yea and Nay For if the Scripture be contradictory in the matter of saluation then it should be no better than a lye and so God the author of the Scripture a lyar But let God be true and euery man a lyar Yea let the Scriptures be true vniforme consonant and like themselues and all such wresters and peruerters of the truth lyars But they cannot bring any one sentence of Scripture to contradict this truth of the certainty of Gods election The Scripture saith The foundation of God stands sure and hath the seale The Lord knoweth who are his but where can the aduersaries bring one place of Scripture contradictory which saith The foundation of God is vncertaine without seale The Lord knoweth not who are his The Scriptures saith of Apostates They went out from vs but they were not of vs for had they been of vs they had continued with vs but where saith it the contrary that Apostates were once the true Children of God sealed vp in Gods foundation and knowne of God to be his and that they were once really of the number of Gods Elect The Scripture saith It is impossible to deceiue the Elect and to seduce them from Christ. The Scripture saith He that is borne of God sinneth not neyther can be sinne because he is borne of God that is he cannot sinne vnto death namely by sinne fall away from God finally Where saith it That he that is borne of God doth sinne vnto death and so falleth totally and finally from God Indeede if as Archimedes that famous Mathematician and Engineer who was so confident of his Art that he durst say he would remoue this whole terrestriall Globe if he had but a Ground or Base to fasten his Engine vpon although the Base must needes be farre bigger than the Moueable So they if they could finde such a solid ground in Scripture seruing their owne opinion and preponderating the eternall vnmoueable truth of Gods election as thereupon they could pitch their artificiall Engine much might be that these rare Engineers might Giant-like be able to reere Mount Pelion vpon Mount Ossa and so climbe to the top of Olympus while by their faith as a graine of scelerata Sinapis they command the vnmoueable mountaine of Truth if the foundation of it did not stand the more sure to bee cast into the floating sea of their fleeting imagination But say they the Scripture speaketh doubtfully in many places as in those fore-alledged and other To which all I answer in one word that none of those fore-alledged places doe crosse or contradict the truth of God Nay contrary they are all as meanes to bring the purpose of God to its finall period and effect For Be not high minded but feare Let him that thinketh he standeth take heede lest he fall Worke out your saluation with feare and trembling If ye doe these things ye shall neuer fall If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered If the righteous forsake his righteousness and commit iniquity and if there be any other Scriptures of this nature eyther exhortatory or admonitory besides that they are excellent restrictiues to all sorts of men in generall God extending his restraining grace euen to wicked men they are all necessary precepts and soueraigne preseruatiues and antidotes especially to the elect of God to preserue them from falling These places do not imply that Gods elect may fall away but they serue as meanes to preuent them that they doe not fall Now God hath as I said not only ordained the end but all means tending thereunto Of which meanes those many exhortations and admonitions in Scripture are a speciall part To this purpose Augustine speaketh excellently Tene quod habes ne alius accipiat Coronam tuam Quod autem etiam perseueraturis Sanctis sic ista dicuntur quasi eos perseueratures habeatur incertum non aliter hoc audire debent quibus expedit non altum sapere sed timere Hinc Apostolis dicebatur si manseritis in me dicente illo qui illos vtique sciebat esse mansuros Et per Prophetam si volueritis audieritis me cum sciret

giues a supersedeas and a quietus est to all true beleeuers and penitent sinners that they shall most assuredly stand innocent and righteous before Gods iudgement-seat seeing their sins are already absolutely iudged and condemned For as Christ was legally condemned in our person so shall wee be before Gods Tribunall acquitted and absolued as iust and righteous in his person For Who shall now lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen It is God that iustifieth who shall condemne It is Christ that is dead O singular vnspeakeable comfort to all true beleeuers The debt is discharged and we are free Christ is iudged and we acquitted hee is condemned and wee absolued his chastisement is our peace his stripes our healing So that now being iustified by his bloud wee shall bee saued from wrath through him Now we may with comfort and confidence wait for the Sonne of God from heauen whom God raised from the dead euen Iesus which hath deliuered vs from the wrath to come as saith the Apostle And all this for that Christ in his owne person innocent but in ours guilty was iudged and condemned euen by Gods owne iudgement though by the mouth of a mortall man yea an vniust though a lawfull iudge It is not therefore for nothing that in our Creede we say He suffered vnder Pontius Pilate O happy suffering vnder Pontius Pilate But why vnder Pontius Pilate How comes Pontius Pilate in our Christian Creed Surely not for any honour due to his name or to his person but in memorie of his office and calling as he was a Iudge who passed sentence on the Lord Iesus Christ. This very article wherein Pontius Pilate is mentioned is a strong argument to perswade mee that those who compiled this Creede called the Apostles Creede did it by the speciall instinct of the holy Ghost And in this very Article doth this Creede exceede all other Creedes sith it of all the rest expresseth the manner of Christs condemnation which being done by Pontius Pilate the Iudge is the very life and soule of our iustification I haue dwelt the longer vpon this point as being a mysterie of rare and singular vse to the Church of God I confesse I haue looked into sundry Catechists and Expositors vpon the Creede but I haue not had the hap to meete with any to lead me thus to consider of this point of Christs suffering vnder Pontius Pilate as a lawfull Iudge which seemeth to my poore iudgement to bee as a secure roade and safe harbour for all heauenly Merchants to anchor in Although it be easie at the first sight to take it rather as a history than as a mysterie Much lesse may we wonder at Popish writers who in their deuoutest meditations set forth vpon the passion of Christ as Guiuara's mysteries of mount Caluary and such like doe expresse more womanish passions and affections in condoling Christs sufferings like those daughters of Ierusalem whose naturall teares Christ reproued in weeping for him and would haue them turned into spirituall teares in weeping for themselues than any masculine discretion in discerning the true cause end of Christs sufferings as that he was thus iudicially condemned in our persons that so wee might stand guiltlesse before Gods iudgement seate A mysterie altogether vnknowne to Pontifician spirits as the Gospell is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that beleeue not lost the light of the glorious Gospell of Christ who is the image of God should shine vnto them 2. Cor. 4. 4. Of this sort also is that viperous brood of the Socinians who oppugning the doctrine of Christs satisfaction in our persons are easily confuted and confounded by this very article of the Creed whose madnesse is sufficiently discouered by Lubbertus Ludouicus Lucins and others so that they neede none other confutation their arguments being but meere argutiae no lesse futile than seemingly subtile which as the hissings of the serpent are to be hissed and whipped out of Christs schoole Now the imputation of Christs obedience vnto vs to our iustification is partly negatiue and partly affirmatiue Negatiue in the not imputing of sinne vnto vs whereof the Psalmist and from him the Apostle speaketh Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiuen and whose sinnes are couered blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sinne The reason of this not imputing our sins to vs is because they were imputed to Christ he being iudged and condemned for them As Gal. 3. 13. Christ hath redeemed vs from the curse of the Law being made a curse for vs. In this respect the Apostle makes a challenge in the behalfe of all Gods chosen Who shall condemne them who shall lay any thing to their charge For if our sinnes be imputed to Christ and he bore them vpon him and discharged our debt then it cannot possibly bee that they should be imputed to vs also who beleeue in him Also this not imputing our sinnes includes in it an affirmatiue imputation to wit of the passiue obedience of Christ vnto vs hee suffering for vs whatsoeuer wee should haue suffered yea euen eternall death it selfe for as much as the Eternall suffered the nature of that death though hee onely tasted of it as the Apostle saith Heb. 2. 9. yet he so tasted it as that at once as it were at one morsell he wholly deuoured it and swallowed it vp in victory as 1. Cor. 17. 54. Secondly Imputation affirmatiue is the imputing of Christs actiue obedience and righteousnesse vnto vs wherein as in most rich robes we stand most gloriously arrayed in the presence of God For as the Prophet saith To vs a childe is borne to vs a sonne is giuen c. so that Christ is ours as well in his birth and life as in his death And Esay saith againe O Lord thou wilt ordaine peace for vs for thou also hast wrought all our workes for vs or in vs. This the Apostle also declareth Christ made himselfe of no reputation and tooke vpon him the forme of a seruant and was made in the likenesse of men hee humbled himselfe and became obedient vnto the death Note the Apostle speakes there of the whole and intire humiliation and obedience of Christ continued throughout his whole life euen vnto the death the death of the Crosse. Yea Christs obedience to the death was an actiue obedience for Passus est quia voluit the Apostle applies that of the 40. Psalm Heb. 10 9. for Christ suffered willingly to show that in his very suffering his obedience was actiue Now for whom did Christ become a seruant become obedient but for vs men who by disobedience had made our selues seruants who were by creation Lords of the world So the Lord himselfe saith For euen the Sonne of man came not to be ministred vnto but to minister and to giue his life a ransome for many And againe I am